A Letter From Brad

Friends:

We are about 24 hrs. from being introduced to baby Emily! A very exciting time for Carrie and me. As the time nears, there is a lot of planning and information that needs to be communicated. I thought an open letter to friends and acquaintances would be a good way to broadcast information.

For me it is hard to accept help and harder to ask for it. I know that many people have offered many things. Food, support, babysitting, etc. I also read that it is advisable to accept all help offered. I would like to organize the help. I will be taking the next week off of work and will be able to spend 24 hrs. with my wife and baby. Then, I go back to work. She is taking 12 weeks off from work. Quick math. There will be 11 weeks where I am at work and Carrie is home. These weeks would be a great time to come visit, especially during the day if possible as Carrie will be alone.

Hospital visits: Carrie will be induced on Thursday morning. I think it is reasonable to expect the baby to be delivered Thursday afternoon/evening. After delivery, Carrie and I are going to want some time to bond with Emily. We will take at least an hour with just us and the baby. After that, we will start letting folks in the room. I expect Thursday to be a full day. We would prefer friends, if they want, to visit on Friday, or just come to the house Saturday or Sunday.

Finally, not to be too rude, but let's all be sensitive to Carrie and Emily's rest time, feeding time, etc. I think I'd like to keep the visits fairly short or as a minimum be understanding with mom and baby, if they leave the room for a while and you are stuck with just me!

Stay tuned to Facebook or the blog for updates, we will attempt to get pictures up as soon as possible.

Thanks,
BW