Our early Christmas present

He's here! Benjamin Patrick was born on December 23rd at 2:37 pm, 10 days before his due date. There were some pregnancy complications, and when I went to the hospital for some tests, my doctor said I needed a c-section that day. Luckily, Katie was visiting for Christmas & Mike already had our bags & infant seat in the car. Instead of a three-day stay, the hospital discharged us on Christmas day. But enough talk, everyone wants pictures...

Nana, Grandpa, Aunt Kate & Uncle Brian are here for the weekend, so Benjamin is getting lots of attention. I'm sure there will be many pictures soon!

Three weeks, but who's counting...

We had a great baby shower on Saturday. It was a group effort: Kara was recovering from arm surgery, our friend Sarah was trying to recover from a cold, & our friend Kate has a 15-month-old, but they still did an awesome job. We are very fortunate to have such friends. People were very generous, plus I got a bunch of gift cards that I can't wait to use. Now I'm washing everything & organizing the nursery.

Hey Rachel, thanks for the card & the post on my birthday! It was kind of a non-birthday because there was so much other stuff going on, so it was nice to hear from you. We ended up going out to dinner on Sunday. I had asked Mike to get me a bathrobe for my gift, & he chose the EXACT robe I had been looking at - same brand, same style, same store. Kinda creepy. I asked him if he was having me followed.


This picture was taken yesterday. Lately I have been hearing the phrase "you're ready to pop" a lot. That's what it feels like. I had another doctor appointment today, & I had to have a quick ultrasound to make sure the baby isn't breech (he's not). Apparently our little guy isn't so little - the doctor said he has a "rather large head." I'm gonna blame Mike for this one. When I asked if this would increase my chances of a c-section, he said said there's no way of knowing yet, but babies' heads are soft enough to squeeze through most of the time. Great. A friend at the shower offered to give me a ride on his motorcycle to get labor started, but that was met with a big "NO" from daddy-to-be. I don't get to have any fun anymore...

We finally put up a Christmas tree yesterday. I still have to decorate it. Strangely enough, Calvin is more interested in trying to eat the fake pine decorations than the real pine needles. I don't really feel like decorating for the holidays because it's REALLY warm (at least eighty degrees). I haven't started playing any of our Christmas CDs because Mike has been rehearsing a lot for the Christmas concert the band is having on Thursday, & I think he's pretty sick of Christmas carols right now.

Off to do more laundry! Mom, I promise the nursery will be ready by the time you arrive. But you can clean & reorganize anyway.

Four weeks & counting

Yesterday we went to my 36-week appointment. Apparently that's when the fun starts - swabs, checking my cervix, etc. Modesty is out the window. When the doctor measured my uterus, instead of telling me the length in centimeters, she asked how much I weighed when I was born. Uh oh. When I said I was over 8 pounds, she said our baby would be, too. Mike was a big baby too (when he was born, not at the appointment) so I can blame it on him.

We went to another childbirth class last night & had the pleasure of watching a video on c-sections. I think Mike was more freaked out by the discussion on cord prolapse than the video. Sorry, Mom, he didn't turn green. Next week we get a tour of the women's center where I will deliver. The instructor did say that labor, delivery & recovery happen in one room, postpartum in another. I still need to think about packing. It hasn't hit me how close I am to possibly delivering. Maybe after the shower on Saturday it will seem more real.

I have been bugging Mike to get his own screen name so he can do his own posts. He has had a bunch of baseball news lately that is kind of lost on me. He talks to me, I stare back at him pretending to understand what he's talking about. Something about the new Yankees owner being an idiot, some guy named Santana, it's hard for me to keep track. Baseball season is never over in our house.

Hey Rachel & Beth, that would be great if you came to visit this winter! I think the next time Mike & I will be able to get up to Pennsylvania will probably be around July. I know that's not soon enough for "Nana" but it will have to do. We finally found a way to get people to visit us in Georgia!

Yeah, I know, no recent pictures (of my profile, at least). Maybe next time.