Introducing Washington Nathanael

I wanted to have this post up earlier, but it has been busy around here. We are all adjusting, recuperating, and learning our roles all over again. Everything is so markedly different than last time. In many ways, we are parents for the first time again, since we have never really had a newborn at home before. Washington’s name was not a sure thing until we got to the birth center. I made an executive decision. We has been waffling between two names. We liked Washington, which was a unique first name, but not a name that was so weird no one would have heard of it. Nathanael is one of Ries’ middle names.

I prayed, and so did a lot of other people, that we would have a normal birth with a healthy baby and the Lord was very good to all of us. After a short 8 hours, Washington made his arrival on March 21st, the first day of Spring. We got to the birth center just in time, around 5:15 am and he made his appearance by 6 am sharp! I plan on writing a longer post about the labor and birth, but no today. Washington was born in the tub because that is where I happened to be!

Washington was helped into the world by the two ladies that were there for Gideon’s birth, Jackie Griggs and Camilla May, two wonderful midwives that have been huge blessing to our family. Ries was, as always, an awesome coach. Daddy was happy his son waited until the last basketball game was over Sunday night to start making his arrival known.

While I was being tended to, Ries took Washington out to meet his big brother and his Gammy and Gampa. Gideon asked why Wash was not talking yet. We stayed at the birth center for a few hours.

Washington and I were both fine, great actually, so after a few hours of rest and lunch, we all headed home. Here is a picture of us with Jackie before we left.

After getting home, Washington was surrounded by grandparents.

Washington and Papa

Washington and Oma

Gideon wants to hold, kiss, snuggle, and poke Wash at every opportunity. I know this will only get worse/better. Gideon is enamored of his little brother and does not seem too disappointed that Wash does not play with him yet. Gideon seems to be taking the addition in stride. He is enjoying having his Daddy home and the full attention from Daddy he has been getting. His tune may change when he is home alone with Momma in a couple weeks.

Our first day home, Washington also had visits from Aunt Katy, Uncle Keith, Cousin Kaiden, Uncle Christopher, and Aunt Sydney. We handed out bottles of homebrew to visitors and Ries toasted with a glass as well.

As I said in the beginning of this post, we are learning about newborns all over again. It has been fun having this tiny thing here with us. He eats like a champ, a marathon sucker like his brother, who thinks eating every 30-40 minutes is life or death. Good thing I am already used to that kind of eater. My milk came in yesterday, so Wash has been happily filling his belly.

He looks very different from Gideon at this age. I am looking forward to seeing his little personality as he gets older.

We have been very blessed.

There are more pictures on my flickr page here.

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Being Pregnant, Again

In the past few weeks I have been thinking about the state of pregnancy, mostly because I am now pregnant enough that it effects what I can physically do. At 28 weeks, there is no doubt that there is a wiggly person in my belly, making it hard to tie my shoes. All in all, I have easy pregnancies. I do not get overly sick and I feel pretty good. That being said, the second time around is just not the same.

The first time you are pregnant, everything is amazing and wonderful. Your growing belly is exciting. You do not know what to expect at all and so it is all great, even the random pains.

The second time is pretty blah. I already know how this works. While I do feel wonderfully fertile, I am no longer amazed by my growing belly. It is a bit grotesque in some ways. I am annoyed that I get out of breath so easy, that it hurts my belly if I bend over too much, or that putting my head anywhere lower than my shoulders results in instant heartburn. I still love to feel him move around, but Brother (the baby’s prename thanks to Gideon) likes to poke me in uncomfortable places in a way that Gideon never did. One of my ankles swells, just one, and my hips are sore.

It is hard to chase a 2.5 year old with 14 extra pounds in the middle of my body. Overall, it is just more tiresome this time around.

I wish I could have a pint of good beer with my husband some evenings and I am more irritated about that than I was last time. While the end result, a sweet baby, is definitely worth all the little annoyances and I do not mind having a great diet to give Brother the best possible start, I am not sure I want to do this again.

I am looking forward to Brother being here. I am looking forward to breastfeeding again. Giving birth and feeding a baby from the power of my own body makes me feel very powerful and productive. I love that part of having a wee babe, so if we could just rush forward 12 weeks (and the house would magically be ready) that would be great.

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New Breastfeeding and Maternal Care Studies

Ries sent two breastfeeding articles to me yesterday and I thought I would pass them along here. Good maternal care, which this study says is directly related to breastfeeding success, should be important to every woman and everyone who knows a woman. In March, a study was published that brought light to the fact that the United States C-Section rate was up to 32%. Amnesty International puts us behind 40 other countries in terms of maternal care. When I heard this on the radio last month, they also said that the study found that the C-section rates for minority women were even higher.

The Childbirth Connection has a good explanation of why the C-Section continues to go up. I know this is an emotional issue for many. I am just passing along information. “And knowing is half the battle.”

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