Adventures of JordiLeeny: Jo's Story and Reflections on being a papa

Note: To see more pictures of Jo, comment on the post or email me and I can send a link to our Facebook album)

Being a papa is so amazing. My baby, Josephine Rose Barlow, was born on June 24th, 2010. The whole experience was wonderful, and I could never hope to come close to describing in a blog post. But I thought I would try.

Jo was born one day after her due date. Kayleen had not been progressing (as far as dilation, etc.) in over a week, and so the doctor suggested that it would be okay to induce her on Thursday morning the 24th. We felt good about this decision and were excited to finally know when our baby would be here.

We drove to Orem Community Hospital at 6:15 a.m. We were tired, but too excited and a little nervous to notice. The hospital experience was wonderful--nice rooms, good environment, great nurses. They got Kayleen an IV first thing and started the pitocin to induce labor. A few hours later Kayleen got an epidural and the doctor broke her water. She still didn't progress until the middle of the afternoon, but we enjoyed the day together just watching movies, reading books, taking naps, etc. It really was a relaxing day (and a nice break from being at work!). Our moms were both there throughout parts of the day, which was also fun. Kayleen's mom Mary stayed at our house for a few weeks while visiting from Minnesota, which was great. She spoiled us and Jo so much! We really were so lucky to have her there with us. Anyway, we chatted with them through the afternoon and evening.

Finally around 4 p.m. Kayleen was starting to dilate more. We got more and more excited that our baby would be here soon. I think Kayleen was the calmest out out everyone in the room, even at 10 cm dilated and ready to push. It really was so nice that everything went so smoothly for us, and labor was not bad for Kayleen. Jo was born at 10:09 p.m. I will always remember her first little scream that brought tears to my eyes, and then holding her for the first time. She was and is so beautiful and perfect.

Kayleen and I love little Jo with all our hearts. She can be a handful sometimes, but she is worth it. Being a parent is truly indescribable. We have been so lucky to have such a perfect and beautiful little baby to call us parents.

Barlow family