A week ago, our little miracle man was born. For those unfamiliar with our journey, my wife and I struggled with infertility for over three years, during which time we adopted a beautiful little girl in the United States.

In May last year, in an astounding answer to prayer, we found out we were pregnant. After resettling in Australia and waiting well over 41 weeks for his arrival, number two is finally here.

With an eighteen-month age gap between our two precious kids, we now have a very busy household and lots of adjustments to make.

The Challenges of Pregnancy

In the meantime, as I reflect on the events of the last week, four lessons have stood out to me.

First, while an adoption comes with certain challenges, a birth has its own unique difficulties — for the mother especially.

I never gave much thought to the huge physical changes a woman’s body undergoes from the beginning of contractions to the arrival of a newborn — until I saw it up close with my wife. Even with first-world medical care, most labouring mothers endure severe pain, a world of unknowns, and a delicate road to recovery.

I was especially caught off-guard by the impact of sleep deprivation. We arrived at the hospital at 5 am after my wife had laboured all night, with nary an hour’s sleep between us. Our baby boy finally arrived at 6 pm that day — but it was 11 pm before we got to bed. Then, of course, we had a hungry newborn baby to tend to through the night. It took us the better part of a week to catch up on all that lost sleep!

Practically speaking, I have learned the importance of waiting on my wife hand and foot throughout this journey. Even a week later, I am holding all other commitments lightly as I support her back to full health and help her with all the daily tasks I previously took for granted.

Love and Life

Second, it is impossible to overstate the value of help offered around the birth of the child. We cannot speak highly enough of the care provided to us by the midwives at our local hospital. We would hardly be surviving without the support of my wife’s parents who are currently staying with us and helping with all manner of tasks around the home. And we are deeply thankful to all the family and friends who have provided meals and words of encouragement.

Third, I feel equal amounts of love for my adopted daughter and my biological son. From the moment I held Squish, she had my whole heart, and I am as smitten with her today as the day she was born.

Holding our son for the first time last week, I felt exactly the same way.

Maybe different adoptive parents have different experiences. But for me, blood relation or otherwise does not factor into how I feel about both of my children. God placed each of them into our family by unique means, and both of them are beyond precious to us.

Fourth and finally, there is nothing quite like witnessing the miracle of new life.

Just yesterday, my wife commented that I have a particular fondness for newborns. It’s true. There’s something about their helplessness and fragility that awakens my father heart.

Until our little boy arrived, he was anonymous to us — concealed deep inside my wife’s growing belly and accessible only via the occasional grainy ultrasound.

All of that changed the moment he was born. The medical staff placed him on my wife’s chest, and six or seven seconds later, he began to cough all the fluid out of his lungs as his grey skin turned pink and cries filled the room.

Birth is an astounding miracle, and a testament to the wonder and creativity of God.

There will be lots more to learn over the coming weeks and months as we establish new family dynamics and figure out parenting two under two.

But for now, we’re trying to enjoy as many newborn cuddles as we can.

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Image courtesy of Adobe.