So Long 2011! Hello 2012!

Another year gone! Where has the time gone?

It occured to both Sara and I tonight that the last few New Years we've been happy to see the old year pass. I reviewed my blog and noticed my posts seemed to echo that sentiment. This year was different.

It wasn't a perfect year, by any means, but it was an eventful one! The pregnancy and birth of our daughter has made this year one that we will always remember. It also has had the strange effect of making me feel... what's the word?... Hopeful! I feel hopeful. Optimistic! I'm actually looking forward to the coming year and seeing what amazing things will happen with this wonderful little girl we are living with. She has changed our lives so much in the short time we've had her and I can't even begin to imagine the changes that still lie ahead.

Best Xmas Gift Ever!

It wasn't the most exciting of holidays but the addition of Evie Sue to our family really made this year special! I cannot imagine what today would have been like, or even what this last week would have been like without her in our lives. (This is apparently the post where I make completely obvious observations!) Words fail me to express my love for this wonderful little lady, or her mother.

Update!

So Much Has Happened Lately!

It has been one wild ride this last week and according to everyone I've talked to it is just the beginning. This is my 1st post as a parent! (Can you believe it?) The baby came 6 days late but when she decided to show up she made a dramatic entrance.

Our official due date was December 10th but, as you can see from the last post, we didn't deliver on time. We were scheduled to induce last Friday the 16th but when I arrived home Thursday night, Sara was already in labor! We putzed around until 4 in the morning when the doctors said it might be time to come in, and then we had to triage and see if we were indeed in labor or not! We were so they let us stay!
Around 11:30 AM we were still in labor but not a lot of progress had been made - I mean besides the epidural, and the 7 CMs dilation but the labor hadn't been moving along as they'd hoped. The baby's heart rate would drop whenever the doctors tried to speed things up so they decided that a cesaerean section was needed! Wham! That was it! 'Here's a jumpsuit and a mask! Follow us into this tiny little room where we will numb up your wife, and 'gently' retrieve the baby from the womb.' (Actually I was surprised by all of the shaking, tugging, not very gentle yanking that seemed to be happening on the other side of the curtain.)
Through it all Sara was a warrior. Even though she was terrified she held it together. Eventually there was a pause, a cry and then the anesthesiologist said, "I hope you were expecting a girl." I sprang to my feet peeked over the curtain and all I saw was this little gore covered goblin being held up before my eyes. There are no words to express all of the millions of thoughts that rushed through my mind in that instant although I do remember thinking, 'Wow! There Really was someone inside there all this time!'
Anyway, Evie Sue was brought into the world at 11:42 AM on December 16th 2011! She is wonderful! From the start she appeared to be alert, her beautiful eyes open and looking all around! I still have a hard time believing that I am a father to this amazing little person! It boggles my mind.
Our stay in the hospital was a little longer than we had anticipated, due to the surgery, but we brought our little girl home on Monday. The 1st couple days have been an adjustment, obviously, but thankfully with my mother-in-law's help we have been figuring everything out... for the most part. Sara's recovery is slower than she would like but everyday she seems to get stronger, and more accustomed to her role as 'Tap Wench'. Thankfully Dad took Tootsie for a couple days so we didn't have to deal with a neurotic dog on top of everything else.
Xmas is a few days away and we haven't really shopped at all. We are looking forward to spending time with family and introducing Evie Sue to her cousins, and Tootsie will eventually come home to discover how the hierarchy in the household has changed. The mother-in-law will stay through the holiday and then return to the Midwest to relentlessly torture our extended family with pictures and story of her beautiful new granddaughter! Luckily I have one more week of vacation from school and will cherish every minute I get to spend home with my family.

That is all for now.

+ 5 Days

So, here we are, 5 days overdue! Not a big deal, I'm told by countless others who apparently know so much more about 1st time pregnancy than I do. 5 days seems like an eternity! As long as it feels for me I'm sure it seems even longer to Sara, who has been dealing with everything like a champ. She's been incredibly strong and patient.

Tomorrow morning we will head into the hospital and get this show on the road. Sara will be induced, and hopefully by this time tomorrow we'll be in labor! I'm not sure how things are going to play out. Neither one of us is sure of anything except that this thing is going to happen and we are just going to hold on for dear life and ride the wave.

Nothing Yet!

Damn! Saturday - this one that just past - was our due date! No baby to speak of, not yet anyway. Everyone we speak to seems to have an opinion on when the baby will come. Some said the full moon. Some say, of course, we'll go late the 1st time. Others reassure me that Sara could go any minute.

No one knows anything.

Now I, as a 1st time father, am impatiently waiting - patiently - on this baby! One frustration in a long, long line of frustrations to come I am told.

When asked if she's 'sooo ready' to give birth Sara will just smile, tear up a little and say, "I'm just ready to meet her." I couldn't agree more, but I'm being selfish. Sara's carried this baby around for +9 months and I want a chance to carry something, to hold something, and to be a bigger part of this. We'll see how I do with the messy diapers.

Freaking Out In Tiny Little Increments!

(Sorry if you, my few readers, are getting tired of my posts about our impending parenthood but lately it seems that it's all I can think about.)
Are we ready for the baby?
Am I ready for the delivery room? I hope I don't faint!
Is Sara ready for delivery? I hope I don't faint!
While I'm sure that we'll come through the whole delivery ordeal better for the experience there is the fear of the unknown, you know?
And what about this car seat? Will I install it correctly?
What happens when I cut back on hours at work so I can spend more time at home but then my paycheck suffers?
What if my gag reflex is so bad when it comes to poopy diapers that I vomit on my baby?
What if I'm a bad father?
What if this child hates me?
Millions of tiny little panic attacks every minute; all self-contained and all bouncing around inside of my head.
That's what's going on with me these days.

Can You Believe It?

We have less than 2 weeks until the baby arrives! Today is the 1st of December and according to our doctors we're looking at December 10th for our due date... on or around that day!

It seems like just the other day we were hearing the heartbeat for the 1st time and now, very soon, we will be holding a little person to be named at a later date. Within weeks I will be changing poopy diapers, holding the baby, and waking in the middle of the night to get the crying baby and hand it to my lactating wife! (I won't be much help when the little one is hungry. Not at 1st, anyway.)