Hello Baby Sister

 When we walked into the house, everyone was busy and didn't know we were there until Yukon started barking. Excitement, curiosity, and happiness shown on their faces as they gathered around. I could see Kelsi's grave caution yet welcome hug to her kids. Both Grandma Bettridge and Kelsi did a great job introducing a little sister to her siblings.

Touching her soft feet

Great news to share!

By the next day the kids were all well and had an opportunity to hold their new sister!

She has a name

 It took awhile for Kelsi and Nate to decide on a name for their little girl. She was born on Monday night and it wasn't until about two hours before they left on Wednesday afternoon that they decided that Emma Rose Adams would be her name.

They hung out in the hospital room on Tuesday while Emma had all kinds of tests and procedures that are typical for a newborn. I spent quite a bit of time holding the new baby, but went home early to play with the other grands. 

I had decided to get chicken nuggets but couldn't find the fast food place and my map was telling me I had to go 28 miles - I don't think so!

Hey Winco popped up on the corner, so I stopped in and bought lots of snack foods like pretzels, chips, hummus, bean dips and of course chicken nuggets and chicken. I did thrown in grapes and tangerines to be healthy. 

Dani Bettridge was such a trouper! She took the Jayson to school, helped the other two with their homework while continually doing laundry loads and dishwasher loads, keeping the house clean and checking on the children's eyes to help them heal from the pink-eye infection. They got better quickly because of her zealous watch.

When they moved to a regular room, Nate was given the other bed to sleep in.

There is something in my heart watching my son with his daughter

This was such a wonderful experience to see the birth of a baby. The miracle that happens over and over is still a miracle - of life, hope, and expectation. 

I am so grateful that Kelsi asked me to come and share this experience. I held her hand on one side while Nate held her hand on the other. The nurses, doctor, and aide were all women. Who knows what other women from the other side were there too.

Joy and thankfulness fill my heart.

Monday Deliveries

 On the same morning Kelsi's baby was born, the family had another delivery. The range was installed and the stove top and oven were hauled out. Thanksgiving was all done with the old oven and stove top and now a new range is waiting to be used!

In spite of all the excitement and wonder of a new appliance, the children had all gotten pink-eye after Thanksgiving. Grandma Bettridge kept doing back to back laundry batches to cut down the contagious possibilities. Poor Caleb got it in one eye that spread to the other. Of course everyone was concerned about the risk this could pose to a new-born.

Joy overflowing!

 On Sunday Kelsi called and told me that she was having more than braxton hicks. I took off around 9 pm - after Jeffrey came back from Andrew and Briona's place. He had a great scripture study with Andrew, Michael, and the Aarons, then gave Michael a blessing. Good Sabbath day.  I was lucky to have negligible traffic and arrived in Redding before midnight. 

Nate met me at the door and showed me where to sleep. He said Kelsi's contractions had slowed down and she was trying to sleep. But the next day around 2:30 pm they started in with vigor. By 3:30 we were on our way to the hospital. Kelsi had shaking in her hands and feet when the contractions would start. It looked to me like she was a little in shock - which can happen with pain.

Packed up and on the way

Kelsi was cold in her hands and feet but her body felt sweaty. Nate put his coat on her feet to help with the shivers. Once the epidural had been dripping for twenty minutes, she was fine.

Active Labor

Wow! What a miracle these drugs are. Kelsi looked calm and happy and only felt pressure but no pain.

Then came crunch time. She had to bear down and push that baby out. With Nate's help she did a great job. I felt very privileged that Kelsi let me be part of this miraculous birth. I had no idea all that was involved as I had always been on the other end.

The unnamed baby was born at 9:52 pm on November 28 weighing 7.9 lbs with a covered head of hair and was about 20 and a half inches long.

