On April 19th at 11:15pm, the Miller family welcomed Piper Michelle into the world. Nathan, Mackenzie and I had spent the day running some last minute errands before my mom came into town. Around 7:30pm I started having contractions, which was not alarming at first since I had been experiencing them for the past 4 weeks. Around 8:00 I thought it might be a good idea to start timing them, which never actually happened because they were coming so fast. We called Mac's babysitter and once she was picked up we made our way to the hospital.It took about 20 minutes to get to the hospital, we didn't talk much on the way there other than a simple prayer. Once we checked in and were sent up to Labor and Delivery I found out I was 8 cm dilated. When the nurse told me this news, I wanted to cry because I realized my chance of getting that epidural was slim to none. Fortunately, my contractions were so intense that I couldn't dwell on this minor detail for long. However, I vaguely recall telling the doctor that I could hold the baby in and wait for the drugs. I also tried negotiating with the nurse for her to just leave me alone. Really? What was I thinking?
After 20 minutes of pushing and the most extreme pain I've ever felt in my life Piper was born! She weighed in at 8.5 and was 21 inches long. We were about 97% sure of the name, but wanted to see her before making it official. Piper looks so much like her big sister when she was born.
Nathan was simply amazing, I couldn't have done it without him. He was my rock, he kept me calm during all of the chaos. I can't thank him enough for being there. Forgive me if it sounds too simple, but he was scheduled to be gone during this time. He is going to miss many "firsts" throughout the next year, but he was able to be there the day his second daughter was born.
So far, Piper is the complete opposite of Mackenzie. She prefers to be held, sleeps well and is easily calmed. Mackenzie is adjusting well to her new sister and loves to help out. That's not to say she doesn't have her dramatic moments, but she was having those before Piper arrived on the scene. 
