The Road Goes Ever On...: January

2020 wasn't an easy year for anyone. But, somehow, It was a good year anyway. It was full of good memories and new experiences. I don't know what the future holds. I don't think it's going to get any easier. The one thing I do know is that despite all that has happened in 2020, in the world and in my own personal life, God has been constant and is drawing us in to more dependence on Him every day.

As we look forward to the year ahead, 2021 will (and already has been) a year of new things.

January has kicked the year off with a lot of new things. Gateway hired Amber as our Assistant, and Pete and Jolene and our Alternates. We officially opened Maple house and started taking referrals. Mid- January we took our first resident and then quickly took two more. We had our first few times on as Leads that went pretty well.

Gideon and Aurelia have been handling all of the change and newness like pros. They love having residents in the house and don't like being off duty.

lots of fort building goes on these days

They were exercising. I was sitting on the couch

We had a few good snows. The kids love playing in it.

After we come in, we must always have hot cocoa. With marshmellows. In the cocoa and on the side.

Legos have become the favorite toy here. They will play for hours. Gideon has become quite inventive and can build some pretty cool things. I love watching his imagination.

At 36 weeks, the sono showed the baby was measuring small. I was not surprised. But, despite telling them that Gideon was 6 lbs 2 oz, Aurelia was 5 lbs 14 oz, and Nathan's family has all been small 6 lb babies, They still sent us to a high risk doctor for a second sonogram.

I knew where this was going. This is the way it went with Gideon. They thought he was too small, guilted me with "your baby isn't getting enough nutrients and might die" and sent me for an induction. My body wasn't ready for it, Gideon wasn't ready for it, and he was born 3 weeks early at a completely normal weight.

It was very stressful. Obviously, if something was truly wrong, I would do anything to keep my baby safe. I just struggle to trust whether there really is anything wrong.

Anyway, after much prayer, we went to the appointment. The sonographer and doctor looked over everything and pronounced that we were just going to have a small baby. Nothing was wrong. We just have small kids. It was an incredible answer to prayers since this doctor is notoriously more induction-trigger-happy.

But from then on, I had the feeling the baby could come any day. They could suddenly decide I needed to be induced. And, on top of that I had twice weekly testing for the baby (yay for clotting and being "high risk" sigh.)

This was all happening as we prepared to move residents into Maple House and open up. It was a lot.

But then I'd get to see this squishy face on sonograms.

Our first resident moved in!

One evening I got to go to Chelsea's Bachelorette party.

we ate out at a fancy restaurant.

Then, we went to Lydia's house for the party.

It was a good evening, despite the fact that such parties are always awkward occasions for me. Despite being married for 7+ years, I still don't like gifting undergarments. :P

However, if one must be slightly uncomfortable, it is best to attend a bachelorette party with Kacie. She gives such ridiculous gifts, she dies of embarrassment as it is being opened...

hehehe

Finn joining our kids for snacks:)

two very tired kids

We finally got a working oven and stove!

The old one was original to the apartment and blew fuses if you used too many burners.

"I'm Mary".... awww

Joseph?? nope. Gandalf.

Ha!

Nathan started reading the Hobbit to Gideon. And, he loves it. Now when he plays, suddenly it's about hobbits and dwarves and mountains. :)

Sunshine!

more fort building

Yay for packaging that can double as a toy

They built a campfire in our most recent large fort :)

so fun

Games at Maple house :)

More snow!

And then, at my 39 week check up, my blood pressure was high. Now, seriously, I get super nervous every time I go in because, well, I feel like I have slight PTSD from Gideon's experience, and every time they find something else. I've checked my blood pressure at home multiple times and it has been normal. It's always higher at the doctors. Anyway, apparently this plus my small baby was enough to send me for more testing at the hospital and an induction.

It was so frustrating. Again.

There is definitely a place for inductions, there is nothing ultimately wrong with them. (Except- they require you to be at the hospital the whole time, strapped to monitors that always itch and slide off and require nurses to be forever coming in to readjust, they require IVs that pump you and the baby full of unnecessary fluids which exaggerates the babies weight loss, pitocin makes contractions more intense and sometimes too intense for the baby- increasing risks of C-section. I could go on. I've gone through it. I hate it.)

So, sitting in the hospital waiting on test results and my blood pressure went down. And stayed down. And stayed within normal range the entire rest of my stay.

But, they still wanted to induce so we agreed to stay at the hospital, get some rest, and be induced the next morning.

All of this was happening while my kids had nowhere to go. Nathan was coordinating people to watch them. Thankfully, my mom was pretty much able to drop everything and come out by that evening.

It was a rough rollercoaster of emotions. Trusting God and yet still praying for what we wanted. I felt like David fighting until there was no turning back and then being at peace. And we were. As frustrating and disappointing as it was, the decision was made, and I was at peace.

But, then God answered our prayers and wants anyway. Instead of giving me a good nights sleep, I went in to labor on my own in the hospital.

Little Elodie Rue was born at 7:12 AM on 1/29.

She was 5lbs 15oz, 19.5 inches long.