Faustina's Birth Story

As I have for the boys, I am determined to write down Faustina's birth story from start to finish. Hers is a bit of a harder story to pin down. Here goes:

As the end of my pregnancy approached, I began to really dread the drive from our hometown to the city we were planning to deliver with a midwife, two and a half hours away. Because I am a huge believer in midwifery care, we are willing to travel in order to have that care, which means the closest care provider being quite a distance away.

This time around, with being due in July when my regular midwives have summer break, I had a different midwife than usual, which came with some challenges, but overall, I was grateful to have been accepted into midwifery care at all this time around.

On July 1st, four weeks before our due date, we called in our childcare and travelled to the city. I was experiencing mild contractions, and we went in a little earlier than we might have, had we not had that distance to travel.

We were so relieved when we made it safely to the city. Tharin and I kept saying to each other, we made it. We don't have to worry about the drive now. Both of us were relieved to have not had to use the precipitous birth kit Tharin had packed just in case.

Similar to Elias' labour, we spent that night peacefully going for walks, sleeping when we could, and just enjoying the quiet hours together when the rest of the world was asleep, anticipating the coming of our little one. 

Elias' Birth Story

At almost a week old, already, Elias is already bringing our family so much joy with his sleepy, peaceful little existence. I'll come across one brother just snuggling him in my bed, another nuzzling him with little kisses, and our toddler will abruptly ask to hug him and loves to touch his fuzzy head.

I am in awe of the perfect creation of a new person, and am just trying to soak him in as much as I possibly can.

As promised, and as I have done for the other three boys, I wanted to share Elias' birth story here.

Ignatius' Birth Story

Tomorrow is the due date I was given for Ignatius, although I never even put it in my calendar, as I was so sure he was going to come earlier. Sure enough, we have already had our sweet squish in our home for three weeks.

It has been a really smooth transition so far, and I am really impressed with how the older boys are adjusting. Both of them like to kiss and hold Ignatius, briefly, and then go about their days as usual. Benedict will often sit with me while I am nursing or holding Ignatius, and has not shown any jealousy or aggression toward Ignatius. 

Benedict's Birth Story

Benedict turns one tomorrow. He is so determined to walk, and has been practicing and mastering it more each day. It is so incredible to watch how tenacious he is, falling and getting up.

I still look at him, daily, and wonder how he managed to get so big already. He is such a charming and content toddler that I honestly have loved every moment of his past year.

As planned, I wanted to write a post about Benedict's birth story for his birthday. It is crazy to think that, just a year ago, he was not quite here yet, but I was so ready to meet him.

Jerome's Birth Story

My sweet Benedict is turning one in less than a month. It is absolutely crazy how quickly the year has flown by. Sometimes I look at him, getting ready to walk and starting to say words, and I feel like I have somehow been robbed of the tiny baby that just lay in my arms and let me snuggle him.

For his birthday, I would like to post the story of his birth, but before I post my second birth story, I figured I should start by posting my first.