O Clement, O Loving, O Sweet...

Meet Clement Zechariah Schafer.  

1st full day at home (July 3rd)

His birthday is July 1st, 2014 and he made is big appearance at 6:28pm.  He weighed in at 8 lbs. 5.5 oz. and measured 21 inches long.   I've decided to break the experience down into a few different blog posts.  And since opening your eyes to the world outside the womb is a pretty big deal, that happens only once in a lifetime, I thought the little booger worthy of an entire post dedicated solely to him.

The Golden Hour

My water broke at 11pm on the 30th and then really broke at 2am on the 1st.  I'll save the rest of the details until another day but mention it to say that the whole laboring experience took longer than I had hoped (this being the 3rd time around). But, it was right.  It was, most definitely, worth it.   I'll not forget the wonder and awe in Pete's voice as the child emerged into the mid wife's hands.  "It's a boy?!?".  Based on previous appointments I could tell Pete was nervous about having the task to make the announcement fearing he may psychologically scar his offspring with an inaccurate label for those precious and chaotic first introductions.

They seem to have hit it off though.

Watching the Tribe.

They got the "W".  Indians-5 ; Dodgers-4.

The next few photos are from within the second hour of his birth.  Basically after the first "golden hour" that Mercy Medical Center allows for cuddle time/ skin-to-skin contact with momma.  I was more than happy to snuggle even after I got a glimpse of his condition when he emerged from under the blankets.  I couldn't help but smirk in recalling Grandma Schafer's nickname for her son/my husband, Pete, when he was younger.  "Little Shit".  One day I suspect Clement will be quite embarrassed that I displayed his meconium schmeared limbs but I didn't get a photo of the artwork he left behind on my somewhat deflated belly.  Oh well, first lesson in life son...shit happens.  We move on.

 

The scale shot.  I thought he was going to flip himself right out!  He managed to wrap his fingers around the top edge and pulled himself on to his side.

 In all seriousness though...God is good! After my water broke I made a pointed effort to paint my fingernails.  Something I haven't done in nearly a year. Eh, I thought, I'll at least have a day or two that I won't have to do the dishes.  I had a quick flash of, Oh, we must be having a girl then since I'm so concerned about my nails. Then,  AHHHHH!  - minor panic- but it-it-it's a bluish color so it could be a boy and that's okay.  Needless to say, despite many claims, I didn't really have a good sense throughout the pregnancy whether I was carrying a boy or a girl.  But, again, it is right.  He is right.  God has a plan.

We returned home from the hospital late on Wednesday night.  Early the next day I pulled out the Magnificat to pray.  In the opening pages was an editorial about "little ones" and their ability to see the invisible and receive the great secrets of heaven.  Then came strawberries as fruits of generosity, vacation meditation, and then... THEN... a familiar and meaningful text.  Somehow missing the connection previously, I realized that the "Salve Regina," the hymn that my father sang at our wedding for the Marian reflection, is in fact the Latin version of the "Hail Holy Queen."  This prayer was the convincing factor in selecting the name Clement.  In the months after graduating from Walsh I had invested more time and effort in praying the rosary, and I remember being especially moved by the line, "o clement, o loving, o sweet Virgin Mary."  I specifically looked up clement to see that it meant "mercy or merciful one." 

Salve, Regina, mater misericordiae;    vita, dulcedo et spes nostra, salve. Ad te clamamus, exsules filii Evae. Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes    in hac lacrimarum valle. Elia ergo, advocata nostra,    illos tuos misericordes oculos    ad nos converte. Et Iesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui,    nobis post hoc exsilium ostende. O clemens, o pia, o dulcis Virgo Maria.

