Jacob’s Birth Story

Sarah’s due date was June 4, and at two weeks overdue, on June 18, she went to the hospital to be induced. Jacob was born on June 19 at 8:20 pm, and was 8 lbs 11-1/2 oz and 21-1/2 inches long.

: June 18: Finally here! Sarah is today two weeks overdue, and at 7:30 am Sarah, Stephanie, and Christine arrive at PVH so that Sarah’s progress can be assessed and labor induced, if necessary.

: Sarah’s Mom Christine waiting during Labor, Day One. Sarah labored all day with little dialation; it was very discouraging, but the Lord had told us, “Shall I bring to the point of birth and not give delivery?” says the LORD. “Or shall I who gives delivery shut the womb?” says your God (Isaiah 66:9).

: Rachel and Marand are the adopting parents; they came up early on Wednesday morning to wait with us.

: Marand is the adopting dad. After a while with nothing to do, the waiting room magazines began to look interesting.

: June 19: More waiting, Day two. June 19: Back to the hospital for Labor, Day Two.Sarah had labored on her own through the night without much progress, and by 8:00 am Thursday morning she was on putossin.

: Becky, Rachel’s sister and best friend, flew out to Colorado to be with her. During the morning they had determined Jacob was faced “sunny side up” with his spine aligned with Sarah’s spine, which was why the labor had not been progressing. Rachel prayed for him to turn over, and he did. 🙂

: We crack each other up. 🙂

: Rachel’s mom’s name is Shirley, and she married Don after Rachel’s dad passed away. We kept discovering “coincidences” like that between our two families the whole two days we hung out in the waiting room together.

: Marand and Rachel have a family website they kept updating with news of Sarah’s labor. Sometime in early afternoon (I lost track of time) they broke Sarah’s water.

: 7:00 pm: Prepped for surgery. During the afternoon Sarah’s contractions under the putossin were so intense, they were like transition and pushing contractions. By late afternoon they had given her an epidural, as she was still only dialated 4 centimeters (???) and they were afraid that without a few hours of rest, she would not have the strength to push when the time came. When by 7:00 pm she had still not dialated past 4 centimeters, the decision was made to deliver Jacob by C-section.

: Steffie as Spaceman Spiff. Steph was Sarah’s birth coach and moral support, so she got suited up to be in the operating room during the surgery.

: Armed and dangerous. Steph’s main job was moral support; her secondary job was to take lots of pictures of Jacob’s birth!

: Waiting while Sarah is readied for surgery. Sarah’s Aunt Kellie was there for most of the two days of labor, and was an awesome support and prayer partner!

: Lovely surgery waiting room … er, hallway.

: Mike was worried about his sister. Well, he took care of her through most of her pregnancy.

: Jacob was born at 8:20 pm on Thursday, June 19, 2008.

: A beautiful, healthy baby boy!

: Getting cleaned up.

: Hello world! Getting his first Apgar test done.

: Apgar tests: 8 and 9 out of 10. He had just started showing signs of distress during contractions when they were getting ready for surgery, so it was wonderful that he had such high Apgar scores!

: Nothing wrong with his lungs. As do most C-section babies, Jacob had a little fluid in his lungs yet, so the crying helped him expel it.

: I don’t like that cold thing!

: Under the heat lamp.

: Long feet … Christine thinks he will be tall when full grown.

: Jacob didn’t like getting his feet inked, lol.

: Cleaned, tested, printed, and bundled back up, Jacob and Sarah meet each other; he recognized his momma right away.

: The nurse brought Jacob out and asked “Which one is Rachel?” Then they put a hospital security band on her wrist which matched Sarah and Jacob’s, and said …

: “Here is your new baby boy!” Look at the expression on Jacob’s face; it’s as if he recognized his adoptive mom right away too.

: He is so precious! And he looks like a perfectly formed two-week old baby; imagine that!

: We were all crying with Rachel.

: I don’t know if I’ve ever seen two people happier than Marand and Rachel at that moment.

: We thought it another amazing “coincidence” that Sarah and Rachel shared petite frames, and dark hair and eyes, and Marand has Spanish Indian ancestry to match Jacob’s birth dad’s American Indian ancestry.

: Off to the newborn nursery for measurements. First was weight ..

: 8 lbs 11-1/2 ozs, a big boy. No wonder he was a little stuck in there. You can see the perfect 4-centimeter circle on the top of his head, also.

: Length: 21-1/2 inches. Jacob is even longer than Sarah’s brother Michael at birth, and Mike is 6 foot 4 inches today! Although Mike was 21-1/2 inches at his two-week doctor visit (I just checked his baby book).

: Vitamin K shot.

: Jacob getting his hair washed. He was crying until he got under the warm water. 🙂

: He liked the warm water, and someone massaging his scalp.

: Getting to know each other.

: Jacob meets Aunt Becky.

: Christine trying not to cry. “I was so shocked by my reaction at seeing Jacob for the first time: he looked just like Sarah, who was also born by C-section, when I saw her for the first time, and all this love hit me like a freight train. I never realized Dave and I would want him so much.”

