diff --git a/src/agents/extensions/memory/sqlalchemy_session.py b/src/agents/extensions/memory/sqlalchemy_session.py
index 038f845..20f0555 100644
--- a/src/agents/extensions/memory/sqlalchemy_session.py
+++ b/src/agents/extensions/memory/sqlalchemy_session.py
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ from sqlalchemy import (
     TIMESTAMP,
     Column,
     ForeignKey,
+    Index,
     Integer,
     MetaData,
     String,
@@ -122,18 +123,10 @@ class SQLAlchemySession(SessionABC):
                 server_default=sql_text("CURRENT_TIMESTAMP"),
                 nullable=False,
             ),
+            Index(f"idx_{messages_table}_session_time", "session_id", "created_at"),
             sqlite_autoincrement=True,
         )
 
-        # Index for efficient retrieval of messages per session ordered by time
-        from sqlalchemy import Index
-
-        Index(
-            f"idx_{messages_table}_session_time",
-            self._messages.c.session_id,
-            self._messages.c.created_at,
-        )
-
         # Async session factory
         self._session_factory = async_sessionmaker(
             self._engine, expire_on_commit=False
@@ -180,21 +173,28 @@ class SQLAlchemySession(SessionABC):
                 await conn.run_sync(self._metadata.create_all)
             self._create_tables = False  # Only create once
 
+    async def _serialize_message_data(self, item: TResponseInputItem) -> str:
+        return json.dumps(item, separators=(",", ":"))
+
+    async def _deserialize_message_data(self, item: str) -> TResponseInputItem:
+        return json.loads(item)
+
     async def get_items(self, limit: int | None = None) -> list[TResponseInputItem]:
         await self._ensure_tables()
         async with self._session_factory() as sess:
-            if limit is None:
+            if limit is not None:
                 stmt = (
                     select(self._messages.c.message_data)
                     .where(self._messages.c.session_id == self.session_id)
-                    .order_by(self._messages.c.created_at.asc())
+                    # pick up the top-n new messages here, then reverse the order below
+                    .order_by(self._messages.c.created_at.desc())
+                    .limit(limit)
                 )
             else:
                 stmt = (
                     select(self._messages.c.message_data)
                     .where(self._messages.c.session_id == self.session_id)
-                    .order_by(self._messages.c.created_at.desc())
-                    .limit(limit)
+                    .order_by(self._messages.c.created_at.asc())
                 )
 
             result = await sess.execute(stmt)
@@ -206,7 +206,7 @@ class SQLAlchemySession(SessionABC):
             items: list[TResponseInputItem] = []
             for raw in rows:
                 try:
-                    items.append(json.loads(raw))
+                    items.append(await self._deserialize_message_data(raw))
                 except json.JSONDecodeError:
                     # Skip corrupted rows
                     continue
@@ -220,7 +220,7 @@ class SQLAlchemySession(SessionABC):
         payload = [
             {
                 "session_id": self.session_id,
-                "message_data": json.dumps(item, separators=(",", ":")),
+                "message_data": await self._serialize_message_data(item),
             }
             for item in items
         ]