Some more sweetness

Here are some more pictures from the hospital...

Hanging out with Manny, chatting it up

Loves the rocking chair almost as much as his little brother

"Still not sure what to do with these things..."

mug shot

Getting prepped for surgery

First family picture

Pure sugar

A very dramatic first bath

Contentment

Our sweet, sweet Manny

Emmanuel Jude Hartness
Born September 24, 2008
11:06pm
7 pounds, 12 ounces
21 inches

Sorry it's taken me awhile to get these up. We couldn't figure out how to use the wi-fi in our room....and, well, we've been kinda busy :) Thanks for being patient!

Here's the story if you like details:

My c-section was scheduled for Friday the 26th at 7 am so all last week we were running around like crazy trying to make sure we had everything ready. I had been feeling a lot of low pressure and just figure the baby had dropped or something. Josh's mom came and helped me organize our nursery and I washed several large loads of girl clothes and blankets and had them neatly folded or hung in the nursery closet. I was very confident I knew this was a girl...I even registered for a few pink things.

I had been doing a lot of cleaning and running errands and Tues night I thought I was losing all bladder control. The thought hit me that it was possible for my water to break before Friday so I went into a cleaning frenzy around midnight scrubbing the bathrooms. Wednesday I was still having trouble not peeing on myself (yes, embarrassing) everytime the baby moved. That morning Isaiah and I went to the mall to meet our friends Kristin and Lily for one last play time before the baby came. The kids played, we got coffee and I found the cutest "Big Brother" shirt at Carters for Isaiah. That morning it hit me that he didn't have one and, of course, he "needed" a big brother shirt to wear at the hospital. Another sweet friend, Kelly, met me in the parking lot and gave me a bag full of food she had made for our freezer (that spaghetti was awesome, Kelly!). I got home and cleaned and finished laundry while Isaiah napped, then woke him up and went on a marathon grocery run to Walmart to make sure we wouldn't be out of anything when we got home from the hospital. It was late when we got back and I was very, very tired. I crammed a huge bowl of spaghetti down, fed Isaiah and put him in the bathtub, all while complaining that I kept peeing on myself to Josh. Then it happened and there was no mistaking it...I was not peeing on myself. I called the Dr....the water kept coming so we freaked out and tried to remember what to pack. It was 2 days early and we hadn't gotten that far in our planning yet. Josh was wiping away tears as the reality hit and was making all the phone calls to our families. Our parents met us at the house and we got to the hospital at 9:00pm.

They took me straight back, hooked me up to all the normal stuff and prepped me for surgery. Thankfully they weren't that busy so I had Dr Panner's full attention and by 11:06pm we had Manny. It was a crazy moment for Josh to stand up and start laughing as he said, "it's Emmanuel!" I laughed and cried at the same time....I couldn't believe it. Earlier, right before my water broke, I had said to Josh how it would be funny if God had the baby come early...as if to say, " you know nothing. You think you have this whole thing planned out, but you really know nothing." Then I followed that with, "And what would be really funny is if the baby comes early and it's a boy!" I really think God laughed hard with us in the OR when they took Manny out of me.

Anyway, he's perfect. His apgar scores were 9 and 9. We couldn't ask for a healthier baby. I call him my cuddle bug because he is SO cuddly! He was pretty unhappy the first night in his little cart by my bed so he slept pretty much the whole night on my chest. Isaiah was in the nursery and was very stressed as an infant so this has been really different. Manny is easily soothed by being held and swaddled in a blanket. He LOVES skin to skin contact and noses around until he finds skin...it's precious. He's a good eater...though I'll spare you nursing details :)

Isaiah LOVES him! In fact, the first time he heard Manny cry he burst into tears and acted desperate for someone to fix whatever was wrong with his little brother. He wanted to kiss all over him and hold him, calling him "my baby" or "my Manny." He hasn't seen him a whole lot but is coming home from the grandparents tonight for his first night home.

Thank you for all the prayers, visits and calls. It has meant the world. And please keep praying for us. I'm still very nervous about this transition and taking care of both Isaiah and Manny well. I'm also in a bit more pain than I remember with Isaiah so please pray that I heal quickly.

I'll update more soon :)

Calling in the troops

Ok, you guys with 2 or more kids...I've been mulling over this a lot in my head and reading some internet stuff too, but, honestly, I think your real life experiences will help me even more so...

I would really love to hear how you helped your first born (or older kids) transition to having a new baby around.

I just don't feel very prepared in this area. I've read about buying Isaiah little presents to give him (while he's watching the baby get tons of stuff) and even giving him a present from the baby, letting him "help" as much as possible, giving him a lot of special time with us, etc. Most of these suggestions are coming from secular websites (and still may be great advice) and I'm just not sure how to sort through it all.

So what did you do???

