Saying Hello To Postpartum, Diapers, & Sleepless Nights
We welcome a beautiful baby girl into our family! Adi is very happy because, in her words, “Now my children will have an aunt.”
My name is Josh. My wife, Janice, and I moved our family 7,000 miles to a tropical island just north of Australia, a country called Papua New Guinea. We work with an organization called Samaritan Aviation supporting free medivac flights to the remote villages along the Sepik River.
In our previous post, we had traveled back to the U.S. to go on furlough and to have a baby. This is our story, as told from my point of view, the grumpy dad.
Things have been a bit hectic around here lately.
Back in April I filed for a tax extension and that’s due in a few days. Also, my dad has written an autobiography and wants me to draw illustrations depicting a key scene from each chapter. And he’s had the audacity to write 34 chapters. He’s paying me well but only if I finish the work, which I guess is a reasonable expectation. I don’t want to be labeled a “moocher” so I’ve been trying to get it done. I also started going to the hangar at MMS Aviation and I’ve been on best behavior, trying to keep the salty, grumpy mechanic personality that was developed in Papua New Guinea from making an appearance here. It still sneaks out when I’m not paying attention and makes smart comments, especially when people complain about the heat on a 85 degree day. Ha! They don't know what it’s like to be hot.
Then Janice went and had a baby, so things really got out of hand.
Oh yea. We had a baby!
We had a girl. We named here Juliet Clara Snader, bracing ourselves for the all the “Romeo” jokes we’re destined to hear. She was born on August 3 at 3:57pm. She weighed 7 lbs, 14 ounces and was 21” long. She came two hours after we got the hospital. It was the fastest baby Janice ever pushed out. She was done before the anesthesiologist even made it to the room. She has all her toes and arms and everything seems to be in working order. Janice is doing well, although she’s in postpartum mode which means there are two people crying around the house, which is a bit stressful, especially when it’s all happening at 2 am. But there’s also a lot of happiness. I don’t want to make it sound like I’m complaining. We’re happy!
Adi is very happy because, in her words, “Now my children will have an aunt.” Elliot is fascinated by Juliet and insists on sniffing her every other hour to see if she needs a diaper change, which is strange but it’s fine - unless we’re in church, then it’s kind of embarrassing. Oliver is pleased as well, and likes poking Juliet in the nose to see her nose crinkle up. He keeps saying, “I just can’t believe it. My baby sister is finally here.”
Thank you all for praying for us as we continue to serve God in the in-between.