Introducing Sophia Joy {She’s Here!}

| Allison

Well guys, the last two weeks have been a wild ride. Sophia Joy was born on Monday, August 26th, weighing 8 lbs. 12 oz and looking adorable right from the start. I’ve had a pretty rough recovery, but I’m finally feeling good enough to make a post!

Enjoy this darling photoshoot of our sweet girl while I tell you a bit of her birth story, for those of you who enjoy that sort of thing. 😉

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I started having contractions at about 4:30 Monday morning. They quickly started coming about every four minutes, but were super manageable, so we waited until 2:30 to head into the birth center.

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The 1+ hour drive there was actually way better than I expected! Unfortunately the doula we hired was at another birth so she had to send a backup doula which was rather disappointing.

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When I got there, they checked me and said I was only 3cm, but 100% effaced and Sophia was very low. (If you’re not into birth stuff, sorry if that sounded like another language, haha!) Since I wasn’t in “active labor,” the midwives and doula left to let us rest and labor by ourselves for a while.

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The contractions quickly got super intense and so hard to manage. The next 3.5 hours were the hardest probably of my life, partly because I was so worried I wasn’t progressing and it felt like this part would take forever.

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We eventually called everyone back and oh joy, I was 8cm and already in transition! My midwife later told me that I’d progressed so quickly during this crazy hard stage that I will likely have a lightning-fast second birth. O.o

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They filled the tub while I paced the hall – I felt like I had to move during contractions to deal with them. The midwives laughed about it later, saying they’ve never seen someone walk so fast during labor. :P\

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Before I got in the tub, they checked my hydration levels and unfortunately I was severely dehydrated at this point. So I tried to force down some electrolytes and a yogurt smoothie, since I was apparently also close to clinical exhaustion.

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Pro tip: DRINK ENOUGH WATER, because my midwife said labor probably would have been 2 hours shorter if I wasn’t so dehydrated. And if my contractions hadn’t come so close together, taking short rest breaks would have helped a lot too.

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I finally got in the tub, which was nice, but I was so far along at this point that it didn’t help the pain as much as I hoped. Sully sat on the side of the tub, applying counterpressure to my tailbone which helped a little. And before too long I was ready to push!

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I started out in the tub but soon got too tired to hold myself up, so I got out and moved to the bed instead. Once again the midwives later had a good laugh at how easily I got out of the tub after originally saying I couldn’t do it, hehe.

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The pushing part only lasted 1-1.5 hrs., but it was super hard because Sophia had a 14.5 cm head and her hand up by her face. Not nice, baby girl! The midwife said she was worried I’d tear so badly I’d need to transfer to the hospital.

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At long last, she came out and Sully and I got to meet our daughter for the first time. ❤ She was all slippery and warm and surprisingly cute from the very start! Sully started crying a little bit which was adorable, and I mostly felt exhausted, but glad it was over.

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Sophia had a little trouble breathing at first and had to get her mouth and nose suctioned a couple of times. But she was eventually fine, I got out the placenta, and we were all done! Labor was 18 hours altogether, which was within the range of what I expected, but felt quite long.

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I did get a second-degree tear, but it was much better than my midwife expected, and honestly I feel like that was a gift from God. While I got stitched up, Sully held Sophia and she immediately calmed down. So sweet. 

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She was pretty mad at the world for a few hours since she had so much trouble breathing clearly, but we got her to latch and nurse a little bit. Then we weighed her and everyone was shocked at how big she was! I did NOT feel like I was carrying an almost 9-pound baby. She was also 21″ long, which didn’t surprise me because Sully and I are both tall.

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We spent the night at the birth center in their comfy bed, though we got basically no sleep. I wasn’t too surprised about that, eheh. She was still pretty mad and fussy, and we had to keep checking her breathing to make sure she had been suctioned well enough. We eventually took turns holding her while the other person rested.

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As we got ready to leave with our adorable baby girl the next day, I asked the midwife to check my blood pressure since I was feeling lightheaded and weak. The reading was extremely low, and I had to lie down and eat some yogurt before I was able to go home. Even then I was so weak from not having enough food after labor that we stopped at Zaxby’s to get me some fried chicken, haha! Pro tip: EAT PROTEIN AFTER LABOR.

