Breaking the Silence!

Well hello once again faithful friends. If you are reading this after these few months of silence, you truly must be a close friend. No doubt most gave up on this blog somewhere around the middle of June. Rachel and I are just about the cross the finish line of a whirl wind Summer. We made a quick visit to Missouri to see Rachel's family in May, then an even quicker visit to Oregon to see my beautiful sister get married in June. In between it all, Outreaches in Mexico went very well. Next weekend we are putting on a three day summer camp at South Padre Island for about 51 middle school students from our church. If we survive that, then it will be off to Oregon for a super great time of camping, resting, and visiting family.

Enough about Rachel and I - that's not why you've come to this page, I know. How is Aisha? She is doing so well. Of highest note, she now has one pearly white tooth protruding from her lower gums, is eating rice cereal daily now, and can roll around while she's playing in her crib or on the floor. She just turned 5 months old! We are so proud - and love her very much. Here are some pictures of our beauty:

The Swing of Life

Nope, not talking about the playground equipment. The above title refers to the swinging of Aisha's mood, which dictates just about everything in our universe: amount of sleep, amount of relax time, number of trips to the front yard (a great way to calm down a screaming infant), travel (should we feed her before we go, or figure out a way to feed her there?), and I'm pretty sure she decided when the sun rises and sets.

Our beautiful Aisha has officially stolen our hearts! She is smiling a lot now - just about every time she sees mommy or daddy. The biggest smiles come when she sees mommy at mealtime. Mix those smiles with the ooos and aahheeehoooooouuuus and I fall apart every time. Truly children can't understand how much their parents love them until they are parents themselves.

So here, for your viewing pleasure...the cyclical moods of Aisha Grace:

I'm just a happy little girl!

Daddy made a funny face!

I think Mommy is beautiful!

Life is good

Does anyone else feel kinda hungry?

I want foooooooooooood!

thanks, Mom - that was yummy!

zzzzzzz....

Almost Five weeks already!

The last few weeks have been all about getting used to our new life as parents. We have gone through some pretty major changes over the past month. Even the most eloquent words spun together fail to describe what it feels like to hold your tiny daughter close to you. To watch her smile back at you for the first time, to chuckle while she screams during her bath. There is nothing like it! I have also discovered the anomaly in the time/space continuum that so many people talk about when they have kids. Time strangely shifts into fast forward the moment they are born. Already almost five weeks old? How can that be? I half way expect some pimple faced boy to show up at my door tomorrow night asking if he can date my teenage daughter. I am working on finding a good shot-gun.

Diapers Galore

Here we are - her 3 week birthday already! I'm not sure if anyone realizes how much money these diaper companies must make - I mean give me a break! If other babies are anywhere near as digestively active as Aisha, we are talking about a serious mound of diapers! I wish I would have invented disposable diapers.

Today Rachel and I celebrated Aisha's birthday with an amazing trip to the Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge. Our part of the country is actually a top spot for bird watching. Something about we have more species of birds than anywhere else on the continent. Anyways, we had a great time on the trails.

Aisha has been a great baby. She sleeps through the night most nights, and is usually very content unless she's hungry, etc. The transition into parenthood has been quite a challenge for Rachel and I. No doubt we underestimated the adjustment that would have to happen in our lives. Everything changes! We love it, though. It is such a joy to have Aisha in our lives. We are enjoying every second.

Our cat Romeo, on the other hand, is a very different story. Sadly, we are going to have to find a new home for him. He is a super emotional cat and needs a ton of attention. He's not handling the baby to well, and has been peeing all over the place! We aren't looking forward to the tearful exchange, but we know that it has to be done.

More pictures coming soon!

Our Aisha is One Week Old!

