THE BIRTH OF SAPPHIRE

"The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire."
Revelation 21:19

Our journey to Sapphire's birthday was blessed in every way I can imagine. Right from the start when we found out we were expecting her until her first breath, God kept showing us His love for our family. It was the day before Jed's birthday when I gave him an extra special present: a small poem I wrote that at  the end announced our little one was coming soon. Jed was totally overwhelmed that the Lord had blessed us again. Throughout my pregnancy I felt a deep connection with my baby and the sea. Yes, I know, it sounds so crazy but from the way she moved to bible verses God placed on my heart, everything seemed to point this baby to the ocean. And now she is here, her big blue eyes really do look like deep waters. She is always on the move and simply full of life but I do feel we're yet to fully understand what this connection might mean.

In the early hours of April 17th I woke up feeling light contractions, which seemed nothing new as I had been getting a similar feeling for the few weeks leading up to her birth. I tried to sleep as much as I could however towards 9 am I started to feel a real sense of excitement and anticipation... I treated myself to a lovely, warm bath at 10am as I wanted to be as relaxed for birth as possible if anything were to really kick off. Low and behold, from the moment I got out of the tub there was a sudden jump in contractions from mild to strong. Labor had begun! 

This was all an entirely new sensation to me, as with Jasper I skipped most of my early labour and my waters broke at the start. We weren't sure how long it would be so we called Jed's mum and some of the girls to come and give us some company around midday. I was really enthusiastic in my heart to make the most of my contractions so I tried to practice calm breathing, squats and other gentle exercises in between. One exercise I did at Mum's suggestion was to walk up and down our stairs like a huge, bloated crab. It was one of the last things I wanted to be doing at the time but it really got things moving!

It was so encouraging to have Jed's mum with us. She kept me going when I needed the motivation and brought such peace. The girls were just the best help from looking after Jasper, to bringing us drinks and really working with me through labor. We were such a team! I felt like everyone knew how I was feeling and thinking and did all they could to encourage and support me.

I could not have done a moment without my Jed though. He really was my world in those more intense moments. We talked and laughed all the way through and during contractions I would lean on him as he helped me to focus and breathe. The whole experience brought us closer and it was so bonding and special to know we were working together.

As things progressed to a faster pace we called our midwives and what lovely ladies they were. Praise Jesus for the blessing of them being there! They came and simply sat outside our room, checking occasionally how I felt and monitoring Sapphire's heart beat. At around 4:30pm I was relieved to learn that I was 7cm so I decided then to get in bed and have some entinox/gas and air. That really took the edge off and let me relax. So much so that, miraculously, only half an hour later, my waters broke and were swiftly followed by the arrival of baby at 17:08! Our lovely midwife passed her up to me through my nightie and Jed told me that it was baby Sapphire. It was a beautiful moment that cannot be described, holding her for the first time. And as she grows it becomes more and more precious a memory. 

Funny Jed though. After a few joyous tears from seeing that Sapphire had beautiful red hair, the first thing he thought of was "Oh my goodness, I'm going to have to walk her down the aisle one day." Thinking this over, we are sure that it is important. A loving reminder from our Heavenly Father on day one that our children are not our own but simply on loan from Him. It is just our responsibility as parents to help secure a foundation for the beautiful life God has planned for them.

Fifi,  (her affectionate name, meaning, may Jehovah add)  is now a few months old, is learning to sit up and is already surprisingly mobile. In fact as we write this, she is lying on her play mat and shooting forward in some kind of army crawl for the first time! She tries to talk and has the sweetest little cooing conversations with us but definitely seems to have the strongest bond with her Daddy. She is a chubby (considering my ante-natal visits estimated her to be a small 4-5lb baby!) bundle of joy and always ready to give you a smile. 

We are so thankful to God for blessing us with the most beautiful precious gem: our baby Sapphire. We love you little girl!

                                               Happy to play and nap all through labour

Doing so well Rosie!

Jasper gets his lollipop

Her little hat was crocheted by Talitha

We love you Fifi