I was intrigued and amazed at how the procedures happen in the hospitals now.  The doctor taking the cord gently from the neck was not new, but the rest was. The baby is immediately put up on the mama's chest and a nurse for the baby comes over and suctions out her nose and mouth, while dropping a towel over the wet baby then wiping the baby down (and making her cry) until the baby turned pink. The baby nurse takes care of the cord and checks the hips, spine, toes and hands. The other nurse is checking vitals and fluids while the doctor is delivering the placenta and stitching up the rip. I have a vague impression of another woman but can't remember who she was or what she was doing.

We found out there were three babies arriving that night and Kelsi's baby was the first. The baby nurse had to rush to the next birth. Everyone else took their time making Kelsi comfortable and well.

Hello Baby Girl!

The staff left the new family to get acquainted and bond together before they even got the details of her birth. It was a good hour and a half before they weighed, measured and washed the baby. So different from the day where the baby was scooped away to another table and the mom watches from across the room while the doctors and nursed do their thing for both.

Approximately an hour after the baby was born, Nate held his little girl. There is a feeling of deep joy in my heart watching my child hold his new child.

Were you aware?

After I had gone home, Kelsi sent some other pictures. She sent her new baby's first bath picture - immersed! Maybe all babies first bath is immersed as the baby has been floating in water for so long, but it was a shock to see after all the cautions and advise I was given to "not get the cord wet." There is no nursery visit, all care is given in the mama's room, so maybe this is not a new thing.

Not a basketball

 

Lilly is waiting with her mother for a new little sister.

Waiting

 Kelsi is due to deliver.

The kids were all excited to help make pies and treats for the Thanksgiving feast. This family makes very good pies and thinks about what and how to make them long in advance of the day. As a result there were five pies sitting on the counter for the dinner. Two pecan pies (Kelsi's favorite), a pumpkin pie courtesy of Jayson, a lemon meringue by Kelsi and Lilly, and chocolate silk pie from Nathan's favorite chef's recipe. 

Kelsi would love to have her baby girl any time now.

We had the usual delicious turkey stuffed with Kelsi's mom Dani's special recipe. Gravy that Nate made with whipped, mashed potatoes. Broccoli salad, green bean casserole, and a pistachio salad that should have been on the dessert shelf, along with homemade rolls ruled the bottom counter.

Kelsi sat on the couch and also had a nap but would rather be having a baby.

It has been so fun to talk, play, and enjoy the children even though all of them have a touch of illness. One has an ear ache, one had a fever, and the other is slow and falls asleep. None of them ate a lot. But amazingly none of them have been cranky, whinny, or rude. They all seem to be getting. better quickly.

Kelsi is ready.

It will be yummy leftovers for supper tonight. The boys with Grandpa and dad are watching some world soccer games (sure happy to see Ghana in the rankings) and the grandmothers and Lilly are on the computers playing jigsaw puzzles and reading. Life is good.

We watch Kelsi.

Are We All Four-year Olds?

 Yesterday Maria came to clean our house - always a wonderful day! I had an interesting experience with Makynlee my four-year old granddaughter who is not sophisticated or artful, just a typical child.

I had come home late and asked Maria on her way into another part of the house if Jeffrey had paid her yet. She said no. When I went over to the sideboard to pull out my wallet, Makynlee wanted to see and know what I was doing. I showed her the money I got out to pay Maria. She asked if she could do it. I said sure. Maria came in with buckets, brooms, and mops in her hand and set them down. Before Makynlee could hand over the money, Maria went upstairs to finish off some vacuuming. I told Makynlee she could either hold on to the money or set it on the counter until Maria came back down.

Interestingly, Makynlee elected to hold on to the money and then decided to inspect Maria's work in the rest of the house. She found Isla's room not cleaned up and was going to tell Maria about it until her mom stopped her and told her that Maria didn't need to clean Isla's room as Isla had been sleeping in it when Maria came and nothing had been put away and it would have taken Maria far too long to clean her room when her time was better spent cleaning out the bathrooms and such. When Maria came down the stairs, Makynlee handed her the money.

