Welcome Elizabeth Mae Miller!!!!

Today, at 16:23EST (4:23pm) on Wednesday July 1st, 2009 Allison and I welcomed our Daughter, Elizabeth Mae Miller, "Elsie" into this world. She weighed 8lbs even, is 19 3/4 inches long, and had a 13 1/4 inch chest. She had way more hair than Daddy and man are we happy she is here.

I am writing this from our room at Northside Hospital watching over my wife and daughter as they both get some much needed sleep after a very stressful day. One filled with a very Happy Ending and Beginning.

This past Sunday Allison felt that Baby Miller was not kicking her as much as normal (actually so decreased was the movement that Allison and I went to Northside to make sure our baby was Ok). After about two hours and a couple of apple juices later they told us to go home, that the baby was in good shape and to follow-up with our Doc, Dr. Joffe (make sure to ask me who he looks like).

So today we went to the Doctor's office and he put Allison on a stress test with the baby and had a monitor on her for about an hour. Once the test was completed we sat with him in his office and took in his recommended of a C-Section. When I asked when he would schedule it he replied "This afternoon about 3 or 4, is that good for you all?" So with that we drove around shocked, nervous, and excited about what the day had in store for us.

Allison and I arrived at Northside where they prepped her for the C-section and got me dressed in a cool blue suit.

Once into the C-section the doctor discovered the Elsie had cord wrapped around her neck twice and around her mid section twice. In addition to finding the cord wrapped around everything, Allison had a complication when they took Elsie out, which caused her to loose a good amount of blood and caused our C-section to be anything but routine for the Doctor. Also, unbeknownst to us while the doc was tending to Allison our new baby was having some issues breathing on her own. Our doctor was the Hero today for two reasons...1) delivering a beautiful baby girl and 2) making sure my wife, her mother, came through.

So now as I sit here and look at my wife and baby girl, I am excited about what this new beginning will bring and thankful that they are both doing so well.

Hard to Believe...

I've spent the last few minutes reading back to the first couple of posts that Chris and I did on here, and it's really hard to believe that we've made it to week 40. I've been so blessed to have a relatively "easy" pregnancy, and I can honestly say that I am going to miss being pregnant. We're ready to meet Baby Miller (even though I'm not so certain that we're ready for what's ahead), and we're excited about having this new addition to our family. I have a lot of hopes and dreams for our first child, but my biggest hope is that Shim will have a love for the Lord, and that he/she will be surrounded with the kind of support system that Chris and I have found. We have such wonderful family and friends, and we know that you will all make a difference in our child's life.

Chris and I heard more of the same this week at Dr. Joffe's office (looks great, doing good, see you next week...). It's a little frustrating, but as many of you have pointed out, the longer this little bean stays in here, the more shim can grow (and the more time we'll have to await the arrival of the crib). We did make some major headway in the nursery this week- the curtains are up, and Chris proved just how easy it is to hang curtains on double rods in a house with plaster walls that are 80+ years old. He made it looks like something you'd see on the DIY network. Seriously. It was amazing, and it gave us something to do on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday night...

A notable favorite from this week: I've gotten in the habit of waking Baby Miller up in the morning by singing "it's time to rise and shine and (clap) give God the glory, glory..." This is fun because I use my belly as the percussion in the song, and it makes Chris laugh. Wonder if shim will have an aversion to clapping and singing this particular song when shim gets here.

And so, with one week left on the 40 week plan, I am so thankful for what has been the most amazing experience of my life, and I can't wait to see what comes next!

Our Little Cucumber Part 12

So my unborn child is very similar to me now since Baby Miller, per the progress chart we follow, says our “baby has really plumped up” and so have I. Shim is tipping the scales at 6.8 pounds (and I just hit like 390 lbs.) and over 19 1/2 inches long (and I have shrank and am now at 5 foot and 3 inches). Shim this week is just like a....WAIT FOR IT….WAIT FOR IT…WAIT FOR IT…Just like a ALLIUM AMPELOPRASUM VAR. PORRUM (That is Latin). The Alliaceae family of veggies include the brother and sister (or vice versa) to the ALLIUM AMPELOPRASUM VAR. PORRUM the Onion and Garlic and two other related vegetables the Very Rare Great Elephant Garlic and the Kurrat.

If you have not been brushing up on your Latin I am talking about that great but often forgotten vegetable the Leek. Yep my kid is a Leek (which I am sure that he/she will be doing a lot of once he/she arrives).

Baby Miller now has a firm grasp, which we will be able to test when we hold the little hand for the first time. It never occurred to me until just now that in a few days I will get to hold my child’s hand or have them grasp mine. What a humbling thought…Really to me it is such a surreal thing to think that I will be able to get to hold the hand of the new life that Allison and I have created (along with a little help). That first grab of their hand to mine will be the first one of many throughout the years. That little hand grabbing mine looking for affection, protection, or comfort from me. Wow!

