AVERY REAGAN KEIM ARRIVES!!!

Avery arrived in this world on July 16th, 2009 at 6:42 PM. She weighed in at 6lbs. 13 oz. and was 19.5 inches long...by our standards...PERFECT!

Our birth mother called and told us they were going to induce her Friday night at 8:00PM. I called Shawn at work and he came home, we packed hastily and began our road trip to St. Louis, Missouri. We were only an hour outside of Charlotte when her dad called and told us they were back in the hospital. He continued to call and give us regular updates, but Avery was not waiting for us! He called to tell us she had been born when we were about halfway there...driving through Nashville, TN. It was the longest 11 hour trip ever!

We made it to the hospital by midnight and got to see Avery through the nursery glass. A nurse unwrapped her so we could see all her perfect features. We went down and visited with our birth mother and her parents for about an hour. By that time they had straightened out the "bracelet" situation and we were able to get Avery from the nursery. It was overwhelming love at first sight. We were amazed at just how tiny she is...and did I mention, Perfect! We didn't get a room with her but more of a conference room with a rocking chair. We changed our first nasty diaper...a joint effort. We left the hospital at 3AM and went to our hotel...set the alarm for 7AM and headed back to the hospital.

This morning we got to take her down to the conference room again and rocked, fed, and changed her. So far, she is super good...no crying yet. We met with our lawyer this afternoon and are going to rest at the hotel for a little bit and head back tonight.

Our birth mother's father took some pictures of her first moments on earth so I will post these.