Announcing Maxwell Paul Beem!

Well, the long months of waiting are over!

Our little guy, Maxwell Paul Beem arrived by Ceasarean delivery at 2:15pm, May 12th, 2009, weighed 7 pounds, 3 ounces and measured at 20 1/2 inches long. His little eyes were already wise beyond his mere minutes, and he had a clear steady gaze immediately.

Carrie's on the mend, a little slow getting around but otherwise doing great! Her blood pressure was already dropping before discharge (whew!) and the swelling around her face, ankles (or should I say "cankles?") and feet are looking much better. We've been getting her feet up above her heart when we can, and trying to find rest here and there.

The first few nights, Max was not very interested in sleeping in his cradle at night. Prefering to be held, his favorite position was resting his tiny head over your heart. Each night has been an improvement, and we've been assured by the medical community that this is normal and please don't throw him out the window!

Right.

Grandparents have been a huge asset: Grandma Barb and Donna, and his "Gramps" Rich have been bringing over all the necessities: Spaghetti and meatballs, garlic bread and vodka tonics! (Max stuck to milk, people!) We even had Hoffman and Zweigel hotdogs and some cony dogs imported from New York two nights ago and some home made mac and cheese! Barb spent the night last night and, of course, Max slept like a...well, he slept like a baby for the first time since he's been home. (I'm not sure Barb believes us that he was previously so fussy.)

Max was the hit of the hospital ward, drawing many visitors: family, friends and employees alike! The nursing staff was phenominal and we want to give a special shout out to Mary and Barbara, who we were able to "bond with" over the days in recovery and even her labor nurse, Diane came by to say hello the day after delivery!

I'll be getting more pictures and videos up over the next few days. If the slideshow on the top right of this page isn't playing, check your pop up settings, maybe download the latest flashplayer or call the geek squad! Here's a link to photobucket if you can't get the slideshow here.

http://s603.photobucket.com/albums/tt117/maxbeem/

Hope you all find a place for Max in your hearts as we have ours. Please check back regularly, now that I've got this up and running, I'll try and keep posting fun new stuff!

David, Carrie and Max