We were certainly not prepared for his arrival. He was not due for another 3 weeks, and there was so much to do and so much planned for that remaining 3 weeks.... from Caleb's baptism, the Cold storage kids' run, Caleb and Elijah's meet the parents' sessions, Caleb's piano recital, Elijah's birthday celebration in school, his 2nd birthday party at home, picking up our previous helper from the airport etc.... (just to mention a few). Not to mention, the patio flooring needed to be re-done (thanks to the condo management), the children's room needed to be repainted, and we were awaiting the arrival of the children's new bed so we could transition Elijah into the kids' room to make space for the new baby....... (which also meant that the baby's room was not ready, the baby clothes were not washed.... etc)
I had spent much of the previous few weeks fretting about Flynn being too big, and me having to watch my sugars, least he not be able to find his way out naturally and me ending up with a Caesarian section. It was certainly a hard time for me, coz regardless of how much (or how little) I ate, my sugars seemed to be on the high side, and repeated ultrasound scans showed that Flynn was getting exponentially bigger, despite me not putting on any weight from 32 weeks (in fact, I loss 1+kg in the last 5 weeks of my pregnancy!). I used to call him a real good "parasite" coz of the way he was able to "suck out" whatever I ate..... ;-) Retrospectively thinking now, God was preparing him as a big baby, knowing that he would be just the right size to come out naturally at 37 weeks, and knowing that he had to be big and well fed so that he wouldn't be too small at birth and have a hard time with temperature control, feeding etc.
God was good and his timing perfect..... The baby clothes were washed while we were in hospital (thankfully I took them out on the night I went into labour), the baby cot was re-configured by a rather sleepy Daddy after Flynn's delivery, and Flynn and I were able to attend Caleb's baptism, as the doctors acceded to my request that we be discharged the day after my delivery (we surprised Caleb at the service, since we went straight from hospital to the baptism service venue! ;-P).
Somehow, within the next 3
weeks, we managed to pack in all the other things that needed to be done, and
Flynn was a darling, very co-operative in his own way, playing his part in
sleeping and feeding at the right times ;-) We didn't have to worry about when
to have E's birthday celebration anymore now that Flynn had arrived, and we
were at least able to settle on the date with his school as well with the
relatives that were coming (more on that later).
C, D and E were wonderful
too.... doting brothers who always had a smile and a gentle pat for him.....
they were always fighting to carry him, and would always remember to wash their
hands first (in fact, they were very quick to remind everyone else who came
that they had to wash their hands first, if not, they were not allowed to carry
or sayang the baby!). C and D, excited brothers, told their teachers about
their new brother's arrival, and D was even noted by his teachers to have more
volume control in his voice (which he attributed to the fact that he needed to
practice to be quiet, since his baby brother was sleeping ;-P). E, although
"kicked out" of his room, enjoyed being in his "new bed"
with his elder 2 brothers, and always fought for a spot to lie down next to
baby F, to give baby F a cuddle and a special kiss.
We thank God for our brood
of 4 boys.... for their love, one for another, and we thank Him for his Perfect
timing, that He has made everything just perfect.... !
