Welcome to the world Penelope!

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Today started out like any other wedding shoot. I went to Shari's house and we headed to the bride's hotel to start taking getting ready pictures. However, on the way to the hotel I got a text I was not expecting.
"water broke" it said......OH CRAP!!!! I missed the baby shower and now I'm going to miss the birth.
Lindsay is my best friend and my world. Her being pregnant is a milestone in my life.
I started to cry...I was so upset. I immediately called Phil to let him know that I was shooting a wedding. I then called Al to tell him that he would be my proxy and my satellite and arranged for him to come pick up a camera in order to be at the hospital to document everything.
Throughout the day, I kept checking in with Al for updates. I was told that things were going slow and that nothing was really happening. I crossed my fingers and made a wish hoping that Penelope would wait. By 7 pm I was shocked to find out that there was still no updates. I check in again at 11pm after the wedding and still nothing. Al came home pretty late (after going to watch UFC) and I stayed up to wait for him. We went to bed around 2:30-3:00 am, but I couldn't sleep. At 4:11 am I received another text "time to push". With that I stumbled out of bed, threw some clothes on, grabbed my camera and drove to the hospital. I got to the Labor/Delivery waiting area at 4:43 am. Penelope Violet Samson was born at 4:56 am on July 12, 2009. She is 7 pounds, 10 ounces and 20 inches long. I sat in the waiting area with Lindsay's mom and we waited for Phil's parents. At 5:15ish, Phil came out to bring us back to the delivery room. He said "come meet my daughter!". It was the cutest thing ever. I've never seen/held at 20 minute old child and it was the most humbling experience ever. Penelope is PERFECT! She has Phil's nose, eyelashes and ears. She has Lindsay's chin and hair coloring. Penelope is also rocking the best baby mullet EVAH!!! So cute! I have tons of pictures and videos to share and will update soon. So, after the grandparents got to hold her, it was my turn. Phil handed her over to me and said "meet Aunt Alicia". My heart melted. My voice caught in my throat as my eyes teared up. Lindsay was right, I cried and then I felt this amazing tug on my uterus....dear lord it has begun......
I got to witness the first few hours of Penelope's life which included her first feeding, her official check up, her first shot, her first bath, her first footprints.....a million firsts it seemed. With everything that the nurse did, she provided a commentary. They don't like this and will cry....ding....they don't mind the needle but hate the medicine...ding...they hate the bath....ding, ding. I was in awe of Penelope....and Lindsay. She was so exhausted after having endured such a strange circumstance during the labor process. Despite her water breaking so early, she didn't officially go into labor. She didn't have any contractions unless she was walking and wasn't dialating. They actually had to induce labor because of the amount of time that had passed and she eventually got an epidural. Lindsay slept and then when she woke up, it was go time. She was a trooper. I'm so proud of her. She kept saying how surreal it was, she couldn't believe what had just happened. WOW! My best friend just had a baby! Insane!
I was so exhausted, that I left around 7am right before the moved Lindsay to her new room upstairs. I dragged myself home and passed out on the bed. I slept until 2:00 pm. After recollecting myself, Al and I went over to my office to pick out some of our wedding pictures for a slideshow. We then grabbed some food and headed over to the hospital to visit the Samson family. When we arrived, Amy and John (Phil's sister and brother-in-law) and Roger (Phil's dad) were still hanging out. They left shortly after and Al and I got to spend some time with the Samson's. Both Al and I got to hold Penny and I think we were both just absolutely smitten. I loved watching Al hold her....it was ADORABLE! I can't WAIT!!!!!