Hello.
It’s been awhile, huh?
I really miss this space and I feel ready to jump back into it. So instead of explaining all of the reasons that I was away, I’m just going to jump back in
First things first- our sweet Oliver! Oliver Blaise was born at 2:19am on Feburary 4th and measured in at 6lbs 12oz and 20 inches long. He is our smallest baby so far and he is absolutely perfect.
His labor and birth were smooth and uncomplicated. He was supposed to be born at home with our midwife Sandra, but after weeks of funky blood work with falling platelet levels and a scare over low amniotic fluid, we went for a second opinion with a wonderful Catholic doctor in Austin and made the decision to have baby at the Seton Medical Center in Austin. The decision was made at 39 weeks and it was a hard change for me, especially so late in the game. But God always knows what He is doing and I know that this birth was exactly as it should have been. Labor started early Friday morning with real contractions waking me around 6am. They continued regularly throughout the day and slowly grew closer together- I knitted, napped and timed all day. After a nice quiet dinner out alone with Dash, we headed to the hospital and were admitted around 10pm. It was a dark and stormy evening- very reflective of my state of mind. Although I have been through two successful, all natural births, I still found myself feeling anxious and burdened. I was also excited- soon we would be holding our baby!- but for some reason, this time around I didn’t feel energetic or positive. After settling into our room (now accompanied by our dear friend and birth angel Christine, who was with us through Asher’s birth, as well as my mama and little sister) I settled into the bed and found that I was tired, body and soul, and all I wanted to do was sit in silence and breathe peacefully through the strong and consistent contractions. Besides getting up to sit under a warm shower for a bit, this is how I spent almost the next four hours. Each time a contraction came, I breathed meaningfully and silently offered it up in prayer- so many prayers for so many different intentions. Finally Christine asked if I felt like trying to get up and go to the bathroom- change to an upright position- and I knew it was time for the part I most dreaded. As I anticipated when I agreed to get up, the time to push came and a few short minutes later I was holding our baby guy (Dr. K barely made it in time to catch him- it went so quickly!). He was almost born on the feast day of Saint Blaise (his middle namesake), but needed just a few more hours. Our first day/night with baby was not quite what it would have been at home (I was missing my other two babies so badly!) but it was peaceful, filled with kind nurses, and we were released to go home after just one night.
We are home and settled in now. Routines and schedules don’t exist for new babies, but I have plenty of helping hands around and Oliver fits into the family mold as if he has always been here. I know that we are surrounded with much love and many prayers- thank you for that friends, we always feel them!
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It’s a bit ironic that I am finally posting on Ash Wednesday. Here at the start of the Lenten season I find myself, as usual, with a desire to draw back from the glow of technology and the world of social networking a bit and spend more time in quiet prayer or with a good book, but this place is different. This place, for me, feels like a quiet place where I can share, reflect and feel grateful- and I truly miss it here. We will see how much time I find to post now that I have three in my charge and plenty of reading and knitting lined up in my queue
But life is good, mountain and valley, and I love being able to record it all here.
Peace and blessings friends! I pray that you all have a fruitful and reflective Lent.
by mamabrit
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