Update: I added some photos this evening. Check out the link at the bottom.

5:45am
Early rising today. Not much, but still early. Packing up a few last minute items and getting ready for an eventful day. Wake up Mikayla to get ready for school. Kennedi hears footsteps around the house and wakes up. She immediately wants “Cat TV”.

6:45am
Leave the house for Erin’s. Since we are to be at the hospital so early, she is taking Mikayla to school. The kids bring a bag of their stuff over because they’ll be staying the night with The Webers this evening. I’m curious to see how Kennedi will fair this evening. Stop by QT for a cup of coffee.

7:30am
Arrive at Wesley Birthing Center and get checked in. Heather, our nurse, takes us back to our suite and we settle in. She starts giving Juli an IV, meds and other stuff. Now the waiting begins.

9:30am
A mad game of Scrabble breaks out. Juli starts out strong as we watch The Today Show and Reggis & Kelly. Today’s guest host on R&K is Bryant Gumbel. Apparently Reggis will be back tomorrow and it’s a really big show. Guests include Dave Letterman. The game of Scrabble ends around 10:15. I win.

10:25am
Contractions are more intense. Juli asks for an epideral. Another nurse and a guy and scrubs comes in with a cart of needles and medical stuff. They check vitals and start getting down to business. Juli hunches over the bed, hugging pillows and exposing her spine. I sit in front of Juli to keep her company during the pain. The guy in scrubs starts sticking her with needles. A few minutes later he’s done.

Noon
Lunch comes. Juli can’t eat until after the delivery. So I step up and take one for the team. Cottage cheese and fruit. I’m not sure why the cafeteria thinks vegetarians only eat fruit and dairy…but I haven’t eaten all day. I dig in. I give it an average cafeteria food rating.

12:15pm
The always funny Dr. Jensen steps in. He’s here to check on Juli and break her water. As always, he’s got a few humorous comments to make.

1:15pm
Dr. Jensen pops back in from lunch. He says the couple across the hall beat us to the punch and just had their baby. Juli’s getting tired and closes her eyes for a while.

2pm
Naptime.

4pm
Things are moving quickly. We should see some action within the next hour. It’s amazing how one event due to happen in the next hour will change our lives forever. Juli’s determined to have him within the hour.

4:15pm
Julian Keith Bartley McClure enters our world. Juli did great and is doing well. Julian is healthy and happy and is quietly screaming. He has dark hair, but not too much. He’s 8 lbs 13oz and 21inches long.

4:45pm
Juli and baby are feeding. Our day is complete and eventful.

9:45pm
Upload some photos of Julian’s first day.

As time draws on and Juli’s due date comes closer, we’re getting more and more anxious for the arrival of our son. My anxiety seems to stem from calls on my phone from Juli. Each time my cell phone goes off, and I see that it’s Juli, I have several split-seconds of panic before I answer. Where are the kids? Where do they need to go? How quickly do we need to get to the hospital?

For Juli, I think her anxiety comes from knowing the end is near (and it’s not coming soon enough). According to today’s doctor visit, Juli is progressing, but just not as much as Juli would like. Inducing, although an option, isn’t be suggested since the baby isn’t overdue at this point.

Personally, I like the induction process. It makes our stress level drop alot. We know when, where and how. Not knowing when, where or how…that’s frustrating.

Today’s session was very gratifying. After a couple of hours, Ron finally finished up my traditional Japanese koi fish tattoo. The entire tattoo goes from my ankle to just below my knee, with a space left on the back of my calf for future work. The tattoo includes two koi fish (one gold, one red), two peonies (one pink, one purple) and plenty of cherry blossoms worked around the splashing water.
(Session Time: ~2 hours | Total Time: ~9 hours)

View all photos of the finished koi fish tattoo.

Mikayla and Isabella received their first communion yesterday at St. Francis and the whole family went to witness. Both the girls, and the rest of their class, did very well at the Mass. They even had a cool song to sing for everyone when the ceremony was over. We all celebreated at our house afterwards with cake and punch (the staple of any youngster’s party). Check out the pictures of the day!