The Alien Baby

Have I mentioned what a fantastic baby Canon was, and is? Crying always means "I'm hungry" or "I'm sleepy" . . . until The Alien Baby takes over his body. I wasn't prepared for it, and I didn't see it coming the first time it found us.

We had taken Canon to church a couple of times prior to The Alien Baby's initial arrival. He typically slept through the service, but if he were to awaken, he would simply look around without making a sound. He was always very predictable - eat, play, sleep, repeat. This cycle was broken on Saturday, April 18, 2009, as we sat in a church pew awaiting the marriage vows of our friends, Matt and Rebecca.

As usual, we arrived at the church just before the service began. There was soft music playing and people being seated. It was quiet but not completely silent. The mothers were eventually escorted to their seats, followed closely by the bridal party. If you've ever been to a wedding, you know that there is a very brief period of time between the bridesmaids and the bride when the music stops playing and the bride is preparing to make her big entrance. It is completely silent for maybe three seconds before the trumpets roll to announce the beginning of this sacred ceremony. It was during this three second lull that The Alien Baby first struck our family.

As I twisted in my seat to get a clear view of the main doors as they opened to reveal the beautiful bride, Canon let out a scream so shrill that my heart stopped beating. There was no warning. No soft fussing to let me know he was a bit uncomfortable. No muffled "wah" to prepare me. There was only crying - loud, forceful, look-at-me crying. As I grabbed the diaper bag and headed out the side door, I caught a glimpse of Rebecca's first step down the aisle. I was mortified, but Rebecca swears she never heard a sound. The Alien Baby stayed in my sweet and innocent son until the wedding ended, but left just in time for the reception, during which there would have been enough noise to drown out its terrible cries.

The Alien Baby appeared again the very next day when we attended church and took Canon with us as usual. We attend a contemporary service that is lead by a loud and energetic praise band. The band was playing the opening songs when we arrived, and Canon slept through the next several minutes of bass, electric guitars, and drums. When the music stopped, however, and the preacher took the stage, The Alien Baby once again slithered into my son to cause yet another scene. Apparently, it strikes most often in moments of complete silence when it is difficult to smother the heart-wrenching sounds.

Since that weekend, The Alien Baby has returned on only a few occasions, usually in the car on a long roadtrip when it is impossible to hold and console Canon. Or on a weekend night when all of our friends have come over to relax. Barry and I are getting better at dealing with this Alien Baby. It usually goes away with a quick toss over the shoulder and some pats on the back. A bottle has also proven to get rid of it. It must not like the formula we use!

In case you don't believe me, here are some pictures of when The Alien Baby took over.

Easter

Easter was our first family holiday. We decided to stay in Dothan for the weekend and go to our home church. The church had been building a new sanctuary for several months, and this Easter Sunday was our first service in the new building. Barry and a couple of our friends had staked the place out in the days before and chosen the pew that would be "ours." To my dismay, it was on the front row of the balcony, meaning we stood behind a banister barely 3 feet high, dozens of feet above the floor below. Needless to say, I held Canon tightly during that service.

Because we were in such a rush to get to church on time that morning, I was determined to get a family picture once we returned home. Don't let the nice house and Pleasantville neighborhood fool you. When necessary, Barry and I can rig up a good, old-fashioned redneck tripod with the best of them. Our particular tripod consisted of an ironing board and a stack of books set up on the sidewalk outside the house. If only I had a second camera to take a picture of the tripod for those of you who don't believe me. It took us several tries, but we were finally able to capture a half-way decent photograph of the three of us. Canon is crying, and I'm standing like an offensive lineman, but the important thing is, we have a picture of our first Easter as a three-some.

After eating a pot-luck lunch with several of our friends, we went to the hospital to visit Jordan and Alicia Yates who had just given birth to their first daughter, Ava Grace. As Canon had already been dubbed her boyfriend, we wanted to introduce them early. Ava was born April 11, just one day shy of Canon's one month birthday. Only time will tell if these two were meant to be.

The First Days with a Baby

The next two days in the hospital went by quickly. Barry's parents (who from this point forward will be referred to as Nonna and Poppa) and Lydia spent the weekend in Dothan. MyGoo, Doc, Ann Steiner, and Amelia also visited as well as a number of friends and co-workers in Dothan. Because Canon was born so late in the night, we were able to spend an extra night in the hospital. Barry was not crazy about this idea because he had to spend another night on a hard couch. I, on the other hand, was thrilled to have an extra night of nurses. Finally, we came home on Sunday, March 15. Canon wore the same bubble-suit that Barry wore home when he was born. Nonna, Poppa, and Lydia were waiting for us when we arrived to help get us settled in. MyGoo showed up later that day to help me out with my next few days as Mom.
Those days were, surprisingly, easy. Canon was a great baby. He ate on a fairly regular schedule, slept a lot, and was easily entertained when he was awake. He loved sitting in a his vibrating rocking chair and looking around the room. He also loved to be held on my shoulder so that he could observe the world around him. Though his first bath was a little stressful (as you can see), he quickly developed a love for water, and bathtime became easier for everyone. We rocked on the porch, took walks around the neighborhood, and took mini-roadtrips around town. Target was the place we most frequented, usually to develop new pictures of Canon. We also rejoined our friends at our weekly Thursday Night Kyoto Gathering. I was thrilled to be eating the sushi I had given up during pregnancy!

I loved being home with Canon those first weeks of his life. Even Barry couldn't stay away for too long. He would occasionally come home from work in the middle of the day just to hold him. Infancy, however, was not Barry's favorite part of parenthood. At night, he was always eager to hold Canon, then hand him back five minutes later when he realized that laying there was the most Canon could do. We were both surprised to see how quickly Canon grew and developed. Soon he was smiling and playing, and Barry suddenly wanted to hold him for much longer periods of time.

March 12, 2009

On Thursday, March 12, Barry and I went off to work as usual. I had my 38-week appointment that afternoon, and I was excited because I was going to find out if I had progressed at all. I left school a little early to make it to my appointment on time. Dr. Nicholls was on call that day, and they had squeezed me into his schedule so that I could be seen that week. I told Dr. Nicholls that I had felt some contractions but that I wasn't in any pain. After checking me, he asked if I had had any contractions that day, which of course I had, but again, none that were painful. He explained that I was 4 cm. dilated and about 80% effaced. In other words, I was in labor. Dr. Nicholls told me that if I wanted to, I could go home and wait it out, or I could be induced. "Induce" is a scary word to me, but I let him monitor my contractions just to see how much longer he thought I had. As it turns out, he didn't let me go home. My contractions were fairly close together, and I wouldn't make it through the night. He told me to get Barry, then head up to Labor & Delivery to get ready to have a baby!

I walked to Barry's office only to find that he was in a meeting. I stood around talking to JoJo and Dominique (the Administrative Assistants) trying to hide the fact that I was in labor at that very moment. Barry soon came back, and when he asked how I was doing, I told him that we needed to go upstairs to have a baby. His response: "You're lying." (Ironically, this is exactly what he said when I told him I was pregnant.) I explained the events of my doctor's appointment, and while everyone else in the office discussed how amazing this all was, Barry somehow made his way to the wall and watched the excitement from a distance. He couldn't stop grinning. We finally made it upstairs where I got prepped for delivery, and Barry went home to change and get our bags. We had plenty of friends that came to visit. They brought Barry some sushi from our favorite restaurant, Kyoto. This, of course, frustrated me because I was starving but only allowed to eat ice chips. Even after stuffing himself with sushi, Barry saved the leftovers not for me, but for Dr. Nicholls for after the delivery. I understand Dr. Nicholls enjoyed it immensely!

Labor and delivery was about as easy as I could have ever imagined. I felt two or three very painful contractions before getting my epidural. I didn't feel a thing for the next five hours. The only scare was the fact that my blood pressure dropped for awhile, and the baby's heartrate fell for just a few seconds. That was all taken care of in no time, and soon Canon was ready to come out.

Before I begin this next segment, it is important to know here that for the last eight months, Barry had been preparing me for the fact that he would, under no circumstances, be present in the Delivery Room. He thought it unfair that a nurse would have to take care of both me and himself. It is also important to mention here that for the last eight months, Barry had been expressing his excitement that his son would be born during the coveted month of March. A month set aside for the sole purpose of showcasing college basketball's finest. A month filled with so much sadness, frustration, joy, and excitement that it deserves no other name but Madness. Yes, I am referring to March Madness, when college basketball teams across the country compete for that National Championship trophy. Barry lives for this month, and I must say, that I have never been so thankful for it as I was in this particular moment as Dr. Nicholls said that it was time to start pushing. I looked over at Barry (who, since our friends left, had not moved from a recliner in the corner) and asked what he wanted to do. There was a college basketball game playing on the TV at that very moment - Syracuse v. Connecticut. I can't be sure, but if memory serves me well, we were in the last seconds of the game and, if the score wasn't tied, it would be soon. Without taking his eyes off the screen, Barry said that he would stay, but I knew he wasn't moving from that chair.

And so began the process of getting this baby out into the world. Because I was the only patient Dr. Nicholls had that night, he spent the entire time in my room helping me push, monitoring my vitals, and let's be honest . . . watching the basketball game. After every push, I turned to Barry to ask how he was doing, to which he responded, "Just watching the game." I have always believed that there is a God, but he made himself well-known in our room that night as Syracuse and Connecticut went into six overtimes, giving me just enough time to give birth to our first son before Barry realized what was happening. Barry did manage to stand up to get a couple of pictures while the nurse was cleaning Canon. At one point, Barry yelled out "OOOOHHHH!" I asked excitedly what the baby was doing, and he replied, "I can't believe he missed that shot!"

Some women may be frustrated by this behavior. In fact, our nurses had a shift change in the middle of my delivery, and the new nurse was appalled to see Barry watching TV instead of standing at my head and coaching this baby out. I, on the other hand, see this situation as the only way possible to have this particular man present for the birth of his son. Only a basketball game can get Barry to sit still for an extended period of time, and only a basketball game can get him to sit through something as disgusting as a birth. So what some call insensitive and apathetic, I call a miracle. Besides, our friends told me later that he was texting them all the details of what was going on, so I know he was at least a little distracted from the game.

Not long after Canon arrived, our small family was left alone to get acquainted. I asked Barry how he was doing, to which he responded, "I'm exhausted!" and fell asleep!

The details of Canon on his birthday are:

Time of Birth: March 12, 2009 at 11:12 p.m. - the birthday of his Great-Great-Grandmother Canon and just 48 minutes before MyGoo's birthday.

Weight: 7 pounds 9 ounces

Length: 21 inches

Appearance: He was a long, skinny baby - just like his Dad. Though his face was a little swollen, we could tell immediately that he had big eyes. They were a dark grey-blue, and I'm still hoping they don't change too much. His hair was medium-brown but would soon change to a shade of strawberry-blonde. He had long, skinny fingers and toes, which Barry is still hoping won't change into the stubby toes I inherited from Doc. All-in-all, he's perfect!

The Early Months

The Moss Family rung in the New Year amongst friends and sunshine in Destin, FL. We rented a house and carpooled to the beach for three days of relaxation. Among those friends that joined us were Josh and Mary Parrish, Will and Tuan Blank, Lance and Traci Jackson, Matt and Rebecca (soon-to-be) Anderson, Tony Ferrante, Brandon and Leah Arkle, and Jordan and Alicia Yates. For our last meal in 2008, we dined at AJ's then headed back to our absurdly enormous house to continue the celebration. Despite the fact that three of us (including me) were pregnant, we managed to stay up until the ball dropped so that we could officially see 2009 start its course. In this picture are Mary Parrish (four months pregnant with Colton Andrew Parrish), Alicia Yates (five months pregnant with Ava Grace Yates) and myself (six months pregnant with Barry Canon Moss).

Back in Dothan, we got back to business as usual. Barry and I had been building a house since September, so we spent the next several weeks putting the last of the pieces together. As we got closer and closer to March 23 (my due date), we became more and more anxious about its completion. Thanks to our amazing builders, we officially moved in to 115 Redbud (just 1/4 mile from our old house) on Friday, February 27. Barry took the day off to get everything started. For those of you who know Barry, missing work is not something he does often, so we all knew he meant business. My parents (who from this point forward will be known as MyGoo and Doc) came down to help. Of course, our faithful friends also joined the party, and by the end of the day, nearly everything that was once at 800 Orchard was now safely stacked up at 115 Redbud.


We spent the rest of the weekend unpacking boxes. I was 37 weeks pregnant at the time so was not the best help. Several of my girlfriends and my parents unpacked most of the boxes and put things away. Later, when friends would come to hang out, I would jokingly ask Leslie where different things were. As the boys had spent most of their energy moving heavy boxes and furniture the day before, they spent most of the weekend playing horseshoes and Bocci ball in the park across the street from the new house. I did more lifting, bending, and stretching than I probably should have, and by Sunday I was having some painless contractions. Twelve days later . . .

Preface

In an effort to record our growing family's life and times, I have decided to create this blog. A lot has changed in our quaint little existence, though many things have remained constant. Through it all, we are thankful for family, friends, and of course, a God that has blessed our lives from the very beginning.