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As we settled in during the next few days, Sully and I both spent a lot of time admiring how cute our little girl was, giving her plenty of cuddles, and getting hardly any sleep. 😀 We haven’t had any emergencies, thank God, but there have been a lot of little things that all piled up – every day was a “new adventure.”

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Once I passed out in the shower and felt all weak again, and then I got a mysterious fever that lasted for five days. The biggest issue was that Sophia had a tongue tie, leading to nursing trouble and her not gaining weight. Once we got it revised, things went so much better!

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We still had a short period of syringe-feeding and then bottle-feeding to supplement her food while I pumped super often to get my milk supply back. It was exhausting, but I am so happy to say we’ve now been able to go back to just breastfeeding and it’s going SO much better! Phew!

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Honestly probably my favorite part of the past couple of weeks has been seeing Sully in superhero girl dad mode. He’s tended to Sophia’s and my every need around the clock, especially in the early days when I couldn’t get out of bed much. He’s changed so many diapers, calmed me down so many times, and driven us to all the appointments. Sophia couldn’t have a better dad, or one who is more in love with her than Sully is. ❤ 

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We’ve been blessed with such a great support network in general. Our families and church family have brought us many delicious meals, cleaned our house, and held Sophia so we could sleep. My mom especially has spent several nights and mornings here, watching the baby while we rest. (And it’s her first grandbaby so she is absolutely delighted to help, which is just the best.)

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If you’re reading this and you’re part of our support group – thank you from the bottom of our hearts! We couldn’t have done it without you. God has truly shown us his grace through your love. ❤

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I think we’re finally over the hump – I’m feeling better, Sophia is eating well (albeit a little too often for our comfort, heh), and Sully has gone back to work. We’re enjoying all her little grunts and squeaks and funny faces, and exclaiming over how cute she is while she sleeps.

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Despite being a little fussy, she is such a sweet, beautiful girl, and we are so blessed to have her as part of our family. I can’t believe I have a baby, guys! I’m officially a mom! 😀 It’s so crazy. I’m excited to watch our little girl grow up, and take many more adorable pictures in the future. 🙂

Thanks so much for reading, my friends, and have a lovely day!

***Allison***

P. S. I’ve decided to forego making Friday my posting day and just post whenever I get around to it. Make sure you’re subscribed to get email notifications because you never know when another one will make it on the blog. 🙂

118 thoughts on “Introducing Sophia Joy {She’s Here!}”

  4. Allison, I’m so sorry for the bumpy start! I could relate to much of your intro to motherhood. That exhaustion and emotional adjustment is palpable. Way to ride the wave! Sounds like you are doing beautifully! (Also, I like finding people I share a birthday with! August is a lovely birth month.)

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    1. Aww thank you. Sorry you had a rough start too. :/ But yes, we’re finally getting there and I am so glad to be out of the worst of it (hopefully!). And hey, that’s great that you share a birthday month with Sophia!

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    1. Why thank you! Oh I forgot to say it in the post, but we chose Sophia since it means “wisdom” (and it’s pretty), and Joy because that’s Sully’s mom’s name and my mom’s middle name!

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  7. Allison! How wonderful and I appreciate your sharing your birth process. It doesn’t always go the way we think it would but what success! I had a large baby and that makes the whole story a little different. I remember feeling very weak and back in the 60’s, not much was known about hydration. Blessings to you lovely family 😚🌺

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    1. So glad you enjoyed reading the birth story! It definitely doesn’t go how we expect, but that’s part of birth. Yep, large babies are challenging but I do think they come out extra cute. 🙂 Huh, I wonder if you were dehydrated too… Thank you for the lovely comment!

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  13. Congratulations to you and Sully! Sophia Joy is beautiful! Thank you for sharing your birth story and the adorable photos. My two boys are grown now but motherhood brought so much joy into my life. It is truly a blessing

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  14. Congratulations Allison Marie and Sully on the birth of your beautiful baby girl. Glad that you are feeling better Allison . Welcome to the world Sophia Joy Happiness and Blessings to all

    God Bless

    Marilyn,Joan and Marion

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  16. Congratulations Allison!!
    Overall, would you choose a birth center again? I just got married, and we’re waiting a little on kids, but I’m already thinking about my options because I really don’t want a hospital birth, but am also nervous.

