Grandparents

One of the fun parts of having a baby is the excitement and anticipation.

Two questions that continually made me laugh were
1) Q: Are you excited?  A:  Yes! Who wouldn't be even a little bit excited??
2)  Q: Are you ready? A:  Haha! Is anybody?

And it's not like all the fun and anticipation is for the new parents.  Our friends and family have been winding up with excitement, too.  Especially our parents.

Or rather, E's grandparents.

It was a joy to watch them each meet E for the first time.  Everybody responds a little differently, but each with joy and satisfaction.  Our family has waited more than a little while to meet this guy.  (More on that later.)

He's also the first grandchild on both my side of the family and Tim's.

Yeah.  Spoiled much?  Not yet.  Give it time...

(We are two first born children bring home our own first born child.  I know there are studies about birth order and personality.  Was does this mean for our household of three??)


Here's the list of grandparents:

Grandma Jill (or Grandma A)

 This is Tim's mom.  Who is like my mom #2 since Tim and I began "going out" in middle school and dated through pretty much all of high school.  (I had a few irrational moments.  We won't go there...)  I loved watching her grin and smile the whole weekend she was with us in the hospital.  She was an emotional support to me and Tim both.  Look at her grin!  Does she care that the little guy pretty much slept the whole time?  Nope.  Not one bit.  Love it!

Grandpa Alvin

This is Tim's dad.  Also like a dad #2.  (See above.)  Not only was he excited to see his grandson, but he was a huge help to Tim while we were at the hospital.  Since we went into labor so suddenly, Tim had a house project he was working on that wasn't done yet.  Tim's dad and brother went to our home and finished everything while we were still in the hospital (with assistance from the family.)  My heart was touched not just by the help, but by watching how much his help touched my husband.  (If you haven't read the 5 Love Languages, you are missing out.)  At a point when I was essentially no help to my spouse, it did so much for my emotional strength to see others make sure he was okay.  Tim was spending all of his energy on me and E.  His family made sure some one took care of him.

Grandma Jantha (Whom I like to refer to as "Granny Mac")

This is my mom.  She was the first one at the hospital when we went into labor.  She was the first one to meet E.  She also was gracious to stay with us the first night we were home to assure us that we weren't doing anything to harm our newborn.  Plus, she took the morning watch when E woke up a little fussy the first morning home.  (Thanks for the sleep, mom!!)  She did the dishes before we came home and when she left I noticed she had done them again.  So grateful!!  When having a baby, there's just something about having your mom available for questions and support.  It makes me feel more comfortable to have my mom there.  And it's fun to get deep and philosophical and think, "This is what she went through with me!"  Love you, mom!

Grandpa Steve

My dad has been my hero in a lot of ways as I've grown up.  In some ways he's bigger than life - a former Marine, over 6 feet tall, and the brains and courage to create and run his own business.  I love how it doesn't matter how big your dad may seem or how tough.  When it comes to grandbabies, they all seem to melt.  My dad has been my champion through out life - calling to say I was doing good in school and to keep it up, that he was proud of me, to make sure everything was good.  Not only is my dad supportive of me, I love that he sends me texts that say things like, "Can I get a pic?  I need my Emmitt fix."  That and the fact that he is also a touch goofy.  This picture is really my favorite one of him and E.  Maybe of all the family pics:

See how much fun grandparents are?  And we're just a week old today!  I can't wait to watch our parents while E grows.  All of four of them have loved on us and loved on E.  They each mean so much to us - a lot in the same ways and each in their own ways.

So, to each of you grandparents -- We love you!  We wish you lived closer!  Thank you for loving us too!

Sincerely,
Tim, Stephanie, and E

Meet E

I am a planner.

Although, I tend to fill my schedule or to-do lists with more than could actually be accomplished in a day. Or in 9 months.

E arrived earlier than planned. At 36 weeks, my water broke and 13 hours later our little man arrived. The whole birth process was easy, thanks to an epidural. I was a little worried about how E might be affected by being almost 4 full weeks early.

When he was delivered the nurse, Becky, grabbed him from my chest after just a moment saying, "He's a little too limp" and commenting that she wanted him to make more noise. E was whisked away to the warmer where daddy went with the camera and I was left on the bed trying to pretend the doctor wasn't doing anything else in my nethers (placenta, stiches... uh!) I listened across the room as the nurses explained things to Tim the new dad. "His color is looking better already." "Do you see how his chest is moving? That's what we need to watch." After a few minutes, Becky swaddled E and carried him over for me to see.

See. Not to hold.

"We're taking him to the nursery. He's having a little trouble breathing," Becky explained. "A couple of breathing treatments and he should be just fine." When I asked how long he would be gone - I hadn't even held him yet - she said each treatment would only take 15 minutes. That seemed like both a short time and a long time. However, I wanted E to be able to breathe well and stay healthy, so away he went. Luckily, Tim snapped this photo of our little man before he left.

It was only 45 minutes before Becky wheeled E and his bassinet back into our room. I was in the middle of eating lunch, but quickly pushed the tray away to make room for my boy.  (Food has no meaning when you finally get to hold your brand new baby for the first time.)

The rest of the day was a blur of visitors, adventures into breastfeeding, and poor attempts to grab a nap between interruptions.

The next day we had a new, unexpected adventure with E. The nurses informed us that E's bilirubin levels were high and the pediatrician wanted him placed on bili lights. For some reason, this brought on the tears. I hadn't cried when E was born, I didn't cry when he was taken straight to the nursery before I could really see him. I did cry when I saw a bassinet that had lights in the bottom where the padded mattress used to be. E was to be velcroed inside, up to his chin, except when we were feeding him. This meant we couldn't hold him or love on him like we wanted. Or, more importantly, like I wanted.  My mother-in-law and husband gently reminded me that this was all to help E stay healthy and get rid of the little bit of jaundice he had. My mom's comment was that it was normal for many newborns. For me, the whole bili bed was just too much for my exhausted, emotional, hormonal brain. There was one benefit, beyond the medically obvious. We had ourselves a cute little glow worm.

Our hospital stay was extend by half a day so that E could have a full 24 hours under the bili lights. (Think of a tanning bed for babies that puts off light but doesn't give you a tan.) We were warned that he might need to go back under the bili lights, but that we could do this from home. Unfortunately, we found out yesterday that E did need the lights again.  I'll get to that later.  For today, I just wanted you meet the little boy who rearranged my end-of-the-school-year plans. Do I mind? Not one bit. Who could when the baby is this adorable?

Over and out,
Stephanie