Sarah Is Here

Holy Crap... it happened. Sarah arrived on Thursday June 14th at 10:16am. She weighed 9lbs. 11oz. She is 20 3/4 inches long with a 14 3/4 in. head.

Big Baby...

Sarah had a little bit of a rough start. Her blood sugar levels were low so the nurses tried to feed her. Apparently they fed her too much and she had some tummy issues. Because of that, she was admitted to the NICU (Newborn Intensive Care Unit). She was give an IV of dextrose (sugar water) to keep her blood sugar normal so they did not have to feed her as often. In the last 24 hours she has been on the IV. Now they have taken her off and are just watching her. If everything goes well, and it will, Mom, Sarah, and I will be going home on Father's Day. It's the best present ever.

FYI... the NICU is not necessarily a bad place. They have two places for babies, 1. In the room with parents or the nursery if they are completely healthy and 2. the NICU. NICU babies range from a little something to very sick babies. Sarah was a little something. Everytime I tell someone that she is in the NICU, people think the worst and that is not the case. We are all doing well. Just wanted to send this out so that everyone knows. Below are pictures.

Eric

Friends, Friends, Friends

Today I am grateful for teachers. I am no longer teaching CIT 415 for IUPUI as my focus will need to change. Met Ryan Birk today who is taking over. Nice person who seems like he wants to teach as much as I do. Very Cool. Also he is a Linux geek so Craig will be happy about that.

Today I am grateful for those who love Nicole and I. Two more go-to-sleeps until Sarah. This week people have been coming out of the woodwork to check on us and to see how things are going. To those, again I say Thank You.

It seems that before people would be afraid to ask as it might upset us. People not asking about us was the upsetting part. It's not like we forgot about what happened with Katie and by asking we have to relive it all over again. Until last Sunday, we had experienced every one of those days and compared it to the last pregnancy on a daily basis.

Now we are on new ground and are running. Please forgive me as my comments appear to be lop sided because they are. Not much else to think about. The only other thing to think about is the spa day tomorrow. Both Nicole and I are getting a manicure, pedicure, and facial. If you see me, remind me and I will show you my tootsie's. I am thinking of a flag theme on my nails to go with Flag Day.

This is Crazy, This is Crazy, This is Crazy

Today I am grateful for my excitement, nervousness, and sheer panic. All of these emotions are growing as Nicole and I are getting closer to Flag Day. June 14th is Flag Day and the day Sarah arrives.

Today I am grateful for the staff at the St. Vincent's Center for Prenatal Diagnosis. They have been very supportive of us and our emotions and we thank them vehemently. Today was the Amniocentesis and per the results that have already received, Sarah's lungs are ready to Rock -n- Roll. Since then both Nicole and I have been jittery. We have this nervous anticipation. Kinda like before you do something that you want to do but is scary (i.e. white water rafting, skydiving, etc..) If you can experience about 14 different emotions at once, that is what we are feeling. Let me know if you get the referenced in the title as it kinda relates to how I am feeling. Great Movie.

Today I am grateful for Nicole. I was at work today and both of us were feeling the same way. Nicole wanted me to call off for tomorrow and start my leave early but realized that was silly and was not going to ask. At the same time, I was not able to work and just wanted to call off tomorrow and start my leave early to be with her. We talked and realized we had the same idea and it was a good one. I am on leave now.

The following is from Nicole....
Thank you to everyone who has called, e-mailed, and have kept us in their thoughts. Especially this week but throughout the pregnancy too. All of you are very special to us.

Brave New World

Today I am grateful for getting past what was to be a stressful weekend. Saw many movies over the weekend to get past the 36.5 week mark.

I am also grateful for my family. I talked to my sister Leah about having my brother Tim and other sister Traci as God Parents instead of her and her husband Lee. She was so cool about it and understood how much it would mean to them. I love her for that. Also, my brother came over today and helped me to hang shutters on the back of the house. He didn't so much help but really just did it all himself. The house looks so much better. Many new houses seem incomplete on the back end. Adding shutters really helps. I have had the shutters for two years and had to get them up this weekend as part of my nesting.

I am grateful for nesting. It's nice. Probably will want to get more things done when Sarah gets here.

