HE'S HERE!!! BABY MAESER IS HERE!!!

2 day old baby Maeser

our little potato bug

So yes... Since Nathan Jr. has arrived, everything has changed. Nate and I are so in love with this little man. This is the first time I have really picked up my computer since he came. Even now he has just finished eating and he is sleeping in my lap. I have been trying to sleep when he sleeps, but quickly I wanted to announce his arrival... before his third birthday.

Since I found out that I was pregnant with the little guy I have been keeping a journal that I will give him when he is old enough to appreciate it. Here are the most recent entries from his daddy and myself. 

From the Daddy: 

Nov. 9, 2012

As I am writing this now I am siting in our bed with your mom, with you lying between us. You are swaddled up and sleeping. Sometimes you open your eyes and look toward me. I love to look at you. I am so completely happy that you have come into our family. I love having you here now and I can't wait to see you grow up. 

I gave you my name. I hope that you will like it. Since we found out we were having a baby we have thought very often about what to name you. We had a list of several names and decided to wait to meet you at the hospital to see which name fit. But to me none of the names quite seemed to fit. We were there for four days but didn't name you until just before we left to come home. In the end I held you and thought deeply about the name and how your name would serve you and what it would mean to you. And I prayed about it. I prayed about the names, and I felt that Nathan Karl Maeser, Jr. should be your name. I hope you grow up to feel proud that we share our name. I hope you will appreciate having that connection to me. I am so proud to be a Dad, so proud to you are my son. 

I am excited to be your friend. I am excited to help teach you how to be a boy and how to be a man. I hope your Mom and I can do our best to help you be a good man, and to be safe and loved as much as you grow and learn.

Most of what I would have written about your birth has been written by your Mom. Those four days in he hospital were a wonderful, peaceful, spiritual experience. You are such a beautiful infant boy and I could have stayed in that room and stared at you like that forever. It felt like a glimpse of heaven. Thank you for coming to our family Nathan. You are a great blessing to us. You are a gift. We love you. The love that your mother has for you already is so powerful. And I could see right away the love that you had for her. That is an amazing and powerful force. When you were put next to her right after your birth and you turned to her voice and you became so suddenly calm, I felt so happy (and amazed) to see that love between you. And I felt so happy to see my dear wife turn immediately into a good and loving mother. I think you are a very lucky boy to have her. She loves you so much. She has seemed to want to hold you constantly since you were born. I am also excited to see your relationship with her grow. I hope you will always love and respect her, as I know she will always love you. -Dad

From the Mama:

Nov. 4, 2012

Oh Nathan Jr. We love you so much! You are such a beautiful baby... and you are so good. 

So much has happened in the last 7 days since you have come. Monday, the day of your scheduled c-section, Big Nate and I woke up at 6:00am. We left by 7:00am. It was still dark outside. At one point, on our drive to Lincoln, I noticed the moon. It was huge and full. Absolutely beautiful. We spent half the drive trying to get a photo of that beautiful moon. 

We arrived at the hospital and I was so nervous. When they drew blood I cried. I was shaking and cold.  During the surgery I asked your dad to lean in so I could smell him - and not the smells of surgery (iodine, blood and the cauterization of my skin).

I remember they said they broke my water and I heard a big splash. A few seconds later they said - there's a foot - then they pulled you out. Next they handed you off to a nurse and I was so happy to see you. I could not believe you came out of my body. I think I said, "He's huge!". Your dad was next to you at the warmer and when they weighed you and wiped off some vernix. Your dad cut the umbilical cord. Then they brought you over to see me. I was still on the operating table being put back together. When they held you near me I said, "Hi little boy - I love you" - and as you heard my voice you stopped crying and leaned in towards me. You recognized my voice. It was so amazing. Your dad then held you next to his chest. They call this "skin-to-skin". I'm really glad he got to hold you so close in those first few moments.

The nurse came over and asked if we wanted ointment in your eyes- and you started crying - and I said, "no. he doesn't want it". It isn't really necessary for a c-section birth anyway. 

Then we went to the recovery room where I got to hold you for the first time. It felt really awkward and I felt clumsy. I thought I would drop you. I've never held such a tiny new baby before. Your sweet little body. Then we went into our room. The whole day we just held you and loved you. Your dad kept saying, "He's so beautiful". Oh, Nathan Jr., Your dad was so in love with you. 

When Big Nate was holding you right after you were born in the operating room he was telling you, "it's safe in here. It's good out there too, there are some bad things, but fr the most part the world is a good place". 

Anyways, we have spent the last 7 days just loving you. Really we love you so much. On the drive home from the hospital your dad said, "Everything that  I love" ... or maybe he said... "The most important things to me are all in this car".
Last night, Nov 3rd, was your dads 36th birthday. He said that two years ago when he turned 34 he probably felt empty and really alone. Birthdays are a way that we can measure ourselves and our progress. Big Nate said, "My 34th birthday probably felt really empty. and then, two years later, I have everything". The everything he has is you and me. We love our family. Thank you for coming to us little Nathan.