After 9 months of waiting He’s finally here!  Salem Forrest Deeds was born on April 28, 2014 in Panajachel, Guatemala.  He’s a gift from God and we are thanking God for a smooth delivery and a healthy baby boy! Amber had Abra and Ezra both 2 weeks later than their due dates so we weren’t expecting Salem to come on his due date either.  Salem decided it was time to make an appearance a little faster than the other two.  We were awaiting the arrival of Amber’s mom Julie to Guatemala.  She got here the day of the 28th.

Amber had been feeling a bit different and thought maybe it would be the day but hadn’t thought much about it.  Julie arrived at about 4:00 in the afternoon and by 6:00 we could tell that Amber was starting into the first stages of Labor.  Amber was scheduled to have the birth at our house so we continued to go about our activities with the excitement in our minds that tonight might be it.  After supper and getting Abra and Ezra down for bed we called Daniela our midwife because we knew it was time.

Salem was born just before the clock struck midnight on April 28th @ 11:59 p.m.  We named him Salem, which means perfect peace, and also Forrest for his middle name.  Forrest is my great grandfathers name and also my middle name.

This is me cutting the cord.  The whole birth process is amazing to be a part of.  Our midwife Daniela was awesome!  Speaking of awesome Amber is so amazing.  She was so calm throughout the whole birth and is a beautiful Mommy!  I am so proud of her.  Not many people are brave enough to do a home birth much less in Guatemala!  Salem weighed in at 8 lbs. and 3 oz.  He was 19.5 inches long.  He seems so tiny compared to Ezra who was 10 lbs. 2 oz when he was born.

Abra and Ezra slept through the whole thing and were so surprised when they woke up and came into our room in the morning.  They were so sweet meeting Salem for the first time.  Both of them are excited.  Grammy got to be a part of the birth.  It was fun to have her here for it.  She has been a huge help to us and we are thankful she made it just in the nick of time!

We’ve had lots of visitors come and welcome Salem to the world and some families have brought us meals to eat as well which is a huge blessing.  

Mel was our very first visitor and later she returned with Kevin and the girls to bring us a meal.

Lloyd and Melanie our close friends and Directors of Porch de Salomon came over and brought us a Guatemalan swing so we can sit and rock the baby in it.  

Our friends Jason and Carrie stopped by with their son Luke.  They also brought us a meal.  

Of course our dear friend Elena stopped in to see the baby with her sisters and mom.  She was so excited for us.

This is Concepsion one of Elena’s sisters

Juana is Elena’s mother.  I can only imagine her thoughts as she met little Salem.  She has given birth to 12 babies all at her home in Santa Catarina.  Talk about a pro!  Amber is just getting started with #3 🙂 just kidding. 

We also had a group here serving last week from Florida and they paid a visit to Baby Salem and came bearing gifts as well.  Gwen, Mary and Linda took a turn holding Salem.

We’ve been adjusting to life now with 3 kids.  While Amber has been recovering Grammy and I have been taking turns playing and spending time with Abra and Ezra.  

We’ve been taking walks to the river and around town.

And we decided to have a little picture day yesterday to share with you all our growing family.  I still can’t believe we are now a family of 5!

We are still trying to cover the expenses for baby Salem if you are interested in helping you can donate here!  Even a little bit will help us out immensely.  Thank you for continuing to follow and support our growing family!

Donate   

Please be sure to designate to Will and Amber Deeds