life is but a dream...

row row row your boat
gently down the stream
merrily merrily merrily merrily
life is but a dream...

It's funny how once a baby enters into your life (or even into your arms) a slew of nursery rhymes, riddles and children's songs begin to tumble out of your mouth! I mean how often do you sit around and sing about twinkling little stars? I think it's just part of our genetics. We are programmed to soothe and care for these little lives even though we think we have no idea how to do so. Anyways, the point is that while sitting in the rocker chair with Elias yesterday I realized just how perfect the lyrics "life is but a dream" were at describing my current state of being. First, and most obviously to me is that these past two weeks have felt like a waking dream. The days have meshed into the nights (with no help to Syracuse's lack of sunshine) and it's been hard to decipher the days. It's a mix of survival mode and the continual chipping away of allowing myself to believe that he is really mine...like I said...it feels like a dream.

Secondly, the idea of "rowing a boat" is identical to the theme of Elias's room. One of the things I've always enjoyed doing is decorating. I'm not talking the seasonal hokey stuff that rotates each new holiday season, I mean taking a room and giving a feeling to it. Needless to say every room in our house has been my canvas (thank you Mo for not caring) and the baby's room has been no different. It was really exciting this summer to think about what I wanted to surround our child with. To a certain degree it really didn't matter - he could sleep in a drawer and not know the difference - but in the end his room was a gift I wanted to give him. I was drawn to the idea of a sailboat. There is just something peaceful about such a large boat moving along in the water powered quietly by the wind. I had this feeling he'd love the water (and if his bath time temperament is any indication - I'm right). So here it is, the place where Elias can dream!

**Also, I'd like to thank my family and friends who made some creative pieces of art as contributions.

making history

I find it amusing that this month has made so much history. First, it has been the snowiest December on record for Syracuse. The snow started and never stopped finding all of us off guard and unprepared even for us Syracuse folk! During our trip to the hospital we kept hearing from the nursing staff that there must be something in the air because the amount of births they experienced during those 48 hours was "absolutely nutty" to quote my nurse. Then after a little Googling online this evening I found out that tonight marks a celestial phenomenon with a lunar eclipse and the advent of winter. According to NASA's website "Since Year 1, I can only find one previous instance of an eclipse matching the same calendar date as the solstice, and that is December, 21 1638 ." Basically that means this same event only happened 372 years ago! Why am I rambling about snow storms and lunar phases on my family blog you might wonder? It just so happens the change of seasons are important to both Mo and I. It's no coincidence that we were married on March 21st (the spring equinox) because we found it fitting to celebrate the new life of spring with the new life of our marriage. And so... here we are with the birth of our first child and this very day was supposed to be his real due date! For some reason I find something a bit magical about that. To take it one step further in the name of "historic" events, the name Elias is derived from the sun God Helios, both a literal "son" and figurative translation. So, here we are about to witness this phenomenon of the moon at the same time as we celebrate the coming life of our son (sun). OK yes.....I admit this comparison most certainly shows the deep seeded hippie in me, but come on it's all pretty cool ;)

As for the details of this past week: there is nothing I really want to say about my labor and delivery besides the fact that it was the worst experience of my life - and yet somehow it gave me the most amazing thing I've ever had/made/felt! There are no books or classes that can prepare you for the birth of your child (quite literally) but when it's all said and done there's a reason that people keep going back for more!

On that note I proudly introduce to you Elias Andrew Hereba! Born December 13, 2010 at 6:02 am. 9 pounds. 21 inches! Here are a few peaks from his first week...(notice the hands in all the pics - he never puts them down!)


Alert after a feeding!


Sleepy after a bath.


Not sure what to think of Daddy!


Hospital photo shoot.

you gotta start somewhere...

So I began this blog at the beginning of the week and today I've finally forced myself to start writing! Everyday I'd sign on and feel this insurmountable pressure to write something profound. Until this morning I forgot about the fact that this is MY blog and MY little spot in cyberspace to muse about whatever is important to me (talk about power). I suppose it's also a difficult time to start a blog: do I write about being pregnant which has practically passed? or do I write about my new family which has yet to come in the future? (well maybe tomorrow). In many ways I wished I chronicled my pregnancy in one location as I can truly say the journey has been nothing like I've ever experienced. I never knew the human body was capable of such things until it happened to me...in fact I never knew I was capable of this at all! I could go on and on writing about the things I've learned about my body, what I've learned about the people around me and most appropriately all the things I feel like I know nothing about. I suppose the big stack of baby books that have been at my bedside for months makes me look like a well educated mother, but I honestly can say I'm feeling a bit of panic at the idea of taking a newborn home and calling him mine - talk about mind bending!! I think it's pretty obvious that Mo and I have a tendency to make things more difficult than they have to be (I mean people have babies everyday right?) but it doesn't mean that this new chapter in life doesn't have me awe struck.

I go into the hospital tomorrow to be induced. It's certainly not the way that I hoped he would come into the world but I suppose all my parts have had enough! My body is under a good deal of stress right now so I know it's the best for us both. I feel that I've been very lucky in love, having somebody that I've been able to walk through these new phases of life with. I look forward to this monumental moment and the Pandora's box of life experiences we have yet to adventure together! Here's to this weekend...we'll keep you posted :)