Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes!

What a whirlwind birth for our boy, Charles Adam Gold III...On Monday, there was no progress towards birth. On Tuesday, Adam and I were biting our nails waiting on a free slot for a scheduled c-section. On Wednesday morning at 5:30am, we made our way to the hospital in the freezing cold...since Adam promised me, "Either Trai comes out this week or we're going in to get him!" On March 2, 2011 at 11:42am our son saw the light of day, weighing in at 7lbs 6.4 oz. and 20 1/2 inches long.

As many people can probably see by the pictures on my Facebook account, I looked and felt peace, unending joy, and the awesome-ness of a God that we often underestimate. Even as a career woman that never thought seriously about having children as a part of my life until I met my husband (affectionately called "Monster"), this was an unbelievably beneficial compromise and welcome change.

Of course, change comes with growing pains. My normally over-independent self welcomed all of the hands-on help I could get. My regulated life became an uncertain trial-by-fire. My sleep-for-sport weekend lifestyle became sleep-deprived, even on a good baby day. All in all, change can be unsettling -- but when I stop to think about it -- I've been through change before.

So...thanks to a suggestion by my colleague-in-Mommyhood Diana Cherry, I bought an out-of-print copy of "The Working Mother's Guide to Life" by Linda Mason to help me with my family changes. I cannot say that I've read the book yet. But ironically during a late (or depending on your perspective, early morning) feeding, I skimmed through the table of contents and was drawn to chapters like "Chapter 7: Making Life Easier at Work", "Chapter 9: Making the Most of Prime Times: The Morning Routine," and "Ah, Yes, Those Household Chores".

This is just the beginning of the journey, and I'm taking advice from as many resources as I can find. Thanks to everyone, old friends and new, that have come out of the woodwork to help. You've given us advice, sent care packages, showed up to multiple baby showers, and emailed/Facebooked/texted words of encouragement. I guess that's what Linda Mason was talking about in "Chapter 14: Building Communities of Support."