The biggest update besides the new baby is that last October we moved to Georgia for Steven to take a ministry position. He is the minister of families and youth at FBC Sylvania, Georgia. I like to think that I have adjusted ok to small town living, what with being from the big city and the 'burbs and all. I like it. I like the South. I like living in a small town for the most part. I think I always kind of wanted to be Southern anyway! So we love living here. Our church is great. There are so many sweet and genuine people there, and we are truly blessed that God has finally shown Steven where he needs to be in ministry. It's an incredible journey.
Moving on to this year.
I was blessed to see Steven become ordained at Trinity Baptist church in Vidalia, Georgia in January. I am so proud of him.
John turned one in February!!
Yum. Birthday Cake.
We were both blessed to become parents again in March!
I was about 16 weeks pregnant when we moved, if my memory serves me correctly. I had seen my OB in Kentucky twice, and I remember at my last appointment she told me in a couple of weeks we could find out the gender of the baby. I was sad to tell her that we were moving, because she was such a great doctor. She knew Steven was looking for jobs and she was really happy that we were pregnant again. So, after we moved, I had to embark on a journey to find prenatal care for the new baby. It took awhile, but I found out that there was a birth center in Savannah. If you don't know what a birth center is, it is basically a place where low-risk pregnant women deliver their babies with limited or no medical interventions under the care of a nurse-midwife. I had tried a non-medicated natural hospital birth with John, and that did not happen because I was in labor for two days and had terrible back labor. He was born after pushing for almost three and a half hours. I had an epidural and did not like it. I think my body just went through so much with hours of labor and then all of the pushing and the after affects of the epidural. I did not have a great recovery. So when I found out there was a birth center near us in Georgia, about an hour and fifteen minutes away, I convinced Steven that we needed to check it out. Not only is it cheaper, but it provides a more private and calming birthing experience, and that is exactly what I wanted. I did not want Pitocin. I did not want an epidural or any drugs. I personally do not want those things while I am laboring and delivering a baby. I had heard the benefits of natural non-medicated labor, and I wanted to try it again. So after a visit and a lot of confusion about whether our insurance would cover a birth center birth, we found out that we got accepted to be patients and that our insurance would cover more than we expected. So we went on with our prenatal care. We saw three different midwives in the practice, and I think it was a great experience.
Joel's birth was of course different than John's. I had heard that usually the second is at least half the time of the first. So if John's birth took about 40 hours, I could look forward to about 20 hours with Joel. Still seems like a long time, doesn't it? Well, I was so blessed, and Joel's birth only took about 12 hours total. It was a Saturday when I was 38 weeks and 6 days pregnant. I felt like I was having some contractions, but they weren't bad, and I didn't expect it to lead to real labor anytime soon. Well, later that evening I busted out the exercise ball and realized the contractions were getting closer. I called the midwife around 9pm and she told me it sounded like it was time. So after an hour plus drive we arrived at the birth center. At night. When we were both tired. Kind of like last time. We just really wanted to have a baby when we were well rested, but that is obviously not going to happen for us.
I labored through the night. I got on a birthing ball, I got in the shower some, and I moved around the room. I finally was able to get into the birthing tub and before you know it I had made it through transition without any drugs (transition is the worst part of labor, in my opinion!) and it was time to push. It happened so fast that I was not feeling mentally ready to push. I had an epidural at this point last time, and I just didn't know what to expect. They wouldn't let me deliver in the tub, so I had to get out of this nice warm bath and get on the bed. Things get kind of blurry at this point, but I remember freaking out a little and not being able to breathe. I kept telling Steven to stop touching me, and I think I was yelling at the nurse and the midwife. It seemed like I was pushing forever, but it was only 30 minutes! The baby came out and I was just amazed. It was Easter morning! I kept saying I hope he is born on Easter, and he was! He was born at 6:33 am, which is neat because John was born at 6:05pm and also on a Sunday.They said he looked big, which was suspected with all of my measurements and ultrasounds, but I was in denial. Well, he was 10 pounds and 5 ounces! That is exactly two pounds bigger than John was, and I delivered Joel a week early! The funny thing is I tried to eat healthier foods with Joel. I was on a high protein diet for most of the second half of pregnancy, so who knows if that is where the extra pounds came from. I didn't care how big he was because he was so healthy and beautiful, and still is.
A few hours old. Wearing the sweet hat that the midwife knitted while I was laboring. So sweet.
This picture was taken the afternoon after he was born, at home. That's right. We got to head home as soon as possible. I love birth centers!!
Joel at 3 months old!
Joel is such a sweet baby. I can't believe how much personality he has already. He is so smiley and adorable. I just really really love him! We are so blessed with these sweet little boys. They are a hand full, but in the best possible way!
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