I suppose I ought to use this space to post an actual update. With as many people as are worried about/praying for our family, you'd think I'd be better about getting more information out there. But I'm not. Because I have important things like Haiku and Top 7's to worry about.
Besides, the other thing I was going to write about tonight was a Gary Kubiak/Houston Texans rant. And far more of you care about this than that. ;-)
Really, the reason I haven't reported much is because there hasn't been a whole lot of new information to report. Since we came got Kim's heartburn to settle down, things have been pretty much the same. We had one scare late Christmas night where we thought we were maybe going to have to go back into the hospital, but she slept it off. Kim spends every day resting on the couch, getting up occasionally to stretch her legs and back or just to see the world from a new perspective for awhile. She still can't "do" anything, but we've had a lot of family helping out with cooking and cleaning. Plus, I've actually been pretty good at keeping us caught up around the house when we haven't had help. Everything is very much "one day at a time" right now. Some days are horrible, some days are tolerable, and some (like today) are actually very nice. A big determining factor is how much rest we've all had the night before.
Tomorrow we will set into what will be our "routine" until the new baby arrives (hopefully late February/early March): I will wake up with Robbie in the morning and get him ready for school quickly, drop him off, go to work, pick him up, bring him home, and play with him/make dinner. After he and Kim are in bed, I'll do some cleaning. And hopefully some writing. And possibly some sleeping.
Health-wise, both mother and baby are doing great. It's more psychological/emotionally tough right now. Kim is stuck in a house where she can't do anything, and she misses cooking, cleaning, playing with Robbie, etc. Plus, there are all the aches, pains, etc that go with being six months pregnant, too. The toughest part of it all for me is just trying not to get overwhelmed, because there is so much to do. And the tough party for Robbie is probably trying to understand why things are so different lately. Hopefully school well help him settle back into a routine and make his world a little bit better.
People are often asking what they can do to help. Well, it you really want to know, here are some suggestions:
1) Pray. Obviously. For a lot of folks, this is all they can do. And it's probably the most important item on the list.
2) Come over. Chat for awhile! Play with Robbie so I can do some housework. Or help with dishes or something for a night. Cook dinner. Anything. But getting a chance to be friendly and social is a huge morale boost most of the time. Especially for Kim, since she doesn't see anybody during the day and doesn't see anybody but Robbie and I at night. Variety is the spice of life, yes?
3) Make dinner! This isn't a huge need; we're getting along all right so far and our church is providing us with dinner two nights a week. We've got some pre-cooked stuff stocked in the freezer and some leftovers in the fridge, so it wouldn't do to have people bringing things for us to eat every single night. We wouldn't have room. But it can also be very helpful if properly timed. Again, any one thing less that I have to worry about on a given night gives me time to concentrate on something else that needs done.
4) Babysitting. There are two applications here: First, there are times when I can't avoid it and I have to be at work while Robbie is at home. Having people on-call who can step in and help Kim with Robbie while I'm at work helps avoid awkward situations like this afternoon. (Though Robbie actually did a great job of sitting quietly at Hobbit rehearsal today) Second, if, on occasion, we can "unload" Robbie to someone else's house for an evening, it opens up the opportunity for Kim and I to have a "stay-at-home date night." Probably sounds like a pretty frivolous thing to a lot of you out there, but if you're looking for a way to be a huge blessing, this just might be it.
So there it be. The low down. This is where things are and, likely, where things are going to stay until this baby is born. Again: Kim and baby brother are both doing well right now. The baby is not in any danger whatsoever. The bed rest is just designed to keep Kim from going into early labor. She has not actually done so yet, which is what makes this different from the situation when Robbie was born. And as a family, we are making it. Sometimes we're not sure how, but we are.
