I know all anyone really cares about is seeing the new pictures (and I have posted a ton!), but first I'll tell the details of her big debut for those who want to know. David and I were scheduled to be induced on Monday, September 17, at 9:00pm. We decided to go ahead with the induction because my doctors were still concerned with Sadie Beth getting too big and increasing my chances of having a C-section. I've always been leary of being induced, but we decided to trust the doctors on this one. When we called the hospital Monday night at 7:30pm to check in, we were told we were put on hold because there was not a bed for us. So the waiting began...I was pretty chilled out about the whole thing, surprisingly. David was nervous enough for the both of us! :) Normally David is so organized and prepared and I'm the chaotic one, but excitement got the best of him...as evidenced by him doing completely non-David like things...stumbling down the stairs as he packed up the car, leaving the door to the house, car trunk, and garage wide open and forgetting about them completely. It was pretty cute. He was just so eager to meet his baby girl and didn't want to wait any longer.
We got the call to come to the hospital and arrived about 11:30pm. I was Group B Step positive, so that meant I had to be hooked up to an IV antibiotic the entire time, a task finally accomplished after 4 attempts to get the IV going. I think the nurse who did it was in training - ouch. Finally, I got started on ptocin about 12:45am. It didn't take too long for me to get into a regular pattern of contractions...by around 5:45am they were getting pretty intense but I found the pain to be manageable as long as I could get up and move around. The nurses finally agreed to let me stay out of bed as long as they could get the monitors to work while I was standing. After nearly fainting from low blood pressure around 7am, I got back in the bed and my water broke on its own (yay!) a minute or so later. That's when the fun began. (haha). Ptocin makes contractions longer and stronger and often you feel most of the labor in your back. Within a couple of minutes, I was having contractions less than a minute apart that lasted between 60-90 seconds each that was all back labor. In my most sincere effort to "tough it out" I made it about 30 minutes before deciding that it was time to call the epidural man, aka my new best friend at the time. I would have been disappointed if I found out I was nearly complete when I got the epidural, but was thankful for it when I found out I was still only 4cm dilated. This meant too they could keep upping the ptocin at a faster rate and I would progress faster. After the epidural, I didn't feel a thing the rest of the time. It was stinking amazing. Within five minutes of getting it, I was knocked out asleep. I hadn't slept all night and was nearly impossible to communicate with for the next few hours. The next time the nurses checked me I was 9.5cm and just about ready. They wanted to let baby drop a bit more so gave me about another hour before we started pushing...which was just fine with me since I was as comfy as could be! The nurse told me to be prepared for 2-3 hours of pushing since this was my first baby. I was a little nervous about pushing since I couldn't feel anything below my waist...I didn't even know that I would know where to push! :) We got started pushing about 11:50am, and little Sadie Beth must have decided she was ready to meet her mom and dad because she didn't waste any time. After pushing through 2-3 contractions the nurse stopped me to go get the doctor, who came in right at noon. Sadie Beth arrived just a few minutes later...12:07pm! It was the most incredible experience...when they laid her on me for a minute or two, I immediately fell head over heels in love with this precious little gift from the Lord. It was amazing to hear her cry and see her for the first time. It was such a special time with David and Sadie Beth those first couple of hours while we were still in the delivery room...a time I will never forget.
Okay, okay...now on to the pictures. :) My mom got the hospital a little bit later, and here she is holding Sadie Beth for the first time.
These next few pictures were taken later in the evening when we got the mother/baby floor.
My dad is pretty thrilled to be a grandpa. Mom was able to bring him to the hospital that evening and he enjoyed getting to spend some time with his new granddaughter.
And here is the proud new dad! As much as he insisted it wouldn't happen, I think Sadie Beth has David wrapped around her little finger already. He is so good with her and she loves being with him. Isn't my husband an awful good looking guy?
And now begins the Sadie Beth picture show....we have already taken a ton of pictures. I wish I could capture every smile or cute little face that she makes so I will never forget any of them.
Sadie Beth already makes the most wonderful little faces. Her looks are so expressive and can be so funny. It's neat that we are already getting to learn about her personality this way.
We had a little fashion show at the hospital trying to decide what outfit she should wear for the picture on the Baptist East web site. (http://www.baptisteast.com/). This little red outfit was the winner. It was a gift from her Aunt Darla. It has matching little sandals and hat that were WAY too big for her feet and head.
I was so thrilled to find out that Sadie Beth had hair! Not quite as much as I did when I was born, but still enough to be fun. We hope it doesn't fall out...it is so soft!
David loves rocking with Sadie Beth and she loves that special time with her daddy. It is amazing how quickly she calms down when he rocks her and sings to her. She must recognize his voice form all the times we sang to her before we went to sleep throughout the pregnancy.
Below is the beautiful flower arrangement that Grandma and Grandpa Balzer sent. It brightened up the hospital room and now fills our kitchen with a lovely frangrance. I especially love the stargazer lillies of course!
