Welcoming...
Micah Charles Schulz
Born Saturday, February 11 at 5:42pm
8 lb 10.5 oz; 20 inches long
We are so thankful to announce the safe and healthy arrival of another baby boy! God has been so good to us over the past two weeks and answered many prayers.
Labor Story (if uninterested, please skip the next few paragraphs): Throughout the last few weeks of my pregnancy, I had enough contractions to get me dilated to a 3.5 by my 41 week appointment on Friday the 10th. At that appointment, we decided to be induced the next morning.
Saturday morning, we arrived at the hospital a little after seven. I was GBP so they got me started on IV antibiotics and hooked up to the monitor while I got checked in. Per my request, the doctor agreed not to start me on pitocin unless I didn't progress after she broke my water. When she broke my water at 10am, I was dilated to a 4.
After my last labor experience, I was ready to do whatever it took to avoid pitocin. As soon as the doctor left the room, the nurse let me unhook from my IV until my next dose and take off the monitors for a bit. We left the unit, ran up and down the stairs several times, and power walked the halls of the hospital for a couple hours. At the end of the day, Matt's phone pedometer said we had walked 4.5 miles.
At noon (two hours later), I was dilated to a 5. Just enough for her to let me stay off pitocin. More stairs, more laps. At 2pm, I was a 6. Contractions started getting uncomfortable, so we stayed in our room after that. I used the birthing ball for awhile, then moved to the bedside. At 4pm I was at a 7. Doctor was still happy without pitocin. I moved into bed and spent the next hour and a half there until it was time to push, then only pushed through about three contractions before we got to meet our sweet little baby boy!
God answered our many prayers for a better labor experience this time, and we were very thankful.
And now...the beautiful miracle that came from it all: our new baby boy! He has been a very alert baby since the very beginning!
We had no problems with nursing, no health issues, and no bilirubin problems. He did get a little jaundice after leaving the hospital, but nothing the doctor was concerned about. Again, many reasons to give thanks to God!
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| Our First Family Meeting |
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| Levi was a little tired that night and wasn't quite sure what to think! |
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| The kids came to see him through the window again! |
Monday afternoon, both Micah and I were cleared to return home!
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| Daddy and Micah all ready to go! |
...let the fun begin! Our first night home had me a little nervous. It took Micah a bit to settle down for bed, but once he fell asleep he gave us 2-3 hour intervals through the night and stayed asleep between feedings.
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| Brenda and the kids were our first visitors after coming home! |
Micah has been a good baby so far. He has been calm and content, and he hasn't really cried much since the first evening home.
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| Our other visitor for the week was Issa! Micah may be our only baby with the privilege of meeting her as a newborn! |
Levi has been doing great as a big brother. We tell him not to touch the baby's face, so he leans in and gives him a kiss instead. He calls the baby "bee-bee" or "Ma-ma" ("Micah" - not to be confused with the "ma-ma" that means "Mommy" or the "ma-ma" that means "Grandma"). And he always likes to go see the baby when he wakes up in the morning.
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| Grandma Massner with her grandbabies! |
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| We are very thankful for the extra space that our minivan provides! The middle row is now filled up with baby seats. This scene makes me feel a little crazy. |
So...how is it going? Life with boys twelve-and-a-half months apart really hasn't been too bad yet, mostly due to all of the help I have had from Matt and my mom, for which I am SO thankful. Levi still takes two naps a day, so usually Micah's naps can line up with him at some point. And Micah has been a good baby, giving me decent stretches of sleep at night. I have been feeling great this time around, so as long as I get my naps things go pretty well.
Life is busy now. And it is exhausting. There is pretty much always a need to be filled. But it hasn't been stressful.
I may be speaking too soon. It has only been two weeks. But I am starting to realize I can survive. Hopefully things continue to go smoothly as I begin to spend a few more days on my own with the boys.
By God's grace...I have been learning to rely on Him and not worry about tomorrow. He gives me grace for the day, and he will give me grace for tomorrow.
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| One week old! |
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| Such a sweetie! :) |
