Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Unexpected
It looks like I will have a csection for this baby. He is breech we find out last week at 38 weeks and one day. I suspect he has been that way for quite a while though. The nst administrator had trouble finding a good spot to pick up the heart beat so the doctor ordered an ultrasound for a biophysical profile. The baby is doing well. He is just head up with the cord wrapped around his neck therefore they will not try and turn him around. I really don't think he will turn on his own either. I am o.k. with all of this though. A few years ago I probably would have been freaking out. I pray the Lord keeps me and the baby safe and I am healed quickly.
Friday, December 21, 2012
Advent Blessings/ Christmas Poverty
Husband's back surgery on Monday-two weeks before baby is due. Will he be well enough to drive back and forth from the hospital to check in on the kids? My husband hasn't pooped since his surgery. Six days. I'm not sure how serious this is but it makes me worry.
I find out today that my baby is breech and the cord is wrapped around his neck. Because of the nuchal cord the Dr. doesn't want to try and turn him. It seems probable that I will have a c-section though the baby may turn on his own.
A c-section means one more day in the hospital. It means that I may need more time for recovery. It means that I will probably have to rely more on others to get household work done. And the idea of being cut open and the pain of recovery scares me.
Since my husband is home recovering from surgery I feel like I don't have any time alone. He is up early so I can't be alone then. He goes to bed late so I have to stay up later if I want to be alone. I am cross with him and he patiently endures it.
Maybe all this (and I know these problems are nothing compared to what much of the world suffers) is helping me to stick with the basics of the meaning of Christmas and trusting in him more. I have a gift for everyone here in my immediate family and that is really enough. I agonize about what to have for Christmas dinner when perhaps I should be thinking more about what food the kids will eat when I am in the hospital.
I know God is purifying me through all of this. I feel like at the heart of all of this I am learning the lesson of poverty which is what Christmas is. Christmas is about poverty.
I find out today that my baby is breech and the cord is wrapped around his neck. Because of the nuchal cord the Dr. doesn't want to try and turn him. It seems probable that I will have a c-section though the baby may turn on his own.
A c-section means one more day in the hospital. It means that I may need more time for recovery. It means that I will probably have to rely more on others to get household work done. And the idea of being cut open and the pain of recovery scares me.
Since my husband is home recovering from surgery I feel like I don't have any time alone. He is up early so I can't be alone then. He goes to bed late so I have to stay up later if I want to be alone. I am cross with him and he patiently endures it.
Maybe all this (and I know these problems are nothing compared to what much of the world suffers) is helping me to stick with the basics of the meaning of Christmas and trusting in him more. I have a gift for everyone here in my immediate family and that is really enough. I agonize about what to have for Christmas dinner when perhaps I should be thinking more about what food the kids will eat when I am in the hospital.
I know God is purifying me through all of this. I feel like at the heart of all of this I am learning the lesson of poverty which is what Christmas is. Christmas is about poverty.
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
This Advent
This Advent...
We are not just getting ready for baby Jesus (as if that weren't enough)but also for our baby boy that is due to be born at the beginning of January. I wish I could write some kind of deep reflection about expecting a baby at this time of year but nothing of interest really comes to mind. Mary was about to give birth at this time of year and so am I. I have a lot that I would like to do to get ready for Christmas but I also have a lot to do to get ready for a baby. There should be some kind of spiritual lesson to learn here, shouldn't there? Alas, I am not able to articulate it.
Hubs has been doing a great job of making sure we gather around the Advent wreath every night. This used to be my job but I am happy to have him take the lead. We light the candle, say the Advent prayer and read from the days Gospel. We then sing Advent songs like Maria walks amid the Thorn, and Gabriel's Message ( I think it is called), and a Christmas Carols so the kids can learn some before Christmas. He calls Advent "ours" because neither he nor I grew up with any Advent traditions to speak of but we have developed our own with the help of Catholic websites and bloggers.
We have some Jesse Tree ornaments that we made together as a family when my oldest was an only child. We tape those to the fireplace mantle after I tell the kids a little bit about each one. We also have an Advent Calendar with little books for each day that tells a bible story in Jesse Tree style or has a Christmas Carol to sing or a little prayer to say.
These are some really very simple things that we have been doing as we have built a little bit of an Advent repertoire over the past few years with the help of websites like CatholicCulture.org. The best part is that we have been praying as a family every night this week. I'm grateful and hope that we continue at least throughout this season of Advent.
We are not just getting ready for baby Jesus (as if that weren't enough)but also for our baby boy that is due to be born at the beginning of January. I wish I could write some kind of deep reflection about expecting a baby at this time of year but nothing of interest really comes to mind. Mary was about to give birth at this time of year and so am I. I have a lot that I would like to do to get ready for Christmas but I also have a lot to do to get ready for a baby. There should be some kind of spiritual lesson to learn here, shouldn't there? Alas, I am not able to articulate it.
Hubs has been doing a great job of making sure we gather around the Advent wreath every night. This used to be my job but I am happy to have him take the lead. We light the candle, say the Advent prayer and read from the days Gospel. We then sing Advent songs like Maria walks amid the Thorn, and Gabriel's Message ( I think it is called), and a Christmas Carols so the kids can learn some before Christmas. He calls Advent "ours" because neither he nor I grew up with any Advent traditions to speak of but we have developed our own with the help of Catholic websites and bloggers.
We have some Jesse Tree ornaments that we made together as a family when my oldest was an only child. We tape those to the fireplace mantle after I tell the kids a little bit about each one. We also have an Advent Calendar with little books for each day that tells a bible story in Jesse Tree style or has a Christmas Carol to sing or a little prayer to say.
These are some really very simple things that we have been doing as we have built a little bit of an Advent repertoire over the past few years with the help of websites like CatholicCulture.org. The best part is that we have been praying as a family every night this week. I'm grateful and hope that we continue at least throughout this season of Advent.
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