She's here..

Let's start by saying, I was wrong about 12 hours on two counts...

Firstly we ended up driving to the hospital just after 3.30am... Then the procedure didn't happen until 1.30pm

Anyway, it was all worth it... Isobel is here, she weighed 9lbs, 3ozs... and she and her Mom are well and healthy...

I have so much more to say, but I'm also exhausted...

She's amazing though

12 hours now

This is it... Isobel's Mom has gone to bed... we're up early, then off to the hospital...

I'm equally worried about her going through the procedure and emerging in good health, about Isobel arriving safely and in good health, and about my own ability to cope with what seems like an enormous day...

I know everything about being a dad doesn't get demanded at once - I won't have to worry about anything other than keeping her warm, fed and safe for the first few weeks, or months...

But it seems like everything in my life tips over into a different direction tomorrow - it's hard to think past that moment when I'll see Isobel for the first time... What will she look like? Will she be healthy? Will I get to hold her? Will her Mom be ok? What do I have to do tomorrow?

There are so many questions - and absolutely no answers.

My life is usually built around a plan - I always know when my deadlines are, what I need to get done by when, roughly, where I'll be at the end of the day and what I need to do tomorow...

I'm a bit lost here. I don't know what I have to do tomorrow. I don't know where I'm sleeping tomorrow night, I don't know what I'll be feeling, or how to prepare for it.

As someone who is usually organised and prepared, that's a struggle.

But fundamentally, nothing that happens to me tomorrow is important. There are only two important things. 1) That Isobel's Mom is ok and healthy 2) That Isobel is ok and healthy.

Everything else, I'll have to figure out as I go...

We've got 36 hours left...

All is well, had a very quiet day... Getting closer and closer!

So, we missed Day 4 - and now Day 3 is over

Sorry about the non-blogging...

Yesterday was one of those days that seemed to go on forever - not because of baby matters, just work stuff... I hate Fridays that never end, because you always start on a Friday with a sneaky hope that you'll be finished by lunchtime and that you could just disappear... Instead, I was last man standing, the carpark was totally empty by the time I departed...

In Isobel news, all is well. Isobel's sister headed off to spend a week with her dad this morning, so there is no more worrying about how to take care of her, if Isobel decides to appear early...

Isobel's Mom is really tired now and having great difficulty moving around, but everything is well otherwise.

We've been charging up video cameras and buying discs, in fact tomorrow, I have to take some pictures of Isobel's Mom in her pregnant state, so we can show Isobel later... It's something that fascinates Isobel's sister and there are very few photos from the first pregnancy...

Anyway, hopefully tonight will pass quietly and then we're down to the final 48 hours

We made it to day 5...

It's crazy now... I can't get my head around how close we are...

Isobel's Mom is in great form, she looks great, she's really glowing... I said that to her and she said... "i bet I'll pop tonight then!"

Let's hope not... the plan remains to try and get to Saturday at least...

Anyway, Isobel's room looks great, the cot has sheets, the walls are decorated, everything is ready!

Day 6 is over..

It's really very close...

When I pass people who know what's going on at work - all I have to say is "tick tock, tick tock"...

Anyway, Isobel's Mom is fine, she had a good day - out shopping for sheets and stuff for Isobel's cot... and she bought some pictures for the room... Apparently it all looks great now, completely ready!

I'm still waiting for the bag I bought on Ebay... No sign yet... I hope it turns up soon... like, before Isobel does...

I mentioned yesterday about setting up an email address for her... I sent a test email from her account to my email and to her Mom's email... It made me smile to see her name in my Inbox... It looks well, I think the double barrelled thing works pretty well... I can't wait to see her now, to hold her, to have a daughter!

We're now down to 7 days...

By this time next week at the latest, Isobel will be here

I presume she won't be able to post on her own for a while, I guess I'll have to help with spellings and stuff for the first 7 years or so....

At least she'll have her own gmail address... I don't know if this is really sad, but I signed her up for her very own account...

I'm not sure if that is sad or future positive - who knows if gmail will even be relevant by the time she's ready to use it...

I do know people who register their kid's names as dot com addresses, but I think that's going a bit far...

Anyway, Isobel's Mom did her final doctor visit today, all is well

The cot arrived and was assembled - it looks great, it turns out it's also a day bed, kids bed, sofa combination in later life... Obviously I had to haul all of the extra bits into the attic before I headed for home...