Napping in the CA heat :)
Love the swaddle...
Crashed out
Warming up after his first bath :)
Morning time with DaddyWell, its been 2 weeks since River was born and we find ourselves falling more and more in love each day. It's been such an overwhelming experience with this little guy - I can't help but feel like God has really out done Himself on this one. We were thankful to simply have a healthy, living son...but God's grace has seriously washed over us in such crazy amounts these last 2 weeks with our little River boy...he's more than we ever could have asked for. We find ourselves crying multiple times a day - only this time not out of mourning and sadness, but from a place of gratitude and joy. I'll be feeding River and the next thing I know, I'm weeping out of thankfulness. Can this be real? Do we really get to keep him? It feels too good to be true.
River has been an exceptionally sweet baby (I know, I'm the Mom and SUPER biased.) Joseph has been sleeping through the nights starting the 2 night home. I've been getting on average 5-6hrs a night (although not in a row!) We wake up full of life every morning. Most of the time we have to just sit and stare at him...pinching ourselves and giving each other looks of amazement. This is our son. This is our family. Sarah's little brother is finally here. Our desert has literally been filled with rivers of joy and fountains of life. I keep telling people that I haven't felt this good in years!! It's been quite the journey for us and I'm so thankful to be on this side of it all.
I wanted to share briefly about our birth story, just because it too felt like the hand of God. We had a wonderful doula by the name of Ronda Berea...if any of you live in SB county and are pregnant or thinking about starting a family - we HIGHLY recommend her (email us or leave a comment and we can get you her phone number.) I had been having early labor signs for a good month before River came, so when the contractions started that night, I was in total denial. My parents were in town and staying at a local hotel, so earlier that day I went and spent a good hour or so "floating" in their pool. It felt so good to relax and feel somewhat weightless. Later that afternoon I got a much needed haircut. When your hair dreads only minutes after brushing it, its a good sign its gotten too long. That evening was really mellow too. My parents cooked a great meal and we retired for the night.
Like I said earlier - I was having consistent contractions, but wasn't convinced it was the real deal. Around midnight (Joseph had already been asleep) I had a feeling it may be real labor. The contractions started getting more intense and longer in nature. I let Joseph sleep a bit more and eventually woke him. We called our doula around 1:30am and by that time, the contractions were even more intense. We labored at home until around 4:30am when Ronda suggested we head to the hospital...seeing it was our second birth, things were progressing a bit faster and she didn't want to have to deliver River in the back of our VW bus :) (for the record: Joseph and I wouldn't have been opposed to this option, ha!) When we arrived at the hospital ER, they offered me a wheelchair, which I kindly said no to...I wanted to walk to keep the labor going. After stopping several times throughout the walk up to the second floor (to breathe through contractions), we made our way to the labor and delivery floor. This was one of the hardest moments for me - as I had all kinds of Sarah memories come flooding back. I did everything I could to hold back the tears, as I knew if I let one come out, it would be the end of my focus on labor...grief would have strongly taken over. So I pushed through and made it to our room.
At that point, they checked me and I was 7cm dilated and totally effaced. After the required 20min of being monitored, I got off the bed and labored for 2 more hours with Joseph by my side through every contraction. Around 6:40am my water finally broke and after just under 40minutes of pushing, we had a beautiful River enter our world at 7:14am. So from start to finish it was just over 7hrs of labor. We made it through 100% natural, which in this day and age is tough at the hospital - they push every kind of drug and alternative your way...Joseph had to ask them to not do several things as he knew I wanted to make it through all natural God willing.
So that's the story. It was obviously painful, but overall pretty quick...thankful we were able to spend most of the time laboring at home before the last 2 1/2 hours at the hospital. Maybe next time we'll have the joy of giving birth in the VW :)
Thanks again to everyone who has been praying for us. It's been quite the journey walking with this little man - I can't help but see Sarah in his face...I know his big sister is looking down on him with as much joy as we have. The next season of life has just begun :)
River has been an exceptionally sweet baby (I know, I'm the Mom and SUPER biased.) Joseph has been sleeping through the nights starting the 2 night home. I've been getting on average 5-6hrs a night (although not in a row!) We wake up full of life every morning. Most of the time we have to just sit and stare at him...pinching ourselves and giving each other looks of amazement. This is our son. This is our family. Sarah's little brother is finally here. Our desert has literally been filled with rivers of joy and fountains of life. I keep telling people that I haven't felt this good in years!! It's been quite the journey for us and I'm so thankful to be on this side of it all.
I wanted to share briefly about our birth story, just because it too felt like the hand of God. We had a wonderful doula by the name of Ronda Berea...if any of you live in SB county and are pregnant or thinking about starting a family - we HIGHLY recommend her (email us or leave a comment and we can get you her phone number.) I had been having early labor signs for a good month before River came, so when the contractions started that night, I was in total denial. My parents were in town and staying at a local hotel, so earlier that day I went and spent a good hour or so "floating" in their pool. It felt so good to relax and feel somewhat weightless. Later that afternoon I got a much needed haircut. When your hair dreads only minutes after brushing it, its a good sign its gotten too long. That evening was really mellow too. My parents cooked a great meal and we retired for the night.
Like I said earlier - I was having consistent contractions, but wasn't convinced it was the real deal. Around midnight (Joseph had already been asleep) I had a feeling it may be real labor. The contractions started getting more intense and longer in nature. I let Joseph sleep a bit more and eventually woke him. We called our doula around 1:30am and by that time, the contractions were even more intense. We labored at home until around 4:30am when Ronda suggested we head to the hospital...seeing it was our second birth, things were progressing a bit faster and she didn't want to have to deliver River in the back of our VW bus :) (for the record: Joseph and I wouldn't have been opposed to this option, ha!) When we arrived at the hospital ER, they offered me a wheelchair, which I kindly said no to...I wanted to walk to keep the labor going. After stopping several times throughout the walk up to the second floor (to breathe through contractions), we made our way to the labor and delivery floor. This was one of the hardest moments for me - as I had all kinds of Sarah memories come flooding back. I did everything I could to hold back the tears, as I knew if I let one come out, it would be the end of my focus on labor...grief would have strongly taken over. So I pushed through and made it to our room.
At that point, they checked me and I was 7cm dilated and totally effaced. After the required 20min of being monitored, I got off the bed and labored for 2 more hours with Joseph by my side through every contraction. Around 6:40am my water finally broke and after just under 40minutes of pushing, we had a beautiful River enter our world at 7:14am. So from start to finish it was just over 7hrs of labor. We made it through 100% natural, which in this day and age is tough at the hospital - they push every kind of drug and alternative your way...Joseph had to ask them to not do several things as he knew I wanted to make it through all natural God willing.
So that's the story. It was obviously painful, but overall pretty quick...thankful we were able to spend most of the time laboring at home before the last 2 1/2 hours at the hospital. Maybe next time we'll have the joy of giving birth in the VW :)
Thanks again to everyone who has been praying for us. It's been quite the journey walking with this little man - I can't help but see Sarah in his face...I know his big sister is looking down on him with as much joy as we have. The next season of life has just begun :)
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3 comments:
Hurrah! Well done for drug-free. I was blessed to have our babies that way and am still thankful all these years later. I know it's not always possible, but when it is, it's something to celebrate.
xx
Thanks Lisa, it for sure felt like something to celebrate! The way you have to fight to give birth naturally is pretty disappointing...but we live in a "quick and easy" nation, so what can you expect, huh? Thanks for keeping in touch, can't wait to introduce you to this little guy someday :) Enjoy your time of solitude and writing while the family is off!
so beautiful.....
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