Going Home

With all of our other kids, we've had them all come to the hospital to help take the new sibling home.  It's a tradition I love.  They all gather round as we dress the baby in their going home outfit, then we all pose for a family picture before we all take the baby home.  I seriously love it.  But, this time Scott worried that having them all come might be too much, so he called home and asked the kids what they would prefer.  He said, "We can check out now and come home or we can wait for you all to come here and we can do it together."  They all said, "Just come home now!"  So we started the process of checking out.  We got one last weigh in of Gabe.  He was down to 7 lbs 14 oz, which was in the "normal" range for weight lost after birth.

Before we could come home, we had to fill out the birth certificate.  Up until that point, we hadn't given Gabe a name.  When I became pregnant with Gabe, I was certain he was a girl.  I thought a girl would make a perfect 4 boys and 4 girls, so I assumed he was a girl.  At my 16 week ultrasound, my dr told me he was 90% sure it was a girl.  So I picked out a name.  Tess.  My baby was going to be Tess.  But then I had my 20 week ultrasound, and we discovered that my little Tess was actually a boy.  It threw me for a loop.  I hadn't even considered that it might be a boy.  I didn't have the slightest clue as to what we would name another boy.  So he was unnamed for months.  I didn't even have a list of names for months.  But finally, toward the end of my pregnancy, I came up with 2 names I would be ok using.  Gabe and Luke.  As the time drew near to have him, I was strongly leaning toward Gabe, but I think Scott preferred Luke.  So, on the third day, before we could take him home, I found myself staring at the birth certificate, asking Scott "What do I write for his name?"  Scott thought for a moment, then quietly nodded and said, "Gabe".  Gabriel Kington Howell.  He was named.

I dressed Gabe in his tiny outfit.  He did not love it.

When Gabe was first born, and the doctor laid him on my chest, I said, "Oh, he's so small!"  Dr Lowder said, "Nope, that's a big baby."  It's true, as far as newborns go he was big, but even at 8lb 10oz he was so tiny. 

Scott and I attempted a selfie of Gabe with us (since we didn't have to whole family there to get pictures with).

We were all ready to leave.  The nurse signed our discharge papers, and told us we could leave anytime.  As I was chatting with the nurse, Scott's phone rang.  It was Savannah, and she was very distraught.  She was trying to clean the house for us to come home to, but nobody was cooperating with her.  The boys wouldn't help and just wanted to play.  And Grandpa had decided to vacuum, but according to Savannah he was doing it completely wrong.  As I chatted with the nurse, Scott sat in the corner trying to talk Savannah into calming down.  I could tell that there was complete chaos at home, and I suddenly didn't want to leave.  The nurse smiled (she had raised 5 kids, so she understood) and said, "I'm just going to go out and shut the door and you can stay in here as long as you need before you have to go home to that".  And I did.  I waited at least another half hour, till Savannah called back to say that things were ok.  I knew that whether I was ready or not, I would have to go home and be a mom to 8 kids eventually.  So we strapped Gabe in his seat and left the hospital.

When we got home, the house was clean and the kids were happy. 

Kate was very happy to have her baby home.

And just like that, our life began with Gabriel in it.

Hospital Newborn Photos

When I was pregnant with Savannah, I had a friend tell me that I had to purchase the newborn photos that the hospital takes.  She said, "They are crazy expensive, but you will be so glad you bought them".  So I did, and I loved them.  They weren't fancy, just a camera looking straight on from above them, but it captured their squishy little newborn faces perfectly.  I bought them with all of my kids down to Nate, and then the hospital quit doing photos.  I was really sad, but by then I had a good digital camera, so I was able to take my own of Owen and of Kate.  But this time with Gabe, they were back to doing newborn photos in the hospital, except they were much better photos and also much more expensive.  I debated whether I should buy them or not, but in the end, I decided that years from now I wouldn't miss the money they had cost, but I might miss not having the photos.  I'm so glad I bought them.

Day 3

Our third day in the hospital was our last day.  Scott came back that morning to be with me and Gabe.  The last test Gabe needed was his hearing test.  He passed!  So the rest of the morning was spent just snuggling with him while we geared ourselves up for going home (the calm before the storm).

Family Visit

The kids were so excited to take pictures of Gabe to school with them the day after he was born.  Scott printed the pictures on our computer after he got home the first night, and sent them all to school with pictures to show off.  And they were also very excited to get to come visit me and Gabe in the hospital after they got home from school. 

I loved seeing the tenderness and love that the kids all had for Gabe.

 

 

The little ones got a little stir crazy, and Scott had to buy them treats out of the vending machine to keep them happy, but my older kids couldn't get enough of Gabe.  My parents took the little kids home, but Nate and Josh (and of course, Sara and Savannah) chose to stay longer and go home with Scott. After they all left, it was back to just me and Gabe.  I had him sleep in the nursery again that night, and they brought him in to me every three hours to feed.