Our precious rainbow baby, Andrew Bennett, was born on December 9th at 9:13pm. He was nine pounds exactly and 20.9 inches long. We are overjoyed to finally have him in our arms!

 

—— OUR SECOND AFRICAN BIRTH ——

This was my second time giving birth in Kenya. The thought of having a baby in Africa can sound scary at first, but let me assure you, we were well taken care of at Aga Khan University Hospital. Our team of doctors was stellar…with both Oxford and Cornell graduates at my bedside, I felt confident in their abilities to keep me and Andrew safe and healthy!

After weeks of all signs pointing to Andrew’s arrival to be an early one (he was measuring big, engaged for labor, etc.), I was induced on my due date of December 8th. I was SOOOOOOOO ready to have this baby!

I had my water broken by my doctor midday, then I was wheeled off to the other side of the hospital to find an open delivery room (the ones in our ward were all full!). From there, I was given an epidural, which I am convinced is a medical blessing from the Lord! They put me on a Pitocin drip to regulate contractions (which I barely felt) and a few hours later, Andrew was in my arms!

Similar to Levi, we officially named Andrew Bennett about 45 minutes after he was born. We weren’t trying to keep his name a secret…we honestly weren’t 100% set. Just two weeks prior, Nate and I were scrolling through “Top 1000 Baby Boy Names” for the hundredth time…boy names are tough! We chose Andrew Bennett for a very simple reason…we like it!

—— A FAMILY OF FOUR ——

Whew! What an adjustment it is to add a newborn to the family, especially with an energetic toddler! Levi first met Andrew at the hospital. He was so excited and even tried looking in other rooms for “baby brother” while we waited for Nate to bring him back from seeing the doctor. We were worried Levi would be jealous of Andrew, or angry towards him, but he has shown Andrew nothing but (intense) love!

According to Kenyan law, new moms get three months of maternity leave and dads get two weeks. WHAT. A. BLESSING. It was so nice to have Nate around to wrangle Levi and play with him while I figure out nursing and sleeping all over again.

Not all moments are perfect, as we learn to adjust. Levi has become a bit more defiant (we are currently reading books on discipline to implement ASAP!) and I struggled a lot with nursing and sleep deprivation when we first arrived home. A month later, we are finding a rhythm to the chaos. We have been so blessed by friends in our community who have brought delicious meals to us. (I’m convinced this is one of the best ways to minister to folks with newborns….FOOD!)

—— BABY & MINISTRY ——

Unlike Levi’s birthday, Andrew’s ended up being at a wonderful time of year in regards to ministry. Things slowed down for the Christmas holidays (it’s more like a summer break here in Kenya) which has freed us up to focus on our family and get some quality time together. Gosh, when Levi was born it was quite stressful, as we were trying to get youth ministry up and rolling before his birth on September 10th!

Over the holidays we spent a bit of time planning for the upcoming semester and mapping out Disciple Now 2020 plans.  Nate has now started back to work full time, so I am now learning how to take care of two kiddos at the same time!

—— PRAYER REQUESTS ——

• Praise the Lord for a smooth and healthy delivery!!!
• Praise the Lord for our community who has loved us well through providing meals and snacks. It is such a help, especially as we are far from family.
• Andrew has a Thrush infection…pray for healing to come quickly.
• Pray for wisdom as we learn how to love and parent our boys in a Godly manner. (Especially in the realm of discipline.)