Another First!

Tonight we have another first...Anniston is taking her first nap in her crib, not in her bouncy seat, not in the rocker next to our bed, and not in our arms. She has now slept for about an hour and twenty minutes in her real bed. maybe she will sleep there all night, we will see. Last week we tried this, and daddy wasn't quite ready for it yet.

Surprise visitor!

Today, June 28 Anniston got a treat. Late this afternoon, we found out that Grandpa Rhoads was playing golf just down the road from the house, and he wanted to come see Anniston. We said sure, but she has been a little rotten all day! She has not slept much today, she has kept Andrea up, and busy all day. Well, when Grandpa Rhoads got a hold of her, she calmed right down, and sat with her Grandpa for a while. We learned that my parenting, little did I know it, is based on how my Grandma Rhoads raised her kids. My dad was talking to Anniston, and Andrea thought it sounded just like me, at which point my dad informed us, that is how Grandma Rhoads did it. WHO KNEW!

Well, it seems that Anniston was not the only one who was tired...apparently they both were, and we caught them both napping!



Anniston slept some more in her bouncy seat, and the grown ups had dinner. It was nice to see dad on a Tuesday, but we really know he was only here to see his grand daughter.

June 25, 2011

On June 25, Anniston had a big day. She went on her longest car ride yet. We drove the hour up to visit my parents house, and to our delight, she slept the whole way. Once we arrived, She got to meet a lot more new people. It started with her Uncle Trent, and his wife Aunt Sarah. Then she got to meet her Great Grandpa, Grandpa Rhoads. This is his first great grand daughter, and it was a special moment for me, that he got to meet her.



We took a Rhoads Family photo. I also took one of the four generations, but it did not turn out too good, I will redo it in a couple weeks, with a better lighting setup!


It was a busy day. But we needed to get home. Abbey still does not travel well, and she had been at home for a long time without supervision, and it was time to go make sure she behaved during her first quiet time since Anniston's arrival. Anniston slept all the way home, again to our delight and amazement.

First Night Off!!

Andrea and I got to have our first night "Off Duty". While Steev was visiting, Andrea's brother called to ask if we would like their family to come over and watch Anniston so that the three of us could go out to dinner. We figured, no better family to watch Anniston on our first night off, they have successfully raised two kids, that are now 7 and 10, so they are more than competent! And, we knew that our niece Rory really wanted to get to see Anniston again.



Anniston and her cousin Rory, you can start to see the red coming out in Anniston's hair, I think she is going to look a lot like Rory.



And Anniston with her other cousin Ethan.



We were very appreciative of the Byrd family coming over on a work night, and hanging out with Anniston and letting us go out to dinner. We enjoyed our time out, but at the end of the night, we were ready to be back home with out little girl.

Week Two Doctor''s Appointment

On Wednesday morning, June 23, 2011, Anniston had her two week doctor's appointment. The doctor wanted to make sure she was gaining weight...and gain weight she did, over 1 pound in a week. She went from 8 pounds 9.5 ounces all the way to 9 pounds 10 ounces. Safe to say she is eating enough, but we could have told you that. She is now in the 95% for her height, the girl loves to eat.

June 21, 2011

On June 21, 2011 Anniston got to meet my friend Steev from San Francisco. I have known Steev for going on 17 years now. We got lucky that Steev was on his way through Atlanta, and could make a pit stop and spend a couple days. I never thought I would see the day that Steev held a baby, but that day has come.



Steev got to see Anniston at her best, and worst in the two days he spent with us. I know we enjoyed the visit, I hope he did too.

Been a little busy...

I know we have not provided much in the way of updates lately...sorry, it has been a little busy around here. So, tonight I am going to see how caught up I can get, lets see if the laptop battery lasts long enough!

First Father's Day

Well, we all know today is Fathers Day. It was a special day for me, and I was able to spend it at home, with Andrea, Anniston, and later in the day my dad. It was a good day.

Me, Anniston and my dad...on his first Grandpa's Day!


Our little family, even Abbey got into the picture.


And I got to wear my newest addition to my T Shirt collection...Thanks Gramps Byrd!


It was a good day. Anniston has had her bedtime feeding a little early, I think she burned off her dinner bottle too fast with the company we had today. So, we are going to try to turn in a little early tonight. I have to return to work tomorrow...lets hope I don't loose too much sleep tonight.

