Baby Macie is Here!!

Hooray! Macie May Downing was born yesterday, July 19, at 7:23pm. She was 7 lbs., 19 inches long, and very healthy! Mom and baby are doing very well, there were no complications, and we are so excited! And...since I know you all want to see the photos...they're coming soon! I'm home for a shower and breakfast break, and I failed to bring home the right equipment to be able to pull the pictures and post them! So...give me another day (maybe sooner) and I'll get the photos posted.

Okay, so now that you read the important stuff, here are the details for those of you that just can't get enough... :)

Dixie had her first contractions very early yesterday morning, at about 1 am. Every once in a while she'd get a long, painful one, but they were kind of scattered. Finally, at around 5 pm, the contractions were more intense and more frequent. We decided to scoot down to the hospital a little while later and arrived at about 6:30. We weren't expecting much...with Aleia, it was about the same story, but when we got to the hospital it was about 7 hours before we had the baby. Not the case this time! Dixie was dilated to 9cm the first time they checked, and it was basically show time! Macie was born 53 minutes after we arrived at the hospital, and as expected, she was gooey, bloody mess! :) But she was a VERY cute gooey, bloody, mess, and we quickly discovered that she and Aleia both suffer from the same pouty lower lip!

I got to "hang out" with Macie while the Doctor and nurses cleaned everything up, and I just can't describe how it feels to look down at a brand new baby, knowing its yours, and look into that sweet, little face! I felt very good about myself when Macie stopped crying after about 10 seconds of some proper attention from Dad...another heart-melting experience. I'm very grateful for my super-tough wife who did all the work while I merely stood by and offered my support! Dixie is doing remarkably well, and I'm very proud of her endurance for the last nine months! I'm also very proud of our adorable new daughter, we're so pleased she's finally here!

Anyway, watch for photos and updates soon...I'll post them as we get them!