Introducing Tinsley Faith

Those of you that visit my blog probably know that my brother, Josh, and sister-in-law, Andrea, were expecting their first child, a little girl named Tinsley, who was due in August. I've been kind of excited about getting to meet her ever since I found out I was going to become an aunt. Well, last Sunday she finally arrived! The original plan was for Josh, Eli and I to all drive down so we could help welcome Tinsley into the world, but with Josh getting diverticulitis again that wasn't going to happen. Instead, I left Eli and Josh at home in the care of his mom, Sue, and I made the trip to go welcome my niece into the world. I got there a day early and stayed with my parents in a hotel because we were all pretty excited about meeting this precious little girl. Andrea was going to the hospital to be induced at 12:30 Sunday morning, so we wanted to be prepared in case Tinsley came early in the morning. The day I got in town, I met Josh, Andrea, her family, and my parents over at their house. We all visited, shared birth stories, and predicted when Miss Tinsley would make her arrival and how much she would weigh. Before Josh and Andrea went to bed that night, I took one last picture of Tinsley in Andrea's belly. Andrea did really well her entire pregnancy and only gained 20 pounds, that's only 16 pounds less than what I gained with Eli, but who's counting :)

Mom is the only one who got the date right on the prediction cards we filled out at Andrea's shower. She was pretty proud of herself, but we were all very wrong when it came to the weight and length!

My parents and I left their house and headed to Jason's Deli to eat (why have I never eaten there!?) and then headed to the hotel. Mom and I went ahead and took showers and did our hair that way we'd be ready to go in the morning. Can you tell we were a little excited? I don't know if any of us slept that night. I remember waking up around 3 o'clock and checking Facebook to see if Josh had put any updates on there and sure enough he had. He said that they were running 3 hours behind and had just started the pitocin! I tried to go back to sleep after that but around 7:00 or so we were all up and eating breakfast. By 8 o'clock we had made it to the hospital. Once again I was the designated photographer for this great event, so I had mom and dad stand outside the hospital for a picture before going in. Can you tell it was a little foggy that morning?

We got to the room and spent some time with Josh and Andrea for a little bit. She had just gotten her epidural so she was feeling pretty good as far as pain goes. 

We had to step out to the waiting room for a little bit and we did some waiting...I got bored so I started taking pictures :)

We came back and found out she was only at 4 cm. They were both really tired considering they'd been up since about 11 the night before, so we only stayed a little bit at a time. This particular hospital only allowed 4-5 people in at a time while she was in labor, so we all took shifts. 

Andrea's mom came in and put some Greek holy oil on her. The nurse came in shortly after and saw the sheen on Andrea's forehead and got really concerned that Andrea was burning up. We had to assure her that it was just oil.

We left for a little bit to go take our turn in the waiting room but before we left the room, my dad led the family in praying for Andrea and for Tinsley.

Andrea's cousin, Britney, and her aunt from Tennessee, made the trip to see Tinsley arrive in the world. We were all so ready to meet our little girl :)

We went to lunch around 12 and Andrea had made it to about 7 cm. Once we got back to the waiting area, we all settled in to wait a couple more hours for our little Tinsley. 

Around 2, Josh came and said that they were going to start pushing. Mom and Andrea's mom walked back to the room and the rest of us waited...

At 4:14 pm, Miss Tinsley Faith entered our world weighing 8 lbs. 15 oz, and measuring 22 1/2 in long. Oh my goodness! Andrea did great especially considering just how big Tinsley was. Josh texted me a picture as soon as she was out and when we found out her stats we erupted! We couldn't believe how big she was! Mom took a few pictures after Tinsley was out and then came and got me. She knew that I was on pins and needles to take pictures of Tinsley so we traded off and I got to go back to the room. 

A picture my mom took just after Tinsley arrived.

I love seeing a Mommy's face when she first sees her child.

She was precious and perfect!

I love this little girl so much!!

Tinsley and Manna

Andrea, Tinsley, and Yia-Yia

Mom said Tinsley immediately stopped crying when she heard Andrea's voice.

Baby makes 3!!

I love this picture of Andrea and her Dad

Pop, Andrea, and Tinsley

Poppy (Andrea's dad) and Tinsley

Pop holding his granddaughter :)

I'm in love!

Uncle Caleb

Excuse my mom's cracked iPhone, but here's a comparison shot of Tinsley and my brother Josh after they were born. We're thinking she definitely got his genes!

Kailey and Tinsley

Daddy's Little Girl

Dad and Andrea praying and thanking God for a wonderful delivery.

Precious baby feet

He's wrapped already :)

Look at her hair!

She didn't particularly enjoy the bath...

Her first little curl

Precious angel!

Look at those rolls!

Happy Family

Grammy getting some sweet sugars

Tinsley's wreath I made for her

Andrea, Josh, Tinsley we love you all so much! We pray that God continues to pour out his blessings on your family. Tinsley is precious and I'm so glad she's finally here! I can't wait to see that precious girl again :) Welcome to the world, Tinsley Faith!