Our Continuing Journey

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Birthing Class and Hospital Tour

We recently had the opportunity to take a birthing class at the hospital where we will be having little Nathan Eli. From a guys perspective it was pretty interesting. Most of the information presented in the class, I had learned while I was training to be an EMT. As for Samantha she had also learned quite a bit of the material already while taking classes to be a nurse.

Here I am with all our stuff.

But what made this class so valuable to me was I was able to practice some of the things that will help physically and emotionally comfort Samantha during labor. In addition to that I was able to practice things like swaddling, and different techniques for holding him.

I think that its importnat to note that I have very little experience with infants. I have only held maybe two in my whole life. So needless to say I will be relying on Samantha.

We chose our sonogram picture of Nathan as our focal point.

Here we are practicing breathing techniques.

Oh yea! She sure is ready to be holding Nathan!

Hospital Tour

Another great thing about this class was that it was taught by a nurse who works in the labor and delivery and who is also a dula.

We were able to see all the different room and amenities our hospital has to offer for mommy and daddy.

There is a jacuzzi tub that is available, a pantry that is stocked with snacks and popsicles, which we will have access to freely. A heated linnen closet with robes and blankets for mommy daddy or even baby. There are yoga balls and squatting bars that are available to assist with labor and delivery.

The rooms were a lot larger and nicer than I was expecting. I didn't expect a table and a TV with a DVD player. It was a very pleasant surprise.

All in all this was a very long and informative day. We made some wonderful memories and hopefully learned some things that (I hope I can remember, and hopefully not panic!) will help this labor and delivery go smoothly.

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Nursery Update

It has been a pretty neat experience, transforming an ordinary room in to a nursery! Yes that's right, a nursery for our little boy Nathan. Just the sound of that, sends chills up my spine. This room will not just be a spare bedroom, but instead it will be Nathan's room!

We are still pretty far from finishing everything. We still need most of the furniture but we have gotten a lot of the little things.

It can be a little overwhelming for mama. Her nesting instinct has been kicking in, and with that, is not only the desire to have everything clean, but the desire to see Nathan's nursery complete.

We (ME) have not begun to panic...yet. Samantha's baby shower is coming up soon, and many people have already told us they plan to get us things for the baby. Each time we hear someone say that it makes us feel really grateful and blessed. God has placed some wonderful people in our lives.

Over and over God has proven to us, that if we "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 6:33" that He will provide our needs. (as one preacher put it, "our needs, not our greeds!)

Turning a Grey Room, Blue!

Mom Leeder and I decided to tackle this project head on!

Being daddy, and Mom Leeder being grandma, we were drafted to this project, by "General Mama!" She said it was our duty! All kidding aside it was a lot of work, but a lot of fun at the same time. It gave Mom Leeder and I time to bond and talk. :-)

Here we go! Opening the Paint

Sweet Baby Boy

No turing back now!

Mom Leeder , was a great help! She painted all the base boards and all the trim that she could reach. Couldn't of done it without you!

We tried to keep Mama out of the room, but "General Mama" keep trying to inspect our work, so I pulled out my respirator so she could peak in and not worry about the fumes.

Can't let Mama and Baby smell the fumes!

Painting Complete!

The original trim for this closet was black and the doors were an off white

Friday, May 11, 2012

6 Months and Counting!

We are just about ready to cross over into the third trimester and it has been a whirlwind of emotions.
Fear of bringing a little one into the world and all the responsibility that goes with it. Humility, in that God would allow us to care for this precious, eternal soul. Excitement that we are going to have a precious baby to love!

The delicious glucose test ;-)

Part of being this far along in the pregnancy is, having to do the diabetes/anemia test. Along with having to gulp down a bottle of a super sweet, cola in less than five minutes. Then having to give blood three times in 2 hours. Not too pleasant :-)

It was tough for Samantha, to have to give blood, that many times is such a short period, especially because some of the phlebotomist have a hard time getting to her viens. She almost always walks away with a bruising. But she passed the test!

New baby pictures

Karate Kick!

Baby Nathan likes to let mama know he's still there!

My cute little fist!

We have been praying for our little Nathan and specifically for his kidneys. About a month ago we had an ultrasound that revealed that one of his kidneys was enlarged and had the possibility of being filled with cysts. The worst case scenario would be that that the damaged kidney would eventually die off and dissolve, leaving him to be born with only one kidney.

The other diagnosis the doctors gave us was that there was a possibility that Nathan's kidney had a "kink" in the part that drains into the bladder. Because of the potential "kink" it could be the cause of why the kidney was so enlarged. The worst case scenario for this diagnosis was that after birth Nathan would have to have surgery to repair the "kink" so his kidney would function correctly. In both cases we were told not to worry and that it even though it sounded scary it was no need to worry or panic just yet.

While at this appointment we found out that the kidney's seemed perfectly fine. We had been praying that Nathan's kidneys would resolve its issues all on its own and IT DID!!

We know that God is in control, and he does all things well, and if God chose not to heal Nathan we were ready and at peace with that. However we know that God delights in hearing the prayers of His children and loves for us to take our needs to Him.

We believe in the Great Physician, and believe that God still does miracles!

God is so good! Continue to pray for his healthy arrival!

Getting our custom diaper bag!

A couple of weeks ago Samantha saw a website that had a diaper bag that she liked. We looked and looked at Baby's R Us for a diaper bag that she liked but she could not find one, that was "the one". So rather than have her suffer the anguish of having to tote around a bag that she didn't "love", her loving husband decided to order her "the one". I must admit it is really pretty. They quality is very nice and the monograming was perfect!

Today it finally arrived! Can you see the excitement on Samantha's face?

Part of the great deal was to have it monogramed for FREE (up to ten spaces and Nathan name fit perfect!). The free part was music to my ears! ;-)

The inside of the bag is pretty cute, it has plenty of pockets and has a matching changing pad.

I have included a link to the site where we found our bag. Click Here

The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.

Proverbs 10:22

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Baby Registry

One of greatest joys in our journey of life has been finding out we are going to have a baby, and with that comes the joy of filling out our baby registry. It was fun to register for our wedding, but it was really fun to register for our baby.

Prior to this time, I had never been in a Baby's R Us. Toys R Us is a different story, but never Babies R Us. So with that said, I had no idea how much stuff was in there!

And I must say there was some pretty interesting products. Lets just say I learned a lot!

We wanted to make sure we didn't miss anything so we went up and down every row, scanning all the things we thought we might need.

Earlier in the day I had mentioned to my brother that Samantha and I would be at Babies R Us to register for our baby. I explained that we would most-likey be there a long time, so I would call him when we were done so we could meet up for lunch.

Well as circumstances and (his) personality would have it, Alex showed up right as we were getting started. Now you have to know something about Alex, he like me, had very little experience with babies. So I knew for him to come into this store as un unmarried man would be about as exciting as a lady going into a tool store.

Alex has a way of making things fun, he is very witty and had us cracking up with all of his jokes and comments. But really there is only so much a single guy can take...

It wasn't long before his energy was depleted, and he was sitting on a bench "resting". I knew that he was ready to go, but was being a good sport and waiting for us.

Well Alex finally decided that if was going to endure this he was going to need a caffeinated energy drink. So off he went...And came back with a 3-D Blueray disk.

Meanwhile Samantha and I were having a blast day-dreaming of our little boy and how he would be using all the things we were seeing in the store.

It was fun to look at running strollers, and imagine pushing little Nathan in a race. If was fun to look and little baby robes and imagine giving him his first bath. Or imagining decorating his nursery.