Baby Eli is here!

Baby Eli is here!... and has been now for a month.  Wow, that was a fast month...

But let's hit the rewind button & start from the "beginning..."

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July 1.  6am wake, get ready go to work.  6pm come home from work.

ME:  Hi, how are you?  How was your day?

The Pregnant Lady:  I need you to sit down. ("Hmmm" I think).  I think I've been having contractions since 11 this morning...

ME:  "Awesome" (Why am I sitting down for this?  Did she think I was going to pass out?)  That's great!

So we have dinner, call the midwif, "we're still 5 minutes apart."  So we wait for a while... 10pm, "Now they're 2 minutes apart and getting stronger.."  You guys should come to the hospital...

So we check into the Birthing Suites..  Triage for an hour.  OK, let's get you into a room.

And thus begins a VERY LONG NIGHT...  Every 2 minutes the contractions come, and the groaning...  Makes it hard to sleep, not that there was much of that going on.

Only ice and water for the Pregnant Lady, that doesn't give much energy.

The Midwifs & nurses were very attentive throughout the night and into the morning, and with shift change comes one of our favorite midwifes, who we really connected with..  Such an answer to prayer.

And now we begin the long morning of trying to find a comfortable position, and investigating how much "we" are dilated...

Finally about 10am the word comes that we are 10cm...  Let's go... ... ...  And thus begins 4 hours of pushing.

Christine was amazing, she kept pushing...and pushing, and pushing.. but we didn't seem to be getting anywhere.. It was really starting to get frustrating... a little bit of progress would be nice...   They started talking about a C-section, and it was starting to look like that's the direction we needed to go... BUT The Pregnant Lady asked me to text a bunch of folks to pray that we didn't' have to do that...

...contractions were still coming every 2 minutes, maybe less, and the Sr. OB came in and said "the baby looks like it's getting close" and the Pregnant Lady was still pushing, which was easier than dealing with the pain of the contractions, so she kept pushing...

The midwif said "do you want to have this baby?"  The PL said "YES!!!"  and there was a flurry of gown putting on, and moving plastic bags and instruments and stuff into position...

He was Sunny Side up...  Meaning head down but face up, so he kept getting stuck..

We were close.  She tells me " Please put the camera down and help me push?!"

And of course, as soon as I put the camera down, here he comes!!!!!!!

I saw the head come out and then he stopped... "I need everyone on the table, now!" says the Dr. She reached into her bag of tricks, tried a couple of twists, the reached in and grabbed one of the arms and out he came.  That was a moment to remember...  Would have made a great reality episode on tv.

I had 3 seconds to identify if it was a boy or girl... and then they needed to get to work on him..

Amazing to hear my little boy's cries.  Something I thought I would never hear.

Mom was exhausted, and I have the highest respect for her and her efforts...  It was a truly amazing experience.

So now, 4 weeks later, August 2 is a month... we're now changing diapers, and feeding every 3 hours, and not sleeping that much, and learning what works and what doesn't, and we are filling up memory cards with lots of pictures and videos...

I think of my parents who went through this 49.8 years ago, and I wish I could talk to them and share stories and hear how they dealt with all the things that happen...  But that was not in God's plan...

And so this adventure of life continues, and just keeps getting better!

Such a blessing, such a responsibility, such a joy!

Baby M on its schedule

"This baby's always been opinionated" says the Pregnant Lady. 

It's 10:30 PM on D+3 and she's still pregnant. 

And she says to me you didn't do your blog today, "oh no."  Good thing I've got the mobile Blogger installed on my phone so I can just speak into it and it types for me. 

So I was busy today cleaning the house dusting and vacuuming, preparing, cleaning, making the house as clean and dust free for Baby Mitton as I possibly can. 

The baby doesn't like the vacuum cleaner, and the cats don't like the lawnmower. No, the lawnmower was not inside the house (I also mowed the lawn....) 

