I took my mother to the airport this morning. Right now she should be on her plane headed home. It was so great to have her here for the week. I am glad Amelia got to spend some time with her grandma this week. Now we are on our own for the first time. We are a family of 3 (5 counting the dogs). We will be getting into our more "normal" routine the next few weeks. The reality of being parents is going to really set in.
This past week flew by. Tomorrow Amelia will be 2 weeks old. I feel like she was just 1 week old a minute ago. I'm sure I will blink and she will be 2 months old. Then I will turn my head slightly and see a 2 year old running around the house. By the time I am able to process the fact that our little girl is going to kindergarten she will have turned 20, and I will be old. Since I've graduated high school the time has flown by. It definitely doesn't feel like 10 years have passed. I don't look all that much different. It is somewhat easy to deny how many years have gone by. That is all over now. Amelia will serve as a living, growing, constant reminder of how quickly the time is passing. I want to try and savor every minute of it.
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Amelia, Our Princess
a·mel·io·rate
[uh-meel-yuh-reyt, uh-mee-lee-uh-]
Show IPA–verb (used with object), verb (used without object), -rat·ed, -rat·ing.
to make or become better, more bearable, or more satisfactory;improve; meliorate.
We chose to name our daughter Amelia before I'd ever even heard the word "ameliorate". Not exactly the same, but close enough. Since we chose the name I've heard this word a couple times. I'd inferred roughly what it meant from context, but I wanted to look up the definition. After reading this I couldn't think of a more perfect name. Little Amelia is going to be totally ameliorating the crap out of my life. From now until the day I die there won't be a day that isn't improved by her existence. She is perfect, and I thank God she is here with us.
...and breathe
Wow! What an insane week. I hoped to post a couple times, but that didn't happen. My wife put a ton of pictures on her blog, so I will try not to duplicate the efforts much. This past week went by so fast. At the same time, last Saturday seems forever ago. It seems like I was a different person then. I know I haven't fully adapted to becoming a parent. That moment is still ahead of me a little bit. The last week has felt like a bridge between my former life and the life of fatherhood that is just ahead.
Our week started on Monday morning. It was weird being able to sleep in and not having to rush off to work. We got to the hospital right at 11:30 and went to the pre-op area to wait. It seemed like the slowest hour and a half of my life. The operation was supposed to start at 1, but it felt like it would never get there. Then one o'clock came and went, and we were still waiting. This is one of the most nerve-wracking times I have ever experienced in my life. Finally they came to take her away. I was told to put on my scrubs and wait in the hallway. They would get me in a few minutes. I was probably waiting out there for 20 minutes, but it felt like hours. I was shaking. It was insane.
Our week started on Monday morning. It was weird being able to sleep in and not having to rush off to work. We got to the hospital right at 11:30 and went to the pre-op area to wait. It seemed like the slowest hour and a half of my life. The operation was supposed to start at 1, but it felt like it would never get there. Then one o'clock came and went, and we were still waiting. This is one of the most nerve-wracking times I have ever experienced in my life. Finally they came to take her away. I was told to put on my scrubs and wait in the hallway. They would get me in a few minutes. I was probably waiting out there for 20 minutes, but it felt like hours. I was shaking. It was insane.
Big News
We got huge news yesterday... the iPhone is coming to Verizon!
............ a n d ..............
Our daughter is going to get born on Monday the 17th!!! Yes, that is just 5 days away. HOLY CRAP! We have a scheduled c-section for 1pm. It hasn't totally set in yet. It probably won't until I hold her for the first time. Yes, she definitely is a "her". I had some concern over whether the gender was identified correctly back in September, but it seems they were right on.
