We're blogging!

We never thought we'd actually do this, but with a little inspiration from the Anderson family (they somehow manage to update their blog every single week!), we're going to try to join the nerdy blogging world. We have a feeling that Colin's out of town grandparents will like it, and maybe some aunts, uncles, cousins and friends too!

So we're officially in week 4. Wow, how time has flown. We're going to work our way up to this point with a few stories from each week below...

Hospital

We had a great hospital experience. The team of midwives, doctors and nurses that helped us out over that two day period could not have been more fantastic. And it was great to have the entire McGinnis family in town. As you can see from the picture below, Gabe was exhausted from all the back labor and pushing, but he somehow made it through...

Week 1

We could not believe they let us leave the hospital with the little guy - we had no clue what we were doing! And to make it more nerve-racking, it was snowing and a little icey when we took Colin on his first car ride home. As he pulled out onto the road at about 3 miles/hour, Gabe swore he would become a careful (actually, I think he said wimpy) driver now that he's a dad.

The first week was a bit of a blur. There was a lot of feeding, burping, barfing, farting, diaper changing, swaddling (successfully only about 1/2 the time) and VERY LITTLE sleep. One funny side effect of the lack of sleep was that Gabe kept tripping, often when he was carrying the baby! It didn't help that there was baby gear, suitcases and dirty clothes scattered just about everywhere. During one falling episode, he exclaimed "This house is closing in on me!!" Karen just laughed at him and peed in her pants.

We were overwhelmed by all the generous flowers, gifts and well wishes we received from family and friends. Among our favorites was the AMAZING chili that Leo and Larissa brought over during their visit, and the delicious soup that Beth Jamieson dropped off before we even got home. We discovered food is definitely one of the best gifts for new parents!

Other accomplishments during that first week - Gabe quickly got over his diaper changing jitters since that task became his expertise (mommy specialized in the feeding part). It was confirmed that he was no longer scared when Colin pooped and peed right on Gabe's bare chest and Gabe didn't flinch! He's such a good dad.

Also exciting was the best doctor visit ever where we got the news that Colin gained a 1/2 pound in 2 days (yahoo!) and we got doctor sign off to go to Lisa's wedding in Minnesota! Gabe was so excited that he accidentally started sitting in the baby's carseat instead of his chair (the whole falling thing again), which of course caused Karen to crack up and pee in her pants.

Lisa and Greg were a fantastic help that week too. They came over and worked on wedding stuff in our living room until the wee hours of the morning several nights in a row. This allowed the two exhausted parents to leave the baby with them and go pass out in bed (for 2-3 hours max) without worrying about whether Colin was still breathing - what a luxury!

Okay - that's all for now. Weeks 2 and 3 to follow soon...