It’s 12:30am and I’m currently pumping milk for the 5th time today after breastfeeding for almost 4hrs straight! My new life as a MOM!

Welcome to the world my babygirl Alessandra Marie Santiago!!!! There’s already nothing I wouldn’t do for you! Most babies come out of the womb screaming, upset, covered in blood and somehow you arrived into this world almost glowing, looking straight up into my eyes and smiling! You have a special, sweet soul and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life getting to know you! You were made from so much love and in this first week together as a family, your dad and I have fallen so deeply enamored with you and are just so grateful you chose us to be your parents.

Labor and delivery wasn’t easy. I started having very strong, uncomfortable contractions Friday night.. by Saturday they became painful and I went into the hospital. I wasn’t dilated enough so they sent me home. By Sunday the contractions became pretty unbearable and while in bed that night, there was a huge pop as my water broke!! I was admitted that night and spent all day Monday laboring in the hospital… my body went into shock, was shaking uncontrollably for 10hours straight and I had a fever that spiked to 105 degrees. Not exactly the candlelit, meditation music labor I had hoped for. Finally after given an epidural, I had a chance to catch my breath before pushing. We started pushing around 10:30pm on the 11th and almost 2hrs later at 12:24am on the 12th, you were born! One of the hardest experiences quickly turned into the best moment of my life, and nothing can compare to that first hour we spent together as a family.

Alessandra, our first week together has been life changing. You’ve literally turned our worlds upside down and now our days (and nights) consist of feeding you (you’re insatiable and a hangry little monster like your daddy), changing your diaper, and staring at your sweet face as you dream. Every morning while you were in my belly I would pray for a healthy happy baby, and my prayers must’ve been answered because I have never seen such a smiley little girl! There’s nothing your daddy and I wouldn’t do for you, and we will always love you unconditionally. You’ve made us a family and made our dreams come true by making us proud parents. We love you we love you we love you!!!! Can’t wait to spend the rest of our lives getting to know everything about you, who you will become, and watch you grow into the amazing little lady you will undoubtedly be! Alessandra means “defender of mankind” and I can’t wait to witness all of the amazing things you will accomplish in this world! Love you angel girl!

Baby kisses!!

Look at this lil angel!! She loves her naps and is always smiling in her sleep! She must have the sweetest dreams  ♥

I love my family ♥

Thank you for all your kind words and sweet messages throughout this journey!! I love hearing your personal stories and can’t thank you enough for sharing them with me! I’m so excited to continue sharing this journey with you guys  ♥

Love always, Jessi