I ended work on Thursday feeling good and ready to take our next adventure of having a second child…at the same time, I was looking forward to a little bit of rest and relaxation before her arrival. I got my hair cut on Friday, where one of the hair dressers told me that everyone who comes in close to their due dates has their baby right after getting their hair cut. Then my mom and I went to lunch, where I received a fortune cookie that literally said “a pleasant surprise is in store for you this weekend.” I knew what that meant – too many omens.

Friday night I went to bed around 11:30 feeling a little weird in my stomach. I wasn’t sure if it was early labor or just an upset stomach false alarm. I thought it would be better to get some sleep either way. I woke up at 1:30 and my stomach hurt so bad I couldn’t go back to sleep. It went away. Then it came back. Then it went away. I watched the clock until I felt certain they were contractions and at 2:00 I woke Brian up and told him I thought I was having contractions.

Brian went into Go Mode. We had a list of everything to do and he went to it. My surges were very intense right from the get-go. My mom arrived at 3:00 am to assist with Ellie and Max as needed. Our midwives arrived at 4:00 am and Piper Geraldine Thompson was born at 5:05 am. She looked smaller than Ellie, so I asked Jenn (our midwife) how much she thought she would weigh. She guessed 6.5 lbs, but this little gymnast weighed in at 7 lbs., 6 oz. and was 19.75 inches long.

The feeling of having a child is incredible. The love that overtakes our bodies is amazing and I wish everyone in the world could feel that way at least once a year forever. It makes you feel so big and so small at the same time.

Here are a few pics of Piper and Ellie. Ellie by the way is doing great. She was a little jealous for the first day or so, but quickly is becoming a big fan of her baby sister!