"Baby Update"

Today, Elijah Brooks is 3 weeks old.  It's strange because it feels as though he has always been here.  The phrase, "love at first sight", surely must have been coined by a mother looking at her newborn child for the first time.  I feel as though I have loved him all of my life.  It's so amazing to look into his eyes now and know that this is the exact child that I dreamed of, longed for, and prayed for for so many years. He is the exact child that God planned for me long before the creation of the world. He is my son who is loved unconditionally. 

He has already changed so much in 3 weeks!  He looked so much like Jay when he was first born, but now I am starting to see more of me in his face and his eyes. He is doing so well adjusting to his new life. He is approximately 9 1/2 lbs now and is such a good eater! We have had no problems in that department for which I am grateful. He is starting to get the hang of a 3 hour schedule and is napping very well during the day.  We are working hard to keep his days and nights from getting confused.  Some nights he does better than others.  We know it will just take time for him to adjust.  I love to just stare at him!  He makes the sweetest and funniest faces sometimes!  Every now and then, he even smiles!  It's probably gas, but I'll take it!!  The funniest thing that he does is snore "baby style".  It's the cutest little noise I have ever heard! In fact, even as I write this, he is making that noise while he sleeps peacefully.  

Jay is the most wonderful father.  It has been such a wonderful experience for me to watch him love and care for his son. I find myself drawing on Jay's wisdom constantly as I learn to parent. He helps me constantly in caring for Elijah Brooks' needs.  As Jay says, "you are in charge of input and I am in charge of output"!!  If you ask me, I think I got the better end of that deal!! 

The past 3 weeks have been the most joyous 3 weeks of my life. My heart feels like it is going to explode every time I look at my precious son. "Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from Him" Psalm 127:3.  As I read those words, I find myself asking, "what did I ever do to deserve such a reward from the Lord"?  The answer is nothing. Elijah Brooks is a gift of God's grace. 

"Happy Thanksgiving"

Happy Thanksgiving!  It is so hard to believe that this wonderful season is already here.  I love having a day to do nothing but focus on the countless blessings that God has graciously given to me.  I know I should be focusing on those things each and every day, but I am thankful to have a day set apart to remember and reflect on God's abundant grace shown to an unworthy woman like myself.  Each Thanksgiving is special to me, but my heart is about to explode with thanksgiving to the Lord for the birth of my son, Elijah Brooks.   My wonderful friend Joel said it so well when he said, "consider this, God gave you YOUR life, then He gave you NEW BIRTH in Him, and now He has given you the birth of YOUR SON. He has given you LIFE, NEW LIFE, and LIFE AGAIN"!    How could our hearts not burst open with thankfulness for life and new life given to us in Christ? 

This is the first Thanksgiving that Jay and I have not been with our families. We are spending a very quiet, but wonderful Thanksgiving together with our new baby boy. We are celebrating his new life and thanking God once again for blessing us with the gift of His son and our son. Happy and blessed Thanksgiving to you all!  

Elijah Brooks

Uncle Chris, Aunt Elliot, Daddy, and Mommy waving in the background! 

                             Bebe, E-Daddy, Mommy, and Elijah Brooks 

                                                Gammy and Elijah Brooks 

                                                      On my way home! 

                                             Home, Sweet, Home! 

Elijah Brooks Joye

ELIJAH BROOKS JOYE

We would like to introduce our son, Elijah Brooks Joye.  He was born on Friday Nov. 7, 2008 at 7:23 pm.  He weighed 8lbs 15oz and was 21 inches long.  Praise God from whom all blessings flow! 

