Now the REAL work begins...

We've been home with our son for six days now. He's 8 days old and unless you've done this yourself, it's true; you cannot begin to tell someone about the feelings you now have. For a couple of days I believed surely someone like me couldn't possibly have something so wonderful happen to them...when's the other shoe 'gonna drop'? That feeling is gone. In the past week, I've cried more times than I can count...all of them because I was so happy and cannot believe the amazing, wonderful, sudden, change our lives have taken. A skeptic (or more experienced mom) may call this a "pink cloud" phase (don't recovering alcoholics have this too?!?!?!), but I'll take it! Okay, I could gush for hours, but here are a few details about our own "kid's adventure".

He was officially born a full 14 days late...

He's 8lbs 10 oz and 21 1/2 inches long

Epidurals are VERY good things. I was so relaxed at one point in the afternoon, I actually watched part of the Steelers game!

I was in labor for 23 hours---only the last five hours were really, really, hard. Once we moved into the "pushing" phase, the doctor said "Don't be discouraged if this takes a while...first time moms sometimes take up to three hours to finally get the baby out". At that moment, something in my brain snapped and said "Not this first time mom". I had enough of IV's, monitors, epidurals, switching from side to side, and being "examined" by anyone with a rubber glove. We had an amazing nurse in the LDR suite, who coached and yelled at my husband, who in turn, coached and yelled at me...in less than one hour, we were holding our son.

What does he look like? I originally discounted my opinion as that of a love stricken new mom until the nurses at the hospital said the exact same thing I did. The said that our son was very "masculine" looking and definitely would not be one of those babies that someone questions "Is that a boy or girl". He looks like a little man. Oh yeah, and he's absolutely gorgeous.

If you've been listening to the morning show, you may wonder, "Does the kid REALLY have mutton chop sideburns?!??!" Well, I'll say this. My husband has long dark hair that hits the middle of his back. He usually looks like he needs a shave by say...11 a.m.? This kid takes after Dad in the hair department. He came out needing a haircut. Not only does he have a lot of hair, but it's texture is anything but 'babylike'. It's actually like your hair or mine...not the baby fuzz hair that you would expect. It naturally parts on the side and sticks up in a spiky 'do...it actually looks like I had it cut or styled--it's pretty funny.

I'll do my best to check in with the blog once a week, but I'd love to hear from you so please post your comments here and I'll get to them soon. In the meantime, my husband and I have been collecting 'notes' on things that NO ONE tells first time parents that you find out on your own...

Have a great week,
Kate

The Day is Here...(and other thoughts)

Wish my husband and I luck...by Saturday night, we should be "formally introduced" to our first baby, a son. After being two weeks late, my labor is being induced this evening. I don't think either my husband or myself had a very good night's sleep; I was up at 3:15 a.m.(work/bio clock still in control) & I found my husband on the couch with a James Bond movie running on an endless loop. When J.R., Bubba, and my fill in, Ally are back together on the air next Wednesday, I'm sure they will give you all the details on our exciting weekend.

Other random thoughts...if you're flying this weekend, don't be cranky---do what you're asked to do in order to be safe. We have family flying this weekend in and out of town so my thoughts are definitely with travelers (at least until active labor starts).

Big Ben in for a few plays tomorrow. Will this be the most watched pre season game in the NFL this season? Though I will be "otherwise occupied" tomorrow afternoon, we have TIVO'd the game. Already part of the baby's wardrobe? A Steelers onesie, a Palamalu jersey on the way, a homemade Steelers bib (thanks Francine), and a terrible towel for swaddling. Yes, you could say I'm anxious for the season to start. I will REALLY miss doing our segment "Gridiron Girltalk"---I may have to sneak a few calls before I come back in Nov. just to talk to you ladies about the black n gold.

Enjoy the weekend and I can't wait to share good news with everyone---

P.S. Saw the weekly poll online at www.1007.com. Pink Steeler jerseys are ALWAYS wrong, under ANY circumstances, for ANY female, of ANY age. Wear the Black n Gold ...or just wear a browns jersey. Sorry :)

Good morning and welcome to the weirdest day I've experienced in a LOOOONNNG time.

What do you do on the day BEFORE your life changes forever?

A little background for bloggers & first time listeners to our radio show. My husband and I have been waiting for baby #1 since July 30th. Labor is being induced late, late, Friday night. I started maternity leave today---giving my husband and I ample time to go crazy before midnight tomorrow. We justified the extra time off by saying "We can tie up loose ends like...such as...you know...stuff." So what's on the big agenda today so far? We're going to try our new...toaster.

We've learned a couple of things. One is that every woman's pregnancy is different. The second thing we've learned is that you shouldn't ask about any particular pregnancy unless you REALLY want to know. We've heard 50 stories about labor inductions since Monday and all of them are different. So maybe today should be "brain clearing" day. We'll do our best to go into the hospital with an open mind; laundry usually empties the brain quickest so I'll start there.

The next time I blog, I will be very tired, happy, sore, scared, exhilarated,confused, elated, and oh yeah...there will finally be a baby in the bassinet next to me. Until then here's a list my husband and I came up with last weekend. Enjoy.

For those of you already parents, you may have experienced this; for those of you wanting to be parents, here’s a handy list of things you can do while waiting (and waiting) for baby #1 to finally arrive.

1. Pair all of the “odd socks” that you and your mate have thrown in a laundry basket for the past 7 years.

2. Organize the clothes in the baby’s dresser so that they go from 0-3 mos, 3-6 mos, and 6-9 mos, etc. Short sleeve to long sleeve. Light color to dark.

3. Decide to buy a new toaster. Splurge on yourself one last time---get a four slicer.

4. Watch all the Star Wars movies. Try to prove that there was NO WAY that George Lucas wrote the story line for ALL of them before the first one came out in seventies.

5. Just for fun, tell the Grandmas-to-be that you had that baby WEEKS ago….leave the message on voicemail.

6. Pack all six diaper bags that you now own.

7. Read the manual to the breast pump again; quiz your mate. So what if he’ll never use it.

8. Bathe the dogs---use baby shampoo on them.

9. Buy enough fish, chicken, and beef to last until Christmas. Individually wrap each piece and label each item just in case parenthood debilitates you to the point where you cannot distinguish between a T bone steak and a tilapia fillet.

10. Email your friends and family...update your blog