What you do in your house is worth as much as if you did it up in heaven for our Lord God. We should accustom ourselves to think of our position and work as sacred and well-pleasing to God, not on account of the position and work, but on account of the word and faith from which the obedience and the work flow. ~ Martin Luther

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

Ouch

Home, Home At last.

This was quite a weekend! Friday night I was had contractions all night that continued to progress in frequency and duration throughout Saturday. We were at G&L’s house, our bags packed just in case, so there was no need to panic. I just went throughout the day, not telling anyone for fear that some freaking out might take place. Finally, around 7:00 we decided to head to the hospital and THEN some freaking out DID take place. Linda, as I knew she would, got super excited and eagerly anticipated our departure. When we got to the hospital, I was only 3 cm dilated and entirely ‘too happy.’ They told us we could stay but they also suggested we leave and come back when I was a bit LESS happy. We decided to leave. At 1:00am. We got home after 2am and went to bed. The next morning, though my contractions were even closer together and SO MUCH MORE painful, I tried to dawdle as much as I could-for fear that I would get stuck at the hospital forever. When we finally did get there, at 10:30 am, I was 6-7 cm dilated and the nurse was happily surprised to see how low the baby was. At 3:19 on Sunday, April 2nd, I finally was able to see our wee one. And boy did I see it! I was in a sitting position, so I saw EVERYTHING myself. The head, then the neck, then the shoulders-yes. I saw it ALL. As it was happening. What an odd and magical experience rolled into one. The nurses and doctors laughed because of the dumb expression on my face. Shock. Awe. Terror. Devotion. Love. They said, “Look! She is in SHOCK!”

I got to hold our precious baby boy in my HANDS and feel his body and kiss his soft skin and count his fingers and toes. I have longed for this moment for SO long and now, he is here. Baby ANDREW LEIGH NEWMAN. He weighed in at 8 pounds 10 ounces and was 22 inches long. And boy does he have a head full of hair. BLACK hair. Don’t ask me! :-)

Corynn is doing very well with her new brother, eagerly sharing the news with all who ask-and even those who don’t. She hushes him and comforts him like a true mother and has already begun to sing songs to him and read to him. At first, she was unsure of it all. It took her some getting used to but she recovered quickly and has a hard time sharing him with anyone else. Now she keeps constant vigil over his basket.

Peanut is an amazing baby and shocks me every day (all two days he has been around) with fun things. He is a pro at nursing and has been since he was an hour old. Last night, at two days old, he only woke up ONCE during the night! And the best part-so far no pee showers! ;-)

I still get exhausted easily and sometimes get lightheaded-but other than that, I am surprised by how quickly I am recovering. Matt has been with me and I can’t tell you how wonderful it has been! I have been able to rest whenever I need it, and he has been MORE than a help to me. Well, this post has taken two days to complete so I will end this, I know many details are missing, but I wanted to at least tell you the BIG news.


Life is grand and we Newmans are blessed beyond comprehension!

9 comments:

Paula said...

OH REBECCA!!! CONGRATS! He is such a cutie!! I am so happy for you!! And how wonderful that hubby is able to be right there with you helping you to recover. OH I AM SO HAPPY FOR YOU!!

Blessings my dear friend!

Abigail said...

Oh, hurrah, hurrah! I've lurked around your blog like a fiend today hoping for news and pictures of
Peanut, and my ridiculous time-wasting has finally paid off! (Really, the number of times I checked is embarrassing...)

Welcome, wee Andrew Leigh! A good-sized, little, wee one. :) And welcome home for some blessed and well-deserved rest to the rest of you Newmans, too. Thank goodness your good husband's home to lend a hand, eh?

Great job, Rebecca! He is a little beauty, and I love his shock of dark hair. I looked at the pictures with Millie and Annika, and they were laughing out loud in delight. Millie kept saying how "tute" he was, and then I'd hear Annika echo "tute...tute...tute.." And he is!
It's cool that you got to see him arrive, and I laughed when I read your description..."Shock, awe, TERROR, devotion, etc." I saw Millie come out, and I remember feeling like I was giving birth to an alien (having not seen a newly born before then). "Terror" is definitely part of the mix! :)

I'm thankful he came EARLY, that he's big and healthy, and that all went so smoothly. What a good gift! Now you can have more time to get to know him and Corynn can adjust to her own little baby at the place you've known as home before you move on to the place that will become home. I would think, and I hope, that this will make the transition more easy on all of you.

We look forward to welcoming the newest Newman in person before he gets too big. God is good!

Abigail said...

Golly. I really ramble on, don't I. (Sorry.)

Anonymous said...

Abigail is not the only one lurking around your blog. I have been for the last two days. I even checked your sisters blog to see if she had said anything about you having him. All I found out from hers was that you had had him so I've been checking back here like crazy to get more details!

Oh Rebecca, you and Matt are SO blessed! He is so cute! I love the name Andrew. If Lizzie had been a boy we were going to name her Andrew James. Still like that name if we have another boy someday.

I can't wait to hear more and more about him. I love the pics you've shared so far.

BTW, when you do get a chance...not that you don't have your hands full now...I did post pics of the schoolroom on my blog.
Congrats again!!!!
Blessings,
Jen

Anonymous said...

Congrats, Rebecca (and Matt, and Corynn)!!! I have been checking your blog wondering if anything had "happened" yet, and now I know! :-) So glad for you to have such a good sized healthy baby boy join your little family! Such a lot of DARK hair--he is too cute!

I am anxious to see our 2 new arrivals, too, but only when the time is right for them to be healthy enough to come home with me. I am now 32 weeks along, so time will fly from here on out with what I still have left to accomplish!

Rebecca said...

Thanks to all who have sent well wishes. Sorry it took so long to post pictures...time certainly does pass unapologetically fast when things like this happen. I am STILL trying to catch up.

Abby~ Terror certainly does come into play. Really I had this weird look on my face with my jaw down to my chest for a whole minute after it was through. I was speechless-and when does THAT happen!?!?

Jen~Suspense kills, doesn't it? I had a feeling you were checking when you sent me an email. Thanks for the care and concern! I am going to check those school room pictures today! i can't WAIT to see them!

Becky~ YOU'RE NEXT! Abby said you felt a bit of contractions a week or so ago. Your time is FAST approaching. Have you considered starting a blog so I can see your little bundles too? PLease?!? PRETTY PLEASE?!?!

Leah said...

CONGRATULATIONS to you all! Andrew is just adorable! I'm so glad we got to come see you in the hospital! And I so enjoyed holding your little bundle of joy!

Have you decided when Andrew's baptism will be?

Rebecca said...

It was great to SEE you at the hospital! Baptism will be on the 23rd after all and Harold will be doing it for us. We are very excited-my Oma and Opa are even planning to try and attend! :-)

Leah said...

Rebecca,

I'm so excited! What a wonderful blessing that your grandparents may be able to attend the baptism! It must be so neat to have 4 generations all in attendance for such a special occasion!

I look forward to seeing you tomorrow if you're up to coming to church!

Oh, did you get the emails I sent with pictures from the hospital?