: Now it’s time for Dave to see the baby. So Aunt Kellie saw the camera getting ready to take a picture, and decided to give Sarah’s brother Mike a taste of his own medicine. LOL

: Jacob meeting Dave, a.k.a. Grandpa Miller.

: We thought he looked just like Sarah when she was born. Dave said later that his reaction to Jacob was just the same as mine. … There are times in life you do what the Lord is telling you to do, and it takes all the self- control you possess to do it, because every fiber of your being is screaming at you to do what the flesh wants to do … like keep the baby. But God’s ways are always best — His perfect will for Jacob was Rachel and Marand, not us, and we all knew it. All of us knew that we knew that we knew.

: C-section babies have to be checked a lot, every hour on the hour for that first night.

: Sarah was still in Recovery and could not hold Jacob yet, so Rachel held him close to her bed so she could see him. 🙂

: Sarah finally out of Recovery and in her room.

: Mom and baby doing fine.

: Rachel’s first diaper change. Normally after a C-section the baby has to spend the night in the newborn nursery. But since Rachel and Sarah were staying together, Jacob got to spend his first night with his two mommies.

: Look at those long toes.

: Holding his daddy Marand’s hand.

: Marand loves his boy.

: Jacob’s eventful birth day ends. And now Sarah, Jacob, and Marand and Rachel bid us all good night …

: June 20: Good morning, Sunshine!

: Isn’t he beautiful?

: One day old.

: Rachel nursing Jacob. Rachel stayed in Sarah’s room during Sarah and Jacob’s hospital stay. Rachel started on hormone therapy to induce lactation when she found out Sarah had chosen them to be Jacob’s adoptive parents, which was about 6 weeks before he was born! It was a miracle, as it usually takes 6 months of therapy for moms who had been previously pregnant to re-lactate. Rachel had never been pregnant. Jacob was the talk of the hospital.

: Full tummy.

: Marand’s first diaper change. If I remember right, he was a little worried about the discharge of bodily fluids, LOL.

: Are you sure you know what you’re doing, Dad?!

: Marand did a great job, and quickly became an expert at baby-burrito wrapping too.

: Proud parents.

: Meeting with Bethany Christian Services. Bailey was wonderful, and visited us every day in the hospital. What a great, compassionate adoption agency.

: Sarah’s little bundle. We are so proud of her.

: Because she loves her baby boy, she wanted him to have the best life possible, even if that meant she would not be the mom raising him.

: Grandma Miller quieting Jacob.

: Aunt Steph with Jacob. Sarah and Jacob had many visitors – so many, in fact, that we got in trouble with the nurses. Sarah did just have major abdominal surgery, after all.

: Sarah’s sister Stephanie, best friends and the unflagging birth coach.

: Three generations: Christine with her two daughters, Stephanie and Sarah, and Stephanie’s daughter Grace and Sarah’s son Jacob.

: Stephanie’s son Zane and his cousin Jacob.

: Zane was fascinated with Jacob.

: I love you too, Baby Jacob!

: Jun 20, 2008. Gracie was less fascinated with her cousin, but we had to include a picture of her because she is so cute.

: Steph’s husband Ty takes the kids so the girls can visit without much interruption.

: Uncle Mike, and Gracie.

: Jun 20, 2008. Zane visiting Jacob at PVH. <3

: Grandpa Dave gave Marand and Jacob vintage LEGOs. We had heard about the LEGO collection and saw the Brick Wars website – we figured Jacob would be playing with them at some point. 🙂

: This is our Grandpa Don. Christine’s mom was named Shirley, and married Don after Christine’s dad passed away. Coincidence? Jacob is Don’s 3rd great-grandchild, after Zane and Grace.

: Pastor Diane is head of the prayer ministry at our church, Resurrection Fellowship. She met Sarah shortly after Sarah found out she was pregnant, and they formed a close bond. Pastor Diane prayed for Sarah all through her pregnancy, and counseled her when Sarah was trying to find God’s will for her baby. Thank You, Lord, for surrounding Sarah and Jacob with all the protection and support she needed!

: Sarah lost her job when her bosses found out she was pregnant. Her brother Mike immediately took her in and took care of her and her baby, whether she could pay her part of the bills or not.

: Mike had said, “It doesn’t matter how big and tough a guy you are, all you need is a new baby in your arms and you turn into a pool of pudding.”

: Marand’s parents. Marand is the oldest in his family, and Jacob is Marand’s parents’ first grandchild. Jacob is going to be spoiled, but only in the good way, I am sure!

: Sarah makes beautiful babies. <3

: Sarah got the go ahead from her doctor to be up and walking – slow going at first for sure, and changing Jacob was the perfect first task.

: She will be a great mommy some day.

: June 21: Grandma Christine trying to finish Jacob’s baby blanket. She had made a baby quilt for each of her grandchildren, and Jacob was not going to be any different.

: “I am determined to finish this before you go home!” All that needed finishing was sewing the binding on the back by hand.

