Date Night (in)...

Husband and I have quite the night planned for ourselves. Our first "date night" since Mikey was born.

Of course, we won't be leaving the house for this date, and Mikey will be hanging out in the office with us happily in his swing. But - still! It counts, it does!

First, a little mood music. Sinatra at the Sands (Frank Sinatra with Count Basie & His Orchestra) on this cd that was recently remastered and re-released.

To start off the night, a cocktail. Specifically, we will be drinking Blue Velvets:

2 parts UV Blue (UV Vodka)
2 parts pineapple juice
Shake on the rocks and strain into a martini glass.
Finish with a splash of grenadine.

I figure that somewhere in the midst of my first drink, Mikey will start hollerin' for his dinner, so I'll get him fed.

Then it is time for our dinner. On the menu tonight? Thanks for the great recipe, Weightwatchers.com!



Italian Sausage and Pepper Pasta

1/2 pound(s) raw turkey sausage, Italian-style, casings removed
2 tsp olive oil, extra-virgin
2 medium yellow pepper(s), cut into 2-inch long thin strips
1 medium onion(s), thinly sliced
1/2 cup(s) red wine
1 1/2 tbsp minced garlic
28 oz canned crushed tomatoes, fire-roasted recommended
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, or less to taste
1/4 tsp table salt
8 oz uncooked whole-wheat pasta, fusilli
1/3 cup(s) basil, fresh, chopped

Directions:

* Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.

* Meanwhile, to make sauce, in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, cook sausage, stirring and breaking up meat with back of a wooden spoon, until cooked through, about 3 to 5 minutes; remove to a plate.

* Heat oil in same skillet. Add yellow peppers and onion; cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are lightly colored and crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.

* Add wine and garlic; cook until most of liquid evaporates, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes, crushed red pepper, salt and browned sausage; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until vegetables are tender and sauce is heated through, about 10 minutes.

* While sauce simmers, add pasta to boiling water and cook according to package instructions. Drain pasta; return to pot. Add sauce and basil; toss to mix and coat. Yields about 1 1/3 cups per serving.

To finish off the night? We'll be playing World of Warcraft :)

Are we awesome and exciting, or what?

Stayin' Alive...

What a scary week. 100,000 jobs lost. You know that saying about putting all your eggs in one basket? Husband and I are sort of there right now. We both work for the same division of a major Industrial/Financial corporation. This division laid off a TON of people this week. Somehow, we both survived. But, who knows when the next round of layoffs will be. With all of these people being out of work, how is the economy going to turn around? These financial institutions that are receiving BILLIONS in tax payer money are the worst offenders when it comes to layoffs. How are we supposed to stimulate the economy when everyone is out of work. With the way things are going right now, companies are going to continue having to layoff people because they will continue to lose money because EVERYONE IS OUT OF WORK!!! It reminds me of that line Fat Bastard said in Austin Powers. "I can't stop eating. I eat because I'm unhappy, and I'm unhappy because I eat. It's a vicious cycle."

So, supposedly everyone is going to be receiving $500.00 in "stimulus." And this is supposed to turn things around? People need a lot more than $500.00... they need JOBS! Uh, so why are you sending me $500.00? Seriously, government, I'm not hiring anyone. You can keep my $500.00 and give it to the folks that will actually turn this economy around. BUSINESSES!!! And I'm not saying give it to Bank of America, either. Give it to the guy that runs the local water store down the street. Give it to the guy that owns his own landscaping company. Small Business Owners. Big Business Owners. Businesses that EMPLOYEE! Cut the crap out of corporate tax rates. Do WHATEVER you can to attract businesses to the United States.

Husband and I both still have our jobs, for now, but I don't see how it is possible that we will still have jobs for much longer with the way things are going. $500.00 is supposed to make me feel better about the way things are going? Afraid not. And I'm sorry, but once everyone has been laid off, and every business has failed because NO ONE CAN BUY ANYTHING, the government won't have anyone to collect taxes from anymore. Where does that leave us?

/Rant Off

Real Simple...

I have decided to subscribe to this magazine. Has anyone seen the new show? I think it is on TLC - it is called "Real Simple, Real Life." The two episodes I have seen were pretty good, and reminded me that I enjoy the magazine, so there we have it.

My new camera pretty much rocks my frickin' socks. Even on full auto mode, the pictures are just AMAZING! There is no beating a solid DSLR compared to Digital Compacts. I'm glad I've got the Canon EOS Digital Rebel because the lens options are far superior to what Nikon has to offer (in my estimation, anyway).

