Home Again

We've made it home and have updated the photos now. I talked to my parents this afternoon and we've both--I mean all three of us--had some naps. Emily's family are here now and we are all doing very well. We had a nice Easter late lunch: ham, potatoes, and salad.

Here are some little videos I took at the hospital. Enjoy!

Samuel's Photos

There's a small book of pictures up online here.\http://picasaweb.google.com/jaseitz/SPSeitz

Samuel Paul Seitz

We are proud to announce the birth of Samuel Paul Seitz, born at 7 lb.13 oz. and 20.5 inches long.

The labor was fairly rough, but Emily did great. Emily is hoping to blog some with her free time, and no doubt will have more to say on this.

About the name...

We actually chose "Samuel" some time ago. It was one of several names we were tossing around. At 20 weeks, when we found out he was a he we started trying this out. Emily fairly quickly began calling him Samuel and insisted that this was indeed his name. I like it for a range of reasons:

1. It's part of the Davidic narrative, which included Jonathan and David, and so it seems appropriate to have a Samuel in the family. I also like that Samuel was a good son, much loved, humble and faithful, and a prophet.



2. We are big fans of many Samuels, including: Samuel Clemens, Samuel Adams (a Congregationalist), and at PTS there are Samuel Miller and Samuel Moffet. I've written some about Samuel Mills (who was part of the Haystack group, was the main friend of the Hawiian convert I've studied, and was involved in the Amistad case), and the first Chinese figure I treat in my dissertation was effectionally known as "Saam" (the Mandarin is probably Rong Sande; the Cantonese was Yong Sam-Tak).



3. Samuel is a very popular name. It's in the top 25 this year, and has been in the top 20-40 for the last 15 years. Especially in Christian circles, there may be another Sam or two around, but it shouldn't be an excessive number.



4. It's easily alterable, if the little one wants.

We've had some funny experiences with the name. Mom guessed it on her first try, perhaps because there's a Sam in their congregation. Grandma Seitz also got it with just one hint, and, after being told it was the name of a Biblical book, Emily's dad guessed it.

The middle name was a bit more of a challenge. We liked pairing monosyllabic names with Samuel, and were thinking along the lines of John, Mark, Luke, or Paul. Emily liked the family connection to Paul (which is the name of my uncle and grandfather). I was born on the feast day for Peter and Paul, and I've always liked that the institutionalist Peter was paired with the wandering Paul; in recent history, the date has been important in the ecumenical movement where it has sometimes been used as the occasion for the meeting of Catholic and Orthodox churches. Paul is less popular, but still familiar to many people. My father has always been a big fan of Paul, and Paul wrote the earliest works in the Greek Bible.

Still Our Baby

We're now exactly 7 days from the due date--Emily's 39 weeks!

Prenatal PK

On Sunday in church, during a particularly dramatic element of the Palm Sunday service, Emily reports that the little one gave a jump. Our pastor shouted "blasphemy" and banged some wooden clappers. I remember that during Christmas he kicked during some of the organ music. Interestingly, church is one of the few occasions that produces the sort of bass or percussion that even a baby can appreciate.

Tomorrow's our next (last?) doctor's appointment. We're starting to think this would be a good time for him to come. We're about as ready as we will be. He won't exactly have a nursery, or even a play corner, as he's being born into a double-student single room apartment. It's hard to contain the papers and books and documents and computer cords. But we're at an in between time now. I'm off from my university class this week and part of the way through midterm grading. Emily's family arrives Saturday. (I think this will work well, but I'm not sure how it will be for all of us to be in the hospital together.)

Exciting times! It's hard for me to have any sort of mental cohesion lately. I'm sure it will be worse once he comes. I guess I am not great at waiting...

Waiting...

During our doctor's visit on Tuesday, we heard that there are no new developments on the baby front. No efacement or dilation yet. Still lots of movement and a strong heartbeat.

Our big question is when he will come. He was looking like an Easter baby, but may end up being an April Fools baby...

Baby Updates

Some highlights of the last month or so:

• Three showers (our church, our building, and Em's library)


• Our last baby class


• Several DVDs on childbirth


• Baby shopping (we have enough, but have resisted sucombing to Baby Shopping Euphoria)


• Emily's had the starts of Braxton-Hicks contractions in the last week.


• I played a game of inside/outside footsy with the baby (one of the highlights so far)


• Some more humane interactions with our doctors, who are growing on us


• Emily's last day of work (today) at the library

That's the big deal. I am feeling some nesting instinct. Not nesting = cleaning, so much as a Desire For Permanancy. The semi-employed junior academic thing is going well, but I'm also wishing for more. I preached on this last week, which was cathartic.

And here are some pictures from a recent shower. Life is exciting!