Grace was born on April Fools Day, our second daughter. She weighed in at 8 pounds and 13 ounces (big baby!). We checked into the hospital at 3PM on March 31st (she was "due" on March 29th), and Grace finally arrived at 12:43AM on April 1st, 2011. We had hired a Doula (birthing assistant) to help coach us through this amazing event. Caitlin Smith, our Doula, is also an amazing runner who has won many races, including the Nike Women's Marathon and the Northface Endurance Challenge 50 Mile Race in 2009. She also qualified for the 2012 Olympic Trials with a 2:41 finish at the 2011 Boston Marathon! I was so proud and honored to have her present at the birth of our second child.
We planned on having a natural childbirth (no pain medication), like we did with our first daughter. And we succeeded, with the help and support of our awesome Doula, our amazing Doctor and some great nurses. With some wireless fetal monitors and no Intravenous Fluids (IV) line, my wife was able to move around more freely. She walked the halls, sat in the shower, and changed positions frequently. When it finally came time to push (fully dilated), it took her only 10 minutes to bring Grace into the world.
Since Grace was born, I have logged a total of 100 miles, in 5 runs (10.5, 12, 6.2, 21.25, 50), all in the month of April. The last of which, was a 50-mile race (Quicksilver 50 Mile), which a thoroughly enjoyed. I took off of work for 5 weeks after Grace was born, and I really enjoyed my time off despite being a bit sleep deprived. I am truly blessed for having two beautiful daughters, who are/were relatively easy babies (not colicky). I'm having trouble finding the time to run again, but hope to hit the road/trails soon to train for my next adventure. I wonder if my wife will give me another ultra race for Father's Day or my birthday... since she did give me the Quicksilver 50 Mile Race as our 8-year anniversary gift!
Here's a few more pictures taken by a professional on April 1st at the hospital. Grace is about 14 hours old.
Beautiful family, John. You have been truly blessed with your angels! Who cares about running for now, kiss those little girls while you still can. Eventually I'm sure they'll be out there running with you to many finish lines =)
ReplyDeleteThat's a good point. Running is great, but now is a good time to just focus on the kids. They grow up so fast!
ReplyDeleteLove these BEAUTIFUL photos! Congratulations on this little one. She is gorgeous!! :)
ReplyDeleteAlso, so happy for your wife to have a drug-free labor and delivery. It is a real blessing.
OMG your girls are beautiful too! Thank you for stopping by my blog today. I am jealous Caitlin helped in the delivery. She's one of my running idols! :)
ReplyDeleteEnjoy those beautiful girls you have! They do grow up so fast!