burpy time

my favorite time with our little guy is when i get to burp him.  sounds strange, i know.  but when i get to burp him, he has just filled his little tummy and is on the verge of falling asleep.  i put him up on my shoulder, patting him on the back, and he curls up into a little baby ball and within minute is sound asleep!  i get to have that warm little guy right up by my face, with his cute breathing in and out.  its a time where he and i can bond, he being cute, and i enjoying that cute!
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great grandma's joy

with diana's grandma not doing so well, health wise, we made a point of going to see her with ledger as soon as possible!  she had been diagnosed with cancer and was not willing to go through the destructive treatments, so she was just fighting the good fight without aid.  we were able to go and see her with ledger just a day or two after we got out of the hospital.  she was so excited to see him- he is her first great grandchild!
oh, to see her look at little ledger!  the joy in her eyes at our little baby, it felt like, for just a moment, she melted with love.  as she looked at him her features softened, her pain subsided for a short time, she was simply a proud great grandma.  though ledger will not remember when he met his great grandma, we will be sure to tell him just how proud she was of him and how her heart overflowed with love to just hold him a moment!  we will be sure to tell him how much great grandma loved each of us and how she held on long enough to kiss his precious face.
we wont forget you, grandma, and we will make sure that ledger doesn't either!
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home and sleepy

when we got home we werent exactly sure what to do, we had never had a newborn before!  well, it turns out you don't do much of anything!  he just wants to spend the whole time sleeping!  but oh, what a cute sleeper!  here are a bunch of pictures over his first few days of him sleeping and just generally hanging out being a baby: 1, 2, 3.

in bed

now that we are home with ledger, an important question arises: where does he sleep?  we had the crib all set for him, but we dont have a baby monitor yet, so we didnt feel comfortable leaving him on his own in his room (and we wanted to have him close to us anyway!), and we didnt bother with a bassinet, so what do we do?  well, we kind of made a makeshift bed for him using his changing pad for the first night.  we knew that wasnt exactly the safest option, so the next day diana and her sister went out and got him a little tiny bed to put between us.  its kind of like a cute little pack-n-play!  we figure he can sleep with us for the first few weeks, but this is definitely not going to be a permanent option.  david said that he has a monitor for us, so we will use that as soon as we can!

rockin!

soon after we got home i got to bring ledger into his room for the first time. he was quite impressed (or at least thats what i assumed considering that he was sound asleep and couldnt really talk even if he was awake...).  i was excited to test out the rocking chair that we had gotten from diana's family- it was time for ledger's first rock!  as one would expect, it went off flawlessly!  we are going to be getting used to thing, i'm sure!  i expect there to be many many hours spend in this chair as we raise our boy.  hopefully one day he will think back to this rocker as fondly as diana does to the rocker she had growing up!
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poco, meet ledger!

now, time for the thing we have been the most nervous about: bringing our baby home to meet the dog.  we had heard all kinds of advice about how to do it, how to introduce the dog to the baby in a way that would make sure the dog saw the baby as a welcome addition to the family and not an intruder.  we had already asked diana's sister and mom to bring home a couple things for poco to smell that ledger had warn, a hat the first night and a blanket he had been swaddled in the second night.  so far so good.  in fact, when mom and sis woke up on that second morning, poco had found himself  comfy spot right on top of that blanket on the couch!  ok, so maybe this will go well.
we had heard that it might not be a good idea to bring the baby in while the dog is in the house, this makes the dog see the baby as an intruder, coming in on his turf.  instead they suggested that we should take the dog out of the house and then bring the baby in, when the dog returns, they will see the baby as something that is already a part of the accepted family.  kind of strange, but we trust cesar millan when it comes to dog stuff...
diana when in and got poco, put on his harness, and brought him out.  i got ledger out of the back seat and brought him in, followed by diana and poco.  at first the dog was unsure about this thing in the car seat that kept moving around, but after we took ledger out, then poco just wanted to get up and smell the little guy!  we did not let him, instead making sure that poco knew that there is a boundary: poco must stay away from ledger.  we hope to introduce the two of them slowly over time yet still keeping a distance between them.  sorry doggy, but there is a new favorite in town!
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he's coming with us

with everything packed, including our child, we headed out to the car.  as is hospital policy, diana got to take a little wheel chair ride!  i walked ahead and got the car and drove up to the door.  it was finally over, the pregnancy is done and now we have a baby!  that's pretty crazy!  on the way home diana and i talked about how we hear so many people talk about how when they left the hospital with their first child they felt a bit freaked out and nervous.  neither one of us really felt that.  sure, it was our first one, but i think we are both at a place in our lives where we knew this was the next great step together.  we weren't nervous, we were just excited and ready!  (well, as ready as new parents can be, i suppose...)

