For Dot!

The past few days have been a whirlwind of activity and special memories. It is dawning on us that this little baby is really going to arrive!

The amazing weekend began on Friday when Eileen's coworkers threw her a shower. It was overwhelming to have a beautiful party thrown in one's honor ( and overwhelming to both Micah and the man of the house to see so many crazy women in one place!).

The meaningful festivities continued Saturday when our church threw us a shower that began with a hymn sing and dinner. Family and dear friends traveled from Lancaster and even Maine to join with our local friends and church family to celebrate the expected arrival of our little one.

Eileen was thrilled to discover all of the special details that went into the planning of each shower (As this can take some time, co-workers were actually warned to stick to 'bags and tags' lest the admiring of wrapping paper and cards force the party into the wee hours! Eileen was let in on the joke earlier in the day while rescuing some wrapping paper from certain peril).

We are humbled by everyone's generosity and care for us. Yup, we are having a baby -- and we have all the gear to prove it!

A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO ALL!

The weekend ended on Monday when Eileen's mom drove down with us to attend our check-up appointment to see what the Birth Center was like. Afterward, we took her to Ikea where we bought her Swedish meatballs for lunch, and she bought us a changing table -- THANKS, MOM HOLM. Eileen and Mom spent the afternoon admiring tiny outfits while Micah assembled the drawers to put them in. Micah was overheard exclaiming, "This is like playing with LEGO's!"

In other baby news:

1. We have now hit the point of "Full Term." Even though our due date is February 24, our little one is considered ready to go and could come anytime.
   
2. We will now go to The Birth Center for check-ups every week until the baby arrives.
   
3. The midwife did a lot of poking and prodding today and estimates that Baby Bickford is right on track, weighing about 6 lbs.
   

Now Dot, we have done our part -- now it is time for you to do yours -- LEAVE A COMMENT, PLEASE

Back to Blogging

Once again the Bickfords have slacked off in their blogging. We have a myriad of excuses -- but you don't want to read about that -- so on to the important information.

We spent Christmas in Maine and had a wonderful, relaxing vacation. We indulged in clam chowder, went snowshoeing, enjoyed Christmas with Micah's parents, did lots of napping, and generally relaxed. It was just what the mom-to-be needed. We don't expect to experience rest like this again for a very long time.

Eileen is certainly getting rounder in the front all the time as the baby is growing bigger. She is ever mindful of her weight gain (there is a funny story here, but you will have to ask Eileen about it).

We are now making visits to The Birth Center every two weeks. We have also started weekly birthing classes. All the driving takes quite a bit of time, but it is making everything a little more real.

We are currently sitting on our couch watching the baby stretch, poke, push, and punch. It is amazing to see the Eileen's belly contort and protrude with the movements of the little arms and legs inside. All this movement is highly entertaining during the day -- but poor Eileen doesn't get much sleep at night. At least this movement is silent -- soon there will be sound effects too!

This picture is with our friend, Dani, on New Year's Eve. Hopefully there will be more pictures to come as we purchased a new camera for Christmas.

All-in-all, everything is very well. We are a bit overwhelmed with the housework we need to get done before the baby comes, but we really can't complain since both mommy and baby (and daddy too) are healthy. Eileen is pretty certain that we will be having a boy. Micah says, "we could have known for sure . . . " But whoever God gives us -- we are excitedly anticipating meeting the newest member of our family in less then two months!