: Rachel was making enough milk to keep Jacob happy. It was a real miracle.

: Marand practicing his new-found diapering skills.

: The face is priceless. That’s real love, let me tell you. LOL.

: Marand is a proud papa, when he is not changing diapers. LOL.

: He might have even been a pool of pudding.

: Too sweet.

: Jacob is in such good hands.

: A happy family.

: We love that they love each other.

: Some of Sarah’s gifts and flowers.

: More visitors: Sarah’s friend Michelle and her mom Jan.

: Michelle holding Jacob.

: June 2008, Stephanie holding Jacob.

: Stephanie helped bring you into the world, little one.

: I love you, little bundle.

: The Thinker.

: Jacob can’t be the only cute one!

: Steph’s mother- in- law came to visit.

: And Steph’s husband Ty. He works at PVH and MCR (Medical Center of the Rockies), so he was able to stop in often.

: Aunt Becky holding Jacob.

: Rachel, Becky, and Jacob.

: Sisters and best friends. We know what that’s like: Christine and Kellie are sisters and best friends, and so are Sarah and Stephanie. 🙂

: Jacob’s grandparents, Rachel’s parents Shirley and Don; this is their 21st grandchild. Holy Schmoly, as Rachel would say.

: Sweetie pie.

: The grandma touch puts them to sleep every time.

: Rachel’s family …

: … visiting with Rachel and Marand.

: Marand and Grandpa Dave talking computers and toys.

: Proud Grandpa Dave.

: Sigh … Mike cannot resist.

: Seriously, Uncle Mike loves Jacob.

: Cherishing every moment.

: Mommy loves Jacob.

: Father and son. It has been another busy day; good night to all.

: June 22: Sarah’s quiet Sunday with Jacob. Sarah and her family spent a quiet day with Jacob, without many visitors; Rachel and Marand graciously gave her her time. <3

: Rachel graciously gave Sarah milk for Jacob, so she could spend as much time as possible with him before discharge.

: Birth mom and son. This is my favorite photo in this whole album!

: If I could have kept you, I would.

: But because I love you more than life itself …

: … I gave you to the parents God chose for you.

: Grandma Christine is not done yet, but getting closer all the time …

: Grandma Christine walking with Jacob, taking breaks from sewing to snuggle the baby.

: Zonked! Grandmas soothe them to sleep.

: Proud birth grandparents.

: The grandpa touch.

: Another pool of pudding.

: Sarah was so good at calming the baby.

: June 23: Discharge Day; Grandma Christine finally finished Jacob’s blanket, just in time.

: Jacob’s two moms.

: He is a blessed boy.

: Four days old, and already a bruiser! We were getting ready for the adoption placement ceremony. Sarah’s nurse that morning, MaryAnne, was an adoptive mother herself of an almost 2 year old little girl. It was truly the Lord that sent her to take care of Sarah, Rachel, and Jacob this morning; she shared her adoption story and what a wonderful relationship she has with her daughter’s birth mom. It was such a blessing to Sarah and Rachel.

: The dedication / placement ceremony begins. From left: Pastor Diane, Sarah, Jacob, Zane, Grandpa Dave, Stephanie, Grace, Grandma Christine, Rachel, Marand. Sarah’s nurse MaryAnne, and Bailey from Bethany Christian Services were also present; they took the still photos and the video of the ceremony on Marand and Dave’s cameras.

: Grandma Christine’s word over Sarah: Sarah is like Hannah. Hannah gave her firstborn son Samuel to the Lord, saying, “For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition which I asked of Him. Therefore I also have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives he shall be lent to the Lord” (1 Sam. 1:27-28). Hannah visited Samuel once a year in the Temple in Jerusalem, and the high priest’s prayer over her was, “The Lord give [her husband] descendants from this woman for the loan that was given to the Lord” (1 Sam. 2:20). And just as Hannah’s husband was better to her than ten sons (1 Sam. 1:8), the husband God is preparing for Sarah will be better to her than ten sons. And just as the Lord blessed Hannah with three sons and two daughters after her loan of Samuel to the Lord (1 Sam. 2:21), the Lord will also bless Sarah with sons and daughters.

: Pastor Diane’s word over Sarah: “God is so very proud of you, and so very pleased with you. This will be the hardest thing you will ever do but you are doing it in obedience to the Lord God, and because of your obedience, the blessing of the Lord God will rest upon you.”

: Sarah relinquishes Jacob …

: … into the arms …

: … of his new mommy Rachel.

: It was the hardest thing she has ever done in her life.

: The blessing over Jacob: The Lord gave Pastor Diane this word for Jacob: “You have granted me life and favor, and Your care has preserved my spirit” (Job 10:12). She reassured Sarah that the Lord preserved Jacob, but He used Sarah to accomplish that preservation. Then she prayed a prayer of protection, dedication, and growth over Jacob, and that his destiny in the Lord would come upon him and overtake him.

: Pastor Diane prayed over Marand and Rachel, that they would be guided by the Lord and by His wisdom in raising Jacob all the days of their lives.