cheeks you could eat with a spoon.

delicious dante

my apologies for being away from the blog.  we've had a lot happening here adjusting to all things baby.  mostly we've been gazing at the delicious dante (please

 see above and below).  it has been a truly amazing few weeks.  today, dante is twenty days old.  and in the past twenty days he has taught us more about ourselves than we knew possible.  we have really taken these twenty days to hibernate and start our family.  the days of me thinking it wasn't possible to love anything more than our little family has changed, i look at our baby and it makes my heart hurt, i love him so much.  and as my friend kelly says, it really is exhausting just feeling so much love.  it really is.  

after an intense twenty-three hours we delivered dante.  dave was amazing during the entire process, i was so proud of him.  i am still trying to process the whole natural childbirth process myself, and if you are interested i would be happy to share the story(ies).  parts of which are rather humorous.  but not in a public form.  we spent two days in the hospital, which was really nice.  i never thought i would say that but i really did enjoy this time under supervision.  we were sent home to fend for ourselves.  thankfully my mom was still here and able to jump in and take care of everything else while dave and i sorted out our first few nights of sleepless parenting.  we are breast-feeding, and it has had a few bumps including mastitis.  i think we have turned the corner and are on our way to b

ecoming champs in this category.  we made it to the pediatrician, and learned that he is a butterball and close to perfect.  we've begun the transition back to a new normal... meaning dave went back to work.  i had a vision of myself waving goodbye on the front steps holding the baby, hysterically crying, with milk leaking everywhere.  alas that daydream did not come true but i think mostly because my mom was still here.  this morning my mom left, and a lot of tears were shed.  a lot.  she has been amazing this past week.  thanks, mom.  but we are now on to our new adventure of doing it on our own, being parents.  this time i feel like we are ready... 

stay tuned.

a few photos of our babe!

GO STATE!

  

luck of the irish

DANTE NEVAN DEVITRE

2.28P MARCH 17. 2009

8 pounds, 9 ounces

21.5 inches long

we are in awe. 

thank you all for your wishes. 

taking a few days to enjoy being us, we'll be in touch soon. 

love, 

dave, sarah, dante, tuk + ogi

is it that time?

so many phone calls and well wishes... its wonderful.  sorry if we haven't been so quick to respond.  doing the last bit of nesting, and really hoping to celebrate a birthday soon. 

i went to lunch with our friends tracy + stacey today.  we did our yoga teacher training together and it has been way too long since we've seen each other.  tracy is just back from a few weeks in central america and did a reiki training while there.  now, tracy is not someone you would think of as a reiki worker.  she is a wedding photographer and a very down-to-earth yogini.  but whatever she learned works.  and with a few moments of hands on body and big baby belly... i think we are at the beginning of labor!  (i think, not totally sure but this feels different than normal)

we'll keep you posted.         

7

here we sit.  seven more days until the official due date.  unbelievable.  i can remember this past summer thinking, march. wow.  when march arrives things start to sprout and turn green after a long winter.  in st louis our winters aren't that long nor are they covered with snow for more than a few days.  but today is a beautiful tease of 72 degrees, sunny and not a cloud in the sky.  what is left of our backyard (thanks to the dogs) is starting to turn a hue of green and i can see the potential of our garden for this year.  along with spring comes our baby.  it's a great time of year, i think, to have a baby.  as soon as things warm up more we'll be outside strolling around.  windows and doors open letting in the fresh air.  

so now that march has rolled around, everyone has started to answer my phone calls on the first ring, has a louder than normal hello voice and is generally wondering... are you in labor?  i am still finding this response cute, i wonder if i will feel the same in a few more days?  our doula says not to count, but with little else to do it's difficult.  we are ready as we are going to be... so i have started to take more walks, squats, hip openers... come on baby.  every morning we have a chat about today being a good day for a baby... like today for instance, it's a good day.  3.6.9.  3+6=9 and we were married on 9.3.6... so today would be a good day.  

sew fro

my mom is a multi-talented woman.  most of her talents that she has shared are about gardening, life, counseling, listening, organizing, throwing things away (like at last count at least three tv remotes to the same tv).  

until last weekend i thought most of her talents were focused on the non-domestic type.  i.e. she prides herself on making most foods from a box.  therefore most of my 'martha' skills are self taught or by mrs. frevel (my kind of grandmother growing up).  however, i and the ladies aide society (my mom's hysterical friend group) were amazed to learn she knew how to sew.  not only does she know how to sew but we bought a sewing machine, fabric and made a crib skirt.  amazing.  my lovely husband was shocked to hear that both of us were sewing and could actually produce something.  so much so that he posted this very unflattering photo of me on FB.  it was like an episode of little house on the prairie.

as you can see i was VERY focused.  my sewing skills have NOT improved, but i am really enjoying it.  here is an ok pic of the bed skirt: 

i have moved on to making a pin cushion, an Olivia lovey for cousin James and now I am on to a hooter hider aka nursing cover.  Sewing really makes me work another part of my brain that hasn't really been activated, I am really enjoying it. 

thanks to Mom and her sleeping sewing talents.

XO

march 1

we are ready.  the baby now has a place to lay it's little head once it arrives.  

thanks to our good friends the Laura and Di - our baby has a bassinet!  after a recent scary experience for Dave in the ER we reminded ourselves that co-sleeping is not the way to go.  which sent me into a hunt for a replacement.  

along these lines, one thing that has become very apparent in becoming parents is that one of the initial steps is to spend a lot of money.  a lot.  i am starting to realize the sacrifices our parents made for us.  so i have come to accept offers from friends that are loaning or donating their used things.  so thanks to Diana and Laura for sharing the bassinet.  

ps.  the elephant will be taken out before the baby arrives.