My Relief Society President, Brittany Mangus told me that I was to literally have "Faith" a couple weeks ago so that is exactly what we did. Faith Elizabeth Hawkins was born on October 14th, 2010. She was born at 2:27pm, weighed 8lbs 9 oz and was 21 inches long. However she didn't come without a few "issues" along the way.
The day before she was born we had a NST (non-stress test) done in which my amniotic fluid levels were low so my doctor wanted to have me induced the next morning. I am so absolutely against being induced so I was really upset about it. However it ended up working out... in the end. Jeff left work after the test and came home. Our dog, Nala had been in a cat fight a few nights before and was having trouble
walking ever since. I knew that we had to take her into the vet that afternoon if we were going to be in the hospital for the next few days. So we did and turns out she had an infection from the cat.. but then when I was giving Nala the pain medication she spit it out and Minnie, our little Min Pin ate it before I could get to her. So she was throwing up all night from the overdose. This caused us to be worried about both our dogs while we were at the hospital. 
That night I couldn't sleep as I was filled with anxiety over the dogs as well as having to be induced. I slept maybe one hour. I kept trying to tell myself over and over again that I would go into labor on my own but to no avail. I called the hospital at 6am but they told me to call back at 8am as they weren't ready for me yet. Bummer is what I was thinking. I couldn't sleep as it was and this wasn't going to give me anymore energy.
At 7:30am my Mom called and during our short conversation I had a pretty intense contraction but I shrugged it off as I've had those a million times before but then 6 minutes later I had another in which I felt that it was stronger than the last but shrugged it off. By 7:53am I threw the phone at Jeff and told him to call the hospital to ask what time we should come in but then told him to tell them I thought I
was in labor now. The pain was extremely strong and I knew it couldn't be false labor this time. I immediately hopped in the shower. I did not want to go to the hospital without "perfect" hair and makeup. Crazy, right?! Well the contractions were definitely becoming more intense. I was so happy to have gone into labor on my own without having to be induced. What a blessing that was! We arrived to the hospital at 9am and Jeff drove 90-95 miles down Bangerter 
Highway which freaked me out but I guess he was freaked out about the pain I was in. By the time I got admitted I was dying from the pain and had to hold onto the handrails on the bed for each contraction. I was at a 5 when I was admitted and hadn't moved. I knew that I wouldn't be able to handle more pain for much longer so I asked for the anesthesiologist. He came in at 10:30 and I was so happy to be numb. I couldn't feel a thing. It was fabulous! 
At 1:10pm I felt some pressure but I was still only at an 8. About a half hour later I felt more pressure again pretty close together and Dr. Bowman came in right then. She checked me and I was 10 and a +2 so I only had to get a +3 and then she would be crowning. It was time to push. Jeff was excited when he finally saw her head. He kept telling me how much hair she had. He couldn't stop saying it... then because of all the hair on her head when she was crowning Jeff turned to me and said, "Baby, you've got a hairy vagina!" I burst out laughing along with our
nurse. I couldn't even finish the push. Had to wait for the next contraction. Sometimes, Jeff can really make me laugh! She was then crowning and they called the doctor in. On the very first push Faith was out. She was face up so she swallowed a lot of blood and they had to suction it out and pump it out of her stomach. Poor thing! They laid her on my stomach and I was overcome with emotion at the sight of my little girl! She was perfect! 
They took her away to clean her and Jeff was over there snapping photos. As they finished cleaning me I longed to hold her in my arms and I looked up and saw Jeff walk from where she was to the window. His face was red and full of tears. I immediately broke down at the sight of him and called him over to me. We hugged each other and cried together. She immediately had changed our lives and we were both unbelievably happy!
We left the hospital the next day rather than staying. We both felt we would be more comfortable at home. And we were. The dogs as you can see love her and Minnie jumps up at every sound she makes to see if she is alright. I had my first breakdown that night. She had an upset tummy (I now realize) but at the time I wasn't sure what was wrong as she was so fussy and I couldnt' get her to eat. So after a while I handed her to Jeff and then just broke down and started cyring. Jeff was so
sweet as he pulled me into him and told me I was a good mom and everything was alright.
We visited my mom's house a few days later and the funniest thing happened. I was changing her already poopy diaper when I grabbed a wet wipe and she began pooping some more green runny stuff! I started laughing as I held the wipe there to catch it all. But the stuff kept
She is now a week old and I am so beyond sad about it. I want her to stay a newborn forever. She is so precious and Jeff and I are both so in love with her! Its overwhelming. All the sleepless nights are soooo beyond worth it when I hold her in my arms. I love you Faith!
