The birth of Levi, Pt. 3: Lena meets Levi!! (with video)

Posted from Belfast, Northern Ireland this morning:

Part 3 of this story actually happened on January 16 in Beaverton, Oregon.

Loading our newborn son Levi into the car at Providence St. Vincent hospital

The time had finally come. After three days in the hospital, our two day old Levi was finally ready to come home with Daddy and Mommy.

As mentioned previously in The birth of Levi, Pt. 2: Levi's first two days (link), the moment when our nearly 2 1/2 year old Lena would meet her newborn brother Levi was one of the most anticipated moments of my entire life. I wanted everything to be perfect. As I drove Kathy and Levi home from the hospital, I asked Kathy to phone her parents at our house to make sure Lena would be ready.

My heart lept into my throat as we pulled into our driveway. I gently set down Levi's car seat on the ground, and Kathy approached the door.

Anticipation...

Tom and Lora opened our storm door so little Lena could step down into the sidewalk. I fired up my Galaxy Note's video camera and held my breath.


My lack of technical expertise is preventing me from successfully uploading the clip here to Garth's Blog.  But the photos that follow are still shots from that priceless video:

Lena gets a first glimpse at her baby brother, Levi.  After months of buildup, is this what she was expecting?

Lena goes in for the first kiss.  It's an air ball.

Inside the house:  Lena's arms involuntarily pop up at the sight of Levi, in anticipation of holding her new baby brother.

The first sister-brother kiss!!

And finally, here is the first ever photo of our whole family together:

Introducing the newly expanded Hamilton clan!  Lena is happier than she looks.

So let's end on an even happier note.  My video upload above may have failed, but anyone who missed the Vine that I tweeted on January 16 is in for a treat.  Here's a 7 second video clip of Lena trying to say baby Levi's name, while holding him in her lap:

 Click in the upper right corner of this Vine video for audio of Lena trying to say, "Levi"!


This was, without exaggeration, one of the greatest days of my life.  Our family is complete.  Lena and Levi are perfect together!

The birth of Levi, Pt. 2: Levi's first two days

Near the end of our hospital stay:  Ready to bring our 2-day old baby Levi home

Immediately after the daylong events of Levi's birth chronicled in Part 1 (link), we began preparations in the middle of the night to move from the birthing suite at St. Vincent hospital into our new room.  The new Mommy fed our newborn boy while I packed up our things.

Kathy and I remained awestruck at the sight of our beautiful baby Levi, one hour old.  As mentioned last week, Levi was no small baby.  Levi's 9 pounds, 6 ounces somehow managed to beat his older sister Lena's birth weight, although Lena retains the edge for her birth length.  Lena and Levi both made impressive entrances.

But until we birth a 16 pounder like this ginormous baby from the Bay Area, Kathy and I have no room to talk.

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Just after 3 a.m. on Wednesday, hospital attendant/ aspiring pro photographer Michael helped transfer Kathy and I down the hall to the maternity ward.  We bid farewell to the roomy comfort of our birthing suite.

Levi's first big move, at two hours old

Two hour old Levi faded out for this part.

Settling into our tiny new room in the maternity ward

Extra cozy digs

Levi's first morning, after a LONG day/night for Mommy and Daddy

Daddy's skin to skin time with Levi

Hospital visits from family and friends

Grandpa Doug/ Bo

Mimi/ Lora

Papa/ Tom

Grandma Susan/ Vive

Pastor Tim

But ultimately, it was just the three of us...

The proud Daddy holds his new bundle of joy-- those two cliches couldn't ring more true

Mommy gets some much need rest with baby Levi.

...minus Lena, who sadly had to stay home.  Thanks to her grandparents, she was in good hands.

At the end of our hospital stay with baby Levi (see our checkout photo above, at the top of this post), Kathy and I reflected on the miracle that had happened:  We were blessed with an unlikely natural delivery for Levi, even after our previous C-section with Lena!  The scary risks of a VBAC delivery had failed to live up to the hype.

It was a relief to finally deliver a baby while not in constant crisis mode (Yep, we’re looking at you, Lena. Glad you and your little brother Levi were born safely!).  Whether via natural or C-section delivery, we again thank God for giving us yet another wonderful child.  Kathy and I love Lena and Levi both beyond measure.

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Study, sermon prep, prayer, and a fun little excursion or two will occupy most of my free time this week.  And the next week, Kathy and I fly out to visit friends throughout Europe!  But check back here later in March for The birth of Levi, Pt. 3!

The moment when Lena first meets her baby brother Levi would turn out to be one of the highlights of my life.  We've saved the best for last!!

The birth of Levi James Hamilton, Pt. 1: A timeline

Levi James Hamilton, 36 minutes old!

From Saturday, February 15:

Our baby boy Levi turns one month old today!  Four weeks ago from last Wednesday, our family received the greatest blessing since the birth of our 2 year old daughter Lena (link).