I can't believe Mikey is already 1 whole month old! How quickly time fly's! Does this count as a smile?

From Mikey - 1 Month

With Purpose...

This is something I have been thinking about lately - specifically, blogging with purpose. Right now this blog is mostly my public diary - random thoughts spewed out and typically about what is on my brain at the moment. For example - one whole month of posts about a newborn... and before that, 9 months of posts about being pregnant. I've noticed some other bloggers use days of the weeks as themes for what they are going to write about. Each day of the week they blog about something specific, and they repeat this pattern week after week. It is pretty cool - I especially look forward to Friday's on a lot of the blogs I read.

I'm not so sure this format would work for me, though. If I decide I want to blog about music on Wednesdays, will I get bored of that? What if next Wednesday I just don't feel like talking about music? Hmm.

Perhaps I would be better off making an effort to blog about subjects I am interested in, rather than falling into the trap of making EVERY blog post about my child. After all, I am The Right WIFE, not the Right Mom.

So, in an attempt to talk about something other than my beloved baby, here is a general update on what I'm thinking about doing, actually am doing:

1) Going to visit Grandpa Gus tomorrow. My father is selling me a DSLR at a ridiculously low price because he would like to upgrade to a 64 bit ready DSLR. Already drooling over a Canon 1.8/50mm lens that I would love for the camera. Can't wait to start taking pictures with this camera!

2) Starting Weight Watchers "officially" tomorrow. Blagh. I hate diets, but in the spirit of sticking to my new years resolution of "Being a Good Role Model" to my children, it is probably important that I lose the rest of the baby weight + the post miscarriage weight I gained last January/February. The good news? I lost 34 pounds in the first two weeks after having the baby. The bad news? I still need to lose more weight, lol. Once the baby is on solids, it is my goal to no longer be "dieting" and just eating a healthy organic diet along with exercise to maintain a healthy weight.

3) I need recipes. I have plenty of cook books, but I want to know what YOU feed your family. What are your favorite recipes? I need simple, easy to fix, great tasting food that I can feed my family. I've got about 5 recipes that are in constant rotation at my house, and I'm getting BORED! There are only so many ways you can fix pasta, and the husband is BEGGING for some sauce that goes well with Panko Breaded Baked Chicken breasts. I am completely inept at sauce. Come on people - don't hold out on me! Recipes! Please!

4) Hooray for new furniture! Here is my lovely new kitchen table (The Pagoda series from Cost Plus World Market)

From New and Old Furniture

I <3 it!

Also, new Glider for the nursery, also from my wonderful Mother and Father In Law. This thing is so comfortable, and I'm looking forward to moving it to the nursery and getting Mike all set up in there:

From New and Old Furniture

5) Newest Blog Crush: The Meanest Mom. This chick is hilarious :)

6) CNN let "Real People" write letters to the President giving "advice" or expressing their concerns about the current economy/administration. Most people were falling over themselves to talk about how amazing Obama is. One guy actually had something worthwhile to say. Check out his letter here.

7) The 3rd week of life was exciting, but we are looking forward to being a month old tomorrow :)

From Week 3

Alright - that is enough for today. Don't forget - recipes people! Oh, and I don't like seafood, so none of THOSE types of recipes, please :)

Proudest Monkey...

Holy crap! Mike is quickly approaching 1 whole month of life on this planet. Every day I'm learning more about him, and the best ways to keep him happy. I think it is natural for parents to start longing for longer patches of sleep at night, and it appears that the best way to do this with Mike is a combination of exhausting the crap out of him and wrapping him in a baby straight jacket. The best way to exhaust my child? Bathe him! First I feed him (uhh, the little dude is already eating 4oz every 3 hours... what gives?) and then I torture him in the bath tub. Actually, I only torture him if I'm attempting to bathe him by myself because it takes me WAY to long when I only have two hands (one always has to be on him to prevent him from lurching to the side to take a sip of yummy bath water). When Josh helps me, he actually seems to enjoy bath time.

Shortly after he is out of the bath, I change him into his "night shirt" or sleep sack, or whatever you want to call it, and then he literally goes limp in my arms. I put him down in his bassinet and it is lights out (until he is hungry again).

