a new nephew and the little bean

Its been an eventful 30 days to say the least. I managed to cram in two busy, full weeks of Residency over break, spent five glorious days in Minnesota meeting my new nephew, had my big gender ultrasound, squeezed in another few full days of clinical, threw an end-of-the-year BBQ, and spent 32 hours traveling across the globe to Hong Kong, where I now sit looking out a floor-to-ceiling window over an expansive harbor from 29 floors up. There is lots to share, and lots to be thankful for.

It was Tuesday, April 30th at 5:33am when my mom texted me that my sister was in labor for reals. I happened to be awake (far more so after reading the text), she called, and I cancelled my plans to spend the day in clinic. I spent the day in the sun gardening, praying, packing, celebrating, waiting by my phone for any news. It was finally happening. It felt like the best day ever. I had a flight booked for the following morning, and it couldn’t come soon enough.

At 3:40pm, the news finally came, via text. “He’s Here! Wyatt.”

He was 8 pounds, 14 ounces. I couldn’t wait to meet him. Could not wait.

It was an awesome trip. Five days wasn’t near long enough. I was amazed at how much love I felt for this little guy, and for how content I felt to sit around and just watch him for hours. My mom and I spent the first couple nights out of the hospital at the Mobergs, hanging out with Wyatt in hopes that we could help Matt and Fain get a little more sleep than they might be able to on their own. I stayed up till 3:30am with my little nephew the first night. It was so. much. fun. I mean LOOK AT THIS LITTLE MAN.

I felt so lucky to be there during his first days, and it was such a blessing that my sister and her husband were so gracious to let me be essentially living in their house for their very first days as a new family (Matt, totally wins the brother-in-law-of-the-year award). Watching them become parents was another blessing and privilege in itself. My sister was incredibly calm, patient, relaxed, even after long stretches with no sleep while facing all kinds of challenges that come with being a new mom. Matt was a model husband and new dad. He was incredibly supportive of Fain, incredibly involved and eager to take whatever duties he could from my sister, even though he was also sleep deprived (not to mention also dealing with the constant presence of his in-laws 🙂 ).

They’re already awesome parents. Watching them go through the first days of having little Wyatt made me feel a new excitement for what’s ahead for the Jer and I.

Jer drove up to Minnesota on Friday to be a part of the fun and we headed back to Chicago Sunday. Monday afternoon THIS was happening:

I left clinical early to meet Jeremy downtown. I was surprisingly nervous driving over. Would this baby have all the right organs? A normal heart? A beating heart? I prayed for peace, which I got the moment I walked into the door of the ultrasound building. Jeremy met me in the office and before long we were sitting in an exam room, waiting for our ultrasound tech. As she came in and started, Justin Timberlake’s Mirrors was playing. Perf.

People had asked me whether I was hoping for a girl or a boy, and my truthful answer was that it sort of depended on the day. I didn’t have a very strong preference either way. On the one hand, I sort of thought a girl would be nice to balance out all the boys being had by my sister and sisters-in-law. And of course buying little girl stuff and painting little girl fingernails would be a blast. But I also felt a little nervous about a girl. Probably because of the number of times I’ve heard mothers of girls and boys say things like, “boys are so easy. Girls are so much harder.”

I had my reasons for wanting a boy as well. Having a boy seemed a little less overwhelming, but growing up with a sister (and no brothers) and growing up with other families of all girls, made a boy feel like unfamiliar territory. On the one hand, I couldn’t help but think about how little boys seem to throw things a lot more than little girls. But also the prospect of raising a boy sounded like an exciting adventure to me, and I always longed to have a boy in our family growing up. Boys seemed like a lot of fun.

When the ultrasound tech told us we were having a boy, I couldn’t believe it. Jeremy couldn’t believe it. My heart welled up with excitement. A BOY. OH. EM. GEE. WHAT in the WORLD. Wyatt would have a little boy cousin only five months younger than him. I was going to be the mother of a BOY. IN.SANE. I was so pumped. SO. PUMPED.

I still can’t believe it sometimes. What a blessing it is to know. And what a blessing to hear that my little boy is looking perfectly healthy. I remember the doctor telling me “the echocardiogram of his heart was completely normal and there’s no problems with any valves.” Music to my ears. Thank you, Jesus. Can’t WAIT to meet this little dude come September.

SO much more to share, but it’s time to go on another adventure in Hong Kong. I’ll post pictures soon, promise!!!