10 Days Past Due Date...

Still waiting, but we're told no one is pregnant forever.

4 Days Past Due Date...

Well, we're now four days past our due date. Stasia is holding up remarkably well with few complaints. My only complaint is that I'm sleeping very lightly these days. Last night, Stasia blew her nose and I woke up saying, "What? Are you OK?!"

Everyone is getting anxious and excited to meet the little guy, but he's just not ready. I picture him kicking back in a hammock, sunglasses on, enjoying the attention, but not ready to show himself.

He'll be here when he gets here.

In the meantime, enjoy the following photo of Stasia and her friend:

2 Days Past Due Date...

Portrait of me with my exercise ball in our kitchen. We make quite a pair. I have sat on this at work for the past two months or so. I brought it home because it may come in handy for early labor and calming the baby once he is born. 

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

It's my due date today, but I don't think our little guy is quite ready yet. While we are waiting, here is a bump picture...

Seattle Baby Shower in Photos

We had a wonderful shower thrown for us in February. The hostess, our friend Tiffany, worked very hard. The event had it all....

There was fantastic decor handmade by Tiffany.

 

A wonderful diaper (and more) tower made by Jack's sister Molly. Jack loves "Where the Wild Things Are". Heather kept with our woodland theme and made a beautiful felt mobile. 

I think that Tiffany and Heather worked on the cupcake tower, complete with woodland animal toppers.

There was a good looking group of attendees if I do say so myself.

And we even had some good looking families show up to give us a preview of what we are in for.

The three of us were spoiled, such generosity!

There were three pretty cool games, only one was a "drinking game". We discovered who could finish their beer bottle first.

It was not Jack... Josh took the honor.

Thank you so much to our hosts, Ryan and Tiffany!

This Boy's Room

Save for some minor touches--like a valance above the window--the nursery is complete and we feel pretty ready for the little guy. Well, as ready as we can be.

We went for a woodland theme and we both love how it turned out. The tree is a vinyl decal we bought off of Etsy.

As much as we love the comforter and the bumpers in the crib, we'll have to remove them for the first six (?) months or so for safety reasons. 

In His Mother's Belly, His Father's Mind

It's March now. That means a few things. It means Stasia's folks have arrived--they're renting a little apartment in the Wedgwood neighborhood for the month. It means in about two weeks the world will look a little different. It means we will soon not only be a couple, but we will be parents.

Stasia is doing well. Some sore hips and sore back, but she's strong and amazing and has a great attitude even with little sleep. We've both had trouble in that department lately. Nature's way of preparing us for baby? Thank you, Nature, it's mighty thoughtful of you, but I think I speak for both of us (especially Stasia) when I say, Can you maybe back off a bit? You know, just let us get an extra few hours before the little guy arrives? Much obliged.

We've finished our birth classes. Only one Centering appointment remains (if you don't know, "Centering" is a two-hour session that includes other parents due in March and the midwives from Ballard Swedish--in lieu of standard OB checkups). We've met with Deborah, our birth doula, in our home twice ("Deborah the Doula" I call her), and Stasia has been updating her on how she's feeling every few days.

And we've been nesting like crazy.

It's funny the different forms nesting can take. Getting the nursery ready is an obvious one, but then there are others: creating this blog for instance, buying a Flip HD video camera, purging our possessions, rearranging the furniture.

As for the nursery, it's pretty much done. A few final touches to go, but I'm very proud of it. I'll get some photos up here very soon, perhaps in the next post.

It's a strange, indescribable feeling, knowing that our boy will be here in only a couple of weeks. It's a sense, a presence that's always there. It's deep in my chest and it never goes away. It's an anticipation of a major change on the horizon. Like waking up every day wondering if today will be the day the sun rises in the west.

All that said, it's still kind of hard to believe. There is no baby yet, so I can't get my head around the fact that there will be a baby. Sound nuts? Oh well. I'd be lying if I didn't admit there is some anxiety mingling with all that anticipation.

A few steps further down the rabbit hole and the only thing you'll find is a whole lot of excitement.