Lydia Gray is here!

The day we've all been waiting for over the past many months came over the weekend and it was nothing short of a series of answers to prayer. Lydia Gray is here!

Here's the story:

As the doctor's calculated due-date came and went*, Jenn and I were having visions of Lincoln's labor story again. We really wanted things to happen naturally, have a "normal" labor process, and end with a healthy, vaginal birth. But then at Jenn's doctor's visit on Thursday, October 14, they talked about scheduling induction for the following Monday. They described this process as routine and no-big-deal. Jenn and I then went to our small group on Friday evening and heard about just what the type of induction that the doctor was speaking of would entail, and we were not looking forward to it. (*The doctor calculated the due date as October 12. Jenn, with her months of charts and notes, calculated the due date as October 16. Jenn has a slight amount of satisfaction about this!)

We know that many folks were praying for us and for Lydia. Jenn and I had been praying for a long time that God would give us wisdom and clarity when it came to the birthing decisions we'd have to make. There was certainly anxiety in the back of our minds following our first experience, and the unknown of the coming delivery was weighing on our minds.

I mentioned a few posts back that I'd recently listened to Rich Nathan talk about waiting, how God's timing isn't our timing. He spoke about how it is not often that we take a request to God saying, "Fix this now," and have God simply fix it "now." And he's so right. But I also recall hearing and reading on a number of occasions that God wants us to share our concerns with Him, that He's interested in what we're interested in, and that a failure on our part to raise a concern that we may think is too small for Him is really a confession that we think He's too small for the concern. So I prayed on Friday evening that God would begin the labor process before our induction time on Monday. I'm not saying that this all worked out as it did simply because I'm a good prayer, but certainly the LORD heard our concerns and provided for our desires.

Jenn began feeling contractions that were different from all those before on Saturday morning. We went about our weekend routine of spending time outside, as evidenced by the recent blog posts. By mid-day Jenn felt confident that Lydia would arrive by the end of the weekend. We continued to pray. By the time we got to Boo At The Zoo at 4:00pm, the contractions were coming about every 5 to 7 minutes. Then, sometime around 8 to 9, they started coming about every 3 to 4 minutes and they were increasing in intensity. In a very short period of time, they went from bearable to nearly unbearable, and that's when we went to the hospital. Jess, our Doula, was surprised how fast this period passed.

When we arrived at the hospital, Jenn couldn't talk through the contractions, they checked her and she was 6 cm dilated and 90% effaced. This was fantastic news. We had determined between the two of us (with some Godly wisdom) that if she was only 1 or 2 cm dilated then we'd move for the C-section right off the bat. We saw no use in complete exhaustion and depression. But a vaginal delivery was looking possible (we took this as an answer to the "please provide clarity" prayer.) The nurse then hooked her up to a fetal monitor, and then they determined that Lydia's heart rate was slower than it should have been. It's not an exaggeration to say that a panic ensued. Nurses were scrambling, the on-call OB was paged, an IV catheter was placed, fluids were run, an oxygen mask was applied. Thankfully, her heart rate picked back up again. Jenn needed and asked for an epidural.

Placing the epidural required a full liter of fluids to be given, and that was taking some time. And then it took a while for the epidural to be placed because of a slight curvature of Jenn's spine. Once the epidural began to take effect (it took a little longer to help the left side than the right), labor became bearable again for Jenn, and things started moving nicely. The midwife planned to break Jenn's water once she wasn't painful through a contraction. This happened after an hour or so, and once the water broke, it was about 20 minutes of pushing before Lydia was born. This is apparently a short period of time for pushing with an epidural. Jenn was able to feel well enough to know when to push, and that was a good thing.

Her arrival was at 2:25 am on October 17, 2010.

This entire ordeal could not have been more different than our first delivery experience. And Lydia is certainly a unique baby. She's been nursing very well and sleeping very well (of course babies sleep more in the first day), two things that took us months and a week, respectively, to experience the last time around. No two are the same.

Grandpa Doug, Grandma Paulette and Lincoln came for a visit today. Lincoln was very good holding Lydia, but I'm not sure he really understands that we'll be taking her home with us. It'll be an adjustment, but judging by how he's handled transitions in the past, it'll take some easing, but he'll be great about it.

Lincoln gave Lydia her first present, a Pink Elephant that he picked out from Carter's, not unlike his own Bear.

We can't wait for all of you to see Lydia. I know Grandma Laura and Auntie Em are chomping at the bit to see her, and the time will soon come.

