We've Got the Power

Phil and our friend had one final, long day pulling wire. They started out at the box outside and connected it.

I heard the hole hawg on occasion, a monster drill that augers out large holes. When I went down to see progress, Phil pointed out that there was nothing coming in through the door. This didn't mean a whole lot to me, until he pointed out: no extension cord coming down the driveway. They were running tools off an interior outlet!

They ran wires to the outside, creatively figuring out how to get the power past the concrete.

And they finished installing can lights. Initially, they had put up a row of three and then planned two pendant lights. But I prefer the two rows of three cans each, with nothing hanging down.

Power in the building is a giant leap forward.

Our First Date

Early this morning (well, early for us, so around 9am), the four older brothers headed out with the grandparents and great-grandpa for a fun day in caverns and a rope course. I think four of us had been on the verge of tears by the time they left, and Phil had a headache, but they made it off.

Shortly after that, the midwife came to do a check. I have involuted so rapidly, the midwife said she would expect me to be at six weeks post-partum, not one. That is strange (but welcome! I'm happy to wear real jeans again). Caleb has not only regained his birthweight in half the time expected, but has surpassed it by four ounces. That is amazing.

While I was relaxing inside, Phil had somehow manhandled the heavy electric line and laid it out in the trench. Most wire I've dealt with in my life has been easy to manipulate, but this stuff is almost impossible for me to bend, so I'm impressed Phil was able to do it.

When the midwife left, we headed up to town for our first real date since we moved here! Well, we once went to a grafting workshop, but that was not really a traditional "meal" date. Today we met some friends for lunch and sat and talked for three hours.

We also ordered our drywall for delivery first thing Friday morning, and the drywaller will either come Friday or Monday. It's getting close!

Phil spent the afternoon backfilling.

It's a big job.

He finished wiring the trailers, too, so he could re-cover the driveway. It will be so great to drive all the way down again.

He also wrestled 10' sections of PVC over the electric line where we might drive over it. Without knowing exactly what are plans are for that section, he figured it was better to cover the line to keep it safe.

And he finished the day backfilling the trench all the way down the driveway.

The driveway will need some new gravel now, as the orange clay covers the gravel we had.

So another good day for us all. The boys and grandparents returned after eleven hours. What an excursion for them!

Highs and Lowe's

Our electrician friend came by today to help Phil lay out the 275' of wire so Phil could start backfilling the trench. It has rained off and on for the last week, and the entire property feels like a mud bath. Phil was covered in orange clay before the task was hardly begun. Dirty, thankless work.

And then the wire was not long enough. Not by much, maybe 20' or so, but there was no using it. They got out the tape measure and it was 225', not 275'. We get that humans make mistakes, but this was not good.

We looked for the receipt. We couldn't find it anywhere. We checked all the usual suspects, some of them twice, but it was nowhere to be found. Abraham prayed, and I prayed, and then, just before we gave up, we checked Phil's pockets. There it was: mangled beyond repair by a trip through the wash. But at least we had it!

I had a little shopping to do in town, so I headed up with Phil, muddy wire in the back of the van. We had been quite concerned about how the store would handle this: muddy, not resaleable wire, all but destroyed receipt.

Happily, the man who had managed the forklift to get the new roll down from an upper shelf was on duty and he remembered Phil. "There's not many people who come in and need 275' of wire!" And happily they were not entirely sold out (our other concern): there was 268' left on the roll, and that will be sufficient. The assistant manager was extremely helpful, and Phil left with renewed enthusiasm for shopping at Lowe's.

***

We had the drywall guy come out. This was very interesting: rather than use 4'x8' sheets vertically, he uses 4'x12' sheets horizontally. Less mudding and taping. He told us where to order, and that he can get started as soon as they deliver. This is fabulous news. And he said it could potentially take him only two days, but maybe as much as a week. That, too, is great news. And he didn't bat an eye at Phil's framing. As concerned as Phil had been, I think that was a relief, to know that he had done a good job.

Bliss

I was so excited to head to church. At five days post-partum, I feel great and ready to see people again. Caleb slept five hours straight on Saturday night. After a week of snatching an hour or two here and there, five hours in a row is unbelievably restful.

I had sent a birth announcement out to everyone I could think of, so when we got to church it felt a bit like being a celebrity. Or, as multiple people commented, "You're a rock star," though I think that was more about my being up and around, rather than the level of adulation directed my way.

So many hugs, so many smiles, so much joy, so much love.

Ever since we realized how quickly Jadon grew up, and how short are the months in life that we can hold a child as much as we want, our policy has been to keep babies in car seats as little as possible. And since it is easier to hand off a baby that's being held than a baby in a large, clunky car seat, Cheri commented, "Every time I saw Caleb, someone new was holding him." I love that.

And the last song of the morning was "Because He Lives." It's an oldie, and I know it, but not well, so I was taken aback—but thrilled!—by the second verse.

How sweet to hold a newborn baby,
And feel the pride and joy he gives;
But greater still the calm assurance:
This child can face uncertain days because He Lives!

You know you're loved when the worship leader picks a song to help celebrate your son's birth.

By the time we shut down the place with all the happy congratulations, Caleb was getting fussy. We quickly stopped to borrow a few more newborn outfits and then off to Chipotle. While Phil waited in line and ordered, I sat peacefully in the car and fed the baby.

Phil and I, along with the three younger boys, then hit Whole Foods. I was preparing the Ergo carrier for Caleb, when Phil picked up his little son and was ready to go. He walked through the entire store with the baby in his arms. Abraham helped Phil grind a couple pounds of coffee, then Abraham came and wrote numbers for bulk bin spices on tape for me. He said, "I never realized helping in the grocery store could be so not boring!" Which isn't quite the same as fun, but it's a good realization to have, I suppose.

We didn't have time to go home, but headed straight off to our friends' house where we spent a lively hour playing charades, and several hours after that visiting and talking.

Since our wedding day, I don't know that I've had a day filled with such a feeling of community rejoicing with me. The church community; the girl at Chipotle who gasped at a five-day old, then pointed him out to her boyfriend; our friend at Whole Foods who gave me a hug and hearty congratulations; the smaller gathering afterwards. Each stop felt like a celebration.

After living here for four years, on one level I know that we have made friends. But it was the best kind of surprise to realize just how many friends we have made.

Bliss, indeed.

Saturday: A Good Day

After feeling like Caleb ate 18 hours on Friday (whether true or not, I certainly felt like he ate all day and night), I was pleased that he figured out on Saturday that he could both eat and not eat. It is sustainable to feed a baby every two or three hours, but not if those feedings also last two or three hours. He is getting a rhythm, if not a schedule.

Jadon had had hives Wednesday and twice Thursday and Friday. I tried everything I could think of to help him, but even with all the natural remedies, he still sat, scratching and practically in tears, for hours. Saturday I sent him up with Phil to a natural foods store renowned for their good suggestions. When Phil told the woman what we had tried (attempted removal of Jadon from the allergen, vitamin C, quercitin and nettle pills, a trifecta of homeopathy: Apis mellifica, Urtica urens, Rhus tox, soak hives in apple cider vinegar), the woman said that was all exactly right, but did have a "Hive" homeopathic combination remedy.

Whether Jadon's system just needed about 24 hours away from whatever was triggering him in the RV, or whether it really was either a different deodorant (that was replaced) or a new blanket that had never been washed (and is now stored in a plastic bag), Jadon hasn't needed the "Hive" remedy. What a relief to feel like we're getting on top of that.

Phil had a men's meeting in the morning. I confidently sent him off for a 9:30 start. Only to realize, when I checked the calendar again, that I had completely misread the start time: he was supposed to be there at 9:30. Chagrined, I sent him a mea culpa text. He laughed when he came home and said, "Today, no one would fault us for being a half hour late." He had had a good time with the men, and a good time running errands with Jadon.

