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.

Early spring picnic

It was warm and mild for a Sunday afternoon picnic of scones and yogurt parfaits (from a couple weeks back). This has become one of our stand-by Sunday supper menus. The boys are SO fast on their bikes now. And we love the view from the top of the courthouse/library hill! And love that it is just a few minutes walk from our house!

Already this view has changed a lot this spring - much greener. All the tulips and dogwoods are blooming, and the cherry trees have moved from blossoms to green leaves; the hills in the distance are turning green. Apparently the nearby strawberry farm is also open for picking, so we need to head there soon!

Brief visit from Rachel

For the Freys' spring break, Rachel drove herself and the three kids from Florida up to Durham (we just missing overlapping with them), and then drove alone out here to Sylva to hike for 3 days/2 nights along the Appalachian Trail with a friend. So we got to have her stay with us for the night before they started the hike, and the night after they finished! It's wonderful - even briefly - to share life and spend an evening chatting. And of course Timo had to give Auntie Rachel a tour of the house (even though they were here last summer), and then both boys showed off their bikes on a short walk over to the library.

The weather was really chilly the day she arrived and there was still some snow on the tops of the hills! But that night and early the next morning it rained, and then the weather cleared and was milder and mostly sunny throughout their hike.

Rachel and her friend Christy, who also lives in Gainesville and drove up for the hike (and supplied most of the gear)