5 Day Report

Nathanael had his first post-hospital visit with the pediatrician today. It was a wonderfully encouraging visit. He has already gained six ounces from when we left the hospital on Sunday, and he's making great progress to be back up to his birth weight shortly! What a relief! In fact, he thought that he'd show us how well he's doing while he was being weighed and pooped all over the scale! His length remains about the same at 20.5 inches.

We're constantly laughing about our mushy new parent brains. After Nathanael pooped on the scale, I proceeded to put his diaper on backwards (the doctor graciously helped me correct that mistake). And as we were leaving, Greg misplaced his keys about four times.

My friend Sharee took pictures of her son next to a stuffed bear to document his growth, so I thought I would copy that adorable idea. This bear (pictured below) is extra special to Nathanael as his great aunt Ann made it for him! Isn't it adorable?

Nathanael Alim - 5 Days Old

And a couple outtakes...I just couldn't resist sharing more than one...

Babysitter Bear

Cool kid

Nathanael meets friends and family

Nathanael's first hours
Holding Daddy's finger

Trying to wake the little guy

First time in Daddy's arms

Meeting Uncle Andrew & Aunt Angie

Happy family

Meeting Grandma Gimple

Meeting Grandpa Gimple

Meeting the Stump ladies

Meeting Deborah

Meeting Nick

He's here!

Welcome Nathanael Alim King!

Born April 22nd at 11:57pm
7 pounds 14 ounces
20.5 inches

Nathanael looking a little too comfy

This is really difficult to see, but here's a picture from today of Nathanael's squished little face. You're looking at his face in the right half of the picture. Can you see his lips and nose in the middle and his eye sockets and forehead to the right?

And a somewhat clearer picture or his lips and nose

Everything else was really difficult to make out since he's SO BIG! He sure looked comfortable in there. He was moving his lips a ton -- so adorable! The tech said he's measuring in at 8lbs 4oz, but she said that can be a pound off EITHER WAY!

We want to see more of him!!! We're hopeful that Thursday will be the big day, if he doesn't come on his own before then!

41 Weeks

I promise you this picture will be the last pregnancy picture you get to see of me! There's no way he's staying in there another month!

A little bigger than the 36 weeks picture, eh?

Thankful Sunday

We may be inducing labor this coming Thursday (key word: MAY), so instead of waiting until Thursday to post this, I wanted to write it today.

In the midst of waiting on Nathanael to be born, I am thankful for (in no particular order)...

1. The amazing support we've received from family and friends. Among my favorites: you moms who have written to empathize with the emotions of passing that "due date". I know I am not alone, sisters! Thanks for the sweet words and heartfelt prayers. Tuesday is 41 weeks for us, and it really is a testament of God's generosity to bring us so far with this pregnancy!
   
2. An active and seemingly healthy little boy. We had our first non-stress test this morning, and the nurse said he is doing beautifully. His heartbeat is strong and reacting as it should be at this point. We have another test and an ultrasound scheduled for Tuesday, and we're expecting to hear/see the same.
3. An unexpected transitional period from work. As we all thought Nathanael was going to come during that first full week of April, my maternity leave began the 5th. It has been wonderful to rest and have time to give attention to so many things that I never dreamed I'd be able to do -- such as reading some parenting books and devotional books, cleaning out my personal email, catching up on our finances/bills, spending more time praying, and...
4. Hours and hours of just being with Greg! What an unexpected gift!
   
5. Flexibility from so many people! My family has been prepared to visit for the past two weeks, and they're STILL waiting to request those vacation days and buy those plane tickets! Their "hosts" are still wondering when they'll have house guests for a few days. The church has been gracious in allowing Greg to take a few Sundays off. Many of you have made yourselves available to distract Greg and me over the past couple weeks. We are deeply thankful!
6. Time to choose to slow down and try to begin letting go of expectations I have of myself that need to be dropped as a new mom. I know this will be so difficult for me, but I really want to give myself the freedom to be able to just be a wife and mommy for the first couple weeks.
7. Our gracious God who has sustained me through the ups and downs of the last two weeks and whose Presence is truly my life's treasure.
   

Pray for Turkey

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What happened to Ayse?

Warning: This is a pet post. If you don't like posts about pets, I suggest you move on.

A few of you have been asking what happened to our cat Ayse.

We have always longed to return overseas one day, and though we don't have any clue if that is sooner or later for us, my parents have always held their door open to taking Ayse when that time would come. Well, when Nathanael came on the scene, we decided it was time for a change. Our current apartment is teeny tiny, and it was hard for us to imagine four beings surviving here with civility. So at Thanksgiving, Greg and I gave Ayse to my parents. It was a bitter sweet parting for us, but we knew she'd eventually love Kansas and the space and freedom there and even the other pets. And ultimately we were doing it for the good of our family. Our snotty little cat ended up taking quite a long time to adjust, but she is finally doing well and has become part of the family at my parents' home (which includes another indoor cat and dog). I think I intended to blog about this back in December.

So to say a blogger's farewell to Ayse, here are some pictures...

One of the first days we had her back in January 2007

Helping Greg study as a kitten

Saying goodbye in November (she wanted to leave her cat hair on Greg's sweater)

Final hugs

Final "family" picture

My mom has posted some pictures of Ayse on her blog recently, specifically of her adjustment and how she still remains the same cat. These make us smile...

Days with Greg

Since my maternity leave began this Monday, I have been privileged to spend an entire week at home with Greg. It definitely has not been a "normal" week for either of us, though I'm not sure if one of those will exist for a while. But it has been especially fun for me to be at home when Greg's studying because he shares his excitement with me over various Biblical discoveries - some obscure linguistic significance or a profound theological truth or just an observation that leaves him wondering about something. I love hearing theses fresh musings from his mind and heart! And I also love being home when he's making the "set list" for Sunday, praying and playing through different portions of music to find the right combination of lyrical congruence, complementary keys, and stylistic variations. I love watching and listening to him work. I'm not so sure he loves having me home while he works though; I think I tend to be more of a distraction than a helper, especially since I'm a little (or shall we say, big) ticking time bomb to him. We've had many friends tell us to treasure these last few days together as just the two of us, and Greg and I truly have been able to do that. We are thankful for the sweet closeness God has given us in the last trimester.

(an old picture from November when we still had Ayse)

(on his 29th bday in January)

No news yet

Every day Greg and I wonder, "Is this the day we get to meet our son?" But not yet. We continue to wait, sometimes patiently, other times not so patiently. We thought it would be extremely special for him to be born April 3rd and share a birthday with his great uncle Bob who died in an accident this past year... Easter would have been special, celebrating Nathanael's birth on a day that is all about celebrating life (and our last miscarriage was last Easter Sunday)... My grandma's birthday is April 7th; that would be a fun date to hit, though we're completely fine with the 5th or 6th as well. :)

Greg and I are both finally at the place where we feel as ready as we can be, anxious to hold this little guy and get to know him and help him adjust to this new world (and us to our new lives with him)! Our bags are packed, his clothes are washed and put away, his bassinet is ready, the diapers are sitting out, the carseat is installed... (I have yet to write your thank you notes, friends!) My maternity leave begins tomorrow, so I finished work last week. We're walking A LOT, hoping that might help move things along a tad. Both of our last weekly appointments showed great progress in terms of my body being ready to give birth. In fact, due to my progress, our doctor has told us to come in as soon as labor begins now; no need to wait around at home for hours! That was definitely exciting news to get, but we know it really might not mean anything as well. Nathanael could still stay "in the oven" for a couple more weeks!

But I will still make my plea: Come out, son! Everyone wants to meet you!