We got this little outfit out for her to wear at the hospital. It was sized 0-3 months, but she was swimming in it! But how cute? :) 
Here we are leaving the hospital. It was Scout's first time in her car seat. The little pillows are to keep the straps from rubbing her neck, but we decided to take those off. She will have to get a bit bigger first. :)
Home sweet home. Sadie Beth is on her changing table...my super cheap yard sale find that I am already so thankful for! Don't you just want to snuggle her? I do. :)
This is our first night home. As you can see, I'm pretty happy...(that's an understatement).
Boy is Sadie Beth a hand/thumb/finger sucker. I guess we shouldn't be surprised because in the ultrasound at 36 weeks we couldn't get her to stop sucking on her hand. She is great at self soothing...maybe she heard me teaching all my kids at work about coping skills. The only problem is that when she sucks on her hand she sucks in lots of air too, which I think irritates her tummy sometimes.
This is our first night home. As you can see, I'm pretty happy...(that's an understatement).
Boy is Sadie Beth a hand/thumb/finger sucker. I guess we shouldn't be surprised because in the ultrasound at 36 weeks we couldn't get her to stop sucking on her hand. She is great at self soothing...maybe she heard me teaching all my kids at work about coping skills. The only problem is that when she sucks on her hand she sucks in lots of air too, which I think irritates her tummy sometimes.
Here she is in her crib for her first nap at home. Daddy's keeping an eye on things to make sure all is well. :) She is taking all her naps in her crib, but sleeping in a pack n play in our room at night. Her room just seems AWFULLY far away...I know I know...it's against everything I ever said, but we will probably be transitioning her into her crib at night in the next week or so.
Sadie Beth seems to be a real snuggler, which is just fine with me. We just have to make sure that we don't let her sleep TOO much in our arms...it's so tempting though. I could sit and hold her all day, no problem.
Here's a cute smile when she was laying with Daddy. Her shirt says, "Daddy does my hair."
First bath time! We gave Sadie Beth her first sponge bath the day after we brought her home. She fussed a little bit, but it was more because she was getting hungry than out of an aversion to the bath.
This is one of my most favorite pictures so far! How stinkin cute is she?
Family picture time!
One of the most fun things to do right now with Sadie Beth is get real close to her face and talk and look into her eyes. It's a fun bonding activity...I read too much about attachment in my job.
More changing table pictures. She makes some of the cutest faces while we are changing her, especially at night time after her 7pm-ish feeding. She really wakes up during that time and it is lots of fun.
Here is our super comfy rocking chair...Scout and I spend a lot of time here, since this is where I feed her. She's an awfully little girl in a really big chair!
And a couple more favorite pics...these were some really fun facial expressions one night when she was in such a happy mood.
Looks like it's time to get some sleep!
Hope you enjoyed the pictures as much as we have enjoyed taking them. Thanks to everyone for all of your support and prayers. We feel so loved right now by friends and family. Our church family and a few other friends have been so awesome to bring us delicious meals, and that has been so nice to not have to worry about that. What a blessing! Love, the Balzer fam.
Sadie Beth seems to be a real snuggler, which is just fine with me. We just have to make sure that we don't let her sleep TOO much in our arms...it's so tempting though. I could sit and hold her all day, no problem.
Here's a cute smile when she was laying with Daddy. Her shirt says, "Daddy does my hair."
First bath time! We gave Sadie Beth her first sponge bath the day after we brought her home. She fussed a little bit, but it was more because she was getting hungry than out of an aversion to the bath.
This is one of my most favorite pictures so far! How stinkin cute is she?
Family picture time!
One of the most fun things to do right now with Sadie Beth is get real close to her face and talk and look into her eyes. It's a fun bonding activity...I read too much about attachment in my job.
More changing table pictures. She makes some of the cutest faces while we are changing her, especially at night time after her 7pm-ish feeding. She really wakes up during that time and it is lots of fun.
Here is our super comfy rocking chair...Scout and I spend a lot of time here, since this is where I feed her. She's an awfully little girl in a really big chair!
And a couple more favorite pics...these were some really fun facial expressions one night when she was in such a happy mood.
Looks like it's time to get some sleep!
Hope you enjoyed the pictures as much as we have enjoyed taking them. Thanks to everyone for all of your support and prayers. We feel so loved right now by friends and family. Our church family and a few other friends have been so awesome to bring us delicious meals, and that has been so nice to not have to worry about that. What a blessing! Love, the Balzer fam. 
Elijah made his big debut via C-section around 8:35pm, weighing in at 6lbs, 15oz. Heather was due on September 5th, and had a C-section due to having a high fever during her labor. Mother and son are doing very well, and Heather is recovering very well from the surgery! Below is Michael being a very proud new father with his son. I think Elijah looks a bit like Michael. 
Don't they look so happy?!? Another visit to meet a newborn baby makes me all that much more eager and excited to meet little Scout very soon. Praise God for another healthy September baby and for his blessings on the Grissom's! Keep them in your prayers as Heather continues to recover and they adjust to the newest member of the family.
