Yet again I am feeling the need to hijack my husband's blog and give everyone the adorable details about our little (or not so little as the case may be) Mia. A lot has happened since August. She's crawling with immense speed and precision now, cruising along the furniture on foot and making her way from point A to point B by the most complicated route she can find (this usually includes manuevering under, over and around tables and chairs).
She's also eating like a champ. Recently she's gotten a lot better at feeding herself. While she is beginning to show a preference to fruits over veggies (and who wouldn't), she'll scoff down anything, veggies included, with cheese on it. She's also tried hummus and tofu!
It's been a fabulous fall. Mia made it to the Renaissance Festival (no, we didn't put her in costume!), Clark's Farm for pumpkin picking and animal petting (except for the pygmy goats, she was not a fan of the pygmy goats), and the family Halloween party. Apparently she's a hat person like her mom as she always looks cute in them and never pulls them off. I suppose if she's not going to look like me, she can at least have my fashion sense:)
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Thursday, August 7, 2008
say goodbye to the lazy days of summer...
Well, it official, we have to start selling off our goods sooner than anticipated. It didn't take long for Mia to go from her first tentative crawling steps to being able to make her way from the nursery to the bathroom in 1 fell swoop (in anticipation of her evening bath - no joke!) She's also figured out how to sit up and even turn around. It was all so exciting until I realized that I have to keep up with her! I guess it won't take me long now to lose the last of the baby weight.
Yesterday was Mia's first playdate with our neighbor's son, Garrett. Mia was VERY interested in him (lots of smiles, etc). I think we've got ourselves a flirt. The funniest part of their meeting was their desire to 'caress' each other's faces, which usually led to a smacking contest. Perhaps I'm don't need to worry so much about the flirting:)
In other news, my friend Laurie had her baby yesterday -Laurie and Rich welcomed Miss Allison Katrina at 8lbs 10 oz. From the picture I saw, everyone looked healthy and happy! Congratulations, Laurie!
Yesterday was Mia's first playdate with our neighbor's son, Garrett. Mia was VERY interested in him (lots of smiles, etc). I think we've got ourselves a flirt. The funniest part of their meeting was their desire to 'caress' each other's faces, which usually led to a smacking contest. Perhaps I'm don't need to worry so much about the flirting:)
In other news, my friend Laurie had her baby yesterday -Laurie and Rich welcomed Miss Allison Katrina at 8lbs 10 oz. From the picture I saw, everyone looked healthy and happy! Congratulations, Laurie!
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Just an excuse
Jeremy is hard at work, so I'm back. This post is really an excuse to post a few pictures I took recently. Mia is incredible. I'm loving every dwindling day I have with her. She's really starting to get the hang of crawling, especially when its toward something that (a) isn't hers or (b) is dirty - and of course no matter what it is - it goes in her mouth. At the moment her favorite things include the telephone (now I know how kids end up calling Hong Kong), a big hair clip (which usually includes the hair that I am rapidly losing), and Piper's tennis ball (mmm, so clean!).
Today her new thing was trying to feed herself. I am all about encouraging this, but did she have to pick the meal with blueberries? See the results for yourself!
Today her new thing was trying to feed herself. I am all about encouraging this, but did she have to pick the meal with blueberries? See the results for yourself!
Monday, July 21, 2008
Ashlei doesn't blog...
Ok, here we go...I've hacked into my husband's blog page just to update everyone on our dear Mia. Jeremy has been working so hard - at his job & with Mia, that he hasn't had time to post. As a matter of fact, he's working in Californ-i-a right now and although I swore I'd never post a blog, I guess I'll give it a go.
Since the last post, a lot has happened. Mia is 5.5 months old already and to date she's already taken her first vacation (to Busch Gardens), been on her first plane ride (to New Hampshire), had her first cold (just the sniffles), eaten her first cereal (and I believe fish chowder too (Tinkie?)), and crawled her first steps. It is amazing how much they change in so little time.
She loves to be on the move, crawling or shopping, either will do. Somehow when we go shopping she'll refuse to nap (I would too) but won't get cranky like she usually does. I suspect this is because she knows she'll have to go home if she makes a fuss. When we're at home, it's all about the playard AKA Sing-Sing. She moves around with the speed and stealth of an Army commando, but lack a little in the agility department. It won't be long until we'll be putting up the breakables on eBay.
Lately we've been trying to work on Piper and Mia's relationship. It was hard at first and Piper was a bit depressed when her little sister came home, but she remained protective if not interested. Just recently, Mia discovered Piper as a potential playmate and is infatuated. Unfortunately her 'friendly' squeal for Piper's attention may be causing some hearing loss and is definitely hindering their relationship. Piper will, however, take treats from Mia and let Mia pet her. It just may work out yet!
I'm sure there are oodles of things I'm forgetting to include, but since I said I'd never blog, this is more than I expected. Now let's see if I can get into his Flickr account to post some pics...
Since the last post, a lot has happened. Mia is 5.5 months old already and to date she's already taken her first vacation (to Busch Gardens), been on her first plane ride (to New Hampshire), had her first cold (just the sniffles), eaten her first cereal (and I believe fish chowder too (Tinkie?)), and crawled her first steps. It is amazing how much they change in so little time.
She loves to be on the move, crawling or shopping, either will do. Somehow when we go shopping she'll refuse to nap (I would too) but won't get cranky like she usually does. I suspect this is because she knows she'll have to go home if she makes a fuss. When we're at home, it's all about the playard AKA Sing-Sing. She moves around with the speed and stealth of an Army commando, but lack a little in the agility department. It won't be long until we'll be putting up the breakables on eBay.
Lately we've been trying to work on Piper and Mia's relationship. It was hard at first and Piper was a bit depressed when her little sister came home, but she remained protective if not interested. Just recently, Mia discovered Piper as a potential playmate and is infatuated. Unfortunately her 'friendly' squeal for Piper's attention may be causing some hearing loss and is definitely hindering their relationship. Piper will, however, take treats from Mia and let Mia pet her. It just may work out yet!
I'm sure there are oodles of things I'm forgetting to include, but since I said I'd never blog, this is more than I expected. Now let's see if I can get into his Flickr account to post some pics...
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Milestones
Earlier this week, Ashlei saw Mia roll over from her stomach to her back all by herself. I haven't seen it for myself yet, but it's a great sign that Mia is growing well and is plenty strong. That was, however, just the first milestone for Mia the week. As a follow up to her performance rolling over, Mia decided it was about time to have her first fever. Thankfully, it didn't get too bad (100.4) and resolved itself quickly after she had some tylenol. She was pretty fussy for a day or two, which we are blaming on the fever, and not on our parenting... which, of course, is perfect.
