::mini-update::

Wayne and I are delighted to welcome our daughter Heidi London Baxter into our little family! She arrived Saturday, September 12, at 9:20 am after three hours of active labour. Apparently, that is fast. I didn't realize that counting the hours of "labour" doesn't start until it's considered "active" labour, which, for me, began around 6:15 am. I thought my labour would have been considered to be 9 hours long, as my initial contractions began at 12:30 am.

Anyway, the purpose of this post is not to relay the entire birth story; I'm busy writing it out by hand in my journal as I nurse, and perhaps will one day post it for those of you who like reading that stuff (before I had kids, I always found them kinda weird, but as a new mom, I'm now totally interested!). But it is to say that we are all healthy and happy, and the best part was that Heidi arrived exactly 24 hours before Wayne was set to take off again for Gagetown, NB. I admit, I DID give God an earful on that issue, hmmm, about 7 hours before contractions started. I should know by now that coming to the end of myself is the only way God will work in my life. For three weeks, I was holding out for my "plan": to have Heidi while Wayne was here. But as Wayne's date of departure drew nearer, I toughened up, shut myself off from Him, and held out for God to do things MY way. Only when I broke down and was truly honest with myself, and Him, did I allow Him to take over.

And boy, did He ever!



More on all this later. Time at the computer (especially to type with two hands) is rarer now. For more frequent updates, check me out on Facebook. The time it takes to compose thoughts and spell them correctly on this blog may prove to be a little much for a while. At least with FB, I can think in stops and starts. But I will be trying to maintain my writing as best I can.

Cheers. And thank you for praying on our behalf. I know the Lord was listening.

::tick, tock::

Since being on maternity leave, I have discovered I am not too good at doing nothing. I don't really know how to relax at home. At home, there's always something to DO, like sweep or mop, wash dishes, make beds, walk the dog, cook or bake. The only times in my life I've really allowed myself to relax is on vacation, where my surroundings don't dictate my daily tasks (well they do, but the tasks include better things like drinking dirty gin martinis, swimming, and sunbathing!).

Today, Wayne is out with his buddy geocaching in Fleetwood Park. No problem, except we have only one car. Not that I have anywhere to be, but I suppose I'm so used to being on my own with the freedom to what I want, when I want, and it's usually structured by a schedule. I could walk to Starbucks, or go shave my legs, or have a nap, I suppose. But I'm a bit indecisive at the moment...grrrr. This is like PMS without the moodiness.

Any of you moms reading this are likely rolling your eyes and thinking, "Get OVER it! I would kill to be bored for 5 mins.!" And I know this will end as soon as baby arrives. I'm just in a funk, I think: done being pregnant and now just WAITING; overjoyed to have Wayne home but not used to waking up each day, together, with nothing in particular to do; being told by the midwife to relax and pamper myself (what does that MEAN when you have no money?!). I think I'd welcome some structure back into my routine. I don't miss work, but I do miss having a purpose each morning. It was such a delight to get up to take the dog to daycare at 8 am today, to have a deadline to get out of the house. But now, I'm looking at this screen and feeling a little lost. Weird...

I'll probably look back on this post in a week or two and laugh at how pathetic this sounds - "Tough life, Meg, being bored. You should have enjoyed it!" Maybe I will take that nap. At least time will seem to speed up.