The first four parts:
The original plan for when Paul was born was for William to take 3 days off. His mom was going to stay that week. We would take a week off together as a family over spring break.
I wasn't crazy about this plan.
For one thing, I wasn't crazy about being left home with his mom so much. She's a sweet lady, but we simply do not have a lot to say to one another. This makes for a lot of staring.
I wasn't crazy about William not being home in general. For Rebekah, he took off 2 wks. For the other two, he took off 3. So I was mourning the fact that wasn't happening this time around.
If you recall, I mentioned that God told me everything would work out that night when He informed me I was indeed in labor.
So a few things happened that week that were simply miraculous to me.
First - Rebekah did not miss a single day of school (as I had anticipated) for the birth of Paul. She was already out of school Mon and Tue for inservice days. So that was actually pretty nice. I'm not opposed to pulling kids out of school, but I do try to limit it.
Second - William was home for 4 out of 5 days that week. For someone who hardly wanted to take 2 days off, this was pretty amazing. Wed-Thur there was a record snowfall. Roads were so bad on Thur, that only the absolute necessary folks went into work. (That was one tech.) William was able to WFH which allowed him to also avoid burning a vacation day. It was nice having him there. He would have stayed home Wed, but some "C-type" folks were in town (CFO, COO..etc etc) and he had to meet with them. So things worked perfectly that he was able to meet with them AND he got to be home more than originally anticipated.
Third - it didn't snow that weekend. If it had, my MIL would have ended up staying who knows how much longer. It cleared up just enough for her to get home at the scheduled departure time.
Fourth - both my MIL and Mom were helpful. I was pretty grateful my MIL ended up staying the week. (It was a last minute decision on our part. My original intention was to not have the additional house guest.) I can't explain why we changed our mind - too much to go into - but looking back I truly was grateful she was there with the additional hands and that she was actually helpful. My mom was super helpful too. This is...well...rare. She has good intentions but she is also super busy so often things don't work out. They both got to the bottom of Mnt. Laundryopolis in my basement - which I had found to be overwhelming. There were extra baby clothes to wash on top of all the normal laundry that I do on Sundays. It was a lot and they tackled it.
Lastly - I had been praying for a positive hospital stay experience. I wanted to fondly remember Paul's birth without any bad memories attached. He's my caboose. I wanted to end on a positive note. A lot happened at Ruth's birth that I've not ever written about (nor will I ever) that deeply saddened me. We had planned everything possible that we could to avoid any repeats - but there was only so much planning we could do. Much of it was up to other people and the decisions that they choose. So I prayed - because outside of the planning only God could help with the rest. And He did. I truly had a positive experience and He made straight my paths just has He promised that night as I was laying in bed denying that labor was starting.
Oh - and Rebekah's concert that I was so worried about? It was post poned even further due to the snow. So I didn't have to take a 1 week old baby out and attend a concert. I was grateful for that too.
I'm thankful for this little guy and I'm excited for the things that God has in store for him.
So a few things happened that week that were simply miraculous to me.
First - Rebekah did not miss a single day of school (as I had anticipated) for the birth of Paul. She was already out of school Mon and Tue for inservice days. So that was actually pretty nice. I'm not opposed to pulling kids out of school, but I do try to limit it.
Second - William was home for 4 out of 5 days that week. For someone who hardly wanted to take 2 days off, this was pretty amazing. Wed-Thur there was a record snowfall. Roads were so bad on Thur, that only the absolute necessary folks went into work. (That was one tech.) William was able to WFH which allowed him to also avoid burning a vacation day. It was nice having him there. He would have stayed home Wed, but some "C-type" folks were in town (CFO, COO..etc etc) and he had to meet with them. So things worked perfectly that he was able to meet with them AND he got to be home more than originally anticipated.
Third - it didn't snow that weekend. If it had, my MIL would have ended up staying who knows how much longer. It cleared up just enough for her to get home at the scheduled departure time.
Fourth - both my MIL and Mom were helpful. I was pretty grateful my MIL ended up staying the week. (It was a last minute decision on our part. My original intention was to not have the additional house guest.) I can't explain why we changed our mind - too much to go into - but looking back I truly was grateful she was there with the additional hands and that she was actually helpful. My mom was super helpful too. This is...well...rare. She has good intentions but she is also super busy so often things don't work out. They both got to the bottom of Mnt. Laundryopolis in my basement - which I had found to be overwhelming. There were extra baby clothes to wash on top of all the normal laundry that I do on Sundays. It was a lot and they tackled it.
Lastly - I had been praying for a positive hospital stay experience. I wanted to fondly remember Paul's birth without any bad memories attached. He's my caboose. I wanted to end on a positive note. A lot happened at Ruth's birth that I've not ever written about (nor will I ever) that deeply saddened me. We had planned everything possible that we could to avoid any repeats - but there was only so much planning we could do. Much of it was up to other people and the decisions that they choose. So I prayed - because outside of the planning only God could help with the rest. And He did. I truly had a positive experience and He made straight my paths just has He promised that night as I was laying in bed denying that labor was starting.
Oh - and Rebekah's concert that I was so worried about? It was post poned even further due to the snow. So I didn't have to take a 1 week old baby out and attend a concert. I was grateful for that too.
I'm thankful for this little guy and I'm excited for the things that God has in store for him.
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