On top of all of that, she has also started consiously grabbing for things. Her aim is still a little off, so she doesn't always get her target... but she sure is trying. Based on the grabbing, it appears that she is right handed... just like her dad.
To end off the week Mia had her first trip out to a restaurant and joined us and Ashlei's parents for crabs as a final wrap up to Ashlei's birthday. She was amazingly calm for the entire meal, spending the first half hour completely engrossed by the various ceiling fans in the room, and not at all interested in the crabs (until her mom nearly flicked a claw into her hair).
Although not a new milestone, I continue to be amazed and lifted by the emergence of Mia's personality. She has become very vocal, and very smiley... both of which are just awesome to watch.
There are a few more pictures on flickr, so be sure to check them out.
On top of all of that, she has also started consiously grabbing for things. Her aim is still a little off, so she doesn't always get her target... but she sure is trying. Based on the grabbing, it appears that she is right handed... just like her dad.
To end off the week Mia had her first trip out to a restaurant and joined us and Ashlei's parents for crabs as a final wrap up to Ashlei's birthday. She was amazingly calm for the entire meal, spending the first half hour completely engrossed by the various ceiling fans in the room, and not at all interested in the crabs (until her mom nearly flicked a claw into her hair).
Although not a new milestone, I continue to be amazed and lifted by the emergence of Mia's personality. She has become very vocal, and very smiley... both of which are just awesome to watch.
There are a few more pictures on flickr, so be sure to check them out.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Summer's a comin'
This past Saturday was a great weather day here. We took advantage of it to get Mia outside for a nice long stretch. We walked around the park (Mia slept through that, Piper nearly passed out...she's a little out of shape these days) and had our first family cookout of the year on the deck. The ladies even made smores... although I think they were underwhelming on the gas grill. Mia was a little fussy through parts of the weekend (more on that below), but it was a nice weekend nonetheless.
A quick update on "the routine"... It's been close to two weeks now of the nightly routine, and it is still working just as well as it was at the beginning. The start time has moved up as we have experimented with timing her last meal before bed, and she falls asleep so quickly after eating that I never get around to turning on the music. Besides those tweaks, the rest has remained the same. It worked so well that we've tried instituting something similar for daytime naps, but with far less success. Mia's daytime napping patterns are all over the place right now. There are days when she won't nap at all unless you hold her the whole time, and there have been days when she has slept in her pack and play for an hour by herself. I think we still have some work to do on this front, but hopefully we'll make some progress. One thing that seems to work without fail is riding in the car or her stroller, but that doesn't seem very practical as a nap routine (don't get me wrong, we'll still keep those in our back pocket for the rough patches)
One of the best developments in the past few weeks has been her increased smiling, and even the occasional laugh...at least it sounds like a little laugh. When she smiles, her whole face lights up and it just feels amazing to see. It's one of those things that momentarily makes you forget about every stress that you may have amd simply revel in her happiness. I hope for many moments like that.
It's a short post tonight, sorry about that... but look for more pictures later tonight on flickr, there are some really good ones.
One more thing, for those that don't know, Monday is Ashlei's birthday, so if you see her or talk her please wish her a great one...she deserves it.
A quick update on "the routine"... It's been close to two weeks now of the nightly routine, and it is still working just as well as it was at the beginning. The start time has moved up as we have experimented with timing her last meal before bed, and she falls asleep so quickly after eating that I never get around to turning on the music. Besides those tweaks, the rest has remained the same. It worked so well that we've tried instituting something similar for daytime naps, but with far less success. Mia's daytime napping patterns are all over the place right now. There are days when she won't nap at all unless you hold her the whole time, and there have been days when she has slept in her pack and play for an hour by herself. I think we still have some work to do on this front, but hopefully we'll make some progress. One thing that seems to work without fail is riding in the car or her stroller, but that doesn't seem very practical as a nap routine (don't get me wrong, we'll still keep those in our back pocket for the rough patches)
One of the best developments in the past few weeks has been her increased smiling, and even the occasional laugh...at least it sounds like a little laugh. When she smiles, her whole face lights up and it just feels amazing to see. It's one of those things that momentarily makes you forget about every stress that you may have amd simply revel in her happiness. I hope for many moments like that.
It's a short post tonight, sorry about that... but look for more pictures later tonight on flickr, there are some really good ones.
One more thing, for those that don't know, Monday is Ashlei's birthday, so if you see her or talk her please wish her a great one...she deserves it.
Friday, April 11, 2008
The Routine
Before I get into the real topic of today's post, a quick health update. Mia was diagnosed with two hemangioma's yesterday by a pediatric dermatologist. Hemangiomas are basically clusters of blood vessels gone amock. The clusters grow for some unspecified amount of time, and then over another unspecified amount of time they receed. In Mia's case they are both under the skin, with one on her nose, and one on her eyelid. At this point, the Dr. says it is too early to know just long long they will grow, or how long they will take to receed, or if any intervention will be necessary. So, we wait, keep an eye on it, and go in every few weeks for a checkup.
And now, for tonights regularly scheduled programming...
We have officially entered the phase of child rearing where we attempt to institute some sort of routine. Our routine is currently focused around bedtime, consistently winding down the night the same way every night, and it goes a little something like this:
prior to 8:15 - Ashlei and I do our best to try and eat dinner together, this usually works for at least part of dinner. At some point Mia will eat and take a short nap (this nap is very hit or miss)
8:15 (go time) - It's bath time. Ashlei gets the baby bath tub ready with some warm water, while I try and find some soothing music on the XM channels on Direct TV, and get Mia undressed. Once the water is ready, Ashlei gives Mia her bath, followed by a transfer from bath to towel in a carefully choreographed handoff that minimizes any "open air" exposure (and thus crying). Once dried off, she gets some lotion and is dressed for bed. Finding decent music on the XM channels that is agreeable to all three of us is almost the biggest challenge of all... this evening we relaxed to Holiday (Green Day), Mr. Jones (Counting Crows), and Waiting on the World to Change (John Mayer).
8:30 - the pre bed meal. This has thus far been relatively uneventful, Mia sits with Ashlei and has what is usually the last meal of the night.
9:00ish - the cool down. The goal of this part of the evening is to basically get Mia to sleep. The past three nights this has consisted of me walking in a circle around the island in the kitchen at a very specific space while bouncing Mia in my arms and singing along to Billy Joel in my Ipod. This is probably my favorite part of my day, as Mia stares directly at me the entire time I'm singing to her, and then doses off to sleep. Thankfully, I love Billy Joel and Mia apparently is relaxed by me singing his songs (and those of you have heard me sing can attest to just how impossible that is to believe). It only takes a song or two and she is out cold.
9:15ish - the final transfer. Mia is put to bed... not in her crib, mind you, but in her car seat.
For the past two nights, following this routine, Mia has slept until 6:30. Yep, 6:30. I have no idea if that will last, but we'll take it while we can get it.
