Welcome Nathaniel James Burge !!

Our handsome little man, Nathaniel James Burge, was born January 10, 2010 at 04:18 am, just 7 hours after checking into the hospital. Trav and I are incredibly blessed to have such a healthy, handsome baby boy and are loving every moment of it!


Labor went fairly smoothly. It's definetely true that no one can really describe what it is like...what an experience!!! Prior to, I had heard that women typically forget the details of the pain and labor, and I can truly attest to that. I 'm having a hard time recalling exactly all the contractions up until Nate was born! Funny how your body and mind work!

Nate was 8 lbs .03 oz, 20 inches long, and incredibly healthy! It was the greatest sound hearing him cry for the first time, mom and dad were left speechless and in tears. Holding him for the first time was the most incredible feeling, all these months of waiting, and finally getting to hold the most precious thing in the world was inspiring and incredibly elating. We love this little man!!!!

I am so proud of my wonderful husband, and incredibly grateful for all his support throughout the entire pregnancy and birth. He was all I wanted and needed throughout it all....I couldn't have done it without him. I am so blessed to have these wonderful, handsome men in my life!

Kari and Tim stayed the remainder of the week to help out, and boy did they help Trav and I catch up on sleep!!! It was wonderful having them here, and seeing Bestamor and Grandpa with their grandson. Boy did we get a ton of pics!! My parents, Jim and MaryAnn are in town this week also helping out! I can't say thank you enough for all their help. I love having them here, and loving seeing little Nate in their arms.  It's absolutely wonderful having family around for this momentous and beautiful time in our life.  Thank you for all your love and support!!!! 

Below are just a few pics of Nate, we'll have to add a little photo album here shortly, as being proud parents, we just can't have enough pictures!!! Thank you to all for all your love and support!!!! XOXOXO

When it all began...

Saturday January 9th started like any other typical weekend morning. We slept in a little late and had a little breakfast of peanut butter & honey toast. Trav played Wii Lego Stars Wars while I finished up some of laundry and cleaning while we were anticipating Travis's parents, Kari and Tim to arrive from Colorado later that afternoon. I had woken up with a little more cramping than other mornings, but shrugged it off as the baby "dropping" as he still was sitting high. The little cramps started getting stronger, longer, and closer together and by 11 AM they were just about 5 min. apart but nothing that I felt was of any concern (Definitely not painful). Soon thereafter we decided to grab a quick sandwich before picking up Tim and Kari from the airport, and ran to Firehouse Subs. This was a riot in itself!


We ordered 2 sandwiches, and sat down to eat. Trav decided to add a little "kick" to his sandwich by choosing one of the 50 or so hot sauces they had available. Without any thought, he doused his sandwich with a little Mad Dog. I immediately saw his eyes go bloodshot, lips quiver, and a look consumed his face that said "Damn that's hot!” The poor guy got up immediately to refill his drink, and I didn't see him for about 15 mins! In the meantime, I glanced at the bottle, noticed the cautionary warning stating that the company cannot be responsible for effects once consumed..... 357,000 Scoville units. A quick reference on my I-Phone showed that this is 142 times hotter than Tabasco sauce or 2.5 times that of Dave's Insanity Sauce! One consumer review stated the following "Sweet holy mother of god, I had to drink a half gallon of milk in 20 minutes to keep from crying like a sissy girl. The first minute was the worst, I thought about getting my last rites read to me." Needless to say, poor Trav emerged 15 mins later after drinking a gallon of soda. Now cool and collected we headed to the airport to pick up Kari and Tim.

Greeting Kari and Tim at the airport was momentous, we got to say "Congrats Tim and Kari, you're going to be grandparents very soon...Mary's in labor!" We got back to the house around 4 pm, relaxed with a few beers and a dinner of Crockpot chicken, sautéed carrots, and mashed potatoes. Dinner was filled with laughter and anticipation of the next few hours. Throughout this time, my contractions were getting stronger, and now were about 3 minutes apart. Trav finished getting everything ready and packed the car, and was wonderfully supportive by making sure I was comfortable and helping me through each contraction. We decided to head to the hospital once the contractions began to get painful and hence jumped in the car around 8 pm! Below are some pics before we headed to the hospital to start the next big chapter in our lives...

Waiting for Baby

Travis and I are anxiously awaiting the day when we'll be able to hold our beautiful baby boy! Baby Burge was due this past New Years Day, 01/01/2010, however he must be waiting for the perfect day as he has not graced us with his presence yet! He's moving and kicking like a soccer pro..I'm feeling great, and Daddy Burge is anxious but supportive as ever!

We had our 1 week "over due date" doctor's appointment on Wednesday and were told that the baby is healthy and right on track! (Although I was told "Oh..that's a big baby!"....just what Mom wants to hear :P ) The doctor stated that if he doesn't come over the weekend, they will look at inducing labor on Tuesday. Needless to say, we know the greatest day of our lives will be approaching shortly!

We'll keep everyone posted as we know more. Lord knows you'll be getting text messages and phone calls when the big day arrives!

Below are some maternity pictures that we took thanks to Mark, a hockey friend of Travis's , who provided us with a photography session with an amazing friend and photographer, Keesha Harvey. We are thrilled to have these inspiring and momentous last few months so beautifully captured, so thank you Mark and Keesha!