The Mister and the Sister: Introducing Our Baby Girl!

We welcomed Lyla Grace Murphy into our world on February 23, 2009 at 2:59 pm. She weighed 8 pounds, measured 20 1/2 inches and is perfect in absolutely every way! It is truly impossible to describe the joy Mark and I felt the moment we laid our eyes on her.

The labor and delivery went fairly smoothly, with a few hiccups along the way. On the night of the 22nd we began the process of evicting Lyla from my body. She was a great tenant, but it was time to come out. We watched the Oscars (which ran way too long) and tried to relax as I was hooked up to a million monitors. The biggest complaint came from Mark, who had to sleep in a semi-reclining, lumpy chair. He described it as like sleeping in the middle seat in coach on a transatlantic flight.

In the morning, Lyla decided to play "hide and seek" with the doctors and nurses and suddenly disappeared from the monitors -- no heartbeat and no signs of movement. In a matter of seconds, our room filled with nurses and doctors trying to figure out what was going on with our baby girl. Mark and I looked at each other with a sense of total panic as I was wheeled into the operating room for an emergency c-section. But, alas, Lyla came out of hiding and order was restored. I was wheeled back to my room to proceed with a traditional delivery. Do you think we have a drama queen on our hands?

The rest of the day was much less dramatic, and Mark and I actually managed to take a nap during the labor (thank you epidural). Mark was a great labor partner and Lyla was born safe and sound at 2:59. It was love at first sight.

Over the next few days, we were taken care of by the wonderful nurses at Lenox Hill and had lots of visitors who brought us yummy snacks. Proud grandparents and great grandma!