HELLO WORLD, MEET BLAIR HENDLEY SAPEL!
Born on September 13, 2021 at 8:12am
Weighing 6 lbs. 8 oz. and 19 inches long
Well like they say, better late than never so today I’m finally sharing Blair’s birth story!
Just like with Porter, there wasn’t any type of crazy labor story or actually going into labor myself. Part of me wanted to experience that but then again, the planner in me was also happy with how things panned out. During my 3rd trimester ultrasound, we discovered that Blair was breech. I wasn’t too concerned because apparently only 4% of babies stay breech up until delivery, but eventually I started doing some exercises to see if she would flip. Fast forward to my 36 week ultrasound and baby girl was still in Frank breech position. Side note: I had 2 additional ultrasounds because Porter was so small during my last pregnancy so the doctors just wanted to make sure she was measuring on schedule (and apparently at 36 weeks she was around 6 lbs and 70th percentile).
Since Blair still hadn’t flipped it was time to discuss our plan. When baby is breech there are two options- try an external cephalic version (ECV) or schedule a c-section. I really wanted to avoid surgery so I opted for the ECV, it was at least worth a shot. At 37 weeks I went to the hospital for the procedure which involved two doctors pushing on my belly with all of their weight to try and rotate the baby. No pain meds and about 10 minutes of serious pain… I’m talking worse that contractions. They gave it four attempts but unfortunately it was unsuccessful. I’m not going to lie, I was a bit discouraged and upset because I was really hoping it would work but the most important thing was delivering my baby girl safely.
Like I said, the planner in me didn’t mind the scheduled aspect of the C-section. I checked in to L&D around 5am on September 13th and was prepped in pre-op. There was so much anticipation as we knew we were about to meet our baby girl! As soon as they got me in the OR I got my spinal anesthesia (didn’t feel a thing!) and things got moving super quickly. Before I knew it Ryan was brought in and sat by my side as the doctors began to operate. The PA in me was of course interested in the procedure and I could see most of the surgery in the reflection of the overhead OR lights. At 8:12 am our precious baby girl entered the world, Blair was finally here!!
She was placed on my chest just for a few seconds before she was taken for her exam. That was the only part I didn’t like (compared to my previous delivery with Porter) because I didn’t get to hold my baby girl right away. As the surgeons were closing up it felt like forever as they examined her but thankfully all her tests were normal! Ryan brought her over to me and we got to soak in a few minutes with our baby girl before they finished closing. Ryan took Blair back to the recovery area for some one-on-one time and I joined him shortly after.
It was so amazing to finally meet our beautiful baby girl. She had a head full of dark hair (even a baby mullet, haha), blue eyes and the cutest little lips. She took to nursing easily which was a relief since we had quite the different experience with Porter. We spent the rest of the morning snuggling and were happy to finally get in our recovery room. The second time around definitely felt different than the first. With the first baby, everything is new but this time we knew what to expect. Thankfully Blair was healthy and thriving and passed all her tests. My recovery from the C-section was a bit different (getting in and out of bed those first two days was rough!) but after two nights we were ready to bust out of there!
ABOUT HER NAME
Blair is a name that I’ve just loved for many years. I think it’s classic yet not super common. I think the first time I heard the name was from a soap opera I used to watch with my mom when I was little (not named after that character though!). Hendley is her middle name which is also my maiden name.
COMING HOME
After spending lots of quality time with our baby girl, we were ready to get home and introduce her to her big brother Porter and our parents! I had been looking forward to this moment for so long and Porter was so sweet. He was definitely interested in her, not quite sure what to think about her just yet but he knew it was his baby sister. Since we weren’t allowed visitors at the hospital, my parents and Ryan’s mom welcomed us at home and they absolutely loved baby girl. My girlfriends also surprised us with the most adorable stork in our front yard!
We love you so much baby Blair and can’t wait to see you and Porter grow up together and become best of friends!
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