8/09/08 - Charlie David's Birthday

All right, here we go with more good news! My nephew David and his beautiful wife Kate are the proud parents of a BIG baby boy. Charles David was born a day late (according to his mom!) but was well worth the wait. He is a second cousin to Levi, born just yesterday, and he outweighed Levi by about two and a half ounces, which was enough to win a bet between the two proud dads, Matt and David, who are first cousins.

WELCOME to the family, Charlie.

Love,
Great Aunt Janet

Daniel is Eighteen!

I haven't posted for a couple of days, because something was up with my internet connection. Rick's internet seemed to work with no problem, but mine was s - l- o - w, so slow that I gave up.

But, I'm back. :)

Yesterday was Daniel's 18th birthday. He was our 8th child, 3rd son, but first C-section. Due to a placenta previa, Daniel was snatched from my womb six weeks early. Poor guy! Not only that, but because the surgeon cut through the placenta, little Daniel went into shock, and for a few hours they weren't sure he would make it.

Warning: Breastfeeding info in the next paragraph. You may want to just skip it.

Make it he did, but he didn't thrive. He actually lost weight for the first couple of months. He was alert enough, but seemed to sleep quite a bit. One day, while giving him a bath, I realized that something was dreadfully wrong. He looked like a little birdie that fell from the nest too soon. (He had gone from 7 lbs to 5 lbs 9 oz.) Off I went to the doctor, and after the doc said to put him on formula, I insisted on seeing a pediatrician. That lovely man told me that of course I could breastfeed my 8th child...I just had to get him going. Turns out that he was simply taking in enough to get by, but because he was a premie and didn't stay awake much, he was growing weaker and weaker. I had to nurse, pump, feed him the pumped milk with a premie nipple, then do it all over again two hours later. I did this round the clock for about a week, and he started to gain an ounce a day! All I did was nurse, pump, feed him the pumped milk, then sleep. I set an alarm so I could wake up through the night. It didn't take long before my milk supply was built up, and he was strong enough to latch on and suck well.

I watched Daniel yesterday, interacting with friends and family, and rejoiced in my heart. The little one with a shaky start has grown to 6 feet tall. He hasn't only grown in stature, but in wisdom. He knows the value of hard work, but also understands that everything we have is a gift from God, and there is no room for boasting.

Children are an heritage of the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is His reward. Blessed is the man who hath his quiver full of them!

Birthing babies...easy as pie?

I was surfing the web yesterday and came across this comment:

"Regarding giving birth to children… after so many, eventually all you have to do is just cough or sneeze and there you go… out comes baby."


Now, I know this dear lady was just making a joke, but I was thinking about Amy (from Amy's Humble Musings...see link on side bar) who is about to give birth any day. I responded to the comment as follows:

"As a woman who has given birth to TWELVE beautiful babies, let me tell you that this poster doesn't know what she is talking about. Labour is a difficult experience for most women. It takes courage and perseverance, and strength. And one more thing for those of you who haven't given birth, ever, or have had only one or two: it actually gets more difficult, emotionally, the more you experience it. IT HURTS. It is not pleasant. And you remember. That old wives' tale about "as soon as you hold that baby in your arms, you forget the pain"... HOGWASH!

Is it worth it? Of course. Children really are an heritage of the Lord, and the fruit of the womb really is His reward. But never assume that after a few it gets easy."

It's not easy. Never has been, since the Fall of man. But it is the path the Lord has chosen to bring children into the world. It takes strength of character and grace to face the upcoming delivery.

Instead of joking about it, or minimizing its difficulty, let us acknowledge the sacrifices made by women who carry and deliver these precious bundles of joy. Let us support them in prayer, help them with casseroles, and babysit the older ones for them so they can recuperate.

I'd like to see us go back to the days when motherhood was viewed as something sacred.

In Christ,
Janet