Dawson Asher Grudda

    We have not blogged in a very long time. We've kind of given up on blogging, actually. But it would be remiss of us not to recount Dawson's story after sharing so much about Aliyah's miraculous birth. Additionally, we feel obliged to clear up the misconception that Nicole is a "freak of nature" - The nickname attributed to Nicole by Dave's mother as a result of Aliyah's surreal and easy birth ;). Regardless of the fact that it was voiced in jest, Dawson's birth story is evidence of the fact Nicole is definitely not a "freak of nature":

September 30, 2017

     The whole month of September was filled with swollen feet, a sore back, and Braxton Hicks contractions. Nicole experienced none of these things with Aliyah. The level of discomfort in this pregnancy was so intense that we were desperate to try anything that might induce labor: Nicole subbed in middle school the day prior, we bought a pineapple (which we never got the chance to eat), and we took a long walk to one of our favorite cafés by the ocean. 

12:45 p.m. - Dave left to coach the GWA varsity soccer game against RAS (they won 4:2), and Nicole busied herself in the kitchen making homemade applesauce and apple crisp. 

3:00 p.m. (ish) - Nicole started to feel "Braxton Hicks" contractions again. Except they felt a bit lower and seemed to be more regular. 

5:00 p.m. - Nicole and Aliyah watched the end of the soccer game at GWA, and then we all walked up the hill to on-campus housing for a dinner of fried pizza and apple crisp with some friends. Nicole was timing her contractions throughout the entire meal. The contractions remained consistent (every 5-7 minutes), but we were not convinced it was real labor yet. 

7:10 p.m. - On the drive home from dinner, Nicole texted our translator as well as our friends who were on standby to babysit Aliyah in order to advise them both to keep their phones close - in case the contractions intensified during the night. Kari, our translator/friend, called us to inquire more about the timing and intensity of the contractions. She insisted on calling our doctor. 

7:20 p.m. - Kari called us back to say that both her and our doctor agreed that we needed to go to the clinic. Considering the fact that Aliyah's labor progressed so quickly, they were concerned that we would not make it to the clinic in time if we waited any longer. So we told our friends to rush over for babysitting and we tucked Aliyah into bed for the night. 

7:40 p.m. - We left for the clinic. On our way, we picked up Kari and her friend (a practicing Doula who was eager to learn more about the delivery processes in Morocco). Their presence in the car, alongside a stack of clean towels, allowed us to feel fully equipped for the worst-case scenario: a car delivery.

     The car ride: Dave drove fast. So fast. Red lights were neglected, moving tramcars were cut off, and the cop who tried to whistle us down was ignored. On at least three different occasions, Kari jumped out of the car to demand that other drivers move out of the way so that we could maintain Dave’s aggressive speed and continue to break every traffic law (not that traffic rules are ever taken very seriously here, ironically). Nicole's contractions strengthened during the drive, and were occurring every 3-4 minutes... so we were sure that the baby was coming quickly. We notified our family en route to the clinic that baby was coming soon!

8:30 p.m. - We arrived at the clinic. In spite of the contractions, we walked two flights of stairs up to the delivery room. Nicole was immediately hooked up to a monitor that verified the intensity and frequency of her contractions; however, the nurse determined that she was only 2cm. dilated. She told Nicole to walk around and wait for the dilation to increase naturally. Everyone seemed confident that this would happen fairly quickly and that we were going to have a September baby. 

     We meandered the hallways and stairways of the clinic, did squats, and "watched" a movie. Every 30 minutes or so, the nurse would come in and check on Nicole's progress. The dilation increased, on average, by .5cm. every time she was checked. So by around 11:30 p.m. Nicole was at 3.5cm. dilated and still having strong contractions every 3 minutes. We were not going to have a September baby after all...

October 1, 2017

    Dave's recollection of the nurse’s progress updates during the first few hours of October 1st goes as follows:

12:00 a.m. - "You're at 4cm. Good!"

1:00 a.m. - "Oh, good! You're at 4cm. That's really good."

2:00 a.m. - "You've just passed 4cm. Good!"

3:00 a.m. - "Oh, you're right around 4cm. Things are looking good."

     At this point, Dave realized that things had stalled and he opted to take a nap upstairs in our recovery suite. Nicole tried to sleep as well... except that sleep was not really possible considering the pain and regularity of her contractions.

6:15 a.m. - Still at 4cm, the nurse called our doctor to give her the latest update on Nicole's lack of progression. She insisted that they start an IV with Pitocin and break Nicole's water in order to speed things along. Dave was beckoned back to the delivery room, and Dr. Karaoui made her way to the clinic. 

7:35 a.m. - 10cm. dilated! (About time)

7:42 a.m. - Dawson Asher Grudda was born! He weighed 3.1 kilos (6 pounds and 13 ounces).

completely exhausted

Kari - our translator

     Dawson got to meet his big sister Aliyah that evening, when our friends came to celebrate his birth with pizza. She has embraced the role of “big sister” better than we could have possibly anticipated. We had to spend one additional night at the clinic, and then we were discharged before noon the next day. Nicole’s recovery has been remarkably better than it was after Aliyah’s birth. Dawson, albeit far too sleepy to eat most of the time, has been growing just fine. We have been cherishing every moment with him. Simultaneously, we have been soaking up the love of our community here in Morocco. We have been showered with food, gifts, and prayers. We are incredibly blessed.

Aliyah meeting Dawson for the first time

***

Dawson Asher: Behind the Name

     Dave was insistent early on that our first son had to have a name starting with the letter “D”. This would ensure four consecutive generations of “D. Grudda” (Dennis, Daniel, David, and D-). Nicole was quick to embrace this idea; however, there were very few “D” names that we both liked. Dawson was one of the names that appealed to us and its meaning (‘son of David’) seemed very appropriate.

     We had a long list of Biblical names to consider for a middle name, but we were quick to choose Asher once we realized what it meant: 'Happy'. This is the same meaning as the Arabic name ‘Said’ (pronounced ‘sī ēd’). In English, ‘said’ (pronounced ‘sed’) is such a common verb. Not wanting to cause confusion between the two pronunciations, Asher seemed like the perfect alternative to pay homage to Said, who is our closest Moroccan friend and "Jiddee" (grandfather) to our kids. Additionally, the meaning describes how we feel about him perfectly. J

Said :)

Genesis 30:13 – “Then Leah said, ‘How happy I am! The women will call me happy.’ So she named him Asher.”

-Dave, Nicole, Aliyah, and Dawson