I had forgotten

You would think I would know about this baby stuff by now, and yet there is so much I had forgotten.

Such as...

• Typing is tricky with a baby on lap (and, thus, it is very easy to not email or update for weeks).
• Somehow, this little one who sleeps so much still takes up most of my time.
• 8 or 10 or 13 pounds gets very heavy after a few hours.
• How quickly I can lose my heart to a stranger.
• I think very slowly (and imperfectly) when I sleep like a baby.
• How much my family needs me to be the mom, even when I don't want to.
• How overwhelming it all can be.
• The reality (and suddenness) of depression, even when it only lasts for a few hours or days at a time.
• How kind the Professor is as he deals with an emotional rollercoaster of a wife.
• There is never a good time to clean.
• Little babies are divine right after a bath.
• It is very hard to take only one picture of my boy (once I find and get out the camera, that is.)

Young T, back in October

He's here

A few days before Halloween, we welcomed Young T into our family. I woke up about 6, we went to the hospital, and he was born just after 8. I like it when things are quick and uncomplicated. I learned a few things this time around.

Did you know they now have CPAP machines for newborns? This translates into less time in NICU for babies that just need to breathe a bit better. (3 hours rather than 48+)

And, since Miss M was born, they have discontinued having the annoying lady come around to take pictures of the babies and then try to sell them to you. Hooray! One less interruption for tired moms.

I also learned about cephalohematoma, a large bruise trapped under the bone membrane on the skull. Young T had two of them giving his head a heart shape. They have healed, but it took over three weeks.

I've learned that lots of rest really does help new moms heal faster. I've always had help, but this time I rested more and had more help at the beginning. It was wonderful. I'm thankful to both sets of parents for all they have done.

I've learned that the people in my new neighborhood are amazingly kind. We've had meals and playdates, rides and gifts, babysitting and phone calls to check on me. They have helped me get kids off to school and taught my Sunday School class and raked my leaves. I love my neighbors.

My Fortune

While I am only a little bit past my due date, I have never gone past my due date before, and the doctor has been expecting me to have this baby any day for the past three weeks. So, while there is nothing to worry about, I feel like I've been waiting (along with everyone around me) a long time for this little one to come.

On Sunday, the choir sang "Be Still My Soul," and I was reminded to "with patience bear thy cross of grief or pain, leave to thy God to order and provide." (You mean I'm not in charge of this?!) And "The hour is hast'ning on... when sorrow (is) forgot, love's purest joys restored." (Some minutes it is easier to remember the sorrow to come more than the joys.) Much of that song seemed particularly well suited to calming a very tired woman who feels large with child and has no idea how soon the Lord will send a tender mercy and make her "mighty even unto the power of deliverance." (see 1 Nephi 1:20)

Apparently, I need multiple reminders that the Lord is in charge of this. Because they keep coming. My favorite happened yesterday.

Miss M came home with a fortune teller. Remember those papers with colors and numbers you folded in 2nd grade? Well she is in 2nd grade. Young A used it to tell my fortune. Here is what it said:

"Good things come to those who wait, you will be one of the waiting ones."

I found it terribly amusing.

What a week!

Hmm... What should I tell you about the past week? Should I tell you about the awful cold/stomach flu that crept through the entire family leaving lots of laundry and croup and congestion in its wake? Or maybe you would rather hear about the leaking water heater that left a large puddle of rusty water on my basement carpet and no hot water in two thirds of the house? Should I mention that we had family visit in the middle of the fun? Or maybe about how I fell down the stairs as I went down to show the insurance guy the damage? Or how about the two times I thought I was beginning labor only to have everything stop once I told my husband?

I think I would rather talk about what a blessing it was to have my nesting energy hit just in time to be able to stay up at night with sick kids and still function during the day. I also found it amazing how my intermittent contractions stopped for days until the last child was finished with the majority of her bad night.

Did I mention how grateful I am for family that wanted to be shown around a new house, including the seldom ventured into basement, allowing us to find the puddle quickly and dry everything out? I am especially grateful that she then helped with the children while I made phone call after phone call and showed person after person the damage getting it cleaned up. I am very grateful for a hot water heater that runs only part of the house and continues to work.

I am also amazed at how quickly my arm that was wrenched trying to stop sliding down the stairs healed. (Last time it took much longer.) And, thanks to the fact that my baby decided to wait just a bit, I had a marvelous sleep last night and am feeling almost healthy again. What a blessing to have a rested, healthy body for labor rather than an exhausted, sick one.

I have been astounded at how abundantly the Lord has blessed me this week, turning a very difficult experience into another example of His careful care of me.

Timber....

I was awoken in the dark by Young A informing me that the trees fell over. He wasn't too pleased. I thought he had been dreaming. He insisted it was real. "The trees outside?" I asked. Nope. The trees in his room. And to add injury to insult, one of them was on his bed. Finally, my tired mind made sense of it all. The fake trees in his room fell over. And as he had chosen to sleep on the floor, they most likely landed on him. Once again, I had been certain one of my children wasn't making sense only to realize that he was being quite clear.

On a clear day, you can see forever.

Shortly after we moved in, the fog rolled into my brain. While I could meet the daily needs at home, planning, enjoying, and thriving were beyond me. I hate it when this happens. I hate not knowing why (pregnancy? moving? anemia?) I also struggle to think well enough to figure out how clearly (or not) I'm thinking.

A few weeks ago, the fog finally cleared. I can think. I can plan. I wake up and want to do something with the day. And I can recognize that whatever the reason, the fog was making life quite difficult. When I was five and six months pregnant, I didn't know how I would survive until October because everything (thinking, walking, surviving) was already so hard. Now that I'm eight months along, most days are much easier. And things that seemed so impossible then (like adding a new baby to this mix), seem quite doable.

Tumble Dry...Bliss

Our dryer started making funny noises. I've spent the last week or two figuring out the best places in my home to hang wet laundry. This weekend, the Professor hooked up my new dryer. It's amazing how much easier laundry seems now. I am also amazed at how much space one load of laundry takes when spread out to dry.