The new family begins: June 2007

Sorry to keep all waiting, we have been busy learning the "How to" guide on caring for a new born writen by Nana MacKenzie. It has been so wonderful the little tips here and there that have come up and we are just trying to learn as much as possible before Shirley leaves.

Other than that things have been good, we have been trying to figure out the night thing still but we are starting, and I totally mean STARTING, to understand what Renee wants. Too bad that road to fully understanding is so long but we will get there eventually.

So Renee is sucking on her hand furiously at times to soothe herself just like she was in the one ultrasound picture that she had many moons ago, and so is also enjoying her sleep during the day and enjoying her time awake at night, so right now she is a little backwards but we'll figure that out soon enough. She also has a tiny bit of Jaundice but nothing a little milk and light won't fix.

Stephanie is doing fantastic. Feeling much better on day 2 and her waddle has subsided quite a bit compared to the first day as the mid section pains are starting to dwindle. We are both trying to rest as much as possible and we are truly loving every second that we have to share with Renee. Family and friends have stopped by and it has been fantastic to start a new family with so many wonderful people.

Enjoy the pics from day 2

Well the entire labour was planned from start to finish just like any Van Marrewyk would plan! However, I forgot that Stephanie was a converted Van Marrewyk and that just does not jive with any system that I may want to implement. SOOOOO, here goes the story (short version). Contractions started approximately at 3:00 pm on June 22nd and were about 7 to 9 minutes apart. At 6:00 we went out to dinner in Ladner and luckily knew the waitress so she was cool with us eating and steph stopping once in a while to have her contraction and then continuing with our wonderful protein filled pasta. By the time we got home things were hitting stride and we were setting up camp in the tv room in order for Steph to have enough room for the contractions.............time passed and the fitness ball helped huge up until her comfort level dropped. She started getting 2 contractions in a row followed by a short 3-4 minute break. At this point the F-bombs were going full boar and she just was not looking forward to the car ride to the hospital. At this time it was 3:15 in the morning of June 23rd and our midwife, who had been with us since 11:30 pm of the 22nd, said that we needed to go now or stay home for the home delivery...............the car ride there was uneventful until Westminster Hwy or 5 minutes before the hospital. Stephanie all of a sudden piped up and said, while she was contracting, I feel the urge to push, I can't stop it!!!!!!!!! So I pull into the parking lot and pull right into the emergancy entrance thinking that things are still good, well I was wrong. Open her door, she was in the back by the way on all fours the entire time trying to cope with all of this. So I try to get her out and POP, there goes her water. Well not that it really matters, but nothing got on the interior of the car ;). SO now the urge to push is huge and steph is saying that it is going to come now and she is not moving from her current position, on all fours in the car!!!! She is paralyzed by the urge to push and for one moment it settles so that we were able to pull her out of the car and put her into the wheelchair so that we could get her into the hospital and into a room. As soon as Steph went to sit down though she could feel that the head was already crowning, so she had to support herself with her arms so that she did not hurt Renee. So this is where everyone tares in different directions, I had to park the bloody car, and Stephanie, her mom, our midwife, and a security guard try to get her to a bed in that maternity ward, which is three floors up and then around about 5 corners. So in the elevator, pants start coming down and shoes start being loosened and sure enought the head is crowning and there is no time to wait. Meanwhile, I, Ron, am parking the car grabbing the suitcase and making my way up the elevator to the third floor so that I can partake in this entire experience. I get into the maternity ward and of course all of the nurses are helping steph and I am left stranded and have no idea which room she is in, I run right Nothing, yell, Nothing, run through reception and I spot a runner, sure enough it was stephanie's So the moral of this story for MEN that is, if in doubt follow your ears, Screams can lead you places I tell ya. In I go to where she was and yup things are well on their way. Three good pushes and out comes our new bundle of joy. It was an awesome experience that we would never exchange for anything in the world. Through the pain, for Stephanie, and just watching your wife in pain, for me, there is nothing that can really describe what we went through today.

At 4:23 am we gave birth to a little baby girl who weighed in at 7 lbs 10 ounces, lots and lots of hair as you can see and all the love from friends and family all over the world, Thank you to everyone for all of your thoughts and prayers over the past 9 months and it obviously paid off as we could not have asked for a better ending, at 11:30 am on the same day we left the hospital and are now resting comfortably at home, with Nana MacKenzie and Autie Sara who made the trip over from the island today.

Talk to you all soon,

Ronald, Stephanie, and Renee Van Marrewyk