So good job with the blogging lately, huh?  Well, I’m still around.  Turns out a baby is very time consuming.  Also, we just bought and moved into a new house.  And….its seems Jacob might be teething.  Yeah….we are masochists.

Remember all that silversmithing stuff….yeah….I’ll get to it one day.  Although this is giving me time to build up an awesome stone stash.  Before Jacob was born, I remember thinking that my maternity leave would be the perfect time to learn to silversmith.  Go on, laugh at me, you know you want to.  Ah…first time parents.  I haven’t had the time, but even if I did, I doubt operating a torch in my sleep deprived state would be safe.

I love being a mother though.  Everyday is a new adventure.  I am lucky enough to be able to take Jacob to work with me, so I don’t miss anything.  He giggles, laughs, kicks, smiles, and loves me completely.  He is totally a momma’s boy.  I’m enjoying it because I know before long momma will have cooties and everything will be no girls allowed.  I never knew I could love someone so completely.

I’ve given it a lot of thought, and I decided that I don’t mind if my son’s real name is out there in blogland.  Without further adieu….

Jacob Daniel Berry
Born February 3, 2009 (3.5 weeks early)
7 lbs 7 oz
19 1/4″ long

I love him so much!

Pretty much everything has been on hold since he was born.  I haven’t been knitting anything, and I never even got a chance to set up my silversmithing stuff.  That’s okay though,  I’m guessing that an oxy/acetylene torch + sleep deprivation + distraction  = bad anyways.  I have been reading though, and amassing quite a collection of cabochons for when I do start with my silversmithing.  In the process, I have rediscovered a long lost love for stone and am thinking about trying to cut my own cabs!  But, wet saw + sleep deprivation + distraction = bad too, so that will have to wait as well.  Honestly, I don’t think I need hobbies anyway…staring at Jacob is enough for me.  Speaking of….its time to feed him.

Here’s a few pictures I took with my phone. I still have billions on my camera, but still haven’t downloaded them.

Right after birth (but all cleaned up and in the nursery):

Cute faces

With Daddy

Enjoy!

Some of you probably noticed that my ticker at the top of my blog changed. Yep, I had my baby. He’s gorgeous, and I love him so much. I ended up having him at 36.5 weeks. Prior to his arrival, I’d been going to the doctor for about a week due to swelling issues. They were worried that I was developing preeclampsia. I went in for a check up on Thursday, Jan 29th and found myself in the hospital for 24 hours worth of monitoring and testing. That testing revealed that I did indeed have preeclampsia and my doctor admitted me and scheduled to induce me the following Tuesday (Feb 3rd). Needless to say that was a long weekend. I’ve never been so nervous before in my entire life. I couldn’t believe that I was about to have a baby. I mean….I was supposed to have 4 more weeks left! Tuesday came, and after about 8 hours of labor (6 or so of which were all natural…no drugs for pain) my baby boy was born at 3:55pm. It was amazing, and still is. He needed a little bit of oxygen due to the fact that he was early and phototherapy for jaundice, but other than that he’s a happy healthy baby boy.  I still need to download the pictures from my camera, so I don’t have any to show you right now.  I just wanted to give you and update and let you know I’d had the baby.

I’m on the cusp these days.  I feel like I’m living my life on the verge of something else…and its true, I am.  I am quite literally weeks away from being a mother.  The anxiety and excitement of that is completely overwhelming.  I can’t believe that in about a month I will have a baby….a little person that will depend on me for years to come.  A person that will mold himself off of what I do and teach him.  It’s terrifying and exciting all at once.  I just can’t believe I’m making a person.  I can’t wait to see him.

This was taken 2 nights ago at a little over 34 weeks pregnant (actually, almost 35 weeks).

I’m also on the verge of a new hobby, which has me totally excited (and also scared).  I took the plunge and ordered a whole ton of silversmithing supplies.  I don’t even want to discuss how much I spent on them.  I feel like I have everything I need, even though I’m sure I will discover some little tool that I can’t work without that I will have to order.  Now, I’m just waiting for it all to arrive.  I’m going to start experimenting as soon as I get everything, but I am going to wait on a few things until after I have the baby.  I’m a little worried about the flux and pickle (especially the pickle) and the effects it might have on the baby.  So, soldering will probably have to wait.  Honestly, I probably won’t even have it set up and ready to go in time to even think about working with pickle before the baby is born.  None of my stuff is supposed to arrive until next week.  Then I have to figure out where to get my tanks filled for my torch.  Then I have to actually set up a work area.  Then I can think about getting started.  That’s a lot, especially considering that I have the energy of a 90 year old right now.  But still, I’m excited.  Oh…and I’ve started collecting stones for when I feel confident enough to start on bezel settings.  If you have any good silversmithing links or advice, feel free to leave them for me.

Anyway, speaking of energy, I’m sleepy.  Night.