Then comes marriage…

And FINALLY,

Sam and Mel are pushing a baby carriage.

We welcomed Samuel Madison Worthington V to our world at 10:14 in the morning on August 31, 2009.  He weighed in at 8 lbs, 4 oz and 20.5 inches long.  Momma calls him Fiver and Poppa calls him Madison.  We are madly in love and can’t take our eyes off of him.

The birth had a destiny of its own, he surprised us all by coming down breech and necessitating a cesarean section at the hospital.  While the loss of the opportunity to birth at home was devastating, I did go into labor on my own birthday after a great day spent with family and close friends and had the opportunity to labor naturally through the night and morning before the OR was ready for us.  He came out yelling and didn’t even need suction, he was healthy and aware.  We were given a very special gift:  he was passed directly to me under the surgical fields as he emerged for skin to skin contact before being cleaned up and assessed, a very special thanks to Nancy and Dr. Fitzhugh for making that happen for us.  Therese got these photos with our camera of that moment, I can’t believe we have the most joyful moment of our lives to date recorded like this (rock on, Therese….)

Here’s photos of our midwife, Nancy, helping us with our first latch moments later:

Here’s a few photos of what our first two weeks as a new family have looked like.  We can’t thank or friends and family enough for all the supportive phone calls, grocery store runs, home cooked meals and love.  We can’t thank our clients enough for their patience as we get settled as a family…  we may be a little slow to respond right now but we’re still here!  One thing about life with a newborn is that you are definitely living in the moment…

The nights are rough and the days disjointed but this is what I wake up to every morning.  Life is good.