For months I eagerly anticipated meeting the little one, and true to her nickname, Sprout — our darling Gemma Lumen — arrived on March 20, the first day of spring, after almost 16 hours of labor. It was long and grueling, but the gush of relief I felt with that final push sent a surge of endorphins through my body that I’ll never forget.
Despite the drawn-out wait, Gemma’s entrance into the world was one of calmness and curiosity. She was wide-eyed and alert immediately after birth, and it took a few days for it to really sink in that this tiny creature was actually mine, that I grew those little toes and that delicate nose inside my body from what was once a mass of cells.
Pregnancy and birth is a wild and wonderful miracle, and one that I would put as one of life’s pinnacle experiences. For the female body to serve as a vessel for such a monumental achievement is nothing short of mind-boggling.
Even more mind-boggling, as I think back to the days leading to her birth, was the fact that just a mere 10 hours before I went into labor, I was high on a cliff on a coastal hike with Will. I get sentimental now that I know it was her last adventure in utero, and a fitting one for our Pisces baby.
Though I’ve only known Gemma for a short two weeks, I already see slivers of myself and of Will in her temperament. She’s such an easy and happy baby, and has made this initial period at home surprisingly peaceful.
She eats well and sleeps well, and loves tummy time and skin-on-skin time. Though the round-the-clock nursing is hard, and my hormones are taking me for quite an emotional and physical ride right now, her little coos and spontaneous smiles simply make me melt.
I seesaw between moments of intense bliss and then of utter tiredness. Parenthood has already proven itself to be a crazy, can’t-believe-we’re-in-charge-of-this-new-life-and-get-to-keep-her thing. But we’re still in the newborn honeymoon phase, and I just adore her at this age.
Will has been a phenomenal help around the house and is fully in charge of diaper duty, as well as pug duty, chicken duty, garden duty, kitchen duty… He has truly exceeded my expectations as a husband and father, and there’s nothing sweeter than seeing your partner hold his child in his arms.
How something so pure and vulnerable can have such a profound and beautiful impact on our relationship is a fact I’m still trying to wrap my mind around.
We’re slowly but surely settling into a new routine at home, and I’m trying to remind myself to take it easy and enjoy all these ephemeral moments.
Welcome home, sweet girl, I’m so glad you’re ours.
27 Comments
Edna
July 21, 2016 at 2:21 pmWhat a beautiful baby! Congratulations!!!
Linda Ly of Garden Betty
October 15, 2016 at 1:48 amThank you so much!
Linda Ly of Garden Betty
April 28, 2016 at 8:37 pmThank you Jenny!
Barbara Liszcz
April 7, 2016 at 3:32 amCongratulations to you, Linda and Will. Your Gemma is an angel of love and light. Blessings to you all. <3 … Linda, rest, hydrate, rest, hydrate, rest. and Enjoy your new babe to the fullest. 🙂
Linda Ly of Garden Betty
April 28, 2016 at 8:49 pmThank you so much Barbara! We are smitten with this little babe.
Silly Little Sheep
April 7, 2016 at 3:00 amShe is so sweet. I am happy for you that she eats and sleeps well, I wish that for my children one day 🙂
Karen
April 6, 2016 at 2:07 pmCongrats Linda and Will. Enjoy every moment.
Linda Ly of Garden Betty
April 28, 2016 at 8:40 pmThank you Karen!
Emily Han
April 6, 2016 at 11:37 amCongratulations, Linda and Will, and welcome, Gemma!
Linda Ly of Garden Betty
April 28, 2016 at 8:39 pmThank you Emily!
jeanniebeans
April 6, 2016 at 11:27 amOH my goodness, congratulations! Look at her sweet face! I just got your cookbook in the mail last week and can’t wait to whip it up in the kitchen 😉 thanks for sharing your stories with us all~!!
Linda Ly of Garden Betty
April 28, 2016 at 8:40 pmThank you so much! And thank you for supporting my book; I hope you have a lot of fun with it this season!
Deb at Counting My Chickens
April 6, 2016 at 10:23 amCongratulations, Linda and Will. She is beautiful. Enjoy all of these moments with little Gemma.
Linda Ly of Garden Betty
April 28, 2016 at 8:38 pmThank you Deb! The days are already flying by with her!
Cyndi
April 6, 2016 at 7:37 amCongratulations!!! She is a beautiful baby!! So happy for you both. The miracle of birth never gets old, it is amazing!!
Linda Ly of Garden Betty
April 28, 2016 at 8:37 pmThank you Cyndi! Birth is certainly a crazy/beautiful thing.
Cherryl
April 6, 2016 at 7:27 amWhat a gorgeous little bun you guys have cooked up! Best recipe ever! Congratulations to you both, and thanks for posting these adorable pictures.
Linda Ly of Garden Betty
April 28, 2016 at 8:35 pmThank you Cherryl!
McKenzie
April 6, 2016 at 7:07 amEeee I have been checking out your Instagram and such waiting for this beautiful news! So excited for you and the pictures you have are stunning. What a gift in itself. She’s perfect!
Lisa of Fresh Eggs Daily®
April 6, 2016 at 6:22 amOh that first photo is killing me! SO you. Little garden baby. Congratulations Linda – I’ve been thinking about you and wondering how things were going.
Linda Ly of Garden Betty
April 28, 2016 at 8:32 pmThank you Lisa! Life at home has been very cozy, but I’m happy to be back in the garden and working on my blog again!
Nina Khosla
April 6, 2016 at 4:09 amCongratulations! And thanks for writing a post about it. It’s sweet to hear the details of your life.
Linda Ly of Garden Betty
April 28, 2016 at 8:23 pmThank you Nina!
Cary Bradley
April 6, 2016 at 2:50 amCongratulations Linda and Will. Could not be happier for you. What a beauty she is and what beauty she brings. Have been wondering about you all and waiting for terrific news coming soon. Your description of life now is very familiar to me. There is nothing like birth and these early days and it blesses me to read your beautiful words because they remind me of our life together (and ours are in their 20s). 🙂 Bless you all and thanks so much for sharing.
Linda Ly of Garden Betty
April 28, 2016 at 8:23 pmThank you Cary! We love her more and more every day… and it seems like she picks up a new skill every week! Ahhh she’s changing so much already!
Uzo
April 6, 2016 at 1:18 amI knew it. Congratulations. I have been stalking your blog to get updates. Its a haze for the first few weeks but you begin to emerge gradually. I am a huge huge fan but i have never commented. I cannot wait to follow your adventures with a little one in tow.
Linda Ly of Garden Betty
April 28, 2016 at 8:21 pmThank you so much for this comment! Our new schedule is certainly a change, but now that she’s passed the one-month mark and is staying more awake during the day, it’s so fun to take her out in the garden while I work! She loves to focus her eyes on all the different flowers.