End of January

Pretty fortunate to finish off with a snow day today.  It was quite windy and there was some snow accumulation.  however I never did search out and see if the highways were closed.  My work, and there is plenty of it, was done at the comfort of home, and the Goderich Library. 

There isn't even close to the snowfall of last year however.  But I was out with the snow blower to make sure the driveway is accessible to those coming and going.  And we have had quite the steady stream and supply of people over.

So the steady stream of relatives have been mostly represented by the Johnston side of the tree.  But my grandma has been over, and for friends there has been far too many to mention accurately.  Off the top of my head the Grails, Tremainiacs, Kelly, Darby, and Hank, the Grails again....

Wally is doing well.  There are no stories of 5 hour plus stretches of sleep or quiet time...Nothing to write about a cool, calm demeanor who barely fusses...  Each day has stayed the same, seemingly no progress has been made....  But all in all his extremes don't seem that bad, and are just probably regular attention seeking cues for his age.  For needing relatively so little at 3 weeks; food, cleanliness, warmth, being dry, a mother's love, sleep, he gets pretty worked up when one or a combination of them aren't immediately provided.  And especially at night!

*Weed whacker ear protection does not work for a screaming child...  Trust me, I have tried.  Molly is learning the same lesson.

 

I researched back a few years to see what I wrote when Molly was born.  At the time there was a news story, and website, indicating that the world's 7 billionth person was going to be born in a matter of weeks. I guess it was weeks.  Low and behold the website is still live and pumping out numbers at alarming rates.

The numbers for Wally show he is the 7,246,419,973rd person currently on earth, and overall, the 83,648,877,411th person to have lived since history began.  Check it out for yourself if you like at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-15391515.

Even if the website has a margin of error between 3 and 6 per cent, that is still a heck of a lot of people. 

Wally is doing just fine, still.  All of the grandparents have been over.  Nothing else really.

Few Pictures

It wasn't too long after I wrote that last post that Shelly was waking me up after 1:00 am saying she had to get to the hospital.  I dismissed her painful plea as indigestion.  By 3:00 she was telling me to get the hell moving, and call my mom to mind the house and Molly - we were on the go!

It was a quiet night at the hospital.  The nurses were more than happy, and extra, more than extra capable of dealing with this situation. 

Skipping 7hrs worth of craziness....

10:23 am - 8lbs 9oz and 21 inches long.  We didn't really have a name firmed up so we left him as the boy for a day.  Later that night we bounced around some family names and other options.  I had thought about Walter for a month or two.  Walter can be called Walt or Wally; 3 decent options.  I have been calling him Wally.  No papers have been officially signed, but it looks like Walter Johnston Macaulay with a few first name options depending on what people's pleasure is.  I like the ring of Wally Macaulay, and I like that it rhymes with Molly.  I think it is a decent name.  And later in life, or in elementary school, if he wants to go by Walt or Walter, that will be fine.

It was unbelievable.  There is so much more of a story because Shelly was supposed to get to London to deliver, but all the roads were closed and the ambulance wasn't going to get through.  Needless to say there was no trip to London.  He was born in Goderich.  He really looks a lot like Molly did, but he does look like a boy just as much too.

It is such a bounding experience with your partner to be there when something like this happens.  It opened my eyes to a whole new world.  I didn't know what to expect.  It did surprise me in some regards, but just the same I knew it wasn't going to be all roses.  The encouragement and teamwork involved was something that struck me.  Also noted was even though it is extremely physical, more importantly is the mental planning and conditioning, more so for Shelly, to push and persevere when you don't think you can take it or go further.  You really have to be in a (mental) place to accept what is coming and not giving in.  So that is the big part of advice that I would recommend.  Then again I wasn't pushing a 9lbs, 21 inch long mass out of a birth canal.

A Few Snow Days

It has been a very sporadic week of work.  Monday was a snow day, Tuesday I went out with kids, and Wednesday/Thursday have also been off.  As I write, Thursday, it is still quite windy and roads are closed.  Last year there were 4 snow days this week, and it is looking to be the same....  We'll see. 

There really isn't that much snow however.  Only about 20 cm maximum has fallen.  I have only had the snow blower out and cranked up once.  I have just been shoveling and hand bombing what snow has fallen, but most blew in the driveway for the most part.  So it has been quite manageable in that sense.  But boy has it been windy.  Most of the highways have been closed.  Or at least parts of them have been in between various committees in Huron and Perth counties - It is a dam good thing I haven't had to drive to London with Shelly.  Although I really think I have completely just jinx myself.

On that topic, Shelly's due date basically is/was today according to one of the methods of calculation.  The other date is the tenth of January.  It doesn't make too much sense to me why or how there are two different dates, however it appears to be the case.  Quantitative representation (by Shelly) has always been a skewed in my opinion over the years.  Numbers, times, dates, money amounts have always been subject to a more or less interpretation.  So for all I this baby may be here at Valentine's Day.  Maybe the weather will be more agreeable when it does come.

We are all doing very well though.  It is a big year and there is lots going on.  I am most looking forward to a potential big trip in August to France, the sabbatical from work, and of course some fall travel solo and with the whole family to some exotic location...