And now, for tonights regularly scheduled programming...
We have officially entered the phase of child rearing where we attempt to institute some sort of routine. Our routine is currently focused around bedtime, consistently winding down the night the same way every night, and it goes a little something like this:
prior to 8:15 - Ashlei and I do our best to try and eat dinner together, this usually works for at least part of dinner. At some point Mia will eat and take a short nap (this nap is very hit or miss)
8:15 (go time) - It's bath time. Ashlei gets the baby bath tub ready with some warm water, while I try and find some soothing music on the XM channels on Direct TV, and get Mia undressed. Once the water is ready, Ashlei gives Mia her bath, followed by a transfer from bath to towel in a carefully choreographed handoff that minimizes any "open air" exposure (and thus crying). Once dried off, she gets some lotion and is dressed for bed. Finding decent music on the XM channels that is agreeable to all three of us is almost the biggest challenge of all... this evening we relaxed to Holiday (Green Day), Mr. Jones (Counting Crows), and Waiting on the World to Change (John Mayer).
8:30 - the pre bed meal. This has thus far been relatively uneventful, Mia sits with Ashlei and has what is usually the last meal of the night.
9:00ish - the cool down. The goal of this part of the evening is to basically get Mia to sleep. The past three nights this has consisted of me walking in a circle around the island in the kitchen at a very specific space while bouncing Mia in my arms and singing along to Billy Joel in my Ipod. This is probably my favorite part of my day, as Mia stares directly at me the entire time I'm singing to her, and then doses off to sleep. Thankfully, I love Billy Joel and Mia apparently is relaxed by me singing his songs (and those of you have heard me sing can attest to just how impossible that is to believe). It only takes a song or two and she is out cold.
9:15ish - the final transfer. Mia is put to bed... not in her crib, mind you, but in her car seat.
For the past two nights, following this routine, Mia has slept until 6:30. Yep, 6:30. I have no idea if that will last, but we'll take it while we can get it.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Moving right along
It's been a while since my last post, so I apologize to all of you that are waiting patiently for the latest and greatest. Over the past week and a half we have revised our thinking on the acid reflux vs. colic debate. Although the acid reflux medicine seemed to help a little bit early on, it never really got rid of the problem, and nothing really changed either way when we stopped giving it to Mia. Combined with the lack of any other reflux symptoms, I doubt she ever had reflux, so we are now just going with colic. Based on the various colic anecdotes I've heard from friends that went through that with their kids, I would classify Mia's as mild... so we are thankful for that (and sorry for those that had to endure severe cases).
Ashlei did some reading on colic and found some things that seem to be working well, although none work every time. For a few days, wrapping her up tight in a swaddle, leaning her all of the way back in her swing and turning it on full speed calmed her right down and put her to sleep for a while. For the past two days keeping her in a sling seems to be doing the trick for Ashlei, and when I have her she just wants to me to be walking around. It's pretty comical actually, I can walk in circles for 20 minutes and have her completely asleep in my arms, but the second I sit down, she wakes up and starts chirping... if only we could harness that power for good.
I've heard two good baby crying quotes (paraphrased due to my lack of any decent memory for quotes)...
From Lisa, "colic is just the doctors way of telling you they have no idea why your baby is crying".
And from Erin, "Baby's cry for 4 reasons, they're either wet, hungry, tired, or there is no reason".
The oddest part of it all is that Mia is really good at night now. She goes to sleep almost every night around 9 or 9:30 and sleeps for 5 hours, wakes up to eat and sleeps a few more hours... all without much fuss. Ahslei and I will credit that to our Ninja like parenting skills... ninja because they apparently only work at night.
There are 3 new pictures up on flickr too, so check them out... she's already growing fast.
Ashlei did some reading on colic and found some things that seem to be working well, although none work every time. For a few days, wrapping her up tight in a swaddle, leaning her all of the way back in her swing and turning it on full speed calmed her right down and put her to sleep for a while. For the past two days keeping her in a sling seems to be doing the trick for Ashlei, and when I have her she just wants to me to be walking around. It's pretty comical actually, I can walk in circles for 20 minutes and have her completely asleep in my arms, but the second I sit down, she wakes up and starts chirping... if only we could harness that power for good.
I've heard two good baby crying quotes (paraphrased due to my lack of any decent memory for quotes)...
From Lisa, "colic is just the doctors way of telling you they have no idea why your baby is crying".
And from Erin, "Baby's cry for 4 reasons, they're either wet, hungry, tired, or there is no reason".
The oddest part of it all is that Mia is really good at night now. She goes to sleep almost every night around 9 or 9:30 and sleeps for 5 hours, wakes up to eat and sleeps a few more hours... all without much fuss. Ahslei and I will credit that to our Ninja like parenting skills... ninja because they apparently only work at night.
There are 3 new pictures up on flickr too, so check them out... she's already growing fast.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
A great weekend
Whether it was colic or acid reflux, Mia is much improved, especially over the past few days. She had her first day trip on Saturday, down to Calvert County for Easter Linner with some family (it's still rural enough down there that those that are from there refer to their "hometown" by county instead of the actual town name). I can barely remember her crying for any extended period of time at all during the whole trip, which is probably the longest stretch I could say that for.
While there we discovered that Mia really liked the baby swing they had. We had tried our baby swing a few weeks ago without much luck, so when she went right to sleep in theirs we thought it was because it swung side to side instead of forward and back. Just to check we tried ours again today at home, and she has fallen asleep in it everytime... so I guess she just had to grow into it a bit. It's nice to have a place to put her down where she is comfortable and will lay on her own for a bit.
It's hard to believe it's been almost 7 weeks already, we are even talking about a trip to Busch Gardens in May. The theory is that by 3 months things will be a little more regular, at least enough to go on a trip... we'll see.
Oh yeah, and she has started smiling some... I think the first one was when the buzzer went off at the end of the Duke game. I'm glad she is already learning the important things in life.
While there we discovered that Mia really liked the baby swing they had. We had tried our baby swing a few weeks ago without much luck, so when she went right to sleep in theirs we thought it was because it swung side to side instead of forward and back. Just to check we tried ours again today at home, and she has fallen asleep in it everytime... so I guess she just had to grow into it a bit. It's nice to have a place to put her down where she is comfortable and will lay on her own for a bit.
It's hard to believe it's been almost 7 weeks already, we are even talking about a trip to Busch Gardens in May. The theory is that by 3 months things will be a little more regular, at least enough to go on a trip... we'll see.
