During my third trimester of pregnancy, I thought a lot about the upcoming birth and wondered how the drama would all unfold. Any birth has its surprises, and as it turns out, Isaac’s was no exception.
I went into labor at 40 weeks, 6 days—technically overdue—but perfect timing in my opinion because my mom had flown in the night before. When I woke up on Monday I had this overall sense of relief wash over me, just knowing my mom was in our house. I wasn’t surprised when my contractions started later that morning.
My three other labors were fast and furious, but this time things were different. I had slow, steady, building contractions throughout the day with a few minutes “off” between each of them. It was seventy degrees out, so Adam and I spent a lot of time out walking in the breezy sunshine. Adam’s mom came by around 11am and took our three kids back to her house for the night. The midwives arrived, gave me a quick check (I was 5 cm), then set up the birthing pool in our bedroom.
For most of the afternoon, the midwives hung out on the porch, giving me the space to labor with just Adam. I got in and out of the tub a couple times. It felt heavenly, but seemed to slow my labor down. So I’d get in when I wanted a break, and then Adam and I would go out walking again when I was ready to get things moving. My mom bustled around all afternoon, organizing things and doing laundry and just generally making everyone feel comfortable. Every now and then she’d sit down next to me and I’d tell her to distract me with conversation.
By 6pm, I was suddenly very tired. My midwife Jess asked if I wanted another check and I said yes. When I heard I was 8-9cm, I asked her to break my water, knowing it would speed things up. I remember telling Adam, “It needs to get worse before it gets better.” I took a deep breath, Jess broke my water, and I immediately felt the baby moving down. My pain level shot way up and I couldn’t open my eyes anymore. I had to work hard to get the baby out and all I could think during the pushing stage was, “this kid is HUGE!” At 6:24pm, he was in my arms. And I was right! He weighed in at just over 9 pounds—our biggest baby.
There is no feeling quite like the end of labor, when you swing from maximum pain capacity to total relief and joy all in one climactic moment. There is no more beautiful sound than a screaming newborn a moment after his birth, and our Isaac cried right away.
Eventually we laid him down on the bed and the midwives took his vitals and examined our new baby from head to toe. And that’s when we found ourselves surprised—the two middle fingers on Isaac’s left hand are smaller than normal.
At our pediatrician appointment the next day, the doctor said it’s most likely from an amniotic band, a random anomaly. There’s a lot we don’t know yet. I wonder how will it affect him in the future. Will it limit him? How will it change as he grows? Most of all, how will he feel about it?
Right now our next step is to take him to a specialist in a few weeks. But in the meantime, we are focusing on what we know for sure: our sweet Isaac was fearfully and wonderfully created by God and he is a blessing to our family. We can’t stop kissing his soft, squishy cheeks or waking him up with our camera flashes.
We don’t know what the future holds. But now is not the time to stress about it. Adam is off work this week and my mom is here to help for two weeks. I’m officially on a babymoon with my new little man, just nursing and cuddling and falling in love with my baby. Everything else can wait.
What a sweet little bundle he is! Love all the hair and those cheeks! I was praying for you all through and know every detail truly went just according to God’s plan. Of course, that also means that our Father has little Isaac’s finger situation well under control too. Maybe it will just be one of those odd things he gets to show his own little ones someday.
Regardless, we know God has good plans, full of hope for every finger, toe, hair, and that sweet kissable nose!
What Aron said! Congratulations! Mimihugs to you all.
He’s beautiful! He looks like your husband! How wonderful that your mom was able to be there. Blessings to you and your family!
Love…. Love….Love….
He is oh so handsome and he’s got dark hair like his daddy! in the header photo the smaller fingers aren’t even noticeable so if it’s a permanent thing, I hope it won’t cause him much problems in life. He is such a sweet blessing, Linnea – congratulations and enjoy that babymoon!
Oh Linni,
we are so excited for you guys. I keep thinking of you all and the JOY (and chaos) that a newborn brings to a home. We are praying for you all, and are thankful that little Isaac is held in the hands of an almighty God who knows all things.
He is precious
We love you and send kisses over the sea for those beautiful squishy cheeks xxxxx
Congrats Linni and Adam!!! What a blessing to you all and welcome to the family Isaac. Hugs and kisses from snowy Sweden
So adorable! What a great birth story. So glad Marni could be there with you guys! I can’t wait to see him.
Love you!
Julia
What a beautiful and wonderful picture of God’s gifts in life,
A precious child, and what a name such as “Issac” LAUGHTER.
And “William” A STRONG WARRIOR” (Celtic).
Aron stated it so beautifully! His name is perfect, as is he!
Whatever the course of his physical growth, God has a purpose, and none of us knows what the future holds, but the good news….we KNOW WHO HOLDS OUR FUTURE!
Adorable photos, can’t wait to cuddle him.
GG Patsy
Congratulations Linnea and Adam! Kim and I are very happy for you during this special time.