Stuart Jack's Arrival

The fact that we waited two months to post about baby Ritchie's arrival should serve as a good indicator of what new parenthood is all about. We have gotten through the "survival stage" and now want to share the story of how our little one entered the world.

On Sunday, April 8, after a super-productive day for Shannon and a brisk walk, her water broke around 10pm. Well, it was more of a constant trickle over many hours so we weren't quite sure if this was "it." But it was - contractions started a few hours later. We were at the finish line.  

Beesly knew something was up and mostly waited by the door that next day. Either serving as our protector or signaling she knew we were going to leave her and wanted to be prepared to hop along for the ride, we're not sure. But it was adorable. 

We enjoyed perfect weather as Carl drove Shannon around and keeping her distracted the next day. She got a massage and her favorite BLT from Parker and Otis. Carl put his incredible partner support skills to work that we learned in our birth class. We were on cloud 9 with excitement. 

Lori, Shannon's best friend, flew in from Austin and arrived around 8pm. Contractions were between 5 and 10 minutes apart at this point. We picked her up from the airport, Shannon rested her head on Lori in the backseat and contractions picked up immediately. This was the first sign that the connection between mind and body during labor is a powerful thing. 

We arrived at the Birth Center around 10pm and Shannon was 3 cm dilated and encouraged to rest up - it was not close to being over yet. 

"Team Awesome" was prepared, and quite impressive despite the lack of sleep. The midwives only came in to monitor vitals and check on us every so often. They remarked to us later that they saw what incredible support Shannon had and realized they weren't really needed much more than that. (They were right)

Carl and Lori knew just what Shannon needed... they stroked her hair, gave her a shoulder or a hug when she needed it most and came up with a quite ingenius way of applying heat to her back (that's what you get for marrying an engineer, folks). 

Towards the end of her pregnancy, Shannon was really looking forward to laboring in the tub. But unfortunately it wasn't an option until she was much farther along because her water broke so early. So she pretty much labored like this the majority of the time: 

Quiet, checked out, using visualization. She sat in this rocking chair for hours and had no idea what was going on in the room around her until the contraction was over. It was miraculous. 

Around 10am the next morning, Sarah, our midwife had a heart-to-heart with Shannon about her level of exhaustion. She was just 6 cm and labor was just not progressing quickly. She told her about her option to transfer to the nearby hospital and get started on pitocin to speed things up and an epidural to allow her to rest after such a long labor. But she knew she had a little bit of fight left in her and right after this conversation, just bounced out of bed and kicked it to another gear. 

Carl and Lori supported her while she did "circuits" -- walking the parking lot, climbing three flights of stairs, bouncing on the birth ball, leaning on the counter. They supplied gatorade, ice chips, and hands to hold on to. She transitioned with their help. And then promptly got in the tub.

The next check, she was still only 8 cm but Sarah thought she could push through to 10. And she did. 

She spent the next 30 minutes pushing on the bed with her team by her side. The first thing Carl saw was a head full of dark hair (a definite surprise). Shannon reached down to feel her boy coming which made her push with even more strength. 

Then, he arrived. Carl caught him and brought him to Shannon's chest at 3:50pm on April 10th. 

Our hearts swelled with love in that moment, beyond what we thought was even possible. We would never be the same. At long last, we were parents. 

Stuart Jack, our little man, is everything we dreamed of and more. He loves kicking his chubby little legs to get attention and show off. He already coos and "talks" quite a lot. He is always alert (read: rarely naps) and studies the world around him with intensity. We're convinced he has rhythm and loves dancing around the living room while we sing to him. It is very apparent that he is ours.

Thank you all for your overwhelming love, support and encouragement during this pregnancy. Our family is lucky to have you along for this incredible journey.  

Full-Term, Baby

We made it! Baby is now full-term. 

At 37 weeks, the baby could technically come at any moment and can safely be delivered at the Birth Center. At our last visit with the midwife, we confirmed that he's head down, has dropped, and is ready to go. We think he's going to be a big, strong baby - he certainly enjoys practicing roundhouse kicks into Shannon's ribcage.

