Dana Burland

Last summer Ben and I transferred a Rose of Sharon bush from one corner of our backyard to another. When we left for the hospital on Tuesday it was green and quiet, but when we returned home Thursday night all its flowers were wide open in beautiful bloom. Now that Cameron is here, everything feels different in a way I can’t explain. Maybe our backyard flowering bush gets it. The last few days have been a beautiful whirlwind. We shockingly quickly and thankfully uneventfully welcomed Cameron Asher into the world Tuesday, July 18 at 5:07PM. That morning I went for a walk solo, felt my first contraction during a 10am conference call, called Ben to come home from work at 11am and was in active labor in the hospital by noon. We both ate hospital cafeteria cheeseburgers in our recovery room with Cameron snoozing in a bassinet by our side by dinner time. We, along with our awesome nurses and doctor and doula, were shocked at the speed of it all. Live on the “other side” has started...

Lately Ben has been tapping on my belly trying to coax Bub out. He’s excited and I’m excited, but I also remind him—not yet, he’s not ready. I’ve had this hunch he’s coming on July 24th. He seems too settled in there and heck, in the last three weeks I’ve settled in feeling almost the best I have yet in this pregnancy. All of this peace and (dare I say) comfort wouldn’t just come to an end so abruptly, right? Today I didn’t feel nearly as great. Something felt different and I got nervous. Maybe we’re a few days, instead of a week and a half, away? I’m not as confident in my original hunch of the 24th now. I stopped by the fire department for a car seat safety check. A volunteer showed me how to load a baby doll into my car seat, securing the harness safely. I’m not going to lie to you, blog reader, and tell you I’ve loved being pregnant. I’ve had an easy go of it but I haven't loved lots not limited to needing a rolling start to get off the couch or bathroom breaks ...

In lieu of summer travelin’ we spent our 4th of July weekend adventuring around town. I can’t remember which day we did what—which I’m sure is a direct correlation to holiday weekend success—but here’s a rough recap of our long lazy days. We made lots of big breakfasts and went out afterward on long neighborhood walks. Once upon a time I got a thrill out of seeing Ben struggle more than me on a run/bike ride together. While that hasn’t happened in a long time, I’m pleased to report I did tire him out on a few of our epic walks! We went on a spontaneous date night (a soon-to-be endangered phrase/activity) to San Chez for fancy Spanish tapas. On their back deck we talked about our trip to Europe , Ben’s five year work-aversary and (of course) about Bub. Also, I had a really great virgin mojito that made me briefly consider smuggling a bottle of wine into the hospital for a post delivery celebration. One morning we strolled through the Fulton Street Farmer’s Market and picked up wha...