Grand Finale

Ethan Michael Murray was born at 8:54 pm. He was 8 pounds, 8 ounces and 21 inches long. Baby and mother are both doing well. Mother is glad that it is over. I will have more news and pictures coming in the next couple of days. Goodnight.

Drugs

It's 3 pm. I got some lunch. The food at the hospital cafeteria was edible. I will probably talk someone into bringing me dinner. They started the epidural about an hour ago. Tiffany can't feel her legs too much, but she doesn't seem to mind. At last check, she was dilated to a 4. I guess we are still going to be waiting a little while.

The waiting is the hardest part

It's 12:30. Contractions are starting to be closer together and stronger. Tiffany is still doing fine. So far she has not received any pain meds. I think she should fake it a little for some dope, but that's just me. We are expecting the doctor to stop by in a little while. We have already had quite a few visitors in and out of here. Everyone at the hospital has been great so far. Thanks for everyone's emails, phone calls, and text messages. I will do my best to respond when I can.

This is the day!

We are at the hospital. You would think I would have something better to do, but there isn't much going on right now. They actually have free wi-fi at the hospital. I knew we were paying all this money for something. Did I mention that we were here at 5? I'll spare you the gory details, but the doctor came in a little while ago and broke the water. They have started the Potocin drip. I think we are in for a long day. It is possible that I will be able to post more later. Of course, I may be doing other things.

Remember the Time

Today started like any other day. Then Michael Jackson died. I know he's been accused of a lot of things, but I think the only thing he was really guilty of was being strange. The man was a musical genius, and he could dance like nobody's business. Normally I don't care so much about what happens to celebrities. In fact, I wouldn't mind a few of them dropping off the planet forever. For those of us that remember the Michael of the 80s with glittery white socks and black skin, today is a sad day. I'm sure many people felt the same way in '77 when Elvis died. Unfortunately in all of my musical excursions I never got to see him. At least we will always have his music and video legacy. Thriller is still one of the best selling albums of all time, and I think it holds up pretty well even today. I personally wore out at least two copies myself when I was younger. Today I have a digital copy on my iPod. Times have changed. Music has changed. I like to think that Michael stayed true to himself, even when the world turned on him. I know he is doing the moonwalk in heaven, and I am looking forward to meeting him one day.

party

Someone in this picture is going to claim that they hate it, but I thought it was cute.

Beans and Cornbread

A lot has happened since I last posted. Unfortunately, I have forgotten most of it. You will just have to hear about whatever I can come up with off the top of my head. Last weekend Tiffany had a baby shower. We now have more baby stuff than I know what to do with. Seriously, I only know what about half of it is. I do recognize the stroller, although these things are seriously more complicated than the things our parents pushed us around in. There are a lot of pictures from this event, but I don't have any of them. If anyone wants to email them to me, I will be glad to post them on the blog. Otherwise, those that weren't there will just have to use their imagination. I wasn't there either. A crowded room full of women wasn't my idea of a good time. I do know that there was cake and possibly some other food. There may have been baby games. Maybe somebody will explain this to me one day. Thank you so much to all of those that sent gifts. A proper thank you will be coming your way shortly.


Monday we saw the doctor again. This is what's going on. I have refrained from the details until now, so if you don't care then don't read anymore. I'm not sure that cervix and effacement are appropriate blog words. Hopefully the FCC can't fine me for typing. I don't know if they have any control over the internet or not, but they are a ridiculous organization anyway. Back on topic--as of Monday, we are looking (I wasn't actually looking) at one centimeter dilation and 75% effacement. If you don't know what that means, you are in the same boat as every other man. Luckily you have a computer. Look it up. As of now, the plan is to induce the baby on June 29, unless he comes sooner than that. I guess that's it.


By the way, we are having beans and cornbread for dinner. I don't know if that is actually a meal, but I love it.

The Final Countdown

So June is here. It seems like time has flown since last November. Tiffany had an appointment yesterday. The doctor seems to be sticking firm to the June 30 due date. He also said that he would let her go as long as July 7 before talking about inducing. That said, it could really be anytime. In my world of procrastination, later is better. Babies R Us called about ten minutes ago to inform me that the crib we ordered was in. Now I have to work that trip into my schedule. For those of you who live in a city, that doesn't sound like a chore. For me, it's 150 mile drive each way. I guess we could have bought one here, but Tiffany liked that one and I do what I'm told. Other than being a little tired, she is still feeling pretty good. She is planning to work up until the baby is born. Afterwards she will have twelve weeks to stay home. Last week I was (un)fortunate enough to attend a breast feeding class at the hospital. Tiffany assured me I wouldn't be the only guy there, and she was right again. There were at least three or four other suckers whose wives had dragged them to the class. We are going to another class this Thursday, which I'm sure will be equally exciting. I will be glad to tell you all about it in a future post. Thanks to the internet, nobody has a private life anymore anyway.


One more thing: the new Dave Matthews Band CD came out today and it rocks.