The World Wide IntraWeb also says that Baby Miller’s organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb (Not sure if Allison and I are ready for their life outside the womb yet and I know I have not Matured enough but I guess there is no turning back now).

Another amazing thought that I had not thought of until I started writing this was what color eyes will Baby Miller have? It will be interesting to see but I never knew that we would have to wait 9 months for them to get their full dose of pigment to the iris for us to see if they get Allison’s Green or my Greenish/Blue eyes. Maybe Shim will get some really cool dark blue eyes or maybe hazel or gray.

It will be an amazing journey and I can not wait to hold their hand (or have them grasp mine) or to look into their eyes.

Car Seat? Check.

Chris and I took a trip to the VA Highlands Fire Department today to have the car seat installed, and it's a good thing we did. The nice fireman made it all look relatively easy, but I feel certain that Chris and I would have been in trouble had we tried to do this on our own...And to top it all off, this nice man looked completely happy to be installing a car seat in the back of a black car on a nice 95 degree Atlanta day.

37 Down, 3ish to Go!

We made it through another week, and we had a pretty major milestone: Chris and I attended a breast feeding class (for couples), and we didn't even leave early. It was an excellent class, and I highly recommend it to anyone who might be considering nursing, or other individuals who just want to learn about the cradle hold, cross-cradle hold, and football hold. I mean, seriously, I can't believe that individuals are required to take tests to be able to drive, and yet they'll let any dummy do this parenting thing. I just thought you held the baby so that his or her head didn't fall off and you were good. Man, are we unprepared for this...

We went for our second weekly appointment this past Wednesday, and again, much to my dismay, they told us nothing. I guess I was kind of hoping the Doc could give me an approximate 2 or 3 day window as to then we could expect SHIM, but I was sadly mistaken. Just the same old routine and we were sent on our way until next Wednesday. We did learn that my doctor would be vacationing away for the holiday weekend, so depending on when Baby Miller decides to come say hello, he might be greeted by a complete stranger. I'm OK with this though, as I feel confident that when the time comes, I'm not going to care who is calling the plays as long as he makes it all quick and painless. (That's right, I said it, QUICK and PAINLESS. It's possible...) We did get a good laugh when Dr. Joffe started telling us about the silly requests that some of his past patients have made as part of their "birthing plan". People are crazy (refer back to above point about not having to have a license to have kids...). Let's just say that while I thought the one lady's request for red wine during delivery was not all that ludicrous, I think I'll stick to the ice chips (at least for the first couple of weeks).

Our Little Cucumber Part 11

Baby Miller has now reached Terminal Velocity FULL TERM which means that if SHIM arrives now, the lungs should be fully mature and ready to adjust to life outside the womb, even though that is still a couple of weeks away (However, I am sure that Allison would be happy if it was sooner rather than later).

Our baby weighs about 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel like a stalk of Swiss chard (Yep...Exactly like a SWISS CHARD) If you have ever eaten Swiss Chard Please Raise Your Hand (You can raise your hand on the Internet...Silly Readers but just as I thought...NOT ONE PERSON RAISED THEIR HAND). Seriously (as serious as I can be anyway, which is not that serious) let us know if you are the one person who has had Swiss Chard and what the Swiss Chard was like (does any else enjoy saying/reading Swiss Chard? I do...Swiss Chard...Swiss Chard...Swiss Chard...Swiss Chard...Swiss Chard...Swiss Chard...Swiss Chard...Sorry got carried away yet again!) Also, for those adventurous types you can buy the seeds at Johnny's Selected Seeds to grow some for yourself but don't be to disappointed that the Golden Sunrise Swiss Chard seeds are SOLD OUT (I hear they are ALL THE RAGE this year). If they are good we are going to ask Susan if Baby Miller can plant some in the garden next year.

The World Wide IntraWeb says that many babies have a full head of hair at birth, amazing as many of you voted that I would have more hair than my newborn...Actually, I was the only ONE who voted that I WOULD have more hair (and I will if you take into account the amount on my face but Who really needs enemies with Friends like you all. Or who needs self-confidence or a good self-image...Well I am off to Shoot Myself, Get Hair Plugs, and/or Counseling to deal with my bad self image you have instilled in me. Really Thanks to ALL who voted) and that the locks could be a 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. The World Wide Intraweb also said that SHIM could come out as blond or a redhead…That would be funny if the kid came out with RED hair…We would have to give them an Irish name like Finley or Murray (I guess in that case LL Cool J would be surprised).

See you next week on Our Little Cucumber...

Lucky Guess

If you haven't had a chance to enter your guesses for when Baby Miller will arrive, how big shim will be, and what she/he will be, take a few minutes to check out our poll at  http://www.expectnet.com/games/BabyMiller_09

Here are the results so far: