TWO Beautiful Babies!

On our second full day here in Kansas City, Grant and I had the privilege of meeting our niece, Lillian Kate. She is beautiful and we had been waiting for this moment since she was born four days before Naomi. We are so excited and rejoicing every day over her life, and how well she is doing in the NICU. She is awesome!

On the same day, my brother and sister-in-law came over to meet Naomi, Lillian's cousin. We cannot wait for them to get to meet face to face and watch their little friendship bloom!

The Adventure Begins!

My hospital stay was one of the most intensely bittersweet few days I have had in a long time. Here I am, holding my brand new baby girl, trying to comprehend how deeply blessed I am to have her in my life. At the same time, every time a nurse/midwife/staff member walked into my room, I was having to say good-bye. I cannot explain how greatly I love the hospital I have worked at for the last two years. I have made friends for life, had so many incredible experiences, and all the while, established the early foundation of my practice as a labor and delivery nurse and future midwife. It was so sad and emotional for me to have to bid this place farewell, as we anticipate a move to Kentucky.

(Me with my midwife Ginny, and fellow nurses, Nikia, Jessica, Val, and Whitney.)

One fun thing to keep my mind off of saying dozens of good-byes was watching Grant become an instantly incredible dad. :) Here he is, changing his first meconium diaper!

Success!

Below is a picture Grant thinks should be in a medical textbook. Ha. The nurse pictured is Lisa, my labor nurse. If anyone should be in a textbook, it is her! She was fabulous and I felt bonded to her ten times more than I had before - and I really liked her before! I am so grateful she was with me. The baby did have a bilirubin level that was on the line, so we decided to have her spend a few hours under phototherapy lights since we were getting ready to travel to Kansas the next week. We didn't want to let it get out of hand.

Once her levels were down, we headed on out. After many tears saying good-bye - poor Grant, dealing with his hormones-plummeting-already-emotional-postpartum wife - we left the hospital. Look at that precious thing in her car seat for the first time! So sweet!

The Day Naomi Joined the World...

On the morning of July 27th, we headed to the hospital to welcome our daughter into our lives. At least, that's what we were hoping. I was a little unsure of our decision to head in, based on the fact that I was not feeling regular contractions, and what contractions I was having, I had absolutely no pain with them. Over a number of days however, I had dilated to 7cm! This is nothing like what I was expecting to happen, so I was confused as to when we should go to the hospital. I prayed on Monday night, July 26th, that the Lord would give me some kind of symptom that was different so that I would know when to notify my midwives. After a night full of nausea, which I had not had before, I decided to have a nurse friend come check my progress. Monday, I had been 6cm, Thursday morning, I was 7-8. We sat chuckling together, that I was that far along and happy as could be. Being 30 minutes away from the hospital, we decided I should go in.

(walking the halls at 8-9cm)

I couldn't be more grateful at how the birth progressed throughout the day. Things really got going after I took 50mcg of Cytotec, a cervical ripening agent. I felt my first true contraction at 9cm and had about three hours of hard work after that before Naomi showed her face (despite the fact that I was so far dilated, she was still pretty high up and had a bit of work to do to descend). We had a wonderful waterbirth, which was one thing I really wanted. Waterbirths have been shown to provide nearly equal pain relief as epidurals and also a gentle birthing experience for the baby.

(Grant, being my fabulous coach. Me, biting my washcloth.

Lol. Hey, you do what you have to!)

At 7:45pm, our lives changed forever. Our beautiful little girl was born and we have not looked back since. She is perfect in every way. She did get stuck at her shoulders during pushing, and bless her heart, fractured her right collarbone in the process. :( I apologized to her later. She is really starting to move that shoulder a lot more, as it was a bit lazy for the last couple of weeks.

(Our sweet, chunky baby.)

(A family of three.)

I will never forget the day Naomi was born. Her name means "beautiful and pleasant" - a true description of her labor and delivery (especially the first 9cm!). We are so incredibly blessed with this healthy little girl and have been in a constant state of grateful prayer since she joined our family. What a joy it is for Grant and I to partake in the gift of being new parents together... we praise Jesus for His grace and gift of life to us!

Naomi Has A Big/Little Cousin!

