Meet Josiah

After months of anticipation and prayers, it’s my joy to introduce you to Josiah Lawrence Rice. He was born Friday, April 20, 2018 just after 10:00 a.m. and weighing in at 7 lbs 9 oz. And we’re convinced he’s pretty perfect. While this was my second time giving birth, I still had a fair amount of anxiety about the whole thing. I was concerned about his health, my health, complications and such. And on top of that was the uncertainty of when my labor would start and how fast the whole thing would go.

At my weekly doctor’s appointment three days before my due date, my doctor checked me and said I was nearly three centimeters dilated. She also said she’d “try to get things going,” by poking around in there (I know this doesn’t sound very technical, but she essentially wanted to release prostaglandins, which are hormone-like substances that induce labor).

By the time I left the doctor’s office, I’d had my first contraction but wondered if things would ramp up or taper off. We tracked the contractions for the remainder of the day, and they were pretty all over the place in terms of timing. When it was close to midnight, I was feeling pretty tired and discouraged that things hadn’t picked up, so I decided to lay down, and I told Jordan to get some sleep.

My time in bed was short-lived though, because the contractions seemed to feel stronger. So I got up and got on my exercise ball. And that thing made all the difference. I didn’t have to do much bouncing — the squatting position alone seemed to be enough to speed up and strengthen the contractions.

My mom had come over to stay with Jameson, and we headed to the hospital in an Uber at 3:00 a.m. Our driver was incredibly nice and excited for us (and likely grateful I brought a towel to sit on in case my water broke, ha!) Let me tell you – you never fully appreciate how bumpy streets are until you ride in a car while in labor.

We checked into the hospital, which was fairly quiet. And I was grateful for it, because I was leaned up against the waiting room wall and moaning through contractions as Jordan applied counter pressure to my back with his fists.

It was a few more hours before I got that magic elixir known as an epidural (I swear I could write a sonnet of love to that medication), but boy, when it hit, and I was able to form coherent sentences again, I was one happy camper. It allowed me to watch the sun come up over the high-rise buildings outside my delivery room window and wait patiently for my doctor to arrive. When she did, I was fully dilated and ready to push.

An hour of pushing later, Josiah emerged, was hurled onto my chest and let out a healthy cry. And Jordan was kind enough to describe the delivery room as “a crime scene.” He was incredibly supportive, holding a leg as I pushed, and not squeamish at all, so this description of his is pretty hilarious and will be tolerated.

My first thoughts were of how miraculous childbirth is. How much he resembled his brother when he was first born. How much I’m looking forward to getting to know this little person. How undeserving I am of such a great gift.

Here are some photos of our early moments with Mr. Josiah.

And big brother Jameson could not have been any happier to meet his little brother, Josiah. This photo below cracks me up, because in this moment, I really think his adoration for me could not have been any stronger. He looked at me as if to say, “You did it, Mom. I’m proud of you for giving me a little brother.”

Thanks so much for all of the prayers and well-wishes for our family. They mean more to me than you can possibly know!

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave