24-hours from now, Annette and I will be checking into Kennestone Hospital to deliver our third child. She’ll be hooked up to the IV, given some medications, etc., and the process will begin. The doctor says we should have our first son in our arms sometime Wednesday.
This is the first time Annette is being induced. She delivered McKenna au natural. Amazing. But the labor lasted 26 hours… Not terribly pleasant.
So Caia came into the world under the glory of the epidural.
This go ’round, there are some “risks” involved. Our little man “Jackson” only has two vessels in his umbilical cord. He’s supposed to have 3. And my poor bride discovered, after itching so badly that she scratched herself to bleeding, that she has a condtion called “intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy.” [liver disease that will go away a few days after delivery.] So the doctors shall induce.
Tonight, as I finished up a comprehensive honey-do list, I put on my melancholy cap and found myself getting a little verklempt. I started noticing all the things that were ending as I tackled each item.
Tonight is…
our last night at home as a family of four.
my last night tucking just two children into bed.
the last time Annette will have taken a bubble bath in our house to calm contractions.
the last night I have to share my bed with Bob (he’s Annette’s body-pillow, a.k.a. “The Homewrecker”).
the last time there’s just 4 of us around the dinner table.
our last night of decent sleep in our own bed for a while.
the next to last night that I can say “my girls,” and be referring to Annette and all my children.
the last night of wondering if he’ll be okay, in light of “the risks” and the statistics we’ve been having to consider.
Needless to say, we’re pretty anxious to get this little man into our world and home with us.
But even though we fully expect him to bring the same but unique joy that each new child brings, I had to be intentional about watching this night of “lasts.” I made sure I told Kenni how special he is, how proud I am of her, and that she’s the best big sister in the world. And I had to toss Caia up in the air a few extra times, tickle her a little longer, and stroke her cheek a little more softly than on a “normal” night.
After tonight, everything changes.