It has been quite a week! The first night home was, well, let's just say that it has been nice to have Grandma around! Since then things have calmed down quite a bit. Aisha has been very calm and chill, and sleeps almost 6 hours every night! I pray she keeps that up. As for Rachel, she is recovering very well. She became a wonderful mother just about instantly when Aisha was born. Next big challenges: 1. Master the art of poopy diaper cleanup. 2. Teach everyone how to pronounce her name. Rachel's mom goes home this Saturday, and will pass the baton to Rachel's dad Larry who will come for a few days. I'm looking forward to my mom visiting in Late April, then my dad is coming in May. Yahoo!

More Pictures of Aisha

Here are some more pictures of Aisha and her proud parents!

A little bit about our story: On Friday morning, Rachel told me at 7:30 am that she had been having contractions that hurt a little bit and seemed to be about 10 minutes apart. We talked about it for a few minutes and she decided to call her mom, who had been waiting in Kansas City for the big call, suitcase in hand. They talked for a while, and we concluded that it seemed like things may have been getting warmed up pretty seriously. Rach hung up the phone, and 30 seconds later, from the bathroom, I hear, "Jeremy!". One of the more obvious signs of labor had just occured, and Rach promptly called her mom back.

From that moment on, contractions began coming hard and fast. We put a call into the midwives to let them know, and they told us that there was still a long process ahead of us, but that we should start timing contractions. We did, and they had jumped from 10 minutes apart to 3 minutes apart! Rach was in so much pain now with each contraction, we knew the baby was coming sooner rather than later.

With our bags finally packed (it is really hard to think straight when you know you've got a baby coming, and every three minutes your wife has to hold on to you for dear life!) we headed out the door and arrived at the birthing center at 1:00 PM. Upon our arrival, we learned that Rachel was only at 1 - 2 cm, and were about to be told to return home until they realized how hard and fast contractions were coming. They were right on top of each other now. For an hour and a half we tried walking, but spent most of our time on a couch in a darkened room, trying to help Rach cope with the labor. Things became so intense she threw up several times. So much for the nice breakfast I cooked for her that morning...After that hour and a half, we learned that Rachel had progressed to 4 - 5 cm, and we were checked into our birthing room, and Rach got into the tub. The tub was very nice and brand new, with padded cushions lining the floor around it to save the knees of we who were attending to Rachel. Two hours later, Rach was at 10cm and pushing! I have to admit that I cried a few times just seeing the pain that Rachel was in. It was really hard to watch!

Not too long later we met our beautiful girl! She was very calm at birth. I hear that the water has a very soothing effect. The midwives were so gracious to give Rachel and I as much time as we wanted before they cleaned the baby. I cut the cord, and the nurses promptly cleaned up Aisha and attended to Rachel. Before the baby exams they gave her back to us to hold a while longer. About an hour, in fact. I got to hold her while they took care of Rachel's needs. Aisha was very healthy, scoring 8 and 9 on the Apgar. The three of us spent the night together there in the same birthing suite, just feet away from the tub where Aisha was born.

Proud Mommy!

Grandma to the rescue!

Meet Aisha Grace

As I write, Rachel and her mom are in the bedroom trying to comfort a screaming 1 day old. She's finally here! We'll give you the whole scoop soon, but know that Rachel did an amazing job! She labored only 9 [tough] hours - 100% natural! Rachel actually found great comfort in a huge jacuzzi tub the birthing center had, so Aisha (pronounced like Asia with a 'sh') was actually a water baby! She weighed in at a healthy 8lbs. 12 oz. and 20 inches long. It is tough to leave comments with blogspot, but if you would like to leave Rachel and I a message, just write to jeremyw@palmvalleychurch.com

Click on any picture to see a larger version

4 Days Late...No Baby Yet!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we are still waiting. We are doing good, but it has been hard to be patient! It seems like each day it gets a little tougher on Rach. She's been having a rough time, and said she's tempted to wear all black until she has the baby. COME ON AISHA, WE WANT TO MEET YOU!!

Still Waiting...

Yeah. Still waiting. Due date was Saturday, but no baby yet! I don't like this waiting thing very much.

