One Month Old

Tomorrow Andrew will be one month old! I cannot believe how much time flies now! One would think that living in a small town in the country would make time slow way down, but it doesn't; it goes so much faster!

Andrew is such a sweet bundle of joy and he has, so far, been the easiest baby that I've had.

What Andrew did this past month:

Andrew can now hold his head up (sometimes) without it wobbling about.

On Monday he caught my eye and I smiled really big at him and he smiled a huge smile right back at me and he even got excited!

Obviously, he can breast feed really well now and it doesn't hurt me anymore.

He eats between every 3 1/2 to 4 hours.

He sleeps incredibly well and most of the time he falls asleep on his own in his bed (and sometimes without having to cry it out).

He has been to both of his grandparents homes. He even got to sleep on Grandma and Poppy's bed.

He was baptized into the family of Christ on November 1, 2009 (All Saint's day)

He weighs 9 lbs!!

Andrew's Birth Story

Andrew was due to be born on October 9th 2009. My husband and I had been praying (and a lot of other people had been as well) that he would come on this day. The way that we saw it, this was the only day that would work with the scheduling of my husbands work (he works an hour a way from our home and his parents and my midwife were an hour away as well), so to go into labor during the week day would have been stressful on me and my husband and the baby could have come when I would be all by myself with the other three children.

But on the evening of October 9th I started the early labor process. For me ,early labor isn't really labor at all. The contractions are very easy to get through, so I thought maybe I would see the baby that night. That's not what God had in mind! That Friday night I really hadn't slept hardly at all, just mostly dosed off and on between contractions. Saturday morning (October 10th) came and I was still having those early labor contractions, so I asked my husband if we could go to the park and walk around (walking helps baby's get into position), and we did, but nothing happened.  All day I was fearful that something might be wrong, why wasn't this progressing like the other children's labors did? But I knew there was nothing wrong because I had had an ultrasound the day before and everything looked wonderful. So I just prayed and tried to catch up on lost sleep because I knew I needed to rest up for the labor, but I just couldn't sleep. Later, around 4:00  in the afternoon, I had a contraction that was different, so I had my husband call his parent's to let them know what the scoop was on my laboring and to be ready to come and pick up the children. Nothing really progressed after that.  As the sun was setting that day, we thought it might be best to have my husbands parents come pick up the children just incase my labor did progress and so the children wouldn't be there to hear it and be frightened of it.

When my mother and father-in-love arrived, my very sweet mother-in-love gave me the most wonderful foot massage that I have ever had! And then she gave Autumn a foot massage too.  It is so hard for me when my children have to leave me when I'm going to have another baby. I feel like I let them down and should be there to be their mother, but I'm torn between wanting to see my new baby and wanting to love on the children I already have. It is such  a weird feeling to describe and it has happened with all of my children (except for Josiah because he's the oldest and didn't have any siblings before him). What made the separation even worse was that Autumn, my then little baby, didn't want to hug me or kiss me good bye and it about tore me to pieces.

After my mother and father-in-love left with the children my husband and I just sat and talked. After awhile, we decided that we should go to bed and come together as husband and wife, just in case it was going to be the last time and to see if it would jump start my labor. Boy! If one ever wants to jump start their labor, they just have to do what got them that way (pregnant) in the first place :) My active labor started at 8:00pm in FULL FORCE! My husband called the doula to come check me and I was at 4cm. The doula called the midwife to come and when she arrived about 45 minutes later I was at 9cm and I had gone through transition! So I hopped into the birthing pool We all thought the baby was going to come flying out, but, after checking me, the midwife found that my cervix was stuck at 9cm because the lip of it wouldn't budge to let the baby move down. The midwife suggested that I move to the bed so that she could help me move my cervix.

I've had two on the bed births and two water births and labored in the water for all four of them.  For those of you who have labored completely on your back I don't know how you do it!! Such pain is so indescribable!! While my midwife was trying to help me all I knew was that I wanted to be back in the warm water and to be left alone! I think my midwife sensed this and after this point she just left me alone to do my own thing.

Finally the urge came push!! The baby's head must have been small because after I pushed his head out it felt like the head went back in, but the midwife said "Push more! Push more! You've just got to get the shoulders out!!" I cannot tell you how relieved I was to hear those words! It was going to be over soon and I would have my baby! After another push the baby was out and in my arms. Oh the sweet joy to see something that God had made and helped me and held me in His hands to deliver me from. This may sound strange and weird, but I think I understand clearly now what the return of my Lord will be like and how hard it will seem to go on and to live for Him. One cannot know the day that they will see their Savoir, they don't know how long the "labor pains" will last, but all they do know is that He is coming and what sweet peace they will have to be held in His arms and be told,"My lovely bride". Then they will remember the pain no more!

Andrew Levi was born on October 11, 2009 at 12:53am. My active labor was only five hours! And I'm so thankful that that's all it was :)