buckle up

after we got him all dressed, it was time to take him out of there!  i brought a load of stuff out to the car that we packed up and brought back with us his car seat.  maybe i should have spent some time examining this car seat before now, because with the prospect of putting little ledger in there, i was baffled by how to do all the buckles and clicks and snaps and what ever else there was!  after a couple minutes i finally figured it out and we put him in there.  when i took a step back i laughed- look at how small he is!  with him all tight and snug behind those belts, we were ready to take him home.
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his first clothes

now that we were about to leave, it was time to get ledger ready for the first time!  he was finished with the hospital wraps they had used while we were there, now it was finally time for diana to start using all those cute baby outfits she has been accumulating over the past 9 months!
diana pulled out the clothes we had brought for our little man before he was born, not exactly knowing what to expect!  we had brought big clothes and a little set too, just in case.  turned out that we needed the little set, and boy was it cute!

my new family

we raced in friday morning, and now here it is sunday afternoon, and its already time for us to be on our way home!  i'm a bit torn, in one way if feels like we just got here, but in another way it feels like we've been here for weeks!  i was able to stay with diana for the entire time, never having to leave to go home or anywhere else, which has been a huge blessing!  many guests have come and celebrated with us, which we are so thankful for!  in this one weekend, our entire lives have been completely and utterly changed forever- and we couldn't be happier!
half jokingly i said to diana 'you know, i could almost just stay here forever.'  we were together with the new love of our lives, away from distractions, away from responsibilities, away from everything.  we were together as a family, together for the first time.  i know i will think about this time in the upcoming years and smile with contented joy.  we are blessed.  thank God, we are blessed.

our hospital stay

all the events and comings and goings over the past two days left diana quite exhausted, but he was gaining back her strength little by little.  after two nights it was time to finish up our stay at the hospital.
we arrived on friday morning around 6:00 am, and on sunday at 2:00pm, we were signed out, all the tests for ledger had been completed and we were ok to go. it was a nice time, spending saturday and sunday there, using it as a time to celebrate and recuperate.  but now we knew that our stay was coming to an end and that it was finally time to go home!
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first pacifier

we had hoped to go as long as possible before we gave ledger a pacifier.  turns out that one night is as long as possible!  he was crying on and off during that first night. we would take him out of his crib and hold him, which worked for a while, but the only sure-fire way to get him to stay quiet was to put a pinkie in his mouth to suck on.  the next morning we caved in and asked the nurse for a pacifier!  as soon as ledger got it, he was so relieved and got busy sucking.  we were relieved as well and enjoyed a few minutes of peace!
on a side note, i found this to be kind of interesting:  what do you call a pacifier?  it turns out that my family and diana's family use different terms for this little sucky tool.  i, for some reason, grew up calling it a 'pipe' in my family, while her family grew up calling it a 'binky'.  strange.  i guess on further reflection, it is quite strange that we would call it a pipe, huh?  a pipe is something that people smoke, so what does it have to do with keeping a baby quiet?  i'm not entirely sure what 'binky' is either...

lookin around

when we got to see those eyes looking around for the first time it was truly amazing!  right now he's got blue eyes, but ive been told that can change over the course of the first few months.  i was a bit nervous at first because whenever he would look around it would result in him going a bit cross-eyed!  the nurses assured me that this was not a permanent situation and that as his eye muscles grew stronger, he would be able to keep them focused together.  by the second day he was already doing better and keeping his eyes lined up as he looked around.  i guess a new dad has to worry about something, right?

in the glass

while we were in the hospital, ledger spent most of his time sleeping.  when he was sleeping we put him in this see through crib on wheels.  a couple times he had to be taken away to get tests or anything, the nurses would just roll him off in this fancy little crib.  when he was all swaddled up, i was always amazed at just how tiny he is!
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hands and feet

once we had gotten our little boy back, i spent hours on end just staring at him!  i kept playing with his hands and feet the whole time!  its so amazing to see those little itty bitty fingers and toes.
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where are you?

