Introducing Peter

So about five months ago, we had a baby. And the computer became terminally ill, sequestering the pictures that we faithfully took of his birth and first few weeks. The new computer has a different operating system and I am still trying to figure out how to find things.

So here is his birth story.
Peter's birth shared one similarity with Elanor's--a baby was born. Everything else was different. I was fully expecting Peter to be born on or just before his due date. After all, I had gone into labor with Ellie a couple of days before hers and it was only the long labor that resulted in her being born on her due date. So when the 14th came and went (with the delightful news of the birth of Calia's daughter), I was hot, tired and so very ready to be done!

After church on the Sunday before the birth:

The big red rubber ball at Bloedel during Ben and Andie's visit:


Thursday night, we did our usual cleanup and, even though it was late, I decided to make our list of things to pack for the birth center as the last thing before I went to bed. This turned out to be a good thing because as soon as I lay down, my water broke. After a frantic cleanup and a page to our midwife to let her know to expect a call from us sometime in the next day when I started labor, we went back to bed hoping to get some rest before labor actually started. With Ellie, there was a period of several hours after the water broke but before labor started but this time we had barely half an hour before I had to get up and pace through the house to distract myself from the contractions. Jonathan rushed around packing our bag for the birth center while I snacked and started singing through the contractions. We deliberated for a while about when to call my mom to come stay with Ellie (who mercifully slept through the entire process) but finally decided at 2:00 that we were ready to have her come. While we were waiting for her to arrive, labor intensified enough that I needed Jonathan's help during contractions. I remember being scared at how intense things felt and beginning to be worried about whether I could make it through the ten to twelve more hours that I anticipated before the baby would actually be born. Jonathan and I left for the birth center around 4:00 and had a wild ride across 520 to Kirkland. I won't say how fast we were going but it is a good thing that there were neither police officers or other cars headed our direction. It also turns out that having been somewhere 18 months previously doesn't necessarily mean that you will remember how to get there after a night of no sleep and with a laboring woman in the front seat. After several wrong turns we found it (much to our relief--I was starting to think that I might be having the baby in the car). I just had time to get in the blissfully warm tub before I started pushing. Peter Pascal was born on September 16th at 5:17 am weighing 8lbs 11oz.




Mom stopped by with Elanor to see the baby and bring us breakfast and a few other things that we had forgotten (including an outfit for Peter to go home in) before taking her for a couple of days of pampering at the grandparents house. We enjoyed our days at home resting and snuggling the new baby before she came home and we started life as a family of four.



Peter Pascal: We deliberated on the baby's name up until his due date before finally making a decision. Peter has been one of our top choices for a boys name since before Ellie was born. For me, at least, that dates back to the charming and chivalrous Peters Pevensy and Wimsey. It also is a name that occurs frequently in Jonathan's family line. Our Peter is the only one in his generation so far but we don't expect it to remain that way. I have a fondness for somewhat obscure nature references in names and the "rock" sneaked in there too. Most importantly, it reflects our desire to see him grow up to be the passionate follower of Christ that Peter the Apostle became.
We wanted to continue the alliteration theme that we began with Ellie's name but after searching through name books and websites, were having a difficult time coming up with a name to match Peter. Either they were variant on Peter, Paul (Peter, Paul and Mary, anyone? No!) or impossibly odd. We briefly considered Penuel but figured that since we couldn't decide definitely how it was supposed to be pronounced, that wasn't the best option either. We finally chose Pascal for the French philosopher, theologian and mathematician and the roots of the name in the Hebrew Paschal or Passover.