2 + 1 Makes Three

Hello everybody. In case you have not heard, Lillian Grace Goodman arrived 2 weeks early (although some would say she arrived just on time) and weighed in at 6lbs 7.8oz and 20.5" long. She had a full head of hair and and we are 100% positive that her vocal chords work.

The evening began with a trip to the photography for some scintillating dad, mom and baby bump pregnancy photos. After the shoot (as they say in the biz) Brian ran over to the Toasted Frog to pick up some fried cheesy pickles for the lovely mom-to-be. The pickles were taking a while so Brian contemplated ordering a cocktail, but was coming down with a cold so he declined. That was a good move. Chilly called as gruffly asked "Where are you!?!?!?!" After responding that she knew full well I was at the Frog, we said that she thought she may have wet her pants at the photographer's studio. I promptly rushed home, and after calling the hospital we packed a bag and went in for delivery. Mike Bjorgo, cousin Max, Dana and Michael were present at zero hour and after a mere 6-1/2 hours we had little Lilly! Speaking of delivery, ours was awfully easy. Chilly had an epidural that was supposed to "take the edge off". If they meant go numb from the navel down it certainly took the edge off. She was so calm that just before her last push she was having a civilized discourse on anesthesiology with the doctor. We had to stop her to tell her to push. Meanwhile, the dad to be was cheering the same 3 phrases of encouragement the entire time, feeling 12 pairs of eyes beating down on him and thinking "Is there anything else I can say?" Apparently we both did a good job though because Lilly did not look like one of the coneheads when she came out of the womb and she even cried to boot. Now for the rest of the story.

Chilly and I have been getting a decent amount of sleep, of course with me getting more. You have no idea how useless you are to a child until you discover that your nipples do not dispense milk. A guy can quickly feel not unimportant when he loses the ability to stop the crying. Oh the crying. Now our little girl is sweet and quiet for the most part, she sleeps most of the day and only cries when she needs something like changing, burping or feeding. But when she does cry, generally around 4am, long term exposure would qualify as torture under the terms of the Geneva Convention. I really am making a bigger deal of this than is necessary since she doesn't cry much, but unless you have either had babies or been charged with caring for one you have no idea what "not much" sounds like. Thankfully we have had lots of support from our families. Chilly's mom was on the first flight out of DC and has been a huge help both at the hospital and since we've come home. She stayed with Chilly in the hospital and has given much instruction in the field of baby bathing. Ron and Dana have been here to help out as well, with Dana helping to ready the house for the big homecoming and Ron even entering Lilly into her very first Super Bowl Pool! Michael and Bernie stopped by yesterday, as did Nate and Bridgette who happened to be in town moving Nate's parents (Congrats to your Steelers by the way Mr. Fedyszyn). We are eternally grateful to all who have helped us out since Lilly's arrival.

It is beginning to look like we will be forming a feeding shift system in the Goodman house. I have decided to take the pre-midnight shift, with Chilly taking the 12-5:30 shift. Generous on my part I know. Not that I am unwilling to get up in the middle of the night, but I really have nothing to offer so until bottles are an option Chilly is the big kahuna around here. Chilly is currently grabbing an hour or two of shut eye while I am giving our blog a much needed new post.

To all of you who have wished us congratulations, thank you very much. We have been very busy and have had a terrible time trying to get in touch with everybody who has called, emailed or texted. Rest assured we will do our best to give a personal call sometime soon. In the meantime, feel free to keep calling. We are wrapping our arms around this parenting thing more ever day so we are more inclined to gab on the phone. We hope to see all of you sooner rather than later, and can't wait for Lilly to meet her many Aunts and Uncles. Talk to you all soon!