The Suits Sisters

When I pictured Easter this year , I pictured myself waddling my great-with-child body into church. People were going to say, "Girl, when are you due??" and I'd say "Saturday!" and then we'd joke about how big I was and how ready I was. After church we'd have the siblings over for lunch. Maybe ham, rolls and green beans. And I'd say, "I can't believe Ma is just going to miss Easter. It's her favorite holiday!"  What Easter actually looks like this year ... I didn't fully commit to actually making it to church, but my eyes popped open at 7AM (props to the Holy Spirit. I could've slept till 10) and I gave it a go. Modern day Easter miracle : I made it to the 8:15 service and was only 5 minutes late. That would've even been impressive for my pre-baby self.  I waddled my post-baby body into the back pew, came home and dressed Baby Suits in a huge 3 month "Baby's First Easter" onesie while Ma was...

freezer This is proof that Ma is staying with us. Our fridge/freezer have never been this stuffed full of food. Pretty sure the healthy eating plan + calorie restriction diet will have to wait until she goes back to Africa.  fridge

I was discharged from the hospital (for the first time) exactly 1 month ago and I started bed rest. I wrote a letter to my 22 kiddos, cried a little and felt bad about leaving them without any warning. At home I settled onto my red couch with pillows, blankets, and 1 gallon of water a day. Kent set up a power cord to charge my phone and computer. I had my little station set up & I was prepared for at least 5 weeks of bed rest, possibly 6. I was monitored twice weekly by the doctor and just a little over 2 weeks after the start of my bed rest, Baby Susu arrived. I'm still on that red couch a lot, but this time I'm surrounded by baby blankets and burp cloths. And I've ditched the 1 gallon of water a day. 

A big THANK YOU goes out to our temporary roommate, Ma/Shelly, for all the help she's been to us. She is a baby holding, diaper changing, meal cooking, grocery buying, apple cake baking, clothes washing, bathroom trashcan emptying, early rising, dog feeding, good listening roommate and we love her! ...GROUP HUG!!!

Highlights from the past 2 weeks -Watching family members love on Caris -Going HOME from the hospital -2 burgers on the way home from the hospital -Ma flying in from South Sudan -The laugh/cry combination with Ma -Watching my feet and ankles swell to the size of tree trunks -Watching people's reaction when I showed them my tree trunks -Kent,Ma and I eating our ever-lovin' faces off with all the meals we've gotten -Starting Season 1 of Downton Abbey (Ma actually watched Season 1 before it was popular. One word: trendsetter)  -Caris' newborn shoot with Sara -Catching her "smiles" -Watching Kent as a Dad -Ma's made-to-order hot breakfast -First glass of diet soda in over 8 months -Having a legit conversation with sleeping-talking-Kent -Losing 15 pounds (goodbye tree trunk legs) -Caris shooting right past 5 pounds to 5 pounds 8 ounces -2 hour naps that end at 6PM -First (1 hour) solo outing to the school -Recovering....

Caris meets the fam   In no particular order... Grandma Uncle Wes Uncle Burk Aunt Anna Yaya  Papa Uncle Walker & Aunt Heather Aunt Sara Uncle Gregory  Uncle Ben recovering from a cold Aunt Ashley & Aunt Neely Aunt Casey  "Caca" And Caris still needs to meet Grandpa, Uncle Doug,  Uncle Steven, Aunt Kelli and 6 cousins! 

Caris Amie Suits born Monday March 11, 2013 @  4:59 PM 4 pounds 10 ounces 18 inches @ 36 & 2 days gestation  For you created my inmost being;      you knit me together  in my mother’s womb. I praise you  because I am fearfully and wonderfully made psalm 139

A Monday appointment @ 11 AM turned into a "You're having this baby at 4:30 today" appointment. It was the first appointment that Kent was going to miss because of an exam, but he ended up coming after the exam. First example of God's hand in the situation.  Here we are sounding the alarms! Texting and calling family members. The first text said something like, "Baby Suits will arrive today at 4:30. Please no texts or phone calls while we process this" and an hour later "Ok, we are ready for texts and phone calls". Kent's sister was the first to respond less than a minute later with, "AHHHHHH!!!"   I knew there was no way of telling my parents. They would just find a picture of Baby Suits on their computer the next morning (surprise!)   disclaimer: baby bump was not that big, there are monitors under there and I might've been a tad bit swollen and emotionally unstable at this point of the day Anna & Kerith ran...

"I thought bed rest was supposed to be a little more comfortable than this"

With Kent in class all day Saturday, a baby shower to attend and work on the nursery to be done, we called the one-and-only Aunt Anna. She gladly came in for just an overnight stay and helped with all of the above.  FINALLY a reason to boss my sister around- I even had a doctor's note to prove it.  This is the "Ohmygosh Anna. We are folding BABY clothes. Kent! Take a picture!" It was a moment.  Sorting through graciously-given hand-me-downs 

Proud to call this guy my brother photo courtesy of Sara 

Shower #1 The school, hosted by my third grade team   They generously wiped out more than 1/2 of our baby registry  Kent tagged along!  Shower #2 The church, hosted by church ladies  We had fun with (A little too realistic looking) shower game Anna saved the day by driving into town the morning of the shower. She fixed my food plate, loaded and unloaded all the gifts and more.  THANKS Anna.

Thoughts on...  A Hospital Stay for Oligohydramnios   (Oh yes, whippin' out the big medical words) -An introvert, wall flower, "I just wanna be invisible" getting wheeled across the parking lot to the hospital = AWESOME -Getting stuck for an IV...yowzas! But babbling about how "your brother just had open heart surgery so surely you could get an IV" does kind of help -Once you get the initial cry over, everything gets better. Also helpful: saying "I miss my Mom" in a 5 year old voice.  -Relying on people (even your husband and mother in law) is quite humbling -Leaning the hospital bed back slowly can make you feel like an astronaut getting into position, ready to orbit the moon -Hospital food is decent. Loved the pizza, fruit and chocolate milk. Will skip the french fries and breakfast (altogether) next time -It helps to pretend that you're just on a Babymoon vacation complete with cable tv and room service -Visits from si...

Faithful Blog Readers, We're back in blogging action! The main reason we're back on the blogging scene is because of a recent  bed rest order. If you need some valid excuses for my absence, I've got a little list. Recent happenings... -Growing a baby (PTL) -Abnormal swelling of hands and feet (Ok, and face) Red flagged for preeclampsia (later unofficially dismissed)  - I can't always feel my hands/fingers (see above)  -Decorating a nursery (postponed until Anna gets here)  -Decluttering our house ("Our favorite nation is DONATION" -Bill Devlin)  -Cheering my husband on during his last semester of seminary (Rah rah rah!)  -Teaching 22 needy babies (who still can't quite nail 3-digit subtraction on a regular basis)  With bed rest starting yesterday, blogging will be more regular for at least a few more weeks!  Showing off some baby loot after our first baby shower mid-February Also the last decent picture of me  ...