4th of July

We celebrated the 4th here two nights in a row. The first evening we met some friends out on the lawn of the YMCA field for a picnic with live music, activities, and a fireworks display. The weather was absolutely perfect, in fact I even got a little chilly when the sun went down.
The second evening we celebrated at a friends house with homemade strawberry icecream and our own NC state approved, Daddy managed, fun-filled, front yard fireworks show - sparklers and all. Today I am a bit exhausted and took almost a three hour nap. I may have overdone the festvities with a week old infant. Oh well, I can sleep this week.

Back to reality

We are home now, adjusting to life with four children. Another blessing - John only had a two day work week this week. He has been able to be at home with us making things a little easier. More evidence of the perfect timing God had for Clara Bea's arrival. Our church friends have set us up with meals coming to our home. My dear friend, who watched our other three children during our stay at the hospital, has outdone herself with gifts and a welcome home banner posted at our door when we arrived at the apartment. She has showered me with love and kindness beyond what I could ever have imagined. THANK YOU!
I am healing quickly and regaining my strength. Clara is nursing well and has already gained four ounces in the two days since we left the hospital. I am adjusting to the night time feedings and am able to at least take one nap during the day to catch up on my sleep. Things are going well.
Yesterday we were awoken by a phone call from my dad. He called to let us know that my granddad had passed away in the night. I was very saddened by the news, partly due to post partum baby blues and also just the same emotion one feels when losing a loved one. My first instinct was to figure out how to get to Illinois for the funeral. By examining the atlas and mapquest we realized it would be a 700 mile trip one way. This was a little too much to handle with a five day old baby. Flights are too expensive with too many stops and connections in between. My last alternative was to drive to Nashville and then ride the rest of the way with my dad. But still a 400 mile trip with a nursing infant was going to be too hard to do by myself. So with the encouragement from my dad, or should I say with strict orders from my dad I have decided not to go. I hate missing this one.
My grandpa Jones was probably my closest grandparent growing up. Even though we lived miles apart, when we were together there was always a close bond between us. I share many great memories of his visits to TN and our visits to IL, the many card games of ukure that were played, and his contagious laughter. I am pleased to know that he now lives in heaven with no more pain here on earth. This day he has waited for for so long.

Shortly after delivery

A couple of hours after delivering Clara Bea and the epideral had worn off I began feeling the same severe pain that brought me to tears in my chest and all the way around into my back. The doctor ran some lab tests on my blood. They treated me with pain meds and malox. By late in the evening the Dr. determined that I had symptoms of preclampsia. Usually the only cure for this is delivery. But that had already happened. So he put a magnesium drip into my iv which made me very sleepy, somewhat like a muscle relaxer would do. Nurses and doctors kept asking me if I had heaaches or blurred vision. Apparently the danger was that I could have a seizure or bleeding on the brain or the liver. My blood was drawn about every four hours to check my blood platlet count. It slowly dropped for the next 24 hours.
The good news? Well, I have looked for all the little positives in what was going on. For one I was catherized for the night - so I didn't have to get up to go to the bathroom every couple of hours - you women know what I'm talking about. I was able to lay in bed with Clara and nurse her as often as she wanted which in the long run made my milk come in much quicker this time. They gave me great drugs, so I felt a little drunk most of the time I had visitors. This made me relax. And I got an extra nights stay at the hospital, giving me a little more alone time with Clara.
Thanks to all who prayed for my recovery. I know my mom was very worried especially since she was miles away. It was a comfort to know many of you were thinking about me.

Contractions or not contractions

We did indeed go into labor that Thursday evening. I was having some contractions throughout the week but mostly a pain in my upper right rib cage area that I was unfamiliar with. I couldn't sleep yet again for the thrid night in a row. I decided to get up and try to time the contractions. The pain never seemed to go away but I could calulate some contractions happening. I tried twice to lay back down but was unsuccessful. I finally got in the shower, thinking it might relax me. But when I got out I decided to wake John.
At 4 a.m. we got the kids up, called our friends, and told them we were on our way to the hospital. I was only dialated to 2cm when I arrived at the hospital. I was really afraid they would send me back home. I got in the jacuzzi tub thinking it might help but it only relaxed me enough to stop my contractions and even took away the upper right quadrant pain I was having. The doctor came in to check me one more time and praise God I had gone to 3, maybe 4cm and I was staying!
I got an epideral, the Doc broke my water, and then the waiting began. I stalled out and they added some potosin to my iv. In a matter of five minutes I went from a 5 to a 10 and it was time to push.
Clara Beatrice Shand came into this world at 1:36 p.m. on Friday afternoon, June 26th. She weighed 6 lbs and measured 18 inches long. She immediately knew how to nurse and latched on well. My two dear friends Kassandra and Kristen were there to witness her birth. Soon after her sisters joined us in the room. They were very excited to finally meet their baby sister.

