We're parents...

 Just like that. We're about to complete 72 hours at home and we are trying to get the hang of this parenting thing. Emily is making it a bit easier on us because she is feeding, pooping, and peeing as she should be. She is still trying to adjust to sleeping outside of the womb.
Megan and I, along with Nana Ellen's help (couldn't do this without you Mom!), have been taking turns with Emily at night and are working on her sleeping somewhere else than in our arms/laps. Perfecting the swaddling technique has been quite helpful. Our sleep has been minimal but Emily's presence is giving us the energy to make it feel like we've had at least 3-4 hours of sleep. Nana Ellen has also been running errands and cooking for us which has been more helpful than you can imagine! Cooking and even sitting down to eat a meal is the last thing we have energy for right now!

Emily's first car ride went well, mostly because she stayed sleeping for the entire four-block/three minute ride home from the hospital. We've found some comfortable spots for both her and us so we can take care of her in relative comfort.

We had our follow-up at-home visit from a nurse on Saturday and Emily checked out well. But her bilirubin level (jaundice) is still being monitored, so we had to go to the doctor's office today to get some blood drawn. They aren't super concerned, but keeping an eye on things and we are going back tomorrow. While at the doctor's office she screamed the entire time they were drawing blood, but stopped as soon as he was done which was a relief. She then proceeded to need her diaper changed three times while she was getting checked out and we were waiting for the lab results!

She's gained three ounces after her initial, expected weight loss and is now at 6lbs 9.5oz. and eats every 3 hours so that's great. Although that means Mom only gets two hours of sleep at a time at night...yawn!

She's here!

Emily Mae Hicks arrived at 11:32pm on March 22nd, 2011! She weighed in at 6lbs 11oz and is 19" long. Mom and baby are doing great and are resting as Dad writes this post. Yes, she did arrive 16 days before her due date but was at term and is very healthy. Nana Ellen arrived at just past midnight from Arizona and has been a big help and support already. We would like to thank our families and friends for all of their support over the past nine months and especially today. We'll post more information soon but we all need a nap now. Enjoy the picture below and check back soon!

Update and Reflection on Seven Years Together

Due date is officially 3 weeks from today!  We are still so excited, but the aches, pains, swelling, and general uncomfortableness are making us hope those 3 weeks go by fast!  We had another checkup today at the OB's office and got confirmation again that Megan and Baby Hicks are progressing as they should be. We went to another baby class, Happiest Baby on the Block, but unfortunately the instructor had a family emergency so they sent us home. We used our extra time to take a short walk around the neighborhood on what has turned out to be the warmest day of the year (approx. 65 degrees). It looks like we will be able to reschedule tonight's class for later this month and are planning to attend a breastfeeding class this Saturday morning.  Our new front porch is all clean and we are excited spring is here (almost)...

Now for the reflection. We recently realized that we started dating approximately seven years ago and that got us thinking about how things have changed since then. Please let us indulge you in a few.

• First of all, we were both at Bowling Green and in our final semester of our College Student Personnel Master's program. Now, we're gainfully employed in Iowa.
• An average day for Tom may have included a couple of classes, a stuffed breadsticks dinner at Pollyeye's, a homebrewed beer from the first two WATTage batches, and some xbox with Terry Weber. Now (today actually), his day included a morning run, deposition, roommate conflict mediation, finding a mouthguard for a student, lots of emails, Megan's 37 week OB appointment, a homecooked dinner, attempt at baby class attendance, and a homebrewed beer from the fifteenth WATTage batch.
• An average day for Megan may have included some time in the Bowling Green student union, writing a paper for class, fitness class with Julie and Melanie at the rec center, and dinner at El Zarape with CSP friends! Now (today actually), her day included commuting 20 minutes to the office while listening to NPR, attending a staff meeting about the future of the college, appointments with students seeking advice on their internship and job searches, fun and engaging lunch with colleagues, lots of emails, 37 week OB appointment, a homecooked dinner, attempt at baby class attendance, and watching Tom drink his homebrewed beer and craving my next adult beverage.
• Tom used to have spikey hair and now it's short and receding. Or is it short because it's receding?
• Megan was a regular at the fitness center.  Now she can't see her feet...  (here's to hoping that changes relatively quickly!)
• Then: at 10pm we were still up doing homework or out with friends.  Now: at 10pm the lights are being turned off and we've kissed goodnight.
• College student theories have been replaced by child rearing theories although they are turning out to be very similar. There is really only one thing you need to know: Behavior is a function of the person/baby and the environment.

Some things still haven't changed...

• Free housing
• Tom's small hands
• Megan's loud nose-blowing (see video below)

And finally, we both cracked up laughing repeatedly when we saw this video this week.

Baby Scared By Mother's Nose - Watch more Funny Videos

From the dad-to-be: I'm ready

But, for what? I know my life is going to change forever sometime in the next month and I've read, attended classes, and talked with other new fathers about what that will be like. While I'm prepared for some of the specifics I've tried to let go of all of my preconceptions and hope to just let it happen. Yes, I hope to be a great father (even if I consider myself to be like Phil Dunphy from Modern Family) but even more than that, I hope I can learn to relax and enjoy the experience without getting caught up in what I think I should be. I think I do a good job of this for myself and hope to pass that on to our daughter.

Speaking of passing things on, I hope Megan and I can pass on the following:
Our easy smiles and laughter
Megan's baking and cleaning skills
Our enjoyment of reading and being outside
Our commitment to social justice issues
My conservative driving style
Our love of adventure and exploration
Megan's frugality
My love of Buffalo sports :)

That's a good start. We'll add more as we think of them. We have another class tomorrow night where we will learn comfort skills. I'm hoping they say I can eat all the popcorn I want because it's my favorite comfort food!

In the home stretch!

We are so excited for Baby Hicks' arrival in about one month! In addition to sending out periodic emails to friends and family we have decided to start using this blog to post pregnancy updates and soon updates about Baby Hicks!

We are still amazed at the progress! Here is my most recent picture- 34 weeks and 5 days along...Compare that to my first pregnancy picture from the end of September at 13.5 weeks along. Yikes!We are all settled and loving our house that we moved into December 18th. The nursery is simple, but cute, just our style. Homemade butterfly curtains thanks to my Mom, aka Nana!