Oh yeah, and she has started smiling some... I think the first one was when the buzzer went off at the end of the Duke game. I'm glad she is already learning the important things in life.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
One of the hardest things
Mia and Ashlei took their first extended trip away from the house this week, with a trip to the Annapolis mall. It was actually such an extended trip that Ashlei had to breastfeed while they were out, which luckily the Nordstrom in Annapolis mall has an area for. Apparently, it's where moms go to both breastfeed and to have what would anywhere else probably be very uncomfortable conversation.
Mia also got to meet Garrett and Jackson, the sons of our newest neighbors Kyle and Erin. Ashlei and Erin are already joking about how Mia and Garret (born two weeks apart) are destined to be married. Mia decided that if she was to be married to Garrett that he should probably see the real her, so she cried most of the time... which brings me to the real topic of today's post.
...the hardest thing.
As you may recall from my previous post, we think that Mia has acid reflux. We've been giving her medication to treat it, with only minimal success thus far (we're hoping it just needs to be adjusted). I won't go into the details of what happens when the reflux kicks in, usually anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes after eating, but I can tell that it looks painful. Watching Mia cry out in pain during those episodes, that's the hardest thing.
Mia also got to meet Garrett and Jackson, the sons of our newest neighbors Kyle and Erin. Ashlei and Erin are already joking about how Mia and Garret (born two weeks apart) are destined to be married. Mia decided that if she was to be married to Garrett that he should probably see the real her, so she cried most of the time... which brings me to the real topic of today's post.
...the hardest thing.
As you may recall from my previous post, we think that Mia has acid reflux. We've been giving her medication to treat it, with only minimal success thus far (we're hoping it just needs to be adjusted). I won't go into the details of what happens when the reflux kicks in, usually anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes after eating, but I can tell that it looks painful. Watching Mia cry out in pain during those episodes, that's the hardest thing.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
1 month tune up
Mia had her one month checkup on Thursday. She weighed in at 8 pounds, 12 ounces with a length of 21 inches. They clearly don't have a reliable way of getting the length, as I think that actually went down since our last visit and I'm fairly sure she isn't shrinking. As for general health, the doctor said everything was great.
Ashlei also discussed Mia's fussiness with the Dr, and after a few questions he came back with two theories: the dreaded colic (which I'm told simply means "we don't know why your baby is crying) and acid reflux. Who knew babies could have acid reflux... I wonder if they can have carpel tunnel too. Going on the hopes that it is acid reflux, we got a scrip for baby zantac. The doc said it could take up to a week to take effect, but we are already seeing an improvement, so we are excited about that. It is such a marked improvement that Mia has actually slept through more than half of her first post-hospital visit with her mom mom and pop pop from PA. I'd say that is unusual, but it appears she likes to impress visitors and saves the real show for when she is alone with us... how nice of her :)
After the doctor visit, Mia had her first shopping trip with her mother, which apparently went off without a hitch. It went so well, that she tagged along for Mom's pedicure yesterday. Shopping and pedicures, I don't think I like the precedent this is setting...
All in all, it was a great week for Mia, mom, and dad. She is already growing fast, and we couldn't be happier with how great she is doing.
Now it's time to try and explain to Mia the delicate nuances of tonights Duke vs. UNC game. Do you root for evil dressed in blue and white? or evil dressed in a different shade of blue and white? I don't think she's ready for that yet... maybe next year.
Ashlei also discussed Mia's fussiness with the Dr, and after a few questions he came back with two theories: the dreaded colic (which I'm told simply means "we don't know why your baby is crying) and acid reflux. Who knew babies could have acid reflux... I wonder if they can have carpel tunnel too. Going on the hopes that it is acid reflux, we got a scrip for baby zantac. The doc said it could take up to a week to take effect, but we are already seeing an improvement, so we are excited about that. It is such a marked improvement that Mia has actually slept through more than half of her first post-hospital visit with her mom mom and pop pop from PA. I'd say that is unusual, but it appears she likes to impress visitors and saves the real show for when she is alone with us... how nice of her :)
After the doctor visit, Mia had her first shopping trip with her mother, which apparently went off without a hitch. It went so well, that she tagged along for Mom's pedicure yesterday. Shopping and pedicures, I don't think I like the precedent this is setting...
All in all, it was a great week for Mia, mom, and dad. She is already growing fast, and we couldn't be happier with how great she is doing.
Now it's time to try and explain to Mia the delicate nuances of tonights Duke vs. UNC game. Do you root for evil dressed in blue and white? or evil dressed in a different shade of blue and white? I don't think she's ready for that yet... maybe next year.
Monday, March 3, 2008
To our friends in Texas and Ohio...
To our complete astonishment, Mia awoke in the middle of night chanting "Vote Obama!, Vote Obama!"... at least that's what it sounded like, she may have just had gas pains.
We were all very surprised to see her early interest in politics, not to mention her speech capabilities at 4 weeks of age*. Following the completion of her chanting, she made it very clear that anyone that loves her and wants to protect her future would vote for Obama.
* yep, tomorrow Mia will be 4 weeks old, woo-hoo! Everyone please wake up at 4:22 am to celebrate... beers are on me :)
We were all very surprised to see her early interest in politics, not to mention her speech capabilities at 4 weeks of age*. Following the completion of her chanting, she made it very clear that anyone that loves her and wants to protect her future would vote for Obama.
* yep, tomorrow Mia will be 4 weeks old, woo-hoo! Everyone please wake up at 4:22 am to celebrate... beers are on me :)
Saturday, March 1, 2008
And so she grows...
This last week has seen us formally introduce forumla as a permanent part of Mia's diet. She is still breastfeeding, but we theorized that she just couldn't get enough to eat with that alone, so we now supplement every feeding within some formula from a bottle. A few days into this practice it was clear that our theory had some merit. After the combination of breastfeeding and formula, Mia just seems far more satisfied and has far fewer and shorter fussy periods. She still has them, but they are more obviously just fussy periods and not hunger periods. We can deal with that, but it was hard to watch her upset with hunger.
The only other real development this week was that we moved Mia to her crib to sleep (she had been in the bassinet in our bedroom). This has probably helped Ashlei and I more than it has had any effect on Mia. When she was in the room with us we would wake up with every little movement that she made when most of the time she was just shifting or bouncing around her sleep cycles. Now, we actually sleep for the entire time that she sleeps for. The slightly longer sleeping stretches that are an apparent side effect of formula feeding are a nice bonus as well.
Mia also got her first pieces of government mail this week... her social security card and birth registration notice (apparently they no longer give you the actual birth certificate).
As a closing note, the baby scale that Matt and Lisa lent us registers Mia at around 8 1/4 pounds, so she is definitely gaining weight (reminder: 7 1/8 pounds at birth)
The only other real development this week was that we moved Mia to her crib to sleep (she had been in the bassinet in our bedroom). This has probably helped Ashlei and I more than it has had any effect on Mia. When she was in the room with us we would wake up with every little movement that she made when most of the time she was just shifting or bouncing around her sleep cycles. Now, we actually sleep for the entire time that she sleeps for. The slightly longer sleeping stretches that are an apparent side effect of formula feeding are a nice bonus as well.
