1 Hello World!

It gives Lina and I great pleasure to introduce you to our daughter Lauren Aiva Colon! Lauren's middle name is a fusion of both her grandmother's names (Aida & Eva). It has been extremely difficult to find the time & energy to update the blog since her arrival. We feel like zombies from the lack of sleep, but we are floating on air none the less. Lina is a superwomen! I literally have tons of family and friends that I need to call or text back. Everyone has been understanding. For now I leave you guys with the first of a gazillion baby pics. I promise as soon as things ease up we will be updating on a regular basis.

1 The Scouting Report

In sports, teams read "scouting reports" and watch video tape of the opposing team in preparation for the upcoming contest. So as the due date rapidly approaches I've been watching all the baby-related shows on TLC. My personal favorite show is 'Bringing Home Baby'. It is really inspiring to witness what the first 36 hours with baby is like. There are a lot of little nuggets of information that will aid in preparing for bringing home baby. It's no replacement for the real deal, but it keeps me mentally in the right place. I know that I may be sacrificing my manhood by putting this information out there, but I don't care what others may think of me. I owe it to my daughter to be as prepared as possible.

1 The Final Month

In the above picture we have Lina, our cat Lincoln and Secret baking away. I don't have anything witty to say. I just felt this was a nice snapshot that I can share with everyone.

The opportunity to snap up belly shots is fading fast. We have really slacked in that department. So far Lina is having a great pregnancy when compared to all the scary things people have told us. No abnormal swelling or stretch marks either. The overnight hospital bag is packed and we are in stand-by mode. Soon Secret's name will be revealed.

For me, October is an exciting month. Football season is live and kicking. Yankees are in the playoffs. The cool fall weather has arrived. I have a birthday. My daughter arrives soon after. Truly some exciting times.

0 The Supporting Cast

This past weekend Tania E. Bracetti-Cahill (Lina's sister) and Aida Rosado (Lina's mother) held a baby shower for Lina. We had guests from Philadelphia, Florida and all parts of NY in attendance for an afternoon tea party in Manhattan honoring the mother-to-be.

Once we arrived home we had time to process our thoughts and take inventory of all the generous gifts. We are overwhelmed by every one's enthusiasm and generosity. It's understood that we all are doing our best to weather through these challenging economic times; so for people to graciously equip us with the tools for parenting is truly humbling. Although we are sending out the thank you cards this week, we felt compelled to say THANK YOU to everyone in advance. We can't thank everyone enough.

To our daughter: "You are not alone. You will always have God. In addition to his greatness, he has provided you with a supporting cast that is driven on putting your mom and I in a position to be the best parents we can be to you. They came out in support before you arrived and will continue to do so after you arrive. You will never be alone..." ~ Mom & Dad

1 Head of the Class

For the last three Tuesdays in the month of September 2010 we had been attending Child Birth/Lamaze classes. Lina and I were hesitant about taking the classes. Let's face it. We are in the "Internet Age" whether that is something you care to embrace or not. Classes like this are readily available online via websites/YouTube and more attractively priced - FREE. With an endorsement from a close family friend in the medical field, Noemy Ramos-Mirabal, we signed up for the night courses. Now that we're done, Lina & I feel that taking the courses alongside other parents and having the ability to raise your hand is just something you shouldn't pass up. Other parents brought up interesting questions that never came to our minds. I also had an opportunity to assist the instructor with shouting out the elapsed time for a contraction - further immersing me in the experience. For Lina, there was something relieving in knowing that there are other pregnant women in the same room going through the same discomfort as her. Misery loves company? I dunno? For me, I had never witnessed so many people going to the bathroom in one 2-hour period. The coolest part was the opportunity for Lina & I to bond. When it's time to deliver she'll know that "her man" is informed about the process thus resulting in lower anxiety levels. The laughable certificate we received at the end of the course (pictured above) evokes this feeling as if we are graduating from this chapter in parenthood. With just 5 weeks left we are ready to begin the next chapter.

8 Eviction Notice (Chapter 2)

Finally, we get a look at the infamous man cave transformation. I am about 90% done with the nursery. Minus some wall art, we are just waiting for the crib. I wanted to hold back showing you guys the room until we get the crib as it really ties the whole room together. Why keep everyone waiting, right? We based our paint choices off the crib's bedding set. To the right is a swatch of the bedding set that started the creative juices flowing.

3 weeks ago I had finally gotten the room empty enough to start painting. I assume from all the moving I threw my back out the morning I was going to begin. I literally could not move and was bedridden for 3 days straight. I became very depressed that I was not able to work on the room for a week and more importantly take care of Lina as she was 30 weeks prego at the time. I reached out to my family to pray for my recovery. Through the grace of God and some muscle relaxers I made it my mission to make up for the lost time. It's one thing to paint a whole room, but to do it with back pain is another story. What amazes me is what resulted after focusing on what this project was about and who it's for. I put it in my head that this is for our daughter. It felt as if the love I have for my daughter gave me the energy to fight through the pain. Similar to how adrenalin kicks in when you are in shock. The process was slow & painful. So I am particularly proud of this room. Less the design of the room, but more the journey it took to get here. Enjoy the pics.

Oh! If you are wondering what the room looked like before click here.

I guess it's safe to say that this is no longer a man cave. Unless you're a man that's really into pink and has a polka dot fetish. We didn't want to paint the room entirely in pink because we like to do our own thing. 

0 Week 32...

On Wednesday I went to my 32 week check up. I sat down on the bed so the doctor can hear the baby's heartbeat. She asked "so... has she been moving?" And at that very moment, Secret decides to give a few kicks and punches. To which the doctor replied "well, I guess that answers my question." Then the doctor couldn't hear her heartbeat because she kept moving away and she kept kicking and punching. She finally calmed down and we were able to hear her heartbeat. All is well... Just 8 more weeks (give or take) and we'll all meet her. YAY!!

These past few days Secret has been having a lot of hiccups and she likes to move around in the morning, especially when I'm on the train.