Saturday June 18, 2011

Today has been a better day. We did not wake up until 11:15, something I have not done since I was on summer break from High School...but after last night, we needed to sleep.

Anniston has done good today, she has slept better, fed better, and everyone feels a little better. We did not do much today, mostly sat on the couch watching the US Open Gold Tourney...I kept telling Anniston that one day I would be walking the ropes as she played in the US Women's Open...

Let's hope that tonight goes a little better. Anniston is waking up at the moment, so we shall find out sooner than later!

Things are falling OFF!

Things are falling off...of Anniston. During the bedtime feeding that went wrong last night, I was feeding her, and heard something hit the floor. I looked down, to see the dried up stump of what used to be her umbilical chord. HOORAY! It will be easier to put her diaper on now. I will take a picture of it, why would I not. But, I won't post it, to spare those like Andrea who think that a dried up umbilical chord is gross, and can barely look at them. It is just another sign, that she is getting older already.

Apologies

I must extend my apologies to my wonderful daughter. My post in the wee hours of last night, this morning, were not really fair to her. Not really fair to Andrea either. The two of us were really frustrated, and we think we might have figured out the cause of Anniston's late night fussy spells. Something that ought to be in the instructions...it seems that powder formula, should not be served right after its made. Reason, I have no clue, Andrea read it today. It should sit for a few hours in the fridge, BEFORE being served. If it is served immediately, it causes gas, fussiness, and an upset tummy. What did we start doing yesterday, using powder formula, and what were we doing...making it an serving it. None the less, we have decided to try the "Sensitive" formula, and so far, it has seemed to make a difference. Anniston has not been as fidgety, fussy, or burpy during feeding, and has gone to sleep better after feeding.

We originally thought that Anniston was a really sound sleeper, like her mother. As time goes by, it seems she is more of a light sleeper, like her father. The smallest noises when she is sleeping cause her to spasm out, and while it is fun to watch the faces and reactions, it doesn't let her sleep. And if she doesn't sleep...well, neither do we.

So, here is to hoping that she does better with this new formula in the bed time feeding tonight.

1:37 AM

It is 1:37 AM, we went upstairs tonight at 10:30...Anniston has cried, slept for five minutes, then cried for 20, mom and I have switched off a few times now, and nothing we do, makes this child happy...who threw away the Owner's Manual...where are the instructions for this baby, because we need them right about now.

Whats New?

Anyone following this is probably wondering whats new. Not a whole lot really, as hard as that might be to believe.

We are trying to settle into some sort of routine, although, it will require some revision once I go back to work next week. We are 2-3 hours off our normal routine. Andrea and I probably seem like old folks to the rest of our generation, we rarely see 11 PM on the clock during the week. We typically try to be heading to bed around 10 PM. For the last week, we have not gone to bed before 12:30 AM, most nights the bed time feeding, diaper changing, feeding, diaper changing routine has been ending around 1:30 am. And that is if Anniston cooperates, and goes to sleep fast. Something she has decided not to do lately...unless mom is involved. Anniston likes to fall asleep at her pace, not ours. She still likes to fall asleep in our hands, and not in a traditional position.

This was last night...she will sleep a bit, then open an eye to see what she might be missing, then fall asleep again.


I suspect that my chance to get a good photo of the steel gray that Anniston's eyes were, is past. They have already started to darken, and I am not sure, but I suspect they are turning brown. I am a bit upset about that. Nothing against brown eyes, I have them, Andrea has them, lots of people have them, but I kinda hoped that she might have bright blue or green eyes. Not sure why, just wanted them to be a color other than brown.

Well, that needs to be it for tonight, mom is sleeping on the couch, and Anniston is coming out of a 4 hour nap. Which usually means that the diaper/feeding/diaper/feeding routine is about to get under way again.

So good night to you all...or as we say in our house now, "good nap"!

She is One...

...one week old. She has been with us for a week now. It has been fun, it has been tiring, it has been a learning experience, and it is harder than we thought it would be, but we are up to the challenge. She is a joy and a blessing, and I think she is going to teach us a lot in the next weeks, months and years to come.

A couple of firsts.

Tuesday was a long day. Not just because it was 24 hours, but because a certain someone decided to cause a little trouble.