Waiting

Trying to be patient

Well, Rachel's sister Melissa has arrived. It has been great to have her around - she has been a huge help in getting everything ready for baby. Right now Rachel and I are just trying to survive this really strange black hole twilight zone waiting period knowing that the baby could come at any moment, but afraid she is not going to come any time soon. The baby is officially due in three days - and since this is our first, we are trying to cope with the thought that it could be another week or so.

We had a check up on Monday, and without going into any gory details, I can say that Rachel's body is preparing itself. The baby is very much engaged and is presenting well, and things are thinning out nicely. The midwives treated Rachel with Primrose oil to help things along.

So then, in summary: Life is good, but life is weird right now. It is hard to focus on much of anything other than the birth. Thank you for praying for us and for Aisha - as you continue, please include patience in those prayers!

La niña que a todos les va a facinar

Rach and I with the Midwives last Saturday

Sitting here on a cold Friday. We don't get very many cold Fridays here. Not very many cold any days actually. Life has been far from normal lately. Rach has been having regular contractions that seem to be growing more painful as the days go by. The other night we were all but convinced that the time had come. It hadn't, and the rush of adrenaline produced by the anxiety of the moment didn't serve any purpose beyond keeping me from sleeping that night. When I get anxious about something, I tend to sleepwalk. Last night, so says Rachel, I was up at two in the morning looking for our cat Romeo in the bedroom. When I couldn't find him there, I proceeded to the living room. She gently guided me back to bed. I have no memory of that whatsoever.

The official due date is next Saturday, February 24th. Rachel's sister, Melissa is coming down in a couple of days, hoping to be here for the birth. We feel like we are basically ready - Rachel's strong nesting instinct has helped us get the house nice and clean. No doubt every corner and crevice will be sanitized by the time she's done with it. Aisha's room still needs some work, but I'll be able to tackle that early next week as long as she's not here yet.

It is warming up this afternoon - supposed to be beautiful. That will be nice, since around 270 students are making their way down here as I write for a two day trip into Mexico with our church. Yes, I will be hosting teams in Mexico this weekend. I'm going to follow behind one of our busses in my Jeep; cell phone set to extra loud + vibrate. Rach and I dearly love being in Mexico. Over the years we've been able to build so many strong relationships with churches and pastors there. This Summer Rach and I met an elderly couple in Rio Bravo who needed some serious help. The Señora had just had her leg amputated due to diabetes. She was bed-ridden, and they were both confused about all of the medications the doctor had given them. The man lifted up a bottle of asprin and told me, "Se me hace que esta es para la infección." He thought the asprin was her antibiotic, her antibiotic was her diabetes medication, and wasn't sure what to think about everything else. Because God is so good, we happened to be traveling with several nurses who set everything straight for them. They confirmed the fact that she hadn't been taking her antibiotic when they removed the dressings from her seriously infected stump. After cleaning her wound and redressing it, we prayed for them and soberly left. A few weeks ago I revisited their home, only to find out that the precious lady had succumbed to the infection and died. I was so glad I made it back there.

Aisha will have many friends on both sides of the border ready to welcome her into the world. To help her make friends wherever she goes, Rachel and I have been planning for some time that I will speak to Aisha only in Spanish, and Rachel will use English. One Mexican pastor friend of mine told me that they are more excited than I am about our bundle of joy that is on the way. They've already picked out a piñata for her first fiesta.

Long Walks, Good Visits, and Baby Goats

So, here we are. Full Term! This Saturday Rachel will be entering her 39th week. Crazy, right?! It is interesting this sort of process that my mind has gone through in getting ready for the baby. About nine months ago I was excited, but couldn't really grasp the fact that this was a reality. Rachel looked the same, and I couldn't feel any kicks or nudges on her belly, so it was simply an interesting idea that there was something tiny living inside of her.

