Birth Announcement

Henry is finally here! He's perfect, not a bruise or dent on him, just a little dry skin from being overcooked. He was born at 10 a.m. Monday morning, so we avoided all the unpleasantness looming over our heads if he didn't come soon. He weighed 8lb, 12oz at birth and measured 22" long.

Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa Powell, for allowing us to so disrupt your home like that. We are so grateful you were willing to accommodate us. Your help through all of this was indispensable, and we appreciate the sacrifices you were willing to make for your grandson.

There is one person I need to thank, someone who made it possible for us to have the home birth we planned: Thank you, Mr. Tow Truck Driver.

Comedy of Errors

I've felt like the tail-end of this pregnancy has been fraught with difficulties to the point of the ridiculous. I posted on my late term cold, and now the cough from that cold tore a muscle or ligament in my back. The pain from which sent us to the emergency room the other night hoping for some kind of relief. It's funny how people go quicker when they find out you're a week over your due date, even though I was not in labor. When we checked in at the emergency room desk, the attendant's manner went from bored/lazy to urgency as soon as he found out how far along I am.

Maybe it's just the maternity section, which is where we were sent, or maybe it's my poor observation skills, but I have yet to experience the health-care crisis. I've had two babies at Memorial Hospital, and now this experience, and I've felt very well taken care of. I can't say a lot about the doctor care because the majority of the care has been by the nurses, but the nurses have all been fabulous. I have been admitted with and without insurance, and the care has been great in both instances. I even preferred the care better without insurance because they involved us in more of the decisions. Kudos to Memorial Hospital.

To cut to the chase: Still no Henry. Thank you for all your prayers regarding the back injury. The recovery has been steady, and I'm almost insensible of any pain anymore. I'm not worried about going into labor anymore as far as the back/rib injury goes. God has been more gracious than I deserve.

The midwife has scheduled us to come into town Monday, and she will begin trying some things that can induce labor. Perhaps Henry will come tomorrow. If not, the midwife is required by law (The Fascists!) to take me into a doctor's office and have tests done to assure the well-being of the baby. Her experience has been that the doctor will give the baby the okay and send me home for another week. So that's where we are at right now.

Just a quick anecdote that's come of all this:
Last night Titus was sitting next to me on the couch and went: Cough. "Ouch!" He did this a couple more times before I realized he was mocking me.

Sunday School Confessions

Last Sunday I stayed home from church because of sickness. Mom took responsibility for Katie at church while Titus stayed home with me. Mom went to collect Katie from Sunday School, but class wasn't quite finished, so Mom excused herself. But as she was leaving she heard Katie say, "That's my grandma. She thinks everything I do is cute."

Still No Henry

Pregnancy update:

God, in His kindness to me, has not seen fit to deliver Henry to us yet. My due date was the 15th, and under normal circumstances I would be anxious to get on with the delivery. However, I have been hit with a severe cold, one that required me to lie still in a dark room for several days and practice deep relaxation to deal with the sinus pain. I know God will give me the strength to face whatever He gives me to do, but from my human perspective I didn't know how I would face labor under the circumstances.

I thank God every day for His gentle mercies. Although being ill isn't fun (thanks, Adam), my mother was able to come stay with us several days ago and has been caring for my family and house. She is nursing me back to health, and my family has very little disruption while mommy is incapacitated. Thanks, Dad, for loaning Mom to us for so long. She is such a blessing.

Clean Up

Some may notice that I took a few blogs off my "family & friends". There is nothing to it than some clean-up. The blogs I took off either had declared themselves inactive, hadn't updated for six months or more, or were just gone.

Titus Learns to Problem Solve

I listened to a lecture a while back on educating boys. One of the recommendations the speaker made was to be slow to solve problems for your children. He thought it important to allow their brains to develop problem solving skills without the parent circumventing it.

Today Katie pulled peanuts out of the pantry--peanuts still in the shell. Katie had the strength to de-shell the peanuts herself, but Titus hasn't developed the strength required in his hands yet, being just two. Katie left a small pile of shells on the counter where she opened her nuts. Titus brought me his first peanut when he resigned himself to his reality. I opened it and went back to whatever I was doing. Titus never came to me again to open his peanut. Instead, when I brought my attention back to the kids, I found peanut shells all over the floor. I watched Titus as he set a peanut on the floor and then crushed the shell with his foot, and then he retrieved the peanut from the debris.

Thanks to my handy dandy Swivel Sweeper, easily operated by even two-year-olds, Titus enjoyed his peanuts, developed problem solving skills, and then got to clean up after his tasty treat. I think I would have calmly cleaned up his mess even if I'd had to do it, but just in case I had trouble staying calm, I'm glad I have my Swivel Sweeper so we didn't have to find out.