A bit of humor

You've all probably seen this (or heard of it by now) but if you haven't...it's HILARIOUS! There is at least one off color joke but otherwise, I thought both Tina and Amy were brilliant. I have laughed out loud every time I've seen it....and in these days of tightly wound nerves, life changing events coming, a toddler with a cold and strong defiant streak (you get the picture) laughter has been like someone giving me free money (and a Valium).

Here it is.

Quick update

We have a new computer and I haven't quite taken the time to figure out how to do pictures so that's mainly why I've been behind on posting anything. That and the fact that I have nothing intelligent to say these days :)

But as for a quick baby update, I saw Dr. Jones for the last time on Wed. The next time I will see him is next Friday morning. So weird. Everything's fine and since it's a c-section he didn't have to "check" anything. Woo Hoo! So I have no idea if there's any progression and frankly don't really care...the baby's coming out on Friday. And, for the record, I really think it's a girl.

I have been struggling to trust the Lord with all the details that I think "need" to be in place before the baby comes...and of course, our finances are almost always stressful to me. Especially as I plan to take 3 months of maternity leave from work. Still not sure how all of that is going to work out, but the Lord has been meeting me in my freak-out moments and comforting me with His word. That has been such an encouragement to my heart (that He cares for me, LOVES me and is for me), because so often I carry around my worries and burdens and never give Him the chance to meet me. I usually think that I can handle it. Seems like I would grow out of that. MAYBE having 2 kids will grow some of that out of me :)

This season has been challenging for sure and I've found myself desperate on a consistent basis for God's grace in every little moment. Isaiah is definitely a 2 year old little boy with all the issues that come with that, and I have had such little patience and energy with him. I find myself really struggling some moments with anger towards him...especially on days that a realtor calls and wants to show the house, throwing our whole day into a flurry of cleaning, shoving stuff places and trying to get out of the house. That in itself has humbled me and I'm thankful for that. I need that. I'm sure having a newborn will bring much more of that. (And, by the way, I want to point out that Isaiah has filled many, many moments with much needed humor, laughter and joy...he has quite the personality!)

It's interesting to me that so many of my friends are (for various reasons) in similar seasons of clinging to the Lord just to get through the day...minute by minute reliance. I have been really encouraged by you guys and your own struggle to trust Him for all that you need. It's so good and sweet of the Lord to place people like you in my life, running this race with me.

Here are a few passages that I'm clinging to and putting my hope in:

But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
3 For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

--Isaiah 43:1-3


And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

--Phil 4:19


For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

--Heb 4:15-16


Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

--2 Cor 12:8-9

The numbers

4-- The number of times I usually get up to use the bathroom during the night

2-- The number of times my heartburn wakes me up

46-- The number of Tums Quikpaks I've taken this trimester

2-- The number of cups of coffee I'll allow myself each morning, though it's not enough

4-- The approximate number of clothing items that still fit

2614-- Our house number... a reminder to myself after writing 2416 on the hospital registration form

3-4-- The number of times I check craigslist each day for a double stroller

0-- The amount of meals I have cooked and frozen for after the baby comes

14-- A good guess at how many burritos I've eaten this pregnancy and still counting

6-- The number of things left to accomplish on my to-do list for the baby

1-- The number of dogs we have re-homed to make room for the baby

10-- The number of times we have cleaned the house top to bottom for showings

1 gazillion-- The place where Isaiah falls on the energy/busy-ness scale

9-- The approximate number of times I complain to Josh about some physical discomfort each evening.

9-- The approximate number of times he says, "Uh huh," "I'm sorry, baby" or ignores me

26-- The date we will meet our precious little one

7-- The time the surgery is scheduled for that morning

5:30-- The time we actually have to be there

12 midnight-- When I absolutely have to stop eating before the surgery

Sadness

I know several people who are grieving right now....really grieving like over the loss of a fiance or a husband or a child or a mom. I am in no way experiencing that kind of grief, but today I'm really fighting tears and sadness.

We've decided to take our sweet Max back to the breeder we bought him from to be placed in a home where he will have the space, exercise and attention he really needs. This has been gut wrenching for me. I have cried and cried. I know it may sound silly, but he's been ours for 5 years. We were married in Nov of 2003 and one month later brought home our very own puppy to care for. So, in some senses he felt like our first child.

Anyway, Josh is probably going to take him today after work. Objectively, this really is the best thing for us and for Max and we try to sell the house and get ready for this baby in a few weeks. But honestly, I'm anything but objective right now. My hormones are helping either so, if you could, please pray for us today. All three of us love him very much and are having a hard time. Pray for joy and the bigger (and best) picture to be visible.

Thanks.

How to tell when it hasn't quite sunken in...

Isaiah often makes me chuckle. Case in point:

I had just gone into his room to get him up this morning and as I was making his breakfast we had a little conversation like this...

I: Mommy, I'm happy.

M: Oh Isaiah, I'm so glad.

I: Mommy, I'm so glad.

M: (seeing a teachable moment) Does Jesus make you happy?

I: Uh uh. I'm out of bed.