Introducing our newest sweet pea, Zeph Owen!
Zephie was born on October 12 after a verrrry short and slightly dramatic labor. I went to bed at 10:30 thinking 'are these real contractions?', woke up at 12:30 thinking 'yep these seem pretty real', and then things escalated quickly, and he was born just 1.5 hours later.
The drive to the hospital was pretty dramatic complete with driving the wrong way down the hospital loop, and abandoning the car at the ER...but baby was born maybe 15 minutes after arriving at the hospital, so in retrospect there wasn't much other choice.
With Kai, I was in labor for a good 24 hours before he was born, so it was very surprising to have such a short labor! We are so glad my mom was staying with us to watch Kai because we wouldn't have had time to drop him off anywhere else.
We are all recovering well and adjusting to a new family of four.
Kai absolutely loves his little brother and gives him lots of gentle hugs and kisses. Zeph always calms down and stares up at his big brother when Kai is around. It is so sweet!
The name Zeph is inspired by 'zephyr', which means a calm western breeze. I was reading Kai a coastal British Columbia ABC book when I was pregnant and the baby was kicking like crazy.
We got to the letter Z, which was for 'zephyr', and something about the word stuck with me...strong but soft at the same time.
Both Ben and I preferred Zeph to Zephyr for a boys name. And it seems like a good name for a grown up man...some of the cute baby boy names I liked I just couldn't picture on a grown man.
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It is so crazy how much Zeph looks like Kai did as a newborn...I sometimes get confused and call him Kai!
In fact they look so alike, I'm thrown off when Zeph has different preferences. For example Zeph just LOVES tummy time, whereas Kai would scream about 10 seconds into it.
I'm so excited to find out what other differences there are between them.
I had a difficult time adjusting to having a baby first time around, and was expecting it to be equally challenging this time.
It is both easier and more difficult second time around. Knowing how to nurse makes this 1000% easier, and having been through this stage before makes things smoother for sure. I'm more confident, faster at changing diapers, and so far handling the sleep deprivation much better this time.
But having to balance two kids is tough and I wish I had more one on one time with Kai.
Plus, I know we're only 1.5 weeks in and last time, 3 weeks was when the fussy stage and reflux hell hit us hard...so I'm bracing myself. But, having been through it before, hopefully we will know what to do should we have another fussy baby.
And the big thing that I know as a second-time mom is that 'this too shall pass'. Everything, the sweet stuff and the not so sweet stuff. So I'm enjoying the snuggles and taking lots of photos and trying to enjoy it all.
Thanks for reading through!
I have blog posts & recipes scheduled out until the end of December, and will be slower to check in and answer questions/comments. Thanks for all your well wishes! They mean a lot to us 🙂
Janet says
Congratulations! ??? God Bless
Denise says
Thanks, Janet!
Janice says
Congratulations on your latest miracle. Your labour stories sounds very similar to my two births. I love the name....very original.
I came across your website 4 weeks ago when I returned from mat leave and I love it. I have tried numerous recipes so far and look forward to trying more! Thank you for sharing all your hard work with us...food and family related! 🙂
Good luck mama!
Denise says
Thanks so much, Janice! Let me know if you have any recipe requests 🙂
Charlie says
Congratulations from Deb and I.
Denise says
Thank you!
Toni says
Congratulations! So precious. Enjoy.
Denise says
Thanks so much, Toni 🙂
Emma says
Many many congratulations!
Denise says
Thanks, Emma!
Bonnie says
Congratulations on your perfect bundle of Joy! <3
Denise says
Thanks so much, Bonnie!
Sheryl says
Congrats, what a cherub! Wishing you good health and thanks for all you do!
Denise says
Thank you, Sheryl!
Izzy says
Congratulations to you all! He's so adorable!!! That is so awesome that Kai is great with him and that Zeph seems to already love Kai too! That must be so fun experiencing their different personalities! Fingers crossed no reflux for Zeph! 🙂
Denise says
Thanks Izzy! Fingers crossed. So far, so good. Just lots of gas!
Anne says
Congratulations! Beautiful pictures and story. Very best wishes to you all!
Denise says
Thanks so much, Anne!
ellf says
Congratulations on the safe delivery of your newest sweet pea. He's a beauty. Thank you for sharing his arrival with us.
Denise says
Thank you!
Lorraine says
Congratulations! Welcome to Zeph! He looks adorable, just like his big brother! ?
Denise says
Thanks, Lorraine! He really looks so much like his brother!
Denise says
Congratulations and best wishes for you and your family.
May God bless you all. Aloha ❤️
Denise says
Thanks so much, Denise!
Wendy says
Congrats! What an exciting birth story! I am so excited for your new addition!
Denise says
Thanks, Wendy!
April @ Girl Gone Gourmet says
Welcome, Baby Zeph! So adorable - congrats and best wishes to you all ❤
Denise says
Thanks so much, April 🙂
connie says
Love how he came into the world, and that all of you are adjusting well. Congratulations again!! Your new normal is beautiful!!
Denise says
Thanks, Connie! Hopefully there won't be too much more drama, LOL!
Lorena says
Again congratulations!! I am so happy for you. And yes, the second time around is SO MUCH EASIER!! For me it stayed like that until now.
Denise says
Thank you so much, Lorena! I think I was 'shell shocked' after the first baby for a good couple of months. So much easier this time! (Knocking on wood as I say that LOL)
Kerry says
Congratulations!
Denise says
Thanks so much, Kerry!