So mom is ready to have the baby on the outside and so am I.  Getting excited about having this little one around!  I'm already fast forwarding to scenes that might play out four and five years down the road, but once this little one is here I'm sure I'll be slapped back into reality.

The suitcases are packed, the iPod is full of relaxing music, cameras are charged with plenty of space and I have hard drive space cleared off for the millions of pictures and videos to come. 

I've been instructed, I'm not allowed to laugh at her pain during delivery but I like AFV and Wipeout....  I may not be able to help myself and I may get slugged. 

We are ready... just waiting on the little one to make up its mind when it's ready. 

Then again the Fourth of July is only four days away!!!!!!

Till next time. 

5 days to the "official" day...

It's 10am and she's still sleeping.

Ready for the occupant.

But, she may not have slept all night.  The Pregnant Lady is finding it extremely difficult to arrive at a position & location that allows for lengthy sleep.

She says "preparation for the sleepless nights ahead."

Not to mention, a bit too much laughter or coughing sends her running for the throne room...

She just said to me last night, "some women say they enjoy their pregnancies?"  No so here.

Although chewable Papaya Extract has helped hugely in the last few weeks with the acid reflux!

 There's not much to do but wait, search the web for info on what to do, and more importantly, what not to do...

Now it's just me following the lawn mower, but that's OK!  I'm thinking it'll be a few years before Baby Mitton can do the mowing...

We eagerly await our little package, but we realize that all will change then...

The feet pushing out the side of Mom seem to indicate that the Little One is ready too!

Hoping that the next post indicates the arrival.

Till Then...

Cleo not sure about all this...

Father's Day Reflection

The day after Father's Day.

I draw near to being a father (on the outside that is) - there is most certainly a baby rolling around inside the Pregnant Lady, I am a Dad!!!!  No doubt about that!

On the day of, & this day after Dad's Day, I think not of myself, but of my lovely Pregnant Lady who has endured 9+months of:

- Sleepless Nights

- Restless Legs

- Growing uncomfortableness

- Kicks to the rib cage (the baby, the baby!  Not me...)

- Chilled extremities

- 3am baths to seek relief

- Pregnancy Brain (which kinda makes me feel smarter.... :)

& Acid Reflux that makes the China Syndrome a personal reality.  

Thank you Pregnant Lady for enduring all these things and more, and still managing to make our house a home, preparing for all that is to come, and keeping a sweet spirit through it all.

We are truly Blessed!!!!!!!

And to my parents, who went through this same amazing miracle of life growing within about 50 years ago, I say "Thanks for having me!  I really appreciate it!"

And Dad, thanks for being a Man of God & showing me the narrow path!

Wish you could be here to see your Grandchild, but thanks for giving a legacy that leads to life!

So, about 1.5 weeks to go "officially."

We eagerly await Baby Mitton's arrival and continuing on this Adventure together with God!

Till Next Time...

PM

Your life is going to change... In 18 days or so...

Is this for me or the kid?

Sooooo, people keep telling me "your life is going to change"  often throwing in a "forever" at the end of that sentence...

Then they say, "in a good way," but it's almost like a cautionary statement.

It's OK.  I don't mind if life is about to change, that's part of the adventure!  It's ALMOST time I grew up anyway...


I am looking forward to our little ones arrival!  We are going to pour into this child...  Musical instruments, languages, lot's of learning...  Lot's of travel (I hope/plan!).

 So yeah, life IS about to change, somewhere in the next 18 days perhaps, unless the baby decides to stay put.  The Mom, on the other hand is pretty much ready for the arrival & to have room to breathe again!

Perhaps one of the cooler things is I get to visit Toy Departments again, and play with, I mean, instruct in the proper usage of toy type thingys!

1973 - Sears Toy Department.  Like going to Disneyland, but free!

One Month to go... Going to be a DAD!!!!!

