To the women in my life

 Erika:

I will never take motherhood for granted. It's crazy to think that at one point,  I thought this might not even be a possibility for me. Now, so many years later, we have two beautiful babies who I couldn't imagine our life without. 

My Mother's Day morning was filled with cuddles.

I am incredibly overwhelmed at the thought of all of the women in my life who have led me to motherhood and taken part in this journey. 

Mayla with the mamas.

So thank you to the women who have taught me how to be a mother. 

Thank you to my own mother, who has worked through so much joy and sorrow this year, with so much strength, grace, and honesty. Throughout my life, I have seen her do so much to break cycles and define motherhood for herself and it has absolutely shaped the woman I have become.

Thank you to the women who have acted as mothers to me and loved me as their own.

To the women who have offered up wisdom, but allowed room for discovery.

To the women who have prayed over us and sent so much love our way.

To the mothers who have shared their own struggles with me, so openly. 

To the mothers who have lent an ear and just listened to my own.

To the mothers who have generously helped nourish our babies and made them so healthy and strong.

And to the two women, Tina and Florencia, whose hearts lead them to sacrifice their own bodies to do what my body could not, and cared for my babies so deeply, as only a mother can.

We decided to share the video from Mayla's birth, figuring, so many people have been a part of our story and we really wanted to welcome you into this very special moment in our lives.

"Dear Mayla,

I look forward to seeing the kind of woman you will become. I pray that you are always surrounded by other women who will love and uplift you, whom you can lean on and trust, and I pray that you become the kind of woman who will do that in return. Love you baby girl, now and always."

---excerpt from a letter to our new baby

Earth Day 2021

Erika:

Not that long ago we were still waiting, rather impatiently, for baby girl's arrival. But as with all things, it was not about our timing, and ultimately I couldn't have hoped for a more perfect date than Earth Day.

This is a book I've had sitting on her shelf for weeks.

Here is what that day looked like.

1:15pm  I went to the last ultrasound appointment and was so excited to see baby's little rolls on the screen. During that appointment, I'd sent Luis a message letting him know that the nurse said if they saw elevated blood pressure or anything, we'd be going straight to the hospital for her to have the baby. This prompted Luis to put on his socks, just in case he was going to have to get up and go. Ultimately though, nothing appeared to be happening, so they'd given the baby's final eviction notice for the following Tuesday. 

3:00pm   We went to drop off some paperwork at labor & delivery, and were greeted by Jason, our gummy bear-loving front desk manager. While we stood there Florencia squeezed my arm and said, "This is happening." I thought it was out of excitement to say "Yay! This is happening!" But it was to tell me she was feeling a stronger contraction and squeezed my arm to the same level so that I could get a small sense of what she felt. 

3:30 We both went home, got the kids from school and I settled on the idea that it was going to happen sometime over the weekend, at the latest Tuesday.

5:06  I get a text from Florencia, asking me to pick up gummy bears and to tell Luis to put his socks back on. This was one of many gifs I responded with.

                                                                             via GIPHY

5:30  We FaceTimed and made plans to call grandmas to come over so we could head to the hospital.

This was the most special of hugs. We'd just had to sit down and talk for about 20 minutes explaining why we had to stay the night at the hospital. It was hard, but in the end he understood. Thankfully we'd read a couple of books and watched Daniel Tiger to help prepare him, but it was still tough.

7:45  Florencia arrived at the hospital and got checked in.

7:59  We arrived at the hospital and waited for the green light to get sent back.

I still can't believe they let us all in the room.

Always her rock. I've seen him as her support during labor before and it's beautiful to witness.

It's been an honor each time I've watched Florencia give birth.

Exactly 90 minutes later, baby was here. 

I am so thankful to the entire staff that worked there that night. They took such amazing care of Florencia, and Mayla, and even looked after me and Luis. They all went above and beyond and it was all so much more generous than I could have imagined. 

Before this, I'd witnessed women birthing 5 other times. Two of those times was with Florenica. Each time I've been so awe-struck at what a woman's body is capable of, what women go through to bring life into this world and I am forever in gratitude.  

My absolute favorite photo.

And now we're all home.

Mayla is here and there are so many people in her life who love her immensely. 

Both babies in our arms.

This smile on day 5 was MAGIC. 

First day home.

First adventure out.

One week old.

"Dear Mayla,

We love you so so much. We were so anxious to meet you and it's been amazing to get to know you and watch you smile, yawn, and breathe. Seriously. All those things are amazing to me. 

Just like your brother, so many people came together to bring you here to us and we are so blessed to have you in our lives. Your little spirit has brought new life to our family and you carry inside, all of the love of all the beautiful souls who came before you, including your Papa.

Can’t wait to celebrate every Earth Day with you." 

---excerpt from a letter to our new baby