Josh Renaud's weblog detailing the exploits of his family in Ferguson, MO, USA. Starring Yoli, Jadzia, Ludi, Josie, and Joseph Renaud.
Baby Joseph finally came home around 2 p.m. Thursday. Continuing the Renaud baby tradition, he had little gifts for his sisters: sunglasses for Ludi and Josie, and a set of play keys for Jadzia.
Click the “continue reading” link below to watch a video of the homecoming.
After a long day Tuesday, I decided to try and edit the 30 minutes or so of video I had shot from Joseph’s birth.
But I got an unpleasant surprise. Something is amiss with our Sony HandyCam TRV-280, and it is not playing back the video correctly.
Anyway, I borrowed my dad’s camcorder and shot some video at the hospital this afternoon. Click the “continue reading” link below to watch the video.
Here’s a little more background on the birth of our first boy, Joseph Martin Renaud.
Monday night I was working a sports design shift at the Post-Dispatch. The Cardinals home opener and breaking news about Stan Kroenke’s intention to buy the Rams kept me busy all night.
I got home around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday. I found Yoli in the kitchen making crepes to eat at breakfast. She had intended them to be for the whole family. But at 12:38, she had her first real contraction followed by a couple more over the next hour. “The baby is going to be born sometime today,” she told me.
Our fourth baby was born this morning: Joseph Martin Renaud.
He weighed 8 lbs, 13 ozs. He was 21¼ inches long.
More info will follow later, but here are some pics to tide you over for now:
Here’s the second of two videos I shot on Wednesday. This one shows my parents, my brother, sister-in-law and nephews when they came over to the hospital to meet Josie. With four toddlers/preschoolers running around the room, there was potential for much havoc. Thankfully, serious damage was avoided. I’m so glad that Justin and Becca could come up with the boys.
Here’s the first of two videos I shot on Wednesday. This one shows Josie right after she was born.
After a while I took Jadzia and Ludi to meet their new sister, Josie. We told them that Josie had arrived with gifts for them: an apron for Jadzia, and sunglasses for Ludi.
Both girls were very interested in holding Josie and touching her. Ludi especially. Ludi was giving her kisses. But she was also treating Josie more like a doll, repeatedly pushing in her nose and saying “nariz” like she would with the doll she got for Christmas.
So here’s a bit more about our new girl, Josie Míriel Renaud.
Yoli began having her serious contractions in the night. She woke me to let me know what was happening, but said they were still very irregular and that I should try to sleep. I did eventually, but I had a hard time of it because of adrenaline. Around 6 a.m. we called my mom and asked her to come over. Thankfully she was able to leave right away, despite the fact that Wednesday is normally a Café day for her.
As soon as she arrived, we set off on the long journey to St. Luke’s. Unlike the last time we had a long trip to the hospital for a baby, Yoli didn’t spend the whole trip pushing. But she was still very close to being ready to deliver.
I can’t say enough good things about St. Luke’s. They took us right in at the ER and wheeled Yoli right into her room. The nurses attended her and helped her get going, without bogging us down with a ton of paperwork.
The birth itself was natural and pretty fast, like the other two. Actual pushing took around 15 minutes. I think Yoli was hurting a lot right at the end, but she seemed very relieved and relaxed as soon as Josie was out.
There were a few little hangups at the beginning getting Josie to nurse, but it sounds like she is an old pro as of this evening.
I’ll have more photos and videos posted in a while, so keep watching.
Already I can tell that it’s not easy juggling three kids!
Yes, that’s right, the third child arrived early this morning — 7:49 a.m. to be exact (that’s for you, Caesar) — at St. Luke’s Hospital.
At the moment the girls are upstairs; Jadzia is watching Mr. Rogers and Ludi is eating cereal. So I only have enough time right now to say that the delivery went very well. It was hard for Yoli, but it was short. Both mamá and bebé are in good shape.
Our new baby is a girl! She weighed 7 lbs and was 20.5 inches long. Her name is still a work in progress. Hopefully this evening we will have decided and I will post it here.
At long last, the other set of baby photos has arrived! Enjoy!!