Mia also got her first pieces of government mail this week... her social security card and birth registration notice (apparently they no longer give you the actual birth certificate).
As a closing note, the baby scale that Matt and Lisa lent us registers Mia at around 8 1/4 pounds, so she is definitely gaining weight (reminder: 7 1/8 pounds at birth)
Friday, February 22, 2008
Snip, Snip
We went to the oral surgeon today to have him look at Mia's toungue, or more specifically the flap of muscle that connects the tounge to the bottom of the mouth. He rated it a a 6.5 out of 10 on the "problematic" scale (0 being no problem, 10 being big problems). So, on his recommendation we had him "snip" that little muscle. The actual procedure took about 5 minutes and Mia seemed no more bothered by it than she is by anything else that isn't either food or her mom.
She is immediately back to feeding, but a little confused by the improved mobility of her toungue, so she has a little adjusting to do there. The riskiest part of the whole experience was just getting from the car to the dr's front door due to the ice storm here in Maryland.
She is immediately back to feeding, but a little confused by the improved mobility of her toungue, so she has a little adjusting to do there. The riskiest part of the whole experience was just getting from the car to the dr's front door due to the ice storm here in Maryland.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Adjusting
It's interesting how your body can adjust. We don't sleep through the night anymore, but all it takes is a short nap to feel amazingly refreshed. I can only marginally tell the difference between how I used to feel after a 9 hour night of sleep and how I feel now after a night of three 90 minute naps. Ashlei has been amazing, getting by on even less than that, and stretching those naps to even more waking hours than I.
Makes me wonder how much time I've wasted sleeping the hours away during my first 31 years... I'm sure my mom is reading this thinking, "that's what I was trying to tell you all those years when you slept until noon".
Makes me wonder how much time I've wasted sleeping the hours away during my first 31 years... I'm sure my mom is reading this thinking, "that's what I was trying to tell you all those years when you slept until noon".
Monday, February 18, 2008
Adventures in breastfeeding
The weekend came and went so fast. Mia had an interesting weekend of eating and sleeping. On Saturday afternoon and Sunday evening she just couldn't get enough to eat. Breastfeeding, finger feeding pumped milk, finger feeding formula, syringe feeding formula... she was a bottomless pit, and Ashlei was really sore. Just as quickly as a bout of apparent starvation would start, it would suddenly stop and she would sleep for 5 hours straight. It was nice when one of those stretches started late at night and both Ashlei and I got a good run of sleep in.
The lactation consultant came by again today to evaluate Mia. She said everything is progressing well, but we need to supplement a little so that she gets enough to eat, and she also recommended we call an oral surgeon to have the frenulum on her tounge snipped. The frenulum on your tounge is a little fold of tissue that attaches your tounge to the bottom of your mouth. Mia's is holding her tounge down a little too much and she can't stick her tounge out or touch the roof of her mouth. Getting it snipped should help her feed better, possibly without falling asleep so much, which should help her get enough to eat while breastfeeding and avoid the supplements. In the long run, without the snipping there is the potential for speech issues depending on how things develop, and having it snipped has the side benefit of avoiding those issues (at least as it would relate to that little flap of tissue).
We're told that the procedure is a minor 15 minute in and out type thing, but we still need to call the actual oral surgeon to get the details.
Oh, and she also sold us some special bottle for $35 to help feed Mia the supplements (we think she was gulping too much with the newborn size nipple on the normal bottle). It's like going to a mechanic and the mechanic tells you that you need a new catavoltaic belt plug or your 3-phase ejector seat will fire unexpectedly... how am I supposed to know any better? $35 is crazy for a bottle, but when the expert says you should use it, you use it.
$35 would be pretty good for a 3-phase ejector seat controlled by a catavoltaic belt plug
The lactation consultant came by again today to evaluate Mia. She said everything is progressing well, but we need to supplement a little so that she gets enough to eat, and she also recommended we call an oral surgeon to have the frenulum on her tounge snipped. The frenulum on your tounge is a little fold of tissue that attaches your tounge to the bottom of your mouth. Mia's is holding her tounge down a little too much and she can't stick her tounge out or touch the roof of her mouth. Getting it snipped should help her feed better, possibly without falling asleep so much, which should help her get enough to eat while breastfeeding and avoid the supplements. In the long run, without the snipping there is the potential for speech issues depending on how things develop, and having it snipped has the side benefit of avoiding those issues (at least as it would relate to that little flap of tissue).
We're told that the procedure is a minor 15 minute in and out type thing, but we still need to call the actual oral surgeon to get the details.
Oh, and she also sold us some special bottle for $35 to help feed Mia the supplements (we think she was gulping too much with the newborn size nipple on the normal bottle). It's like going to a mechanic and the mechanic tells you that you need a new catavoltaic belt plug or your 3-phase ejector seat will fire unexpectedly... how am I supposed to know any better? $35 is crazy for a bottle, but when the expert says you should use it, you use it.
$35 would be pretty good for a 3-phase ejector seat controlled by a catavoltaic belt plug
Friday, February 15, 2008
4 am
Mia was born at 4:22 am. If you have about 10 minutes, there is an entertaining talk about 4 am at the TED website
As an aside, the TED website has videos of some awesome speeches given at the annual TED conference. I've never been to the conference itself... possibly because it's $6,000 for a ticket and they sell out a year in advance, but I eat up the videos.
As an aside, the TED website has videos of some awesome speeches given at the annual TED conference. I've never been to the conference itself... possibly because it's $6,000 for a ticket and they sell out a year in advance, but I eat up the videos.
A confusing problem...
I may have mentioned in some previous posts that the only real problem we are having with Mia is getting her to feed... she falls asleep within seconds of latching on. Well, we had a lactation consultant come by today to take a look at that and help with a few other things, and she was equally as vexed. She is going to come back Monday to check on a few things and see where to go from here. It doesn't appear to be any particular health concern, as her weight gain shows that she is getting plenty of nutrition now. It is however, a sanity concern for mom and dad.
With some frustrations during feeding being biggest problem we encounter in our first two weeks, I'll count us among the lucky.
With some frustrations during feeding being biggest problem we encounter in our first two weeks, I'll count us among the lucky.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Happy Valentines Day
Mia managed to calm our nerves today by making a remarkable recovery on her weight gain. At today's appointment she weighed 7 lbs even, up from 6 lbs 11 oz on Tuesday and 6 pounds 10 oz on Saturday.
That was a nice Valentine gift for Ashlei and I.
