Welcome John (Joao) Fontoura Dickson. Even if you arrived a month early. You're still welcome.
Leonor and Joe saw the doctor last Friday, and she thought the baby was still set for a late June arrival. But, Sunday, Leonor started having contractions, and when they were three minutes apart, they scrambled for the hospital. When the baby's heartbeat slowed down, the doctor opted for a caesarian procedure, and 15 minutes after the epidural, baby John appeared.
He's small, 2.2 kilograms (4.6 lbs) and he even lost a little weight in the first couple of days, which I'm told is normal. After a small gain in weight, Leonor and baby John came home, on Friday. Thomas greeted them with a poster and a kiss and a good start to the new normal in their house. He was so happy to see his mother!
I've said it before, but the world stops on news like this, even when things look so bleak outside, on the news. We saw one cute picture of Joe and the baby that showed Joe reading to the baby until the baby fell asleep. Joe was sleeping and the baby's eyes were open. Must be a Dickson thing.
The whole experience brought back memories for Janet who remembered bringing Sean home to his toddler sister after a caesarian. In pain, tired (exhausted) and just pushing through those first few hard weeks. Her advice – get as much help as you can, Leonor. Unfortunately, they had hoped that Leonor's mother would be able to come, but corona got in the way.
Other news – Annie's looking into moving back east, Great Barrington to be precise. She and her partner, Sankar, have been told they're going to be working from home for a while, so why stay in the big city? They're looking at furnished apartments around here, and we went to check out a nice one they found in Great Barrington. Keeping our fingers crossed. Maybe the first of July.
Annie's not the only one considering moving. Timmy is thinking of a late fall move back to the west coast, Washington state, perhaps.
Simon's growing, and seems to have turned a little bit of a sleep corner. And a smily corner. Margaret and Andrew are also considering coming up here in June for a short time. C'mon up!
There's a photo here of Andrew with a corona beard. They are happy to have Daniel back home for a short while, to help out while Lur is taking care of her parents. We know how all consuming that period is, with no easy answers.
Here's a stock tip – Mike's Lemonade. Whenever I talk to David, he seems to be refreshing himself after hours in the garden with a cold Mike's. Around here, I see more Hard Iced Tea cans on the side of the road than the lemonade version, along with lottery scratch cards and donut cups.
On the nature front, my annual battle with the groundhogs has started. So far, no damage to the garden, but I am filling up holes with ammonia and moth balls as soon as I see a new one. We borrowed a large have-a-heart trap from friends, and I looked outside last week and saw that it had sprung. With a brown thing inside. When I went closer, I noticed it had a white underbelly. And a long snout. An opossum. I later told Mary that it looked dead, and, without any ridicule in her voice, she reminded me that's what they're known for. After a Homer Simpson slam to the head, I read up and saw these creatures were by and large harmless. So I just opened the door and let him out. He continued to play dead. A little while later, I went out and he was gone. Or was it a she?
Florida is gradually opening up, but John and Marilyn are being very cautious. Marilyn hurt her back and is slowly recovering. A few of us know what that's like. Sorry.
Mary had a doctor's appointment in Boston for a stress test for her heart valve situation. The doctor told her he's looking at replacement surgery, sometime in the next 4-6 weeks. We go back on Monday.
One thing we found ourselves saying a few times this week – wish we could be there. To help out, to just see you guys.
Love from up here. And, welcome again, John (Joao).
John Dickson
No comments:
Post a Comment