Peyton Nicole's Arrival - September 14

On a beautiful (and very early) Thursday morning of September 14, 2017 we checked into Mo Bap at 5 am anticipating the arrival of the newest Schmidt, Peyton Nicole. It was a day that I was anxiously awaiting for nine months. Nine months I dreamt of what Peyton would look like, smell like, and of course how she would complete our family.

A little after 8 am she arrived into the world and completed our family of five weighing in at 8 pounds 3 ounces and was 21 inches long. When she arrived with all ten fingers and ten toes, a healthy cry and a lovely little head of hair - I could not of been happier. She was everything I had dreamt of and so much more. All the anxiousness of having a sweet girl went away and my heart instantly became full. Michael was instantly in love and I could see  it in his eyes, that Peyton already had daddy wrapped around her fingers. It was a very special moment seeing the two of them together.

Shortly after sweet Peyton arrived into the world we got to introduce her to some very important people in her life - her aunt Nikki and her Grandmas Cathy and Kathy and most importantly, her big brothers who could not wait to meet her. When people say, "you will know when your family is complete," I felt that completeness immediately the moment the boys held sweet Peyton in their arms. It was a moment that will forever be an imprint on my heart. My heart could of truly burst the moment they walked into the room and the smiles they had on their faces when they first laid eyes on her. True love. I forever hope that they cherish each other and the importance of having each other as siblings. 

We spent our days in the hospital getting re-acclimated to having a baby. Nursing, changing diapers, and of course recovering from a C-section. This go around everything seemed so much harder. The walking post c-section was very painful and the nursing was not what I remembered. While I spent my days and nights nursing sweet Peyton, Michael got stuck changing all the diapers and tending to my every need. 

Nursing was a bit of a battle in the hospital. Peyton was great at latching on, but she somehow made my nipples extremely sore, cracked and bleeding at one point. It was awful. Add on top of that when my milk came in I was producing so much and Peyton was not taking it all, that I had to not only nurse but then the last few days I had to pump to release the milk and the engorgement. It was a lot and at times seemed really awful and unbearable, but somehow I pushed through. 

After four full days and nights we were released from the hospital and headed home with our sweet baby.