Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
1 month old!
Anthony had his one month well baby check up today and weighed in the 95th percentile at 11 lbs, 7 ounces. His is 22.75 inches long (75th percentile) and his noggin is 38.6 cm (60th percentile). He was a very good boy at the doctor. He didn't cry at all. I suppose by now he's pretty used to doctors.
He still sleeps quite a bit though not as much as he has been. He's sleeping for longer stretches at night, usually one long stretch of either 4 or 5 hours. Then he's up for 2 hours and back asleep for another 3.
He's got crazy strong neck muscles. It's impossible to carry him with one hand as I remember doing with Ava. 
Big sister is still adjusting to the notion of having a baby brother in the house. She does a little better each day. She gets upset if I try to do things, like help her get dressed, with one hand as I hold the baby. She says "No! Both hands!" Other than occasional comments like those she's warming up to him a little more each day. 
We're enjoying our baby boy! Monday, August 16, 2010
Anthony comes home
I'm a little overwhelmed by the back log of photos I have to post so I'm just going to post a random sampling with dates here.
7/27: We're soooooooo glad to be home. We're arguing over who gets the first shower through gritted teeth here. The answer is me. We'd been wearing the same clothes for three days while staying with Anthony at the Children's Hospital. 
Once inside, Anthony surveys his new digs.
On 7/29 Anthony had his first well baby appointment. He weighed 8 lbs, 3.5 ounces. 
7/30:
7/31:
8/7:
On 8/12 I swear Anthony smiled at Ava:
8/15. Ava is very calm here in the face of Anthony's obvious rage.
8/16: Anthony is wiped out from a morning out around town. We met Mike at work to walk to Anthony's post-surgery follow up appointment. He weighed in at a whopping 11 pounds! 
Goodbye Stump - Hello Baths!
Anthony's umbilical cord stump fell off today! We also had his three week surgical follow-up today. The surgeon said Anthony's scars are healing well which means we can now start giving Anthony real baths! Anthony's pumped about this news. Here he is posing with his stump.
Ava samples baby gear
Ava "nursing" her doll on an airline neck pillow:
Ava in car seat:
Ava wearing a 6-9 month baby shirt Anthony received as a gift.
Ava in Anthony's hand-me-down bouncy seat.
Ava on the play gym:
Ava in the Moses basket:
Ava on the baby blanket Nana made for Anthony:
Ava in the bouncy seat:
Ava in car seat:
Ava wearing a 6-9 month baby shirt Anthony received as a gift.
Ava in Anthony's hand-me-down bouncy seat.
Ava on the play gym:
Ava in the Moses basket:
Ava on the baby blanket Nana made for Anthony:
Ava in the bouncy seat:
A Baby Story
So..uh...I had a baby! I'm quite behind on blogging so here's a long overdue recap of the big day.
Here is the final belly photo taken as I was leaving for the hospital at around 1:00 pm on Friday, July 23rd. This photo was in between contractions that were about 2 minutes apart. I'd been having contractions since Wednesday afternoon but by Friday morning they were very regular and very painful. I also suspected that I'd been leaking amniotic fluid since some time on Thursday but I wasn't entirely sure. We decided to visit the hospital just to check whether my fluid had broken. We thought there was about a 50% chance I'd be sent home.
Nope! Not going home! I was admitted to the hospital after a litmus test of sorts confirmed that my fluid had indeed ruptured. The hospital was full of women having babies and I had to wait for some time in the triage room for a labor and delivery room to open up. Finally, I was moved at about 4 pm. Mike went to get some dinner and when he returned I was sprawled out on a birthing ball in extreme pain. Suddenly, I had a large contraction and my water really broke. At that point all hell broke loose and I went from 3 cm to 8 cm dilated within 20 mins. I was pleading for the anesthesiologist as the nurses prepared the room for delivery. I panicked as I saw the birthing equipment being rushed into the room. The nurses, thinking there was no time for an epidural, assured me that I would be able to deliver the baby without drugs but I wasn't so sure. I had not prepared myself for an unmedicated birth and I was not handling it well. Here's a view of my "off the chart" contractions (bottom graph).
At the 11th hour the epidural was administered and things slowed down. I was able to relax and let my body labor the baby down without pain. I rested, smiled, and praised the field of anesthesiology. 
After letting my body do most of the work (without pain!), it was time to push. I pushed with every contraction for about an hour and at 9:35 Anthony Michael made his entrance into the world. The doctor plopped him on my belly and I was screaming "Oh my God! It's a BOY! It's a BOY!" I was completely shocked. 
He was pretty ticked off. He cried and cried. 
In those first few hours he was actually most happy when Mike was holding him. He stopped crying in his arms. Mike was awesome during the delivery and surprised me the next day with a bouquet of roses! 
At around midnight we walked down to post-partum all aglow and adrenaline fueled. Anthony was taken for his assessment and bath. Mike and I raided the post-partum parent's pantry for ice cream and juice and recapped the night's events as we eagerly awaiting Anthony's return. The lighting was soft and the room was warm and cozy. It was a perfect evening.
The next morning Ava arrived to meet her baby brother whom she calls "Amfony".
