First days at home

Both Timo and Mattias have been quite sweet with baby Hawk. As soon as we got home from the hospital, Timo got out a baby doll and made it a bed & found a pacifier and blanket for her. Now Mattias has started taking care of the baby doll, too. And meanwhile they have given soft kisses and touches to Hawk. It certainly is an adjustment to have a baby in the house, but they love their new brother and aren't showing any jealously or frustration at him (mostly the tantrums occur because Mattias wants a certain car or Timo is protecting his Lego creation...).

Much of May has been rainy and cool, though we still try to get outside as much as we can.

We had a few visitors the first few days home, including the Woodys, the Daniels and the Whiteheads - all of who brought food and flowers and had a chance to meet Hawk.

Gayle, our 3rd grandma, who is such a help to us!

Blake and Erin and 2 month old Asa

attempted group photo in the midst of the older two playing outside

Baby Hawk is here - the birth!

Here, here, here! Baby Hawk is here! Eleven days before his due date, and in fast fashion at 5:13 AM.

Hawkins Nehemiah, 6 lb 7 oz, 18.5 inches

A bit of his birth story...

For a couple of weeks leading up to his birth-day, I had been having contractions starting and stopping, with many nights of little sleep, and I kept wondering how much longer I could hang on! On a beautiful warm spring Tuesday (May 2nd) the boys and I took a picnic lunch to campus and had a great time riding bikes around, seeing a few friends, and enjoying the end-of-year feeling among the students. That evening I noticed contractions regularly every 10 minutes, but didn't overthink it since that had been happening so much. At 1 AM I woke up with a strong contraction, and phew! I got up to do some stretches and calm myself down. I fell back asleep but woke up again at 2 AM with the same thing; once again I got up to stretch but then got back in bed. At 3 AM I woke up again with contractions and the feeling that I had fluid leaking. That was strange because I had never had my water break during labor before except at the hospital right before pushing. I got up to go to the bathroom and realized, "Yep, this is my water breaking. Yep, these contractions are 5 minutes apart and quite strong." I woke Jim up and we both suddenly got into high gear packing our bags. We called Gayle Woody to come over to stay with the boys; thankfully she had her phone on and came over quickly.

We left our house about 4:15 AM and drove through the mountains in the dark early morning to the hospital in Franklin, about 25 minutes away. During the drive I really had to focus to relax through the contractions, and I was texting back and forth with Fiona (doula friend who now lives in Hawaii and was awake at 10 PM their time), who gave me great advice and helped me calm my mind to be mentally prepared. I also was texting and getting prayer support from Heather, my friend in Cape Town, who was awake at 10 AM their time!! We got to the hospital and checked in at the emergency room, and then we had to wait 10 excruciating minutes for the nurse from the labor/delivery floor to come fetch us and escort us upstairs. The nurses checked us in and took us to the triage/exam room since they were full and no delivery rooms were available. They calmly asked us questions and started their procedures - but I was having a hard time being patient because I knew this baby was going to come very soon and very quickly! I tried to communicate the urgency but I don't think they realized how close we really were.

Sure enough, while the nurse was typing on her computer and taking a blood sample from my arm, I realized the contractions were nearing the end (getting VERY intense) and that I was going to be ready to push really soon. I looked at Jim, who was holding my hand the whole time and helping me relax through the contractions, and tried to say, "No, really, this is IT." Then suddenly I said, "I'm ready to push" (or something to that effect) and there was no holding back!! The nurse jumped up and yelled out the door for more staff to come: "Baby is crowning!" and by the time two nurses made it back to the bedside he was already halfway out. They scooped him up and put him on my chest! What a sense of relief and astonishment!

It was 5:13 AM, an hour after we had left home and only about 20 minutes since we had gotten to the room. The doctor arrived about 15 minutes later after the birth!!

Our tiny exam room. This was about 3-4 hours later when they finally came back to weigh and measure him.

6 lb 7 oz! And very tightly scrunched up - so he was hard to measure, but they got him at 18.5 inches.

After a long morning of phone calls to family, and trying to decide on his name, a postpartum room finally opened up and we moved there for that day, one night, and the next day (coming home about 5 PM on May 4th). As soon as we saw Hawk we knew that he had some physical issues with his feet, hands, joints - and perhaps mouth and jaw. We weren't sure what to think; we were so glad that he had arrived but we felt confused and scared, too, because he clearly wasn't a 'normal' healthy newborn. Much of that first day he cried loudly and wasn't interested in trying to nurse. It was hard to settle him down. Thankfully the nurses and pediatrician were calm and no one commented on his feet or said anything to treat us differently. And even though we didn't know what health issues he was facing, the pediatrician was confident that he wasn't in any immediate health danger, and she supported us taking him home and getting to bond with him. I am so thankful she felt that way right from the start.

The next morning the two older brothers arrived to see "baby Hawk"!

And Jaja drove up from Durham right away on the 3rd!

We love you, little Hawk!

Baby shower - what! Yes, indeed!

Several months ago Ling offered to host a baby shower for me - for boy #3 - and she was so excited by the prospect of hosting "her first baby shower", I couldn't help but get excited too - plus I knew that she would make some great Chinese food! It's amazing to see that after 14 months here, we actually do know people and have some friends to invite! On the day there were 13 women able to come; half of those were from the international office that work with Jim, and the other half are friends here (mostly who I've met from Bible study, not counting a few others who couldn't make it).

