OK, this is our first blog post in almost a year.  Sorry for the long drought, but we've got a story to tell now!  What follows is a first draft of what I wrote to our new daughter, Tinley Katrien Grootveld, to tell her the story of her birth.  We had a long decision process to come to a name.  We went back and forth on Katrien (CAT-tree-en) as a first name (it's a Dutch form of Katherine and means "Pure") or Tinley, which we just like as a name, and ultimately decided that Katrien was a cool name but just a little much to help people learn to pronounce and spell.  We had talked about Kate as a nickname, but realized neither of us would likely use it much.  We had actually settled on Katrien, and even put it on a form in the doctor's office, but went back to Tinley after actually calling her Katrien for a while and just not quite feeling right!

Anyway, on to the story!

The story of your birth

Dear Tinley, 

Your mother and I wanted to write down the story of your birth, as it is an exciting one and we didn’t want to forget any details.

You were born on the 4th of July, one week and three days after your official due date, but you had been bugging your mom to come out for a few weeks before you actually came.  Her contractions had varied between regular and frequent, but not very strong; and stronger contractions with no real pattern.  This pre-labor is known to last many days and sometimes weeks, so your mom wanted to go do something to take her mind off the labor until it started in earnest.  Your grandparents were here visiting from Iowa, and we wanted to show them some of the amazing backcountry places that we like to go.  We had our old Landcruiser back then, and it has five seats… Mom, Dad, Grandma, Papa, and big brother Bridger… if we waited until you were here we wouldn’t have been able to all go together, and your mom wanted to head up to our favorite place – Wildhorse Canyon.  We were on our way back, and were at the campground when your mom’s contractions started getting much stronger and more regular.  Active labor was beginning, and it was 5:45pm.  We were coming back into Ketchum (and cell phone signal) at 6:30, and contraction timing which had been 7-8 minutes suddenly went to 4. 

We got home and back on the road by 7:00, with your Papa driving their van so that I could sit next to your mom and help her breathe through the contractions.  Boise was a 2.5 hour drive from home, and you were ready to come into the world.  We knew that labor often starts strong and then slows down, or that the 3-4 minute contractions often go for several hours before delivery, so we were still optimistic (confident even) that we could make it to the Baby Place birthing center in Meridian.

A ways past Fairfield (8:00 pm), your mom was feeling more pressure and feeling like she was going to be ready to push soon.  Your Papa increased speed, but we were realizing at that point that we were probably going to have a very exciting story about your birth.  We had been praying pretty much nonstop, and asked God to protect you and your mother through whatever He had planned for us.

At about 8:30, coming down the other side of the mountains between Fairfield and Mountain Home just past Cat Creek, you were born.  Your mom was a champ, and I caught you as she delivered you perfectly healthy at 80 miles per hour going down Highway 20 towards Mountain Home.  I held you as we sped towards Mountain Home and you cried to fill your lungs with air.  Your Papa described it as one of the sweetest sounds he had ever heard.  I opened my shirt and held you close with a towel to keep you warm. 

We arrived at the hospital in Mountain Home about 15 minutes later, and the EMTs, nurses and doctor helped get us all untangled and out of the car.  I had to fight to get you to your Mama; we had not been able to get resituated in the van so she could hold you and she was very excited to get to hold her new baby.  We finally got most of the nurses and doctors out of the room, got the lights turned down, and you started to open your eyes, look around, and met your Mama.  You started nursing right away, and you were tough and strong when you got poked so they could draw your blood to check your levels.  The doctors kept checking in on you and Mom, and by 1:00am or so they let us go home.  You slept all the way home, and your Grandma was very excited to meet you when you got here.  We all still had quite a bit of adrenaline going, so we had some trouble sleeping that night.  We just sat there and watched you sleep, marveling at the work God had done in making you, protecting you and your mom, and in his amazing timing in calling you into the world.  It was not until after the dust had settled that we really saw the fullness of His provision and timing: if you had come sooner, there was some risk in remaining attached for too long to the cord.  If you had come 10-15 minutes later, we would have been beginning to push just as we pulled in to the ER and things would have gone much differently.  I would not have gotten to hold you right away, they would have insisted on cutting  the cord right away, and would have treated it as an emergency medical procedure rather than the beautiful natural process that God designed it to be.  If we had not been out in the mountains and had left home when we realized you were coming , we would probably have been driving through downtown Boise when you came (or JUST pulling into the parking lot at the birthing center with no way to get your mom inside to deliver you… she was not in any way ready to walk when it was happening)!

 In all, it was an amazing experience that I thank God for.  If it had been on a list of options beforehand, we never would have picked it, but looking back I would not trade it for anything.  It was an incredible way to begin my relationship with you, and an awesome display of God's provision and protection.  

Love,

Your proud Daddy.

That said, here are some of the photos we've taken (many were taken by Papa Grootveld - Thanks Dad!) over the past few days.  We didn't get much the night that she was born, as it was a real whirlwind of an evening with little time for documentation!

Both Holly and Tinley are doing great! Tinley is eating and sleeping really well. She had a check up yesterday and the doctor was very impressed with how alert, well fed, and pink Tinley was and how relaxed and good Holly was feeling. 


Here's the last photo we have of her before her dramatic entrance. 


This is the first photo we have of the little one in the ER.


Baby's SECOND car ride :) (home from the hospital)

Big brother had a surprise waiting for him in the morning! 


She is already a bit of a Daddy's girl.



Funny little personality, very sweet tempered and content but with some fun faces too!








In related news, Bridger is quickly making the transition from toddler to little boy.  He's speaking in simple but complete sentences, making great progress on potty training, and can identify at least half a dozen classic cars.  Landcruisers, Jeeps, Chevelles, GTO's, Mustangs, trophy trucks, hot rods, and race cars.  He hears a big two-stroke and says, "Sounds like a motorcycle.  Braap braaap!"  Getting solid on his two-wheeled Strider bike and loves to help around the house. 






I think that's all for now; it's time for lunch, feeding, then a nap hopefully!  Love you all and would love to hear from you!

Eric, Holly, Bridger, and Tinley