As shown below, both the timing and method of Levi's birth were quite unexpected. Here is a stripped down timeline of the events leading up to that glorious moment:

Friday, January 10: Our yet-to-be named baby's due date

Not a peep from that womb. Kathy stayed home that evening and I volunteered, as planned, with Compassion International at the Roadshow tour. I jumped every time my phone vibrated.

I warned my fellow Compassion volunteers (with Third Day front man Mac Powell within earshot) that if I got The Call, I would disappear in a flash.

Monday, January 13: "Hold tight until Friday."

4:30 P.M. The post-due date followup at the doctor's office ended with us scheduling a C-section delivery for Friday morning. "Don't worry," our OBGYN assured us after Kathy's examination. "It's very unlikely that this baby's going anywhere anytime soon."

Vine video: Our baby boy's heartbeat!  Click the "mute" button in the upper left corner to toggle the sound on/off.

Then, the very next morning...

Tuesday, January 14: And so it begins.

Times are approximate. 

6:00 am- Kathy's water breaks at our house in Beaverton.  So much for the baby not "going anywhere anytime soon."  Was a C-section immanent? Or, after our scary complications with Lena's birth, would this be our chance to finally have a natural delivery?

Over the phone, the on-call doctor advises Kathy to begin preparations for leaving for the hospital.  Contractions hadn't started yet, so there was no hurry.

6:20 am- At PDX airport, I'm outside working my second flight of the morning when my cell phone begins to vibrate in my pocket.  I had no idea that it was The Call.

6:25 am- Kathy calls her parents Tom and Lora in Salem so they would begin making their way to our house to watch 2 year old Lena.  Due to the flu outbreak, heightened visiting restrictions would prevent Lena being at the hospital with us.

6:40 am- As I frantically search for a ride out to my Jeep parked in the airport employee parking lot, Kathy hops in the shower at home.  Who knows when her next chance would be?

7:30 am- After weaving through rush hour traffic, I pull into our driveway. The scramble is now on to throw together some clothes, toiletries, and snacks.  Kathy's scheduled C-section was slated for Friday, four days later, so neither of us had finished packing.

8:00 am- Kathy's parents arrive at the house, we call off our emergency backup babysitters (Steve and Brenda from church), and then I whisk Kathy away to the hospital!


8:50 am- We arrive at the hospital.

Not quite in labor yet, we check in Kathy at Providence St. Vincent Hospital

There was no room at the inn, so they set us up in a triage room for a few hours.

1:00 pm- We finally get moved from the triage area into a full-sized birthing room.

1:30 pm- Contractions begin, but they are irregular.

.

3:00 pm- Kathy has only dilated to 1 cm.


Contractions slowly pick up throughout the afternoon and begin to intensify into the early evening.

5:30 pm- My dad stops by the hospital to offer encouragement, support, and grub.

Sorry, Bo. No grandson yet.

7:45 pm- Only dilated to 2 cm.

8:00 pm- Kathy requests an epidural when the pain becomes unbearable.  

9:00 pm- No more pain from the contractions.  When no further dilation occurs within the hour, the nurse leaves us alone in the room to sleep for the night.  We would try again in the morning.


Kathy drifts off to sleep. I do some reading, and then get ready for bed.



9:55 pm- Thinking the coast is clear, I quietly sneak out of the birthing room to brush my teeth before bedtime.  A few minutes later...


10:00 pm-  I return to find the room bustling with excitement.  The nurse and Dr. Hoffman are setting up equipment.  They announce that Kathy has somehow increased from 2 cm to fully dilated in the past two hours!

The doc tells us to get ready to have a baby.

11:00 pm- The pushing begins.  The delivery nurse and I physically assist the doctor in ways that I will not describe in this public blog.*

Wednesday, January 15: Levi's big entrance.

12:26 am- While the nurse and I hold up Kathy's legs, Kathy gives one final push.  Our baby boy enters this world screaming!!

The proud, overjoyed daddy cuts the umbilical cord.

We name him Levi James Hamilton.  The name Levi comes from the father of the ancient Israelite tribe who served God in the Hebrew temple.  James was the name of my great grandfather, James Clive Perry.

"Big entrance" is an understatement.  At 9 lbs 6 oz, Levi was no small baby.

Beating Lena's formidable 8 lbs 15 oz birth weight, Levi weighed in at a whopping 9 lbs 6 oz!!

But Levi's 20 3/4 inch length couldn't quite topple Lena's reign as the longest Hamilton at birth.

Apparently Kathy and I only have big babies.  That's how we roll.

We'll continue this story next week and share new photos.

Part 2 brings our family and friends into the picture at the hospital...

...and Part 3 tells about one of the most anticipated moments of my entire life!

*An informal poll among my friends who have experienced labor and delivery confirmed what I already suspected: my level of physical involvement in this birthing process was highly unusual.  Following each instruction from the doctor, I kept waiting to hear, "Just kidding. That's why we have trained hospital staff."