Sadie also got involved and offered to coordinate/emcee during the shower, and she brought some  thoughtful elements that made for a really special afternoon. Because of that I really felt encouraged and supported, and more mentally prepared for this upcoming birth.

At the beginning for introductions, each woman lit a small candle and then said her name, followed by "the daughter of... who was the daughter of...". It was interesting to hear the names and see how far back each woman could name her grandmothers! Then we put all our candles in the center of the room. Later, we went around again and each woman shared a thought or blessing or prayer for motherhood. Each woman had also written down the blessing and then pinned it onto a 'prayer flag'/pennant that Sadie had sewn and hung across the room. She even collected blessings from extended family, even though they weren't there in person. (We haven't hung it up at home yet because the pennant is very long, but we will!)

Sihong and Ling hard at work making a ridiculous amount of steamed buns

And look who made it into town just in time (literally with minutes to spare) for the shower - Hannah!! It was amazing to have her there, along with Adella. (They had just arrived for a spring break visit.)

Hannah, Sadie, Gayle and me - wonderful ladies!

Adella and I enjoying the view from Ling & Steve's front deck

Kaitlyn (co-worker with Jim and also our neighbor) got in on the bun shaping too

Miranda and Scarlette (from Jim's office) hanging their blessings on the pennant

Sadie made yummy date 'truffles'

I got stocked up on cloth diapers - it was awesome!

All of the women (minus Tiffany, who was taking photos all afternoon) - Erin (and 6 week old Asa was in the background), Betty, Gayle, Adella, Hannah, me, Kaitlin, Ling; Sadie, Miranda, Scarlette and Sihong

Of course, afterwards I went home laden with gifts and leftover Chinese food! I didn't get a photo of it but of course Timo and Mattias went crazy for the buns. Mattias gobbled down three very quickly and possessively; it was quite cute.

The Exploits of Mattias - The Beginning!

Tuesday, October 28th: the birthday of our 2nd son, Mattias Jack!

7 lb, 14 oz. Born at 7:58 PM.

Tuesday morning I had my 39 week appointment with the Doctor, and soon after that appointment my labor started to finally kick in and not let up (after two weeks with a lot of stops and starts), so we checked into the hospital around noon. Jim's cousin Thea took care of Timo, while another friend picked Mom H up from the airport. She had planned last month to arrive on this day, hoping it would be at a good time - and it turned out to be the perfect day for her to arrive! We checked into the hospital midway through the labor process so we would have plenty of time to get situated and be prepared once the baby came. (We - and the doctor - were a bit wary after Timo's birth, which happened only 25 minutes after arriving to hospital...)

Our good friend Fiona was with us for the entirety of the labor and delivery. She is a trained doula and was absolutely amazing at helping me to relax and stay focused when I got tired and later at the end when the contractions became intense. She also played a critical role in assisting when the pushing started and Mattias arrived so quickly! By the end of the labor, contractions progressed very fast and suddenly I was ready to push - Fiona ran out to get the staff, and the nurses and Doctor had to rush in with barely a minute before he was born! It was 7:58 pm.

A belly shot! Soon after we checked in (labor was still very manageable). Fiona is due with her 3rd daughter in a few weeks!

First bath. He cried of course but was calm afterwards.

Since Mattias was born in the evening, Mom and Timo waited until the following Wednesday morning to come to the hospital to meet him.

Hurray, Jaja is here!

We took a few minutes to intentionally introduce Timo to his baby brother and talk about what had happened. Timo was holding a car to show Mattias, and then he waved "Hi" to him and wanted to touch his head, his fingers and his eyes. Then Timo was off to jump on the couch and run around the hospital with Daddy.

That evening our friends Andrea and Parker visited us and got to meet Mattias.

And now we are ready to leave! After our second night in the hospital, we were discharged the following morning and were home in time for lunch on Thursday. Mattias cried when we put him in the car seat and of course had a wet diaper that leaked all over the place, but he was calm and quiet in the car until we got home. It felt great to be home and think back over the last weeks of waiting for his birth-day and wondering how it would go. In the end, it was so smooth and we are very, very thankful for a safe birth and a healthy son!

Timo's first days at home

Timo was born on Thursday and we came home from the hospital on Saturday. Mom Hawkins (or "Jaja" to her grandkids) arrived on Friday afternoon to help out during these early days. As she usually does when she visits, she arrived laden with all sorts of goodies, such as boy clothes (thanks to Rachel and others, too!), some clothes for Gemma, and foodstuffs of various kinds: coffee and walnuts from Costco, nice black tea, lentils, rice, and a bag of the crumby bits and sugary dust that always gets left over at the bottom of a box of frosted mini-wheats. I will save this to mix into my next batch of granola! In fact, Mom H. seems to be passing along a bag of the stuff every time we meet, which I suppose makes her my official supplier frosted-mini-wheat-crumby-sugar-y-dust supplier, aside from that left over from my own consumption of this lovely cereal). 

1st (of many to come) Father/Son self-portraits

And although she's only been here for 4 days, Mom has already made the following: 4 gigantic loaves of Cuban bread; sausage-lentil stew; dhal with rice; and a big batch of potato dough rolls. She is presently working on pork chops! Thank you, Mum, for your generosity!!

Mum with her yummy Cuban bread.

Timo sporting his little spiky hair!

Welcome home, Timo!

Jaja had Gemma help her form rolls - Gemma was loving it and was very proud of her handiwork.