I reflected on the "natural man" tendency of Makynlee to be the "inspector" because she was holding the money. She hadn't even thought of inspecting Maria's work until she held it in her hand.

I started thinking about callings in the church. When people hold a calling, they suddenly feel it is important for them to inspect work done or how lives are lived when they actually have been given God's grace to give to others. There is a "natural man's" tendency to be in charge, to interpret actions and lives instead of just transferring the blessing God wants to give. What if there is no one to stop them and explain what is really going on in a situation? 

Are we acting like four-year olds in our church callings?

Fever Bright

It was an interesting morning.  I came down at 9 to watch Isla while Julia studies for her last two classes until she gets her degree. She is under pressure even though she is an online student because if she doesn't get all of her work in by the 23rd, she will have to wait until April to graduate. That means she'll have to pay more to turn her work in later. The kids in class rooms in Provo, have until December, but the online students have to be at the connivence of the professors - who probably want to mitigate how much work they will have in December.

I made granola, muffins, and chocolate cookies - all without gluten for Julia's sake. Isla was puttering around helping out once in awhile doing her thing -- then whoooweee!  She had diarrhea that smelled up the house. It was a note of warning sign.

Makynlee's school called and said she had a fever and to come pick her up. Julia stopped her studies to pick her up.  Wow, Makynlee's cheeks were very bright and she was listless. She drank her juice, but didn't want anything else. Julia gave her pain reliever but something happened on the dispenser delivery and Julia had no idea how much actually went down her throat. Julia went back to her studies. Makynlee laid on the couch and would fall asleep, wake up, moan, and go back to sleep. 

Then Isla had diarrhea with more rank smells. Ah, the joys of little ones. Julia took over at lunch time, though I noted she kept her computer and notes with her. When I came back down a while later, Julia told me about Isla deciding to change into her swim suit - and have another blow out diaper. Way too fun for Julia - not. 

Isla's cheeks were getting the same ruddy hue as her sister's had been earlier. She has been crankier and cries easily today. It has been so enlightening watching Julia take very good care of her sick girls and yet go back time and time again to get her school work done. I respect and think of her highly for the efforts she has done in both her school work and parental work. 

Bright cheeks giving the warning sign

Amazing what a little pain reliever did for her!

What a trooper Julia is! She studied in her bedroom, the kitchen, and then on the couch with the girls around her. I hope so much that she is successful!

Am I the Last to Know?

On our last trip to Utah, I talked with my sister-in-law about odor issues. Ever since Menopause-with hot flashes that lasted half a day with a horrible sweat, smells have been an issue -- and since coming back from Africa it seems to have increased. I was asking her if anyone had ever invented a bar that did more than mask or just seal off sweat until you wash up and have stinkier odor than before.

She said yes, since I asked, there is a bar or cream that has been invented that neutralizes odors. It is called Lume´ and doesn't mask odors. When I talked about it with my daughters -- they already knew about it. When I talked with another sister-in-law, she knew about it. When I talked with my friend, she knew about it. 

So just in case you do not know about this really cool deodorant I can give a testimonial of about three weeks that the solid stick really does neutralize sweat and other odors from all my folds and pits!  I am so happy to not smell body odor an hour after I shower. I have only used the unscented kind though I have heard about different flavors they have. This one works!

Website: https://lumedeodorant.com/

So Fun being a Nona!

What fun to take some pictures of Amber after she has slept and had a meal. She is one happy baby. I can get her to smile and laugh. Capturing it on photos is tricky and fun.

Bath Time

Andrew came back from a run and Briona came back from shopping and they decided to give Amber a bath before they went out to eat. So of course I recorded that too.

Rachel gave them this great baby bath and accessories, the little insert for small infants works great. This is much better than under a facet in the sink.

Off Andrew and Briona went to have a date for an hour or so, and I got to play again till Amber fell asleep.