Owen Anthony

He is here!

He was born around 2:15pm today (July 14, 2012).  He was 21 inches long and weighed 7 lbs 14 oz.  (Which, by the way, someone pointed out on my Facebook wall that the date he was born was the same numbers as his birth weight.)

Emily and Owen are doing great.  They are keeping Owen in the infant special unit for observation tonight.  (He inhaled a bunch of junk as he was being born so they are just keeping to make sure his lungs don't have any fluid left in them.)

Here is one (I took MANY) of the pics:

I have many stories from this experience.  I'll probably be updating the blog a lot in the next week or so, so check back often.  (I had to e-mail myself funny things that happened so that I would remember them.) 

Friday the 13th

10 days or less.

Owen will be born in 10 days or less.

Emily went to the doctor yesterday, and her doctor told her that they would meet again on Monday the 16th, and if things haven't progressed more by that point she would schedule a day to induce.  The induction would take place sometime that week.  So the little guy won't stay in there forever.  (Although it's starting to feel that way.)  He will be born sometime in the next 10 days.  (July 12th - July 21st).

While we passed by the largest obstacle, in terms of birthdays (having him born on his mother's birthday), there are still a few days that would carry meaning if he were born on them.

July 15th is Emily's father's birthday.  When we were texting last week, he predicted that Owen would be born on his birthday.  And if Owen were born on his birthday, I'm sure that would have a lot of meaning for the family.

But my prediction weeks ago was that he would be born on Friday the 13th.  Now that isn't an omen, of sorts, that Emily will have a rough delivery.  (I would never wish that on anyone.)  It doesn't look like he will be born on that day, but there's a chance. 

Maybe I just make that prediction to tease Emily (because she hates scary movies), or maybe it's because secretly I'm hoping for a buddy to watch scary movies with me (when he's much older, obviously).  But the fact remains, that if he is born on Friday the 13th, I reserve the right to change his name to one of the following:

Jason

Freddy

Pinhead

OK, maybe not the last one.



Mommy & Baby Birthday

If Owen is born tomorrow (July 11th), he will have the same birthday as his mom. 

Q:  How cute is that?
A:  It isn't.

I've been joking around with Emily about what would happen if they happened to have the same birthday.  She thinks it would be cute, but here are some things that you might see if that actually happens:

-Shared birthday cake (Imagine a 1/2 red velvet & 1/2 chocolate cake with 40 candles on one side and 8 candles on the other.)  Confusing?  I thought so.

-A themed birthday party entitled: "The Real Housewives of Sesame Street"

-Combined Gifts like:  Barney Vuitton

-Entertainment:  Speaking Engagement / Party by Bethenny the Clown

On second thought, let's just hope he's born at least 1 day later.



Hurry Up & Wait

With a due date of this Saturday and a doctor who typically induces no later than a week after the due date, it is pretty much a given that Owen will be born sometime in the next 13 days. 

At this point, Em is just ready to go into labor (and I can't disagree).  She doesn't feel this way because she is experiencing any new pain or uneasiness or anything like that.  No, I think it is just the "not knowing when" aspect of going through the last couple weeks. 

In the last couple of weeks Em experienced contractions.....but nothing serious.  However, when they happened (and it is your 1st child), it is normal to ask "Is that a contraction, or something else?".  I think the wait for him to come actually slows time.  It's almost like when we were kids waiting for Christmas morning.  (I remember as a kid asking my mom if Christmas was going to come soon (It was probably early December at the time).  My mom's response was, "Christmas is just around the corner".  I'm embarassed to say now that I didn't know metaphors then and took her literally.  I must've stared out the window at least an hour to the end of our block looking for that elusive Christmas that would eventually turn onto our street.  I'm an idiot.) 

In any event, I hope that Owen arrives sooner than it seemed to take Christmas to arrive.

NOW, I'm ready.

I realize now why babies take 9 months to develop inside the womb.  It's because there is so much stuff to do to get ready for them.  (Some more necessary than others...)

In the past several months we....

• Choose the hospital we'd deliver at
• Had a baby shower
• Decided on baby furniture
• Decided on baby room color
• Painted baby room
• Had baby shower #2
• Diaper shopping......like crazy people (Don't ask)
• All day parenting class (Thanks, Em.)
• Breastfeeding class (THANKS A LOT, EM!!  -- (sarcasm))
• Had baby shower #3
• Multiple trips for maternity clothes shopping
• A wrap-up parenting class (where we didn't learn anything)
• Hospital tour
• Monthly pregnancy photos
• Picked out my own manly (OSU) diaper bag
• Thinking of new blog ideas
• Packing hospital overnight bags

But I didn't feel like we were completely ready until a package came into today's mail.  (Get ready, Gerry!)

I am NOW ready for the arrival.

I promise...

Here are a few of the promises that I make to any visitor that we might have in the next several weeks:

• I will not force you to hold the baby.  If you aren't comfortable with it, or would rather not....that's ok.  I won't take it as a personal insult that you don't want to hold a cute baby.  When my sisters (I'll leave it plural so they don't think I'm singling one out.) having babies, I remembered going to visit and having a newborn thrust into my arms....despite me not volunteering or feeling 100% confident in my baby holding abilities.  Then I would notice the snickers that everyone gave me because of the awkwardness of me holding a little baby.  Which brings me to promise #2:
• I will not laugh at your baby holding ability

• I will not try to teach you the proper baby holding technique unless you A) ask for it, or B) are obviously harming the baby.
• I will let you change as many diapers as you want.  (Em might not, however.  She's pretty excited about the whole diaper thing.  That's not a joke.) 

• I won't comment if you choose to suggest who the baby looks more like (Em or me).  I never see any resemblence to any parents until much later in development.  I will have no comment.
• I will be the buffer between any guest and Em & the baby.  It's not the role I relish, but I'll need to be protective of their resting/sleeping for a few days/weeks.....who knows how long.
• I will cherish your visit (and may even write about it in this blog).

38, 39, & 40 Weeks

Em is 38 weeks along now.  Her due date is in 13 days, but because there is always the possibility of her delivering before the due date, I had to show everyone what the 39th & 40th week vegetables are....as they are compared to my baby being born.  (Em, stop reading now.)

38 Weeks - Baby is as long as a leek (19.5 inches).

The leek comparison is as pleasant as it gets.  It's only downhill from here.  (The last 2 are not for the faint of heart.  Turn back now if you are squeamish.)

39 Weeks - Baby weighs as much as a mini-watermelon (7 lbs).

I have no idea how mini a mini-watermelon is, but when I think of watermelon....it isn't small.  I'm fairly certain no woman wants to think of a watermelon as a comparison of their baby that they are going to deliver VERY shortly.  (To prove this theory you only have to go back to the blog entry entitled "37 Weeks" and read the comment posted by Emily in the comments section.)

40 weeks - (And my personal favorite) - Baby is the size of a small pumpkin (7.5 lbs.)  -  And our baby will probably be bigger.....given my family history.  So, maybe this should be more accurately depicted as this:

40 weeks - (And my personal favorite) - Baby is the size of a small-medium pumpkin.

I think this comparison is the main reason why pumpkins are intertwined with the scariest holiday of the year (Halloween).