A birth day announcement

Joseph: a couple hours old

Momma: thrilled to be holding her son

Nora with daddy: Getting to know her baby brother


Joseph Stephen Shipp
July 30 , 1:37am
8 pounds, 4 ounces
19.75 inches

Our handsome, sweet boy has arrived! We love him more with each passing minute. After laboring most of Sunday, the contractions became more intense around 7pm with Joseph arriving just under 7 hours later. We were grateful for a successful VBAC experience even as we realized that no birth can be planned out exactly as one would wish. Laboring went well, but pushing proved difficult and ended with a couple episiotomies. I had really hoped to avoid that, so it made the last few pushes more difficult, but less than 24 hours later, the experience is already fading replaced by the joy of getting to know our little boy, watching Stephen rock his son to sleep (what he's doing right now), and rejoicing to see Nora give her brother kisses. Now it's time for a tired momma to get some sleep. Thanks to all who prayed for us in the last days of waiting. We were grateful to be able to welcome Joseph into the world on his due date!