Hot Daddy

This past week has, as you can imagine, changed my perspective in a lot of ways. But there is one new feeling I didn't expect.

When I first got to know my husband in college, I thought he was adorable. I was also attracted to the things about him that might have been less obvious to the world. His nerdy sense of humor, his good-natured social skills, and his very open and willing heart for the Lord. Through the glasses, math major, awkwardly going out on a limb to connect attitude, and ready understanding of Star Wars jokes, I saw a man that I knew I could live with. As time went on, he became the man I couldn't live without.

That said, I never knew how truly, incredibly, hot my husband was until this week. An emergency C-section left me unable to do as much for the baby as I had anticipated, and Greg stepped right up and took over diaper changing, swaddling, washing and soothing Henry when I couldn't. He also helped me get into the shower, got me food when I was hungry, and managed to entertain the hoards of visitors so that I could rest.

Then just last night I heard the baby cry in his crib. I rushed in because it wasn't the usual time for him to be up, and something didn't seem right. I found my little guy with spit-up coming from his mouth and nose. He was struggling to cry and choking. Greg was right behind me and grabbed him and told me where to find the sucky syringe thingy. I ran as fast as my post-op body would allow and frantically searched. I finally found one and raced back to the nursery. When I got to the door, I saw what at first seemed like Greg giving Henry little kisses on his face. Then I realized, he was sucking the vomit out of his airways and spitting it out into a baby wipe.

Now I'm pretty sure most women would not put vomit-sucking at the top of the list for turn-ons. Maybe it's just because I'm so crazy about this baby, or maybe it's because Greg seems like such a rare bird in a society that seems full of dead-beats.

But all I know is, there is nothing sexier than a good daddy.

Henry Thomas Byrd

born 7:59 A.M. on Nov. 9th, 2009.

6 lbs. 2 oz. and 20 inches long

A Rose....

Why can't I settle on a name? I guess it doesn't matter really in the end, but I don't have much else to think about at this point...

My biggest fear is that I'll have to have a C-section or will just have such a bad delivery that I'll be really out of it and Greg will end up filling out the birth certificate while I'm in a drugged-up stupor. It wouldn't be so scary if his top name wasn't Rex...

I'm pretty much torn between Henry and James. Very boring by most people's standards but you know. If Henry then Hank, which I like, if James then... Jimmy? Jimbo? Bo? That I like. Nicknames that suggest we live in a trailer park.

I knew it.

How did I know that this one wouldn't come until after his due date?

I don't know, I guess I just had a feeling...

This last month has been crazy busy. I stopped doing research for the professor I was working for, which freed up a little time to do everything else. We had our 4th and final baby shower, at which we were given absolutely everything a baby could need or want.

We also had a Halloween party, which was a lot of fun. Greg dressed as Crocodile Dundee and I made a kangaroo costume complete with baby kangaroo head coming out of my pouch. No need for a body, of course.

I've been frantically cleaning, doing homework, washing baby stuff, etc. And now, waiting. I've read all the books cover to cover, organized the closet, done my reading for class for the next couple of weeks, narrowed down the names to just a couple. All I need now is the baby!

Starting to Panic - Very Random Post

Less than 6 weeks to go, and panic is starting to set in!

I had some contractions on Monday. We went to the Dr.'s and got hooked up to a monitor that confirmed it. Not in labor, not painful, just tightening up every 3 minutes. Now I feel better as long as I don't do anything strenuous. (Right now strenuous for me is walking up stairs, lifting my backpack, putting my shoes on, etc.)

Greg and I feel like we're finally ok with a name, although I'm not going to say for sure just in case everyone gets things monogrammed and then we change our minds.

My friend Sarah threw me a surprise shower last weekend, which was sweet, but also made me realize how different I am from my friends at law school.

Right now I'm desperately trying to finish unpacking and cleaning the house before next weekend, when I have my final shower and my mother in law comes to stay for the weekend. Talk about stress! It's especially frustrating because I'm dying to really clean everything (like, get down and scrub the floors clean), but I keep contracting when I do anything.

The funny thing is, law school is so fun for me right now. Having a lighter schedule and being in such basic classes has made it so much better. I also think being far away from it all most of the time makes me appreciate the school more.

I am washing Babybyrd's clothes, blankets, and towels in baby detergent tonight. Some people suggested waiting to try and take back clothes or exchange them for different sizes, but I think we'll be ok. I'm fine with having lots of little clothes for him to mess up, and waiting is just driving me nuts.

I've got the hospital bag almost packed I think. I've got to make curtains for the baby's/guest room before Greg's mom comes next weekend. Then I have to catch up on work and school so I'm not totally stressed.

Another hurried post

We went down to GA for the baby shower that Greg's family threw. It was pretty great but totally exhausting, neither of us slept the whole trip. Anyone in Greg's family that lived anywhere near the region drove to the shower, from both his Dad and Mom's side of the family (amazing since they are divorced). Not only did they show up, but they all got along really well and had a great time. His male cousins were so into the shower games, it was hilarious!

We started school right when we got back. My classes are awesome so far, although Thursday is tough, I take the 8am train to school and take the 9:26pm home. I generally like the train but am really annoyed by the one conductor who freaks out about me putting my feet up on the train. Hello! I'm almost eight months pregnant and had to sit through 6 straight hours of class today with my feet bursting out of my sneakers! Plus I'm pretty sure there are way more swine flu germs on the seat than on my shoes. When I go to the doctor next week I'm going to see if he'll write me a note so I can whip it out on the train!

