Our new favorite hobby...

Cole Samuel

On Tuesday morning, I drove to my 39 week doctor's appointment with Jonathan and Clara in tow. Five hours later, our cute little Cole was born. Obviously, we cannot have a baby without some sort of drama and trauma, but all things considered it was a relatively mild delivery, and we're so happy he's here safely!

When I met with my doctor at around noon on Tuesday, Cole's heart rate did a few unexpected decelerations. I tend to be a source of stress for my OBs, so when I looked at her with tears in my eyes and said, "That does not sound like my baby," she said, "Listen to me, with any other patient I would not be worried, but you're here and I'm here; let's just have this baby right now."

I, of course, was immediately emotional and worried, and I was an hour from home (the joy of living in a small town as something of a high-risk pregnancy: you have to go afield for your babies), had two kids with me, and Jeremy was at his office with no car. I tearfully called him and told him I would find someone to pick him up, then I called a dear and willing friend who dropped everything to pick him up, drive him an hour away, then take my kids home with her (thank you, Kristin, truly! We couldn't have done it without you!).

My doctor said as soon as Jeremy walked in the door we'd go to the operating room, and she was true to her word. Once he arrived and put on his "nurse's clothes" (as Clara calls them), we wheeled over to the OR. The c-section went well, other than the tarp/curtain was too close to my face and when they peeked Cole over the tarp he dripped two big drops of goopy-ness into my hair. I thought he looked truly enormous, but he's a pretty normal-sized baby: 20.5 inches and 7 pounds, 12 ounces.

After he was born and made his way to the nursery to get cleaned up, people seemed to generally forget I was there. Jeremy followed Cole, only to be made to wait in my hospital room. The anesthesiologist left, the doctors were stitching me up and talking about the best museums in Washington, DC, and I stared at the blue tarp. Oh well. I guess at that point I wasn't feeling very chatty anyway. :)

When I was finished in surgery, they wheeled me to recovery, then brought in both Jeremy and Cole. That was actually the first time I'd ever had anyone other than a nurse with me in recovery. I liked it! It made up for being abandoned in surgery. After recovering from a big drop in my blood pressure (I have low blood pressure anyway, but this was low even by my standards), the three of us went to my room and have been there ever since. Jeremy has been able to spend most of his time here as well, other than a run to the airport to pick up my mom the night Cole was born (I'm so glad she's here!!) and to teach one of his classes. But other than that, he's been helpfully at my side, helping me in and out of bed, changing diapers, and getting chastised by me every time he's said something too funny (it hurts to laugh!). I sure dig that guy.

The first night was tough. I never sleep that well away from home, but between the pain, the dumb clot-preventing legging things (I seriously loathe them), and feeding Cole, I only slept for about an hour.


The first day after the surgery is always the hardest, by far, but by the day's end I was totally "wireless," eating solid foods, and walking around. And the best part of the day was when Jonathan and Clara came to meet baby Cole! Clara was particularly enthralled by him. She just wanted to hold and cuddle and talk about him. She is such a sweetheart, and is always a good big sister. Even when she fights us on picking up after herself, etc., she is nearly always willing to help Jonathan, and I have a feeling she'll be just the same way with Cole. She was also really interested in hearing about my "wound" and was very helpful in holding my hand and adjusting my legs to help me feel better. She even suggested putting a pillow under my feet. So thoughtful!


Jonathan was a champ about meeting Cole. He seemed a lot more mystified by the whole situation, and even though he was excited to see and hold Cole, he was a lot more happy to eat my cupcake from dinner and sit by me on my bed. It must be a really strange transition for the youngest!

And now I'm waiting for the doctor's go-ahead to go home today. Cole has already been green-lighted, and if my doctor is ever done with her surgeries I'm confident she'll release me as well. Even though home comes along with its own craziness, it is home, and cliche as it may be to say, there really is no place like it.

Happy Birthday, Jonner!

I am feeling very tenderly toward our youngest child today. Not only is it his third birthday, and not only is he a sweet and wonderful boy, but I am keenly aware that he'll be my "baby" for only a few days more.


What to say about Jonathan? He is truly one of the sweetest, most mellow, easy to please, fun to be around boys I've ever met. He has big, beautiful eyes, the best little Charlie Brown head, and a seriously infectious smile. He loves his family, and he borderline worships his sister. He is truly charming.

Jonathan has lots of interests lately, but the two most notable are riding his scooter and tricycle and anything to do with superheroes. I'm not sure where the superhero thing came from, but it has more or less replaced his previous passion with motorcycles (though a superhero on a motorcycle is a guaranteed hot hit).

He still loves the tiny, scruffy monkey I "rescued" from the Syracuse church nursery when Clara was a baby. He has been potty trained for about six months, and he enjoys Backyardigans, especially (you might have guessed) a certain episode he calls "Bubble Boy" where the Backyardigans pretend to be superheroes.

Speaking (again) of superheroes, Jonathan is not void of superpowers himself. His four strongest powers (other than super sweetness) are as follows:


1. Super speed. The boy runs everywhere, usually with arms pointing straight down and looking straight at the ground.

2. Super touch-of-invisibility. Jeremy and I are convinced that no one on earth can lose things more efficiently than Jonathan. We will see him with the object in question, and then five minutes later it seems to literally have disappeared from the face of the earth. Jeremy and I have spent many a frustrated evening stomping around the house trying to find that evening's must-have bedtime item. It really is a remarkable superpower.

3. Super spilling: I swear that boy can spill on clothes he's never even worn. It's incredible.

4. Super style: Jonathan has a keen eye for which clothes are "awesome" and which clothes are "not awesome." This poses a problem because, as it turns out, nearly all of his clothes are "not awesome." Sometimes it's tricky to get him dressed in the morning.


Finally, to mark this momentous occasion I sat down and "interviewed" Jonathan about some of his most favorite things. I think it's an interesting snapshot of Jonathan at age three. He's a great kid:

Favorite food: cauliflower (that's what he said, and he did request homemade pizza and cauliflower for his birthday dinner, so it could be true)

Favorite dessert: chocolate cupcakes

Favorite 'special' (one of those can't-sleep-without things): monkey

Favorite toy: truck

Favorite song: "Belagu" (a Malaysian primary song)

Favorite song to dance to: Toss up between Beyonce's "Halo" and Katy Perry's "Firework"

Favorite book: Flying High, a riveting tale about the DC Superfriends

Favorite thing to do with Mommy: read books

Favorite thing to do with Daddy: jump high off beanbags

Favorite thing to do with Clara: play with garbage trucks when we get some

Favorite thing to do during the day: make up jokes for Clara

Best thing about being Jonathan: being Spider-man

Favorite color: blue

What he wants to be when he grows up: This got three responses: a dumb neighbor (???), The Flash, and Clara

Happy Birthday, Sweetest Boy! We love you!