Filling You In

A good friend e-mailed me this morning to let me know our blog hasn't been updated after last week's big event. We were at the hospital with our new daughter, Roya Allison Erskine, till the weekend and have been adjusting to this new life ever since! Roya was born a week ago (Tuesday, 19 February) at 7 pounds, 10 ounces, 20 inches long. According to all the books and nurses, that's literally the exact average size. (It's about time something normal happened in our family!) As you can see, she is a beautiful little angel, and we're enjoying the new adjustment. She is nursing well, and both mama and baby are recovering well from the big day. She's already wrapped me around her little finger, so her toddler years should be interesting for me. :) Fortunately, we don't have to think about that right now. For now, we can simply enjoy our new family member's infant years. Hmmmm............

LE

A Week

It's an interesting feeling to be just over a week till the due date. (I know what the ticker up there says; our date moved from 13 Feb to 15 Feb months ago, and we never updated it. We figured, what's two days?) I'm not the mother, so I won't try to express any of the thoughts, emotions, or physical sensations going on with Natasha. However, as a dad who already loves his unborn baby and talks to her regularly, this next week (or more or less) are going to be crazy. I can't wait to hold this baby, but I can't even imagine the labor experience. We've received tons of advice and have read up, but this is just another thing that we won't really know completely until we go through it. I'm supposed to be the birth coach, but what do I know? I know a lot about what the three books I've used have to say (and some from another book), but I still don't feel like I know anything. Yet, I look forward to it wildly!! I have no idea how to be a dad, but I feel like I'm already on my way and have something in me that just kind of "knows." Every day I think, "Will today be the day I get the call, that I am awakened, that I am - whatever - with the news of labor?" Sometimes I think that's great, other times I think, "This is not the time. Just let me get one more thing done." When it's all said and done, who cares how much I get done? We have a fine home for our little daughter, we're trying our best to prepare ourselves as parents, and (most importantly) the Lord is faithful and good and will be to our little one. What's not to look forward to?! Still, I'm stressed. (For those in gen psych, that would be both eustress and distress in one stressful ball.) :)

LE