Last night I put him down at 10:30pm, and he didn't start screaming for a bottle until 3:30am this morning! If I was smart I would have gone to bed right after I put him down, but I didn't fall asleep until 12:30ish. But still! If I push bath time just a little bit later, I might be able to wrangle up a whole nights sleep (when I'm working, this means 11pm to 5am).

Today I had my first postpartum doctors appointment. My incision is "healing beautifully" and the doctor decided to rip off my steri-strips since they were still hanging on for dear life. Ouch. Nothing like having tape ripped off a wound, although I suppose it would feel better than having staples removed or something like that. Doctor also loaded me down with plenty of birth control samples (a 4 month supply of Yaz) and said I could "get busy" again in about 3 weeks.

Mike was pretty much having a melt down the ENTIRE time I was in the office. I didn't realize that his nails had gotten long enough to do damage, and apparently since Mike likes to self soothe by shredding his face apart with his hands, he managed to slice himself under the nose and on his chin. Little dude even drew blood! I don't want people thinking I have a weird kid, so I'll just tell everyone that he got into a scuffle with the cats :)

After the appointment, me and Little Dude met Big Dude for lunch. Of course he was on his best behavior for daddy. Punk.

Breathe...

Mikey has had a rough weekend. Rough, I tell ya. For some reason he was able to sleep like a log ALL DAY LONG on Saturday and Sunday, but when night time rolled around (more specifically, when he woke up for his 3am feeding) he refused to go back to sleep. He wasn't just awake - he was pissed off. Screaming mad. Fed? Check! Clean diaper? Check! Burped? Check! Swaddled? Check! Snuggled? Check! Still screaming? Yeah. Still screaming. He carried on this way until 5:30 am, and then let me sleep for 1 whole hour before waking me up at 6:30 am for more food. I thought that surely he would fall right back asleep after eating, but I was wrong. I dealt with his squawking mad baby self until 7:30 am before finally going back to sleep.

He started in again at 9:00 am for more food, and daddy hopped right up to take care of it. I woke up at 11 am to a baby screaming in his swing still in the bedroom. Aahh... daddy cheated.

And today? Well, you would think he'd be tired, but the little dude has been wide awake for most of it. What the heck! We've strung together about 2 hours of sleep all day with short cat naps. Mostly he has been awake, kicking around, nomming on his little hands, and when he gets bored or upset with that, he is back to screaming his head off.

I thought infants were supposed to sleep like 23 hours a day? What gives? Is this is "I'm 3 weeks old and going through a rough patch" phase?

Daddy is going to Safford, AZ tomorrow. It is a 4 hour drive, and there is a chance he may be staying the night. Agghhh! I really haven't been able to get anything done today with him here to help with the baby - I'm a little worried about what tomorrow and possibly tomorrow night may bring.

In other (more exciting) news, Husband's parents bought us a kitchen table as an early anniversary gift!! Isn't that awesomeness? MIL showed the picture to me yesterday, and both Husband and I loved it, so she went out today and picked it up. I can't wait to finally have a place to eat together as a family, and once our couches are purchased we will be able to actually entertain friends and family! The table is from Cost Plus World Market (how come I never knew about this place? I love EVERYTHING I've seen after looking at their website).

Here is our new table:



Awesomeness!

Alright - Little one is finally sleeping. My cue to go make dinner!

From 3w0d

"Cause you can't jump the track, we're like cars on a cable
And life's like an hourglass, glued to the table
No one can find the rewind button, girl.
So cradle your head in your hands
And breathe... just breathe"
-Anna Nalick, Breathe

Life's Not A Race...

No truer words could be spoken. Nick Hexum is a genius.

From 2w4d

I know that in a very short amount of weeks, my little dude is going to be a completely different baby. He'll have a better digestive system, will cry less, and will be on a more reasonable sleeping schedule. He won't be sleeping in our room anymore.

From 2w4d

For now, he's a little fussy, a little gassy, and can't very well vocalize what he wants or needs from us. He is sleeping less, thus providing more time for him to cry. I actually found myself in tears today, so frazzled at my inability to soothe my child. I think sometimes that newborns must have growing pains that no amount of snuggling and swaddling can make better. Again - I know that this period will be brief, gone in a flash, and when Mikey is no longer a baby I will long again for a helpless infant.

From 2w4d

So, with that in mind, I'm going to do my best not to wish these days would fast forward themselves. I'm trying to cherish every moment, each diaper, the full bottle thrown up all over me, and the bed, and the baby. Although they seem hard right now, I know I'm going to miss these first early weeks I'm getting to spend with this amazing gift.

