6 pounds 14 and 1/2 ounces.
20 inches long.
The name Atticus came from my favorite literary character....ever. Atticus Finch. What's funny is most people when they hear the name Atticus either know the book or obviously don't. It's not a name you hear in classrooms, at work or shouted on the street.
I love the name.
Right after I found out I was pregnant Zac and I were figuring out what names we liked. He mentioned Atticus. I immediately thought of To Kill A Mockingbird. It just struck me all gushy inside.
I wanted a man that my baby could read about, to ponder about and reflect upon when he's older. I want him to know that he was named after one of the most incredible and kind spirited men in all of literary history. A man who was brave, fought for social justice and loved his children. A man who was wise and considerate but never prideful. A man of courage.
"I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see through it no matter what."--Atticus (pg. 112)
"Before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience."--Atticus (pg. 105)
"You just hold your head high and keep those fists down. No matter what anyone says to you, don't let 'em get your goat. Try fighting with your head for a change…it's a good one, even if it does resist learning."--Atticus (pg. 76)
"It's not okay to hate anybody."-Atticus (pg. 246)
Samuel came from another man I adore, my sweet brother Sam. I loved the meaning of Samuel "God heard" and I also wanted to keep with our Hebrew naming theme (Cohen means "priest" in Hebrew). Zac and I agreed upon it and we were going to surprise Sam after Atticus was born. What makes this story even more wonderful is that Atticus was born on Sam's 22nd birthday.
A little guy born into the world with the names of incredible men on his shoulders. Just the way I envisioned it.
My labor was insanely easy this time around... grateful since the first time it was 40ish hours and 9 hours of pushing. I started having contractions while getting my hair done with Mikia but wrote it off as nothing. When I got home though they got more and more intense. Zac got home from work about five, and I was having a hard time talking through the contractions. I knew they were getting more intense.
We got to the hospital around 6:30pm and I was checked.... 3.5 cm. Ugh. I was told to walk around the hospital to see if I could progress a bit. 45 minutes later I was sobbing. Gripping the hand rails of the hospital. Seriously, in so much pain. The best part is when Zac told me to "just breathe"... I think I almost ripped his hand off. Nothing made the pain feel better and I was having only back labor. I told Zac I had to be checked and at this point I was almost to 6 cm. I told them epidural NOW. I was beating Zac's arms and chest in so much pain. They couldn't get the IV in, I showered earlier that day and was really lotiony. HA. We traveled to the delivery room and waited for the anesthesiologist. I was sobbing and completely out of body. I was at 7 cm. I got my epidural and cried into the arms of the nurse. I layed down after and still wasn't feeling any relief. He told me it would take about twenty minutes before full relief. That's when my water broke and I felt the urge to push. The epidural hadn't even kicked in, my mom had just walked in the door and I was ready to go! UNREAL
Fifteen minutes of pushing and he was born. So perfect. So cute. SO EASY. Such grace to me.
Now, a week later I am still getting my groove back. I wake him every two-three hours to feed as he loves to sleep. His cries are precious, and Cohen is in love. He especially loves to talk about the hand sanitizer. He is such a great big brother.
Now the real challenge will be managing the two schedules. Cohen and Atticus. The never ending question of "Who needs my attention more in this moment?!"
I'm getting a groove. Things are starting to settle down.
Mommy of two!
