Isaiah the Little Lamb

Long before we knew Isaiah's name, I was smitten with the idea of a lion and lamb theme for his, or her, nursery. Lions are my favorite animal and the combination of lions and lambs is sewn throughout scripture in reference to Jesus. Jon doesn't think the lions we've accumulated in his room are very realistic in their ferocity, but that's alright 'cause Isaiah favors the lamb more in personality anyway.

In beautiful harmony with his name, lambs are used throughout the book of Isaiah as imagery of gentleness.

"And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the young goat, And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little boy will lead them," -Isaiah 11:6

"Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, In His arm He will gather the lambs And carry them in His bosom; He will gently lead the nursing ewes." -Isaiah 40:11

"He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth." -Isaiah 53:7

"The wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox; and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain,” says the Lord." -Isaiah 65:25

"Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool." -Isaiah 1:18

"Gentle" was the One Word I felt God gave me for 2015, and I think he's confirming that now by giving us a such a sweet-tempered little baby to teach me new lessons about gentleness every day.

Isaiah's first bath.

Working on self-soothing after bath time, sucking on whatever's closest, in this case Daddy's nose.

During a diaper change, I was trying to help by holding his legs out of the way, when I looked down I found him sucking on his conveniently placed toe. (Note the lamb mittens)

Trying out his lamb swing, not quite convinced it's as comfortable as Mommy and Daddy's bed though.

His newest lamb addition, thanks to a our neighbors who stopped by to visit.

Today, in celebration of one week of life, we introduced his lamby paci.

The art in his room above his crib. So peaceful how could anyone refuse a nap?

It just so happens that Isaiah was born 2 days into the Year of the Sheep according to the Chinese New Year. It turns out some parents don't want a baby to be born in this year that is symbolic of considerate, hardworking, persistent, gentle, yet indecisive, weak-willed personalities. I'm alright with it though, as we've done strong-willed long enough with Angie, I'm happy to try weak-willed this time, we'll just call him compliant. :)

Isaiah Brantly Charles. What's in a Name?

There are few things that Jon and I agree on easily, which keeps married life interesting.  One of the things we are both sure about is that little Zy is totally worth all the trouble he gave us Saturday on his way into the world. Although I had the brunt of the intense acute pain, I think it's safe to say Jon did more work as he pushed on my hips for almost every contraction and I just "pushed" for a few contractions at the end there. Plus, now Jon's taking care of both of us like a superhero, while I can do little more than feed the baby, as I'm healing up and recovering.

So, when it came to naming baby Zy, most of you know we struggled. Jon wanted something traditional like David or Sarah, I wanted something uncommon, even unheard of like Azariah, or...well I won't tell you my girl name in case we ever decide to use it.

In our 8th month of pregnancy or so, Jon suggested Isaiah, which means "God is salvation." So we decided to start reading the book together to see if it was a good fit. You probably know, of the 66 chapters in the Bible's book of Isaiah, many of them are dark and cumbersome to read straight through, but so many also have rich and beautiful verses about justice, serving, prophecy of the coming Savior, and grace. I started making a file of all the passages I love and then put them together into this compilation of my favorites for his nursery wall. 

We're also pretty excited about continuing to call him Zy for short, but either's fine if you prefer one over the other. We know Zy's gonna be easier for many of you, and definitely Angie, to spell.

As for his middle name, we had many things to consider; his initials, the way it sounds with his first name, family names, meaning, etc. In the fall, I had suggested naming him Brantly after Kent Brantly the missionary to Africa who treated and then contracted Ebola in Liberia. The surname Brantley with an "e" means "fire" in Old High German and "steep, tall," "meadow" in Old English. Since Zy's birth, there's been nothing firey about him, but we pray that he will someday be on fire for Jesus like Kent and Amber, the sweet, gentle, soft-spoken missionaries Isaiah already resembles, who spread God's love far beyond their comfort zones. And he may very well be tall as he was in the 99th% for height today at the doctor, and serene like a meadow.

Combined I love that his first name points from the Old Testament toward salvation by grace, and his middle name refers to a missionary family who emobdy that love and grace in their lives and testimonies.

Isaiah Brantly Charles would love to meet you all soon. Until then, here are a couple more pictures to tide you over.

"My big sister's pretty awesome!"

"It's daylight out, I better get some sleep and rest up for night-time."

Car ride home from the hospital.

First visit to the pediatrician today.

One Awesome Big Sister In the Making

A week after I posted that I wasn't quite ready to leave pregnancy behind, I would like to print a retraction, I'm ready!  I think I just needed to get those thoughts written down, a few loads of laundry done, and some work finished, and then almost immediately I was uncomfortable and eager to meet little Zy. Someone else around here has been biding her time as well. As her little brother's due date approaches (not that he seems to care at all that he's supposed to be here in 2 days!!) someone is really stepping up her game. Angie has been impatiently awaiting this little bundle for months, which in tween years seems like decades I'm sure.

This past week she has really shown a ton of promise as a big sister. 

