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Monday, February 25, 2008

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Snuggly

Grumpy

A Sleepy Baby


He likes to keep his little arms up by his head, just like in the ultrasound picture.

Getting Checked Out By the Midwife

Mommy, Daddy, and William

William and Daddy

Mommy and William Moments After Birth

William Edwin Bickford


William Edwin Bickford
Born 11:54 AM
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
8 lb. 2 1/2 oz. ~ 21 inches

Mommy, Will, and Daddy are all doing well!

It's a . . .


A Busy Day at The Birth Center

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

It has begun . . .

At about 4:00 this morning, Eileen's water broke. She has been having contractions, but they remain irregular. We are waiting for 4-1-1: four minutes apart, one minute long, for an hour. It could be a matter of hours or even days.

We will post pictures as soon as we can.

Monday, February 18, 2008

Less Than a Week to Go?

Eileen can hardly believe that she has only has four more days of work. She is going to miss all of her coworkers terribly and can barely fathom stepping off into THE GREAT UNKNOWN. But she is looking forward (with a bit of trepidation) to redirecting her energy into being a mother.

Micah is anxiously awaiting the baby's arrival. His daily refrain to Eileen is, "Have you had any contractions yet?" He keeps his cell phone on all day at work and on vibrate during class, ready to jump at a moment's notice. Last Tuesday, Eileen called him near the end of one class -- at which point he promptly closed his books and put away his pen. False alarm! A discussion about groceries was not what he was expecting!

We continue our weekly visit to The Birth Center for check-ups. Everything is normal and healthy. We have become very familiar with the trek and are surprised how the weeks have wound down. One day soon Micah will drive there with a screaming wife and drive home with a screaming baby!

We are still furiously working to get our apartment in order. We have gotten many items crossed off our To-Do list. We are encouraged. One big project left to complete is for Micah to evaluate his books and decide which ones he can live without -- "O, the agony!" This may not happen until after the baby comes, or at some other unknown and far off point -- if Micah can keep coming up with excuses not to do it.

Someone from Eileen's work has been waiting to give us a glider rocker, and since its arrival the other night it has become a coveted spot. We having fun sitting in moving furniture--though the novelty may wear off slightly as it becomes a midnight, 2 a.m., 4 a.m., etc. fixture!

There is not much else to tell. Just waiting and gliding along . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Sunday, February 10, 2008

About to Pop!

Thanks to the generosity of Gram and Gramps Bickford, we now have a car seat installed in the back of our car! It is fun to drive around imagining our little one riding along with us. We can not wait until we can take Baby Bickford up to Maine.

It proved to be a bit of a challenge to get the car seat secured. There were so many warnings printed in the instructions that we could not find the actual directions. After looking at blurry pictures and Micah's seeking help from a co-worker, we finally got it properly installed. It was actually a lot simpler than the directions made it out to be.

Eileen seems to get a little bigger everyday. She continues to go to work -- her last scheduled day is February 22. She can hardly believe that after that she is done. Everyone at work is taking good care of her. When she comes home, she spends most of her time nesting and napping. At night she can be heard waking up and shouting, "I need to roll over and I can't move my belly!" Micah has not been getting as much sleep as he would like. But this is just a foretaste of things to come . . .

Eileen has been having a lot of Braxton-Hicks contractions -- which are signs that her body is warming up for the big day. On Saturday we drove to visit Eileen's mom in Lancaster. On the way she began feeling a new sensation -- one that she had not felt before. Rather then being a random tightening of her uterus muscle, she felt as though she was "opening up." This was not painful, but came at regular intervals. We began to wonder, "Is today the day?"

Once Eileen had a chance to stand up and walk around the sensations stopped. We would have to wait for another day. We are both anxious for the little one to come -- but we still have a lot we want to accomplish before he/she arrives.

We have also chosen our pediatrician. We are going to a team of doctors at Kid's First. Kid's First is The Birth Center of pediatrics. They are interested in educating families and not over-medicating. One of Eileen's favorite aspects is that they have separate waiting rooms for sick and healthy patients.

Well, that is all for tonight. But who knows, maybe our next post will say "Welcome Baby Bickford" . . .