As eager as we are to meet him, we're hoping that he's comfy enough in his quarters to stay put and allow Shannon to finish up the rest of her classwork. We're definitely getting down to the wire! 

The to-do list to prepare for baby's arrival is now very short. Shannon's been extremely organized (she is a planner!) and has kept Amazon in business while Carl has proven that Dads indeed have nesting urges too. He set up the car seat, assembled the baby's swing and has kept the house clean (let's just say there was an epic couch cleaning episode last week). 

Stay tuned! 

An Open Letter To My Son

Son,

You're going to be here in a few weeks. I am not the only one excited for your arrival but I might be the most excited. Don't tell your mother.

Here's a list of twelve reasons why I can't wait for you to get here. These are not in chronological order. I hope.

1. I am going to read you the entire Harry Potter series.

2. We're going to play catch and, someday, you're going to hit a home run.

3. I'll probably give you a hundred nick-names. I hope you like one of them.

4. I don't care how far I have to drive, I am going to buy you a Blizzard.

5. The look on your face the first time we watch Jurassic Park.

6. I can't wait to see your golf swing.

7. I'm going to make you laugh. I'm going to try really hard to make you laugh.

8. I'll teach you how to shave. Or better yet, I'll teach you how maintain a beard because I'm terrible at shaving.

9. I'm going to cook you Grandma's spaghetti.

10. We're going to watch the Vikings win the Super Bowl.

11. The first time (and every time) I take you to a concert.

12. When you beat me at ping pong. If it ever happens.

I'll see you soon. Be good to your mother.
-Dad

34 Weeks

Six more weeks! Where has the time gone?!

In the last month, we've been super busy. We're juggling school and work priorities and our workloads have picked up considerably over the past couple of weeks. Baby showers (more to come!) and a trip down to Charlotte with the Vote Against Project have provided much needed fun with friends and family. We're also trying to do things that will be impossible in a few weeks: babysitter-less dates, cooking together, sleeping in, and taking late night trips to Cookout.

We get asked a ton of questions about the pregnancy so we thought we'd share our answers to some of the popular ones... 

Shannon, what are you craving? 

Apples - I have craved them like crazy from the start of the pregnancy. I can't get enough. Overall, though, I crave anything sweet. Fruit, pies, cakes, milkshakes - I want them all. Especially the french silk pie at Foster's in Durham. Oh my.

Carl, will you take off from work when the baby comes?

I'm going to take as much time off as I possibly can. Without paid paternity leave, I need to get creative but I'm going to do whatever it takes to be as present as I can from the day he's born. Even if it means taking FMLA-guaranteed unpaid leave.

Carl, which position will your son play as a professional baseball player?

Theo, stop calling me at home. But, since you asked...I always played second base, so I imagine that he'll follow in my footsteps.

Any new symptoms in the third trimester? 

Noticeable, (sometimes) painful contractions started about a week ago. There's nothing to be concerned with but we're taking it as a sign that Shannon's body needs a break. She's trying to stay off her increasingly swollen feet and remain relaxed as she finishes the rest of her schoolwork in the next few weeks. The insomnia and nausea that's kicked in the last few weeks aren't exactly helping and have Shannon longing for the good old days of the second trimester.

30 Weeks

We finished our birth classes last weekend and feel more prepared than ever. It feels like our toolbox is almost filled to the brim, and now we're just anxiously waiting to use it in April. It goes without saying that a parent's toolbox is never quite stocked adequately - there will many times we'll call relatives and friends with questions, in need of support. Nonetheless, we loved going through that class together and continue to ask many questions of our network of supporters and read all of the materials we've received. 

Our favorite part of the class was when our instructor asked us to write down the first word that came to us when we heard the word "birth." We were told to write it down quickly, turn it over and hand it to her. Many in our class wrote understandably scary words -- "pain," "fear," "unknown." Then, "excited" was read aloud and Carl squeezed Shannon's hand. She looked back at him beaming, whispering "that's my word too!" -- we are indeed excited, and ready. 

