John "Bradford"

After making us wait several long days and nights past our due date our not-so-little 3rd son joined our family last Friday morning at 2:12am. To say the wait was torture is an understatement. We were all okay with the whole 40-week thing but once we realized that our 3rd (and so far laziest) of children didn't want to join us even after the 40 week mark - things started to get a little hectic around here. Or maybe I was just the frantic one thinking every twist in my belly or hiccup would result in a birth story.

Had I even tried to put together this childs birth story I would not have come close to the amount of excitement he wanted to stir up on his actual birthday. The not-too-gory details include a 12am phnoecall to a sweet grandma who had just taken some benadryl to fight a cold and her middle of the night drive from South Georgia, a high-five with the other sweet grandma in the middle of our neighborhood as we fled for the hospital, one wrong turn despite living 1 mile from the country's largest birthing hospital, a whole hour and a half of labor, and then what I call as the moment I saw Jesus when the 9lb baby finally made his way into the world at lightning speed. I am just happy 10 days later that he is here and that he came with a story to tell.






We knew his name right away though we hadn't confirmed it before we got to the hospital. Believe it or not there were about 10 seconds when I thought he was a girl because no one would tell me what just happened or what actually came out. I had thought this whole pregnancy that this baby was a boy and I had already started to dream of the adventures our boys could take us on and the royal treatment I might receive being the only girl of the house so I was quite happy to learn that Bradford was actually the boy I had planned on and more so, that despite all of the many risks that we had learned of throughout this pregnancy - he was a healthy, whopping 9lb1oz boy. John is the middle name of both my "mawmaw" who passed away last year and my dads' dad who passed away in 2008 so there was no question that John would be a part of this baby's name. I love that we get to honor so many dear people in our lives through this childs life. Bradford is Brad's full name and I have loved it since day 1. Brad wasn't sure about using his name on a 3rd child, rather than the 1st, but I think it couldn't be more fitting. This baby's personality reminds me of Brad's already....laid back, easy-going, slow and controlled with bursts of energy that seem to come from nowhere!

The big boys have loved their new baby brother and done everything in the power to "help" him. Last Friday was my first day without help. It went like this...pajamas until 1030...I finally got everyone dressed and then sweet Bradford projectile vomitted all over me, the dog, and William. So, we changed clothes, and headed out the door for a laundry/sanity trip. We came home to a dining room full of torn apart newborn dirty diapers that Amos, the unloved dog for the moment had eaten. Sweet. While I was cleaning the diapers up the baby was ready to eat and I guess William was too as I came into the den to find William sucking down the 4 ounces of milk (not formula) that I had made for the baby. Ummm...I guess there are health benefits to that considering all of the hooplah in the media now about breastfeeding?? So, the baby was short changed a little bit and stayed fussy for the rest of the afternoon. I think I opened my first beer of 10 months at 1:30pm that day and had a good laugh to myself while (thankfully) everyone napped. That is the bonus of having your kids within three years - they are all still in the nap stage!














Luckily, grandma came to the rescue and offered to send the big boys to "camp grandma" as I call it in South Georgia for a few days. I was very hesitant to take her up on this and not because "Camp grandma" wouldnt be the most fun thing these boys had ever done but I was afraid (seriously) that I would be bored this week with just a newborn at home. Oh friends, I am not bored! And neither are the kiddies. They have picked peaches, played in the pool, had ice cream, rode on trucks in the "muuud" as Brooks says, cooked on "their" grill, and basically taken over their town for the week.











On the other hand Bradford and I have slept in, snuggled, cleaned every dirty/crumby corner in our house, taken umpteen showers in case they are the last ones I experience when reality sets in next week, eaten lunch out, roamed in and out of stores with no cares, enjoyed dates with my main man, sat around in our pajamas snuggling and listening to the rain and basically - done the best form of recovery that I have ever known. I mean, I have not had this kind of freedom in 3 years and while I know maybe tomorrow I will really miss William's goofy laugh and Brooks' amazing explanations about everything - today I am just fine. Really, I am just fine and the quiet is the best medicine for a post partum mother. This will be a time I won't forget ever as the baby and I have really been able to get to know each other and truly rest. Thank you, grandma and big daddy! What a perfect gift to us!

My heart is so full as I think back about this pregnancy and the last 10 days. This baby was literally a miracle baby from the start. Somehow he got past what we thought was the most assured form of birth control, he helped snap me back into some better sleep, he grew and grew rather well (or big and strong like Brooks prayed every night) despite having half of the normal size of umbilical chord and other early-pregnancy complications, and then he did just as we asked and missed his big brother's birthday by a whole 26 hours. For this child we did pray and we are so grateful to be given this great responsibility to raise another son, another father and husband one day, another brother, and another genuine man of God. Welcome to our family of 5 baby boy!