Anniston decided that Tuesday was as good a day as any for her first full stomach clearing spit up...yep, she had just eaten and decided she didn't like the formula from that bottle, and emptied the contents of her stomach onto mom, the couch and the floor! Anyone that knows me, probably knows that I am not good with vomit, from cats, dogs, and especially humans. Everyone always told me that when it was my own child, that I would magically be ok with it. Being a bit skeptic, I have been very cautious and weary during feeding time. To my surprise, I did not flinch when helping Andrea during the ordeal...good thing, since it happened again to me at 1:45 AM this morning, when Anniston decided to do it again.

After her early evening stomach clearing, we decided that Anniston needed to have her first bath. She did not enjoy it like one might have guessed. I think she was cold. We got her cleaned up, and dried off, then got her warm again. She slept good for a while, and then decided to keep me up for a little over 3 hours in the early morning hours. At one point, I was back downstairs watching the 24 Hours of Lemans on TV...maybe she will enjoy watching racing on TV with me one day.

Anniston finally nodded off at 3:30 am, and we were able to go back to sleep. I used to have a tough time going to sleep...and I have long been a notoriously light sleeper...not any more.

Tuesday was a long day...but it was just one more day of learning for us.

More Guests!

Just because we came home, does not mean that we would not have anymore guests.

The first person Anniston needed to meet, was not a person at all. She needed to meet Abbey, and Abbey needed to meet Anniston. For those that don't know her, Abbey is the almost 4 year old Shih Tzu that thinks she runs our house.



We had an idea that Abbey would be ok around Anniston. She had met another baby not too long ago, and tolerated having her ears nearly pulled from her head, and didn't even flinch. Abbey is still not exactly sure what we came home with, but she seems to be ok. She has begged for a little more attention than usual, but she seems to be adapting ok.

Anniston was then visited by some family members that did not get to meet her on Wednesday night. One of those people was her great grandmother. Nana was unable to stay on Wednesday night, it was a late night, and it wound up being a really late night. She was so happy to be able to hold Anniston for the first time.



Nan was joined by Andrea's Aunt Connie and Cousin April.





We also found out that Anniston really likes her bouncy seat. Its a seat on metal legs that bounces, and has a little oscillating motor in its base that creates soothing vibrations in the seat. She likes it a lot, she sleeps really good in it.



Later in the evening, Andrea got into the photography fun. I had finished feeding Anniston, and she has taken a liking to falling asleep in the palm of my hand after eating. With a little direction, Andrea took this picture.




A few hours, a couple diapers and a couple more bottles, it was time to go to bed. We had another long day, and it was time for all of us to get some sleep.

TIME TO GO!

I am a day behind...please excuse me, our plate is just a tad full.


Sunday morning June 12, 2011, we got our discharge papers, and it was time for us to go home. While Andrea might have enjoyed another night in the hospital, I was ready to go home.

A couple of weeks ago, we went to Babies R Us, and picked out a couple of different outfits as options for Anniston to come home in. We were trying to be prepared for how big she might be. So we put on the newborn outfit that we bought, because she might not be able to wear newborn size clothes for long. Anniston does NOT like to have her clothes taken off, and she does not like to have them changed. It is a very tiring process for her, and when it was all said and done, she needed a nap.



Our transporter arrived, and helped us get our belongings out to the car. I pulled the cart full of stuff, and he pushed Andrea and Anniston out in a wheel chair.





I was glad our transporter was there, he knew more about how to loosen the belts on the car seat than I did. It was frustrating, yesterday morning I read the instruction manual cover to cover, well I skipped the half that was in Spanish, and I did not recall the manual telling you how to loosen the belts. But we got Anniston snugged in.

The drive home, was probably my biggest source of stress and anxiety once we got past the "C" Section. I was completely paranoid. And anyone who has spent much time on the roads in Atlanta, can appreciate that. We made it home safely, and for that I was incredibly thankful.

We were finally home, and the next phase of this new journey we are on can begin.

Not done YET!

Anyone who has ever changed a diaper has had it happen...the more experienced parents probably see it coming, and know what is about to happen...I am not one of those more experienced parents...but thankfully, Anniston does not have a whole lot of pressure behind her stream just yet. As I was changing another diaper tonight, she let me know she wasn't quite done ruining the one I had just taken off. It was not a dramatic moment, and I think I thought fast on my feet to overt what could have been a bigger mess than it was. The funniest thing about it...I had given her ample time to finish that diaper off, I think she waited until it was off, to make me pay for taking it off!

