It's Here...For Real

Baby Jack Michael arrived Thursday night, January 22 at 6:49 p.m. He is 6 lbs. 14 oz., 19 inches long and oh, so sweet. He is a healthy, happy baby who hasn't cried much so far. He has his dad's personality: calm and mellow. He sleeps and eats, but mostly sleeps, which is what he is doing right now. We get to take him home from the hospital tonight, then the real fun begins. Here are some pics of our time here.

It's Here...

My due date is here... and I'm still pregnant.

Linus

Our niece, Darci (4 years old) is very excited about the impending birth of her cousin. During the month of October, after watching the Charlie Brown Halloween movie she started asking us, "Won't you call your baby's name Linus?" Since then, every time the baby comes up, she tells us that we should name him Linus. The other day, she told me, "Yeah, Jack is a cute name, but Linus is better." Her mom sent me a text when I was at work last week that said Darci had been crying. When she asked her what was wrong, she replied, "Mike and Nat won't name their baby Linus." We are so sorry to disappoint.

Pregnancy Update

Several people have asked questions about my baby in the comments lately. I try not to post too much about my pregnancy because I don't want to complain, but you asked... Here is what's going on:
I am due in 9 days (January 21st). I am having a baby boy and we do not know what we are going to name him for sure, although we are leaning heavily toward Jack. If anyone has any suggestions on names, we are looking and listening. I am fat and uncomfortable and hope that he comes soon just so I can breathe again. My hands and feet are swollen and I get frequent headaches. I can only sleep a few hours at a time (better get used to it) even with the assistance of a sleep aid. My clothing no longer fits... even the "fat scrubs" I bought to wear to work are getting tight around my belly. I have painful varicose veins. I also have ligament pain and frequently end up limping instead of walking.
I am really looking forward to the delivery. I am ready for different kinds of pain. I am excited to meet our little guy and know that all this discomfort will be worth it. We have everything we need set up in his nursery and sometimes I go in there and daydream about how sweet he'll be. I especially love to look at his snowsuit. So stay tuned for pics of the new baby...He's coming soon (I hope).

Happy New Year

I've been thinking about whether or not I care to try to improve myself this year with a new year's resolution. I've been wanting to set a goal, but haven't been successful in thinking of a good one that I really care about. During this time of reflection, I realized that I don't spend enough time thinking about and processing my life. There were a few years in college, when I wrote in a journal every day. By doing that, I was able to process my thoughts and feelings and really got to know myself. I would think about my conversations with people, decide whether these interactions were positive or negative, and reflect on how they affected me. I learned how to be honest with what I was feeling...that anger was usually a way of expressing hurt and that fear was the opposite of love. I remember feeling quite emotionally healthy during those years and I think it was related to writing and reflecting (not that I'm a total emotional wreck now... cut me some slack, I'm pregnant). So, in addition to learning how to be a mother, I resolve to write in my journal this year since I'm certainly not giving up sugar.