karaspeak

Early last Thursday morning, March 18, Nathan and I headed to Baptist Hospital in Nashville (along with my photographer Dad) to welcome our new baby girl. Our induction was scheduled at 7:15 a.m., so after a great morning full of fun questions and a Pitocin drip to bring on contractions, my water broke about 9 a.m. and we were off and running to meeting our newest family member. Labor went really smoothly, all things condsidered...it is "labor" after all. My amazing friend Kari arrived around 10 a.m. to keep me company and alleviate the pain from my mind. And that she did...her presence made the pain, and the mood better all around. It was nice for me to have someone there to talk gossip mags and discuss Hollywood drama with during contractions and nice for Nathan to not have to be the only one losing circulation to his hands as I squeezed! After Noon, I finally decided to get the epidural and despite it not working after the first dose, things started moving really quickly and baby girl was moving fast to make her debut. We were able to get it resolved just in time and within the hour, it was time to push, so everyone (except Nate) was rushed out about 1:30 p.m. and after two good pushes/contractions, we welcomed our sweet girl.

Teagan Elyse Tabler was born at 1:40 p.m. She weighed in at 5 pounds, 2 ounces, and is 18 inches long (a stretch for sure, but a foot and a half exactly!).

As most of you know, we took a L-O-N-G time to decide on her name and while we have gotten question after question about whether or not it is a family name, alas, it is not. And while it would be WAY easier to say it is...reality is it's not...So...I feel the need to let people know what it does mean and how we happened upon it. (Thanks, Megs for the reminder to do this!) Most of you know both Nathan and I have Irish in our background - you can see the history of my maiden name here if you're really bored.  We named Aiden (of Irish descent meaning "little fire") what we did mostly because of it's meaning and descent. We thought it would be appropriate to do the same for our daughter. While we initially sought names beginning with "A" to keep the consonance going with our kiddos, we just didn't like many of them and couldn't settle on an A-name. We happened across Teagan on one of our searches, and it just stuck with us. It carried into the final five, and finally made it to the final two...and well, we know it's her name, so there it is. Elyse was originally going to be Ellis, a name we liked from the beginning since it's Greek/Hebew and means "Jehovah is God" which we pray she learns at an early age. To make it more feminine, we just bumped it out to Elyse. And that's the story. :)

Teagan means "beautiful, attractive," but also means "wise little poet." Most of you know I like to write (whether I'm good at it or not is questionable, but I do enjoy it), and both of us pray she is beautiful, not only inside but out.
Elyse means "God is my vow (oath)." And like Ellis, it is of Greek/Hebrew descent. We pray she comes to know this early and hold this as truth as she grows into a young woman.

The family (even Aiden) were all in the room within minutes of her arrival. They tell me I made it look easy...but maybe it was just a teeny baby ready to get into this great big world!  It was easier than Aiden, given that 1) her head was smaller and 2) she was a full pound smaller! The entire thing is most certainly a miracle from beginning to end...and we are amazed to be just small vessels in the process.

We headed home on Saturday afternoon and introduced Teagan to her new home, new room, new bed, and new life. My parents were still in town, and we took our celebratory trip to Pueblo Real to introduce her to our Mexican restaurant family, who all fell in love with her. Mom and Dad left Sunday afternoon and Nate and I are on our own this week. Aiden is enjoying being a big brother and has already named her "TT" since he can't quite get the full name together. He loves counting her fingers and toes, teaching her where her nose is, what sound her ears make, and pointing out that big long tongue. He is certainly very sweet with her and I am excited to see how he will grow into his role.

While the worst is certainly not over, we are home and ready to see what this new phase of life will bring us. A lot of changes, to be sure, but a lot of love and beauty with which to fill it. We are so very blessed.

I've attached an album with a "high level" view of the birth of our second little miracle. Enjoy...more to come!

http://picasaweb.google.com/randydown/31810TeaganElyseTablerBorn?authkey=Gv1sRgCNaUzq-i7eGRMw&feat=email#

Love you all...your prayers and support are so very much appreciated. Can't wait to introduce her.