Newborn Pictures + Birth Story

2 months ago, on February 8th at 10:36pm we welcomed Reuben Cash into our family. He was born a healthy 8lbs and 20 inches long and the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.I know you’re usually here for DIY projects, so if you’re not into birth stories, you can skip this post today :) But for those that love birth stories and adorable newborn pictures this post is for you!

{Newborn Pictures by Nickel Images}

On February 7th, Super Bowl Sunday, I was feeling large and in charge with only 2 days till Reuben’s due date. I had convinced myself that he wasn’t going to arrive on time so I wouldn’t be on edge each day. I planned to take our dog, Moose, to the groomer and get a few errands done.

So, of course, around

Midnight – that day (or is it the next?) I woke up feeling contractions. I tried not to get to excited and started timing them. They were coming every 3-4 minutes, but only lasting about 30 seconds.

5:00 AM – I ate 6 eggs. Um protein before a big event right?

6:00 AM – I wanted to know where I was at so we grabbed our things, said goodbye to the pets, and headed to the hospital!

6:30 AM – I got into triage and my midwife said I was only at — 2.5 cm.. (Wa.. wa.. waaaa) And to go walk around the floor for and hour and fifteen minutes. That was some good exercise to start off the — second/third part of my morning. Watching a gorgeous sunrise over the marina was a nice motivator to keep making my laps around the halls.

7:45 AM – I dilated to 4 cm! They got my IV hand set up and admitted me. I was excited, in pain, a little scared, and basically emotional and totally cried ugly happy tears.

9:00 AM – 3:00 PM (ish) –

The fun continued and I was progressing slowly. I was getting pretty exhausted. Finally I decided to hop in the shower to see if that would ease things up. No dice. When I got out, I told my husband, “I want something for the pain. I don’t know what. “

4:00 PM – In this 16th hour of labor the nurse gave me half a dose of fentanyl which allowed me to finally lay down and doze off in between contractions. I was worried that drugs would slow down this whole “get the baby out” process, but after an hour the drug wore off and the contractions came back in full fury.

Good!

Wait..

“So about that epidural..”

5:15 PM – The sweet anesthesiologist came in and preformed his job beautifully. Seeing me relax made my husband feel like he got an epidural too. 2 for 1 deal?

5:30 PM – The midwife checked me and I was at 7cm! Still progressing! Then I had her break my water (a fascinating experience) and both my husband and I passed out for 3 wonderful hours.

8:30 PM – I woke up feeling the little man’s head pushing down with each contraction (that I was hearing via the monitor). I had my husband call the nurse and midwife and they said “go for it!” I was happy (I think) that despite the epidural I could freely move my legs and feel all the feels (or a lot of feels) while pushing. It was intense. I may or may not have exclaimed “I don’t want to do this anymore!” And, as I’ve heard it usually happens, that’s when he came shooting out into the world.

I had never seen anything more beautiful in the world. My husband caught all the emotions here.

Our healthy baby boy was/is such a beautiful gift from our loving God. As they laid him on my chest for the first time I cried thank you’s to Jesus. I was so fearful in the beginning of pregnancy that such a great and beautiful thing like the baby growing inside of me would be taken away. How could I deserve something so incredibly wonderful? But a sweet friend reminded me, “this baby is a gift that God has given you to celebrate and enjoy no matter how long you get to keep him.” I pray I keep that in the forefront of my heart and prayers as I get to raise this little one. Jesus loves him so much more than I’ll be able to and I can trust his plans for him are greater than mine can ever be.

(Our sweet newborn pictures were taken when he was a week and 2 days old. I love them so much! Rachel Nickel is an amazing (and patient) photographer. He decided to be awake the whole time which made for some fussy moments, but I love getting to see his little eyes.

We love you so much little Reuben Cash. So very much.

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