New Baby!

In the midst of doing our list from the last post, we took time out to have a baby--well, my daughter did. Here's a brief account.

Monday night I went to bed knowing Jessica was going in to be induced at 4 a.m. Tuesday. For many reasons including that one, I couldn't fall asleep until 1:00. Then I woke up at 3:30. A lot of the reason was also a four hour conversation with a fiction coach that gave me plenty to rewrite so things were spinning in my mind. I got up and started writing in what felt like the middle of the night.

At about 9:00 I got the call Jessica was in labor, so Jasmine and I left for the hospital. I had a new "Gigi" shirt.

Jessica was progressing very slowly, so I suggested we get her out of bed and sit her on a ball. I've heard it helps. Everyone looked at me weird, and the nurse wasn't in favor of it but I got bossy :)

You can't see the ball under Jessica, but you can see it under Lisa, Jessica's mother-in-law, who is a bit mischievous.

Gigi and Mimi waiting. (What do your grandkids call you? I am Grandma Kathy to my step daughter Ashley's kids and will be Gigi to River)

Jessica was making progress on the ball, but they decided she needed an epidural to help her relax so she would dilate better. Well, that just didn't happen, and she got stuck at 8. 

Finally just before midnight a decision was made to do a C section. It turned out to be a good idea. The baby was stuck in the birth canal face up. They think she'd been stuck about four hours!

Unfortunately she started breathing before she was out and swallowed fluid. Then she wasn't breathing well at all. 

She was rushed out of the room without Jessica even holding her and hooked up to various machines and things to help her breath better and was transported to another hospital. It was about 2:00 a.m. by time she'd been stabilized and ready for transport. Jessica only got to touch River's hand through the transport unit. She remained at the hospital she was at while River went to NICU at a nearby hospital.

I would love to show pictures, but Hunter doesn't want any pictures posted of River with the tube. However, I was able to snap a quick one as they whisked her by us to get ready for transport.

Today I went to see River at NICU. I was only able to place my hand on her leg. They don't want people to touch her because they don't want her stimulated right now while they are working to regulate her breathing.

She continues to make progress, and they've cut back her oxygen. They may pull her feeding tube, so she can start eating tomorrow.

Please keep Jessica and River in your prayers.

It Starts with Labor

Motherhood: If it were going to be easy, it never would have started with something called labor. Barbara Johnson

How true is that? Whether that labor is the physical toil of pushing a child out of your body or the emotionally draining work of home studies, background checks and an every shrinking band account, parenting starts with labor.

And it doesn't end when the child is born or arrives home. The work is just beginning. But remember this: Parenting isn't a sprint, it's a marathon. (Was James Dobson the one who said that?) We're told that we should read to our children, make the most of teachable moments, let them help with cooking and housework, check their homework, monitor their screen time, provide educational experiences, eat together as a family, take family vacations, keep scrapbooks or journals, attend PTO meetings, open houses, orientations and parent teacher conferences--or better yet, home school. And the list goes on. Thing is, you can't do all those things in the same day. So don't try. Do one thing. Just one. (I'm going to talk about doing one thing many more times on this blog!) That one thing a day adds up to 365 a year. So finger paint today and read a picture book tomorrow. 

(See what we read HERE) Go to a museum or botanical gardens today and start reading a classic aloud tomorrow. If you try to do it all at once, you'll go crazy. It's a short drive/walk for many of us.

So hang in there. And just do one thing today. What will it be?