Hail, Holy Queen, mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope. To you do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To you do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, O most gracious advocate, your eyes of mercy toward us, and after this our exile show unto us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

 

Early on Pete liked the name Clement.  I argued with him a bit, particularly with the nickname Clem (rhymes with phlegm).  Urging him to convince me and support his argument with specifics, he told me of two Clements in the early Church: one from Alexandria and a theologian, and the other from Rome and one of the early successors of St. Peter as Bishop of Rome.  After reading accounts of their lives, we were both drawn to Pope St. Clement I of Rome.  He is mentioned in the first Eucharistic prayer (right after Linus and Cletus) indicating that he was the fourth Pope.  He wrote a letter to the Church at Corinth which was circulated and read at many communities of the Mediterranean world (Read the letter here).  When the official canon of the New Testament was being decided in the 4th century, there was some support for its inclusion in Scripture.  Though it is not an inspired text and officially part of Scripture, it has many insights on faith, the early Church, and the development of the importance of the Bishop of Rome (later called "The Pope") that are still relevant today.  Once he told me he also had an "uncle" Clem that he remembers fondly from his childhood I further warmed to the name and even the possibility of our child being called Clem.

Here are some of the many faces of Clement that we have already experienced. 

We had actually demoted Clement as a name choice because we had difficulty finding a middle name to go with it.  Again credit is due to the Magnificat.  Praying one afternoon, I focused more intently on the Canticle of Zechariah.  Hmmm... Zechariah... Clement Zechariah... That could work.

Zechariah is John the Baptist's father, Elizabeth, Mary's cousin's husband.  He was struck mute when he doubted that his wife Elizabeth was pregnant but regained his voice after writing "John" on a tablet when asked what name to give his son even though John was not a family name.  The last two stanzas are my favorite.

CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH  Blessed be the Lord, The God of Israel; He has come to His people and set them free.    He has raised up for us a mighty Savior, Born of the house of His servant David. Through His holy prophets He promised of old That He would save us from our enemies, From the hands of all who hate us. He promised to show mercy to our fathers And to remember His holy Covenant. This was the oath He swore to our father Abraham: To set us free from the hands of our enemies, Free to worship Him without fear, Holy and righteous in His sight All the days of our life. You, My child shall be called The prophet of the Most High, For you will go before the Lord to prepare His way, To give his people knowledge of salvation By the forgiveness of their sins. In the tender compassion of our Lord The dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness And the shadow of death, And to guide our feet into the way of peace. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning,  is now and will be forever. Amen.

Getting ready to leave the hospital

I don't think it was any big secret that I was ready for #3 to make his or her appearance.  I was getting anxious and quite honestly very frustrated as other people posted pictures of their newborn babies.  Yet another exercise in patience and reminder that I'm not in charge.  Late as it was, as I sat with Clement at home praying I felt the gentle pat on my shoulder, "See my child, I knew what I was doing" and practically saw the proverbial winking face appear on the pages of the Magnificat.  Morning prayer for July 1st opened with the hymn Love Divine, All Love Excelling  which was the closing hymn at our wedding.  Similarly, the reading was Genesis 1:27-28, 31a, the 1st reading at our wedding,

God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them.  God blessed them, saying to them:"Be fertile and multiply..."

...God looked at everything he had made, and he found it very good.

I couldn't agree more.

Pa-pa Schafer meets Clement

 

And now a round of applause for the winners.  Pete's brother Matt gets the "big" prize.  Despite the lack of written evidence at Pete's Sundaes on Sunday party for his birthday Matt said, in front of numerous witnesses, "I tried to enter in my guess twice but it didn't let me".  He guessed  Cletus Clement figuring that we'd call him CC for short.  I don't know if he even guessed a birth date or other statistics since I was trying to keep a blank face surprised that Clement was mentioned, particularly this late in the game.

Likewise, Stephen J. Francis, Sr. my grandfather, wins second prize for guessing a boy on July 1.  (Sorry Becky Z.- grandpa wins by a nose because he's 80 years old and shares his birthday with Clement)

And Jen Jab you win for most creativity.  Thanks for having fun playing the game and adding in the reasoning and laughs.  Big brother reactions will be coming soon in a follow-up post.

I'm hearing sirens for a late night snack.  Peace be with you all!