updates

I have many things to update you about so I decided to do them as individual posts, like chapters in a book. So I will start chronologically with the events of the day for last Thursday.
We had spent the week swimming each day, taking advantage of the pool here at the apartment complex. Each day was spent with a different group of friends, so we had kept pretty busy. We were also in the process of submitting a rental application for a house here in Statesville that we looked at and really liked.
I decided to be up front about our credit issues with the property management agency. We had since realized that this was the reason for our last denial. So I wrote a letter that we submitted with the application, just stating our intent to pay the rent on time and that we were basically a nice family that would take care of the property well. I had even considered puting a picture with it but then thought that might be a little much.
Well, John turned it in on Thursday morning and he was called back within an hour. They called to ask us when we wanted to sign the lease! Praise God! He told me the news early afternoon. We had friends here at the time that had come over to swim. She commented that wouldn't it be great if we got a house and went into labor on the same day. Little did she know...
Along with each victory, there have been set backs. When we returned from the agency after signing the new lease, we decided to stop by the apartment office to notify them of our move out date. When John came walking back to the van I could tell he was frustrated. "What's wrong now?" I asked. The apartment complex has us signed to a lease agreement through the end of August. Apparently when John moved into the apartment it wasn't available until the 5th of June, this making it not a full month, so the 14 month agreement wouldn't end until August.
The property management office has been so kind and very nice in the whole process that we really didn't want to change anything to jeopardize that situation. We are trying to figure out how we will yet again be able to financially manage double months rent for July and August. I give it to you God, trusting that you will provide for us.
One cool little thing that happened yesterday. I got our monthly utility bill in the mail. We have no payment for this month and another $100 credit for next month as well. John had to put down a deposit last summer and we had totally forgotten about it. See the ways in which God provides!

Anna's birthday

We celebrated my oldest daughter's 9th birthday. Her birthday makes it an official year now that we have lived in North Carolina as a family. We pulled the moving truck away from the house last year on the morning of her birthday and traveled to NC. I remember having cake for breakfast that morning, in an empty house, while friends had come over to send us off. This year I wanted to do something special for her since her birthday last year was filled with mixed emotions.
We celebrated at the state park with friends that we now consider our family here in NC. They met us at the swim beach by the lake on Saturday afternoon. It was a busy day for the lake beach with lots of "interesting" people to watch. But the kids had fun playing in the muddy sand and splashing around. We made our way over to a pavilion to cook out hotdogs and of course have cake. The ice cream accidentally got left behind in the freezer at home but was fortunate because it probably would have melted in the cooler in the 95 degree heat.
Can't believe how quickly my daughters are growing. Some days seem like they pass so quickly and then others seem to drag by. I asked Anna if it would be a good present to have her baby sister born on her birthday. She quickly declined, especially since she was already sharing her day with her dad, for her actual birthday happened to fall on Father's Day this year. I guess it is a good thing for them to each have their own special day.
Yes, I'm still waiting. Wondering when Clara's special day will be.

Waiting anxiously

I didn't realize I had let the blogging go for so long. I guess that means I have been busy-ing myself in other ways in order to pass the time more quickly. Because right now I am trying to find things to do in order to distract me from the days that lie ahead of waiting for Clara Beatrice Shand's arrival.
Yes, we have chosen a name! Clara means "bright and shining" and Beatrice means "brings joy". I think this will be the perfect fit for a little girl born in the heat of the summer, our last child to fill our family unit, one who will bring me, her dad and her sisters great joy.
My older two have been enjoying a week of basketball camp at the YMCA,while Kelsey and I have taken advantage of the mornings to spend time together. I have had the "nesting" syndrome for a couple of weeks now. I have cleaned out just about everything imaginable, organized a spot for Clara's things and finished her bassinet bedding. Just a while ago I decided to pack my bag for the hospital - anixous, I know.
Three times this week I have either walked the track or participated in a step class at the Y. I haven't really exercised since I quit teaching a few weeks ago. I am hoping this will result in contractions or at least the baby dropping into the birth canal.
I feel quite huge at this point. I struggle with sleeping through the night, although my husband would probably protest to that. It seems that I have a problem with snoring during my third trimester. But all I know is that I awake from time to time to pee or turn over (which is a challenge in itself) to relieve my back of discomfort.
I'm really ready for her arrival. We and especially the girls are ready to meet their new sister. I went to preregister at the hospital this week. I took Kelsey with me. I was trying to explain to her what we were doing there. She got very excited and said, "Are they going to take baby Clara out today?" She was dissapointed with the boring time spent behind a desk while the registrar asked me a bunch of questions.
So for now, we wait.