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    1. Thank you!
      That’s a good question. I think probably so?? I did wish I had an epidural several times, but I made it through without interventions and the overall atmosphere + midwife care was phenomenal. The dim, comfortable room was way less stressful to me than a hospital would have been. So yes, I’d recommend it! I would check out your local birth center options and take a tour to see what you think. 🙂

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  23. Congratulations!!! I’m so happy for you! I’m glad you are all doing well now! I prayed for you all and your pregnancy, that you would have a healthy baby, and I am so excited she is finally here! What a beautiful name, and a beautiful ( not to mention ADORABLE!) baby!

    God’s blessings on the journey ahead Allison! ( I will continue to pray for you all!)

    -Gracie K.

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  28. Oh my, Allison, Sophia is so cute!! *heart eyes* She is such a beautiful baby. I’m sure you and Sully love her SO much! I am so happy for you both! Congratulations! 🙂

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      1. Thank you! Not too bad thank you, had a rough pregnancy, was admitted to hospital & then transferred at 29 weeks for preterm labour to another hospital over an hour away for a week, they managed to hold off the labour with steroids & I was sent home, from then baby’s heart rate and fetal movements were never the same, I blame the medications they gave (stopping nature) of course I’m glad she never came early or admitted to nicu. The worry’s! Ecgs were always showing decelarations in her heart rate and went in every two days for monitoring, my toco score was always between 60 and 80 and always checking my down below before leaving to see if I had dilated (to which I explained I’ve had 5 children before and know that baby isn’t on her way yet and that I do always have these contractions but no development in them) it got to the end of August to which they induced me at 37 weeks instead of the original 38 weeks and that was still a rough journey, they decided to use dialapan but that was a 24 hour waste of time. Didn’t work! So we used the pessery. Hospital tried to offer me paracetamol to which I laughed and said that’s not going to take the edge off my baby is coming, she didn’t believe me and we had a little argue over this, to which she then done the examination down below and I was in fact 5cm dilated and taken to labour ward, baby was born 3 hours later and I was discharged and sent home same day after 6hours! & since then loving every minute with her she’s so tiny at 5pounds and waiting to be discharged from community hospital midwives. 🫶🏻

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        1. Woooow what a ride! Thanks for sharing your birth story; I love hearing the different ways birth and pregnancy can go. So glad you ended up with a healthy baby after all that. But my goodness, 5 pounds is so tiny!

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  32. Many congratulations, Allison and Sully! Baby Sophia Joy is just beautiful-such a darling!

    I’m so sorry it was rough for a while, but I’m very glad to hear you’re feeling better and just taking each day as it comes. Praise God for a loving family and community to help ya’ll!

    I pray that each of you will continue to settle into a rhythm and get enough rest. 🙂

    Totally understandable about not posting as often; still I’ll look forward to hearing more about your new journey as a mom! May God bless and keep you all!

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      1. Thank you for asking! It’s been over 3 months since becoming homeless. There have been hard days (especially in the Texas heat) and days where we can see all the blessings God gives us.

        Recently, my dad’s blood pressure skyrocketed, and he had what might have been or was similar to a TIA. It was very scary and I made my first 9-1-1 call. Praise God, so far he’s doing well on blood pressure medication. Hopefully, we won’t experience that again.

        We’re waiting and looking into where to move with our surplus money (from the house auction/foreclosure). My brother wants to settle into an apartment and recently got a second job so he can afford one. So we have to wait until he’s raised enough before we go. It’s hard to be patient and wonder if we’ll ever have a home, but I just pray we continue to be thankful and know that the Lord is always with us. 🙂

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        1. That sounds like such a hard three months. I’m su glad you’ve been able to see God at work despite the difficulties. Oh goodness, so glad your dad is okay! That’s scary. I would have such a hard time being patient too, goodness. Praying you’re able to get a home soon. ❤️

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          1. Hi Allison! I don’t think my last reply worked. In case it didn’t, I wanted to say thank you for your kind words and for your prayers. 🙂 God bless!

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  43. Huge congratulations to you and Sully on the arrival of your beautiful baby girl ❤️

    Sully is surely an incredible partner and dad – superhero mode activated.

    Thanks for sharing your journey with us. Enjoy every moment with your little one – they grow up so fast. Sending you all lots of love, snuggles, and sleep (when you can get it!) 😀

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    1. Thank you! Yes indeed, he really does seem like a superhero. 🙂 She is already growing so fast so we’re trying to enjoy her newborn stage while it lasts. And yes, attempting to get enough sleep too, haha.

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