I am sure my experience is much like that of other soon-to-be parents. In some respects I feel like time has slowed these last couple months. It seemed like our little girl would never get here. I feel like we have been ready, totally prepared for the past 8 weeks... just playing the waiting game. Now it is crunch time and it seems like it has flown by. Am I really ready for this? Did I do everything I needed to do before she got her? It doesn't seem possible that this time next week she will be out here in the world, crying, pooping, and forcing responsibility upon me. I am so looking forward to seeing her for the first time. I can't wait!
............ a n d ..............
Our daughter is going to get born on Monday the 17th!!! Yes, that is just 5 days away. HOLY CRAP! We have a scheduled c-section for 1pm. It hasn't totally set in yet. It probably won't until I hold her for the first time. Yes, she definitely is a "her". I had some concern over whether the gender was identified correctly back in September, but it seems they were right on.
I am sure my experience is much like that of other soon-to-be parents. In some respects I feel like time has slowed these last couple months. It seemed like our little girl would never get here. I feel like we have been ready, totally prepared for the past 8 weeks... just playing the waiting game. Now it is crunch time and it seems like it has flown by. Am I really ready for this? Did I do everything I needed to do before she got her? It doesn't seem possible that this time next week she will be out here in the world, crying, pooping, and forcing responsibility upon me. I am so looking forward to seeing her for the first time. I can't wait!
The Final Countdown
Tomorrow we have a big day. We head back to the doctor and this time we have an ultrasound done. We haven't seen our little girl for a few months now, so we are very much looking forward to it. They will tell us how much she weighs and we will know for sure that she is a girl. My wife would say that we already know for sure. If you walked into her room you would assume that to be the case, but I know how often ultrasound techs have been incorrect. To be clear, I have no reason to suspect that this baby is not a girl. I am just looking forward to getting further confirmation of the fact.
We may also get a small peak at what her face looks like. We hopefully will have validation that she got her mother's nose, and most of her mother's other features for that matter. The biggest piece of news we will likely get tomorrow is baby's birthday. It seems crazy to be able to put a definite date on it. A date that will forever change my life. In just a matter of days I will be a dad... weird. I will instantaneously go from trying not to screw up my own life to trying not to screw up this baby girl's life. The latter will always take precedence, sometimes to the detriment of the former. But that is okay by me.
We may also get a small peak at what her face looks like. We hopefully will have validation that she got her mother's nose, and most of her mother's other features for that matter. The biggest piece of news we will likely get tomorrow is baby's birthday. It seems crazy to be able to put a definite date on it. A date that will forever change my life. In just a matter of days I will be a dad... weird. I will instantaneously go from trying not to screw up my own life to trying not to screw up this baby girl's life. The latter will always take precedence, sometimes to the detriment of the former. But that is okay by me.
Dead Birds
On New Years day they found as many as 5,000 dead red-winged black birds in Beebe, AR that apparently just fell from the sky. Weird. Then they also reported that 100,000 dead drum fish were washing up on the shores of the Arkansas river. Over the last week there have been reports from Louisiana, Kentucky, and even Sweden of more mass bird deaths. The explanation given for the ones in Arkansas and Sweden was that the birds were frightened by fireworks. They took flight, and having very poor night vision they collided with objects. That just doesn't seem very plausible to me. Were all the dead birds found underneath or next to something they could have flew in to? I didn't seem like it from the pictures.
Happy 2011
The new year is here! I hope everybody had a great 2010, and we are all looking forward to a wonderful 2011. Here at the Bidwell household we are still in waiting mode. It won't be much longer now and Amelia will be here. Amanda thought it would be cool if Amelia were the first baby born in 2011 and we would get a year supply of diapers or formula. I thought it would be cool if she were the last baby born in 2010 and we would get a year supply of tax deduction and didn't have to meet another insurance deductible. Alas, neither of them happened, and that is okay. We still have a couple more weeks until Amelia is supposed to be here anyway, so it is probably for the best that she didn't come early. We are both ready for her to get here. I know it will mean less sleep, movie watching, reading, and writing, but I don't care. I just really need to know that she is healthy and both mother and baby are home and safe.
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