A Day in review...June 11, 2011

Today has been another new day, and it has presented itself with new challenges. Those new challenges began, at just about the same time the clock on the wall rolled past midnight. Anniston spent most of last night, awake, crying, being fed, filling diapers, crying some more, and in general, not sleeping. It was so different than the previous two nights, in that, I could not figure out what would make her happy. Nothing worked, and being as tired as I was after the days leading up to last night, I was beginning to get frustrated...that is when mom stepped in to save the night. Andrea was feeling better than she had, and she took over, and told me to take a break and get some rest. While I proceeded to essentially pass out on my make shift bed, Andrea stayed up with Anniston, feeding her, rocking her in the chair, and doing everything she could to make her comfy. She did not sleep much, and neither did Anniston. But it allowed me to catch up a little.

The morning came...and magically, Anniston decided it was time to sleep. Wonderful timing. Too bad we did not get to take naps with her.

We had more visitors today. Bridgett came by, and spent a fair amount of time holding Anniston, doing what she loves, rocking in the chair.

Our friends Kim, and Teresa and her husband Andrew also came to visit. We all had a good time, and laughed harder than we should have, especially Andrea. Of course, Anniston slept through most of it, despite many failed attempts to get her to wake up.





The last event for the day, the Photographers that work out of the hospital came to visit. We had a short photo shoot with Anniston as the main subject. It was fun,and of course we bought a CD of the photos. I thought with modern technology, we might have them today, but it will be sometime next week before we get them. That is gonna be tough on my expectation of instant gratification in this modern era! That's ok though, I think I have taken a lot of pictures that will help me pass the time.

Like this one from this morning...

June 11, 2011

In yesterday's 3 PM post, I mentioned commotion in the hallway and the nursery across from our room. I forgot to mention what all that was.

When we went on the lap around the 4th floor, we noticed that in the nursery across from us, a TV crew had setup shop, and was preparing to do something, at the time we did not know what. When we finished our lap, our nurse, Rita; one of the saints we have met here, informs us that the Director of the Northside Women's Center is filming a PSA in conjunction with The March of Dimes about not delivering babies before 39 weeks without medical necessity.

SIDEBAR ALERT
I didn't know that people would intentionally, without medical reason, induce delivery of a baby that had not gone full term. But, apparently, that is not so uncommon, and Northside is in agreement with the MoD, that is not a practice they promote.

Back on topic...sorry...anyway, the Director was filming this PSA in a nursery not being used at the time, and they wanted to have 3 babies in the background, and Rita asked if we wanted Anniston to be involved...we figured, why not. We dressed her up, wrapped her in a pink polka dotted receiving blanket, and let her be a part of it.

The commercials will air in July, on Channel 2 locally, and we will receive a copy of the PSA. It was kinda fun, and a good cause if you ask me.

This is the whole setup, the pink arrow points to Anniston, she behaved the whole time!

Day 2 draws to a close...

Day 2 is drawing to what would normally be the close of another day...it is just symbolic, nothing is really over, we are just in transition.

Day 2 brought more guests, and the taking of more pictures.

We let her have her little hands out for a while today. They are so much bigger than I expected, but yet, they are so tiny.



Andrea's brother and his wife, and their two kids, Ethan and Rory came to visit today. Rory was so excited to see Anniston, her face lit up like Christmas morning when she got to see her.



Because Andrea was feeling better today, she got to spend more time holding Anniston. She got to feed her a couple of times, and just spend some more time bonding with her.



I have been trying to capture the current color of her eyes, they are a pretty steel gray. I know they have a good chance of changing, and I have tried to capture that current color, with little real success. I will try some more tomorrow.



For now, she is sleeping, and I hope to be doing the same soon. Good night everyone.

9:30 PM

In the last hour, Anniston has eaten more than she has yet, and she has soiled 3 diapers. She had been so predictable up until 8:30 tonight, then she did what they do, threw us for a loop. But she is now dry, full, and asleep...hopefully for a long enough time for mom and dad to get some rest.

6:45 PM

Both mom and Anniston are down for a nap. Anniston is a good eater, and a good sleeper. So far.

