We are so happy and grateful to be able to announce the birth of our second baby girl! Friday morning – July 20th at 7 am – Alela was born. She is healthy and content and a breastfeeding pro. She looks like her big sister, who is extremely proud of her little sis. Of course I am still in exhausted-transition-recovery-mombrain mode, but I feel so much more energized this second time around. And I couldn’t wait to share with you some first shots and stories of Alela Maze!

Friday evening we announced Alela’s birth on Instagram and Facebook and the outpouring of love and congratulations was truly heartwarming. You guys are amazing! I also got a lot of questions and DM’s, about her birth and about how we are doing. So, here we go!

Here she is! Meet Alela 💗 She was born this morning at 7 am. She is healthy and drinking very well 🙏🏻 Isaya is a super proud big sis ❤️ I am so grateful and in love with my girls 😍

Een bericht gedeeld door Ｃｏｌｕｍｎｓ ｂｙ Ｋａｒｉ (@karivdheide) op 20 Jul 2018 om 11:18 (PDT)

Alela’s Birth Story

Alela announced herself at midnight, seven hours before she was born. My water broke. We went to the hospital, because my midwife had reason to believe there was meconium in my amniotic fluid. At the hospital they were able to monitor the baby and me “wirelessly” – which meant I was able to move around our room and work through my contractions. At 6 AM the intervals between my contractions were pretty much non existent and the pain was definitely at a ten. Thankfully, around 6:30 AM I was fully dilated and ready to push. At 6:54 I held Alela in my arms…

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She was healthy and screaming and was allowed to stay in my arms for two full hours, before they did her checkup. Isaya was there for the checkup and was such a sweet and proud sister! Alela drank from my breast for an entire hour before her checkup: she is an absolute natural when it comes to breastfeeding. Her scores were perfect and we were transferred to our recovery room, where we stayed till 3:30 PM. I was glad we were able to go home the same day and settle into our life as a family of four girls.

Alela’s birth, though it was intense and painful, was a truly amazing experience. If you’ve read Isaya’s birth story, you know she had to be admitted after birth, which was the most horrific experience of my life. I’m grateful Alela was given a more peaceful start.

Breastfeeding

I am breastfeeding on demand and thankfully it is going really well. On day four Alela was already back to her birth weight (3190 gram, a little over 7 pounds). We don’t have a schedule, I have no idea how often or how much she drinks, I just know she drinks enough. She is peeing and pooing and growing and content. On day three the breast engorgement started – something that caused quite a bit of trouble with Isaya, as I had enough milk to feed the entire neighborhood – but I have since then learned how to deal with this better, so I feel confident demand and supply will align soon enough.

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Sisters

O the girls! I am in love. Isaya is such a sweet big sister. She is so caring and kind. She wants to hold Alela all the time, she keeps telling me how cute her sister is and that her Alela loves her. She is like a little mama. Alela is one lucky little baby to have a sister like that.

Recovery

My recovery is going ten times quicker this second time around. Even though I have sutures, they are waaaay less painful than last time. My midwife did an amazing job. My energy is quite high, even though my nights with Alela are very, very short. I’ve been up and about since day two and feel great. My wife has time off for another two weeks and is taking such good care of all of us. I couldn’t be more proud, of all of my girls.

#RealLife

I feel very happy and grateful. This doesn’t mean I am not extremely tired at times and that sutures and engorgement don’t cause inconvenience and discomfort. I just feel like these things are part of the deal and are very much worth it. We also have great help, from family, friends and maternity care – so we are not doing this on our own.

Please, don’t ever feel like my story needs to be your story and if you feel disheartened, insecure, depressed or stressed after birth, don’t hesitate to ask for help from a professional. Either a breastfeeding consultant, your doctor, midwife or another specialist. Also, talk about what you are going through to other moms, online or with friends. You are never alone.