Now THAT'S a fresh baby!!

He's finally here, in all his whimpering, pouting cuteness, a week and a half "late".

Nathanael Harrison Bergstrom
8lbs 1 oz (3.665 kg)
21 in (53.34 cm)
July 24th, 3:49 pm.

We went in for induction on Tuesday morning, around 8 am. By 10 am they had started the induction (b/c she was getting too overdue, and only 1 cm), by 1 pm she was at 6 cm and ready for the epidural...by 3 pm she was fully dilated, started pushing at 3:35, and the baby came out at 3:49 pm. Everybody is healthy and happy, and fully on the road to recovery.

Here are a few photos from yesterday and this morning:

For obvious reasons, I didn't take any pictures during drug-free labor. But here's one after the epidural:She's lovin' labor now!

Here's one of our last moments as married w/out children.
The birth was the most fascinating thing I think I've ever seen. I always knew a "baby" was in there, but it was so abstract since I hadn't seen him in real life. When this guy came out, I could hardly believe this little person had been inside my wife. Here he is after just getting wiped off. I have a more fresh, less appropriate picture if anybody would like to see it! Get in touch with me if you're curious.
This is one of my favorites...I call it his "Gollum" pic.
Here he is, getting weighed and measured. The weight's in kilos.
First eye contact. He'd been screaming bloody murder, but the moment I closed him in with my hands and started talking to him, he stopped crying immediately and looked right at me.
I think somebody gave him some cherry kool-aid.
Isn't this a beautiful shot?
This one's edited, for personal reasons! Gotta keep this blog G-rated, if you know what I mean.
Here I am after the first night. Little did I know, we gave birth to a vampire. All he wants to do is suck and stay up all night!!!
Hello?
Burrito
What are you doing to me?
This is my favorite.
Beautiful baby.
Everybody says he looks just like Jackie...indeed, her baby photo looks identical to him. I guess I provided the blank slate to her features.

I'd post more, but I gotta get back to the hospital.

Thanks for all your love and support,

And thanks for reading!

Or how about today?

Who knows. But there has been a little progress... more contractions, some back pain, and a few other signs of a more, um, "personal" nature.

We're thinking not much longer now before labor kicks in, in earnest. We'll keep you posted.

Will it be tomorrow (Wed)?

So, as my friend Khara pointed out, today (Tues) was the last of our potential due dates. Baby needs to come out!

As of the Dr's appointment on Monday, she was 90% effaced...that's a 40% improvement from the previous appointment on Friday. She's probably 100% by this point. But as of the last appointment, still only 1 cm.

Any other progress, you ask? Well, tonight she's been saying there are more contractions than the usual little ones ...more often, and slightly more strong. We had her drink a castor oil cocktail earlier this evening around 8:30 ...hopefully that will get everything moving.

We're getting excited! Hopefully that castor oil will kick in by morning, and we'll have all sorts of movement, if you know what I mean!! And then, it's baby time!

For now, we're getting excited, as there seems to be the right sort of activity.

I'll try to keep posting with a few updates. We're gonna go to bed, and hope for an eventful morning.

Thanks for reading, and thanks for your support and encouragement!

At Long Last

Here we are, one week to go! Though it must be said, we've had three different due dates given to us, anything from July 12 to July 17. We think it'll be a bit later, and today the doctor said he thinks Jackie might be a "slow-cooker," meaning she could be a little late, and maybe he also meant she might have a long labor? He told us she's having a "model pregnancy," so I'm just glad everything's super healthy. We've known many folk who haven't been as fortunate, suffering through complications and premature deliveries. My heart goes out to them!

So, here are the pics everyone's been bothering me to see. Sorry I haven't been faithful at getting these up more often! One little note, she's not fond of "fake" camera-smiling...she's actually much happier than she looks in these photos! Such serious expressions...but I guess having a baby can be a very serious matter as well, can't it?

This one was taken a few days ago. She doesn't look 38+ weeks, does she? I thought this one was particularly good. Notice, the little quote bubble on her shirt says, "Hey Mom!"These two were taken yesterday. Looking at her head-on, you almost don't notice she's pregnant...she's carrying in a very narrow way. But when she swings her cargo around, it's obvious this one's carrying a full load!
Thanks for your interest! All the support we've been getting has been very encouraging. We feel loved, by family and friends alike, from all over the globe!

Thanks for reading!

I don't normally do this, but...

I'm going to try and cause a little trouble here on my blog.

With our upcoming birth, a lot of people are asking us if we'll do cloth or disposable diapers. The normal line is that cloth diapers are much better for the environment, and I believe some say they end up costing less than disposables.

Well, I'm not in a position to say whether or not cloth diapers cost a bit less (they very well might), but apparently, there's a new word on the environmental impact: a British government study concludes cloth diapers are no better for the environment than disposables. Click here for the full story. I've also seen similar stories lately on our local news here in New York.

So, for all who've asked (and I'm referring to several well-meaning friends and family), we'll be using disposable diapers. My mom described the process she used to clean cloth diapers, and before she was half-way finished describing the 27-step process, I was fully convinced cloth diapers were NOT worth our time and effort...especially now that I know using cloth diapers significantly benefits neither my family nor the environment!

Continuing on with the political side of things...

Of course, for the poor British, the above discovery comes after a government expenditure of over £30 million, spent on an environmental campaign to promote the use of cloth "nappys" in the interest of "saving" the planet from an avalanche of disposable diapers. Yet another example of inept government bureaucracy, and the ridiculous waste that can be brought about by overly-zealous and under-informed activism. I agree with a quote from a certain Colin Taylor, part of a watch-dog agency in London who commented in the above story, "This farcical waste of taxpayers' money shows how politicians are unable to run anything properly." Had the "cloth nappy" environmental activists done their homework and had the integrity to admit it was a bad idea, that enormous sum of money could have been spent on something more of us can agree as worth-while, such as the already under-funded National Health System or the maintenance of a museum or Cathedral or something. Or how about a university scholarship fund for poor kids? Maybe plant a few trees? (more like a forest, with that amount of money)

Of course, I fully agree that people have a perfect right to prefer cloth over disposables, and of course they have every right to persuade others to do the same; and of course, I fully advocate doing all that we can to be responsible with the environment. But come on, surely more research ought to be done before spending a fortune on an ill-conceived promotional campaign! Oh the ridiculous, unscientific things that are are done in the name of science! But I'm perfectly aware this is just how governments work... it's merely one indicator among millions that this world isn't perfect.

Thanks for reading!

ps- yes, belly pics will be up soon. We're awaiting official approval on which pictures are appropriate for public display.

pps- and I promise, this is as controversial as I'll ever get on this blog. I don't believe in adding to the internet's seemingly infinite cesspool of unsolicited opinion, but I couldn't pass on this story's relevance and timing. Too fun!