I had a lot of respect for full time moms before, now I have more respect, and a better understanding...it is almost 7PM, I am tired, kinda hungry, and need a nap too.

3:00 PM

Andrea completed Lap #2 of the halls here at Northside 4th floor, she is leading the new mom Grand Prix! This lap she set her personal best time, and is without too much pain.

When we got back to the room, we found out what all the commotion was in the halls. More on that later!

June 10: 10:45 AM

Andrea complete her first lap around the floor we are on. She has to do this 4 times today. She held onto the rolling crib, and pushed it around the loop on the floor, and did a great job. She didn't get light headed, or have any pain. Her reward, a nice warm shower! She is very excited about that, she has not had a shower since Wednesday morning.

Anniston is off to the nursery for a bit, so that Andrea can shower, and so can . We are expecting another wave of visitors today, and we want to get cleaned up and presentable.

Day One

I will call June 9, 2011 Day One. But to be honest, there is no real separation of days, one day technically ends and another begins, and it all starts to look the same and run together.

Yesterday was full of visitors, dirty diapers, one zombie walk, and progress for mom.

Family, friends, and co-workers all came to visit yesterday, and it helped to pass the time. I am sure that Anniston enjoyed all of the attention, and she is certainly getting used to having her picture taken.

Mom made good progress yesterday, she got up more, moved around more, and started to get some of her strength back. Her IV came out late yesterday afternoon, and the epidural was removed in the middle of the night. So she is off the IV drip meds, and moved onto oral meds, and she doesn't like the way they make her feel. But she did get some good sleep last night, and so did I.

We made it through the first 24 hours, and no one panicked, no one freaked out, and we are all still alive and kicking, and in Anniston's case, sleeping.

I know that I am still sometimes overcome with the emotions of it all. I look at her, and am so amazed at the process of life, how two people combine to make one new one, and that new on takes on the qualities of both. It truly is a life changing experience, to hold your first child in your arms. People say that all the time, but you really never realize it, or believe it, until you go through it. We are so happy to be going through it.

June 9, 2011 7:00 AM

Anniston rejoined us in our room this morning. We decided to let her sleep in the nursery the first night, so that we could get some rest, and so that she could be monitored on her first night in the strange new world she is getting used to.

I got to feed her again this morning, and got to change a diaper! I think I did ok with that, but did terrible at wrapping her back up. I did it all wrong, and she was not happy about it. The nurse showed me how to do it right, and to not be afraid of hurting her, and she has been sleeping now for almost 2 hours.

At 10:30 this morning, the nurse team came in and got Andrea up and out of bed, and she did a great job. She was able to brush her teeth, and she is now sitting in the rocking chair next to Anniston asleep in the crib.

That makes us caught up for now...thanks to everyone for their well wishes throughout the last three days. We look forward to our visitors.

10:00 PM

In recovery, we were enjoying our time with our new baby girl...then I looked at the clock, and noticed that it was 10 PM. We had last seen family members at 7:45 PM, and they had all been waiting in the lobby to hear from us. I got Anniston bundled and in the crib to rest, and took the camera out to the lobby to find the family, and show them the first pictures of their new grand daughter.

After a short visit, and telling the story of the evenings events, I went back to recovery, and before too long Anniston was being moved up to the nursery, and Andrea was being moved up to the room we are in now. The nursery is right across the hall, so Anniston was not far away.

After her initial tests, and getting her security band, Anniston was allowed to come to our room, and the family could see her up close and in person for the first time.

June 8, 2011 8:16 PM

Anniston was brought into this world at 8:16 PM, weighing in at 8 pounds 12.4 ounces, and 20-3/4" inches long. She let out some small cries, and then put her lungs to work.

After what seemed like another eternity, they finally brought Anniston around the curtain for us to see and hold, her eyes were open, she was alert, and we were so incredibly happy to see her. Holding her for the first time is something that I will never forget, the connection and the bond was something that I can't put into words.

Shortly after that, they took Anniston and I back to recovery, and I could finally take her picture.


The recovery nurse did her usual inspections, and check to make sure Anniston was healthy. Her head had been somewhat sideways in the womb, and she had run out of room, and was left with a couple of light bruises and marks on her head and back, but nothing that won't go away. That told us that we made the right decision in opting for the "C" section.