That was a nice Valentine gift for Ashlei and I.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Daddy couldn't stay away
Last night was a long night for us. The dr. managed to put us on edge about Mia's weight, so we meticuously woke up exactly every 3 hours to feed her (most of the time having to wake her up), and her feed for the right amount of time. It's ironic that we managed to get her sleeping longer at night, only to have to forcibly wake her up to feed.
We did everything we could to keep her awake while feeding, as her biggest problem at the moment is that she goes to sleep in about 20 seconds when she starts feeding, or at least gets very very comfortable (and stops feeding). So we used a cold wet washcloth to keep her awake, and did the syringe supplementing thing. It worked pretty well, but made twenty minutes worth of feeding take forty-five minutes.
I am not entirely convinced yet that the formula is necessary as long as we make sure she feeds long enough by keeping her awake. But hey, what's the point of a dr. if you don't follow their orders. Hopefully the rigid schedule and formula supplements will register as improved weight gain at Friday's appointment.
Also, I went back to work for a half day today, heading in around lunch time. I anticipated a few hours away feeling like a nice break, but I actually spent most of the time wanting to go back home to be with Ashlei and Mia... so I left early. We'll try again tomorrow.
We did everything we could to keep her awake while feeding, as her biggest problem at the moment is that she goes to sleep in about 20 seconds when she starts feeding, or at least gets very very comfortable (and stops feeding). So we used a cold wet washcloth to keep her awake, and did the syringe supplementing thing. It worked pretty well, but made twenty minutes worth of feeding take forty-five minutes.
I am not entirely convinced yet that the formula is necessary as long as we make sure she feeds long enough by keeping her awake. But hey, what's the point of a dr. if you don't follow their orders. Hopefully the rigid schedule and formula supplements will register as improved weight gain at Friday's appointment.
Also, I went back to work for a half day today, heading in around lunch time. I anticipated a few hours away feeling like a nice break, but I actually spent most of the time wanting to go back home to be with Ashlei and Mia... so I left early. We'll try again tomorrow.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
The good, The bad, and the sleepy
The good
We had a few more visitors over the weekend. Amy brought us some of her world famous (if it isn't, then it sure ought to be) chocolate bread and some gifts for the baby and Ashlei, and Ashlei's parents brought some pre-cooked meals for us so we don't have to cook for the next couple of meals. They all bought us another opportunity to nap... woo-hoo!
We had our first full pediatric checkup today. By and large everything is going very well (see: the bad). Her jaundice peeked over the weekend and looks to be improving (the dr. didn't even do another bilirubin test), and the dr. said that all of the general physilogical "stuff" looks good.
Also, Piper appears to be settling in. She certainly isn't happy yet to share the limelight with a little sister, but she has at least accepted the fact that Mia isn't just visiting. She has stopped whining and shadowing everytime one of us is holding Mia, and has come to the pleasant realization that the stretches of time with only one person in bed at night means that she can squeeze in some on the bed time.
The bad
Mia didn't gain enough weight between our Saturday visit and today's visit to the pediatrician. There are no theories yet as to why, because our description of her feedings sounds exactly as it should according to the doctor. My theory is that we probably aren't explaining it accurately, proud parents with rose colored glasses maybe...
He told us to supplement with 1/2 oz of formula from a syringe prior to breastfeeding, which we'll start on this afternoon. The syringe will ensure that we do not disrupt the breastfeeding mechanics. We are also going to have a lactation consultant come by to make sure everything is as mechanically sound as we think it is during the breastfeeding.
We have another weight check on Friday morning to see how things are progressing, so hopefully things will improve.
The sleepy
Through some deliberate attempts, we think we have flipped Mia's sleep patterns so that her long stretches come at night instead of during the day. For the past two nights we've had two three hour stretches of everyone sleeping. All we did was open up our blinds during the day to get more light in the house (thanks Matt and Lisa) and consciously try to stimulate her more during the day. Both have resulted in Mia being awake for much longer stretches during the daylight hours.
We had a few more visitors over the weekend. Amy brought us some of her world famous (if it isn't, then it sure ought to be) chocolate bread and some gifts for the baby and Ashlei, and Ashlei's parents brought some pre-cooked meals for us so we don't have to cook for the next couple of meals. They all bought us another opportunity to nap... woo-hoo!
We had our first full pediatric checkup today. By and large everything is going very well (see: the bad). Her jaundice peeked over the weekend and looks to be improving (the dr. didn't even do another bilirubin test), and the dr. said that all of the general physilogical "stuff" looks good.
Also, Piper appears to be settling in. She certainly isn't happy yet to share the limelight with a little sister, but she has at least accepted the fact that Mia isn't just visiting. She has stopped whining and shadowing everytime one of us is holding Mia, and has come to the pleasant realization that the stretches of time with only one person in bed at night means that she can squeeze in some on the bed time.
The bad
Mia didn't gain enough weight between our Saturday visit and today's visit to the pediatrician. There are no theories yet as to why, because our description of her feedings sounds exactly as it should according to the doctor. My theory is that we probably aren't explaining it accurately, proud parents with rose colored glasses maybe...
He told us to supplement with 1/2 oz of formula from a syringe prior to breastfeeding, which we'll start on this afternoon. The syringe will ensure that we do not disrupt the breastfeeding mechanics. We are also going to have a lactation consultant come by to make sure everything is as mechanically sound as we think it is during the breastfeeding.
We have another weight check on Friday morning to see how things are progressing, so hopefully things will improve.
The sleepy
Through some deliberate attempts, we think we have flipped Mia's sleep patterns so that her long stretches come at night instead of during the day. For the past two nights we've had two three hour stretches of everyone sleeping. All we did was open up our blinds during the day to get more light in the house (thanks Matt and Lisa) and consciously try to stimulate her more during the day. Both have resulted in Mia being awake for much longer stretches during the daylight hours.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Settling in
We went to our first pediatrician appointment today. Being a Saturday, it was hard to judge the waiting room experience as they were lightly scheduled (they don't take regular appointments on Saturdays), so we'll have to wait for the next visit to see how that part goes. One interesting experience during our short (5 minute) wait was Ashlei's first chance to fill out a form that asks for "Child's Name"... I'm sure there will lots of little moments like that, but they are still cool. Also interesting was the effort it took to remember our home phone number since we hadn't had our morning nap yet and had basically been up all night on "Mia time".
The nurses did the normal checks for weight and length, with both having made appropriate progress since our discharge from the hospital. Then the Dr. checked on the jaundice that motivated the earlier than planned visit. He said it did not look out of the ordinary, but they took some blood to check the bilirubin levels just to be sure. Those levels turned out perfectly fine, and we don't even have to go back for a follow-up until the next normal weight and length checks on Tuesday.
