We had been to the hospital once already and were impatiently waiting for our little newborn to come greet us. Earlier that evening our oldest sons kindergarden had a Christmas party, and while we were there my suspicion that something was brewing grew. We got back home and my wife laid down to rest as I put our son to bed. As contractions were getting closer apart and stronger, our dog jumped up to watch over my wife. We put on “Love actually” and continued to time the contractions with the movie playing in the background.
Getting to greet our son for the first time
A few hours later we felt it was time to go to the hospital. It was a quiet December night, just one other birth going on as we arrived. My wife was still strong and confident, breathing through every contraction. Letting her body guide her. It’s so impressive to watch how women just knows what to do in these situations. For me everything seemed to go quite fast. As the birth progressed and the contractions got more painful, my wife did not find that time flew by as fast as I did. I knew from when our firstborn was born that when my wife wanted to give up and said she could not take it anymore, we would be very close to getting to see our son. So my wife was really frustrated with me when I didn’t hide my happiness once she cried “I will never be able to finish”. A few minutes later however, we got to hear the amazing sound of our son crying for the first time. We got to se his eyes. We got to touch his small hands. I was yet again blown away by how finished these babies are, they even have fingernails!
Our first miracle is a big brother
Our oldest came to see his little brother the same night. He was amazed by how little the baby was, and asked when we could take him home so he could learn all his words. Seeing him hold his baby brother for the first time, I realised that now our family is complete. We have had our two miracles. And we are going to spend the next years, or probably the rest of our lives, caring for and loving them both.
Starting a new life at home
Once we got back home from the hospital, a new life awaited us. It is a big change to go from a family of three, to a family of four. Especially since our oldest son is so accustomed to us being available for playtime all the time. Up until now we have spent most of our time at home doing all activities together, and that doesn’t work the same way now that we are four. We are however settling in to this new life quite well. Focusing on taking one day at a time, and making sure all of us (including Zelda the dog) gets all the love and attention we need and deserve.
If you haven’t subscribed yet, I really hope you will consider. That way you will not miss out on posts to come. Next post will be live January 2nd and will be all about the keepers of 2018. If you haven’t seen my keepers of 2017 yet, please check out the portraits and landscapes. I wish you all the very best of Christmases and a really happy new year!
