Eleanor went for her first doctor’s visit on Monday and got a clean bill of health. She was ever-so-slightly jaundiced, but not enough to cause a problem. The doctor recommended that we let her hang out by a sunny window, but unfortunately our apartment is rather dark most of the day. So we decided to go out for a walk yesterday since it was quite beautiful despite the cold. Getting her bundled up and settled into the stroller was a challenge to both baby and parent alike. It felt like an old Keystone Kops routine, except with more crying. But once we got outside, I found the experience to be quite enjoyable. Ellie got to take a nice nap in the sun and Mom and Dad were given a break in our routine. Plus we proved to ourselves that we could take the show on the road. Good times.
The doctor also told us that Ellie was the same weight as when she was discharged from the hospital. This is also normal. She most likely lost some weight and then started gaining it back. But it got me thinking. What if she stayed this size forever? That would be fine with me! She is such a cute little sweetheart, and her needs are so simple and pure. We are enjoying her so immensely just the way she is. Of course we’d probably go completely psychotic from the lack of sleep… but hey, you can’t have everything.
Anyway, more Ellie pics have made their way online. Please enjoy. Which reminds me, I’ve changed the organizational scheme for the pictures, so some older links may be broken. I’m sure you’ll survive.
Baby, Family
We’ve spent the past couple of days at home getting to know Eleanor (or Count Squirmula, as she is sometimes referred to). The days have been long, and the nights longer… but sleep deprivation has never been this fun. She’s a big sweetie most of the time.
I’ve gone ahead and added some new pics for your perusal. More cute stuff! Mostly various family members enjoying some quality Ellie-time.
Oh, and I think we’ve figured out who she looks like. Mom brought over some old snapshots. I submit the following pictures for your consideration:
Joel, 1974 |
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Eleanor, 2006 |
And as further proof of life’s continuity:
Joel and his Dad |
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Ellie and her Dad |
Joel and his Aunt |
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Ellie and her Aunt |
Baby, Family, Life
Hooray! The hospital gave both Mommy and Baby a clean bill of health and sent us home. And let me tell you, it feels great to have Eleanor on our own turf. It’s like having home field advantage. She is sleeping in my arm as I type this. And while it’s slow typing with only one hand, I think I’ll be learning to do lots of things one-handed.
For the most part, Ellie is pretty mellow. Yesterday she was rather congested and miserable so she fussed all night. But today is a different story, When she’s not conked out or eating, she is very alert and quietly spends her time staring at whoever is holding her. I have to say, it’s quite magical.
I would like to take a moment to thank everyone who has sent along their good thoughts and well wishes. It means so much to us to know that Eleanor is arriving into a world full of people rooting for her. The messages people have been writing to us are some of the nicest words we’ve ever read. The love we feel is palpable.
And now the moment you’ve all been waiting for! I’ve just put a bunch of pictures online. So go check out the:
CUTE BABY PICS!
What are you waiting for? Go see ’em!
Baby, Family, Life
Today is our official due date. We’re at 40 weeks, which only actually counts as about 38 weeks of gestation. Doctors have a funny way of doing math.
Tara is uncomfortable, tired, and the size of a small planetoid. Not unexpected, seeing as how there’s a person living inside her. But I truly admire the stoicism and grace she continues to exude throughout this entire process. I know I’d be terribly grumpy and out-of-sorts were I in her shoes.
We’re going for a doctor’s appointment at 2:00pm. Hopefully we’ll get some idea when the little potato will be ready to come out of the oven.
Stay tuned!
Baby, Family, Life
My Dad sometimes would tell me about something my Great-Grandfather used to say. “A lazy man runs twice, and a cheap man spends twice”. It basically means to do stuff right the first time. Well, I should have known better.
For the second time in a week, I had a powersupply meltdown in my PC. The first was understandable. It wasn’t the best PSU to begin with, and I had been using it for well over a year. It finally gave up the ghost. But rather than do the right thing and get a high-quality, name-brand replacements, I decided to be cheap. I just went out to my local hole-in-the-wall computer store and bought the best PSU they had. Which cost all of $30.
So a week later, I install my brand new copy of Black & White 2. It’s a gorgeous game to look at, but that means it’s very taxing on a system. I crank the detail settings and get to play for all of about 5 minutes. Then I smell that stench of electronic death and the whole thing cuts out, never to stir again.
It’s my own damn fault.
Family
So here is my new blog. I’ve started blogging about 4 or 5 times in the past, but it never really got off the ground. Honestly, I think I just enjoyed experimenting with different blog software and tweaking more than actually writing posts. But hopefully I’ll stick with it this time.
And I think this is an appropriate day to start. I just got the biggest news ever. My wife is pregnant with our first child! I haven’t even really begun to process this yet. I feel simultaneously elated and terrified. We’ve been trying for a while, and it was starting to seem like it might never happen. So I can’t quite believe it.
Of course, this means that I won’t be telling anyone about this blog for a while. We’ve decided to keep the news a secret from everyone except our closest relatives. But I frankly feel it’s more important to get into the habit of putting my thoughts into words than it is to actually have people read them. And these early posts will still be here once we go public.
The other thing that makes this a big day, is that I just saw Episode III. And to my utter shock and amazement, it did not suck. I was really disappointed by the first two prequels, and I went in to Ep3 fearing the worst. But not only did it fail to suck, but I think I actually enjoyed it! I’m not certain, though… I’ll have to watch it 5 or 6 more times to be sure. I came out of the theater wishing that Lucas had stretched this story into three films rather than subjecting us to two braindead stinkfests.
Now, I find it humorous that I should finally see Episode III and it ends up being not the most exciting thing to happen to me today. I mean, my whole life has been spent as a serious connoisseur of good sci-fi. Star Wars especially. I grew up with it. I spent my younger years pretending to be Luke Skywalker until I got older and realized how much cooler Han Solo was. And Episode III is the culmination of that particular thread of my life. Likely, it’s the last new Star Wars film I will ever see on the big screen. I really feel as if one chapter of my life has closed at the same moment another one begins. One of the most important features of my childhood landscape has come to its conclusion on the same day that I learn about what will no doubt become the most important part of adulthood.
Freakin’ craziness!
Family, Life, Sci-Fi
visits since 6/21/2009