And now for something completely different

Before rolling out the cot for one more night in the hospital, I read this article:

BU student's cancer blog: 'Clearly, I am changed' - The Boston Globe

It speaks to the power and reach of blogs as much as it does to the courage of one person in the face of cancer.

Tomorrow, we go home. It's going to be harder without the help of the hospital staff, but I'm so very ready to be in our home with Benjy. I wonder how he and Herman will react to their first meeting.

Visits, spit-up, and sushi(!)

Lots of fun yesterday. Benjy has been a real breastfeeding whiz, and Steph has gotten increasingly expert at it as well. Steph's milk has now come in, so this means more poopy diapers and the emergence of spit-up! :) We also had nice visits from Benjy's Grammy & Saba (my parents, who are still in town), our friends B & F, and our friends A & L.

I also got out of the hospital for a few hours -- I went back to our house, let Herman sniff Benjy's blankets (Herman wasn't that interested, but no doubt he'll be fascinated when Benjy comes home on Monday), and went to the gym. It was great to get some fresh air and stretch my muscles a bit.

Last night, Steph and I had sushi for the first time in 9 months! Very tasty, although it was interrupted by a late-breaking (and largely useless) baby care class offered by the hospital. I got some sleep overnight, although Steph got less (since Benjy needs to be fed every 3 hours or so). No doubt my sleep will diminish when we get home, so I'm enjoying the ability to get 6 hours interrupted.

We took a few more pictures yesterday, and I've posted them at http://picasaweb.google.com/jmwilson/. There are also a few pictures taken by my dad that have been added to the Day 2 album. One of these is below. We keep wondering what Benjy dreams about when he's asleep.

Ben, day 2

Yesterday was pretty eventful. (Understatement of the year?) Our boy is now just over 24 hours old, and he's been doing a pretty good job breastfeeding. He seems to be pretty mellow, although we'll see if that changes as time passes. He makes the cutest chirping noises when he's sleeping.

I was able to get a decent night's sleep last night on a cot in Steph's hospital room, and Steph fed Ben a few times during the course of the night. My penance, however, is apparently diaper duty, and I'm getting decent at it. I'll spare you the update on the changing nature of Ben's poo. I get a regular look at it, since he seems to like to poo while he feeds.

Here's a picture of Ben on my lap this morning, swaddled and stocking cap on the keppe.















You can find more pictures of Ben, including some blow-by-blow images of the birth at http://picasaweb.google.com/jmwilson.

Benjamin Eytan Wilson

This morning, at around 8:35 am, our son Benjamin Eytan came out of Steph's belly and into the world. Here's a picture of him after his bath a few hours later. There'll be more pictures and news to come.

A few days to go

It's now E minus 4 days and counting. After nearly 9 months living in the belly, Elroy will be out in the world Thursday morning. The c-section is scheduled for 8 am EST. It's really exciting, and also terrifying. I've felt this way for the last 3 months, and these feelings haven't really gone away. If anything, they're intensifying.

Due to Steph's broken ankle, there are a bunch of things we'd planned to do that'll just have to wait. I'm trying not to sweat this stuff, but it's hard. And it didn't help that I was rear-ended while driving home this week, so dealing with the insurance claim and the car repair is just another thing on the must-do side of the "Pending stuff" list.

We've got a few big things to accomplish today and tomorrow, then we're taking Tuesday as a rest day. Wednesday will be a day of pre-op appointments, ankle checkups, and acupuncture. Then we head to the hospital at 6 am on Thursday.

It's likely that the next time I blog will be from Newton Wellesley hospital, with Elroy by my side. I'm scared, but I can't wait. Bring on the new adventure.

A visit

Just a few days after Steph broke her ankle, our sister in law S and nephew M came to visit. S's offer to come & help for a week was incredible -- I was feeling really overwhelmed with everything and Steph was not very mobile at all. (She's still not jetting around, but moving much better now and being more self-sufficient.)

S helped Steph get around, made lunch, did a fair amount of shopping, and generally was a huge mensch. We also got a chance to bond with M for a whole week. He's a really active kid and very sweet. He and Herman had an especially good time together. The whole experience made me excited to meet Elroy.

Here are a few pictures from the visit. There are more.















M, on the couch, modeling his new hat
















Dueling bellies!

Steph's broken ankle

Just over two weeks ago, Steph broke her ankle on our back stairs, just inside our back door. For those of you who like the gory details, here's a shot of the ankle during the first week after the injury occurred. Nice, huh?

Max & his mouth

Last Friday, Steph fell down the back stairs and broke her ankle. Elroy's fine and Steph's ok except for the ankle -- good news, for sure.

This week, our sister-in-law S has been here to help out, and she brought our nephew Max. Here's the first of several images of Max -- this one, with his hand in mouth. (One of Max' favorite things to do.)

First snow + lotsa cars = hellish commute

Yesterday afternoon, the first storm of the season hit. The Boston area got about a foot of snow, most of it coming during the afternoon. Since most institutions and business sent employees home after lunch, the roads were jammed. Not fun. My own commute (about 8 miles) took 3.5 hours. fun!

Let's do the math....
1.5 hours to get off the Brandeis campus (yikes!)
2 hours to get from Waltham to home

Here's what the roads looked like. I took this picture while driving on South Street in Waltham, just after escaping from Brandeis. Yep, dumb. But here it is.

Luxe living at the Natick Mall?!?!?

Homes that are part of a shopping complex are apparently the next big thing. I had a blast reading a Boston Globe article about this earlier in the week. The marketers pushing "Nouvelle at Natick" are just too much fun, and the stereotypes of condo buyers are great too. I encourage you to experience your own fit of giggles.

35 weeks and counting

This Monday, Stephanie will be 35 weeks pregnant. Here she is, in all her glory. It continues to amaze me that we've been living this process since the spring. Even more amazing is the idea that Elroy will be out in the world within a month. December 27 -- put it in your calendars.