Almost Two Weeks Later

Our son Charlie will be 13 days old tonight, and 13 days have never lasted so long. I hardly know where to begin! I also have hardly had the time to begin (or the ability to sit comfortably in our computer chair to write a blog entry for that matter) but things are beginning to settle down… at least somewhat.

This is just a brief entry to let you know that all is well; Charles Edward is a calm, happy, and healthy baby who loves to sleep so much that his worry-wart of a mother has at times been concerned about his so often apparent lack of interest in waking up to eat. Of course, he is a big baby with an adorable double chin who was back up to his birth weight within his first week. I really don’t need to worry!

As for Daniel and me, we are just as was to be expected: exhausted. The nights are very long, and no matter how tired I am the first light of day is always very welcome. We have been spending our days changing diapers and onesies, taking hundreds of pictures, and having movie marathons (Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, etc.) while I nurse Charlie on the living room couch.

Daniel doesn’t go back to work until next Tuesday, and for the first several days he did an excellent job of taking care of both me and Charlie. I’m feeling much better now than I did, but I still don’t know how I’m going to manage when Daniel isn’t here all day. I’ll be fine I’m sure, but it’s going to take some getting used to.

I’ll get into more detail as soon as I can—later this week I hope! Thank you all for your prayers; I can’t believe our son is actually here! God has been so good to us.

IT'S A...

BOY!

Charles Edward Hammond (Charlie) was born at 11:23 PM on June 16. 9 pounds, 2 ounces. Congratulations, Sarah and Daniel!

No Baby Yet

Any day now, I hope, since my official due date is tomorrow. The hospital bag is packed (except for some clothing for Daniel and me that is currently dirty—I need to do laundry today). The house is clean (enough). The pantry and freezer are stocked. The nursery is ready, except for hanging some artwork, which will be done today. The cradle beside our bed has been emptied of the clothing I had been tossing into it for the past few weeks. The baby swing has fresh batteries. The grass is cut. The infant seat is installed in the car. The gas tank is full. The GPS has the hospital saved as a favorite destination. Daniel is now finished with work until after the Fourth of July.

Our doctor appointment for next week has been set for Wednesday, at which time they will do a sonogram to check the level of amniotic fluid and schedule an induction (if I haven’t had the baby already, of course). They won’t let me go more than ten days past my due date—I really, really hope this baby doesn’t want to wait that long.

I think that today Daniel and I are going to start taking evening walks, hopefully to help move things along…

So many thoughts have been going through my head in the past few days. My whole life is about to be drastically different, and I worry a little about how my relationship with Daniel is going to change as we really and truly become parents. 24-hours-a-day parents. Would anyone care to share what their experience was with this big change and offer any advice?

Despite all of the experience I have had my whole life with helping to take care of babies and children, I’ve never been “the mom” before. The mom is the one who seems to always be able to make things better and has all the answers. What if I just can’t/don’t? And what if our baby is a psychopath?

Haha, I just had to throw that one out there! No kidding, I really did ask Daniel that question quite seriously the other night after we watched the season premiere of the show “Lie to Me,” because the plot line for the episode was about dealing with a psychopath. Since psychopaths are born, not made, as a woman about to give birth the question did cross my mind. I know, I am a little crazy! Or maybe a lot…

Anyways, that was perhaps a strange ending for this entry. Hopefully Charlie or Samantha will have been introduced to the world before I write another entry; I just can’t wait much longer to hold my child in my arms! Daniel will make an announcement here ASAP afterwards. Please keep us in your prayers!

39 Weeks!

We’re getting so close now. I once heard someone say that God must have made the end of pregnancy so uncomfortable and tiring so that women wouldn’t dread labor and delivery so much by the time it came, just to get it over with. I think that could very well be the case. In fact, I would be wishing to go into labor right now, except for a couple of things.

One is that our house is still not quite ready. The other is that as Daniel and I have been counting down the days until the arrival of our firstborn, my very good friend Kristen has been counting down the days until her wedding. Her countdown is now ending; she is getting married tomorrow, and I really would rather not go into labor right before the event causing me to miss it. Even less do I want to have my water break in the middle of their vows or start having contractions during the reception. I hope you’re paying attention, Charlie or Samantha!

We have another doctor’s appointment this afternoon—as of last Friday the baby’s head had dropped but I wasn’t at all dilated yet. We’ll see if that has changed!

I’m sorry about the brevity of this entry. It’s so hard to come up with something interesting to write about when it seems like my day consists of the following scrambled thoughts: “Baby’s coming soon, I have to get ready,” and “Oh my goodness, I have go to put my feet up and read a book.” The latter is not very productive, in case you were wondering.

Until next week!