I LOVE this pic!
Ari Jacob Scofield was born into this world at 5:56pm on August 4, 2009 and not a moment too soon! We had been anticipating his arrival for months and when our wet eyes finally met his we were overcome with joy at the sight of his perfectly formed little face. There was no doubt about it: his proud daddy declared to me with a beaming smile after he had taken him for a stroll through the OB wing that our son was officially the cutest kid in the Birth Day Place.
Daddy and Baby
His every movement, every facial expression, every breath amazed us. We couldn't stop staring, and I couldn't stop marveling at the fact that I gave birth to this whole tiny person, this brand new human being. Me, I did that! Well, I did... with a lot of help from Erik, especially the night of the 3rd and well into the morning of the 4th. It took all three of us to bring him into this world... and a few nurses and a midwife. We count our blessings because we got a little too close for comfort to needing a Cesarean section. We thank Heavenly Father for Ari's strength and stamina: his heart rate always bounced right back after every contraction. The long labor didn't seem to bother him at all.
They finally wised up and put the IV in his foot instead.
Ellie, the midwife on duty during our labor, and Cheryl, the midwife that delivered us, let me go longer than an OB/GYN would have because they knew how important it was to us that we avoid a C-section, if possible. Without going into too much gory detail, Cheryl did an amazing job of keeping me intact while keeping Ari coming... first his head, then one shoulder, then the other, and before I knew it she was telling me to reach down and get my baby and handing me our beautiful new son.
Mommy and Baby
Thank you to everyone who came to visit us during our somewhat extended stay at the hospital. You kept us sane and in touch with the real world outside room 225... and 222... and 270... and 220! Yes they moved us three times during the seven days we were there, but always accommodated us and took care of us and never held it against me that I was a little, shall we say, difficult at times. It was the hormones: I had just had a baby a few days before, after all. It was the hospital stay that none of us anticipated. It was the interruption of sleep to check Ari's temperature, to weigh his diapers, to prick his heel (again?!) and squeeze enough blood for yet another lab test, to hook up his IV and administer his antibiotics (has it been 8 hours already?), to listen to his breathing and his little heart beating... all to monitor a seemingly perfectly healthy baby boy. It was a combination of all three and the nurses were sweet enough to tell me I was justified in feeling a little overwhelmed and a lot exhausted. When Dr. Logan came in Monday morning to tell us Ari's new white blood cell count was down to normal levels, we cried. Ari was finally coming home!
Thanks for the shoes, Daddy, but they might be a little big still...
The drive back down the hill to Chico from Paradise was almost surreal. We've been home now for 11 days and he seems to love it here. Yesterday was our first "well-baby" two- week check-up with Dr. Corp and Ari is seven pounds 12 ounces... officially eight ounces heavier than his birth weight. I wasn't surprised: he loves to eat! He has already had two growth spurts accompanied by eating every hour on the hour cluster-feeding, one at one week old and another at two weeks. Needless to say, we love nursing. One of the worst parts of having a brand new baby is supposed to be changing the poopy diapers but Ari's poop doesn't even stink. Hard to believe, I know, but true. Could Ari be The Perfect Baby? We definitely think so. But then again we might be a little biased.
Little Ari and the Little Lion Mommy crocheted for him.
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