Welcome, baby Isaac!

We have a baby boy! Isaac Caleb was born on June 10 at 8:52 p.m., weighing 8 lbs 14.3 oz and measuring 22.5 inches in length. We are so blessed! What joy has been put in our lives!


Every baby is a miracle, and the Lord certainly proved that again with Isaac. After Caedmon was born via cesarean, it became my strong desire and prayer to be able to deliver future babies without surgery. The "plan" throughout this pregnancy was to have a TOLAC (trial of labor after cesarean) and deliver more naturally. I didn't anticipate any real bumps in the road with this plan, and was more than a little surprised when our Little One didn't decide to make an appearance before our due date - or really make any measurable progress in that direction. As one of my doctors described to me, going post-term was our first "strike" against a TOLAC, since it's not safe to artificially induce (via drugs) following a cesarean.


I had a routine check-up and sonogram that morning, knowing that we would have to make a decision about scheduling a c-section, depending on what my doctor gathered from the sonogram. The estimated weight of our baby was 8 lbs 8 oz - exactly the point at which the baby is considered "large" and not a good candidate for a TOLAC (trial of labor after cesarean). Strike two! But, we were shocked to learn that at my appointment I was already dilated to a 4 (I'd been having contractions that morning) and my doctor was willing to give labor a try, since I felt so strongly about that. We grabbed a quick lunch in the cafeteria and checked into the hospital!


After a couple of hours of getting settled, signing paperwork, drawing blood samples and having IVs put in, and feeling significantly stronger contractions, the anesthesiologist came and gave me an epidural - ahh! Daniel and I had a very enjoyable afternoon of discussing names, resting, and getting a few last-minute loose ends tied up while my body did the work of labor. Finally, around seven hours after we checked in, it was time to start pushing! We were so excited to know we would be meeting our baby soon!


Daniel was a great support and encourager during the last phase of labor, and after an hour, little Isaac was ready to make his appearance! What joy - our hearts were bursting! Everyone in the delivery room was surprised by his size - my doctor even commented that she might not have let me go the TOLAC route if she had known how big our boy really was! I guess the Lord just wanted us to see what HE can do, if we give Him the chance!


Like his brother, our little Isaac is truly a miracle and gift from God. His arrival didn't happen the way we expected, but in the end the Lord's plan was better and more amazing than what we planned for ourselves. We are so thankful for these precious boys!

Caedmon is settling in great to his role as big brother. He is curious about Isaac, but willing to leave him alone when we ask him to (naptime). He is working on saying his name, so far it's pretty much just "Ise" but we'll get there. One thing is for certain - his Dada is home right now, and for Caedmon, it doesn't get much better than that. We are basking in the opportunity to spend these precious days at home all together!

HAPP-y! (Birth day?)

We have been so amused lately by Caedmon's ever-increasing ability to repeat what we say, sometimes remembering words and using them on his own later. Even more than what he is able to communicate to us is what he understands, both in our conversations with him and with others. After he mimicked several things that I'd said one day this week, I jokingly asked him if he was a little parrot, and without missing a beat, his reply was a confident squawk! (There is a picture of a parrot in one of his books and we make the sound when we see the picture - even though we haven't read that book in several weeks, he apparently remembered it!)

Although his vocabulary is growing rapidly, our favorite thing to hear from Caedmon's lips is "thank you," which sometimes sounds more like "kan koo." He's used it appropriately without our prompting a few times now, which is even more fun. Although, a few nights ago I was combing his hair after his bath (not his favorite thing) and when I finished, Daniel suggested he thank me. He did - but it was the saddest, yet sweetest "kan koo" I've ever heard!

Our little guy is also starting to have very strong feelings about what he does and doesn't want. He usually doesn't ponder long to give a confident "yes" (more accurately, "yeah" - we're working on that!) or "no" answer to our questions. He has also become more interested in what he is wearing, sometimes refusing one pair of shoes for another or insisting that we put (and leave) socks on him, no matter how warm it is. One day recently he found a pair of Daniel's black dress socks and felt it was absolutely necessary for him to have one on - even when it was time to go outside and play. Any attempt on our part to remove it was met with strong resistance...so...he and Daniel had a grand time playing in the yard with the sock in place, even though our neighbors came over to check on him, concerned that he had hurt his leg!




One of Caedmon's new favorite things is to sing "Happy Birthday." My birthday was last Sunday, and he and Daniel surprised me with a delicious homemade breakfast in bed of Belgian buttermilk waffles with glazed bananas (oh my!) and fresh fruit. As they were bringing the tray of food down the hall, I could hear Caedmon saying "Happ! Happ!" At first I thought he was saying "help," as in, he was wanting to help carry something, but then I realized they'd been practicing "Happy birthday." Whenever he hears it sung, he gets excited, chimes in occasionally with "Happ!" and sometimes even the whole word, emphasizing the first syllable - "HAPP-y!" He's never strung together the whole phrase, but since this song has now made it into our naptime and bedtime repertoire, I've heard him say "HAPP-y day!" and include "Mama" and "Duck" as who we were singing to. His favorite part is the end, though, because he gets to clap and say "yay!" every time.

Ironically, as we've been singing the birthday song all week, we continue to have to guess and wonder when our newest family member will be joining us. Today, June 5, is our official due date, but as of yesterday our little baby was showing no signs of an imminent arrival. A sonogram revealed an estimated weight of 8 lbs 2 oz. We're thankful to have such a healthy, growing baby, but hope that he or she will decide to join us soon so that blessed event can occur without the help of another cesarean. We've been amazed to watch all the kicks and wiggles coming from the inside and are ready to see those teeny toes and sweet face in person!