Our friends Matt and Lisa spent the afternoon at the house with us and did all of the Mia sitting as well as getting us lunch. This gave both Ashlei and I a chance to recharge a bit, which helped tremendously. It's amazing what even a short nap can do. Matt and Lisa were the first of our close friends to have children. They are great friends, and a fountain of knowledge that I'm sure we will tap regularly in the coming weeks and months.
The nurses did the normal checks for weight and length, with both having made appropriate progress since our discharge from the hospital. Then the Dr. checked on the jaundice that motivated the earlier than planned visit. He said it did not look out of the ordinary, but they took some blood to check the bilirubin levels just to be sure. Those levels turned out perfectly fine, and we don't even have to go back for a follow-up until the next normal weight and length checks on Tuesday.
Our friends Matt and Lisa spent the afternoon at the house with us and did all of the Mia sitting as well as getting us lunch. This gave both Ashlei and I a chance to recharge a bit, which helped tremendously. It's amazing what even a short nap can do. Matt and Lisa were the first of our close friends to have children. They are great friends, and a fountain of knowledge that I'm sure we will tap regularly in the coming weeks and months.
First Days At Home
Our first two days at home have gone pretty well. As with our stay in the hospital, Mia is still on a backward schedule sleeping all day and restless all night, but we are coping with that. We try to nap when she does, which works a lot better without the nurses doing their checks.
Piper's reaction has been interesting (Piper is our dog). Everyone told us that she would be jealous, and maybe ultimately protective. We've seen the former, and are waiting for the latter to kick in. She basically just whines a little more, and shadows whoever has the baby in their arms. The funny thing is, she probably gets even more attention than she did before because we are pretty vigilant about not leaving her out. At the moment, all she notices is the new competition.
Just prior to calling the pediatrician to schedule Mia's first wellness checkup we noticed a little bit of yellowish-ness in her eyes. Just to be safe, they made the appointment for Saturday morning instead of Monday so they could check the jaundice. 9:45 am... that's usually right in the middle of our morning nap to catch up from the previous night.
Piper's reaction has been interesting (Piper is our dog). Everyone told us that she would be jealous, and maybe ultimately protective. We've seen the former, and are waiting for the latter to kick in. She basically just whines a little more, and shadows whoever has the baby in their arms. The funny thing is, she probably gets even more attention than she did before because we are pretty vigilant about not leaving her out. At the moment, all she notices is the new competition.
Just prior to calling the pediatrician to schedule Mia's first wellness checkup we noticed a little bit of yellowish-ness in her eyes. Just to be safe, they made the appointment for Saturday morning instead of Monday so they could check the jaundice. 9:45 am... that's usually right in the middle of our morning nap to catch up from the previous night.
At The Hospital
First, to wrap up the arrival... Mia Torin was born at 4:22 am on February 5th. She was 19.5 inches long and weighed 7 pounds 2 ounces. Interestingly, February 5th was her exact original due date, it was only after the first sonogram that the docs changed it to February 10th. Thankfully, she gets her punctuality from me or she may not have been born until March ;)
Following the birth, we spent the next 2 days at the hospital in a room significantly smaller than the spacious delivery room. Lots of people came by to visit, which was great (you know who you are... thank you again), and we got a complimentary Stork menu meal through some family friends (again, you know who you are... and thank you very much), and several people sent or brought flowers and candy. We were also lucky enough to have great parents that took care of everything outside of the hospital for those two days so I could stay with Ashlei and Mia. As uncomfortable as the hospital was, I couldn't imagine having to leave Ashlei and Mia there to go take care of the dog, or pick up some clothes we forgot. So, to our parents, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.
When not showing off our new bundle to visitors, we spent most of the time learning our way around a baby, including breastfeeding, changing a diaper, dressing a squirming baby, and the art of the swaddle. We're still perfecting that last one. All in all it was a very smooth first few days, which was apparently the exception in the Maternity Care Unit of Howard County General for that week, as apparently they had a run of c-sections that were keeping the nurses busy.
The much talked about sleep deprivation that comes along with a baby wasted no time in making itself known to us... but interestingly not always due to the baby. Mia's clock was backwards, so she actually slept most of the day when not feeding, but was much more active at night. To avoid a total lack of sleep, we simply tried to napped when the baby napped. This would have been a perfect solution if the routine checks by the nurses had coincided with Mia's bizarro schedule. Since they didn't, our morning and evening naps were regularly interrupted. Don't get me wrong, the nurses were great. They helped us a lot in the first few days when we had stupid questions (you mean you're actually going to let us just walk out of here with a baby...just like that?), but the regular checks definitely left us a little worse for wear.
After 2 days, Mia had passed her hearing test, been given her first vaccine shot (Hep B), and both her and Ashlei were discharged with clean bills of health. We were excited to finally take our baby home. We got everything packed and ready to go, put Mia in the car seat and she promptly wailed like a banshee. After a short delay so that Ashlei could feed Mia, we were finally on our way home.
Oh, and as for all of those preparations I mentioned in my previous post:
(1) the phone list - I left it in the car and never used it. I had to wing it with stealth inquiries into my cell phones phone book (cell phones are supposed to always be turned off in the delivery room).
(2) bags - we packed several bags: snacks, entertainment, and clothes. We barely touched the snacks, and never required much entertainment. It sure would have been a lot less to lug around if we had just bought clothes... rookie mistake.
(3) Ashlei off of work - this was one we timed perfectly.
Following the birth, we spent the next 2 days at the hospital in a room significantly smaller than the spacious delivery room. Lots of people came by to visit, which was great (you know who you are... thank you again), and we got a complimentary Stork menu meal through some family friends (again, you know who you are... and thank you very much), and several people sent or brought flowers and candy. We were also lucky enough to have great parents that took care of everything outside of the hospital for those two days so I could stay with Ashlei and Mia. As uncomfortable as the hospital was, I couldn't imagine having to leave Ashlei and Mia there to go take care of the dog, or pick up some clothes we forgot. So, to our parents, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.
When not showing off our new bundle to visitors, we spent most of the time learning our way around a baby, including breastfeeding, changing a diaper, dressing a squirming baby, and the art of the swaddle. We're still perfecting that last one. All in all it was a very smooth first few days, which was apparently the exception in the Maternity Care Unit of Howard County General for that week, as apparently they had a run of c-sections that were keeping the nurses busy.
The much talked about sleep deprivation that comes along with a baby wasted no time in making itself known to us... but interestingly not always due to the baby. Mia's clock was backwards, so she actually slept most of the day when not feeding, but was much more active at night. To avoid a total lack of sleep, we simply tried to napped when the baby napped. This would have been a perfect solution if the routine checks by the nurses had coincided with Mia's bizarro schedule. Since they didn't, our morning and evening naps were regularly interrupted. Don't get me wrong, the nurses were great. They helped us a lot in the first few days when we had stupid questions (you mean you're actually going to let us just walk out of here with a baby...just like that?), but the regular checks definitely left us a little worse for wear.