"I am a Mom"

As my previous entry said, I was induced on Thursday morning, Nov. 6 at 5:30am.  Jay and I arrived at the hospital so excited to finally meet our son.  We were expecting him to make his grand debut by that afternoon or early evening.  However, things did not go according to our plan.  I was having contractions every 2-3 minutes all day long, however I was not progressing like we had hoped.  Finally at 5:00 that evening, the doctor told me that our son would probably not be born until the next day.  I was devastated, frustrated, disappointed, and exhausted.  I had labored all day long hoping that it was going to get me one step closer to meeting my son.  As the Bible reminds me, "man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps".  This verse has never been more clear to me until now.  I continued contracting through the night, but the Lord was gracious and allowed both me and the baby somewhat of a break as the contractions slowed down enough that we could both rest.  The next morning, Friday Nov. 7, my doctor, (who is WONDERFUL), broke my water at 6:00am.   Within minutes, I was in hard, active labor.  I labored hard for another 5 hours.  There were 6 people ahead of me to get their epidural so I just had to breathe through it all and wait patiently.  Jay was an amazing birth coach.  The  nurses later told us that they wanted to hire him at the hospital because he was so good!  He breathed with me on every contraction and rubbed my back until I thought his hand was going to fall off.   Finally about 10:45, the anesthesiologist came in to give me my epidural.  I was thrilled to see him!!  Unfortunately, the epidural didn't take the first time and I was having terrible back labor.  I don't remember much, but I do remember looking up at Jay and I just said, "pray".  The doctor said, "back labor is hard to get rid of".  I thought to myself, he just can't leave me like this.  We were both praying and all of a sudden, the doctor pulled out my epidural and put in a 2nd one.  Within minutes, I had relief..., sweet relief!  I continued to labor for 6 more hours until 5:30pm when it was time to push.  I pushed for well over an hour, but the baby's head didn't want to budge. We could see his head, but it just seemed stuck.  My contractions were doubling so instead of pushing 3 times and resting, I was pushing 6 times..., one right after the other.  There was no time to rest.  They put an oxygen mask on me and I remember trying to take it off because I felt smothered.  At that point, Jay heard the doctor say, "we will give her 20 more minutes and then we'll have to do a C-section".  I don't remember hearing that, but I must have heard it sub-consciously because everyone in the room marveled at the intensity with which I started pushing.  I didn't think I could physically handle a C-section after everything else I had already been through. Jay had texted our family in the waiting room to tell them to pray like they have never prayed before over the next 20 minutes.  Later I found out that my whole family stopped everything that they were doing and prayed in the waiting room.  During those 20 minutes,  our sweet son was ushered safely into our arms after 36 hours of labor.   I remembered asking the doctor, "is he okay, is he okay", and after that, I must have passed out from exhaustion because I do not remember anything else.   I have no doubt that God heard the prayers of His saints and guided our baby boy safely to our arms.  Jay and I wept and praised God aloud as we marveled at our beautiful son, Elijah Brooks Joye.  

"It's Time"

The time has finally come for us to meet our precious little boy.  I will be induced tomorrow morning!  I have to be at the hospital at 5:30 in the morning!  The way I look at it is that sleep is way over rated any way and I haven't been sleeping well the past 4 weeks and I certainly won't be sleeping much in the months to come...., so why not leave my house at 4:45 in the morning to have a baby!!!  YIPPEE!!  We're having a baby tomorrow!  I am feeling every emotion that a "soon to be mom" could possibly feel all at one time.   I am so excited I can hardly stand it, but would be lying if I didn't say that I was abit anxious about labor and delivery.  But, my sweet little boy and my pregnancy have been covered in prayer for 9 months and those prayers certainly won't stop now. We have so many people praying for us it's overwhelming.  I trust my God to safely usher our son into our arms tomorrow.  I will be posting pictures as soon as I can!  

"Still Waiting"

Hooray! It's November!  Our baby is coming in 5 days or less!  This time next weekend, we will be holding our baby in our arms. I was watching the clock yesterday very closely hoping that this little guy would not make his debut on Halloween. Once I got to 9:00 last night, I figured that we were in the clear and there was no way he could be born on Halloween!  This pregnancy has been the most amazing journey for me. I am so ready to meet my son, but at the same time, I am grieving that this pregnancy is almost over. I know, I know...., "grieving that this pregnancy is almost over"?  I have loved being pregnant. I have waited so long for this and have truly loved every minute of it..., yes, even the aches, pains, frequent trips to the bathroom, and lack of sleep. Feeling my son kicking inside of me and developing a bond with him that no one else will ever have has been the most humbling and beautiful experience of my life. I look forward to a lifetime of more bonding...., and I must admit, getting my body back!!