#18 I'm a Dad! Amelia Evelyn Lawrence

I'm sorry I've not had time to write up an entry on here for quite some time, but I just wanted to fill anyone in who might still read this. I'm a dad now. Amelia Evelyn Lawrence was born 10th September 2012 and weighed 7lbs 10oz.

She is very beautiful.

Katie did very well during labour, it was all textbook. Everything went perfect, no complications and after a day full of exhaustion she managed to give birth to Amelia naturally.

Amelia was born with a cleft in her soft palate, at the back of her mouth. This leaves a gap into her nasal passage that prevents her from being able to suck properly. It takes a special bottle and plenty of patience to feed Amelia but Katie has become an expert at it already. She will need an operation at around 6 months, but she is taking just as much milk as any baby her age and you wouldn't notice the difference unless you were told about it.

I can't explain the feeling of being a dad, but I can tell you it's my favorite feeling in the world. It's tough, believe me it's tough, being a parent is something else entirely! But the good things definitely outweigh everything else.

I could not be more proud of Katie and how well she is coping!

I have a family now. WE have a family.

#16 39 Weeks and 5 days.

Our baby is due in 2 days. We are looking forward to it now, really. Katie just wants the pregnancy to be over though. 9 months is a LONG time to feel like she feels, and I wish I could cheer her up somehow on those bad days, but we're almost there now, the final dash towards the finish line. But where is the finish line? Can we see it yet? No. We can't. We can't see it because we don't know when the baby will actually come. It's like waiting for Christmas, without know what day christmas will be this year.

December the 25th, It's usually easy to count down the days. September 11th should be the same, but our baby might not (and probably won't) come on that day.
So now we just play the biggest waiting game of our lives.

Anyone got good ideas to pass the time?

Mike ^.^ x

#14 - 37 weeks, 4 days

We're almost there, Katie is full term and she's having a lot of signs that the baby could come any time. It's amazing to think that there's a fully grown baby in Katie's tummy waiting to get out. She's fed up now though, let me just tell you something, being pregnant is hard work. She has been awesome through it all, but she has just had enough. This baby needs to come soon, for Katie's sake!!

Plus, I really really really can't wait to hold my daughter for the first time.

Btw, Katie is not impressed with my taking photos of her when pregnant.

#13 - 35 weeks, 6 days...

14th August 1987. The day I was born.
I'll be 25 tomorrow. A quarter of a century... Where did that even go? Not a clue if I'm honest... It doesnt even feel like it'll be my birthday tomorrow. I'm too excited about the baby now. We're so close. 29 days until she's due.
I'm on the bus to work now. Just figured i'd spend abit of time updating this blog.
We've bought everything we need for the first few months, all there is left to do is wait.
I'm not really great with words at 9am. So most of this is likely to sound like gibberish.

Katie says she think the baby has 'dropped'... Which means she's lower down and getting ready to come out. We see the midwife tomorrow morning and I guess we will be talking through some things with her about the big day. I'm not exactly sure how any of this works but I'm fairly sure thats whats going to happen.

I've been speaking to my dad recently. Ever since I became a teenager there was something that just didnt click between us. I won't go into it here. Katie met my dad and pam (my step mum) the other week and they were really nice to her. They are already grandparents to my nephew Dante, and they do a pretty great job at it. It's comforting to know they are there.

Katie has done so well during her pregnancy, there have been times where she's been in tons of pain but she's got through it. 4 more weeks until the first Lawrence of a new generation is born. That's something pretty special.
I was talking to a friend about how I felt, and I said "You know that feeling you get on Christmas morning as a kid, you wake up and realise 'oh its christmas' and you get that buzz? I get that everyday now. 'I'm goin to be a dad'"
That's why my birthday fails to grip me this year. It's overshadowed by the excitement of the baby coming.

Aslong as baby and mum are healthy... Sod my birthday.

#12 - 31 Weeks

Just want to say a special thank you to the ladies at babyandbump.momtastic.com for your comments on this thread.
And all the other advice we've both been given over the last few months.

Katie is now 31 weeks along as of yesterday. My new shift is going well, 10am - 6pm suits me much better. Katie said she is much happier with me getting home at this time.

She is getting quite snappy lately, annoyed at me for the slightest things. Taking up too much space in bed, (More than 1/3 of the bed is too much.) and other stupid stuff. Everyone keeps saying it's just the hormones and I know it is so I just deal with it and try my best to never argue back. It's difficult because I'm quite argumentative and stubborn... I've just learned to do whatever I'm told right now, it's just easier than arguing with a pregnant woman!

Just 6 weeks until she is full term and 9 weeks until her due date. The baby could come anytime from 6 weeks though!

We pretty much got everything bought now, Katie just wants to get a new mattress for the Moses Basket but other than that we pretty much have everything.

Katie's mum bought us a new TV recently, a 40'' 1080p HDTV for the living room. It's awesome!!

That along with our new phones & the computer will probably be the last things we get ourselves for quite some time.

DayZ

For you gamers out there, check out this game: - http://dayzmod.com/

It's a Horror Survival/Sandbox/First Person Shooter and it's AMAZING.

The general idea is that you need to scavenge supplies to survive, on a massive map that takes a long time to navigate and traverse on foot.  http://dayzmap.info/ 

You need to eat, drink and stay warm to survive. Doing so takes a combination of making food by fires, drinking water or canned drinks that can be found in houses, tents or barns.

But the loot spawning points are also hot spots for Zombies. They patrol through houses, fields and gardens around cities and villages. Making noise, or being too visible allows zombies to detect and chase you. They run about the same pace as you do, and when they run they alert other zombies to your presence too. Shooting also alerts zombies to your presence, so being trigger happy on this game is the last thing you should be.

Another threat to you on this game is coming into contact with other players. They are potentially more dangerous than the zombies because they can (and will) kill you for your supplies. I've died this way numerous times. Players often shoot me and take whatever I've been carrying.

The best, and worst thing about this game is the fact that upon death you lose everything and spawn at the coast with nothing but a torch, a bandage & a box of painkillers. To die in this game is considered game over, 'permadeath' has given this game a spin away from regular FPS shooters. You have no rank to achieve, no perks to unlock, just one mission: Survive.

It is inevitable that one day you will die and lose everything. It creates a tense, decision making experience that has made DayZ one of the most important things to happen to First Person Shooters in recent history.

Games developers will be watching closely to see how the community respond to DayZ, because for what is essentially a mod to a pretty poor game, DayZ has (for me) been the BEST game of 2012 by far, Perhaps even this decade.

Crossbow!

Me, Gav, Garry & Rob on DayZ

Rob, Mel & Garry on DayZ

#11 - 28 Weeks

I was offered a new shift at work yesterday and I snapped it up! I will be working 10am - 6pm instead of 1pm - 9pm, on a new team instead of Level 3, which is going to give me so much more time to see Katie and our little baby when she's born.I can't get over how happy I am about that. My life just took a massive turn towards drastic improvement. I did have to push managers to get it in the end, but what's done is done and I've secured something I certainly needed.


We have most of the essentials for our baby now, Car seat, Pram, Cot, Moses Basket.. And SO many baby clothes! (Granted 80% of which are pink, which is something I wanted to avoid.. What if they were wrong and she's a BOY?! ><;)


I'm getting excited and scared at the same time. I can't believe how close I am to holding our first born child for the first time. Baby will be here in just a couple of months! Eep!


There are many things I'm looking forward to in the next few months. Watching England play football has been good, they're still in the Euro's at this point and play Italy on Sunday! Good luck England!!


I think my message got through to everyone because now, Katie has been spending more time with my family, Sarah, My mum, My cousins and grandparents and auntie. I think it's been a massive lift for her really, being able to feel part of the family. 


Katie does far too much round this house and when I tell her I'll do something she just says "No cause you'll do it wrong" ...Blah ¬_¬. She has started to do less, which is good, but she doesn't listen when I tell her she's doing too much. Now that I've got my new shift I plan on doing a lot more house work when I get home.


My life is panning out pretty awesome. I know Katie is feeling low sometimes so I kinda feel bad for saying I've never been as happy as I feel right now. I'm on a roll! I just hope I'm the one to keep Katie smiling too. I don't really understand women's feelings and hormones and all that... Of course I don't! But... I'll always try to cheer her up where I can.


WE'RE HAVING A BABY!!!