We are pleased to announce the arrival of our little boy, Francis Anthony (Frankie), who was born Oct 17, weighing in at 7 lbs 4 oz and measuring 20 inches. He came much more quickly than the other three, which I've got to say, I did not mind.
I had been having contractions all morning, but they were pretty irregular, and given my history of 12+ hour labors, we didn't think it would be an issue for Seth to go help out on the farm for the afternoon. Of course, they sped up as soon as Seth left. I held off for a couple of hours before calling Seth, but by the time he got here we all hopped in the car and headed straight for Marshall (forgetting the camera so we don't have many first day pics). He was born a little over an hour after our arrival to the hospital; a big improvement from walking the hospital halls for hour after hour.
Although my doctor was gone for the weekend, I was happy to learn that the doctor on call was my previous (now semi-retired) OB. When the nurse went in to tell her that I had checked in, the doctor warned her that I "deliver like a steam engine." And that's probably a fairly accurate way to describe the experience, I guess. I'm very grateful that the pushing portion of deliver has always been quick for me: 4 minutes this time. And that was long enough. Kudos to those ladies out there who push for hours - you are amazing.
He has been a wonderful baby so far and has lots of sets of arms eager to hold him all the time. We are all adjusting to being a family of 6. As Jim Gaffigan describes going from 3 to 4 children (or maybe it was 2 to 3): "Imagine you're drowning, then someone hands you a baby." While there are moments like that, it's so wonderful to have this new little life with us and so worth all the chaos.
Speaking of chaos, though, if you have a minute and are so inclined, pray for us when Seth goes back to being gone in the evenings next week. So far Seth has been home during the "getting kids ready for bed" portion of the nights. I had a taste of trying to do it on my own tonight when Seth was gone until 8:00 and yikes! Often Charlie hits "sleepy/disagreeable/I want Mommy" time at the same time that I'm trying to read the older two stories which don't hold the interest of Charlie who is either trying to get on my lap, jump on us, talk/sing so loudly no one can hear, get me to read his books instead, or creating a huge mess somewhere. If I deal with Charlie and get him down before I read to the older ones, they end up staying up too late and we all pay for it the next day. If I make Charlie wait, he hits "overtired" and can't sleep for another hour or two or three. So throw a nursing baby on my lap in the middle of all of that and it's a bit overwhelming.
Thanks again for all the prayers and well wishes throughout the pregnancy. There's nothing better than welcoming a new life into the world.