A Night and a Day

Caleb and I had a good night. He woke up multiple times to eat, but I think we're figuring out how to communicate and, really, I expect to be up in the night with a newborn. (And after a nap today, I reached almost 20 hours of sleep since I got up Monday morning, as best as I can figure, though I have rested a lot.)

Phil was ready to get back to work. We had two very different sources recommend the same dry-waller. Phil was able to reach him, and he'll be out on Monday to take a look. I would be so happy if Phil did not have to do the drywall. Like with electrical work: Phil could do it (he can do just about anything), but it's not his favorite task at all.

Just in case the drywaller can come early next week to start, Phil went back to work on plumbing. He was close before; he is closer now. It is beautiful to see the critical path tasks unfold for him. Filling in the trench wouldn't be the most important (though might make it more safe around the farm), and so plumbing comes to the forefront.

I have been astounded by how frequently and how long Caleb eats. The midwife came to see us today, and weighed him. Babies lose a good bit of birthweight once they poop out the meconium, and before the milk comes in. In fact, it is a good sign if the baby regains birthweight by two weeks. Caleb is only two ounces less than his birthweight right now. I don't think he'll have any trouble.

The Huggies Newborn diapers I bought are the most woefully inadequate product I've ever come across. I don't think Caleb has had a pee yet that didn't soak through his clothes. With only six long-sleeved outfits (which would be more than adequate if we went to the laundromat more than once a month), he exhausted his supply of clean clothes in about a half day. So I hang the clothes up to dry and recycle through them.

And I'm pretty sure I'm missing a box of baby clothes, somewhere in the depths of storage, because I have a few infant clothes, and a few nice blankets, but no 3, 6, or 9 month clothes, and no average baby blankets, useful for spit-ups. This gave me pause. I asked my sister, if she was going garage sale-ing in her neighborhood and came across any baby boy clothes, to please buy them for me.

She hadn't been planning on going, but she put her two daughters in the car, drove by a couple of sales that didn't have what she was looking for, and then came across one that had everything we needed. Best sister award!

"Is that normal?" I asked. "Do you come across mountains of baby boy clothes every time you go out?"

"No," she said. "But God provides." Best God award!

This morning, I had just changed Caleb after a massive poop. I changed his clothes. And I had just gotten him all swaddled again nicely, when he pooped again. "Caleb, you're hilarious!" said Jadon with delight.

If the only trick you know is how to poop, it helps to have an audience that appreciates that one trick.

Well, Joe likes the tongue sticking-out trick, too.

On the morning of Caleb's birth, Isaiah asked why his hands were covered. I explained that babies can have sharp fingernails and accidentally scratch themselves when they touch their faces.

"Huh. Babies aren't very smart," was Isaiah's comment.

We are all still flying high. If Caleb peeps when I'm away making bread, the brothers come find me. Yesterday Abraham told me, about five times in five minutes, not to forget to feed Caleb. If Grandma holds the baby and starts to peep, Joe says, "Is he turning his head and opening his mouth? Because that means he's hungry." Abraham wanted to hear all about the birth: where I was in the house, what the midwife was doing, why things happen the way they do.

It was precious to have babies when the boys were young. It may be more precious now, to have a larger number of people doting.

October 10: Caleb Comes Home

After two wonderful days of peace and rest, I was ready to come home. Phil met with friends for breakfast and came to pick me up on his way back to the farm. It was time to go!

First time in a car seat: Caleb had no trouble at all. He didn't even open his eyes, and slept peacefully.

Phil carried his newest son down the driveway.

And then we all just had a restful day. Phil took about a four hour nap, and by 5pm, he said, "I think I could go back to bed." I was so glad he had a day to just be. It was extra good because he had the mental space and the time to free up some space on my computer. So I could finally download the photos I've been taking for the last two months. And since Caleb eats so much, I had time to add photos to the text for the last two months (I'm mortified it has been so long!).

Caleb had times of wakefulness and sleep. He joined Phil at one point in looking at a farm supplies catalog.

Caleb's brothers would come in periodically just to see what he was up to. He was usually sleeping. Or eating.