Oliver

It's our pleasure to introduce you to the newest addition to our family, Oliver Eno Ayres Bock.

Melanie's pregnancy went five days past the due date. In the last few days before Oliver's birth we anxiously waited and tried to distract ourselves. The day before his birth we went to one of our favorite places, the Como Park Conservatory and Zoo.

last photo of the baby bump at 40 weeks, 4 days

The big day finally came on September 20, 2011. Contractions started the evening of the 19th, which made for a sleepless night. We checked into the hospital around 8:30 am with Melanie already in active labor. She toughed it out through a natural birth and our baby was born at 5:59 pm. It's a boy!

first moments after birth

We spent the first couple hours of our newborn's life holding him and enjoying each other's company. After which he was weighed and measured. He weighed 7 pounds 7 ounces and, was 19" long, and was deemed healthy with Apgar scores of 8 and 9.

all ten fingers

all ten toes

After getting to know him the first days and nights, we were finally able to decide on a name. Oliver seemed just right to both of us.

Here are some of our favorite pictures from the first five days of the life of our beautiful boy. They are in chronological order with the last being taken earlier today.

He's already a great joy to be around and we are looking forward to the times to come.

40 weeks

Our official due date was September 15, which has now come and gone. Our midwife appointment yesterday confirmed that, unfortunately, there are no signs that labor is near. To distract ourselves, we tried out a new restaurant in Minneapolis for lunch. We have an ultrasound and another appointment scheduled for next week. Hopefully we'll have the baby before then!  

baby bump at 15 and 40 weeks

We made a baby chain awhile ago for fun to count down to the baby's arrival. Turns out that a baby's arrival is not as predictable as Christmas. So the last link remains until the little one's actual birth day.

the last link

We've been trying to induce labor by trying (almost) everything we've heard/read of, even those that are probably just old wives tales. We went on a long walk last night around our neighborhood.

on a walk at 40 weeks 1 day

The weather was brisk and the leaves are already changing. Fall is here. Hopefully the baby will be here soon too. This waiting thing is hard.

signs of autumn

39 weeks

Nothing much new to report this week. The countdown continues. It's weird knowing that any day could be "the day" or just another day.

4 days until the due date...

The baby bump continues to grow which is good for the baby, but it is getting increasingly uncomfortable for me. I've been giving the baby pep talks to encourage him/her, but so far no response. Come on out baby! I coached my last Crossfit class on Thursday, but I'm continuing to exercise. As coaching ends, classes are beginning again at UW River Falls this week so I'm officially "back to school". I'm only teaching one online class this semester which gives me a lot of flexibility that I'm thankful for.

We're not sure how the cats will respond once the baby arrives, but Oscar is already getting to know the little one.

oscar and the bump at 30 weeks

oscar and the bump at 39 weeks

38 weeks

baby bump ten days before our due date

We celebrated being 38 weeks pregnant and the ending of summer with a trip to the Minnesota State Fair on Labor Day.

Things we love about this fair:

Food! We had some old favorites (honey lemonade, fried pickles, cheese curds) but also tried some new things this year. The corn fritters and fried green tomatoes were among our favorites!

corn fritters and fried green tomatoes with honey butter

cheese curds!

Baby animals! The Miracle of Birth barn, besides being a little more relevant this year than in previous years, is always amazing. We didn't get to see any animals being born, but we saw many adorable baby animals.

People watching!  

making our way through the crowd

enjoying our last fair as just the two of us

37 Weeks

This week we are thirty-seven weeks in, which is full term. The baby seems to be continuing to grow, as evidenced by the fact that many of my shirts (including those seen here) barely cover the baby bump anymore.

According to the paper chain, there are only 18 days left until our due date. We are excited to meet the baby, but have been enjoying the remaining days of just being a party of two, knowing things will be changing soon.

36 weeks

It's hard to believe that I'm entering the last month (or so) of pregnancy. I'm still feeling pretty good minus the sore feet, reflux, leg cramps, and generally feeling jumbo. The last week or so we've had absolutely perfect weather, which happens exactly 1 to 2 weeks out of the entire year in Minnesota, so I'm feeling pretty lucky!

baby bump at 30 weeks & 36 weeks

Proof that I do wear other clothes besides the the purple t-shirt seen in all baby bump photos thus far. For some reason I've been obsessed with stripes recently, which is not super flattering when your belly is the size of a watermelon. Oh well. I'm gonna work it anyway!

The Nursery

close-up of  mobile by vickie

We have been working on preparing the nursery. Our good friends, Vickie and Marc, came to visit last weekend; it was extra incentive to get things ready since the nursery is also a guest room. With about a month until the due date, we have the room ready for the baby (and visitors, too). Though much remains the same, we've added a few special new items.

The mobile above the crib was handmade by our friend Vickie. She really personalized it with hand-sewn felt orange stripped cats that look like Oscar and Toby. The blanket on the crib was handmade by Mel's aunt Beth. They both look great in the room.

photo by chris

Chris took the photographs hanging near the bed this spring. One of the photos is of a robin in a tree and the other is of a dandelion (the same one we use as a header for this website). Given the long Minnesota winters, we chose to include reminders of the spring and new life.

artwork by trish grantham

Above the dresser we will also use as a changing table, we hung artwork that Mel's sister Shell sent. They are by a Portland artist.

We're thankful for all of these gifts plus the many more that we have received. They all send our thoughts to people and places we care for.