Andrea came into recovery around 8:50 PM, and was still recovering from the anesthesia. I was able to bring Anniston to Andrea's bedside, and let her get a good look at her.

We had our baby girl, she was with us know, and we could not be happier.

June 8 7:30 PM

At 7:30 the mid wife informed us that there was no new progress, and no further dilation. She gave us the option of waiting 2 more hours before opting for the "C" Section. Andrea was having none of that. It had been a long emotional day, and it was time to go get this baby. So, at 8 PM they were wheeling Andrea into OR 3. I had to sit in the hall until they had everything prepped, and the doctors were scrubbed in. The 5 minutes out there, felt like an eternity. They finally came to get me, and escorted me around the OR, to Andrea's head, behind the curtains, and it was time to retrieve Anniston.

4:10 PM

The midwife was just in, checking for any dilation progress...we have none. Still the 2-3 cm she was at 7:40 this morning. Not great news, she is uncomfortable, numb from mid back down, and ready to see some progress.

The midwife will be back at 7:30, and if there has been no progress, they will likely have to send a baby recovery team in to get Anniston. Not what Andrea wanted, but it might bring some closure to this long part of the process.

1:20 PM

Ok, the Epidural is done. She was a real champ, she pulled through it, and is on the road to feeling less pain. Now, if this baby will just get here already.

We also have more visitors, Barbara, Charles, Richard and Diane are all here now.

10:40 AM

We have our first visitor...my mother has arrived. We are expecting more family between 12 and 1PM.

10:15 AM

Hello Fentanyl! It is like an instant 3 Margarita buzz...and it will help take the edge off the contractions. Andrea is relaxing now.

9:30 AM

The contractions have started, a while ago, and they are starting to actually be felt. Andrea said she wanted to know what a contraction felt like, now she does.

June 8, 2011:7:40 AM

The midwife broke her water at 7:40 AM...the Pitocin has started, let the games begin.

Today's The DAY!

June 8, 2011...hopefully that will be Anniston's birthday. We are both awake, Andrea has had a shower and is getting ready to take on the day. Outside of the hourly interruptions during the evening, we both got through the night ok. I am sure glad that the midwife told me to bring some Advil PM...without it, I would have been awake all night, which might have been good practice for the next 6 months!

The Pitosin should be starting once Andrea has gotten done with her shower, and then it will just be a matter of time. Hopefully we can convince this baby to come out to see us.

We are HERE!

After our nice leisurely drive to the Baby Factory known as Northside Hospital, we got checked into our labor and delivery room. The rooms are really big, with plenty of room to roam around, spread out, and do just about anything...too bad they did not provide a bigger place for dads to be to sleep.



They hooked Andrea up to a monitor to check the babies heart rate. It was pretty cool to see and hear her heartbeat.


As I write this, it is almost 6:30 PM, and the nurse is starting the IV, and has hooked the belly back up to the heart rate monitors.

There is not much to do while we wait, but we have a few movies to watch, and books to read...we will keep everyone updated as things progress.

Time to Go!

Time to GO! But not with much of a rush. It was actually kinda uneventful. We have had more stressful departures leaving for vacation or a trip to visit family. With everything being scheduled, it takes some of the stress off. It also means, that Andrea won't go into labor during rush hour on a Friday in Atlanta. It means her water won't break at work, something I am sure she is glad did not happen.

So, calmly, off we went.

Sunday June 5, 2011

At this point, it is just another date that won't be Anniston's birthday.

We are doing our best to be patient. I am doing some work to keep my mind occupied. We have another doctor's appointment tomorrow at lunch time. At that appointment we will schedule Andrea to be induced on Wednesday. That means we will head to the hospital on Tuesday evening to begin the process of telling her body to go into labor.

We of course will keep everyone posted, especially if something happens on its own before the doctors appointment.

Still waiting...

Andrea had another Dr. appointment yesterday, I went with her to this one. It seems that we had the due date off by one day, it is not today, June 1, it is tomorrow, June 2. Not that it matters, it also seems that Anniston is just hanging out, with no signs of making her grand appearance. So, another appointment was scheduled for next Monday, at which point we have to decide which day Andrea will be induced. They don't want her to go past next Thursday, June 8. That would be 41 weeks, and complications can start to rack up after that. So, we will keep you all posted.