Hello All

Wow, it's been a long time. As I'm sure you all know, our precious son was born on December 9th at 9:12PM weighing 7 pounds 15 ounces and measuring 20 inches long. He was born via c-section after a failed 30-hour induction. To be honest, part of the reason I haven't blogged since the birth is because of the way it all happened. It was a fairly traumatic experience for me, and one I worked oh so hard to avoid in the months before. I consider my surgical birth to have been medically unnecessary...something perpetrated upon me by a medical system that set me up to fail. This may sound dramatic, but it's true. It's also a hard pill to swallow because I knew I wasn't with the "right" medical providers, but our insurance wouldn't cover anything else and we didn't have the money to pay out of pocket. Instead, I payed another way: with myself. Sometime soon I'll have to write up my whole experience to share. Perhaps it will be helpful to me and others. There are some positive things within my story too, and writing them down will help me remember them. Please don't think for a moment that I am anything but 100% grateful for my beautiful, healthy son. I am! In fact, I am deliriously grateful for him. Grief over my birth experience can co-exist with gratitude for my healthy baby. I think I'll save the rest of my thoughts for the long version of the story...

So now, let me finally, officially introduce Joseph Daniel, our amazing little boy!






And here's a more recent photo (he's already 2 months old!)

If you're still checking this blog, thank you. I haven't given you much reason to do so lately. Check back soon for more pictures of our beautiful children :)!