Eleanor Helen

Wow. I can't remember the last time I have gone this long without updating the blog. For those of you who actually check this regularly, I apologize for the long lapse in posts. However, I won't beat myself up too much about it because it was due to giving birth to our first child!

Eleanor Helen Reed was born on July 8 at 11:57pm. She was 6lbs 4 oz and 18 1/2 in long. We are so in love with this sweet bundle of joy and are so happy to now be a family of three!

We chose this name because Eleanor means "shining light" and Helen is a meaningful family name on my (Theresa) side of the family. Since we first found out we were pregnant, Ellie has been a bright spot in our life during a very hard season. After having to leave South Sudan and the miscarriage of our first pregnancy, we were in the midst of a very difficult season. Finding out were were pregnant with Ellie offered renewed hope. Our prayer for Ellie is that she would always continue to be a shining light to those around her. We pray that her life would continue to reflect the goodness of Christ and that she would always shine brightly for His kingdom. Her middle name is Helen after my grandmother, Helen Serros, and my mother, Nancy Helen. "Helen" represents strong women who seek to life for Christ in all they do and raise their families to do the same. This name represents women who are resilient, strong and compassionate. We pray Ellie will continue to carry on this legacy. 

Ellie was born in Nairobi, Kenya and we were blown away by God's provision for us during our time there! God provided a house for us to stay in through the generosity of sweet friends of ours who live in Nairobi. They were home for almost the same time we were in Kenya and allowed us to stay in their beautiful home and use their car for our time in Nairobi. It's amazing to think that their generosity allowed us to have an amazing place to bring our daughter "home" to for the first time after she was born. It allowed us to learn to be a family of three and to prepare for and recover from birth. We are so grateful for the Allerts and their incredible hospitality and generosity! 

God also provided a way for my parents to come to Kenya to meet Ellie! They arrived the day we got back from the hospital (3 days after Ellie was born). They were able to spend their entire 10 days in Kenya with Ellie (something we were worried about when they picked dates for coming- it's so hard to predict when a baby will arrive!). It was an amazing gift to have them in Kenya with us for this time!

Pop and Neena with Ellie on the night they arrived!

When Will and I were deciding where to give birth, we really wanted to be in a place where we would have community. We knew we desired to have others around who we could connect to and spend time with during this process. God blew us away by His provision of community while we were in Kenya! We spent a lot of time with our friends, Karis and Stephen Rigby. They are Serge missionaries in Nairobi and they spoiled us like crazy while we were there! Since they are expecting their first child in September, we were able to take a birthing class together and walk through some of the "How in the world are we going to manage parenthood" questions alongside them. It was such a gift to have this time with them! We also had the privilege of spending time with several other Serge families from the Nairobi and Kijabe teams. They brought us food, gifts for Ellie and meals. We were even able to stay with the Wallaces (our team leaders in South Sudan) for our last week in Nairobi. Praise the Lord for community!

Our Area Directors, Scott and Jennifer Myhre and Karen Masso from their visit to meet Ellie at the hospital

Us and the Rigbys on one of our lasts days in Kenya

We are so grateful for our birth experience in Kenya! The hospital was great and our doctor did an amazing job. It is common for people to hire midwives when they give birth in Kenya, even if they are delivering in a hospital. We hired a woman named Lucy as our midwife and are so glad we did! She came to the house when I started to feel intense contractions and labored with us there until it was time to go to the hospital. Then she stayed with us during the entire birth process and even stayed until 3am with us to make sure we were comfortable after the birth and with breastfeeding. She was amazing! 

Will, Ellie and I with Lucy 

We left Kenya last Friday and are now are in Kampala, Uganda before we head to our new home, Fort Portal, on Saturday. Here are some things I have learned about having a baby internationally/ in Africa:

1. Everyone is excited to see your baby and will call your baby cute... unless you are on an airplane with them or about to share a wall in a guest house with them ;).

2. People on an airplane will tell you your baby is cute AFTER they do well on the flight and don't disturb those around them. 

3. Africans will always think your baby is too cold and needs more blankets around them.

4. Babies are a great way to start conversations with people because the majority of them will immediately be able to relate to you. We have had many great conversations so far that started with us being able to ask about people's families and if they have children.

We are so grateful for the beautiful gift of Ellie! We are very tired from the adjustment to parenthood, but it has been worth every late night feeding and dirty diaper change. We're amazed by new life and the miracle that it is. We are grateful for everyone who has rejoiced with us as we have welcomed Ellie into our family!