Cohen's Birth Story

In true second-child fashion, Cohen's birth story has yet to be documented in written form.  Nor has his baby book been filled out.  I just a couple of weeks ago finished making a Shutterfly book of his first few weeks of life.  All of these things I did in a much more timely manner for Caedmon.  But that's how it's supposed to go, right moms?  I'm just upholding the tradition.  Or that's my excuse anyway.  Wait.  Who am I kidding?  MY EXCUSE is that I have a 2 year old and a now 1 year old running around, climbing on things, and in general scheming against me on a daily basis!  I'm pretty sure one day they will care more that I prioritized keeping them alive above blogging their birth stories.  Yeah.  Let's go with that.

Sweet little Cohen.  His due date was September 23rd, but he didn't really care about that.  My doctor was fine with me attempting a VBAC, so we were hoping for that (a natural childbirth).  But given the emergency c-section nature that Caedmon entered the world in, we had set up some parameters that we felt comfortable with, and weren't willing to risk anything serious in the name of natural childbirth (as badly as I did want to experience that). I'd had my membranes swept a couple of times, and although contractions did begin, they weren't necessarily strong enough to kickstart labor.  I had even called my mom and given her the ok to travel up to Kentucky from Alabama because the contractions were so regular, I thought surely they would increase in intensity.  Nick and I even went into the hospital on Saturday the 24th.  The lady who checked us into the L&D unit said "oh, you're past your due date; they won't send you home!"  Oh yes they will and yes they did.  The contractions just weren't strong enough to be making much of a difference.  Inducing with Pitocin poses some risk of ovarian rupture for a VBAC, and my situation just wasn't favorable for that at that point.  So, they sent us home.

My doctor called me later that afternoon and asked if I wanted to go ahead and schedule a C-section, or keep waiting.  She'd had an opening come available, and we honestly were hoping little Bug would come sooner rather than later.  (For reasons any 9 month pregnant lady would tell you, but also because my Dad had just undergone major surgery, removing a cancerous tumor, and was at home on the mend by himself while my mom was up here with us waiting for baby.)  So the timing was tricky, but I felt in my heart that this baby just was not going to come on his own & did not want to risk undergoing anything similar to Cade's birth.  So we scheduled the C-section for 1pm the following Tuesday, September 27th.

If you're scheduling a birth (which I did not love doing - just because it's so counter to nature), you might as well make the most of it, right?  Whatever the cut-off time was for me to be able to eat, I set an alarm (2 or 3am I want to say?), and Nick and I got up and drove to IHOP and brought a very large breakfast home.  I ate some of it, regretted it, and then went back to bed.  I showered that morning, fixed my hair and makeup so as to look as camera-ready as possible (ha), and off we went to the hospital with our bags in tow.  Mama stayed home with Caedmon, and she & Nick's mom were going to switch off watching him so that the other could come see baby brother at the hospital.

While we were being checked in by the nurse, we realized that she was the same nurse we'd had for Caedmon's birth!  She actually remembered us and said she had wondered how he was doing.  It was a sweet moment.  Then when the anesthesiologist came in, I remembered him and knew that he was also the same one we'd had for Cade's birth!  So funny.  We made sure to get a picture with our team once Cohen was born.  :-) 

Let me just say that it was *super* weird to walk into the operating room and hop up onto the table you're about to be cut open on.  Everyone is prepping all these sharp objects around you and you're just all like, "hey, I'm here, & I'm awake, & I'm watching you."  The epidural was also super weird to me.  Anyway, eventually, Dr. Evans came in and she scratched my belly to make sure the epidural had worked, and she said, "Sweetie, I just put claw marks on your belly and you didn't flinch so I'm gonna go ahead and start."  This made me feel... as comfortable as one can feel in this situation, I suppose.

I was told that when they went to actually pull him out of me I would feel some pressure on my chest cavity.  Did I ever!  So weird.  I actually remember screaming.  And then he was out!  We had asked Dr. Evans to use the clear drape so I could see him as they lifted him up.  He had so much hair!!  Dr. Evans held him up to the drape & said "Give him a kiss, Mama."  So I did.  And then they whisked him over to weigh & measure and clean him up.  Of course he was crying, like most babies do.  But the nurses even commented on how long he would hold his breath to inhale before he let out the long, loud wail!  It was funny.  (And by funny, I mean - it was something new and different at first, but the novelty certainly wore off by nightfall when we all just wanted to sleep.)

Nick got to hold him and bring him up close to me until I was all sutured up.  Wonderful nurses took some great pictures for us, and then we rolled off into recovery where my mom got to come in and meet little Cohen.  Since my dad couldn't be there, she called him and told him what we had named him - Cohen Michael, his middle name being named after my father.  It was a sweet moment.

Then we were taken to the postpartum area and settled into our room.  Nick's mom and my mom worked together to wrangle Cade and bring him so he could meet little brother.  This was basically a disaster, as Cade really just wanted to crawl up under my hospital bed and mash buttons, etc.  But we were all together as a family, and those are sweet and funny memories to hold onto. 

See what I mean?

Cade with his big brother gifts.  Eye on the prize, buddy.  Eye on the prize.

Overall, we had what I would call a pretty "normal" hospital stay and birth, and I am very thankful for that.  We left the hospital and headed home with our little Cohen on Friday afternoon, and began to settle in at home as a family of four.

The name Cohen means "priest," and we certainly feel that he is already living up to that name, as he ministers joy and love to us on a daily basis.  He is the perfect addition to our family and we are so thankful he is with us.

