The arrival of Calvin

 My pregnancy finally came to an end on Tuesday, February 5th when our baby boy was plucked from my womb during a last minute c-section. We had settled in to our hospital room after being told that due to very slow progress he probably wouldn't arrive for another 8 hours. While enjoying some netflix and flavored ice chips, Calvin's heart rate began dropping significantly. In rushed nurses and doctors. They threw Jeff and suit, mask, and booties and wheeled me away to the operating room. Fifteen minutes and some shivering, brief pain later, Jeff was holding our boy.

I can't believe how perfect this little man is and that he belongs to us. What an overwhelming thought. These past 9 days have already been a whirlwind of an adventure. It's definitely a change of pace for us, but a welcome change and one we're excited to experience together.

So on this day of love...I'm so grateful for my two valentines and look forward to a night in as a new little family.

 Calvin Ryan Tucker

Born Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Weight: 7 lbs 8 oz

Anxiously waiting

I'll be honest, I'm done being pregnant. Not done in a physical sense, I still feel pretty great (unfortunately), but done mentally. Because 9 or 10 months - however long this thing lasts - is a really long time.

I want to not have a giant rock hard belly, feel like a walrus, sweat constantly, and not fit into any of my clothes. I want to lie on my stomach and run without feeling like my uterus is about to fall out. Mostly though, I just really want to meet my baby. I'm ready for my reward, MY baby. It makes me feel like a crazy, possessive lady thinking about how much I want to hold him. The thought of labor sounds glorious to relieve me of this massive rib-cracking belly and I welcome the pain (for now) so that we can finally meet our boy. I just know he's beautiful and hopefully a little chubby with some brown hair on his head.

Looking back on the day we found out we were pregnant, this all seems to have gone so quickly. Yet I feel like so much has already changed, even without our baby making his appearance. We already feel more like a family and our house more like a home. Jeff feels more like my husband than ever before, which I know sounds weird and I don't really know how to explain it. It's a good feeling though. However uncomfortable I may be, I'm in a good place and really truly happy.

So for tonight I will line up all of the baby gear that has invaded our house and take a picture of it because I really just can't wait to use it all.

A Room for Baby Boy

My pregnancy app tells me I have 3 weeks, 6 days left and that this baby boy is the size of a watermelon. No wonder my tummy feels heavy.

Apparently D-day is drawing near.

Meg, Morg, and my Momma threw me the most fantastic shower last Saturday. I even received my first diapers. We have all the goods, (...I think) so now the waiting begins. I realize this waiting could easily last another 4 weeks, which is fine, but at least I can say his room is in order, we have a car seat, and my horrific pantry has been cleaned. The pantry was just bothering me.

For now though, this boy has a room full of things just for him and two parents plus one dog who are eagerly awaiting his arrival.

Thoughts on this pregnancy thing

I'm going to compare my unborn child to an iPhone.

I'm afraid that having this baby will be like finally getting an iPhone after not realizing how great they actually are. And now that you have an iPhone you never want to put it down. You love it so much and always play with it, buy things for it, protect it, take it everywhere you go. You can't believe how much you love having an iPhone, even though you were a naysayer at times. I'm nervous that's how this baby thing is going to go.

I've never been a big baby person. I LOVE my nephews (and sometimes pretend they're mine), and even have feelings of affection for children of friends or family, but otherwise when it comes to strangers' babies and kids...meh?

But I feel it building up inside me.

Then there's the fear factor of what my child will be like. Have you met Hobbes? He's our dog that is spoiled beyond belief. Jeff compares him to a spoiled, bratty teenager that's too far gone to know what to do with. Boarding school? take the car away? Nope. Instead he just walks all over us. Now imagine a little baby boy, even cuter than Hobbes. We are doomed.

Those are my thoughts.

the tucker name lives on

some times i can perfectly picture what jeff was like as a little boy. an angel in the eyes of his mother, yet a scheming, creative little boy deep down.

he told me he was so sad to go to kindergarten because he would miss playing at home with his mom (he was the youngest until age six.) to fix this problem, he would often fake sick so he could go home and watch bob hope all afternoon in the comfort of his mother's arms.

in grade school jeff was supposed to give a report on a U.S. president - grover cleveland. feeling like his former president's life lacked excitement, he wrote in his paper and told in his oral report that president cleveland was assassinated (not true.)

this is the type of boy jeff was and still is. his mother still thinks he is the most angelic person alive and he still treats her like the goose that laid the golden egg.

i'm pretty sure this tiny BOY fetus growing in my tummy right now will be exactly like his father. big brown eyes, rambunctious yet loving, hopefully a little less accident-prone, and he better adore his mother.

the babe inside me wouldn't hold still for two seconds during today's ultrasound.
i think it's a sign of things to come...can't wait to meet this little mister.

the day i put on leather pants

 They weren’t even real leather, but I never wanted to take them off. They’re actually maternity pants/leggings/bliss. The point is they’re delightful. I got them on a Thursday and wore them that night and the next two days. Leather (even fake leather) is not ideal for 90 degree weather, though.

So as temperatures finally start to cool down in the coming weeks and if you’re pregnant (don’t be a non-pregnant person wearing maternity clothes), you should buy these! Plus Asos has some pretty cute, cheap stuff. I am by no means a pregnancy veteran, nor do I have any idea what I’m doing here. But I was impressed with these soft/stretchy pants.

Now I want to buy these items too.

a story about a husband and wife

they had been married for about 4 years when they (mainly she) started getting that itching for a babe. sure they had a dog, who she treated like a baby, but they decided it was time for the real deal.

wanting to educate herself, she read up on the subject matter, discovering that a woman's egg is the size of a quarter. the husband disagreed.

he: i don't think so honey
she: yes it is. i read about it
he: no way
she: yes i promise
he: absolutely not
she: i read about it on the internet and it showed a picture
he: you're a woman, shouldn't you know this?

so they went to the web site together. turns out the picture was comparing the size of an egg (a very hard to see dot) to a quarter...with that settled on they went. months went by, then a few more months.

he: maybe we should just get another dog
she: absolutely not

feeling discouraged, she saw her doctor. patting her shoulder, he consoled her and gave her some magic pills, assuring her that it would do the trick.

and....whaabang! wouldn't you know right away a little person was formed.

the family of a man, wife, and a fluffy dog are soon to add a little baby into the mix. a whole new adventure is about to begin.