It's a Girl!

It's a Girl!
Originally uploaded by Philip J Beyer

Joy Abigail Beyer was born at 12:07pm weighing 8 lbs 2 oz and measuring 20 in. Mom and baby are healthy and doing well. Delivery was a breeze compared to last time.

I will continue to use Twitter to regularly report the details of our experiences. Thanks so much for all the prayers and well wishes!

Getting Closer

60 seconds of lower abdominal pain like a muscle tightening into a fist... followed by 10 minutes of anticipation... then 50 seconds of pain... followed by 7 minutes of blogging and playing Solitaire... now 60 more seconds of pain... that's Jean and I sitting in our study timing contractions, trying to figure out if Early Labor has begun. It started with more intense Braxton Hicks contractions earlier this afternoon. The contractions have slowly been getting more intense and closer together.

At this point, we could be leaving the house any minute or in another day or two. My wife would certainly appreciate sooner rather than later. In the meantime, we're packed and ready to go with contingency plans in place and Michael-drop-off locations established.

Keep a close eye on Twitter. From here on out, that will be the most reliable way to track what is happening with us since it is so easy for me to post short updates. I will also try to make a few blog posts like last time, make some phone calls, and send an email or two if I can find the time.

Almost There

Father's Day 2008 - 1
Originally uploaded by Philip J Beyer

This morning, my wife and I will visit her doctor for our standing weekly appointment to get a pregnancy progress report. So far, the baby appears to just want to sit tight like its big brother did, but I wonder if we'll get different news this morning.

Despite not being able to coax our child out of the womb in time to celebrate with us, we had a great Father's Day. My mom was in town to deliver some baby furniture inherited from friends, a second crib and a large changing table. She had a crazy fun time playing with her grandson while Jean and I slipped away for dinner and a movie.

Our family is in a sort of holding pattern right now. We're eagerly anticipating Michael's sibling as well as bracing for impact. As before, I will post details and photos as I am able, but this time around it will be easier for me to send quick updates via Twitter and maybe a video or two via Seesmic, so follow me there as well. We should be in the hospital any day now since the baby's official due date is a week from today.

Starting to Edit and Upload Video

Jean and Michael Explore the Ballpark
Originally uploaded by Philip J Beyer

From Beyer Family Award nominated director Phil Beyer... in a world, with grass, and bugs, and dirt, one toddler and his mother dare to walk, hand in hand, on the concrete!

You may not have seen this if you don't regularly follow my tweets. A couple weeks ago I was able to spend more time on video editing with iMovie '08. I haven't taken a lot of video up to the this point primarily because the only gadget I have to do that is my aging camera, and as you can see, the quality is lacking. And with the extra editing time required to post-process video instead of stills, I just haven't expended much effort until now.

I am starting to make the time now though, because to really be able to share my fascination with our son's development, I need to be able to show you more than just how he looks, but how he moves and expresses himself. So here you go, the first of hopefully many short videos of our family.