Baby Z

A week ago yesterday, at exactly 4:00p.m. (too late to get any lunch at the hospital, in case you were wondering) Baby Z joined our family. All 20.5 inches and 7 pounds and 15.9 ounces of him. (That's right, Team Boy just got the tie breaker.) My husband was home with our older babies, BUT, my fabulous and beloved midwife delivered Baby Z, so I didn't really feel alone. I am at least 99.9% certain that my husband had a harder time taking care of our youngest three solo, than I did giving birth...really.

We left the hospital the next day because you may recall how much I hate hospitals. I couldn't get out of there soon enough. Knowing how I am, my doctor wasn't late with the discharge papers for his 24 hour birthday, and the pediatrician wasn't late calling in discharge orders for Baby Z. We stopped on the way home from the hospital to pick up Baby Girl's birthday cake, because it was Baby Girl's second birthday, and that just seems to be the way we roll.

The last week has been an utter blur of bottles, diapers, sleep deprivation, resulting grumpiness from babies and and a certain Daddy, and a cold that just will not leave Baby Z alone. For this cold, I thank the woman who came and did his hearing screening, for coughing, sneezing, and wheezing all over my baby...and who to boot, had the worst hygiene. I don't mean she smelled, but, washing your hands without soap, when you're sick, before you touch a newborn...bad form, and so is touching his pacifier, constantly touching the face mask I asked you to put on, rubbing your eyes...ugh!!! The result is Day 4 of Baby Z's cold, on Day 8 of his life...pretty sucky...especially since it was preventable. (I feel somewhat better about that now, thanks for the vent Bloggy Pals.) The pediatrician wasn't horribly concerned with his cold because it, thankfully, isn't in his chest, however, it is turning me into a world class basket case.

The kids are doing better with The new baby than I expected. BB completely ignores him, but, he has been kinder and more considerate to me, which means that I know deep down he cares. JB is the consummate little Mama. She would be quite happy to steal him away from Hubby and me and never let us touch him again...until he grows old enough to mess with her things. LB is thrilled that there are now more boys than girls, he feels empowered, and as a result, he feels very affectionate toward his little tie-breaking brother. Hercules is a champ, he can be a difficult child, but, he is a fabulous big brother. TLL is interested in him, and worries when he cries. BG is warming up, though her initial reaction was very much 'return to sender.' The dogs are a touch miffed that I dare do anything that doesn't revolve around them, and a couple of my birds are making it clear (with their beaks) that they are displeased with the disturbance in the force...but, overall, the transition to being a family of nine, has been smooth.

Hubby's doctor called this morning and offered him an appointment this afternoon to discuss blood work results. As Hubby has had two heart attacks in the past, stuff like this worries me to no end. My tummy is now churning, and will continue to do so until I hear some type of, "all is well," or "everything should be fine, we're just going to start you on___," so, may time fly by until 2:00...no bad news...no bad news...no bad news...please. "Hello again Panic Attacks, we were never exactly friends, so pardon my lack of enthusiasm over seeing you again..."

On this note, I'll leave you, hopefully, I'll get a true post up here before too long, instead of another 'newsletter.'

Tomorrow

Tomorrow, we will report to the hospital at 7:00 a.m. for me to be induced. This was a sucky experience that I already own from my oldest three children, and I am hoping that tomorrow will be different, at the very least, because we may not have someone for our youngest three, which will mean that Hubby will need to be home with them, and I'll be alone.

It's time. I feel like hell. So...if I have to choose between being alone or my status quo...alone it will be.

Wish us luck!

Confession is good for the soul they say

After keeping a secret for a rather long time, I am noticing that while we no longer have any reason for maintaining the secrecy, we find ourselves doing so for the simplicity of our lives. So, what better way to stop such a trend, than to tell all (any) of my bloggy pals who might still be reading what our secret is?

We are having our seventh child, due May 19, which if it sparks in your memory for some crazy reason, it will be BG's second birthday. This information has been "top secret" classified to all those who didn't actually have the 'need to know' until...well, until now. The first reason we chose to keep this to ourselves is simple, after BG was born, I became extremely ill, and we were not completely (at all, in my case) sure that we could bring ourselves to answer 'those' questions, if things did not go well this time because of residual complications. The second is because my relatives are rather loathe to accept the size of our family. On top of everything else that has been going on, I am indeed selfish enough not to want to hear the, "Jeez Viv! Is this really what you need right now? You have six kids already, enough is enough." This has been a standard line ever since our second child was born, in which only the number has changed. I. Really. Hate. Deplore. Despise. Hearing. This.

I am going to put a little (okay, quite a lot) of blind faith in someone who has yet to let me down, my husband, and my children, that we can do this. In what seems like the bleakest moment in our lives, that there is a reason for such a miracle, and that we are indeed well and truly blessed. I am also going to be just selfish enough not to let my extended family bring me down. I am going to be resilient enough to let the negativity that will be coming my way shortly, not reach my heart. I'm going to be just hard-headed enough to believe that we can do this. The easiest part of all, will be to have enough love to encompass one more. So, blog world, do me a favor, say a little prayer for us, think some positive thoughts and send them our way, or just smile thinking of teeny, tiny baby fingers...because I have a feeling that I'll be needing all the good karma and love that you all can send my way.