From Dawn to Delight: Gloria’s Unforgettable Entrance

Exciting things seem to always require a start before dawn. On Sunday, January 7th 2024, the day began an hour past midnight. By 9am that morning we were off to the hospital, unsure of when the arrival would be, but knowing with certainty that soon was closer than ever.

. . .

After a novel first experience of welcoming Emmaus Love into the world two years ago, I felt much more confident and knowledgeable to intentionally advocate my preferences and desires for my second baby’s birth. With an incredibly challenging nine months of pregnancy, filled with a laundry list of ailments and troubles, from two trimesters of unending nausea to food poisoning to dermatitis and all the other goodies growing a human requires, this labor and delivery was an absolute gift. Everything progressed naturally at my bodies own pace and within the hour by 8:26pm, our girl was in our arms.

Her beautiful blue eyes deeply gazed up at us and her most delicate dainty fingers reaching. Gloria Joy Otteson has come; our complete dream girl!

The next day when Elliot met Emmaus in the hallway prior to meeting his little sister, as soon as he saw his daddy he started jumping up and down. Then, when he walked into the room and saw our girl, he said “Emmaus’ Gloria!”

After busting out of the hospital at the 24 hour marker, we have all been cozy and together back in our little place here in Sherwood. There’s always lots of snuggles, reading books and playing trains with Emmaus, family and friends showing up to visit and bring meals, and a shared overwhelming sense of deep deep love and thankfulness for this precious gift given from Yahweh.

PS: If you have Instagram—Here’s a video of Gloria Joy at just twenty-six minutes old ❤️👼🏼