Live from Santiago! James Marcus Koster has Arrived!

March 23, 2012  8:05 AM, HOMS Hospital, Santiago de los Caballeros

On Thursday, March 22, I had visited my doctor for what would be my last doctor's appointment before baby was born. She told me that late Thursday afternoon that she figured I was very close to giving birth, March 23rd also being my due date according to the ultrasound.  Well, she was quite right, for contractions were building pretty steady during the night following. So, here (in the picture) I am, together with my friend, Linda Riegsecker, (she is the school nurse at SCS), on Friday morning, March 23rd, ready to be admitted at HOMS hospital for the birth of our little Dominican.

3:38 pm EST. James Marcus Koster is here! Great thankfulness to our great God and Father fills our heart for having made everything very well. A beautiful and healthy baby boy of 7 pounds. Dr. Santillan and the nurses were so helpful and encouraging through the labour process, and the medical attention at HOMS is outstanding for a developing country.

Here we are after having comfortably settled our hospital maternity family room.

We are all so happy with our new Dominican little brother!

"Going home! Yeah, I am getting a free ride in a wheelchair with my mom!"

"Here I am with my daddy outside the HOMS hospital". 

"Hi, this is me, James Marcus, on Sunday afternoon. I love laying very quietly and looking around the room."

"My sister, Kaelie, is very happy with me. She always wanted a puppy, but she has quite forgotten about it since I have arrived. She is already helping my mom by running for a diaper and the wipes and she holds me very well when I am with her on the couch."

 "And my brother Tais thinks I'm very cute. He was hoping that I was a boy before I was born."

"This is the best way to get your daily dose of Vitamin D!" Just go up on the roof of our apartment, and soak up a few healthy Caribbean sun rays. Madison, my mom's friend, was waiting for me for a long time, and she has come almost every day this past week to take a look at me and hold me for a while. I love Madison."

"I sleep under a net to keep out the skeeters. Not that I am worried about them too much, since my dad put screens in the windows, but you never know of course. I think I might have heard one the other night, but he could not get in. Too bad. They can be pretty nasty I've heard. So, thankfully I am sleeping very well through the night. I wake up for a little 'leche' around five usually, and then I crash again till the birds are chirping loudly outside my window."

James (Santiago) Marcus Koster