Just this year, Angie began to shop for others for holidays, having Jon help her get lots of great Christmas presents for me. On Valentine's Day, she took it upon herself to order us some chocolate covered strawberries without any adult consultation, except to ask us for our credit card number and other pertinent information (she then reimbursed us with her own cash.) This may not be a huge asset for Zy, unless he has a sweet tooth like his mama, but it shows that Angie's really beginning to think of others and move beyond herself, which is going to be invaluable when no one's getting quite the sleep or attention they deserve here shortly.

Over Christmas break, Angie took an all day safe-sitter class at a local hospital, preparing her for taking care of Zy as well as other kiddos who might like to play with her. With her busy school and sports schedule she hasn't had time to practice those new skills. But this week with all the snow days, she's been able to entertain the backyard neighbor kids as her first paying babysitting gig, thanks to our sweet friends who trusted her with their munchkins. 

They've given her rave reviews and I'm sure would act as a referral if anyone else wants take advantage of Angie's very maternal instincts and her low hourly-rate. When she's not been taking care of neighbor kiddos she's been taking care of me. Enormous in my 40th week of pregnancy and a bit under the weather with an ugly cough, Angie's been refilling my humidifier, reheating my tea, bringing me lunch in bed, and (my favorite) insisting that I take plenty of naps. Look at this beautiful lunch spread, the unclear yellow food is some yummy fried eggs fresh from a friend's farm. Today, to top it all off, she bundled up to shovel the driveway. Just as she was heading out we found a neighbor we'd met through our church's #lovewhereuare campaign blowing our drive already, but Angie decided to help him and do our walkway and our neighbors' walkway!
Looks like they've already canceled school for tomorrow, so if you find yourself in need of any odd jobs around the house, nursing care, or babysitting, she's cheap labor and is sometimes even willing to help just out of the goodness of her heart, although a couple bucks is a great motivator. When we found out just now that she won't have school tomorrow, I asked her if she'd like to have a friend over, she said, "No, I like to hang out with little kids, I wanna be ready for when Zy comes." I'm pretty sure she's gonna be way more prepared for this than I am...

Whelping

Working with all sorts of comedians/veterinary folks I get asked a lot if I've calved, foaled, farrowed, or whelped yet. Nope still just gestating away over here. But, yes, if I need a c-section you'll be the first doctor I'll call. :)

When the human doctor said last week at my 37-week appointment that I was progressing (I'll spare you the details) and "It could be any day now..." I was floored.

"Excuse me?!" Like any day NOW?!!  

We've got to finish knitting the baby blanket! We better install the car seat. I've got a lot of work to finish up before maternity leave! And we should probably decide on something more to write on this child's birth certificate than "Zy Charles."

Apparently, however, "any day now" does not automatically translate to "soon." From a quick google search I found that one can walk around with a baby about to fall out of them for many weeks. Which was confirmed at today's appointment when not much has really changed. He's pretty cozy, so we'll just let him let us know when he's ready.

In the meantime, it's about time I get mentally prepared for this monumental change.

Yeah, I'm getting lots of sleep now, not that I can really store that up for later, but everyone keeps telling me to rest, and no one has to ask me twice to take a nap.

It's not the arrival of the little guy I'm hesitant for, it's something about all the sudden not being pregnant anymore. No, don't hate me, I'm not one of those glowing moms who feels incredible, but it's taken me nine months to get to this girth, and then overnight it's not gonna be nearly so cute anymore. 

I've gotten kinda used to my heftiness.

Long before pregnancy, Jon and I fell in love with these scenes from Madagascar 2.

And I'm not sure I'm going to appreciate it if he continues to affectionately call me the plumpinest.

So, I'm gonna miss my roundness, the easy unspoken excuse for grumpiness, laziness, or discomfort, but most of all I think I'll miss the instant bond with other women. I've never been terribly approachable, I imagine this is why people don't come up to me in the grocery store and pat my belly as evidently happens to most others. But with a bulging mid-section, everyone, and I mean EVERYONE has a birth story to share. Now, I don't really need to know how many stitches Julie from the gas station had, but it is nice to have folks be so friendly all the time. I've got a new friendship with Alicia from the Dollar Tree, Becky at Kroger, and the receptionist at Angie's school. I have an automatic ice breaker at social gatherings and work events. Small talk is no longer the trivial yammering about the weather it used to be, intimacy now goes straight to a whole 'nother level that is inappropriate to talk about in almost all life situations, except this strangely vulnerable one. You guys know I like vulnerable, so this is kinda fun.

So ladies, and gentlemen ('cause just because you haven't given birth doesn't mean you haven't shared a labor and delivery nightmare with me), I'll have this baby and even let you hold him, as long as you promise we don't have to go back to struggling for conversation starters like "So, do you think the Groundhog was right?" Let's  go deep with each other and keep talking about stuff that matters. I guess after random birth stories for pregnant women, comes unsolicited parenting advice for new moms, maybe I'l just keep gestating a little while longer...