The Russell family has welcomed Willow Renée into the world! She is so special and sweet, and the family is very excited to have her here — many friends have offered to help so this is a great way to organize some of those offers best ♥️ BIRTH: Sharayah was preparing for a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) physically for the duration of her pregnancy, but Willow was having other plans—after laboring for 20 hours and pushing for 2 hours, Willow was experiencing some trouble with her heart rate dropping during contractions, which is a good indication something is wrong. After numerous attempts to help and intervene from the outside, the midwives and family ultimately chose and made peace with having another cesarean for the safety of the baby and mother. Upon surgery, it was discovered that Willow was sunny-side up, that she had wrapped her umbilical cord around her neck twice, that Sharayah’s uterus was extremely fragile from the pushing and could have ruptured, that her bladder was damaged from labor, and that the cord connecting baby to the placenta was hanging on by a thread. The outcome could have been very different, but everyone is recovering well and all of those things were never given an opportunity to hurt anyone because of the decision to move forward with surgery. The family is extremely grateful for the wisdom of the doctors and the deftness of the surgeons to safely deliver both Willow and Sharayah back to us! POSTPARTUM: Having now had major surgery, there are limitations for 6 weeks for Sharayah — no driving for 3 weeks, no lifting more than 20lbs for 6weeks, and lots of rest and recovery. ❤️‍🩹 James goes back to work part time fairly quickly, and with a toddler at home (weighing more than 20lbs) it would be nice to have extra hands on deck! There are many ways to help the family such as meals, groceries, and physical help that Sharayah cannot do alone. Thank you for your incredible generosity and love during this special time!