Our Story...

Note: I intended to post the photos below the text, but I can't seem to figure out how to do that today. They're also in reverse chronological order, but we hope you enjoy them nevertheless! :)

Our Sleeping Beauty

We could stare at that adorable face for hours.

Daddy loves his little girl! ...and she adores her Daddy!

Daddy giving Laura her first manicure. Precious.

I'm speechless. She is fearfully and wonderfully made.

On our way home! We were able to go home 24 hours after Laura was born.

Hello, world!

Just after her first bath (at 1am!)

Meet Laura Madeline Doty. Check out the BROWN hair!

Here we go!

Well, it's been quite a week here at the Doty household. David and I have had a WONDERFUL week getting to know our baby girl. We are absolutely in love with her. She is such a good baby and has been a joy to care for. David has been a wonderful husband and daddy and has taken such good care of Laura and I this week as we adjust to life at home. We're really blessed that David works for a company that provides two weeks of paid paternity leave. It's such a joy to spend so much time with him. I had many unfounded fears that this first week would be dreadfully exhausting, full of tears and frustration and it's actually been my favorite week of our marriage (apart from our honeymoon, of course). We have had SO MUCH FUN!!!

I'll back up about a week and share a little about our birth story. Laura's due date was actually June 23, but my OB offered an induction on June 16. I was SO READY at that point to give birth, but we decided to decline. We prayed about it and just didn't sense that it was God's will at that point. We continued to pray through the week and decided that we were definitely ready to meet our little girl and Friday worked well for everyone. So, we headed to the hospital on Friday, June 19 for our 5:00am induction. Actually, when we arrived at the hospital, I was already 4cm and having contractions, although mild. They started the pitocin (the medication that mimics the hormone in our bodies that causes contractions) around 7am, broke my water, and active labor began shortly. I was able to have an epidural (thankfully!) around 10:30am. That was actually, the most painful part of the whole process. Holding still while having active, hard contractions is no easy feat! By 2pm I was fully dilated and ready to push. We pushed (and pushed and pushed) for two hours and there really wasn't much progression. The doctor had a few C sections to tend to, so he asked us to rest for a bit and let the contractions move the baby down. So, we rested for about 1/2 hour and he came back in. Still not much progress. He said that C section or a forceps delivery may be the only options, but he offered to give it a little more time. At that point, we were determined!!! David sent a rash of text messages to ask people to pray, and pray they did! Laura was born shortly after that at 6:08pm. Praise God!

Laura was born and the doctor said, "Wow! That's why this took so long. She's a big baby!" That's our girl. :) Healthy as can be. She weighed 8lb 3oz and 20 1/4 inches long. I have a bit of recovering to do because she was born so quickly in the end it was fairly "traumatic" to my body, if you know what I mean. :) But, I'll take it all in exchange for a beautiful, healthy baby girl.

We were able to breastfeed right away and she clearly is a fast learner! She has nursed beautifully from the first day. God has really answered our prayers. We prayed fervently that she would breastfeed well and not require any supplementation and that has definitely been the case. God is so kind.

We marvel at God's provision through it all. A "natural" delivery, healthy baby, relatively quick recovery, smooth first week... we simply couldn't ask for anything more. Thank you so much for praying with us and for us. We are so grateful for you!

Happy Birthday, Laura Madeline!!!!

She's here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We can hardly believe it. We are so very grateful to our great and amazing God for allowing us to meet her. Laura was born on Friday, June 19 at 6:08pm. I'll post the full birth story in a few days (and some pictures). She weighed 8lb 3oz, much bigger than we all expected, requiring almost four hours of pushing to help her exit her cozy home. She is 20 1/4 inches long and has lots of beautiful brown hair. Laura is just as sweet as can be and is doing really well. We are absolutely in love with her... Thank you for praying for all of us. Please pray for Laura, that she would continue to nurse well and maintain her weight. Pray for David as he cares for us over the next two weeks at home. He's doing a marvelous job!!!!
Please pray for me as I recover from the delivery. We love you and can't wait for you to meet our baby girl.

Tomorrow is the day!

Well, as it turns out, we have decided to accept Dr. Brandner's offer for an induction. We'll head to the hospital at 5:15am (Friday, June 19).... bright and early! David and I are so excited to meet our little girl and the physician who will be delivering her is wonderful. Please pray with us that the delivery will go smoothly and that Laura would be born healthy. Thanks so much! We'll try to update the blog at some point, but we're not sure if we'll have internet access at the hospital. We'll keep you posted! We can't wait to meet you, baby girl!!!!

To induce or not to induce... that is the question.

Just had my 39 week OB appointment yesterday and got a big surprise. The doctor asked if I was ready to deliver and I gave a hearty "Yes!!!" response. We are ready to meet our little girl and I am quite ready to be on the other side of pregnancy. He subsequently asked if I would be ready for an induction, to which I also responded, "Yes." He said we could show up at 6am on Tuesday (today). What?!?! I definitely wasn't ready for that. :) So, I spoke with David about it and we decided to postpone the induction after considering all of the variables. Although it would be really nice to plan ahead for childcare purposes, I think it would be really fun to be surprised with the day of Laura's birth.

Would you pray with us that God would cause Laura to arrive on her own (this week!!!!)?
We are considering an induction later this week, but we would welcome your thoughts as well. Please let us know what you think.... and please pray!

I'm still pregnant.... :)

Yes, it's true. Just goes to show that only God knows when Laura will be born. :) Despite the fact that I've been 3cm and 80% effaced for 10 days, still no active labor. Nevertheless, we still have a little over a week until Laura's actual due date. Have mercy... :) The good news is, I am officially done working for at least 12 weeks. I went to work last Monday, but felt pretty badly after six hours on my feet and we all felt it best to call it quits for now. It has been a real blessing to be able to rest when I need to, although we've been quite busy.

We had another youth meeting in our home on friday and it continues to be a blessing to both David and me. The kids are so animated and have such a wide variety of personalities. It's really fun to watch them interact and get to know one another and the Savior better. Please pray for us as we continue to learn how to best serve them.

This morning will be our first Sunday morning meeting as Catalyst Church. We're really looking forward to it! We are able to meet in a Christian school on Sunday mornings for the entire summer... for free! God has been so kind to provide the perfect place for our growing group to meet. We still have not officially launched the church plant. We hope to grow to about 75 adults before we officially launch in September. We're getting there!

Thanks for praying for us. Please pray that we'll be able to get some sleep. I haven't been sleeping well at all, hence this post at 5am. It would be great to be well-rested before I deliver, but I am grateful for the preparation for late-night feedings. I've never been one to function very well on little sleep (I have no idea how I survived residency!), but I'm confident the Lord will provide all the rest I need, both before and after Laura's arrival. We'll keep you posted, hopefully, through e-mail, the blog, and facebook. Please continue to pray as we wait for Laura's arrival. We are ready!!!

38 weeks 3 days...

David and I at Kelly and Catherine Grenga's wedding last month.

I'm so grateful for my husband!!! He is a precious gift to me!

Yikes!

Here's the latest pregnancy update: 2-3cm and 80% effaced. Wow! I asked the OB what this means and he quickly responded that he thinks Laura will be born within a week. Yikes! I'm really excited and looking forward to Laura's birthday, whenever God chooses. Please continue to pray!

Below are a few fun pictures from our family outing to the park yesterday. Enjoy!