Introducing...

      Wednesday, June 28th, our 2nd son, Ezra Mark made an entrance into this world at 9:47a.m. <3 Weighing 7Ibs. 15oz, and measuring 21 1/4" in length. 

The Birth Story:

     It was Tuesday, the 27th, my sister-in-law, Ashley, and I had our midwife appointments together. (Ash and I had done this from the beginning because she was due 2 weeks before me.) At this point, she was 1 week overdue, and I was 9 days from my due date. Our appointment was great. Our midwives suspected that Ashley would go into labor any day, and that I could possibly be another week. Ashley had texted the ladies of our church later that evening, saying that she was having signs of early labor, and to pray. Ashley's husband, Jonathan, texted the "Narwold Clan" a couple hours later saying that the midwives were headed over since Ash was starting to progress in her labor. I was thankful for that, as I hadn't gone into labor at that point, and was hoping that Ash would have her baby before me, so that both midwives would be able to attend both of the births. 

     Around 4:00a.m., I woke up to go to the bathroom, and looked at my phone to see if there were any updates on Ashley's labor. I couldn't get back to sleep, and around 4:30, I had a little cramping. All I could think about was, "oh no, what if this is early labor?" I tried to fall asleep, but around 5:00 I was still having some cramping, and so I finally texted my midwives and told them that I was having signs of early labor. They told me to keep them updated if things progressed, to try and get some rest, and that they were right around the corner at my sister-in-law's house if I needed them. 

     I continued to have cramping, and knew that early labor was definitely in progress. I didn't want to wake Josh up quite yet, as it could still be a while, and wanted him to get some rest while he could, knowing it'd probably be a long day ahead of us. Around 6:30, Josh woke up, and saw that I was up. I told him that I was in early labor, and he asked if he should set up the birthing pool. I told him to try and get more sleep, because he wouldn't have the chance when I went into active labor. He tried, but was too anxious/excited to get any more sleep. At 7:00, my cramping was starting to get slightly worse, so Josh asked if I wanted to go downstairs and watch something to get my mind off of the pain. James woke up around 7:30, and Josh tried to keep him occupied while I was starting to get really uncomfortable with the contractions. At this point, contractions were 8-10 minutes a part. We tried to call our friends who were on call to take James, and couldn't get a hold of one of the families, so we called the other family that was on call, and they said they were on their way.

     I asked Kathy and Hannah (my midwives) if Josh should fill up the birthing pool. They said to wait until my contractions were 5-6 minutes a part. At 7:45, my contractions were 5-6 minutes a part. I let my midwives know, and Josh and I headed upstairs so that he can fill up the birthing pool. At this point, contractions went immediately to 2-3 minutes a part, and were intense. I had to pause at the top of the stairs because the intensity was so much to bear. My midwife (Kathy) said she was headed over. While Josh was trying to fill up the birthing pool (with James in tow) Kathy arrived at our house around 8:00-8:15. At this point, I was on my hands and knees on the floor, trying to hold onto something since Josh was occupied with trying to get things together. Kathy checked to see how far dilated I was, and she said, "There's not enough time to fill up the birthing pool. This baby's coming now." Josh grabbed some things out of Kathy's car for her, and our friend from church, Becky, arrived with her girls to take James. She passed James over to her girls to have them play with him at the park behind our house, while Becky came inside to see if Kathy needed any help. Because Hannah (my other midwife) was over at my sister-in-law's house, Kathy needed help, so with that, Becky climbed onto the bed next to me, grabbed my hand, and kept telling me that I was doing great. While Kathy was continuing to get set up, Josh and Becky were there, holding my hand, and telling me that I was doing great. Because of how quickly labor came, and how intense the contractions were, I was sweating like crazy. Becky went to get a cold washcloth, and patted my face with it, and boy was that nice! I think at this point, it was around 8:45-9:00. Kathy told me to listen to my body, and to push when I felt the need to. So, with every contraction, I pushed. Becky continued to wet my face with the washcloth, while holding my hand, and Josh continued to hold my hand, while saying, "Babe, I'm so proud of you! You're doing great!" During contractions, all I kept saying was, "It hurts!" And while I was waiting for the next contraction to come along, I was wondering how Ashley was doing. 

     Kathy, Becky, and Josh said, "There's the head! He's got a ton of hair! The next push, and he'll be out!" And with that, I had my last push, and baby Ezra was out of my womb. He was born at 9:47 weighing 7Ibs. 15oz, and measuring 21 1/4" in length. 
   
     It's hard to think that Ezra's already 2 weeks old! We love our little guy, and find him absolutely adorable to stare at! <3
     James is adjusting to not being the center of attention... although each day holds it's new challenge. We love seeing James interact with his little brother, and hope that they become best of friends as they grow up together.