diaper duty

Hey all! So it's been an eventful week. Our little guy arrived over a week ago, and we've been home from the hospital since last Wednesday. We're definitely in an adjustment period (which is inevitable whenever you get a new roommate), but we've made some major strides over the past couple of days. The biggest accomplishment has been that Brenda is actually starting to get a decent amount of sleep, which she was lacking for several days after the birth. I was quite amazed by how well she functioned with almost no sleep, but I'm glad she doesn't have to keep doing it.

Of Brenda's recent achievements, the birth was by far the most awe inspiring. Now that I've witnessed the birthing process first hand, I have a whole new respect for moms everywhere. Not that I ever thought giving birth would be easy, but it's one thing to hear about it and another thing to see it up close. Brenda decided not to use pain medication, and it was clear that the pain was excruciating at times. Fortunately, once the contractions started happening regularly, the birth went very quickly. My big accomplishment was that I didn't pass out (although I did freak out quite a bit).

On the whole, our experience of having a baby in a German hospital was quite positive. Our room was private and had beds for both of us, and we stayed for three nights after the birth (we had the option of staying up to seven nights). Now that we're back home we have a midwife coming almost everyday to check on our little guy and to answer any questions we might have about parenting. For instance, today she showed us how to give him a bath.

Our plan for the next week is to keep enjoying time with our little dude and learning how best to care for him. As the weather improves we may even attempt a few more outings. We've ventured outside twice so far with il bambino, and he did great on both trips. One of these days we'll take him to the opera house to meet Brenda's coworkers.

So that's what we've been up to. I hope you have a wonderful week, and we'll talk to you next Tuesday!

tune in tomorrow

Hey folks! I'm afraid this week's post is going to have to wait until tomorrow. There were too many diapers to change and hours of sleep to catch up on to get the post done today. I hope you'll check back tomorrow. Until then, have a nice evening!

the baby is here!

Hey all! This is just a quick update to let you know that our baby is here, and that he and Brenda are doing great. I'm keeping this short because we have a lot to do and we're both wiped out, but I'll tell you more in a subsequent post. Until then, have a great week!

playing the waiting game

Hey all! First things first, Brenda is still pregnant. Our doctor thought the baby would arrive a few weeks early, but the little guy seems to be comfortable right where he is. The due date is eight days away, and Brenda is now seeing the doctor every couple of days just to keep an eye on things. Other than those appointments, Brenda has been crocheting a baby blanket, baking cookies, and meeting up with friends for coffee. Meanwhile I've been working on taxes, finishing projects around the apartment, and meeting up with friends for coffee (we've got that in common). One such project was this shelf in the baby's room...

It's the picture that's crooked, not the shelf. I swear.

So that's what we've been up to. I hope you're all having a great week, and we'll talk to you next Tuesday!

the calm before the (diaper) storm

Hey all! Well, the baby decided to stay inside for another week, which means that Brenda is just a day shy of being thirty-eight weeks pregnant. That is good news as far as the baby's development is concerned. We'll get to have another peek at the little guy tomorrow during our doctor's appointment and find out how much bigger he's gotten over the past couple of weeks.

While we wait for Herr Knödel to make his debut, we've been continuing to cross things off of our to-do list, enjoy time with friends, and stock up on sleep. Basically, we've been doing things we won't be able to do once he arrives. 

Brenda and our friends Paula and Barb met up for pedicures over the weekend.

The plan is to keep doing what we're doing until it's time to go to the hospital (which is literally around the corner). The baby's room is looking pretty darn cute, although I still need to put the curtain rod up. We'll have to take a picture to share with you once it's all done.

I hope you're all having a great week, and we'll talk to you next Tuesday! Unless Brenda's in labor. :-)

our bags are packed, but not quite ready to go!

Hello all! It's the expectant mama writing at you today. I'm very happy to say I'm still expecting, because last Wednesday our doctor told us we should be ready any day for the baby to come! Even though I was supposed to have 4 weeks (3 weeks as of tomorrow) left of pregnancy, my body was/is giving signs that the baby will come early. So that meant as soon as we got home from the appointment last week we packed our hospital bag, and made some purchases online that we had been dragging our feet on. Nothing like the thought of an imminent infant to light a fire under our bums!! Of course, while getting all of that stuff done, I was supposed to take it easy as well, in order to try to postpone labor, since it'd be best if the little one reached 37 weeks, which I'm happy to say will be the case! We're much more prepared than we were a week ago, and still had a chance to relax with friends. On Friday we had a couple of good friends over for a bit of a movie day, and on Saturday we were actually invited by the inhabitant of our old apartment to come over for a delicious home cooked dinner. It was quite strange having to ring the doorbell to be let in to a place we lived in for over 5 years! To finish the weekend off, another friend came over on Sunday and cooked us a delectable brunch. We felt quite spoiled!
Hopefully we have a little more time before we become a family of three, but until then, we're trying to get things done that we'll probably be too tired to focus on after the little one comes. This includes some music learning, some tax prep, some filling out of German forms... But also just enjoying each other's company! Tonight we went to a movie (Hail, Caesar!) and had a grand ol' time. As excited as we are to meet our little guy, it's nice to enjoy these last moments of non-sleep-deprived coupledom! We'll see what next week has in store for us... Until then, have a great week!