We moved (successfully?) into our little Ocean Grove cottage. I'm trying to feel better about the move, but right now I sort of just want to close the door on the mess and go to school to escape. Here's where the bad feelings are coming from: landlords are friends who I can't really be assertive with, they told us we could paint, then said it was a misunderstanding after we spent $200 at Home Depot, the first day there was a gas leak, the air conditioning didn't work, the ancient stove caused the place to fail inspection but they paid to have it fixed (prolly about $100) instead of just getting a new stove ($300), the drains don't drain, the toilet seat was so gross I had to buy a new one, the water never totally comes out of the shower (there is always half the flow coming out of the tub faucet), there are ants all over the kitchen, it took me hours to clean the scum off of the cabinets, the pulls are still coated in grossness but I can't replace them because they don't make pulls that size anymore, the cabinets hold even less than I initially thought because there are random ducts in them, the yard is just dirt with no grass, the construction people left a bunch of debris in the yard that is too heavy for me to take to the curb by myself, the washer smells funky and the dryer is disconnected, and finally, the whole place was covered in construction dust and the kitchen, bathroom and laundry floors were so dirty that even after mopping them three times I can't walk across the floor without my feet turning black!

Breath....

And despite all this, the price and the location are right.
And it is the home where we will bring home Babybyrd.
And we'll have his first Christmas there.

I think once our stuff is put away I'll feel more at home. Right now law school feels more comfortable than the house :( This is a sad state of affairs.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Since I last blogged we moved into my parents' house for a month. Our apartment lease was up and the cottage we are moving into isn't finished being renovated, so we are here for August. I am still working, from home. This is tricky because I'm not naturally organized and with limited space I tend to feel kind of overwhelmed. We took the MPRE, which for those that don't know is the ethics part of the NY bar. Hopefully I passed, although who knew it was against the professional code of conduct to bribe a judge? We had a small family shower this last weekend, mainly for the purpose of not having to invite the family to the big friends shower in October. My mom's family didn't show up, which upset her and delighted everyone else. It was very nice but I was soooo tired afterwards. In another week we leave for GA, which I'm so excited for, but also stressed about getting ready. My job is great in that I love it, but I have trouble staying on schedule since I'm working from home.

Time has been flying!
I'm glad but also so afraid that I won't be able to get everything done that I need to do. I sometimes have what I call Juggler syndrome. I will have a few balls in the air, and I'll be doing ok. Then something else will be thrown in, and all of a sudden I just drop everything. I can't do anything because I'm so worried about everything all at once. The trick at that point is to know my limit and willingly choose to ignore some of the balls on the floor while I take care of the priorities. The other problem is that a lot of times the squeaky wheel gets the grease. In other words, I prioritize the balls that complain the most. This becomes a problem because in general, God does not demand my time from me by knocking on my door, calling or texting, or emailing me.

So here goes. These are the balls that I absolutely have to concentrate on right now:

1) I MUST pray! I'm about to go through major life changes, make huge decisions, become a mom. There is no way I can drop this ball. I've got to prioritize the Lord during this time if I want my life to mean anything. For me this means not only do I need to pray and read the Bible, I have to make a time a place to do this everyday. I need a time when I put down all the other balls and just get to know God better. I need to tithe joyfully, even though I am stressed about paying off my credit cards. I need to take the time to read those Christian parenting books, even though I'm sick of reading for work. Basically, if I want to keep anything else in the air, I need divine strength to do it, there's no chance I'll make it on my own!

2) I have to do a good job at work. Right now I spend a lot of time stressing about work, but not enough taking care of business. My boss has been very patient because she knows how busy I am, but I want to really show her that I can do a great job, and be a good witness to her.

3) I need to remember my friends! I never have a problem spending time with my family, because they are always there and it is very easy to make time for them. However, I am a notoriously bad friend. (I remember birthdays two days after they occur, I check facebook all the time, and then forget to check at all for two weeks, I make plans and then get absorbed in keeping up another ball, I let my cell phone go dead for a day and then forget to listen to my voicemails) Examples: I made plans with JO'D to go to Panera last week, then started to panic about taking the MPRE the next day, studied all night, then remembered the next day that I was supposed to go have fun. By then my phone was dead. Another friend from high school is getting married (I had no idea) and called last week to get my address for the wedding. I had no idea until Greg checked my voicemail for me. Two of my best friends from college helped us move from Newark to my parents' house. They worked all day in the heat, Drew moving furniture, Deb scrubbing my bathroom, etc. I haven't called them since that day to invite them to the beach. I think the act of letting go of some other balls will help with this one. If I can manage to do my work on time and not stress about it all the time, I should be more relaxed so that I can spend time with my friends and not feel guilty about it.

4) Take care of the body for Babybyrd's sake. This should be a no-brainer, but I frequently forget to eat, take vitamins, and drink enough water. When I get dehydrated, I start to get cramps/contractions. This happens way more often then it should. I also need to get to bed on time, even if there are things to do.

These are the balls that are going to have to stay on the floor for a little while: Excessive worrying about our trip to GA next week, school starting, the renovations at our little cottage, moving in Sept., Christmas shopping, Greg getting a job when we graduate, Babybyrd becoming a drug addict, running out of money, my sister getting pregnant, my parents' retirement funds, my friends and family never knowing God personally, C-sections, episiotomies, breastfeeding, making baby food, pottytraining, homeschooling, random horrible accidents, whether or not I passed the MPRE, how I did in my summer classes, and whether I will pay off my credit cards before the baby gets here.