Video Killed the Radio Star

This took some time to get up, (that's what she said) but i finally figured it out. Now I have to figure out how to add music and explosions. Until then, enjoy the raw video footage from our last day at the hospital. 

Also, we had our 10-day pediatrician visit this morning. London is a healthy eater and has already put back on all of the weight she lost in her first week and a teeny-weeny bit more to bring her to 8  pounds and 10 ounces. She is in the 90+ percentile for both height and weight. The nurse said the fact that she is a bigger baby probably allows her to eat a little more at a time, meaning Nick and I are privileged to get up every 3 hours for feedings rather than every 1.5 hours.

Hard to believe we have been home for a week already. She is such a great baby.

Hello, world. This is London blogging. Don't let that London Cougar Mellencamp photo scare you. My daddy has some mad photo shop skills, but in reality, I am quite the beauty. 

Since this is my first post, I thought I would share some of my other firsts from the past weekend. 

On Friday, I had my first car ride (slept right through it).

On Saturday, I had my first leaky diaper (me and daddy slept right through it). Mommy cleaned my behind, but daddy did wake up and help clean the mess I left on the Boppy pillow.

On Saturday night, I had my first sponge bath (I did not sleep through that). But it wasn't too bad: my hair smelled really yummy afterward, and I got to cuddle up in this adorable teddy bear towel.

On Sunday, I went for the first ride in my stroller (slept all the way around the neighborhood). Check out my precious sun hat. It'll fit me right through next summer! I could have met some of my neighbors, but it was sunny so I would have had to check them out from under the stroller shade. And I would have needed to open my eyes. 

Maybe next week. Instead, I saved up my energy so I could scream really loud when mommy and daddy tried to pose for our first family photo.

All the Small Things

So all of the focus on day one was on just how big London is. We were so worried about keeping her warm, cozy and content that we barely unwrapped her or looked at anything but her face for the first 24 hours after delivery. Now that we're figuring out this mommy and daddy thing, it's easy to see the magic is in the little details.

Yes, it's hard to get past those beautiful blue eyes, but her little nose is pretty cute too. How funny that it took me a full day to realize that I can tickle her perfect little feet—the ones with the long, skinny toes—anytime I want. A mom even has to love the little scratch marks her little girl left on her own face after a few hours in the hospital nursery. Nothing that a little manicure won't resolve. Maybe she will be a diva after all. Then there are the see-through eyebrows, accompanied by some darker eyelashes that are long enough to kiss. One fell on her cheek this morning as she ate, and, thinking of all the promise life holds for her, I made a wish for her filled with more hope than I could have imagined a few days ago.

We didn't get a whole lot of sleep on our first night home, but it's great to be here and cuddle by nightlight in our own house. It's no small thing to feel this happy.

London Calling

I will make this quick because my Mom will be here any second, but i know you vultures all want to see pictures of our baby so here you go. London Olivia was born at 8:02 PM after five hours of Kim pushing sans epidural (that means without). She was 8 lbs. 9 oz. and 21 inches long. She also had a full head of dark hair which made Kim happy. It may all still fall out to let the red hair grow in, but only time will tell. Mom and baby are doing great so far, but i could use a nap. I might as well get a t-shirt made that says that because it will probably be a theme for a while. More to come in the next few days. Monetary gifts and/ or X-Boxes are appreciated. As always, thank you for your support. Oh, and being a Dad is AWESOME. 

Any Day Now...

Tomorrow should be the big day, as if my body will listen to a prediction made nine months ago. But I went to the doctor's today, and the midwife guessed that contractions should begin within 24 hours. So maybe those of you who picked Sept. 17 in the baby pool will be right after all. Did anyone actually pick the 17th? Because I know I was hoping for something more like the 7th.

We're excited to get this show on the road. Who knows how big this baby is at this point. Compare the tummy back in March to today, and maybe you'll see why I'm a bit anxious. I know it's been done before, but I'm not exactly eager to push out a 9-pounder.

So the question is, what recommendations do you have to get things started? The midwife suggested a bumpy motorcycle ride, jumping on a trampoline and lots of sex. I'm not sure where I can find a trampoline, and with my luck I would fall off and hurt myself. But I think I'd be willing to give most anything else a try.