As I write this, Jenn and Lydia are still at the hospital. I'll pick them up tomorrow. I'm certain that there will be more anecdotes to share that will come up as time goes by. It's nearly impossible to recount all of the details here, though I've tried to hit the high points. That Lydia was born healthy and that Jenn is relaxed and only mildly uncomfortable is nothing short of the LORD hearing our cares, concerns and prayers over the last two and a half years and answering our requests to Him. Praise God!

Boo At The Zoo

Tonight Lincoln had his first Trick-or-Treat outing when we went to Boo At The Zoo. He wasn't into it at first, but he definitely warmed up as the evening went on.He looks awesome in his costume!It was a great test-run for Trick-or-Treating in our neighborhood in a couple of weeks.

Mid-October

We all slept in until 7:45 this Saturday morning. It was kind of nice. And after a breakfast of banana pancakes (one of them had "special treats" in it) and apple fritters, we went for a walk at Kendall Hills. Lincoln was on a major energy burst during our walk. Verbally, he's off the charts. The connections he's making and the paragraphs that fall out of his mouth keep us laughing. On this particular walk, he spent a decent portion "walking Betty." He also ran more than we've ever seen him.
Jenn continues to feel okay. As good as possible physical, ready mentally. Keep checking back for updates on Lydia's arrival. We'll let you know when she's here! We're continuing to learn the lesson of patience. Why not learn it with us?

Mid-Week

Apparently, a pre-due-date delivery and a binary birthday were too much to ask for. Instead, it's business as usual here at the Gates home. Lincoln is still an only child as Lydia intends to cook for a few extra days. But we're not wasting our time!

We've been drawing on the driveway.
We've been going on walks.

I've been going to work, and Jenn's been getting some things in order that she'll may want to announce to you herself soon.

It's funny, the Rich Nathan podcast I just finished listening to in the car was "Meeting God While We Wait." Hmmm... waiting... we know about that!

Nice Autumn Day

It's Saturday at the Gates Home. It started early with Jenn developing a craft for Lincoln (huh? wow!). The Hairy Caterpillar!

Lincoln and I have been playing "baseball" in the basement. It consists of us using my old mini-bats from the old Bat Days at Indians' games and his soft, inflatable Thomas the Train ball. Lincoln holds the ball in one hand and hits it with the bat in his other. We using terms like "homerun," "pop-fly," and "line-drive." Sometimes when I hit it real far he'll yell, "Touchdown!" but then we have to have the conversation that "touchdowns" are in football, not baseball.
We then went to the zoo. Apparently everyone else in the greater Akron area went to the zoo, too, because it was busy. Lincoln walked the whole way until we were on our way out when he asked me to carry him. He was a very good, obedient boy for me today.
The Buckeyes are on (and winning big), and we're waiting for Lydia. Just a normal weekend for us here!

Clam Bakes, Sleepers and Betty-Time

Lots has gone on since our last post. Lydia has not yet arrived. Jenn is feeling pretty good. She's not sleeping very well at night, but her feet are not as swollen this time around as last time around. She's 1cm dilated. Yesterday was her last day of work for the next 3 months. We're ready for Lydia to come!Last Saturday morning we hiked in the drizzle...... then in the evening we went to Chris and Val's clam bake. It was quite the production, lots of people, and tons of good food. Lincoln was a little shy for the first 30 minutes or so, but then he warmed up. After that, he was talking to everyone, walking around the crowd, wandering out in the rain, etc. He wasn't into eating "the inside of the clams." He only wanted to play with the "outside of the clams." We also discovered that Lincoln is great to take to a wine party because he'll fill himself up with cheese, crackers and fruit.

Lincoln is a champ with the spoon.
In fact, today he and I went to Friendly's to get a Cone Head Sundae and he ate his portion of it (of course I had some!) without a bib and only a drop of ice cream on his pants.

Mom sent this to me, and I'd love to credit whomever came up with this idea, but all I know is that it was a couple of people from LaGrange, TX.

Mom and Emily have been super-creative with some of their gifts to Lydia. Emily painted the letters and Mom made the lamp shade to match Lydia's sheets and quilt.
Our roof had been allowing water to creep in along the siding just along the side of our great-room. This was a downer to learn, and it was something that we knew had to be fixed before the winter time and before any ice-damming could occur. So we arranged for that to be done this past week, and the guys did an awesome job. The gutters were also re-routed so that now only a fraction of water will even go on that area of the roof, which ought to minimize any ice-damming.The weather has been cold lately, especially at night, which means... SLEEPER TIME!
Finally, the dogs have always been good with Lincoln, but I think they wouldn't choose to have him around much. He runs into them and hits at them, even though he knows it's wrong. Betty, especially, usually gets out of his way. But lately he's been much better with her. We've encouraged him to move slowly around her so that he can pet her. She's been slightly more trusting, and it culminated today with this "photo shoot."