The Puffers' Heavenward Journey

Callie Joy Puffer (posted by Mic)

May 12, 2010 at 6:46 pm (Callie, Family, Our Story)

May 10th 2010 will now be a date we remember for the rest of our lives.  It is the day that our hearts grew larger to accomodate the precious life we chose to name Callie Joy Puffer.  I’ve heard people say that they worried before the birth of a second child about whether they could love another child the same way that they love their first.  I can’t say that I had that worry, but I did find a very curious thing happened the moment that I first held this beautiful little girl.  I could feel my heart growing inside my chest – it was not painful or even uncomfortable – in fact, it was one of the most beautiful feelings I have ever experienced.  I can only liken it to the feeling I had on my wedding day when I first saw my radiant bride standing at the end of the aisle looking back at me.  It is in these moments that our hearts grow, when we know that there is no turning back, even if we wanted to.  We are forever captured; deeply, madly in love.

The day started out like many others.  Em had awoken several times in the night because of contractions, but she’d had strong contractions before during this pregnancy, and had learned to not take them too seriously.  But these felt different, and she described them to me.  We spoke with a friend who is an OB nurse and knows our history, and she recommended that we at least head into town in case things began to pick up.   Lynn came home to watch Tessa for us, and we headed into Charlottesville.  We got a latte to share at Starbucks, and headed to Christians Pizza to grab some lunch.  But the contractions were strong enought to keep Em from eating, and were getting more uncomfortable, so we headed toward the hospital.  We pulled into the parking lot, and decided to walk a little bit.  We took a beautiful stroll through a very old cemetary nearby, enjoying the sunshine, the cool breeze, and the tranquility of that place.  After speaking with our OB nurse friend again, we felt it prudent to stop by the OB office to just see if these contractions were causing any changes – boy were we surprised when the OB announced that Em was dilated to a 4, and transitioning into active labor!

After texting our family and friends to inform them of the news, we checked into the hospital and met our nurse.  Her name was Erin, and we grew to love her.  She was very attentive, but at the same time gave us the space we needed for this time to feel very personal.  Em spent some time in the jaccuzi tub and sitting on an exercise ball (which she LOVED), and the contractions became more frequent and intense.  The doctor checked her again, and found that she was now easily 5cm, and broke her water.  After that, the contractions picked up in frequency and intensity, and soon Em was very uncomfortable.  However, she was AMAZING, and after a while, she was dilated to a 9, and beginning to feel the urge to push.  It was a flurry of activity at that point, and before our heads stopped spinning, there was a screaming pink bundle laid on Em’s chest.  Our long-awaited little girl was finally here!

We spent some quality time together, and I gave our as-yet-to-be-named little girl her first bath.  Then John, Lynn, and Tessa arrived.  The look on Tessa’s face when she first saw her sister was priceless!  ”Baby!”, she said, and ran to her momma and baby sister.  We enjoyed spending some time together as a family, since we hadn’t seen Tessa since that morning.  Soon, she headed home for the night, and Em and I crashed.  Callie was born to nurse, and was up every hour and a half that night feeding, but Em was very patient and loving – she didn’t even wake me up in the night for diaper duty!  The next day we were up at 5:30, and enjoyed continuing to get to know our little girl. Both the OB and pediatrician were fine with discharging us from the hospital that evening, a fact which was quite exciting to us.  Barb, Bethany, and the girls showed up around lunchtime, and we enjoyed spending the day together.  We got home at 8:00 that evening, SO glad to be home.

Thanks so much to everyone who prayed through this pregnancy with us!  We have been so blessed to have a perfect little girl at home with us, and Tessa is learning to love being a big sister.  We are looking forward to introducing this little girl to all of the people that will mean so much to her over the course of her lifetime.  We are also thrilled to consider all of the plans that the Lord has for her – it is a privilege and an honor to be entrusted with this little life, and we will raise her to love Jesus with all of her heart.  We will be continuing to update the blog with the latest stories and pictures, so stay tuned!

P.S. – click on any of the photos above (or anywhere in the blog) for a larger version.