On Sunday, as were were about to be discharged, it was discovered that Anthony had an incarcerated inguinal hernia. We were told to go immediately to University Hospital ER to be admitted into the Children's Hospital for possible emergency surgery. This was quite a shock. We had to quickly depart and say goodbye to a very sad Ava who thought we were coming home with her. Once we got to hospital an ultrasound was performed to see if the intestine was being strangulated. It wasn't, thankfully, so the surgery could wait until Monday. Anthony was hooked up to monitors and wires and put in a scary looking metal crib. It was a real challenge to nurse him will all those wires tethered to the monitors. I was glad I at least knew how to nurse and change a diaper and could therefore adapt to the additional challenges. I joked to the nurses several times that I would have had to have been medicated myself had this all be going on with Ava. The surgery happened on Monday afternoon and we were gratefully released on Tuesday around lunchtime. 
Here is the final belly photo taken as I was leaving for the hospital at around 1:00 pm on Friday, July 23rd. This photo was in between contractions that were about 2 minutes apart. I'd been having contractions since Wednesday afternoon but by Friday morning they were very regular and very painful. I also suspected that I'd been leaking amniotic fluid since some time on Thursday but I wasn't entirely sure. We decided to visit the hospital just to check whether my fluid had broken. We thought there was about a 50% chance I'd be sent home.Nope! Not going home! I was admitted to the hospital after a litmus test of sorts confirmed that my fluid had indeed ruptured. The hospital was full of women having babies and I had to wait for some time in the triage room for a labor and delivery room to open up. Finally, I was moved at about 4 pm. Mike went to get some dinner and when he returned I was sprawled out on a birthing ball in extreme pain. Suddenly, I had a large contraction and my water really broke. At that point all hell broke loose and I went from 3 cm to 8 cm dilated within 20 mins. I was pleading for the anesthesiologist as the nurses prepared the room for delivery. I panicked as I saw the birthing equipment being rushed into the room. The nurses, thinking there was no time for an epidural, assured me that I would be able to deliver the baby without drugs but I wasn't so sure. I had not prepared myself for an unmedicated birth and I was not handling it well. Here's a view of my "off the chart" contractions (bottom graph).At the 11th hour the epidural was administered and things slowed down. I was able to relax and let my body labor the baby down without pain. I rested, smiled, and praised the field of anesthesiology. After letting my body do most of the work (without pain!), it was time to push. I pushed with every contraction for about an hour and at 9:35 Anthony Michael made his entrance into the world. The doctor plopped him on my belly and I was screaming "Oh my God! It's a BOY! It's a BOY!" I was completely shocked. He was pretty ticked off. He cried and cried. In those first few hours he was actually most happy when Mike was holding him. He stopped crying in his arms. Mike was awesome during the delivery and surprised me the next day with a bouquet of roses! At around midnight we walked down to post-partum all aglow and adrenaline fueled. Anthony was taken for his assessment and bath. Mike and I raided the post-partum parent's pantry for ice cream and juice and recapped the night's events as we eagerly awaiting Anthony's return. The lighting was soft and the room was warm and cozy. It was a perfect evening.
The next morning Ava arrived to meet her baby brother whom she calls "Amfony".On Sunday, as were were about to be discharged, it was discovered that Anthony had an incarcerated inguinal hernia. We were told to go immediately to University Hospital ER to be admitted into the Children's Hospital for possible emergency surgery. This was quite a shock. We had to quickly depart and say goodbye to a very sad Ava who thought we were coming home with her. Once we got to hospital an ultrasound was performed to see if the intestine was being strangulated. It wasn't, thankfully, so the surgery could wait until Monday. Anthony was hooked up to monitors and wires and put in a scary looking metal crib. It was a real challenge to nurse him will all those wires tethered to the monitors. I was glad I at least knew how to nurse and change a diaper and could therefore adapt to the additional challenges. I joked to the nurses several times that I would have had to have been medicated myself had this all be going on with Ava. The surgery happened on Monday afternoon and we were gratefully released on Tuesday around lunchtime. Monday, July 5, 2010
Catching Up
Here's my 36 week photo. I love how Ava's head is partially obstructed by my big belly! Notice more loot behind me...my friends at work surprised me with a baby shower! I didn't have my camera that day so I'll need to upload some photos from Mike's phone later. They tricked me into thinking that I was heading to a meeting. I can't believe all the the work they did. I got a diaper cake, diaper wreath and a diaper bassinet! I also had a onsie-shaped cake, lots of great snacks and great gifts! It was awesome!
Here's a great photo of Ava doing her thing. I love her fashion sense. Love it!
This photo really freaks me out because Ava looks like she's about 15. 
37 weeks pregnant. The nesting bug has bit me hard. I wish it had bit a little earlier in the pregnancy because physically, this nesting is killing me. Mentally, I can't stop! I reorganized all the kitchen cabinets today for the first time since moving into the house 6 years ago. I can't sleep tonight because I'm just itching to do more projects. I need to go back to work tomorrow so I can rest!
Here's my little angel on July 4th modeling a dress her Nana made for cousin Ella a few years ago. 
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