Welcome Chester Thomas!

Wow! What a wonderful, crazy, intense 2 weeks it has been. Chester Thomas Forbes-Ferrel was born on Thursday, November 6th at 10:45 PM. He was 8lbs, 6 ozs and it was the most incredible birth experience. I labored for 6-7 hours total. It was a fast birth and I look back on it so fondly. I can say now that it was actually fun--hard, no doubt, but awesome in and of itself. I was very much looking forward to giving birth and it was such a sweet experience to have. I was able to catch Chester myself as he was born in the water in our living room. Matt was in the tub with me and our midwives and doula were there supporting me (though they only arrived an hour before he was born). It was a great way to welcome our baby love. I am working on writing my birth story for anyone who wants more details. There are so many wonderful moments to share about Chester's birth...

And, there are so many wonderful moments to share about his life. We have had many challenges already in the first two weeks. Matt had strep throat the first week. I got a really bad case of mastitis with a 103 degree fever, which made breastfeeding really painful. Our family was mostly bed-ridden for the first while. But, Chester is incredibly healthy, growing and changing each day. He is this amazing spirit who has arrived at the perfect time and place in this life. I feel like we know each other's souls deeply and I can't wait for you all to be able to share in his joyful, calm, deep, and wise energy.

I am calling this blog "Chester Thomas Knows" because each day that my mom was here (my parents stayed with us for the first week), she sang Chester a song that goes "Chester Thomas knows we love him. Chester knows, Chester knows..." It's become his little theme song and there are so many things this little guy knows! We want to share his life and development with our family and friends and so I figured this was a good way to do it! Plus, we can post pictures here for your viewing pleasure.

More to come. Stay tuned!