From 2w4d

Walking After You...

I am tired. Yet I lack the ability to "sleep when he sleeps," during the day at least. I know that this part is going to get better. I know that he will eventually just sleep right through the night. For now, the adrenaline has worn off and you have one worn out mom on your hands. This is all hindering my attempts at pumping. For the last several nights I've barely been able to keep my eyes open while doing the middle of the night feedings let alone keeping them open even longer to pump. I've been pumping less and less, and I'm just about ready to throw my hands in the air and call it quits.

The worst part? I don't want to talk about it. At ALL! Husband tried to address the topic last night when he came to bed and I nearly took his head off with a bat. For some reason I hadn't been able to go to bed in the first place, so having this conversation at 2am probably wasn't helping. After fighting about it for a bit, I decided to cut off my nose to spite my face and left the room. I spent 1/2 an hour making bottles of formula, and then spent another 20 minutes pumping. By then it was 3am and time to feed, change and put Mike back to bed.

Staying up until almost 4am is never a good idea for a new mom, I have decided. I really really really needed to sleep today, but Mike was having an off day, and would only sleep for about 45 minutes before he'd wake up crying for one reason or another.

This breast milk thing is such an emotional subject for me. I always said I'd never beat myself up over it - that as long as Mike is getting fed I'm good. Anyway, husband and I were able to discuss the topic today, and I've decided to give it my all while I'm on maternity leave, and then switch completely to formula at that point (and not beat myself up over it).

And in happier news, husband and I gave little dude a bath tonight and it didn't go too badly. According to most sources, it is only necessary to bathe infants once a week, but I can't wait for his belly button to finish healing so we can give him a "real" bath. I have a feeling it will be a fun evening ritual that will help get Mikey to sleep at night.

From Tummy Time - 2w2d

Dawn is a feeling...

Day 2 alone. Still surviving. Quickly realizing that my ambitions for maternity leave might have been a little too high while also trying to entertain a newborn.

Little Dude turned 2 weeks old yesterday! How fast the time is going already! So far MPG:

-Hates diaper changes
-Hates being wet
-Loves eating (can down 3oz from a bottle in under 5 minutes!)
-Loves swinging
-Is soothed by music (so far we've established that he enjoys Muse, The Moody Blues, Gustav Holst and Lil' Wayne)
-Loves pacifier, but also loves to rip paci out of his mouth with his hands... this creates a lot of work for mom

All in all, I continue to amazed and in awe of this little person!

From 2 Weeks Old

A New You in 6 Short Weeks!

I'm feeling determined to get a few things accomplished in the next 6 weeks that I've been meaning to do for some time now.

It isn't so much that I couldn't do these things while working, but I do feel that they will be much easier to tend to while I'm not having to worry about work.

1. Start our TMMO (Total Money Makeover) w/ Dave Ramsey. This will include making a budget and starting our debt snowball with the eventual goal of becoming debt free.

2. Finish "organizing" the house. There is a lot of paperwork and "junk" in closets and the garage that needs to be sorted through and either thrown away or given to good will.

I believe these two things will give me a lot of peace. I know that might seem silly to some, but I'm tired of feeling anxious about debt and clutter. Plus, with a new baby, we owe it to him to make sure that we can provide for him in the best way possible. This means getting savings accounts set up for school, and also getting life insurance and all that great stuff.

DH goes back to work tomorrow. It has been so awesome having him at home with me, and I'm a little anxious about going at this alone, but I should be just fine. We will definitely miss having the daddy around during the day though!

I can't believe MP will already be 2 weeks old tomorrow! Ack! Slow down!

Are you sitting comfortably?

The birth of my child has me especially distressed about the state of my home. I've been working really hard the last week to clean up after myself and keep things tidy for my little dude. But more than that, I've been focused on the kind of home I want to have, and how to get it the way that I want it. (Nothing like having 8 million people in your home visiting your new baby to remind you to be embarrassed about the state of your house) If you looked in my house right now, you would assume you were at the pad of some twenty something single dudes. Seriously. Not a piece of art on the walls, not a picture hanging in sight. A futon is the only seating available in the great room, and our dining room currently has a card table in it that belongs to my in-laws. There isn't a coffee table, end table, shelf - not a thing at all in sight.

