Grandbaby On Time

Yesterday (Wednesday, September 21) was short on sleep.  September 21 was Crystal's due date for her baby to be born!

On Tuesday night, Pastor George Nelson was at our house.  He comes every Tuesday after leading the Celebrate Recovery meeting at our church, even though he is the Church Plant Pastor of the Vision Plus Church 2 in Chatsworth (in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles).  We had dinner and caught up on the news of the weeks and had a good time of fellowship.  He spent the night, sleeping on the couch.  We all went to bed around 11:30 pm.

My cell phone was charging in the living room.  Sondra accidentally left her cell phone in her puse in the kitchen.  Our landline phone is located in the dining room, but the landline phone in our bedroom does not work.  Of all nights, the new grandchild decides to be born...chuckle chuckle.  Shawn called our cell phones and house phone around 1:30 am Wednesday morning.  We didn't answer.  It woke George up.  He wasn't sure who to wake up, so he knocked on David's door.  David came down the hall and woke us up.  We jumped up, called Shawn and Crystal to find out that she was in labor and headed to Kaiser Hospital immediately.

By this time, the whole house was up and excited!  (Evan was still at work, as he works the night shift.)  Sondra and I jumped into our clothes and flew out the door to meet Shawn and Crystal (and Bailey) at the ER entrance.  We got there about 2 am, got Bailey and came back to the house to await further word.  With fitful sleep, we got another phone call to come back to the hospital about 7 am.  Bailey was still sleeping soundly, so Sondra went over to Kaiser by herself.

So, the baby was born September 21 at 8:35 am, weighed 6 lbs 13 oz and is 21 inches long.  Crystal and Shawn finalized the name after the baby was born.  They have named the little girl Brynnlee Pearl Marcum. 

Sondra came home quickly, so I could go to a couple of important appointments at the VA Loma Linda Hospital.  I ran over to my hospital, had a coumadin (blood thinning) blood draw completed, then went for an extensive MUGA test (don't know exactly what the initials stand for).  The doctors could not get a good reading several months ago with a regular sonogram of my heart, so they ordered this new test.  This test is to check on the percentage of heart funchion since my triple bypass surgery two years ago.

I was injected with a saline solution and had to wait for 15 minutes, then injected with an isotope solution (I was in the Nuclear Medicine department of the hospital) and waited another 20 minutes.  Finally, they took me back to the big scan machine, had me lie on my back for 25 minutes at a time while they did two separate scans.  One was from an oblique side angle, and the other was a straight-down shot of my heart and chest area.  It was uncomfortable to try to lay completely still with my hands above my head for almost an hour!  But, we got it done and I went home as fast as I could

We ate quickly, dressed Bailey and went back again to the hospital for Bailey to see her new little sister for the first time.  Sondra had bought Bailey a shirt to wear that proclaimed "Big Sister" on the front.  She (Bailey) got comments from everyone around her as we walked, rode the elevator and went to get food.  Bailey was talkative to all who would listen!

Evan was home from work at 6 am, had a few hours sleep and woke up to go with us.  He wanted to see his new niece as well.  Sondra and I stayed at the hospital until almost 8 pm.  I was extremely tired, happy and ready for sleep.

We were all excited and joyful about the birth.  The baby had a slight problem with a respiratory issue right after birth, but it was taken care of and the baby is fine.  The baby waited for us to return from our trip to England, so that was perfect too.  Crystal was anxious for the baby to come, as she was getting uncomfortable after the full nine months so she was happy the baby decided to arrive on time!  Shawn took the last several days off from work and was a very proud dad when little Brynlee came into the world.  It was a wonderful day!

                                                    Our newest little grandbaby, Brynnlee.

                                                   Shawn and Crystal with their two children, Bailey and Brynnlee.

                                                   Shawn holding Brynnlee and Bailey.

                                                   "Papa G" with new grand-daughter.

                                                   "Grandma G" with two grandchildren in hand.

                                                  Uncle Evan holding the new one.

                                                 "Big Sister" getting some quality time with mom and little baby sister.

                                                  Bailey is checking out how "tiny" this little baby is.

                                                   Bailey was proud of her shirt (and its meaning)!

Bailey is so cute to watch as she is very tender and loving to the new "little sister."  As she looked and touched Brynnlee, Bailey kept repeating the phrase, "She's so tiny," and then she would smile and giggle.  When Brynlee cried, Bailey looked at me with another big smile and said, "She likes to cry."  It was so precious as Bailey would kiss her little sister at various times.  She is such a proud "big sister!"