First Holidays

Holidays are so fun with a new baby (at least for the parents, that is). Since Merrick was still so little, his first Halloween and Thanksgiving did not mean too much to him and he mostly slept through them, but I could not resist the urge to write about them so that I could post some really cute pictures.

Here is Merrick in his Halloween pumpkin costume




Pictures with mommy and the whole Clifford fam from Thanksgiving




And Merrick just being Merrick...cute as a button!

Birth Day

Each day that you go past your due date feels like an eternity. I was a day short of a week past my due date and I really thought I was going to be pregnant forever. It was a Friday and I had a doctor's appointment that morning. They did an ultrasound to make sure that everything still looked alright and there was still enough fluid for the baby. Everything looked good and at my exam following the ultrasound the doctor told me that I was dilated to 3cm. We scheduled an appointment for an induction on Monday, but the doctor told me I would most likely go into labor before the weekend was out.

Jeremy, my mom and I left the appointment and I told them that I was determined to have the baby that weekend. We drove straight from the doctor to the mall and walked for hours. I was having contractions off and on, but nothing was consistent. The contractions continued throughout the day, but by 10:30pm I decided it wasn't going to happen and I was going to go to bed. Jeremy and my mom stayed up and by the time Jeremy came to bed, just before midnight, my contractions had really picked up and I decided we needed to go to the hospital.

The labor progressed uneventfully. Merrick did really well and the doctor told me he was the happiest baby on the monitor that night. Jeremy did really well too. I was afraid that he might get sick, but he was right there holding my hand the entire time. My mom was also there and was excited to be in the delivery room for the first time with one of her grandchildren.

At 12:25 pm on Saturday, September 5, 2009 Jeremy Merrick Clifford made his triumphant entrance into the world. He weighed 8lbs 9oz and was 22 inches long. When they did his footprints the nurse commented on how his feet were so big they went into the fine print at the bottom of the page.






Jeremy and I waited a long time for Merrick to join our family. A lot of prayers were offered and a lot of tears were shed, but I can say without a doubt that he was well worth the wait.

What a Difference a Year Makes

In walking past the fridge today I noticed Merrick's first ultrasound picture. For some reason I looked at the date on it and realized that it was from a year ago today. I can't believe that one year ago I saw my baby for the very first time and today I get to hold him and love on him constantly.

I thought that starting this blog would relieve some of my mommy guilt, but now I just feel guilty for not starting it earlier. I missed Merrick's birth, first Halloween, first Thanksgiving, and first Christmas. I hope you don't mind, but over the next few days I think I would like to go back in time and share some of my thought and memories about those special days.

Sarah

First Blog

So those of you who know me know that I am not a blogger, but I am going to do my best to become one. It occurred to me that Merrick rolled over for the first time on January 7th, 2010 and I did not record it anywhere. This blog is going to be my attempt to record what is going on with Merrick (and maybe a little about Jeremy and me as well). If you are interested in keeping up with us, check in every once in a while.