Introducing Jacob Keith Greeley

Well it's been awhile since I updated, but i figured I had a pretty good excuse! We're so happy that Jacob has finally entered our family, and are slowly adjusting to parenthood!

I started having regular contractions Friday (Nov. 6th) afternoon, went to my regular midwife apt @ 4 pm and was 3cm dilated and fully effaced on exam, however, the midwife wasn't convinced that she was feeling the baby's head on the exam, and after a second opinion, i was sent for an emergency ultrasound to confirm that the baby was indeed head down and not breach (not exactly what you want to be planning for when you're in labour!). So we headed to BC women's hospital met the on call midwife and OBGYN and confirmed that Jacob was indeed head down, but had been engaged for quite awhile, so had already started to have some moulding (which is what the midwives had felt). So we took of for home with instructions for Adam to make me a good meal and for me to get plenty of rest as it was likely going to be a long night. We got home around 5 pm and Adam ran me a bath while he got some dinner started. And thats when things got crazy! Within 10 minutes or so of me being in the bath my contractions started getting REALLY intense and close together, i called in Adam and told him i needed him to stay in there with me, he however had put Pizza in the oven that was about to burn and figured not too much could have changed in that short amount of time and asked if he could finish what he was doing first, to which i replied no, you can't! Labour for the next hour was very intense, and I had a REALLY hard time finding a comfortable position to be in, my contractions we're coming every 2 minutes and lasting around a minute, Adam was calling our midwife and doula and letting them know he wanted them there NOW and trying to plan for if he had to deliver a baby at home:) My midwife and doula arrived around 7pm checked me, and said I was already at 8 cm and it was time to head to the hospital. After what seemed like a LONG drive (its actually only 5 minutes away) we ended up at the hospital, didn't even have to check in and got taken up to one of the fancy birth/postpartum suites with a huge jacuzzi tub which i laboured in for about an hour until I was 10 cm dilated and ready to push. Finally after an hour of pushing Jacob entered the world weighing 7 lbs 2 oz and 20 inches long! I was so happy to have a relatively short labour and to be able to go through it without having any pain medications, it was exactly the birthing experience that Adam and I prayed for!

Jacob is now 16 days old weighs 8 lbs 9 oz (he is packing on the pounds!), nurses every 3-3.5 hours and overall is a pretty content baby, aside from when he gets bad gas. His favorite things so far are listening to Adam play guitar, eating his hands, sleeping LOTS, being carried in a sling, and going for car rides and walks. It was so wonderful to have the help of Adam's mom and Aunt here for the last 2 weeks, so now we are going to have to see how we do it when we're on our own! I'll post some pictures below of his first two weeks!

Getting weighed

Skin to Skin with my Mom

Ready to go home

First day at home

Me and my mom

I LOVE listening to Daddy play the guitar!

1 week old, after going out to listen to my dad play a show!

Hanging out with Dad after work

Fresh from the bath

Playing the waiting game

As these last few weeks of my pregnancy come upon me I have been hit by such a range of feelings and emotions surrounding the birth of our son. I have never been one that enjoys playing "the waiting game" in fact, i have often looked back at times in my life where I wish I would have slowed down and enjoyed where I was at instead of pushing forward looking towards life's next "big event". In high school I spent so much time anticipating going away to University that I think I had Sheriff Hall's weekly menu memorized before I even got there.

Since getting married I have looked forward to a day when we would decide to have children. I thought about names, where we would be when we would have them, and often felt jealous hearing others announce pregnancy knowing that it was not the right time for us yet. And yet while I have actually really enjoyed being pregnant (minus those first few months), many times my biggest focus has been, how many weeks till the baby is here???

It is only in the last few weeks the other side of that reality hit home. I began to realize how much "the baby being here" is going to change things. Adam and I have always been spur of the moment in a lot of our planning. We love to grab a meal out, make a day trip to Washington or go away for the weekend, without giving it too much thought. It hit home the other night that we won't be doing many of those things for awhile... and then I started thinking, will we even have time for each other anymore??? Panic began to set in! All of the sudden I was more then happy for this baby to stay in me as long as possible! After much prayer and a few helpful conversations the anxiety began to subside and I remembered that I may be losing some of my freedom, but I will also be a mom, and have the gift of a brand new baby!

So now I fluctuate many times during the day between excitement and the feeling of not being sure if I'm ready for this next step, however, I'm starting to feel more and more OK with it. I am enjoying these last few weeks with my husband and trying to take as much time to enjoy us being a family of two as I can. I also lay awake at night feeling for contractions wondering is it finally going to be time for us to meet our son soon? I am living in the in between, the reality of now and what is to come and trying not to rush the "waiting game".

Redo

Well, I have attempted not once, but twice now to start up a blog and be consistent at it so we can keep all of our family and friends updated on our lives out here and baby boy Greeley when he arrives, but both times have ended terribly with me making one post and forgetting to send anyone our blog site! Here's to hoping that the third time is a charm! We have 15 days till our due date, and for me I am feeling both excited and nervous about the arrival of this new little life! It seems that in the last few weeks the reality hits of just how much is going to change! That being said, I'm finally starting to feel like our home and lives are ready for this little one to join us, so now the waiting game begins!

Murder Mystery

Friends of our recently had a "Roman Murder Mystery" dinner party.   If you have never been to a murder mystery what happens is that each guest is given a character and dress code for the night. Once you get there different things are revealed about each over the characters throughout the night and at the end each of you has to make a guess at who the murder was before the real "murder" is revealed.  Here's some pictures of the night!

The 2 pregnant girls

Maressa (Her and Nathan were our hosts for the night)

Angela was definitely one of the best dressed as "Cleptopatra"

Adam and Mark (Cesar)

Nathan, Travis (I think Travis had the other best costume of the night)  and Adam

Nathan and Adam (Adam was the priest of a cult)

News!

Hello family and friends!

Since we have lots of changes coming our way in the next year we thought that a blog may help bridge the gap from us to you!  For those of you who haven't already heard Adam and I are expecting a new additionto our family this November!  We are both pretty excited.  I had a few rough months of nausea, but as I hit week 12 things seem to be looking up (fingers crossed).  We had our first ultra sound a week ago and so far everything seems to be looking good!  

In other news we will moving (again) this summer in order to have more room for our expanding family.  This will be our 3rd move in the last 2 years, but wedefinitely need more space than we would have here with a baby!  

Adam just finished up his last official semester at Regent College.  He will be doing one more course this spring and then will officially be done his MDiv!  He will spend next year working for Living Waters Canada (http://www.livingwaterscanada.org), which is where hecompleted his internship this past year.  

I am still working at BC Children's hospital on the Oncology/Hematology/Bone marrow transplant unit until early October when I start my Mat leave.

We look forward to being able to keep in better contact with everyone and trust that you are all doing well!