Introducing Reagan Marie Rusch

Here is the story of Reagan's birth:
On December 10, we had an appointment with the OB/GYN.  Chris said beforehand that he hoped that the doctor would say that it was time to deliver her, but I was not that hopeful.  However, Dr. Leavitt observed that Reagan had dropped again (for the second time) and said that she could come any time.  He said that there was not any danger in inducing her before she let us know that she was ready to come, and frankly, I was ready to be done being pregnant!  We decided to induce her the next day, and he called the hospital to see when we should show up.  We were told to be at the hospital at 8 the next morning.  It is very nice to be able to plan for when your baby will arrive!  So I got everything packed, and we dropped Davis off with my parents the next morning. We went to the hospital and I was started on the IV, and not long after, was given the epidural, which helped me sleep (I was not able to do that the night before!)  At about 6:00, Dr. Leavitt came in and asked Chris if he wanted to put on a gown.  At around 6:30, Reagan was born.  She was delivered by her daddy, which was a lot of fun. Of course, he had help from the doctor!  One of the first things I heard about her was that she had a lot of hair!  We kind of expected that, because we both had a lot of hair when we were born, and so did Davis.  She cried as soon as she was born, but then just looked around in amazement at everything after that.  She was amazed with the world and amazed with what there was to see!

We are so glad to have Reagan in our home!  It took a lot of faith and prayers to get her here, and we are grateful for her sweet spirit!

Update on how I am doing with this baby
Breastfeeding--I tried for 12 days.  The nurses all assured me that it was not any problem with me, but she could not latch.  She was losing weight.  After 12 days of trying so hard, I threw in the towel.  I decided that being a mother to Davis and to Reagan is so much more important, and does not weigh on my ability to breastfeed.
Swaddling--I am not sure that she is always a fan, but it does help her to calm down quite a bit.  So yes, we are doing it, and yes, it is good.
Calmness--Having two babies is a lot busier than having one.  Duh.  But I have been able to do pretty well at managing the whole thing.  Davis likes Reagan, but seems to pretty much keep his distance from her, which at this point, is okay.  But they both do seem to need me at exactly the same time, which is sometimes hard!

Here are some family pictures that we had taken a few days after her birth: