Our Fourth Baby Arrives

Photo credit to A for this timely shot

Welcome to our sweet new child! In the late morning of May 27 I scooped up my fourth son and held him in my arms for the first time. He was born early at 38 weeks gestation, surprising me completely with his prompt and brisk entrance. I had my fastest labor yet, whirling through the whole thing from 6:00am to 11:10am when we first saw his face. We really hit the gas in the last hour of labor though moving from 4cm dilation at our time of arrival at the birth center at 10:00am to the three pushes and baby meeting at 11:10. Whew! I was kind of intimidated when I realized things were clipping along a bit faster, worried that I wouldn't be able to keep my feet under me psychologically and that the intensity of a fast birth would beat me to shoe leather. Handily, he's a very sweet baby and he was gentle on his mommy. I stayed right on top of things until a certain point in labor (maybe 10:30 or so) when I suddenly felt unable to keep up and thought I was wimping out. I realized retrospectively that the panic and hazy feeling of losing it was just transition hitting and the emotional wall most women come up against right before the baby descends the birth canal and pushing begins. Sure made me feel better to realize that I had coped just fine after all. I did most of my labor "on land" this time and slipped into the birthing jacuzzi my plush birth center provided at the very ninth hour. I think I got in around 11:07 or so. I was there for three pushes and the birth of the placenta and then I was popped into the cozy in-room bed and Baby and I were snuggled in with blankets fresh from the dryer in the next room. Heaven, even on a hot day in May. And then we placed an order at the local taco stand and had lunch. No sweat, baby before noon and a whole day left to kill!

Our beautiful new son, our fourth and latest joy is: 

8lb 4oz, 20 inches long,  Giles Crispin Armstrong. (pronounced JYE-ulz) 

And now...a little name background for the curious:

He's named after two saints, a name grounded in history and pageantry.We like that Giles smacks of British Isles chivalry.....tinted with knights and dragons and top-hatted gallantry. Crispin is more boyish and takes down some of the high tones Giles can carry and makes it a little less stuffy.

There have been two great saints named Giles, one was a much loved, early miracle worker and the other one of St. Francis of Assisi's inner circle, one of the first Franciscan brothers whom Francis charmingly called "the Knight of our Round Table." We also like the homey, down to earth hero feel that the character Farmer Giles of Ham gives to the name.

Giles was originally the Greek name Aegidius and the literal meaning of the name is "young goat." I'll grant that this comes off a bit odd but you have to do a little digging. Some sources also say that the name means "shield" which is a much cooler meaning to carry around, although a bit bafflingly far from the first meaning.Turns out the word originally comes from the term for ancient Greek shields, particularly the important shield of their highest god Zeus which were made out of (wait for it....) the tanned skins of young goats. To be a shield is good but to be a shield for the highest god in the pantheon is pretty heavy duty. We like the connotations. We hope Giles is always a protector and a shield for those around him even for the hidden vulnerabilities of those who seem high and powerful.

photo credit to my sister Song

Crispin is another vaguely British sounding name, fitting for our combined very British Isles heritage. Crispin means "curly haired" which is neither here for there for us specifically. Our little man has no real hair of any substance yet and what little down is there is not curly at this point. Wouldn't it be funny if he got lush curls later on in life? Would sure make his mama smile.

St. Crispin was an early Christian martyr who with his twin brother, who left their noble family positions and attempted to share the gospel with the Gauls by day and industriously working as town cobblers by night. St. Crispin's Day was once the feast for honoring these two but today it is most linked to Shakespeare and historic wars after the several key battles that were begun on that day. Shakespeare's famous reference to St. Crispin's Day is in a speech given on said eve by King Henry V (in the play of the same name) before his troops in preparation for the battle of Agincourt. Handily the speech is a rousing call to brotherhood and sacrifice...a lovely thing to reference in connection with the name. Crispin apples are also tasty, and give a little homey touch to the name.

Giles is a completely sweet little soul. He sleeps soundly at night waking once or twice to nurse with no real crying. Maybe being number four has sent him clear signals that an easygoing attitude is needed, or maybe God has given me a special gift not to be taken for granted, relief and charm in a chubby little body. We are enjoying him completely and you'll all understand if the blog temporarily turns into a baby album, won't you? With dimples like this in the viewfinder its hard to resist.

Baby's First Haircut

 Just because I'm a slightly detail-obsessed mommy, I deemed the slightly mullet-esque style my youngest was sporting reason enough to whip out the scissors and give him his first trim. His brothers were both slightly different ages, Ru slightly older (his hair grew so, so slowly...he might have even been two before he had his first trim) and Dee was younger since he never really had a true "bald period." As usual, Nib is right in the middle between them.

 You can see his hair isn't "long" at all it's just a little uneven, growing a little longer and thicker at the back which makes him slightly dated and a little chunkier. I care about these silly little details...and visible earwax....but, yeah. We won't talk about that.

I always keep the boys hair shorter during the summer months anyhow, it just feels right to me, not to mention cooler. And I almost always trim their hair myself, scissors and a little comb and my two hands, which might make me slightly more obsessive about the whole department. Maybe I somehow feel like it reflects on me more or that I should keep tighter tabs on the length of their hair since I do it all myself...I dunno. I'm sure there's some interesting psychology there but I don't think I can unravel it all just now.

The point is, although I may have trouble keeping my house neat, I can be a little obsessive, it's just conveniently mind-bending like that.

 So, now he looks like this. Bing! All neat and trim. Which make me smile...and the bits that got snipped were just little tiny locks, but long enough to tuck in a tiny wax paper envelope for his baby book. So, there you have it. He's a real boy!

The Handsome 8th Month

Nib, our little big-man is 8 months old! 

 He continues to be sunny and easy-going although he's starting to "mature" into a more opinionated fellow: he'll go to most anyone's arms for a grinning visit but he requires a strong right shoulder pin these days to keep him on the changing table while you reach for a wipe.

  We are starting to think about how we'll celebrate his birthday (Oh wow does it sound good to have May be looming!!!!) and are happy to see him blooming and opening and becoming his own, shining, little person.

He says "Dada!" clearly and proudly, cruising on furniture incessantly, eats most anything besides cow's milk, honey and citrus and is the triumphant owner of seven teeth. He dances, he sword-fights (thank you older brothers) and his favorite food is ice-cream. Ladies, he'll be available in about 18 years for bids...until then, swoon chicas, swoon. This one's a winner.

Babyproofing NOW!

Our little baby, who is the only still being in this picture, is solidly cruising and crawling and about to join his brothers on hyper speed. Time to babyproof. I realize that some incredibly organized mothers keep baby proofing touches current through the life of their family (i.e. whenever there are babies or might be babies) but I am just not that cautious.

I can't stand all the plastic covers and little latches and fumbly hindrances, the high-up, put-away, sanitized look of it all. I think it really is just ugly and I try to get away with as little of the whole business as I can and rely instead on a few key aids (I will for instance baby latch the cupboard under the sink since he sits at my feet there while I do dishes and prep dinner) but plants will stay down where they always are and all breakable items will not be whisked away into Deep Space. I tend to go for the hard-headed and slow method of teaching my children painstakingly "Be gentle to the plant. No pulling." and continuing to enjoy my greenery and my pretty little touches, without the plastic safety garnishes. The toilet stays unlatched, doorknobs don't get little plastic cages and there aren't little caps on the corners of all our end tables. I care too much about beauty, and feel too strongly about spending my time on useful instruction rather than working to create a carefully constructed world of babyproofed sanity. Will I pay for it sometimes by screaming at A when he comes home "How do I keep the house together????" Oh yes. Yes I will but, maybe I'm just too much of a glutton for punishment to have that make me change my ways.

That said...that Christmas tree has got to go pronto. Am off to whiz all those breakable ornaments into boxes...immediately.

Three Months and Counting!!

Our little Nib is three whole months old now. He's working hard at rolling over anytime he finds himself on a flat surface, grabbing my skirt if I sweep past within fingertip range, and putting everything (including his whole fist) in his mouth non-stop. He's a super social little guy, loves people and smiles easily. We've finally started getting those first few giggles from him which are unspeakably delightful although I  feel like I'm still waiting for a full out belly laugh chortle session. He's still extremely mellow...in bed at night and around the house during the day he's as non-invasive as I can imagine a baby being. I'm still not sure exactly where he came from.

In addition to Nib's third monthiversary, we also had one last trip to the farm today with our visiting cousins. Penny and the girls have been really, really fun to have as house guests and I have to say that even though there are a million things I wish we could have had time for, having Penny here when I moved was an amazing sanity saver. I owe her about a million times over now for the late night parenting talks, photo sessions, babysitting swaps, endless box unpacking, manic meal making and a host of other memorable lifesavers. I have no idea how I would have pulled off the move without her. I feel like a total wimp for being that weak on my own but, as I mentioned recently....it takes a village, right?

Is there anything cuter than very small people in the lush grass next a New England stone wall? 

I'm not sure. 

Birds and Babies

Nib has recently become ridiculously smiley and talkative. Its sooo fun! I forget how completely enchanting this stage is. I get really enthralled with making him grin and coo and find it hard to keep my mind on much or work very hard on anything useful. (not that I was particularly driven before...heh) He's right on the verge of those heartbreaking, deep belly laughs and the anticipation is killing me. Every time his wee eyes crinkle into a a face splitting grin and he gurgles I wonder if this will be it. Maddening, addictive sweetness.

The roadside wildflowers are giving way to Queen Anne's Lace....last of the scattered weed blossoms and today as a result I caught a most breathtaking sight. There was an enormous flock of male goldfinches feasting on seeding chickory. I've never seen so many spontaneously gathered, brightly colored birds all in one spot before, there must have been 30 of them or so. So pretty! I wish I had a better shot but I'm afraid I scared them all off before I got any really lovely shots. See if you can squint and pick out the five finches in the photo.

And at last I have a water baby! I swear Nib is a baby of legend.  He smiles and coos, puts himself to sleep, wakes once or twice a night, only really fusses when he needs changing, food or a rest and is inordinately happy to be passed around to any obliging friend who wants to hold him for a spell....and he loves his bath! This little snap is a glimpse of him in his first real immersion bath in the big tub. I've only sponge bathed him before this. He loved the water and just placidly kicked and "floated" (with my hands underneath of course) and bath time ended up taking much more time than I allowed as it was so very fun to let him wiggle and splash and watch him grinning in the drink. What a change from Dee's painfully tearful baths which just finally became less wrought with blood curdling screams this year! *sigh*