The Beginning: Billy's Home

Welcome to the Chronicles of Billy!
This blog is dedicated to our son, William James, who is expected to arrive April 23, 2007.

To the left, you'll find the the last known photograph of Billy, taken when he was at 25 weeks gestation. We affectionately refer to this ultrasound photo as "Skeletor." Pictured are his two tiny fists and his large head, complete with round eye sockets, his nasal cavity and his large, curving skull -- which his mother sincerely hopes doesn't give her too much trouble during delivery!

So far, Billy has been growing on track, and other than causing his mother fatigue and pain, these last stages of pregnancy have been complication free. Currently Billy is at 34 weeks gestation. To get a good idea about what this actually means developmentally, here's a little blurb from Babycenter.com:

Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds and is probably almost 18 inches long from the top of her head to the bottom of her feet. Her central nervous system is still maturing, but her lungs are well developed now. That's great news in case she decides to come early. If you've been nervous about going into preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that 99 percent of babies this age can survive outside the womb — and most have no major long-term problems related to prematurity.

Currently Billy resides in a roomy one-bedroom,
which you can see to the right:

This was the least horrifying photo Mom took of herself today (please excuse the blurriness!). Hopefully it gives everyone an indication of just how roomy Billy's accommodations have grown!

Mom and dad are busy preparing more permanent quarters for Billy. Much progress has been made: all his nursery furniture has been bought (or borrowed), and his bedroom has brand new carpet. Mom and Dad have a lot of work to do to get the room all set up, but this past weekend Dad put together the changing table despite having a nasty cold (what a trooper!).

Here you can see a couple of shots of the chaos that is Billy's nursery-in-progress:

You can see the changing table, our crib and stroller/car seat combo and bassinet - both still in the box.

And here's another gratuitous nursery shot. Dad says he hopes to finish putting up all of the nursery furniture (you can see the giant box with Billy's dresser in it to the right) this weekend, so that we can start washing all the adorable baby clothes we've received so far from our friends and family!

And lastly, Mom just wanted to brag about the artwork she made to hang over Billy's dresser. You can see it in the two nursery photos - a framed print that Mom calls "Counting Sheep."

Mom ordered them from her store, Koncepts for Kids.


She made a companion piece, "Leaping Lizards" that she's already ordered and hopes will get here soon. To see the entire series, check out her store here: Whimsical illustrations just for kids & baby!

And last but not least, a closeup of the "Counting Sheep" print:

This blog will primarily be a place for friends and family to check up on the happenings with Billy - but we hope that all the visitors who stumble on this blog enjoy reading about his escapades.

Until next time!

Mom, Dad & Billy.