PEARL JO'S BIRTH STORY // hospital newborn photos

PJ is here, and our hearts are SO FULL! As I mentioned in the previous post, my fluid levels were severely high towards the end of this pregnancy and so at 37 weeks they decided to induce me (Friday, October 26th). At the time, PJ was head down and my doctor was confident we could deliver her naturally.

However, PJ insisted on having a dance party all night, and flipped. She did this twice, and so we we all agreed it would be safer to deliver via C-section.

Pearl Jo Dorough was born on Saturday, October 27th at 1:30pm. If you’re a UGA fan, then you know this was also the day of the GA/FL game. We were hoping she’d be born and we’d be settled in our room by 3:30 gametime! Ha! She will forever be our little Georgia Bulldawgs baby and we love that!

After PJ was born, they noticed that she had labored breathing and that her glucose levels were low, so she was taken to what they call “transition nursery” for a few hours for monitoring. I was also in recovery for several hours… which means I didn’t get to hold my sweet girl until about 6pm that day. Instead, she spent her first hours with Daddy and will forever have that bond with him. I love that.

By the way, she quickly recovered from her labored breathing. They said she had extra fluid on her lungs, probably due to the fact that she was swimming in so much of it.

Big Sis Emaline finally got to meet PJ about 15 minutes after we got to our room, and it was the sweetest experience. I got my mom to film it and I’m so glad - it is something I will cherish forever!

We got to come home on Tuesday afternoon, and as of today PJ is 9 days old. We are finally starting to KIND OF get the hang of things… I am still recovering from the C-section and require a lot of help physically. But I’m getting better!

Emmie is LOVING being a big sister. I have always been big into documenting everything - so if you follow me on IG and you watch my stories… you’ve probably seen some really sweet moments I’ve been able to capture already. As well as some crazy moments (just trying to keep it real!!)

I could go on and on and on but I just have to say: I have never felt so happy and fulfilled in my life. This baby is such a gift to all of us. I knew that this baby would be born healthy, according to my perinatal specialists, but what I didn’t expect was for this experience to be so incredibly healing.

PJ, I needed you. Daddy needed you. Your family needed you. Each of these moments we’ve had with you in the past week are things we didn’t get to have with your big sister, and we are cherishing every single moment.

Naomi Hopkins came to see us at the hospital and captured these moments. We are so thankful for these memories.

Check the slideshow for all of the photos, and then I selected some of my favorites below. xoxo

Nursing robe: Pinkblush (SHOP HERE) - wearing a 3X

Swaddle and bow: c/o COZYS (SHOP HERE)

Baby Turban: KnotBaby