Just before delivery. . .
Proud new Daddy!!! Look at all that hair! 5 minutes old
And baby makes three. . .
Daddy's hands. . .
Sweet Baby Jacob - 1 hour old
Too cute
Being born is hard work! 5 hours old
Monday was a very busy day for me!! It wasn't nearly as busy for me as it was for the new parents though!! I left my house at 7:30am and rode with Aaron and Holly to Tres de Maio, a town about 15 minutes from Horizontina. They had an 8am prenatal appointment. After the appointment, the doctor decided the best option was for the baby to be delivered as soon as possible, via C-section. None of the medical staff seemed to know why I was with Holly and Aaron. Nobody has heard of a doula and it's not common here to have "extra" help. After a while, I figured out that most people thought I was there as a translator. Because of that, I was allowed to stay with Holly during everything. As Aaron was filling out the paperwork, I stayed with Holly during the preparation for surgery. The only time I left her was when I needed to change my clothes into the sterile scrubs. Having been a CNA and phlebotomist for several years, it was kind of fun to wear scrubs again. I had to wear a hair net, shoe coverings, the scrubs and a mask (like what Aaron is wearing in the pictures above). After I changed my clothes I walked to the waiting area near the Operating Room. I met the other physician and they told me to sit. As I bent to sit down, another man grabbed my arm and said, "Du, kum vit me." I followed him to the OR and he immediately began explaining his procedure while showing me different needles and tubing. Holly was laying on the table listening. I explained everything to her, although she understood as much as I did. Everything happened so quickly. He administered the spinal analgesia and within minutes, Holly's tummy was being prepped. Aaron joined us and within minutes they were ready to introduce Baby Jacob to the world. I grabbed my camera and as I was preparing for the doctors to hold up the baby, a nurse motioned for me to join them behind the curtain. Yes, the curtain. The one that separates the parents from any visibility of the surgery. I've never seen a c-section on video, let alone four feet from where it's happening. I'm pretty sure no nurse or doctor in the States would have let me be in that position, but I was grateful for the opportunity. I watched as the doctors performed what I thought was a perfect surgery and then I saw the baby's head. He had hair. . . lots of hair. As my eyes were filling with tears, I realized that nobody was telling Aaron and Holly what was happening, or if they were, they were saying it in another language. Suddenly, I blurted out, "Holly!! He has hair!! He has lots of hair!!" I heard Aaron gasp from behind the curtain and Holly said, "He has hair?? Oh, he has hair! What does he look like?" I heard excited half laughs, half cries coming from Aaron and my eyes were starting to blur. Then, the baby was out! I loudly said, "He's here! He's here! Holly, your son is here!" I was trying to take pictures, but with tears streaming down my cheeks, I couldn't seem to focus very well. The doctor suctioned Jacob's nose and mouth and then we all heard the most beautiful sound in a delivery room, the cry of a newborn baby. He was breathing and crying and squirming and it was absolutely amazing! The delivering doctor handed Jacob to the pediatrician, who then took him to the warm bassinet where he cleaned him and monitored him for a few minutes. Then he wrapped him loosely in some blankets and handed him to Aaron. Aaron stood and stared at his newborn son with tears in his eyes. The emotions of the moment were almost unbearable! So much joy, so much anticipation, so much anxiety and wonder and awe! Watching a father hold his newborn child, moments after birth is priceless. After a few moments of staring at his child in amazement, Aaron took him to Holly's side. He held him close to her face as if to say, "Look! He's amazing! He's incredible! He's here! He's ours!" The intimate connection between a new mother and father is so powerful and a feeling that I will treasure forever. They've shared a life for some time now, but now their connection is even deeper. What a wonderful, incredible, amazing, powerful, loving, deeply emotional day!
Jacob Allen was born at 12pm on Monday. I stayed throughout the afternoon, talking about his hair, his fingers, his toes, etc., and listened to Aaron and Holly fall in love with their son. He's a little cutie, by the way. I was blessed to have some important women in my life take care of my daughter while I stayed with Holly and Aaron all day. Kevin left work early and he and Emma came to the hospital to pick me up. Emma just stared at Jacob and didn't say a whole lot. Later, though, she informed me that she was going to share her toys with him and that she wanted to snuggle with him. She said she couldn't pick him up because he was so big but that she would hold him if I helped her. She's sweet. I hugged her and kissed her and reminisced about her birth and what an amazing day that was for Kevin and me. We left the hospital in the evening. After Emma went to bed, I showered and crawled into bed, exhausted. I slept deeply for ten hours.
When I was in college, I took classes to become certified as a doula. I didn't finish all the requirements for my certification, but I have had the opportunity to be a doula with four friends now. Every experience has been different, including my own. Every birth I have witnessed has brought tears to my eyes. I am amazed by God's creation. I am in awe that he has created our bodies to carry babies and then to birth them. It is absolutely incredible to watch a baby take his or her first breath and hear that first cry and then to see them so independent from us, yet so dependent on us. This is a moment where the words I type cannot convey the deep emotion of the experience.
I was reading Psalm 139 yesterday morning. "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." I believe God knew Jacob long before he was brought into this world. He knew the day and hour, the exact moment Jacob would be born. He knew everything about him, long before Holly and Aaron even imagined being parents. God knew Holly would be the perfect mommy for Jacob, and Aaron the perfect daddy. As I celebrate with them, I cannot help but be reminded of God's perfect timing and care for our own family. I am so grateful for the incredible blessing of life we've been given. What a day. What a wonderful day! Congratulations Holly and Aaron and Welcome to our world, Baby Jacob!
PS - On a very superficial note, this is my 400th post! I can't think of a better way to celebrate than to share their birth story:) 400 posts. Wow. Not nearly as cool as a newborn baby, but wow.