At 30 weeks, Shannon's carrying a lot more weight around but handling it like a champ, staying active with long walks and yoga. It certainly doesn't hurt having this gorgeous NC weather to keep spirits high! Carl continues to keep her calm, healthy and happy. Foot rubs have never felt so good! 

26 Weeks

The holidays (that included a 2,400 mile road trip to Minnesota by way of Dayton and Chicago) are a tiny speck in the rear-view. The road ahead looks a little something like this, as we start the third trimester:

• Colder weather. We think.
• Birth classes, starting next weekend.
• Keeping Mama happy and healthy, and off her feet!
• Getting the baby's room ready (Yes, the nesting has officially begun folks).
• Working to defeat that NC marriage amendment (click here to see what Shannon's been working on lately).
• Start of baseball season (Go Twins!).
• Anxiously awaiting April 18th.
• Gaining a graduate school diploma, on Mother's Day, with a healthy baby boy on hand to witness. 

We can't wait to share the rest with you. 

Stay tuned, it's go time.

Happy Holidays!

22 Weeks

What an exciting time of year! Shannon's finished her Fall semester (but still doesn't comprehend the meaning of "time off"), we've celebrated the holidays with family in NC, and we're about to embark on a road trip to MN for Christmas -- complete with fun stops along the way. 

But first, we need to update you on some exciting happenings...

• The baby is kicking up a storm now! Carl has felt it move a number of times and it's really fun to interact with our little one inside. 
• It weighs over a pound, so this fancy iPhone app tells us, and is the size of a papaya. Sure is a long way from that little sesame seed! 
• We (mostly) cleaned out the room we will designate for the baby, at least for the first few months until we upgrade to a new home. Of course, we use the word "room" loosely as it's technically a large walk-in closet in our loft. As long as it has a door to keep it nice and quiet in there for long bouts of sleeping... we can dream, huh?  :)
• Oh, yes... and one more thing... 

We found out our baby's gender during the ultrasound several weeks ago. It was really exciting and both of us were quite shocked. The only "hint" either of us had that it was a boy was that we both had multiple dreams about our baby and it was a boy in all of them. So... don't believe in any of the old wives tales, none of them were true in this case!  

Halfway There - 20 Weeks!

We feel like it was just yesterday that we were sharing our exciting news with you all. And now the adventure is half over! 

Just after Thanksgiving, we had an ultrasound at UNC Hospital. Our little one was measuring right on track with a "strong," 144bpm heartbeat. We were perfectly happy seeing the 10 wiggling fingers and toes but glad they covered all the medical bases, too.

The most interesting part of the visit is that baby decided to stay curled up in a ball, with its head down for the entire scan. It was not interested in being disturbed and put up a little show when we tried (kicking and flailing its arms). Shannon moved around, tried coaxing it - nothing. Stubborn little thing was not moving. To prevent us from staying for further testing, Carl decided to put his hand on the belly and move it all around and voila, the baby moved out of the position. Though it apparently has a preference for daddy, we appreciate that it inherited both parent's ability to stay curled up and sleeping for long periods of time.

Here's to 20 more happy and healthy weeks ahead... 

So Thankful

We've been pretty busy as of late. Braving cooler temperatures, we took a trip to Chicago to see friends and family (we're now referring to the windy city as our "home away from home, away from home"). It was so nice to get away from home and truly unwind.

Thanksgiving soon followed - and oh, do we have a lot to be thankful for. A healthy pregnancy, friends and family supporting us along the way, a comfortable home to bring our newborn to, a job for Carl... we are overwhelmed with joy. 

We had some photos taken on Thanksgiving, as we realized there are lots of "bump shots," but none with Carl sharing in the action. More to come... 

(Special thanks to Meghan Balfrey for taking the photos for us! My brother's girlfriend - and incredibly talented.)