Gonna take some time to do the things we never had

I don’t think I’m getting old, but based on the way I got out of bed this morning I think my body is telling me otherwise. This Sunday (yesterday) I played 1.5 hours of flag football on a field that was approximately the size of a tennis court. It was suggested that we expand the field, but other players were concerned that expanding the field would require moving the 9 cones we had already placed on the postage stamp we were playing on. Realizing this would require effort, it was decided that we continue to run into each other and not move the cones. I had a point here, but I seem to have forgotten it because I feel like I have internal bleeding from the game. There was very little contact, so it wasn’t like I was bruised or anything, but I think I tore something/ everything because getting out of bed took a lot of effort this morning.

Here are my main areas of concern: thighs, calves, hips, abdomen (main area of pain/ internal bleeding) shoulder and eyebrows (I also got sunburned on my face). It used to be I could play for 4 hours and feel fine the next day. What happened? I am going to chalk it up to not playing football for 3 years. Yeah, party on Wayne, party on Garth. It has only been three days since my last entry so not much has happened, oh, other than another weekend of beer pong. Now rivalries and custom tables have entered the equation, so things may get heated in the neighborhood. I will keep you posted. As far as the baby goes, Kim is getting cranky and taking it out on me, the neighbors, and the pediatricians we (she) interviewed for the right to provide remedies to our child. There have been two candidates each of which seem fine to me, especially since they are all witch doctors anyway. When asked my opinion, I said, “The closer one sounds great.” So, that decided that. According to our due date, we have nine days left. My guess is the baby will come on the 14th, because 9+14= 23 which is 4 less that my age which is 7 more than the number of bones I hurt playing football. Figure that out, calculus majors or majorettes. Oh, and we are taking Kim’s laptop into labor with us so I can give you up-to-the-hour play by plays on all the happenings of Kim’s vagine. (say it like Borat). So yeah, look forward to that. Until next time, catch some waves down in Africa.

Also: There is a new pole on the side. Take it so we can see who is right, Kim or I. Like we don’t already know the answer.

BTW: In honor of the new episode of The Hills tonight on MTV @ 10 p.m., the song of the week is Untouched by The Veronicas. The song is campy and I think it is played on Top 20 radio stations, but the girls singing it are hot, so there.

Sleep is Overrated, Unless You are Tired

Number of baby showers thrown for us this past week: 1
Number of hours I have slept over the past two days: 4
Amount I paid for a sandwich last night for dinner: $20
Number of hours I sat in a car in the dark watching a vacant house: 5
What’s this add up to? It adds up to the amount of sense this post is going to make, which equals 10 plus $20. Exactly.
Good luck reading this one folks. It’s a cornucopia of sleep-deprived fun.

Last Friday, our neighbors threw us a surprise baby shower which included a cake for “Baby Pickle,” Molson on tap, streaking, mooning, beer pong and strawberry spinach salad (which was very good), and lots of great gifts. The shower/ party ended around 2:30 a.m. once the beer pong champ (NOT me) couldn’t remember how to get home despite him living directly across the street. It was such a great party even the special needs girl from down the block joined in the festivities. See below:

The rest of the weekend was spent celebrating the Holiday of Labors by getting a Gold Membership to Costco, buying 18 pounds of dried cranberries and going to Five Guys for a burger. Kim was very bored, which made her crankiness more apparent than usual.

All of this was in preparation for my long week at work which consisted of going out, coming home for 4 hours, going out, coming home for 3 hours, going out, going to a co-worker’s hotel room for 1 hour, going out, coming home and writing a senseless blog entry. What was the goal of all this you ask? The goal was apparently to eventually have some woman screaming hysterically that you are ruining her ability to care for her kids because now she has to fix her front door and you are seizing her last $350. You would really feel bad for her until you look up and realize this chick has a bigger LCD TV than you (me) will EVER have and her kids have 2 XBoxes! TWO! I don’t have ONE XBox!! In addition she has approximately 300 pairs of brand new Jordan’s (“Jordan’s” are sport sneakers for those of you over 35; they are equivalent to your Keds only nicer). So all in all, this week was a total success baby-wise and job-wise. AND I did have pancakes for breakfast which was nice. I complain, but this week was actually kind of fun. I could have gone for more sleep, but couldn’t we all. And, according to just about everyone, I will get no sleep when the baby arrives. I beg to differ. KIM will get no sleep once the baby arrives. I am the man.

At least today is Friday so… wait…it’s Thursday…crap. Time to get some sleep and to try and stop this unicorn from eating my paperwork. Exactly.

Oh… and quote of the day from 6:45 this morning.
6-year old girl: “You ain’t gettin my cell phone ’cuz I hid it!”
Me: “Your daughter has a cell phone?”
Mom: “YES, in case we don’t know where she went to.”

God Bless us, everyone.