New Luke Photos

See the latest baby pictures. I realize they aren't all that thrilling or different. He's just not doing tricks yet. :-p But there are a few of him on his three week birthday, and some with his Grandmama (DH's mother). Hope you enjoy!

I assure you there will be more (and more interesting) photos after this weekend. My brother is coming for his first ever visit with his nephew, and my parents are coming. Nana will be armed with a digital camera, Uncle Jacob will manage the video camera I expect (not digital, sorry), and Papa is bringing *the* camera, old fashioned and purchased for the birth of *his* first child (that would be me), but still takes some of the best photos around. I'll scan and upload (unless we get them on disc; I'll try) as soon as they are developed.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!!

The (late) two-week Luke update, plus some babbling

Luke had his newborn appointment last Thursday, his official two-week birthday. Per the pediatrician, everything checks out perfectly. She was very pleased with his weight gain, we have official permission to now feed exclusively on demand (which we had pretty much been doing anyway), and he's getting big!

Official weight: 9 lbs 4 oz; a gain of 1 lb 11 oz from his lowest weight
Official length: 21 3/4 inches; a gain of 2 1/4 inches (in just two weeks!!)

No wonder he's been eating like he has a black hole for a stomach! LOL DH hopes it is a sign that he's well on his way to seven feet tall (yeah right; DH is only 5'8", and I'm only 5'2"). Things continue to go well. I even got two blocks of 4+ hours of sleep last night, with only 45 minutes in between for a diaper change and feed. I'm not betting that it will last, but it sure was nice, even for a single evening.

This is day 2 of "going it alone" all day long, and things are fine. I wasn't even sure late last week that I would be able to handle it, but I continued to improve physically over the weekend, and I am now comfortable carrying him up and down the stairs, which is a considerable bonus. I thought I was going to be confined to up or down for a while. Give me another couple of weeks, and we'll be going out! But not yet.

Jacob is coming this weekend to get his first in-person look at his nephew. Mom and Dad will be coming as well. I can't wait!

No more cord

Luke's cord fell of sometime today. We're not exactly sure when. Such a cute little belly button under there! It does make me very slightly sad, in a way. The first true sign he's growing up, and the loss of his last physical link to me. But I'll live. He's asleep. Better try to get him to bed, then jump in myself. Gotta try to get some sleep for me before he wakes up and starts his cluster feeding cycle around 1 AM. ::yawn::

Ain't that the truth! LOL

This is the card my parents gave us before leaving today:

BA-BY BOY: noun; Handy way of disposing of unwanted cash and filling up free time, while cutting down on unnecessary sleep, curtailing a demanding social life, and curing a neurotic obcession with personal hygene.

And now, a few words from Luke's mother....

Yes, this really is Erin, not her brother posting for her. Thank you all for your well wishes. Not only are we home (we actually came home early Sunday afternoon), but I think we are finally over the hump. There were several minor complications at each stage of the game (labor, delivery, recovery, breast feeding, etc), but they all compounded each other to the point that myself, my husband, and even my mother became overwhelmed, not only emotionally, but physically, above and beyond the already insane yet "normal" demands of new parenthood. We had a pretty good day yesterday (obviously, or they would not have let us come home), and an EXCELLENT day today (Monday), so I think the worst is behind us.

Not sure when I'll be around again, but I promise to try. And for everyone looking for a picture, one is below, and the rest can be found at our Webshots baby album. None of them are labeled yet, and they are often a bit out of order within the album itself, as the photos were taken with different cameras and simply "batch" uploaded. Hope you enjoy them, and I'll get it all labeled, captioned, and arranged to my liking sometime, maybe before he turns 20! LOL

Introducing The Gaston Family!

Busy on Wednesday?

Don't know what your Wednesday plans are, but my day will be rather full. You see, I'll be having a baby! EEK!!! My blood pressure was up again, second straight time in two weeks. It is now 150/78. Not good. Weight was fine (actually down about half a pound), no comment on my urine, so no idea what's going on there. I am 1.5 cm dialated, though; far enough that one finger could reach in and touch the head. (That is about the strangest thing I think I've ever typed!) Oh, and I have been having arthritis-like pains in my hands on and off since Friday. He said that is definitely not good because it means I am sometimes retaining enough fluid to either put severe pressure on my joints or to actually force the fluid inside, causing the pain. "We need to get this taken care of. Let me go call the hospital." They were slammed full tomorrow, so the earliest they could get me in is Wednesday morning. "9 AM; be there at 8:30, and we'll have this baby!" YIKES!!

So that's it then. Unless baby makes his own plans, looks like we'll be parents as of sometime October 6. Be looking for an announcement sometime that night, depending (obviously) on when Baby G arrives and how long it takes to contact my brother to post the news. Wish us luck!!

Tell them you love them while you have the chance

Tomorrow, one of my dearest friends will bury her father. He was in his early 50s, with a wife, two married daughters (the two older kids), and two sons in college (the two younger kids). With no warning whatsoever, he suffered a major heart attack and died at his home Thursday evening. I know that everyone, especially them, thought they had all the time in the world. Of course he would be there at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Of course he would see his grandchildren. Of course he would see his two youngest children graduate from college. But none of this was meant to be. He's gone, forever.

Just one more reminder to say "I love you" one more time, to hug that person goodbye, to send an email or make a phone call more often, because you never know when you won't be able to ever again. None of us is promised tomorrow, or even another few minutes. Cherish every moment while it here, every person while he or she is in your life, because those moments may never come again, and that person may walk out the door for the last time. If you do all you can now to show and tell everyone that you love them as often as possible, you won't have a reason to be sorry later.

{{{Hugs}}} to Leah and family. Joel Phillips was truly one of the nicest men and most dedicated fathers I have ever met. He will be greatly missed.