I am grateful for anticipation. I have had fear through most of this pregnancy and it is quickly moving towards anticipation and excitement. Beginning to start what VH1 would call my "Best Week Ever!"

Finally, I am grateful for my friends who read this and support Nicole and I. This Glog/Blog/Flog is written for me and for you. Thank you for sharing in my life.

Getting to know you

Today I am grateful for Kathy Carroll. She runs the RTS (Resolve Through Sharing) group for St. Vincent's Women's Hospital. She has helped Nicole, myself, and countless others to share their grief. She is a wonderful woman for whom I would bend over backwards for. I hope that none of you ever have to meet her, but if you do, you will know what I mean.

I am also grateful for old friends. Today Nicole and I had dinner at Applebee's. We saw an old friend and was able to instantly reconnect and share with one another. We are also gathering lists of people to call when Sarah arrives and thinking that I need to talk to these people more as they are important to me.

Speaking of restaurants, did you hear they are researching the 5 second rule? According to research you have 30 seconds for soft food and up to one minute for hard food. The tests were done using apple slices and skittles. Many in the restaurant business have known this for years, but if you piss off the server or the kitchen, the food won't hit the floor it just won't be good for you.

Oedipus Complete

First of all, congratulations to Nicole for passing her NCLEX exam and becoming a Registered Nurse. Now I am married to a hotty, pregnant, nurse. There has got to be webpages about that.

Today I am grateful for Nicole. Passing her exam is awesome. All that hard work to acheive a goal of hers is great. I am proud that she stuck to it as it would have been easy to quit.

I am also grateful for technology. Had another ultrasound with 4-D technology. Great pictures and a great movie. Let me know and I can email it to you. It is 7MB in size.

I am again grateful for getting chores done. I have been good this week and gotten two more chores done. All that is left is the fence, shutters, and cleaning windows. Yeah. I have also come to the realization that I am nesting and I don't care who knows it.

Getting Chores Done

Today I am grateful for sticking to what I said I would. Got the blinds done. The rest of the week includes the cleaning the windows.

I am grateful for meeting new people. A new employee started today, Chris, and seems like a nice person. Hope it works out well as I won't be training him.

I am grateful for speakerphone. I am on hold right now and was able to put the phone down and type as I wait.

I am also grateful for the weather. It is a lot cooler and more comfortable. I can drive with the windows down and the system up.

I am also grateful for being able to help others. Our neighbor who lost a baby came over yesterday and was having a bad day. Being able to listen and not try to fix her because there is nothing wrong.

Finally, I am grateful for knowing that typically when a women tells me about her problems, she is not wanting advice. She is wanting someone to listen, empathize, and just to be there. Listening to some people, I wish more of my brethren knew this.

Changing My Mind

Today I am grateful for being able to change my mind. I had all sorts of plans this weekend and did not do any of them. I sat on my ass and relaxed. It was wonderful. I went out to dinner with my wife and did a little shopping. It was fantastic.

I am also grateful for Nicole. Her NCLEX exam is on Tuesday. This is the test that certifies her as a nurse to the state of Indiana. She already takes care of me and has been a nurse for her family for some time now. She is studying very hard and I have the utmost confidence in her.

I am also grateful for showers. Nicole and I took a hour long shower today. Getting the big tub was the best idea we ever had. The shower was so relaxing. We took turns sitting down while the other sat or stood. If you have never sat down in a shower, I would recommend it. It's like being rained on but it is warm and comforting.

Beginning my last full work week before my leave. I have been trying not to count down things until Sarah, but that is not happening. Hopefully I can stay busy until then. The idea is to get my chores done a little every day to make up for my mind change.

See Ya.

It's the freakin' weekend

'Bout to have me some fun.

Today I am grateful for the weekend. Have many chores to do, but it is always nice to know that a productive weekend was achieved.

Today I am also grateful for Bingo. There is a show on ABC called National Bingo Night. This show is addictive. Print off cards, play at home, and I can win prizes too. Sweet!!!

Finally, I am grateful for Emule. I get to download materials that I already own so I do not infringe on copyright material.

Have a great weekend.