Category: Family (Page 6 of 13)

So this weekend my son turned one month old. It had been about three and a half years since my second little girl had been born. So there were a lot of things I’d forgotten about babies. Here are a few I remembered and some new things as well.

• Babies are tiny! He was the biggest of our three kids. But I didn’t remember the other two being that small when they were born.
• I’d forgotten the unique smell of babies.
• A baby will fool you with the first few nights in the hospital. They sleep like a rock. It changes after the first few nights!
• Diapers fill up fast and constantly.
• When you change a baby boy’s diaper, there are more things you gotta check around to make sure you get everything wiped clean.
• When you change a baby boy’s diaper, you gotta do it faster, or you might get squirted!
• Babies like for you to pick them up. But most of the time, it’s not just enough to pick them up. You need to walk and sway in order to calm them.
• Your parents stop wanting to see you for a while, only their new grandbaby.
• Spit-up stinks.
• A baby’s coo can be one of the most soothing sounds.
• A baby’s shrill cry can make you want to put an ice pick through your temple!

My son. My baby boy.

All day long he sleeps and eats and sleeps and eats.  We try to get him to interact and look at us, smile, be awake. But he just goes right to sleep after eating.

But at night likes to be awake more. So I’m up blogging with one hand, watching a movie, and trying to get him to sleep.

Go me!

I looked the other day after Rowan was born to see who shared a birthday with him. There were quite a few. Here are a handful of them that I recognized:

• 1753 – Benjamin Thompson, American physicist and inventor (d. 1814)
• 1874 – Robert Frost, American poet (d. 1963)
• 1911 – Tennessee Williams, American dramatist (d. 1983)
• 1930 – Sandra Day O’Connor, U.S. Supreme Court Justice
• 1931 – Leonard Nimoy, American actor and director
• 1934 – Alan Arkin, American actor
• 1940 – James Caan, American actor
• 1940 – Nancy Pelosi, American politician and 60th Speaker of the House
• 1944 – Diana Ross, American singer (Supremes)
• 1948 – Richard Tandy, British keyboardist (Electric Light Orchestra)
• 1948 – Steven Tyler, American singer (Aerosmith)
• 1949 – Vicki Lawrence, American actress and singer
• 1950 – Teddy Pendergrass, American singer
• 1950 – Martin Short, Canadian comedian
• 1957 – Leeza Gibbons, American television host
• 1959 – Chris Hansen, American reporter and correspondent
• 1960 – Marcus Allen, American football player
• 1960 – Jennifer Grey, American actress
• 1962 – John Stockton, American basketball player
• 1968 – Kenny Chesney, American singer
• 1968 – James Iha, American musician (The Smashing Pumpkins and A Perfect Circle)
• 1973 – T.R. Knight, American actor
• 1976 – Amy Smart, American actress
• 1985 – Keira Knightley, English actress

So the wifi finally started working here in the hospital. Great that it did late the last night I’m here. But I’m fine with leaving tomorrow. It hasn’t been terrible. But my little “bed” leaves a lot to be desired. It’s after 1am and I’m delaying trying to get sleep in it. Maybe if I get really tired it will come easier.

The delivery wasn’t too dramatic. A few tense moments. And then the usual, “is that going to fit through there” moment. But things wound up smoothly.

The day was a normal one. But The Wife has regained some strength and brightness in her eyes. The Boy is seemingly doing fine. He slept really well last night. Not much of a peep. I hope that is a trend he continues over the next few years. He’s nursing well, but we’re still waiting on the milk to come in.

Tomorrow we go home. But we can’t go until we have a name. So I think we’re really close. Here are a few hints of what might happen. I say might because it’s apt to change between now and then.

• Maybe use one of my names.
• Maybe use a name from the Bible
• Maybe use a name of a friend
• Maybe use a name that is synonymous with local Oxford, MS culture.
• Maybe name him after Tim Riggins from Friday Night Lights.

We shall see…

Fresh out of his home he’d been living in the last 9 months. 

This is just after they wiped him down. He’s got that ointment in his eyes.

Ella was glad to be able to hold her little brother.

Both of the girls were…and are!

Addie got to see him last night. She was especially bubbly and excited. She’ll be a great help.

Another pic of Addie and her little brother. She wants to hold him by herself.

This is the you know what. (For you, Jeremy!)

The other day I was talking to a friend about my upcoming 3rd child. They remarked that since I live an hour from where we intend to deliver the baby, maybe I should brush up on a few tips on how to do it myself in case I don’t make it all the way there.

Now I’ve seen Little House On The Prairie before. I know you go get some clean sheets and boil some water. I can do that. But not if I’m on the side of the road or something. So I googled it. And man were there lots of articles about it. Even a couple of videos that I’ve not watched yet.

Most of the advice makes sense (remain calm, how the mother remove her lower clothing, wash your hands, call for help, support the baby’s head, etc.). But some was new to me (Apply gentle pressure with one hand to the area below the opening as the baby’s head starts to come out, Guide the first shoulder out, Hold the delivered baby with two hands, keeping its head down (about 45 degree angle) to allow fluids to drain.)

One of the surprising ones was to not tie off or cut the umbilical cord. It says you’re supposed to wait for the placenta and place it up next to the baby on the mother’s abdomen.

BUT…I hope I don’t have to remember all of this. Things seem to be quite normal today. We’re a week out from our due date…

In the past I don’t know that we really packed any bags in preparation for going to the hospital. We lived within five minutes from the hospital. So if we really needed anything, either I could run get it, or we could have someone run a quick errand for us.

But now we live an hour from the hospital. And when it’s time to go, we want to be able to hit the road without confusion. So we packed some clothes in the bags and left them in the hallway. True, our due date is still about 10 days away. But you never know. And when The Wife tells you she’s feeling a little “tightness” now and then…I want to be ready.

Now The Wife says that it’s not really contractions. And I trust her. She’s had two of these things happen before. But this is also the same woman who didn’t make it INTO the hospital last time we had a child. We were in the parking lot. So…just trying to be ready.

I didn’t ever realize we had any books called Fancy Nancy. But then my wife said that our girls should go to a Fancy Nancy Party at Square Books Junior. Hmmm. Maybe they should. Turns out, Fancy Nancy is a little girl who likes to dress up a lot and use big words. And our girls like those books.

So we went to the party. I think I was the only dad there. There might have been one more, but I think he was like me and trying to act like I didn’t belong to the fancy stuff.

But the girls dressed up (my wife must have thought that tie dye clothes and high heels were fancy), had a story read to them, had some snack, did some coloring, and then made a wand. They also got some sort of fan as they left.

They had a good time. Here are some pics.

Ella also liked to play in the kitchen there at the bookstore.