All Things New

When I started this blog, it was really just a place for me to share Caedmon's birth story with friends without posting the entire thing on Facebook.  Or creating a Facebook "note" - if those things even exist anymore.  (I honestly have no idea.)  I didn't want to commit to "blogging" at the time, and I'm quite glad that I didn't.  Because it's been a good solid two years since I blogged!  

I did have a blog I updated consistently while I lived overseas for a time, but I felt like I had very specific and interesting things to say.  For almost 10 years following, I didn't really feel like I had anything to say that was worthy of being blogged.  Not that those years weren't noteworthy, formative, or good - they definitely were!  During those years, I moved to Louisville, made some incredible friends, met & married my husband, and even had two kids!  I truly learned & grew so much during that time.  But... I just didn't feel that I had very much to "say."  But now, I do feel like I have some things to say.  And this makes me *really* happy.  Not that I am special, or have any exclusive revelation from the good Lord that I must grace you all by imparting (ha).  And not that I think anyone even really *needs* the things that I have to say.  I don't even really have any expectation that people would (or should) read my words.  There are SO MANY blogs out there with way more inspirational thoughts, creative pictures & layouts, recipes and tips for how to do life... I certainly feel that I have very little to add to the conversation (or noise).  I am merely thankful that I finally feel some stirrings to share some of the things that are or have been on my heart.  And I am thankful to have this blog as an outlet for that.  I have also been told by several people lately that I should be writing, which does happen to be something that I enjoy doing, so this also allows me to pursue that hobby more.  So if ANY of the things I share should resonate with, bless, encourage, or spurr on anyone who happens to take the time to read what I write, then hallelujah.  I count this blog worth my time simply because I feel that I have things to say, and I am saying them.  If they should benefit anyone else, then all the better.  

That said, I would love to begin sharing some of the things God has been doing in my life, heart, and family lately.  I won't share them all in this one post, and they probably won't necessarily be in chronological order.  I would also like to clarify upfront that I still am not committing to blogging very regularly or consistently at this point.  I do, however, hope to blog more than once every two years.  😉 

∽

I feel like this past year has brought on significant growth in my life both in general as a person, and spiritually as a child of God.  The addition of a second tiny human into our lives last September (our precious Cohen-Bug) threw me into a fire I certainly was not prepared for (but really. who IS actually prepared for a fire?).  Along with the typical challenges that come with learning to parent two little ones instead of just one, there were quite a few challenges we experienced with Cohen as well.  Nothing major - thankfully.  (I do fully realize how small my troubles seem when I see friends with babies in the NICU for months & other illnesses or disabilities that are upon them.  But still, they were new & difficult challenges to me all the same.)  It was a very difficult and sometimes dark season for me, and I know it was tough for little Cohen as well.  Poor guy didn't really start smiling regularly until he was about 7 months old!  (Now he smiles so much!)  And of course the difficulties affected Nick and Caedmon, too.  I began seeking out the counsel & wisdom of friends, as I suspected there may be some Postpartum Depression involved in this.  I am sooo so very thankful for the people in my life who stood by me and encouraged me through this time.  I could not have made it through that time without this community of people.  

Our sweet Cohen-Bug

Right as I was beginning to suspect some Postpartum Depression, my dear friend Lori passed away.  This was incredibly sad for me, as Lori was the first close friend I have had to pass away.  I had the privilege and honor of getting away for about 72 hours and was able to make the drive to Mississippi & see her before she died.  This was so dear to me and I will never forget it.  On this trip, I also got to see my precious professor from college, Dr. Paul Cotten, who also passed away this year, too.  I knew in my heart when I saw him that it would be my last time this side of heaven.  

Shortly after Lori passed away, a friend invited me to attend a women's Bible study at another church.  I was skeptical of it because I had actually never been a part of a "women's Bible study" before & I had some preconceived notions of what I thought it might be like.  But I knew I needed community, and I knew I needed to be in the Word, so I pushed myself & went.  Some of my preconceived notions were accurate, and some of them were not.  Still though, I continued to press on, trusting that God would use it regardless.  And of course, He did.  The name of the study was "All Things New," and we studied the book of 2 Corinthians.  It wasn't the most earth-shattering study I've ever attended, but God definitely used His Word and His people to encourage me to keep plodding along.

Then came summer, and all of the wonderful things that come with it.  Caedmon turned 2, and I *love* planning (& celebrating!) a good birthday party.  We went to baseball games, concerts, visited family in Alabama, watched fireworks, blew bubbles, swam, caught fireflies, & spent lots of time together as a family, relishing each new experience for the boys.  It was good for my soul.  

Our family at Caedmon's Daniel Tiger themed 2nd birthday party

Over the course of the year, I had also really begun putting down more roots at the church Nick and I attend here in Louisville, New Life Church.  For those of you who know more of my story, you'll know what a big deal this is, because it has not always been easy for me to accept this church as "my own."  More on that in another post, but suffice it to say that God did a huge work in my heart in allowing me to become more connected at church and feel as though I belong.  He even led me to put this testimony into words, & provided an opportunity for me to share it with our entire church!  (I'll be sharing that testimony in another post, too.)

It is really just an amazing feeling to know that God is at work in my life and heart, and I am so so thankful for this.  We live our lives in season, yes.  Sometimes those seasons are marked with immense growth, and sometimes they are not.  They may be marked with great joy or great sadness.  Or, they may not be marked with anything (seemingly) significant at all.  But trust me.  Whatever season you are in, it IS significant, and God IS at work whether or not you can see it or feel it.  Our God WILL NOT leave us stagnant, and I am so thankful!  He promises us in His Word that “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)  Praise. God.  

So whatever season of life you are in right now, dear friend, take heart.  For our God truly IS making all things new.