Then came the day we heard the heartbeat. Especially when they are still tiny, babies hearts beat very fast. I think my rhythm caught up with the baby's - I was so exited to hear that sound! Several weeks later, we found out that we were having a girl. One word: FEAR! I mean, I felt like I would at least have some idea of how to raise a boy; but a girl?!?! That was a very scary prospect for me.

Since then, I have slowly traveled to the point at which I currently find myself: Unbelievably excited!!! We are so eager to see her and to touch her and to count her fingers and toes and let her hand grasp our fingers. So then, we are doing everything we can to speed up this whole waiting process. We've heard that a good walk can get things going, so we've been walking...a lot! Last night we logged 2 miles. Quite a feat for a waddling and fully pregnant woman. I think Rachel is even more desperate than I am to see her.

In other news, my brother was down last weekend to visit Rachel and I. We had a very good time together. I also shared with Nathan my current culinary fascination: Cabrito. Although I'd had it before, this trademark Northern Mexican dish has been my favorite lately. It is basically baby goat, and can be cooked a lot of different ways. My favorite by far is al pastor, when the goat is roasted over hot coals. For effect I've included a picture I took last week of Cabrito Guisado - which is stewed baby goat. How many more baby goats will perish to satisfy my animalistic, carnivorous cravings? Probably many more.

So then, there are no signs yet of the baby's imminent arrival. It seems like the she is still sitting high in Rachel's tummy, although she has been in a head down position for several weeks now. We are hoping she'll drop soon, at least showing us some sign of progress. Rachel has also been having regular B.H. contractions - the painless kind that are basically her uterine muscles warming up for d-day. They have gotten more regular and slightly more intense in the past few days. This Saturday we'll be at the birthing center for yet another check up and birthing class. It has been fun to meet other couples and exciting to come back each week and find out that some of them have had their babies. Yahoo!! I'll keep you posted, and yes, I will post a current picture of Rach and I very soon.

Baby Fat

A curious thing, pregnancy is. It is good that pregnancy is not a contagious condition- we'd all be in trouble, then. However, I think that I have stumbled on to some very interesting facts that should be shared openly with you, my friends, and possibly on a wider scale to the scientific community. I do, in fact, think that some of the symptoms of pregnancy are communicable.

Let me first illustrate with a funny story: Yesterday Rachel and I decided to use the Burger King gift cards my mom sent us for Christmas (Mom is the wakiest stocking stuffer on the planet). Food in hand, I slid into a booth. Rachel followed. Well, she tried to anyway. I'm not so sure that sliding is the correct word here. Once she sat down, Rach realized that she had quite the situation on her hands. Her belly didn't quite fit, and she found herself stuck - wedged into the seat with her belly pressed up against the table. I'm not sure if you can picture this, but imagine Rachel sitting there helplessly trying to free herself with the table pushing into her belly. Yes, I am a good husband so yes, I helped her up. We were both laughing hysterically.

Rachel is breathtakingly beautiful, and her being pregnant only made her even more beautiful. Now in her ninth month of pregnancy, she looks much the same, only with a basketball tucked under her shirt. I, on the other hand, am not so much the same.

This is where my highly scientific hypothesis comes into play: Could it be that weight gain during pregnancy is somehow caused by a virus that can be passed on? My very first attempt at a proof paper will be a report on my own experience. Being an even six feet tall, I generally weigh in at a healthy 180 - 185. Strangely, since this pregnancy began, that number has rebelliously crept upward. Recently I cringed when arm on the midwife's scale balanced out at 195! That is right - I have joined the ranks of the portly. Why do you think I haven't posted any recent pictures yet?? Even one of Rachel's coworkers pointed out the newly acquired flesh around my neck. Oh yes, it is there. All I have to do is bull my head into my shoulders and it can be seen it all it's glory.

