The first day of summer
In short (which he isn’t), he is here!
 
Jolyon Gregory, two days old
Our little man finally decided to join us in the beautiful summer sunshine on 21 June. He was nine days late and we had planned to induce labor at 6:30 that morning, only to receive a call from the hospital that they didn’t have any room for us. The solstice had apparently inspired a great number of babies to head south. But by breakfast time I knew ours was coming of his own accord, so the nursing staff promised to set up a bed in a spare operating room or a broom closet for us if necessary. In fact, they were able to make ready an actual birthing room just as we arrived, and although we were disappointed in our hope of a second water birth, our fine healthy son made his entrance without complications at 2:42 in the afternoon.
At 8 pounds and nearly 14 ounces, he is not exactly enormous, but we calculated that he is 43% more baby than his sister was at birth. His head is 14.5 inches around and he managed to wedge one of his man fists between it and his surprisingly muscular shoulders, so he did a bit of damage on the way out and Mama lost some blood, but the healing is going very well and we’re lucky to have two sets of grandparents aboard for extra help. Jo proved himself a champion feeder right away and Ada is taking the whole thing quite gracefully, eager to help Baby Bruddah find milk when he cries and supplying wipes for his diaper changes. She has given him gentle pats and hugs and has counted all his toes.
And so we are four! Mama needs to cast on some much, much larger hats…
Posted: June 23rd, 2012 at 7:17 pm
Oh my dear – congratulations! Little Jo, I hope your first year is less dramatic than your entrance. Sounds like all is well though. Much live from Seattle. xox
Posted: June 23rd, 2012 at 9:16 pm
Welcome to the world, Jolyon! Ada, I hope you enjoy being a big sister as much as I did. Congrats to everyone in your newly expanded family.
Posted: June 23rd, 2012 at 11:30 pm
Ouch! He looks worth it though. Well done, and I hope that you heal quickly.
Posted: June 24th, 2012 at 2:51 am
Congratulations on the birth of your beautiful baby boy. It does sound like he was a in rush to get out once he was on his way into the world. I love that his little sister is helping him so much too. Hope you are feeling a bit less sore too.
Posted: June 24th, 2012 at 3:29 am
Oh my goodness, he is absolutely perfect! Congratulations, Sarah, to you and your family on your beautiful little summer baby!
Posted: June 24th, 2012 at 5:16 am
Congratulations! What a sweet boy!
Posted: June 24th, 2012 at 5:55 am
Wonderful news, Sarah! And what is it with the heads of your offspring?! Enjoy these early days and all to follow. Much love from England to your little family.
Posted: June 24th, 2012 at 6:01 am
Congratulations, Sarah! And welcome, Jo!! xoxo
Posted: June 24th, 2012 at 6:07 am
from a wet and cold Holland, welcome litle Jo. Get wel soon Sarah and give him all the love you can.
Posted: June 24th, 2012 at 6:12 am
Congratulations.
Posted: June 24th, 2012 at 6:46 am
He is precious. Congratulations!
Posted: June 24th, 2012 at 8:09 am
Congratulations! What a beautiful boy, and a solstice birthday seems very auspicious!
Posted: June 24th, 2012 at 9:03 am
Lovely! Welcome litle guy!
Posted: June 24th, 2012 at 9:51 am
Wow! Congratulations, Sarah! I’m so happy for you and your family. Welcome, Jolyon!
Posted: June 24th, 2012 at 4:59 pm
Hooray! Jolyon is gorgeous and such a lucky little fellow to have found his way to your wonderful family.
Liam presented just like that with the hand alongside the head, and it also resulted in a lot of lost blood. Scary when I heard about it, but not at the time because the nurses stayed so calm. I’m sorry you had that particular experience, but I’m thrilled that your beautiful little fellow is here. Welcome, Jolyon!
Posted: June 24th, 2012 at 8:30 pm
what a beautiful name for a beautiful boy. I’m glad to hear all is well after a tricky start.
Posted: June 24th, 2012 at 11:36 pm
Wonderful news! DD presented in a similar way, but she weighed a half pound less. I didn’t sit down without wincing for four weeks.
The hospital provided frozen pads soaked in witch hazel, you might find it helpful 🙂
Posted: June 25th, 2012 at 1:51 am
Congratulations! So cute….
Fleur xx
Posted: June 25th, 2012 at 7:18 am
Congratulations! I am jjust reading The Forsyte Saga and love the name Jolyon! Strong work, Mama.
Posted: June 25th, 2012 at 7:30 am
Congratulations! I am happy to hear you are both healthy.
Posted: June 25th, 2012 at 10:21 am
Congratulations. He is beautiful! Lots of love to the family.
Posted: June 25th, 2012 at 10:40 am
Congrats Sarah! He’s perfect! I so enjoy watching your little family grow!
Posted: June 25th, 2012 at 10:52 am
Congratulations!
Posted: June 25th, 2012 at 11:14 am
Congratulations on your beautiful boy & I hope you’re feeling better soon!!
Posted: June 25th, 2012 at 11:57 am
Congratulations to your beautiful baby boy and expanding family!
Posted: June 25th, 2012 at 12:33 pm
My warmest congrats to you & your family! I hope you’re feeling better by now. He’s such a sweety and soooo tiny!
Posted: June 25th, 2012 at 9:04 pm
Oh Sarah, he is just lovely! Rest well and happy snuggling, he looks like a right peach on his quilt there, you make such beautiful things (including people)!
Posted: June 26th, 2012 at 4:27 am
Congrats! He looks wonderful. I’m glad that it was mostly complicationless, and wish you a very speedy recovery.
Posted: June 26th, 2012 at 1:54 pm
Congratulations! So handsome too. Hugs all round 🙂 and a perfect time for his arrival. I have to giggle at the thought of casting on larger hats – as my 2nd child has always had a noggin between 96 and the 99 percentile, by his 2nd week he went from the 70% in weight to the *cough* not on the charts percentile. I never thanked the fates more for deeming that situation a c-section. (At 2 years he was wearing an adult sized bike helmet.) Many wishes for a speedy recovery.
Posted: June 26th, 2012 at 6:46 pm
oh Sarah, I wish I could hug you both…
Congratulations my friend and endless blessings on you all. I could write “War and Peace” right now but I have some quilts to finish. Ada and Jolyon are waiting.
I love his name. My father is Julian…Your spelling is so much cooler…
Posted: June 27th, 2012 at 4:20 am
Congratulations! Best wishes to you and your family.
Posted: June 28th, 2012 at 4:50 pm
Congratulations! A little boy!! So happy for you and your family! Lots of love!
Posted: June 30th, 2012 at 5:00 am
Welcome baby boy! I absolutely LOVE his name!! As the mother of a boy, I know that they often make dramatic entrances! I hope you are back on your feet soon. Congratulations to you and your family!!!
Posted: July 8th, 2012 at 5:12 am
Oh Happy Happy Day Mama!! Welcome to the world and happy birthday, dear sir Jolyon! Congrats to the new family of four, and may your days be full and your nights restful!