A's Birth Story, Meaning of Her Name & More Photos

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For those inquiring about her name and how we chose it: "Adelaide" was in our short list of top three girl names before we knew whether B was a boy or a girl, so it wasn't a hard choice to pick it this time around when we learned that she was a girl. As you may remember from when we were choosing B's name, we don't like names that are very common or trendy, so we're keeping our fingers crossed that this won't become one of those suddenly popular ones, either!

We debated between two names for her middle name, but finally went with "Charis" for several reasons, the biggest of which was its meaning. My name means "grace" in Hebrew; Charis is the Greek equivalent. I also liked the fact that both Daddy and B have middle names with the hard "c" sound and had some sentimental thought about how it would be nice for all three of them to share that in common (I don't have a middle name, so officially on paper, my maiden name is my middle name).
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On Wednesday afternoon (February 19), my weekly OB appointment resulted in B and I heading over to the hospital for me to be checked in for bed rest and monitoring due to a sudden peak in blood pressure and protein spillage in my urine. B did a great job hanging out with me until N came to catch up on details and take him home for the night while I remained behind at the hospital for monitoring, blood work, and a 24-hour urine test.

As many of you know, yesterday was B's third birthday. Needless to say, I was a bit of an emotional wreck at missing out on all the plans we had made! I was also very glad that we had chosen to have his birthday party last weekend! We decided that N would take B to the zoo as planned while I continued to be monitored at the hospital. This was the longest stretch B and I have ever been apart in his life! 

Unfortunately, although the results of all the tests were not horrible, they did not permit me to be sent home that night either, as we had hoped. We were given the choice to either induce or remain on bed rest at the hospital indefinitely until I went into labor on my own. You all know that indefinite bed rest, especially at the hospital, would drive me bonkers! Since we were only a week and a few days to my official due date, we opted to induce, but to wait until after midnight, so our kiddos would not have to share a birthday.

N brought B by the hospital for a quick visit with me after dinner, during which B told me he had cried for me when he fell down at the zoo. Very rarely does B ever cry for me if he's with Daddy, so it made me tear up a little as he told me his sad little story as he cuddled with me on the bed. The snuggles seemed to help him feel better, though, and he hugged and kissed me goodnight before N took him to spend the night with some dear friends.

Once N returned, we were settled into a L&D room and I was prepped for being induced. Due to my elevated blood pressure, I had been warned of the chance of being put on magnesium (which apparently makes you feel like you have a horrible case of the flu) if it continued to spike. I had a close circle of friends praying for me/us from the beginning of all this, so I specifically asked for prayers to avoid magnesium! I also made the choice to receive an epidural just a few hours after I had been induced in my desire to avoid the magnesium and because I knew my nerves were a bit shot after the emotions of the previous day and having to spend a night at the hospital (which is not a good place to get a solid night's sleep). It worked! My blood pressure stayed steady (although elevated) and my water broke soon thereafter.

Just a mere nine hours after being induced, I was fully dilated, pushed hard three times, and out popped our baby girl! What a merciful blessing that quick and easy delivery was, especially after the emotionally trying day and a half preceding it. We are exceedingly grateful, for supportive friends who covered us in prayer and encouragement, for the gift of wonderful nurses and our terrific OB, and of course, for a healthy baby.


Welcome to our family, sweet girl! You are already thoroughly loved!