The Great Teacher

When you are pregnant it is pretty common to get earfuls of advice from family, friends and random people in checkout line at Target. The expecting parent will hear from others how unbelievable the love you will feel is, how many diapers to expect to change, that breast feeding is difficult (so true!) how much this little person will change your life...the list goes on. Most of these things you are told are true to some extent, and I am grateful for all the advice, even the advice I have chosen not to take :) 

What I'm not sure anyone told me is that our little son will be the greatest teacher I've ever had. In just 17 days Oliver has taught me more about myself and my perception of the world than anyone or anything ever has. There are certainly little things O has taught me...like how to change a diaper as fast as possible when a little person really does not want to be changed. But there are other lessons he has brought, ones I'm certain I wouldn't have learned otherwise. How to put my love for someone else in the center of my life, to truly serve another person before myself. How to appreciate and be grateful for the body I have, regardless of how different it is now...it has done some miraculous things in the last 10 months. How to love my husband more deeply, thankful for the life we have together and life we have created. I am sure that Oliver will continue to teach me these lessons and many more, and I couldn't be more in awe of our little Teacher. 

As for an update on O's everyday life...He is bigger and more adorable every day! He still sleeps a lot, but has more awake time during the day, with his most alert time sometime between 5-9 pm. This might be my favorite part of the day, it's fun to watch him be so alert, and I always wonder what he is thinking, and what the world seems like to him. He is sleeping pretty good at night, although that still means he gets up about every 2 hours to eat. Before he was born I swore I wouldn't let him sleep in the bed with us for fear that Trav would roll over him...however, I'm not as tough as I thought I would be, and O doesn't like his bassinet as much as I planned...so he spends most of the night in bed with us. I have to admit, I love cuddling with him in bed and hearing him breathe. 

Below are some new pics of the babe

Thanks for checking in...love from Trav, Meg & O. 

Welcome Baby O!

We welcomed our sweet Baby Oliver into the world on May 7th at 10:12 pm. He was 7 lbs 10 oz, and 21 inches...and he was beautiful (at least we think so :) It was so amazing to finally meet him after 9 months of wondering what he would look like. He looks a lot like Trav, although I'm pretty sure he has my lips at least. As anyone who has kids already knows, that first look at him was the most amazing experience I've ever had. If ever I've had doubts about God, that one moment and seeing his precious face everyday reminds me that nothing this good could just happen by chance of science. 

Baby O is approaching two weeks old now, I can't believe its already been that long! I'm still in awe of him every time I look at him.  For those of you that haven't met him yet, he is really mild mannered, like his dad. He seems to cry only when he's hungry, too hot, or some other logistical problem (Trav and I are still figuring things out, and O has been very patient!) Trav started back at work this week, which was a bit sad for me, I just love having our whole family together. But so far O and I have been doing well on our own during the day. Besides the almost constant eating (and subsequent diaper changing) Oli and I have been getting out for some walks, meeting Trav for lunch, and have even braved the grocery store alone! 

I will try to update our new family blog fairly regularly, probably fitting it in while Oliver naps. And maybe I'll try to convince Trav to write a few words every once in while, for the Stright/Summers family out there. 

Below are some pictures of Oliver's life so far. Enjoy :) 

The Stright Boys