Now, part of this is due in part to my extremely large German Shepherd's particularly painful destructive puppy phase. He ate our $2400 sectional, and also gnawed off the legs of our kitchen table and the corresponding chairs. But still - there was nothing else for him to destroy - Husband and I never purchased other furniture. We never hung artwork on the walls, or picked out ends tables and other items one might fill their home with. Why? Honestly, I had absolutely NO CLUE what I wanted. Or, at least, I wasn't sure enough of what I wanted to make a commitment to purchasing anything (outside of that damn couch... /sigh).

So, what was the point of this post anyway? Well, after years of looking at pictures and magazines for inspiration, or some sort of idea what I want MY home to look like, the last several months have actually yielded an image in my brain of what I desire.

More than anything, I want my home to be a comfortable place for my family. I don't want couches that have covers on them. I don't want to freak out if someone doesn't use a coaster. I want a space that is functional and serves the needs of me, my husband and our children. With that in mind, I've finally been able to start picking pieces that I would like to purchase to begin furnishing and decorating mi casa. The only challenge now? Getting husband on board! Oh - and of course getting the moolah to purchase the stuff. Thankfully, I've been able to find a lot of what suits my taste at Wal-mart, Ikea and other discount stores.

Anyway, this was a rather long post to let you all know that my blogging will now be expanded to include the decorating/furnishing of my home, and of course linking and posting pictures of all the lovelies I have my eyeballs on.

First things first: New Seating!

Husband and I are set on leather. Yeah, Yeah, Yeah - we've got cats and dogs, and they will probably scratch our furniture. However - I'm so flippin tired of couches that require HOURS of vacuuming. Leather is the only way to go for us. I ADORE this particular set:



They are simple (I really like more rustic furniture - nothing too elaborate for me, thanks), they are leather, and most importantly, they are affordable. Who knew that Wal-Mart would carry something like this. And at $750.00 for the whole set, it is within our budget for new couches! Husband is still not sold (he is really not into buying furniture from Wal-Mart) but has agreed to keep an open mind, so we are going to go check them out as soon as possible. And as easy as that, living room furniture that my family can beat up for the next decade without me agonizing over every scratch and scuff.

I also really like this dining set from Target - small enough to fit our little dining room, yet plenty big for our needs:



I like this rug from Ikea (it is called the Hellum - in Dark Red)



Ok - and that is enough for now. The bare bones of my new plan. Try to envision it all together, lol. And with that, it is time to go pump and get ready for bed!

Your Wildest Dreams...

What an amazing 11 days. So far I've been pooped on, peed on, vomited on and screamed at by a 9 pound dictator that I give in to every demand on. The crazy part? I keep coming back for more with a smile on my face. Perhaps they slipped something in my epidural to chemically trick my brain into tolerating abuse from this little guy that I wouldn't accept normally. Seriously, if anyone else ever tried to poop on me, I just wouldn't stand for it.

I'm already creating a monster. Baby sleeps in his bassinet from about 12 to 3:30, but after that it is time to snuggle in bed with Mom for the rest of his sleep. I know that when you get a puppy they say you better not bring the puppy into bed unless you want to lose your bed, and I'm sure it works the same way with babies, but I just can't help it. In fact, Mommy needed to get up and wait for the landscapers to show up, so baby is happily snuggled up next to dad right now. Seriously though. It is winter. Freezing. Brrrr... I don't want the baby to catch a cold, so he has to sleep with us for warmth. /nod.

From Baby Michael, Week 2

1 Week Later...

From The First Week of Life

I can't believe my baby is already 1 whole week old!

Michael is more amazing than I ever could have imagined, and the daddy and I spend a great deal of time baby gazing, holed up back in our bedroom. Who needs the outside world anyway? I've got a baby to stare at!

Before I forget, I'd like to say a few things:

1. I will never EVER even remotely judge a women and her decision to breast feed/pump/formula feed ever ever ever again. Not that I actually really ever did this (in a critical way) but seriously. Never again. I never considered that baby's lunch might be coming from somewhere besides me, but it is appearing that will be my reality. I'm still fighting the good fight, but I've come to terms (after many many tears) that little dude hates to latch and my pumping supply can only go on for so long.

2. Newborns cry about everything like they are on fire. Mike cries with the same intensity whether it is because he is cold, has a dirty diaper, is hungry, or just needs to be comforted. When he cries he snorts, and that is just too adorable for words and is it wrong that I can't stop laughing when my baby cries?

