Welcome to the world!

On Saturday night, February 27th, 2016, our life changed FOREVER.  Let me explain...

9 months ago we found out we were having a baby.  We were trying, but it was a big surprise and good to know that our 'plumbing' worked.  Doctors appointments were made and we started talking about names - we were off to the races.  Until we realized we didn't have a clue what we were in for and weren't ready in the least!  We also realized we needed to remodel our bathroom since it was right next to our soon to be nursery and I knew it was now or never.  So I completely remodeled our upstairs bathroom in 2 months with a wife that was 25 weeks pregnant.  Not my greatest idea ever but January 1st (my self imposed deadline) and we were back in business and on to bigger things.

Since the soon to be nursery doubled as my work area for the remodel we ended up getting new carpet, trim, paint, and took out some junk closet doors.  Betsy and her mom were ready to move in the crib and changing table and went to work on filling the room with all the things our little guy was going to need.  We knew we were having a boy but decided on a neutral tone for the room because you never know what the future will bring.  We took a few weekends to get the room ready and decided we needed a special touch.  Enter artists at work.  My friend Brandon and I created some stencil artwork and projected it onto the wall and that was that -nursery complete.  We were ready for a baby... or so we thought.

Pregnant Betsy and the wall

We woke up on Saturday morning as normal, had some coffee, listened to music, and then Betsy's water broke.  Apparently that means you're about to have a baby, so we packed the car and headed to the Maple Grove Hospital's Birthing Unit.  We had taken a tour a few weeks earlier, on a Saturday, at the exact same time, so the drive there went well.  We arrived about 1pm.  They checked us into a room and after an hour and a half of contractions 3 minutes apart the nurses came in (apparently 3 pm is shift change so they had to do rounds before coming to see us).  Betsy got a quick lesson on how painful labor contractions are and around 4pm her friend Captain Epidural came to the rescue.  This is her right after it kicked in- a major difference from before let me tell you!

I'll spare you all the details, but at 6:50pm Caleb Mackenzie Engler was born covered in white stuff and crying like a banshee!  I have never been so amazed and scared and excited and nervous and proud and relieved and happy.  100% the most powerful moment of our lives.  We just made a human!

Family Selfie!

For the next two days it was doctors and nurses and weird poop stuff and "sleep" and just coming to grips with what just happened.  Those books don't prepare you for the anxiety of constantly making sure your newborn child is still breathing.  And everyone tells you to "sleep when the baby sleeps"- bullshit... that's the scariest part!  So we trudged through the first few days the best we knew how.

Caleb was the poster child of health and is 'very symmetrical' which we're told is a good thing.  He weighed 6 pounds 14 ounces and was 19.5 inches long.  And a full head of hair to boot!  He got a few shots, a bath, and got a 'circ' which is terrible that they give it a nickname because you just cut my child's penis!  Aside from that we were taking a healthy little boy home.     

Caleb's first bath

 I'm never going to judge someone driving super slow down the freeway ever again.  We loaded the little bugger up on Monday afternoon and made the pilgrimage back to Mound slowly (but safely stop tailgating me you asshole!).   Crazy how they just let you leave with the kid like that and don't even question if you're fit to do so.  Let the games begin! 

He seems content so that's good!

With so much family living out of state we thought this would be a great way to share our experiences and pictures with everyone, not to mention serve as a diary of our attempt at parenting.  We hope you enjoy it!  We already love Caleb more than I think we either thought possible and we are excited to share this adventure with you.

Love,
Betsy, Mick, and Caleb.