Well here we are, within "one month" (officially).  With that in mind, The Pregnant Lady said to me, "let's do a little get away while we still can..."  So off to the beach we went..  A lovely 2 nights with an ocean front view, rest, relaxation, and some relief floating in the pool - relief for the Pregnant Lady, "taking the load off" so to speak...

Excuse me, you're blocking the view!

I must admit, I am rather excited at the prospect of becoming a father (on the outside - I already am, it's just the kid's still cooking). Something that I had given up on a decade or two past.

My father was 40 when I showed up, and he was a GREAT Dad, but I had announced to myself "If I'm going to have kids, it will be in my 30's."  Ha!  That's like saying to God "Please don't ever send me back to Orlando," and yes, that's where he sent me,  :)  albeit temporarily.

On this journey & adventure of life I am constantly reminded that my timing is not Gods timing, my plans are not His, AND the more I give up to Him, the more he piles on the blessings!  

Example:  We were blessed to journey to Israel 1 year ago with a group from church. Something we could not have done this year.  Timing!  God's Timing!  AWESOME!

Joseph approves of the view.

God's timing:  Christine & I met 20 years ago in church, almost got together then, but didn't (that's another story), reconnected a few years back, married 3.5 years ago and now we are both -

LIVING A SECOND LIFETIME!!!!!!!!

And what a blessing it has been.. Almost as if we've been thrust back into our early 30's.  And yes, the records show that my body is 49, but to me my mind is that of 32.  To my wife, 12... well, sometimes.   :o

All that to say regardless of the milage, I'm ready to take this child on many more adventures.  Already planning on buying the State & National Parks passports so we can keep track of our visits, and I'll have to take him or her back to "the old country Mate!" and if they were to say to me "I wanna backpack around Europe" my response will be "I'll pack right now!"

Cleo likes the fresh ocean air!

Eggs & Toast Cutout, the very first cook!

Not a lot of sleep or comfortable positions for the pregnant lady these days, but she's a trooper!  She says it's getting her prepared for the sleepless nights ahead...

I surprised her last Friday with a new snap on electric range, so she can bake when she's not sleeping...  Kidding!   It needed to be replaced, and the Memorial Day sales were too good to pass up, and we'd been saving & looking for a year...  Timing!



So now when she says she's tired, or she hurts, I say "if it's any consolation, I bought you a new range...!"  And she laughs.  :)  She's so awesome, my Pregnant Lady!

Till next time!

PM


One of my favs!

Matthew 6

New International Version (NIV)

Do Not Worry

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[e]?

New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

The best selling book of all time, BTW!
Hmmm.  There might be something to that!!!!!!?????

We are at 34 weeks and counting ...

49 and PREGNANT!!!!!!!!! Ahhhh! Woooo Hoooo!

Yes, I'm 49 and pregnant...

Well, my wife is the one carrying the baby... but we're both “expecting!”

At first we were shocked... we were happy with our situation... 2 cats, a new job, a new house, 12 miles from the beach, healthcare. Thank God for the Healthcare!

We were only 3.4 years into our matrimonial state of bliss, although we'd known each other for just about 2 decades, but that's another story... later.

From the beginning of our adventure together with God, we asked that our lives would count for Him on a daily basis and He proved that in many different ways, and now we've been handed a tremendous personal responsibility...

To care for a new life, to guide this little one's growth and help it find the narrow path that leads to life...

Excitement, Joy, Trepidation, Hope, Faith...

We are in the zone now, this little one could arrive at any time.

“What are we going to do with a baby?” I'm asked semi-regularly.

“We're going to take care of it!” I reply. Sometimes I break out into a Looney Tunes reference “we'll hug it, and squeeze it, and call his name George.” but that's just my trying to be funny.

We ARE going to pour into this child, and love him or her (that's right, we're waiting), and pray, and laugh, and make mistakes, and learn, and enjoy this Great Adventure God has carried us on....

Till next time.

Train up a child in the way he should go,
And when he is old he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 22:6

New King James Version (NKJV)