3. C-Sections aren't as terrible as I thought they would be. It has been a week and I'm "mostly" ok. It still stings a little bit when I stand up or sit down too fast, but I've heard that recovering from an episiotomy can be much worse.

4. Friends and family are awesome to have around when you have a baby, especially when after a c-section. Husband and I haven't had to cook for ourselves since we got home from the hospital between my mother-in-law and my best friend Val. Everyone was great, and it helped us adjust to "life with a baby" much more easily.

5. I feel bad for husbands. Seriously. All the nurses at the hospital treated the husband like a jerk for no apparent reason, especially since he pretty much exclusively took care of the baby for the first 24-48 hours of his life (that part where I could barely walk, much less get out of bed to change a diaper). In fact, the only thing I did during that part of his life was have 8 nurses and 3 lactation consultants feeling me up and telling me how inadequate my breasts are for the purposes of nursing a child.

The treatment of husband extended outside the hospital to the home, as well (to a lesser extent). He was getting up at night to take care of baby and getting just as little sleep as me, yet he was expected to get crap taken care of while I was urged to just put my feet up. Wait a sec - he is tired, too! Doesn't husband deserve someone to bring him a drink? No? *sigh*

6. It is interesting living my life in 3 hour bursts. Ok - Change the baby, feed the baby, cuddle the baby, and now I've got three hours until I have to do it all over again. Wonder what I can get accomplished? So far - not much. I've only made it into the computer room a couple times even. I'm sure this will get better. Maybe.

Finally, baby had his 1 week Pediatrician visit today. He's doing great and the doc advised she doesn't need to see us until the 1 month visit. Hooray!

Web Album...

Hey family & friends :) Here is the link to my web album of our new little dude!

Baby Michael is Born

The Story...

Good Evening Everyone!

Sorry for the massive delay in delivering the epic accounting of the birth of Michael Patrick :) Things didn't turn out exactly as planned, and I only arrived home from the hospital yesterday afternoon. After taking some time to settle in and sleep, I'm finally making my way back to the computer.

On Monday afternoon I had what would be my last appointment with the ob/gyn. My usual doctor was still on Vacation, so I met with the Nurse Practitioner. My blood pressure was elevated, my legs were swelling again, and I had protein in my urine sample. Combined with a headache that wouldn't go away, the Nurse decided to send me to Triage to have some labs run. She felt that based on my symptoms, they would likely induce me, so Husband and I both headed off to the hospital ready to bring a baby home.

After arriving in Triage, the nurses took a blood sample and hooked me up to several monitors. I'm not sure exactly how much time passed (I'm assuming about 2 hours), but after a good wait the nurse came back to me and let me know that all my labs were in the "normal range." DRAT! At that point I figured they would be sending me home, that is until the nurse asked me if anyone had talked to me about a c-section.

Huh?

About 30 minutes later, Dr. Partridge showed up to give us his recommendation. While all my labs were in the normal range, they were at the very highest end of normal, and that combined with the fact that I hadn't progressed any further in my labor and that Mike was estimated to be over 9 pounds (and this was my first delivery), Dr Partridge felt that even if they did induce me, there was an 80% chance that they would have to end up performing an emergency c-section. He suggested that we call this pregnancy quits and schedule a c-section. We agreed, and figured they would have us come back the next day for the surgery.

Nope!

The doctor said "Hey, I'm here right now, lets do this." Josh was tossed a pair of scrubs, and they began to prep me for surgery. Within an hour I was bent over a table waiting for the Anesthesiologist to administer my epidural. After hearing so many horror stories, I am happy to report that Dr. Wong has amazing abilities and I did not feel any part of the epidural. Within minutes they were busy at work. At one point Josh looked over and told me what a good job I was doing. I responded "What am I doing??" I didn't even realize that they had started the cesarean. Shortly after that I heard the frantic cries of little Michael. Josh went over to take pictures of our little guy while they finished me up, and then I found out that not only did he weigh in at 9 lbs, 1 oz, and 20.5 inches long, but he also scored a 9 and a 9 on both Apgar tests. Super baby!

I've got much more to write about the whole experience, but for now I will leave you with several pictures to last until I have the chance to write more. Josh and I are so in love with our son, and we can't get enough of him!

Meet Baby Gaines!

Hello World!


Meeting for the first time!


Hospital Picture


Hanging out at Home


I <3 My Swing