Home Sweet Home

At home... We're a family of 4 now!

Julia has been so sweet with her little brother!  She loves holding him and giving him lots of kisses... 

My mom and dad took care of Julia after they arrived and also stayed with us for a few days after we came home.  I was so glad for the opportunity for my parents to bond with Julia.  She calls my mom "Gamma" and my dad "Po-popt."  My parents were a HUGE help around the house and with Julia as we came home very sleep deprived.  :)  I really missed them when they left but so thankful they were able to come!

Enjoying meals together

Playing with Julia

Dad got out my guitar and played songs for Julia.  That was such a fun time...  I have such fond memories of hearing my dad play guitar when I was growing up.

My mom holding Caleb

This is Caleb's favorite position.  He LOVES physical contact and loves laying on our chest.  It is so sweet.  Perhaps he'll be a snuggler!

Grandpa holding Caleb

Grandma holding Caleb

Sleep deprived!  (again, this is Caleb's favorite sleeping position.  He could stay for hours in this position... I love how his arms are all limp and his legs are usually curled up in a ball.)

Our friends Chad & Vicki visited with their 2 boys.  It was fun for them to meet Caleb and play with Julia.

Ethan's brother's family visited.  This is Aunt Lisa holding Caleb.

Cousin Ava holding Caleb for the first time

Cousin Eric holding Caleb for the first time

Julia loves being a sister!  She was so excited that Caleb was "holding" her hand in this picture (hence the huge smile!)

My friend, Angie, gave Caleb the "Little Brother" outfit and Julia the "Big Sister" shirt.  :)

Julia is so intrigued by her little brother.  She loves him.  We're so thankful that even though she has had a tough time adjusting in some ways, she doesn't take it out on Caleb.  She loves her brother so much and is so gentle with him.

Brother and Sister

Caleb's first bath at home - as you can tell he didn't like it very much!  Actually, he really liked when we poured water on his body.  But once we poured water on his hair, he was NOT happy! (as you can tell in this picture!)

Calming down from his traumatic first bath at home   :)

Hospital Stay

Here are some pictures of our hospital stay.

Enjoying our sweet boy

This is when Julia met Caleb for the first time.  Her first reaction when she saw him was to extend her arms and say "hold."  It was so cute.  So, we let Julia "hold" Caleb while sitting on my lap.  :)

When my parents heard I was in labor Saturday night, they drove through the night from Northern California and arrived Sunday morning.  This is Grandma holding Caleb for the first time.

Grandpa holding Caleb for the first time

Teta (Ethan's mom) holding Caleb for the first time

Aunt Lisa holding Caleb for the first time

My friend, Joanna, visited

Sweet boy

Before he had his first bath, his hair looked super curly.

My friend, Angie, gave Caleb this adorable "Little Brother" outfit.  It was his going home outfit from the hospital.

On our way home!

We have a son!

We have a son!  Meet Caleb Andrew.

Caleb’s Birth Story  

At my 38 week appointment, my doctor told me that my body was showing signs of being close to labor and he wanted to do a procedure called “stripping the membranes” to jumpstart labor because he didn’t want me to go past 39 weeks.  He told me he wanted me to come in that Saturday.  Ethan had to work that Saturday, but once he got home we headed off to his mom’s house to drop off Julia during our appointment.  Then, we headed to the hospital.  The doctor had told me that once he did the procedure, he would send me home and hopefully labor would start soon.  Just in case we ended up having to stay at the hospital, we left Julia’s pack n play and diaper bag with Ethan’s mom. 

(me at 38 weeks)

5:00 p.m. Saturday night   When the doctor examined me at the hospital before he did the procedure, he said I was already dilated 4-5 cm!  So, after the procedure, they checked me into one of the labor and delivery rooms because they believed I would have the baby that night or the next day. 

(me in my labor and delivery room)

6:00 p.m. Saturday night   My contractions started getting stronger and more frequent (about 4 minutes apart) but did not hurt at that point.  They just felt like strong Braxton Hicks contractions. 

7:00 p.m. Saturday night   The doctor said I was 5-6 cm dilated.  He said he would break my water when I got to 7-8 cm.

10:00 p.m. Saturday night   Doctor broke my water because I was dilated 7-8 cm.  Nothing really happened for about 30 minutes (just the same contractions I had been feeling that didn’t hurt, they were just uncomfortable).  But around 10:30, the contractions started getting strong and painful. 

11:00 p.m. Saturday night   Doctor checked me again but I hadn’t made any progress (was still 7-8 cm).  I was a little discouraged since the contractions were so strong and frequent, yet I hadn’t made any progress.  The nurse said I might deliver between midnight and 2:00 a.m.

11:40 p.m. Saturday night   I was in a lot of pain from the frequent and strong contractions.  I felt like I couldn’t handle much more and I thought to myself, “usually women feel like this when they are in transition, but I don’t want to get my hopes up because maybe I’m still only 7-8 cm.”  Well, the doctor checked me and said I could start pushing!  I was a little surprised because I didn’t feel the urge to push.  But I was excited because that meant it would soon be over!  When I first started pushing, I didn’t really know what I was doing and wasn’t pushing very hard.  But, once Ethan and the doctor told me they could see his head, I got excited and VERY MOTIVATED to push hard and get him out.  J 

12:20 a.m. Sunday morning   After pushing for 40 minutes, Caleb Andrew was born.  They immediately laid him on my chest which was super special since I didn’t get to hold Julia when she was born (c-section).  Here are Caleb’s birth stats:

Weight: 7 lbs 7 oz

Length: 20 inches

Head: 34.9 cm 

Holding my son for the first time right after he was born!

Caleb Andrew

Happy to finally meet our son!

I was so thankful for the opportunity to do a VBAC.  My doctor was very committed to making it happen and had to stay past his shift to be with me.  He did a great job and I thank the Lord for giving the doctor the willingness to allow me a successful shot at a VBAC.