Please, do not worry. There is an additional (and hopeful) twist to my educated guess: Since Rachel will expect to lose at least 20 lbs. instantly upon Aisha's birth, I can expect that virus (which I shall name fatherius fatticus in latin) will also disappear from my system. If it doesn't go away on it's own, I have already signed my own prescription to combat this ill: running. I do love to run, and something tells me that my future may hold many a long jog.

Health Class

Rachel and I get an email each week from a web site that gives us updates on what's going on inside that big belly of hers. This week, week 35, we learned that the baby is nearly completely formed, and is now simply putting on weight and making mommy feel very uncomfortable.

Since she will be considered full term as of this coming Saturday, we are hoping for her arrival any time between now and the last part of February. Rach has been praying fervently that she'll come sooner rather than later.

Along with the email came a link to some very unsettling videos of several couples and their 'baby stories'. While watching, at times I felt sick in a way I hadn't since my 7th grade health class. If Rachel survives all that, she should be elevated to goddess status. There were several moments, however, when the bigness - the absolutely earth shattering nature of that event seemed to be overwhelming. I admit I teared up. I thought of Rach going though all of that, and then trembled when I realized that within weeks I'll be holding a squinting, squirmy, uncoordinated, slimy bundle of joy of my own. We can't wait!

The Fateful Day

This is Rachel helping out during and outreach in Mexico

I had plenty of time last night to think about what I would include in today's post. I was lying in bed with my eyes wide open listening to interesting sounds produced by the air flowing through Rachel's sinus tissues which have been weakened and relaxed by the pregnancy hormones. I guess that was a long way to say that Rachel has been snoring since about the 6th month. Last night was no exception.

In mid June of last year Rachel and I were having the time of our lives working together leading missions teams into Mexico to love on people and show them Jesus. While we knew that things were suspiciously off kilter, I had convinced myself that a pregnancy was surely light years away. The thought of having a baby was still very abstract and incomprehensible to me. One night after a long day in Mexico, Rachel headed home to rest and I stayed back at the church to be part of the evening service with the Missions teams. I work for a very cool pastor here, and when he saw me there without Rachel, he slipped me some money and invited me to get home and take my wife out for a nice dinner. His timing was perfect. Just as I turned the ignition key on my Jeep, I felt my cell phone vibrate in my pocket. It was Rachel! I was excited to tell her the good news about the gift from the pastor, and I already had several ideas regarding our evening meal. When I answered there was silence. I spoke again, "Rachel?"

A sweet, teary voice that I will never forget answered, "Jeremy". "Rach, what is going on? Are you OK?" After a few sniffles she replied, "Jeremy, it's positive. It's positive." Something sucked the air out of my lungs and my face went numb. "What are you talking about?" "I stopped by the store on my way home and bought a pregnancy test," sobbing now, "and Jeremy, it's positive. We are going to have a baby." I was driving quickly now, in silence for a while. Rachel was crying.

I think I asked her about a thousand times before we got home if she was completely sure that the results were, in fact, positive. I think I even had her read the instructions from the box out loud to me on the phone. After an eternity of driving and my mind fully immersed in the twilight zone, I arrived at home.

There was no fancy dinner that night. Rachel and I spent a few hours crying and praying together. I will admit that in my maleness (not insensitivity, just maleness) I made Rachel take like two more tests just to be sure. Once we held each other and dried off our faces, we celebrated by announcing the good news to our families..."You are going to be a grandma!!" Everyone received the news ecstatically and offered many kind words of encouragement. The adventure was just beginning!

Welcome to Adventures in Parenthood!

Ah yes, two youngsters madly in love on their honeymoon. I thought this picture was an appropriate way to kick off our new blog. The chronicles of our baby's new life begin with an important day in October of 2005 - our wedding day! It was not too much later (June of 2006) that we came to find out that Rachel was pregnant. Since this is my first, and very much experimental, post - I'll have to save the details of that fateful day for the next installment.

So then, friends and family, welcome to our blog! We hope to bring you along with pictures and text updates as we prepare to welcome the new member of the Williamson family very shortly!