Day eight –

I have practically been awake since 1:00 a.m. Our son wrestled through the night, needing several checks and diaper changes. At 5:00 a.m. I heard a sound coming from the baby room that can only be compared to a garbage disposal waiting for refuse to consume – lil’ man was hungry. Despite a valiant half-hour of pacifying and singing, he refused to sleep. I grabbed a milk bottle and fed him where he lay. He then went back to sleep. The 6:00 a.m. feeding came quickly and I am already trying to decide how to get in a nap for the day.

After mom performed the 6:00 a.m. feeding, I lay back down in the bed. It was my plan to get the needed nap in, before the 9:00 a.m. feeding came due. As I tossed and turned, it looked like sleep was not going to happen right now. Then, a phone call came in. I missed it but got up to see what it was about. It was my wife; her grandfather had passed away. She was distraught and confused. I instructed her to call her boss and return home for the day, to collect her thoughts and to work through the emotions. She returned home. I made a few calls to her family members and expressed our sympathy – he will be missed. I called Oma Mamu and asked if she would like to come over for breakfast and to have someone to be with at this time. She also came to the house. Mother and daughter, reunited this day under sad circumstance, talked fondly of him as I made a light breakfast. The early feedings were handled by myself; the later ones by mom. I thought it would help her to take her mind off of things and it did help to calm her nerves. Oma Mamu had been planning on returning (already) this weekend to her summer home, which is in the same town as the extended family. She decided to leave a few days early to be with the family. Mom also began making plans to fly up for the weekend and pay her respects. This will leave my by myself, with lil’ man, for a few days…a daunting task, but a necessary one for our family. We all went out for a goodbye dinner and our lil’ man sat contented in his car seat, through the entire meal. It was a sad day and lil’ man seemed to know that this would not a day to give any grief to us; today we especially appreciated it.