One Day Old

Richard is one day old today. I was fainting yesterday and couldn't really get out of bed, so I missed out on a lot his first day, but luckily Dad was there to take over for me. Today after a good night's sleep I'm feeling a million times better. So far, Richard seems to be a very peaceful baby, though that probably won't last! Even though he seems to like being swaddled, he doesn't seem to like anything that involves his hands or feet being held down, like for diaper changes. The consensus yesterday was that he looks more like me, except for his coloring - On closer inspection though, I think he looks like my father. I could look at him all day and not get bored. He has such a hold on me already :)

Ready for His Closeup

Clearly he has Ted's hair. We're thinking my chin, and an amalgamation of our noses. His eyes, though you can't see them here, are a lovely chocolate brown.

Epidurals are a Girl's Best Friend

Richard Constantine Leoutsakos arrived this morning at 11:59am, weighing 7lbs 8oz and measuring 20 inches long. We are all doing well. Richard is my father and grandfather's name, and Constantine (Charles) was Ted's father's name.

Live From Halsted 2

I'm here, but, as you might surmise from the fact that I'm still blogging, they have not started my pitocin yet. I hear that's when the fun really starts. It's coming in about an hour. Good times.

D-Day + 6

Well, so much for going into labor on my own, unless it should happen in the next 5 1/2 hours. In a way I feel slightly guilty serving the eviction notice - but it's starting to get really hot here. It was 90 yesterday - that's like 150 in pregnancy degrees. And the research literature suggests better outcomes when you induce at 41 weeks rather than 42 or later. Anyways, wish me luck - we check in at Hopkins at 6pm tonight.

D-Day + 5

And I am still here. Yup. Slept twelve hours last night, which is very unusual for me. I've threatened to start charging Richard rent, but he seems unconcerned. Grocery store, sewing and a long walk are on the menu for today. I took the online test for Jeopardy a few months back - it was super hard and I was sure I had failed, but it seems I passed, and I have an audition (another written test, mock game, and personality interview) on Thursday, July 31 in DC. No guarantee at all that I'll get on the show, but exciting, still. Wes has promised me his copy of the book "How to Get on Jeopardy and Win". There are a lot of topics I'm weak in, like sports. Right now I'm studying US Presidents and Shakespeare, classic Jeopardy topics. This website has archives of all the questions from past Jeopardy games, so it's useful to identify weak areas for me.

Not Richard's Mama (Yet)

Well, we can officially put to rest the "eat spicy food to bring on labor" myth. Just got back from my second go at that at Nacho Mama's. Spicy food at a restaurant with the word "mama" in it should really have done the trick, don't you think? Going to see Wall-E with Ted tonight. It got excellent reviews. Many thanks to Matt for sending me this cool link. Maybe tonight's the night. My theory is that I will tempt the fates by going somewhere where I would least like to go into labor, thus inviting it. Not sure exactly where that would be, but during dinner and/or movie at big mall sounds sufficiently inconvenient. Also, we'll be in separate cars, thus compounding said inconvenience.