The Rescue Brigade

Ruben's birthday snuck up on us.  It was the beginning of October and then all of a sudden, Ruben's one! However, I truly hope that Ruben doesn't have a birthday like this ever again. Earlier this week Karl and I were surprised by two nights in a row of sleeping through the night. Therefore I was fairly surprised on Wednesday night that he was awake nearly all night. Seriously, all night. I joked that he was reenacting last year's night of the 26th where I spent a lot of the night with contractions keeping me up. On the 27th, I think Ruben spent about 1 hour total not in my arms or in the sling or wrap or crying in bed. He was miserable. He drooled constantly and couldn't even sleep.  We tried teething tablets, tylenol, but all that seemed to work was snuggling. Correct that, I had to be standing and bobbing with him upright in my arms wrapped in a blanket. If I tried to sit down when he fell asleep he'd wake up.
When Karl got home from church for dinner it was evident that I was at my wit's end so he took the kids on a walk while I finished dinner. On the walk, he called a few friends to see if anyone was free to come help me out because he had to preach at church that night and didn't want to leave me alone again with such whiny kids. The Rescue Brigade (Annette and Rebecca Casad) arrived shortly after Karl left for church.  I don't often ask for help in these kind of situations, because I'm perfectly capable of surviving through the whining. However, the sense of relief that flooded my body and mind when Annette and Rebecca took the kids to the basement to play was astounding.  I would have survived the night, but last night I was able to thrive. I had been treading water all day barely keeping my head above the water but with two free arms I was able to tackle a few house projects and take back the night. Rebecca played with June - I think they completed every single puzzle we own. June was in heaven with such intense one on one attention after a day of trying to weasel her way between Ruben and me. Ruben played and eventually fell asleep with Annette leaving an enormous drool blotch on her shoulder. What a blessing to have such loving and willing servants serving with us at Trinity.
Throughout the chaos we didn't even open Ruben's presents on his birthday. We'll pretend he's not one year old yet and celebrate on Saturday with the family.  Let's pray his mouth doesn't deliver any other teeth on Saturday.