We are proud to announce that my brother (Drew) and his wife (Julie) have welcomed sweet Lillian Kate into the world! Slightly earlier than planned, Lillian arrived at the gestational age of 29 weeks and two days, due to some complications with mom. The Lord has had his protective hand involved all week as the events have come about, and Lillie is thriving! Julie is improving as the time passes and hopefully she will be feeling lots better within the next day or two. We couldn't be happier, more proud of Drew & Julie, and more anxious to get back to Kansas City to meet this precious little peanut.

So Naomi went from being the third grandchild on my side of the family, to officially being the fourth. :) Just goes to show we never know the plans of God, but that He is always good and always faithful.

Things Are Lining Up...

The chips are falling into place. Items on lists are being crossed off. We are gearing up to meet our baby and couldn't be more excited. I was officially 38-weeks pregnant on Friday and we found out the day before that our little one is weighing in at 8 pounds 2 ounces, at least as far as technology can tell! (They can sooo be wrong, so we'll see!)

This weekend I have reflected on all that has had to happen to get us to tonight. Almost ten months have passed since this baby came into being. We have packed up all of our belongings for the second time as a married couple and placed it all in storage. We have found temporary dwellings at a friend's house. The other night, Grant and I partook in a fun activity of covering my torso with plaster strips to make a cast of my belly. HilARious activity to do together. Friday around noon, I lost my mucous plug. Now please pardon me, while I recover from nausea after typing the phrase, "mucous plug." Early contractions have begun - now don't get your panties in a twist... they're not anywhere close to being regular. :) Hmmm. Did I just say panties and mucous plug in the same paragraph? This must be a blog written by a nurse!

Other things in order? My brother is safely off to Kanakuk Kamps for the next month, which was a milestone for my mother to get through so that she can feel comfy driving out to Indiana when I go into labor. I have also completed the majority of my hospital shifts, as I look ahead to a week with very little on the schedule! I truly cannot wait to relax and patiently await the arrival of my daughter. Wow. My daughter. This really is surreal.

RECAP:

38 weeks = down.

House = packed up.

Shelter = found.

Belly cast = completed.

Brother = at Kamp.

Plug = gone.

Contractions = started.

Work = finished.

Waiting = in process.

I believe she can now show her face any day.

Oh, alright. You can have a belly pic. Not my best hour and at the same time, close to my best hour yet. :)

(No) Home, Sweet (No) Home

Well, we are officially out of our house. After a looooong few days of final packing, lifting (on Grant's part, not mine), and cleaning, we are finished! And TIRED. We are currently sitting in the guest room at Kristin and Ryan Zeeb's house, some wonderful friends of ours who are sharing their home with us until the baby comes. We are so grateful for their open arms to help us in this way these last few weeks of my pregnancy. All of our belongings are now in a storage unit and transition has truly begun - not the 9-10cm kind of transition, just moving!

For those of you who don't know, we will be here in Upland, IN, until a number of days after the baby has come and then we will head to Kansas for a couple of months. We will be living with my parents, soaking up some good time with family and friends while Naomi is so new. Then at some point, date undetermined, we will move on out to Louisville.

While I would love to be settled in a home with a nursery all set up and organized, I am reminded regularly in my heart that our home is truly where the Lord is. You don't need the perfect house, perfect job, perfect external set up... we are simply placing our trust and stability in the constancy of God. We cannot wait to meet our baby and focus on the celebration of her life - even if there is no room at the inn. :)

I Got Pictures!

Below are some pics of a really fun baby shower that my mother-in-law's friends threw for me in Kansas City. I forgot my camera, so it took a bit to track down some pictures - thank you, Megan Birdsall! It was hot, but we avoided the rain, so we were grateful!

Visions of Peggy and what is to come... :) This woman cannot WAIT to get her hands on Naomi!

But she'll just have to wait, because she is still cozy in this LARGE, growing belly!

Again, blessed beyond belief by gifts from wonderful friends and family.

At the end of the shower, Grant made his appearance to do the manly job of loading up the car. Here, he announces that he is the reason for the gathering in the first place. I have to say honey, you're right. We wouldn't have been there without you!

Had to include this group pic with some of our favs - how can you not love the Birds?! Thanks to everyone who came, visited, and showered the baby and me. We are ever so grateful and thrilled to get to spend more time with all of you during our stay in Kansas City this Fall!