On September 6, 2012 Micah Wesley Quirk Nelson was born at 7:10pm
He is a new joy in our lives and we are so grateful he has arrived and is part of our family. My pregnancy with him was challenging, and I was on bed rest at 33 weeks for preterm labor. Thankfully he held on until almost 39 weeks. We went to the hospital aruond 10 am because I was having contractions but still not regular enough for active labor. So we went in so I could be checked. My cervix was 6 cm dialated and 70% effaced. The nurses decided to have me walk around for an hour and then checked me again. I was now almost 7 cm, 75% effaced and still not in active labor. They had me walk another hour and I was then a full 7 cm and still not in active labor. Because I wanted to labor naturally, they thought about sending us home until I went into active labor. Chris and I had discussed with our doula the options we had for inducing labor because I was exhausted. After weeks of laboring at home, my body was tired and I was ready to deliver. So we discussed with our doctor the posibility of starting pitocen to keep my contractions coming regular, and at 4pm the pitocen started. I was grateful to kickstart labor since it was clear my body was ready. After a couple hours I was ready to begin pushing. During a few of the contractions Dr. O'Connell told me not to push, as Micah was coming out, he was twisted in the umbilical cord. He was so twisted that they thought that was the cause of my body not staying in active labor. I remember at one point the doctor said, "we have one shoulder." During labor I kept thinking "why is there only one?" But thankfully after Micah was untwisted and a couple more contractions, he had arrived!
In some ways labor felt easier because I was in active labor for only three hours, although I didn't have any food in my body to fuel me for the labor process, so I was so glad to eat after delivery! Micah was born at 7:10pm, he was 8lbs. 6 oz. and 20.25 inches long. He was a big boy! Thankfully I was able to labor naturally with him with a little kickstart of pitocen to help us along.
Malia is enjoying being a big sister! She is absolutely amazing too! She has taken very good care of Micah and loves to teach him all the things she is learning and tries to comfort him when he is upset. She is proud to be a big sister and takes her role very serious. One morning she came running into Chris' and my bedroom and yelled, "mommy daddy, baby Micah smiled at me!" She was so excited that he recognized her and gave her a big smile.
Our friend Tomek took some pictures of us at Garden of the Gods when Micah was about 5 weeks old. Tomek took some amazing pictures and we are so thankful! Most people know I love pictures, and I love them even more when they are pictures of my family. I feel so blessed to have a wonderful husband and two sweet children that I get to have a fun time with. I couldn't ask for a better family.
I love this picture above because Malia is kissing her daddy and the kissing camels are in the background! But she was also rubbing Micah's head to ease his crying. She has such a sweet spirit and is so loving!
Malia is almost 3 1/2 years old! She is constantly talking as she learns so many new words each day. She always surprises us. It's amazing to think she use to be as small as Micah... actually smaller since he was so big at birth! Now she's a little girl and growing up so much. She loves lollipops... in case you couldn't tell by the picture! She loves to play outside in the dirt, run, and explore, and she loves to dress up as a princess too. She's our little girly girl who plays in the mud! Although she doesn't like to be called a little girl, and always tells us, "I a big girl now, I not a little girl."
So we are entering a new stage of life again. It seems like things are always changing when you have kids. Each stage of life goes by quickly, and thankfully when we are in the middle of it it seems to last forever. Micah is now 8 weeks old, and at his 2 month doctor visit we discovered he is the average height of a 5 month old! He's growing quickly, and he's healthy and strong. He's already pushing up with his arms when he is on his tummy! The doctor was amazed and said they like to see that when they are 4 months old! So Micah is doing great!
When Micah is awake he is very alert. He loves to watch us and began tracking with his eyes early on. He also often turns his head to follow our voices. He's become good friends with our cat Zola, since she likes to sleep in his crib every chance she gets. There have been many times where I have been nursing Micah and Zola will jump up and brush her tail against his head. They've become pretty good friends. Micah likes our dog Roxy too, although she's not as interested in Micah as Zola has been. I'm sure once Micah is older Roxy will have another little one chasing her around the house.
I am thankful for new life and new beginnings. I don't know what the Lord has in store for us as we move forward in life, but I trust that all these new beginnings will bring new adventures as we journey through life together.