oh that's right, what about the dog?!?  in all the excitement over ledger, our old stinky dog must have been feeling left out.  diana's mom and sister made sure he was taken care of though, when they arrived at our place for the night barbara took him for a much needed walk.  she said he was excited to see them, but missed his mom and dad!  before they left, i gave barbara a blanket that ledger had been wrapped in so that she could take it home for poco to smell in preparation of when ledger will be coming home with us.  its a little trick that we had heard about to get the dog familiar with the baby and accept him as part of the pack.
(a cute video of poco smelling the blanket)

a healthy return

finally!  around 9:45 ledger was rolled into the room for good.  we were so excited to have him back.  he got the all clear from the doctors and was released in good health.  his breathing was normal and his temperature was up to where it is supposed to be.  diana's mom and sister were still around so they got a chance to hold him and dote on him along with us!
eventually though, maybe around midnight, the two of them packed it up and headed back to our house for the night.  both of them were going to be coming back the next day to spend more time with us and little ledger.
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heating up

ledger's temperature was a bit lower than they would have liked, so the nurses took him to the nursery to put him under a heat lamp and observe him for a little while.  it was good that they were extra cautious and careful, but we were really hoping that we could get to see him right away!  his temperature took a couple hours to get to where the doctors were comfortable letting him go back to see us for good.  unfortunately, it was getting too late for many of our visitors, they had an hour or two ride home after they left, and an our time change!  as it got around 8:30 or 9:00, mom and papa had to give up and head home.   miranda, lissa, dad, and david all had to head out as well.  it was too bad that they didnt get a chance to hold him then, but we all agreed that they will have many more chances!
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a new room

when everything was taken care of in the delivery room, we were brought to another room in the post natal ward of the hospital.  there was more room for guests and anyone was able to come and visit then.  we packed up all our stuff and headed over to the other room with all our guests!  diana was rolled down in a wheelchair, and i got to push the little crib with ledger in it.  they wanted him to first go to the nursery before he was able to join us in the post natal room.  while we were waiting for him, diana's dad joined us, her stepdad david, and even lissa made it down for a quick visit too!  diana got some beautiful flowers and a stuffed animal in celebration of our son's birth.  we got a chance to enjoy the company and share our excitement.
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mom and papa arrive

it was such an amazing event, having a baby and becoming a father, that all i really wanted was to have my parents there to see my new son!  well, they arrived just in time and got to see little ledger, their new grandson, the one to pass down the Brink name to the next generation!  they were so thrilled when they arrived.  i met them and brought them to the delivery room where they got to congratulate and hug diana and see ledger for the first time.  he seemed happy to see his mema and papa, but didn't quite know how to show it, so he just showed his happiness by crying...

so fresh and so clean

he sure is adorable!  ledger was a bit unsure of the whole thing, crying and fussing through out the whole ordeal.  finally, he got a chance to rest for a bit.  it gave diana and i a chance to rest as well, we were so thrilled and excited about his arrival, but diana had just been through so much that it was good for her to get a moment or two of rest!
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bath time

once his temperature was up to about where they wanted it to be, the nurse cleaned him up and took his measurements.  it was his first bath!  he was not very happy about taking a bath- i think he gets that from his father...  he got a good scrubbing, head to toe.  finally we got a good look at his hair and saw that its... well, we arent exactly sure what color it is just yet.  both diana and i had different colored hair when we were born, so its not exactly an accurate indication of what is to come.  after the clean up, we got to have him back and hold him for a bit longer.

warm up

as soon as he was born the doctors wrapped him up and handed him over to his mom.  diana was exhausted, but absolutely glowing with joy and overflowing with love for our little ledger!  we were both able to touch and kiss our new bundle of joy.  soon after, the nurses put him under a heat lamp to make sure that his body temperature was where it should be.  while there, ledger opened his eyes for the first time- welcome to the world, little guy, we are glad to have you!
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Ledger Allen

please welcome my son, Ledger Allen Brink.  he was born on friday, march 30, at 12:55pm.  he was 7 pounds 4 ounces, 21 inches long, and absolutely perfect in every way imaginable.  (that last part might be my bias opinion...)

welcome to the world, son!

