In the early morning hours of Saturday, July 22nd, I woke Gordon up and told him, "I think this is really happening." that was 1:15 am. Forty-five minutes, one shower, many more contractions, and a few phone calls to neighbors and family later, and Gordon was getting a sleepy Johnny out of bed, shod, and on his shoulders to drop him off at our neighbors Katie and Dino's house (who had volunteered only a few days earlier to take him if the baby came in the middle of the night - inspiration!).
By 2:30, I was checked in at Foothill Presbyterian Hospital here in Glendora, at 2:45 found out I was too far along for an epidural (8cm), and by 4:45, Tommy arrived!
We'll skip the details, but I do remember distinctly thinking that the only way through it was to get the kid out. It was highly motivating. (I also randomly had "The Engine Driver" by The Decemberists stuck in my head.) He came out big, happy, and Hungry! (very little fussing, lots of feeding) After some clean up and phone calls to parents and family, we all settled in for a much needed nap. Some time later that morning I dropped a picture into the announcement I'd thrown together a few days earlier - seen above.
And since Tommy was considerate enough to arrive on a Saturday, Michelle was able to bring the girls with her, pick up John (Dino made pancakes and John had a hard time leaving), buy peach doughnuts from the Doughnut Man, and come for a visit! It's such a blessing to have family close. She also took John back with them for a playdate and nap back at their house while we recouped at the hospital.
Even though we had talked about what was going to happen with John, he was a bit overwhelmed and a little confused about the baby no longer being in my tummy when he first came to the hospital. The girls, however, totally got it and were very excited. He did better when he came back that evening and had had some processing time. Wre decided it would be best for Gordon to take Johnny home for normal bedtime. I had a pretty relaxing night at the Hospital, and the next morning we were signed out and ready to go home!
Two months and two weeks later, I can say that we are all definite fans of Tommy and being a family of four. John says to everyone, "Do you want to meet my brother? His name's Baby Tommy Thomas!" He's very excited for when "Tommy is big enough" to play, and sleep on his bottom bunk, and learn all the "tricks" John wants to teach him (primarily couch acrobatics).
Tommy himself is pretty laid back. Even his cry is kind of soft, and he's recently taken to big, open mouthed grins. He also enjoys watching his big brother make faces at him.
Gordon and I are gobbling up our time with him, especially his wakeful hours in the evening after John's in bed. We're also thrilled by his recent trend of sleeping more at night. I'm glad we have another month before I go back to work and life becomes a whole new level of crazy.
With love,
Reese - Party of Four
