Whew!  Little Gary Logan Arnell was born Friday, October 9, 2009 at 6:31am, weighing in at 6lb 6oz, 18.75in, after waking up his mom with a good sized contraction at 1:30am who then woke up his Dad with an alarmed “Get dressed!” For past births Liesl had labored at home, arriving at the hospital less than two hours before delivery.  Our last child, Elizabeth, was born 45 minutes after arrival. No-can-do with this baby, though.  Liesl had tested positive for strep and so was required to undergo four hours of penicillin IV treatment before giving birth.  She started experiencing early labor symptoms on Tuesday and, not wanting to miss the four hour treatment, in we went.  We were at the hospital all day and the “symptoms” turned out to be illness, rather than pregnancy-related.  So Liesl stayed in bed the next couple of days trying to get better and regain her strength.  Friday morning went really well.  Liesl still hadn’t recovered sufficiently to try a natural birth if it could be avoided and, having done the last four natural, wasn’t looking forward to the delivery (transition especially) which is an especially high mountain for her to climb.  So, in the epidural went and we were both very grateful for it.  Little Gary (or “Gary the Younger” as Georgianna calls him) experienced some respiratory problems so we were glad to have the capable staff on hand.

Liesl and the baby immediately after the birth.

I went home at some point in the day to check on the kids and found the house a beehive of activity.  The kids were racing around doing chores, working to get the house in shape for the baby.  Whenever one of them noticed something that needed to be done, they would bark out “hut-hut!” and all the kids would gather, stand smartly at attention, salute and delegate assignments to get the chore done. 

Pictures taken day two (10/10)

All ready to go home.

When we got home the kids had made this cute poster.

We laid the baby in the sun on the floor because he was somewhat jaundiced.  None of the kids were able to visit him in the hospital, nor have they been able to hold him yet because they’ve all been sick this past week. 

Grandma Arnell arrived Saturday night and has been a wonderful help.  Thank heavens for family!