Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Ian Forrester

It's unbelievable to me that tomorrow marks one week since our sweet babe entered this world. As I lie here with him sleeping on my chest, my heart burns with a love and warmth I've never felt before.


Ian Forrester
Born September 18, 2013 at 11:45 AM
Weight: 8 lbs. & 14 oz.
Height: 21.5 inches
Head size: 13.5 inches
APGAR: 9

Labor started right on time, as my water broke at 1:30 AM on his due date, September 17th. Labor was a long, hard battle of thirty-four hours, but our little boy's heart rate was strong the entire time, never causing alarm for us or the midwives. 

Our birth team during the actual pushing included Mattie (midwife), Shalene (doula), Casey (nurse), Wenona (lactation consultant/nurse), and Jim (father). But Jim's role did not only fall into encourager and "cheerleader," as we had expected; Mattie offered Jim the opportunity to deliver our baby into this world. We both immediately jumped at this chance for Jim to be so involved in the birth and this went beyond our expectations. Jim's hands were the primary medical caretakers as Ian was born, while Mattie talked him through every step of the delivery, her hands were also working, but second to Jim's.

I pushed for an hour as the birth team praised, encouraged, and redirected my breath and moans. A few times they would tell me that he was so close and then I'd hear, "His head's a quarter of the way out!" What? That's not close! But it was and his head (all 13.5 inches in circumference!! That's BIG, by the way.) came out and then his whole body slid quickly into his Papa's hands.

Jim was the one who handed Ian to me for the first time, still attached with the umbilical cord, screaming that beautiful, full-of-life, newborn scream. He was so long, that Mattie and Jim thought he was all of the way out and thrust him up to me, only to learn that his ankles were still inside!

Then the most incredible moment of my life happened, as I got to hold my precious boy for the very first time. He was so aware and alert during those very first moments, looking at me, then Jim, then me.  Within the first five minutes he started nursing, but continued to scan his new surroundings the entire time. Our nurses called him the "marathon nurser" since he didn't stop for the next three hours or so, except for when they weighed him about an hour after birth.


He has a full head of hair that is a blonde-ish, light brown color, and his eyes are a bluish-grey, for now. He has long, slender fingers and long, slender feet. 

Our midwife & nurses told us that this was one of the most beautiful births they had ever attended. 

Ian's the Scottish name for John, which means " beloved" or "God's gracious gift." We chose this name because both of his grandfather's are named John and Ian has always been Jim's favorite boy name. I also really like the name Ian and tend to be drawn toward names with many vowels. This name's meaning is also very symbolic for me after going through a very difficult time in my life right before getting pregnant. Forrester is a family name on my mom's side of the family and we also like it because we love the outdoors and going to Cook Forest in the summer. We hope Ian will also enjoy spending time outside doing recreational activities! He also shares his middle name with my sister, Phoebe.  

Since coming home from the hospital on Friday, Ian has had two doctors appointments. On Saturday we learned that he does not have jaundice and that he had continued to lose weight, which is normal for newborns, weighing in at 8 lbs. 3 oz. The doctor said, "I don't see many handsome babies, but this is one handsome baby!" We tend to agree that he is handsome, adorable, charming... I could go on & on.

On Monday his weight came in at 8 lbs. 7 oz!!! We are gaining weight, people! He's still a marathon nurser, so I was hopeful that his weight would be up now that my milk has really come in. Monday's appointment also included Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM) in which Ian's full body had a few adjustments done. These are the skills Jim is learning in school and rotations and he wanted Ian to go to the best doctor for this in our area. She did a great job and Ian's suck as improved since she worked on a few things. 

Ian's had a few visitors since being born. In the hospital he met Joi, Stacy, Kristy, and Mike & Lindsay and their baby, Chappie.  While being home, he met his maternal grandparents for the first time. They stayed for two days and one night, and helped us with meals, dishes, groceries, and lots of cuddling with Ian. Grumps played the piano and Ian just loved that!! Uncle Willem came for one night and brought some cuddles. We also got to see Barb, when she brought us dinner.


There is a high and steep learning curve for all areas of taking care of a newborn, but we are enjoying every arching pee, explosive poop, and puddle of breast milk, to name a few.

Jim's the best papa I could ever imagine. He's incredibly tender with our little boy, enjoying his opportunities to soothe, cuddle, and sing to him. I must admit that in the hospital I did not change Ian's diaper or swaddle him once. Not even once. Papa swooped in every time to do the dirty work :) He is such a doting father already, involved in every step. My heart melts every time he's with him. So, this happens A LOT! After my little meltdown last night, I awoke to have a bar of chocolate placed where I tend to rest and the most beautiful, loving notes attached to the back for when I partook of the chocolate. Love him!


Other than that, Ian's probably the most photographed baby ever. We have a bizillion pictures, but not enough bandwidth to load them all! Thank goodness we got this camera to catch all of the moments we want, no matter what the light!

We are so in love with and enamored by our Ian Forrester. Life is full. 

5 comments:

  1. What a beautiful post! Ian is a lucky little boy to have such loving and happy parents to welcome him into the word! Enjoy your new miracle!

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  2. W.o.w! I've been waiting for details and so full of joy over this birth. I'm thrilled to hear that the birth went so well, despite the length...oi vey! Sounds like Breast-feeding is going amazingly well! What a lucky boy and blessed experience!

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  3. Congrats on your sweet little boy! It sounds like you had a great birth experience. I never had a doula but I am going with a midwife this time around. Hoping I can go med-free again for #3. :) Enjoy your sweet cuddly babe!

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  4. So happy to enter grandparenthood with this wonderful baby who is so fortunate with his health and his parents. Many folks have told Amy and me how wonderful it is to be grandparents. Welcome, Ian Forrester Barlow, welcome!

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  5. So wonderful to read this post, with your story and photos. He is handsome, indeed. I love seeing you and Jim delight in him so thoroughly. It is a treasure and joy indeed, from the sweet snuggles to the crazy messes, and what a journey to experience together.

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