the contractions escalated quickly and before we knew it, it was time for our little one to come!  the doctor arrived only moments before she was fully dilated and ready to push.  after the fourth push, our son was born!  diana did a great job, keeping her cool (as much as can be expected in that situation...), and delivering in an almost shockingly quick time frame!  from the time the doctor came until he was born, it only took about 15 minutes- yikes!
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lay and deliver

we got to the delivery room around 6:30 am, got diana into the bed and ready for the big events.  she and i started to make the phone calls to different family members to let them know what was going on.  most of them were mobilized and on their way!  back in the delivery room things started slowly for diana, the contractions coming harder and harder.  by around 10:15 she was ready for her epidural.  right around that time her mom and sister arrived.  she was really happy to have them with her for this whole thing!  both of them are nurses, so we knew we were going to be totally taken care of- not everyone who comes to the hospital has their own nurse entourage!
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new arrivals

we knew that as soon as we got to the hospital that diana would be able to eat until the baby came, so we took a moment and picked up some breakfast to eat on the way.  it was still really early, before sunrise, and the two of us were slowly starting to realize the magnitude of of what was about to begin.  but before all that, we enjoyed a nice sausage biscuit!
when we arrived i was planning to drop off diana at the door and have the free valet parking take care of it, only it was too early and no one was there.  so instead i looked for a parking spot.  the spot we found was about as close to the door as possible, so it worked out great.
we walked in and had a couple forms to sign, then diana got in a wheelchair and we were wheeled off to the prenatal area.  just our luck, it was a really busy morning, so they actually wheeled us in to the waiting room for a few minutes.  diana and i just sat there.  'so, if everything is full are we going to have to give birth in here?!?'  fortunately we didnt have to find out because about three minutes later they came back and wheeled diana in to a spacious individual room just for us.

one last thing...

see, diana and i had planned to go and meet up with my parents in michigan city on friday.  i knew i needed to have my hair cut before we went to see them.  at first diana was going to do it on thursday, but we both figured 'nah, we can wait till tomorrow, what could possibly go wrong?'  oops.  since the hospital told us not to rush, we took a moment to take care of a few things that needed to be done before the events of the day started, you know, like cutting my hair...
once that was taken care of, i hoped in the shower, diana double checked the hospital bags, and off we went!

a fine 'how do you do'!

my hope was that our little bundle of joy would wait to arrive until my school started spring break.  on thursday,with my spring break starting, i jokingly talked to my wife's tummy and told our little man that he was welcome to come any time now.  i didnt think he would take me seriously...
friday morning i was awoken at 4:30 am by a wife running as quickly as possible for the bathroom.  'wake up! wake up!' she cried as she zipped by.  a bit bleary eyed, i got up to see what the big deal was.  turns out her water just broke! yikes!  as i quickly came to my senses, i realized 'this whole having a baby thing just got real'...
i ran into the nursery and grabbed the two bags my wife had meticulously packed for just such a case.  diana called the hospital and told them what was up, they said to head on in, but we could take our time.  so i calmed down, but diana didnt.  the realization of what was going on had her heart racing- today was going to be the day that our baby was coming!

three years

we are no longer newlyweds.  its official.  i've always held to the idea that as long as you have a piece of wedding cake left, you are still newlyweds!  diana and i did the old tradition of saving a piece of the wedding cake to eat on the first anniversary.  but here's the thing, my mom actually saved three pieces of cake for us!  well, we decided to eat one piece a year, thereby allowing us to have two extra years of being madly-in-love newlyweds!  clever trick, huh?  well, it worked perfectly, but now, three years in, we must finally face the facts: we are an old married couple...  but only in name, that's for sure!  i love her more now than i ever have before!
we didn't really do anything too special for our anniversary this year, that's partly due to the fact that we have no money, and also because we are expecting our first child and he can come any time now, so we weren't even sure if we were going to be able to have a night to ourselves anyway!  we did end up having the night to ourselves, the little guy decided to wait a little while longer!  we went out and about around town, with no real purpose in mind, just a plan to enjoy ourselves and each other.  well, it worked perfectly!  we had a great time, and ended the night with a really old piece of cake...
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bad good weather

this unseasonably warm weather has been great!  we have been able to turn off our heat a couple months early, we dont have to shovel the snow or scrape off the car in the morning, and i've been able to ditch the coat all together!  the unfortunate side effect of all this heat is that the grass has been growing, and that means the most dreaded event of the year: lawn mowing! argh!  well, i knew i couldnt avoid it any longer, so i put on my grubby shoes and got to it.  it was just as terrible as i remember from mowing last year, but it does feel good to have the lawn looking good!

taco dad

diana's dad really wanted to come and visit one last time before our little guy arrives, so we invited him to stop by any time that would work for him.  well, we got the call and down he came!  diana got to show off all the preparations we did to the house.  i made a little dinner for us- tacos!  we had a great time chatting and imagining all the changes that are in store for us as we become parents, and we had a good time ribbing him about the fact that this means he is going to become a grandparent!