Christopher Luke Tolbert
January 29, 2019, 2:26am
10lbs, 9oz (4800g), 23 1/4in (59cm)
What a joy it is to announce the birth of our son, Christopher Luke Tolbert, on January 29, 2019! He was born in a little rural hospital outside our small town in the middle of a beautiful snowy winter night. At 41 weeks and 2 days, he was a long-awaited baby, but so worth the wait! We named him Christopher Luke for several reasons. Christopher in honor of a very special baby brother of mine who went to be with the Lord shortly after birth, and Luke, of course, for his daddy. In addition to those reasons, though, Christopher means “bearer of Christ” and Luke means “light.” Our prayer is that our son would always carry the light of Christ wherever he goes.
About 12 hours after Christopher’s birth, my mom arrived from Arkansas (God’s timing was perfect!), and Luke brought her and our three girls to the hospital to meet the baby. Needless to say, they all think he’s pretty wonderful! The next morning, we headed home and began adjusting to life as a family of 6.
It has been so interesting to learn about the cultural differences surrounding pregnancy, birth, and caring for an infant. Here are just a few things we’ve learned so far!
- Birth is viewed as a much more natural process (not as medicalized as in the US). For instance, for my entire labor and delivery, the only people in the room were me, Luke, and our midwife. It was a much calmer environment than I remember from the births of our girls.
- Birth stats are of course done in grams and cm. When our midwife weighed Christopher and told me the results (4800g), I apparently just smiled and nodded. She then asked, incredulously, “Do you know what that means?” I grabbed my phone and asked Siri what 4800g was in pounds. When I realized it was 10lbs, 9oz, I was just as surprised as our midwife!
- Postpartum mom and baby visits are done at home! It was wonderful to not have to take a newborn out in the snow to a germ-filled doctor’s office! We had 3 home visits in our first two weeks between the midwife and the pediatrician.
- Babies must spend several hours outside every day, regardless of the weather. In South Carolina if the temperature drops below about 50 degrees, we keep our babies inside! Not here! Everyone has big weather-proof pram/strollers and you take your baby on long walks multiple times a day. Most babies even take their naps outside on the terraces and balconies!
- Apparently patting your baby on the back to burp them is an American thing. The first time my friends saw me do it, even though it was extremely softly, they said, “Why are you hitting your baby??” While I was explaining what I was doing, he let out a good burp and they were amazed that it worked!
- Babywearing hasn’t quite taken off here like it has in the US. People are astounded when they see me carrying Christopher in my pouch sling. I’ve had several people stop me in the grocery store to ask, “Is that a real baby in there?” I even met a new mom in the drugstore who wants me to sew one for her!
- Maternity leave here is 18 months at 60% salary! Of course, that doesn’t affect me personally, but what it does mean is that our apartment complex is full of young moms and babies that are home during the day. As spring draws nearer, I am hoping to meet many more of these moms on our walks out with our little ones.
We are so thankful for this incredible gift and blessing from God to our family!
