our precious little boy

So Eli had his first real photo shoot last Thursday on his one week birthday. He was SO good and didn't fuss a bit. If anything he was maybe a little more awake and curious than she was expecting, but we couldn't be happier with the results. Here is a sneak peek at a few of the pictures:

Boys N Berries Photography

Welcome to the world, Eli!

Elijah Royal Burks was born on April 8, 2010 at 4:57pm. He weighed a surprising and whopping 9 pounds and was 21 3/4 inches long - quite the big boy!! We are home and he is now a week old - time is already flying by like the blink of an eye. We are adjusting to life as a family of three, but loving it all. It is amazing how much your heart grows when you meet your child for the first time - Greg and I never could've imagined loving someone so much that we were just meeting.

The end is in sight!!

Well, I have spent the past 3 days laboring to have this baby and my body apparently has other plans. After having contractions ALL day Sunday and all morning Monday my doc sent me to triage to be monitored and check on Monday afternoon. After spending a few hours hooked up they determined that while I was having really good and regular contractions, NOTHING was changing. So they sent me home and I spent all day yesterday having regular contractions and continue to have them this morning. I did have my appointment this morning though and while I am STILL having regular and good contractions (that have gotten stronger mind you) only a tiny bit has changed. Since this is the case and since it is making me uncomfortable and unable to go to work I am getting checked in to the hospital tonight so they can give me some meds that will move along the effacement process and then tomorrow morning they will induce and Eli will join the world sometime tomorrow!!!

It's about that time....

Well, I have about 10 days left until my due date. I am still in shock that it has gone by so fast! At my appointment this week I was dilated to a 1, but he is still sitting high and I was not effaced at all so she didn't want to schedule to induce just yet. She said to wait and see what the next week brings and we'd revisit the idea next Wednesday. I was having contractions while I was there though, which was nice because she was able to tell me that they were real ones and not Braxton Hicks like some of the others I've been having. I continued to have them all Tuesday and Wednesday, varying from 45 minutes apart to 5, but not consistent enough to matter. They have kind of tapered off a bit today, I have had a few, but not as many as the past two days. I do have a lot more energy today though and feel better in general, so maybe that is a sign that labor is on it's way? Greg and I are sure ready for Eli to be here though.

Last night we finally installed the base to the car seat in my car so if he should come we can bring him home now anyway ;-) Greg's car will be done later - after it's cleaned! Eli's room is all ready to go and so is the cradle in our room, so we are completely just waiting now. There are a few things we could still do around the house, but I just want to try to relax a bit until he's here - we've been so busy with one thing after another for months now it seems, so we might as well get in some down time while we can! We have been making a point of going out to eat, just the two of us, once a week for the past 2 or 3 weeks so we can get some good quality time together. It has been nice to sit and chat over dinner, usually we eat at home and then split off to do our own things around the house for the rest of the night. Greg has been awesome though, making sure I don't over do it and taking charge of the laundry and such so I don't have to worry about it. He is such an incredible husband, I can't wait to see him with Eli - he's going to be FANTASTIC!

Well, hopefully the next post will be about Eli's big arrival! If not, it will be about the planning for it, including a date. Either way, we're pumped and can't wait to start this new chapter in our lives!