Michael's Here!!

Michael Stephen Pond was born at 6:08 pm (central time) on May 27, 2010. He weighed exactly 7lbs. and measured 18 inches long. Now, we are home from the hospital and just starting to settle down to a new family life.


The labor process began with some unexpected bleeding that landed us in the hospital Wednesday morning and again Thursday morning; with the doctor's approval, we agreed to induce on Thursday, followed by 9 hours of labor. Overall, it was a good experience. We really liked our hospital and its staff, but we were so glad to come home and to start life on our own.

I never realized before how hard it is to get a good picture of a newborn baby. Every picture makes him look like a different person! But here's some of our attempts.

Getting Ready for Baby

I can't believe how quickly the weeks are passing. Where has my first month of summer break gone?! It's definitely summer here. Last Monday, the high was 57; yesterday, the high was 92. I'm hot.

But we're still getting stuff accomplished. This weekend, JD and I assembled the pack 'n play, the bassinet, the bouncy chair, finished up the diaper stacker, mended the rocking chair cushion, and installed the car seat and its paraphernalia. We also packed our hospital bag. No matter how hard JD tried to get me to pack some Hackinsaw Boys bluegrass for the labor room, I opted instead for some nature sounds.

We found a cool drive-in movie theatre Friday night where we saw the new Shrek, thanks to Kyle and Danielle. And Sunday we finally saw Avatar (yes, on Blue Ray, Michael) thanks to Beth. This week is our last week of hospital classes; we also get to meet our new pediatrician. I have to agree with JD that I'm glad the breastfeeding classes are over. It just starts to get uncomfortable more than helpful when the instructor demonstrates pumping over her own clothes.

Bloomington Farmer's Market

This weekend marked the first Bloomington Farmer's Market event of the year! It really reminds us that summer is on the way, as we try to attend it every Saturday morning that we're available. With fresh and locally grown produce, eggs, meat, cheese, hand-made jewelry, pottery, and live music (usually country), it is always so fun to join the town, their kids and their dogs, in supporting local farmers. Although it was a bit cloudy, we went out this Saturday morning and went home with flowers, cheese curds, home-made basil pasta, and a cinnamon bun in our bellies.

We also saw Iron Man 2 on Saturday afternoon once the rain started. It was suprisingly good! We had a great time, even though neither of us had seen the first movie. It's been a nice weekend. We're actually headed now over to the hospital for a tour. Ah, what have our lives already become?!

Michael in May

Here are some new ultrasound pics from my doctor's appointment yesterday. Michael's already 6 lbs, 2 oz, and I still have over 3 weeks to go! This is a profile picture, and he has his hand up on the left.

Here's his big foot (the ultrasound tech commented that he has large feet!) pushing right up against my belly.

Here's a kinda strange face-shot. The dark spots are his eyes and lips. His hand is up by his nose on the right side.

3 Weeks, 4 1/2 Days, and Counting

A last get-together at Evergreen Lake before the ladies go their separate ways for summer.

It's funny how there are so many things about being pregnant that people prepare you for - and then they're wrong - and how there are so many other things that no one even mentions. For instance, although I anticipated it somewhat, no one warned me that once I hit forty weeks, I'd never be able to stop thinking about labor and delivery. And each day it grows closer, the more it preys on my mind, of course.

It doesn't help to attend twelve hours of childbirth education class in which I get to hear every grewsome detail that could possibly happen to me (but let's pray that at least 80% of it doesn't). Wednesday's 3-hour session left me shaking, followed by a nice 24-hour anxiety stomach ache. Luckily, friends and family interveened through prayer and long talks to help ease my mind, and I think I'm just calming down in time for this week's class.

Surprsingly, JD isn't worried at all! :) Thank goodness there's one sane person in the house. Now that school is out (students earned a total of 3 Ds this semester-not bad!), I have so much free time by myself, a good and a bad thing. We're getting lots of work accomplished, particularly on the yard, and I have found a couple of opportunities to spend time with friends. But I'm rather disappointed in Gizmo's general lack of concern for the whole ordeal.

Yay for May

Well, there's not too much to report this week. John David had a national meeting that he attended this past week for 3 days in Chicago. Gizmo and I missed him terribly, although I love it when he walks in the door on Friday and exclaims, "my family!" when he hugs me. :) Two for one right now! He got a new Blackberry while he was there, which he is very excited about and happy to describe in detail to anyone who is interested (or not). Meanwhile, I said goodbye to one of my classes and had my own very last class forever.

We did (suprise) yard work this weekend and even planted some of our seedlings: the basil, parsley, cilantro, and catnip is growing strong. Tomato babies will go in the ground sometime this week too. Hooray for spring! I've also been studying for my final exams, which I take on Tuesday. This week also marks our first childbirth education classes with only 5 weeks to go before Baby Michael is scheduled to arrive. JD wants Michael to arrive early, Mom wants him to arrive right on time, and I just want him to arrive small and easy. Too bad none of our opinions matter a bit!