Phamily of Seven

We have REALLY had to switch gears the past few days. Planning for a homebirth is completely different than planning for a hospital birth. Everything is now ready for the baby to come and the bags are packed (well, at least his is). The childcare for the kids is set. My wonderful neighbor is set to care for the kids. We have become fast friends and she is absolutely a precious gift from God. She is ready, eager and willing to help at a moment's notice. I have had to get my birthing plan together as well as having to prepare myself that I will have to "fight" for my desires in the hospital here, which is why I will labor at home until it is time for the baby to come. We only live less than a 3/4 of a mile from the hospital so we can get there very quickly. I have lined up a translator (a fellow missionary friend) to come to the hospital so that she can clearly communicate what I cannot when I am in extreme pain. She knows my birth plan and is already working on getting it translated so that she can ensure my needs and desires are being met. She has spoken Spanish for over 20 years, so for her it will be effortless. It takes a lot of pressure off of John and I to know we can focus on relaxing and getting the baby out while she is advocating and translating. We are still hoping to be able to come home within 6-7 hours after the birth so that alleviates having to pack bags for the kids and ship them somewhere overnight.

I am surprisingly NOT grieving the homebirth decision at ALL! I feel extremely confident that God will work out every detail in the hospital and that we are with the right doctors and are receiving the BEST care possible here! I am actually looking forward to the birthing experience MUCH more now that it will be with this doctor than I was with the midwife. I think that is a good confirmation. And having my friend translate is like the icing on the cake. Now if he'll just stay in until Jenn gets here on Oct. 1st, then everything will be PERFECT!

On another note, Monday is Parker's 9th b-day. If you would like to call or send him an e-mail, he would LOVE that. We did this last year and I think now he might be expecting it again. He mentioned how much he loves the calls and letters and can't wait for them. Our number is 321-766-4043. It makes him feel REALLY special!