Our little family of FOUR!

On Sunday, February 21, we welcomed the newest member of the Smith family.

Grant Charles was born at 3:03am, weighing 6 pounds, 13.5 ounces, and measuring 19.5 inches long. The family is doing well and we are so excited about another sweet boy!

Now, for some pictures and the details...

On Saturday night, I started having some cramping and contractions around 7:30pm. I didn't think it was "real labor" since I had the same feelings a week ago and ended up with no baby. So I told myself and Matt that we didn't have to worry - I would be fine.

However, by 8:00, the contractions became stronger and more regular. Matt put Steven to bed and we tried to get some sleep, too. Unfortunately, sleep was not an option because from 8:00 on, I had contractions every two to three minutes, and they gradually increased in intensity and duration.


By 1:00am, I was incredibly uncomfortable (the pain!) and I tried to take a warm bath. By the time I was out of the tub, Matt and I both knew that I was pretty far into the process and we had better get some family members to the house. I had planned on having my parents arrive during labor so my dad could stay at the house with Steven and so my mom, my sister, and my friend Shantelle could join us for the delivery of the baby at the birthing center. Things didn't go quite as we planned because Matt and I waited a little too long to contact everyone.

Matt called my family and the on-call midwife around 1:50am, and at that point my parents started driving to my house from Elbert. Felicia also left. While Matt was on the phone with the midwife, my water broke. I had an instant moment of panic because I felt the baby drop very low and I knew delivery would be soon. We didn't have time to wait for my parents, so Matt went next door to wake up our sleepy and incredibly wonderful neighbors (who were very surprised to see him at their door). They came to our house to stay with Steven and Matt and I left between 2:15 and 2:30am. It took Matt 15 minutes to get to the birthing center, and the entire drive was intense. I felt the baby coming out, and I was really worried we would end up with a new baby in the car! We made it to the birthing center, and 15 minutes later, Grant was born. It was a very exciting moment when we found out we had another boy!

We stayed at the birthing center for four hours, and Oma, Felicia, and Shantelle were all able to pay us a short visit (since they missed the birth). At 7:00am, Matt and I loaded up our son into his car seat and we drove home to introduce him to Steven.

When we got home, Opa, Oma, and Steven were playing. Steven noticed that "Mommy doesn't have a baby in her tummy" and when we showed him Grant, he was surprised. He didn't know what to think at first, but when Grant gave Steven his big brother gift (a sting ray puppet), Steven was so excited and wanted to play with his new toy. This gave Mommy and Grant some time to rest and relax. Later in the day, Steven was excited to see his baby brother. He would say "Awwwwww. It's my new baby brother" and he told us that he was the big brother. I loved to watch Steven look at and admire Grant. It was adorable.

So that's our story. We are adjusting well to being a family of four and we look forward to the good times ahead.

Grant Charles - a few minutes old

Mommy and her sweet boy

A tired but happy group

Daddy cuts the chord

Oma's newest grandson

Aunt Ishi gets another nephew

Shantelle holds Grant in the early morning hours

7:00am - Getting ready to go home

Opa and Grant meet for the first time

Grant and his big brother, Steven

Uncle Jerad and Grant - they get to share a birthday!