The Richter Family

He's here! Benjamin Patrick was born on December 23rd at 2:37 pm, 10 days before his due date. There were some pregnancy complications, and when I went to the hospital for some tests, my doctor said I needed a c-section that day. Luckily, Katie was visiting for Christmas & Mike already had our bags & infant seat in the car. Instead of a three-day stay, the hospital discharged us on Christmas day. But enough talk, everyone wants pictures...

We had a great baby shower on Saturday. It was a group effort: Kara was recovering from arm surgery, our friend Sarah was trying to recover from a cold, & our friend Kate has a 15-month-old, but they still did an awesome job. We are very fortunate to have such friends. People were very generous, plus I got a bunch of gift cards that I can't wait to use. Now I'm washing everything & organizing the nursery.

Hey Rachel, thanks for the card & the post on my birthday! It was kind of a non-birthday because there was so much other stuff going on, so it was nice to hear from you. We ended up going out to dinner on Sunday. I had asked Mike to get me a bathrobe for my gift, & he chose the EXACT robe I had been looking at - same brand, same style, same store. Kinda creepy. I asked him if he was having me followed.


This picture was taken yesterday. Lately I have been hearing the phrase "you're ready to pop" a lot. That's what it feels like. I had another doctor appointment today, & I had to have a quick ultrasound to make sure the baby isn't breech (he's not). Apparently our little guy isn't so little - the doctor said he has a "rather large head." I'm gonna blame Mike for this one. When I asked if this would increase my chances of a c-section, he said said there's no way of knowing yet, but babies' heads are soft enough to squeeze through most of the time. Great. A friend at the shower offered to give me a ride on his motorcycle to get labor started, but that was met with a big "NO" from daddy-to-be. I don't get to have any fun anymore...

We finally put up a Christmas tree yesterday. I still have to decorate it. Strangely enough, Calvin is more interested in trying to eat the fake pine decorations than the real pine needles. I don't really feel like decorating for the holidays because it's REALLY warm (at least eighty degrees). I haven't started playing any of our Christmas CDs because Mike has been rehearsing a lot for the Christmas concert the band is having on Thursday, & I think he's pretty sick of Christmas carols right now.

Off to do more laundry! Mom, I promise the nursery will be ready by the time you arrive. But you can clean & reorganize anyway.

Yesterday we went to my 36-week appointment. Apparently that's when the fun starts - swabs, checking my cervix, etc. Modesty is out the window. When the doctor measured my uterus, instead of telling me the length in centimeters, she asked how much I weighed when I was born. Uh oh. When I said I was over 8 pounds, she said our baby would be, too. Mike was a big baby too (when he was born, not at the appointment) so I can blame it on him.

We went to another childbirth class last night & had the pleasure of watching a video on c-sections. I think Mike was more freaked out by the discussion on cord prolapse than the video. Sorry, Mom, he didn't turn green. Next week we get a tour of the women's center where I will deliver. The instructor did say that labor, delivery & recovery happen in one room, postpartum in another. I still need to think about packing. It hasn't hit me how close I am to possibly delivering. Maybe after the shower on Saturday it will seem more real.

I have been bugging Mike to get his own screen name so he can do his own posts. He has had a bunch of baseball news lately that is kind of lost on me. He talks to me, I stare back at him pretending to understand what he's talking about. Something about the new Yankees owner being an idiot, some guy named Santana, it's hard for me to keep track. Baseball season is never over in our house.

Hey Rachel & Beth, that would be great if you came to visit this winter! I think the next time Mike & I will be able to get up to Pennsylvania will probably be around July. I know that's not soon enough for "Nana" but it will have to do. We finally found a way to get people to visit us in Georgia!

Yeah, I know, no recent pictures (of my profile, at least). Maybe next time.

It's been a rough time for Yankees fans lately; Rachel & Chris, you know what I'm talking about. Mike's been handling it well, though. I was prepared for the worst when Boston swept the Series, but he was amazingly calm about it, even admitting that they deserved to win. I wouldn't watch much of it, a couple of those players are just too annoying (if you don't wanna hustle, I don't wanna watch). I'm not looking forward to next season, though, because it just won't be the same without Torre & I'm afraid it'll be really frustrating for Mike to watch. At least Mike got to see two of his idols, Seinfeld & Torre, on Letterman this week.

I'm so excited for trick-or-treating! Hopefully we'll get a decent turnout; a lot of people around here seem to think Halloween is evil & won't let their kids participate, or won't let them go door to door (apparently strangers are evil, too). We are armed with tons of candy. We went to kind of a Halloween party last weekend (not many people dressed up - lame) but we misplaced our camera & can't post the picture of us just yet. Also the reason why there's no picture yet of my belly, which has been a popular request.

We trekked up to southern Atlanta on Monday to shop at the closest Babies R Us. It was my last attempt at finding a nursery glider. We found one we both really liked, but the only one available was the floor model, & it was a challenge to get it into our car fully assembled. Seems like everything I want to order or register for is being discontinued. But the glider is really comfy. I just hope Calvin (our cat) leaves it alone (doesn't do a #2 on it).

My friends Kara & Sarah were nice enough to plan a shower for early December, even though Kara's traveling to Germany this month & Sarah has a munchkin of her own at home. Hopefully her son Cole & Victor will get to be playmates. We're fortunate to have found such good friends here.

I promise, as soon as we find that camera, photos are coming...

We've been meaning to start a blog for a while now, and here it finally is. Living so far from some of our friends & family makes it difficult to keep in touch, so hopefully this will be a good way to keep everyone updated. Mostly, though, people just want to know about the bun in the oven (more like a Mexican jumping bean). If all goes well, we should be posting lots of pictures in the coming months. Of course, Mike & I are technology-challenged, so we might come to blows with the computer & digital camera by the time our little one makes an appearance.

So here's the first baby update: I had an uneventful 30-week checkup today. I was a little worried after having to take the glucose tolerance test last week in addition to the screening, but I was relieved to find out that I do not have gestational diabetes. I'm not sure who's happier, me or Mike. He already feels guilty drinking beer around me, & I don't think he could give up sugar for my sake. I'm still on track to deliver around December 30th (but January 2nd is still the official due date). For anyone who just can't wait for a picture, I will attempt to scan one of the images from the 20-week ultrasound.

Oh, and for anyone wondering, "Victor" is not really being considered as a legitimate name for our son. If you don't understand why, just say the full name in your head and give it a minute. And while my mom doesn't think we can do it, I'm sure we'll have a real name chosen from our short list in the next two months.