After 2 days, Mia had passed her hearing test, been given her first vaccine shot (Hep B), and both her and Ashlei were discharged with clean bills of health. We were excited to finally take our baby home. We got everything packed and ready to go, put Mia in the car seat and she promptly wailed like a banshee. After a short delay so that Ashlei could feed Mia, we were finally on our way home.
Oh, and as for all of those preparations I mentioned in my previous post:
(1) the phone list - I left it in the car and never used it. I had to wing it with stealth inquiries into my cell phones phone book (cell phones are supposed to always be turned off in the delivery room).
(2) bags - we packed several bags: snacks, entertainment, and clothes. We barely touched the snacks, and never required much entertainment. It sure would have been a lot less to lug around if we had just bought clothes... rookie mistake.
(3) Ashlei off of work - this was one we timed perfectly.
The Arrival
A quick recap to get you up to speed...
Ashlei started going into labor around 6 pm on Monday the 4th, and her water broke around 9:00. We called the OB's answering service since it was after hours and got a quick callback with instructions to head to the hospital. We had prepared everything ahead of time: made a phone list of who to call and when, packed several bags with the things we thought we would need for a 2 day stay at the hospital, and Ashlei was already off of work. With all of the preparation, it still felt frantic from the excitement.
Thankfully the hospital is close to our house, and we were checked into a delivery room by 9:30 pm. After a quick initial exam it was pretty obvious that the baby was most definitely on its way. By 11:00 pm Ashlei was 8 cm dilated (she was 3cm at check-in), but in tremendous pain from virtually non-stop contractions. We didn't really take any visitors due to the constant contractions, other than parents poking their heads in as they arrived.
It was around 11:30 or so when Ashlei opted for an epidural, fearing she wouldn't having the energy to push when the time came. So many people say they want to deliver naturally, but my lesson from this is that there is no way you can proclaim that ahead of time, you just don't know how things are going to go. The epidural helped tremendously, and quickly turned the delivery room from a no-go zone into a lounge. Everyone was able to come in and hang out... yep, hang out. I have to admit, it was a bit odd to see everyone lounging around in the delivery room like it was a cocktail party while I watched contractions go by on the hospital monitors (Ashlei could feel them, but only enough so she knew they were happening, not so much that it even changed her mood). At some point, I'm not exactly sure when, the OB did an exam and told Ashlei it was time to start pushing.
The nurse did some quick preparations, and ran through the process (which, as good educated parents we already knew from our classes... more on the classes later). It would likely take 1 1/2 to 2 hours of pushing, and the baby would be delivered. So, Ashlei started pushing... having never given birth before, we relied on feedback from the nurse on how the pushing was progressing, which is where the epidural comes back into play. The nurse was giving feedback on things to do, but because of the epidural Ashlei couldn't really apply what she was saying to any specific muscular instructions... so we started a process of trial and error to find something that worked. After about an hour, nothing was working, and we started to consider turning off the epidural and letting it drain out Ashlei's system a bit so she had a little more control. That's when the nurse did another exam and found part of the amniotic sac had not fully ruptured and was blocking the baby from coming out. The OB came in and took care of that, and combined with the discovery of a pushing position that worked, pushing was finally working. After about half an hour, the nurse called in the OB for the final delivery.
Only those that have experienced the moments that follow can truly understand the emotions that come over you as you see your baby for the first time. She has blood all over, is covered in "the cheese" (vernix), and generally just looks weird... but at the same time is the most beautiful thing you have ever seen.
I'm not a particularly emotional person, and actually pride myself on being able to be rational in most situations... but this was not one of those situations. As soon as Mia delivered, a wave of emotion that I cannot even explain came over me. I hugged and kissed Ashlei, and cried. I don't recall ever shedding tears of joy, and have never even truly understood their existence, but yet there I was... crying like a baby.
Ashlei started going into labor around 6 pm on Monday the 4th, and her water broke around 9:00. We called the OB's answering service since it was after hours and got a quick callback with instructions to head to the hospital. We had prepared everything ahead of time: made a phone list of who to call and when, packed several bags with the things we thought we would need for a 2 day stay at the hospital, and Ashlei was already off of work. With all of the preparation, it still felt frantic from the excitement.
Thankfully the hospital is close to our house, and we were checked into a delivery room by 9:30 pm. After a quick initial exam it was pretty obvious that the baby was most definitely on its way. By 11:00 pm Ashlei was 8 cm dilated (she was 3cm at check-in), but in tremendous pain from virtually non-stop contractions. We didn't really take any visitors due to the constant contractions, other than parents poking their heads in as they arrived.
It was around 11:30 or so when Ashlei opted for an epidural, fearing she wouldn't having the energy to push when the time came. So many people say they want to deliver naturally, but my lesson from this is that there is no way you can proclaim that ahead of time, you just don't know how things are going to go. The epidural helped tremendously, and quickly turned the delivery room from a no-go zone into a lounge. Everyone was able to come in and hang out... yep, hang out. I have to admit, it was a bit odd to see everyone lounging around in the delivery room like it was a cocktail party while I watched contractions go by on the hospital monitors (Ashlei could feel them, but only enough so she knew they were happening, not so much that it even changed her mood). At some point, I'm not exactly sure when, the OB did an exam and told Ashlei it was time to start pushing.
The nurse did some quick preparations, and ran through the process (which, as good educated parents we already knew from our classes... more on the classes later). It would likely take 1 1/2 to 2 hours of pushing, and the baby would be delivered. So, Ashlei started pushing... having never given birth before, we relied on feedback from the nurse on how the pushing was progressing, which is where the epidural comes back into play. The nurse was giving feedback on things to do, but because of the epidural Ashlei couldn't really apply what she was saying to any specific muscular instructions... so we started a process of trial and error to find something that worked. After about an hour, nothing was working, and we started to consider turning off the epidural and letting it drain out Ashlei's system a bit so she had a little more control. That's when the nurse did another exam and found part of the amniotic sac had not fully ruptured and was blocking the baby from coming out. The OB came in and took care of that, and combined with the discovery of a pushing position that worked, pushing was finally working. After about half an hour, the nurse called in the OB for the final delivery.
Only those that have experienced the moments that follow can truly understand the emotions that come over you as you see your baby for the first time. She has blood all over, is covered in "the cheese" (vernix), and generally just looks weird... but at the same time is the most beautiful thing you have ever seen.
I'm not a particularly emotional person, and actually pride myself on being able to be rational in most situations... but this was not one of those situations. As soon as Mia delivered, a wave of emotion that I cannot even explain came over me. I hugged and kissed Ashlei, and cried. I don't recall ever shedding tears of joy, and have never even truly understood their existence, but yet there I was... crying like a baby.
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