Introducing Madison Elizabeth Fairweather | #MyFairweatherBaby | Newborn Photography

MyFairweatherBaby | Lorin Marie Photography

We're delighted to introduce you to

Madison Elizabeth Fairweather

Our precious baby girl Madison entered the world just shy of 42 weeks on May 5, 2015 at 2:27 AM. She is our little Cinco de Mayo baby! We're now calling the holiday Cinco de Madison, thanks to the suggestion of our sweet friend Amanda. And yes, there will **definitely** be some Mexican themed birthday parties in her future! Who doesn't love piΓ±atas?! And baby sombreros! Which I began searching for the day we left the hospital. They **do** exist :) Party City for the win!

Madison Fairweather | Lorin Marie Photography

I went into labor in the early morning on Monday, May 4 & after about 18 hours of labor at home, Dean packed up the car & we drove the 15 minutes (which, at the time, seemed **much** longer) to the hospital. Madison was born about 3 hours later on Tuesday morning, healthy & pink & with adorable newborn wrinkly fingers & toes. (It didn't occur to me until we realized the date that we had delivered on a holiday. Truly a reason to fiesta!) She weighed 8 pounds, 3 ounces & measured 21.5 inches long, & we love her to pieces.

As my mother-in-law later asked, "Can you imagine life without her??" No we can't. At all :)

Must-have baby photos in the hospital | Lorin Marie Photography
Must-have baby photos  | Lorin Marie Photography
Baby yawn | Lorin Marie Photography

We are beyond blessed that the Lord would entrust us with this sweet baby girl & bring this diapered bundle into our lives!!! After she was born, I kept adding "She's so cute!" to everything she did - like "Ohh, she did a tiny sneeze - she's so cute!" & "Look, she's asleep. She's so cute!"

And that is still my consensus. I know, I know, I'm her mama so I'm supposed to say things like that buuut truth is I can't help it.

I am SO thankful for my incredible husband who was supportive & encouraging the whole time! Dean pushed on my back over & over ... & over & over during my hours of back labor, made sure I stayed hydrated, kept me calm, prayed for us & read the Scripture verses we had printed (Val Marie's labor verses). He was such a wonderful coach & I cannot imagine having gone through labor & delivery without him beside me :)

Hospital newborn photos | Lorin Marie Photography
Baby swaddle | Lorin Marie Photography
Must-have hospital baby photo  | Lorin Marie Photography

And we are really grateful for the wonderful Bradley Birth classes we took for 12 weeks beforehand (if you're in the Columbia area, look up Ruth Glowacki. She is a fantastic teacher!). They focused on preparing us for what to expect throughout a natural labor & delivery as well as teaching Dean how to be my labor coach. We joked during my pregnancy that he would have to wear a referee jersey, carry a clipboard & blow his whistle at the hospital to make sure everything went OK. He ended up leaving the ref gear behind but I still think it would have been fun...

Newborn layette outfit | Lorin Marie Photography

One verse I had been mediating & reflecting on during my pregnancy that really brought me comfort was John 16:21, which says:

"A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born
she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world."

That is the best way I can describe the feelings I experienced after birth. Good-bye, painful contractions. Hello, beautiful little daughter!

Newborn baby girl | Lorin Marie Photography
Daddy kissing baby | Lorin Marie Photography
Newborn pink mittens | Lorin Marie Photography
Newborn hospital photos | Lorin Marie Photography