Month: February 2009

Just a few more pictures:

Alex wasn’t too happy about his first real bath, but we had a lot of fun.

(Notice Wade’s strategically placed thumb.)

Wade and I are enjoying quiet evenings at home – or they might be quiet if Alex didn’t get upset. Tonight he wasn’t too happy, but between the bouncy seat and Wade he seemed to calm down.

We’ve had quite a few people over to see Alex, but nobody was as excited as Nate and Amy. Alex was hungry and therefore a little fussy, but they both fought to hold him and soothe him (and did a great job). Thanks for the dinner too!

My sister asked for pictures of Alex in some of his new clothes. He’s not to happy, but I do have pictures:

Believe it or not, I have finished two books since having Alex. Compared to my normal reading this is greatly reduced, but I’m glad I still find some time here and there. I just finished the book Chasing Fireflies by Charles Martin. A few years ago mom had given me another book by the same author When Crickets Cry. I loved the book, but it didn’t occur to me to look for more books by the same author. I recently loaned the book to Judy (my mother-in-law) and she gave me Chasing Fireflies for Christmas. It got buried in my to-read book pile after Christmas, but has recently been found and greatly enjoyed. I highly recommend both of these books. Now I am going to look and see if Charles Martin has any other books out there.

I was on facebook the other day and thought to look for some of my old friends from South Carolina. One of the ones I found was Mandy. What perfect timing – she ended up making a business trip to Milwaukee this week and stopped in to see us tonight.

All of the grandparents have now met Alex. Mom left yesterday after staying a little over a week and being a huge help. Dad and Laura arrived today. We spent the day hanging out and talking and watching the snow (sorry mom).

Alex weighs about 6.5 pounds, but he is wearing mostly premie outfits (thanks to those of you who sent them). One of my favorites and one of the most appropraite ones for my dad was this one:

Alex has been getting all kinds of cool things in the mail. This one was definitely one of the neatest – a diaper cake from my sister’s in-laws. Thanks John and Sharon!

For more pictures of Alex click here.

We all arrived at the hospital around 10 am. We had to wait a few hours for the doctors to finish rounds.

Then Alex had to eat and his car seat had to be tested:

Our first family photo at home:

About 10 minutes after the first family photo at home:

Happy Birthday Matt!

The nursery is done! Wade picked up the rocking chair today and Alex comes home tomorrow! Madison has adopted the rug as her new pillow. She’s sure to be confused tomorrow when Alex arrives.

Wade was more than happy to provide the photos for our hanging picture line over the changing table:

We also got a new cushion for the window seat in the kitchen:

Mom and I decided we had enough pictures of Alex in his hospital issue blanket. We brought in some of the handmade blankets people have given us and a plethora of hats. Below is one of my favorites – made by my mom’s friend Leigh Smith.

Happy Birthday Stephanie!

I figure this is my website so I can brag. I love being back in my own clothes. I came home from the hospital weighing two pounds more than the day I found out I was pregnant. Everyone teased me about my belly being all baby and they weren’t kidding. My stomach went away instantly – now it just needs some of the tone that it lost.
A funny story along the same lines. I was visiting Alex one evening in the nursery. I had the curtain closed while I pumped and then approached the nurses with a bottle to save for later. One of them told me she thought she had figured me out. I had to be an adoptive mom. Then she realized I was pumping. She finally asked to verify that I had just had the baby. I told her two days ago and she just shook her head. It sure made me feel good.

Once again most of our day was spent at the hospital. They have begun to limit the number of visitors in the nursery, but becaues he doesn’t have any monitors Alex is allowed in the lobby. We pretty much camp out in the lobby for most of the day.

Alex

Wade was a sweet husband and had a Valentine’s Day surprise for me. When I opened our bedroom door to get ready for bed there was a large pot of tulips and a new bag of Oreos (the regular ones) with a big bow. Does my husband know me or what?

Today Alex had all of his monitors removed. He no longer has wires trailing out of his blanket, which makes holding him much better. We spent the majority of the day in the nursery, but this will be the first night at home for me. Here are a few more pictures. Wade had fun taking pictures with a rented lens – my guess is he’ll be buying one very soon.

Alex

Wade and I weren’t too happy to talk to the doctor today. They have decided it would be best for Alex to have 14 doses of antibiotics (7 days worth) and he will have to stay in the hospital for that. There is nothing specific to indicate an infection, but enough small things that aren’t quite normal. We were looking foward to taking him home, but we’ll just have to wait a little longer for that. Regardless, he is off oxygen and the heat lamp. As of tonight he is even off his IV. Too bad there’s not a way to give him his antibiotics at home.
The good news is that three of Alex’s grandparents arrived today. Judy and Jerry flew in and Mom arrived on the train. Wade picked them all up and brought them straight to the hospital. They have all held Alex and I’m sure plan to do more of the same tomorrow.
Mom and Alex:

Judy, Wade, and Alex:

Jerry and Alex:

The important stuff first – We are now a family of three! Alexander Merritt Burch arrived at 12:57 am on 2/11/09. He weighed 6 pounds, 8 ounces and is 18 3/4 inches long. Alex currently has to stay in the nursery for a little help with his body temperature and some supplemental oxygen, but nothing serious. Hopefully he will be back in our room by tomorrow morning. Alex was obviously a little early – arriving at 36.5 weeks. Feel free to skip the labor story below the pictures:

A Family of Three

In my last post I mentioned that I was sent home from the hospital dilated to 5.5 cm, but not feeling any pain. I worked for most of the afternoon, finished my book, and had dinner. I attempted to go to sleep around 9 pm (I had only gotten 4 hours the night before), but couldn’t fall asleep. At one point I thought my water broke, but I couldn’t tell any difference between what happened that morning and this. I decided if it was my water breaking then surely contractions would start and I would know for sure. About 11:45 pm I still couldn’t sleep and just generally felt uncomfortable. I called my mom at midnight and told her I was feeling pressure, a slight backache, and definite pain. She recommended I go immediately to the hospital and not try to time anything (her theory being it wasn’t going to take me much to be fully dilated). We followed her advice and arrived at our labor and delivery room at 12:30 am. They immediately had a room full of people and me pushing with Alex arriving at 12:57 am. It turns out I have what the nurses call silent dilation. I felt nothing till I was essentially at 10 cm and ready to deliver. It’s a good thing we live so close to the hospital (1.7 miles). I told Wade all along I wasn’t sure I would want any pain medication for the delivery. I just didn’t realize it was not going to even be an option.
We called my mom to share the news that she was now a grandmother. She told me she had been about to call us and make sure we did go to the hospital. She was quite shocked that Alex had already arrived.

It turns out I am going to have a very odd delivery story. Disclaimer – if you don’t want any details just read the summary at the bottom. I had a doctor’s appointment yesterday and the doctor seemed quite surprised to find me 4 cm dilated. I had been having some random discomfort, but nothing I realized were consistent contractions. Those continued most of yesterday and then quit around 8 pm. About 4:30 am I thought my water broke and called the nurses. They said to come on in. Once there I continued to confuse the entire staff. My water had not broken, but I was now 5 cm dilated. They decided to keep me around for a while. About 10 am, my doctor examined me and said I was 5.5 cm dilated, but she was sending me home. Now I am home and feeling no pain or tightening or discomfort of any kind. My mom (the retired OB/pediatrics nurse) says she never heard of them sending people home at 5.5 cm, but she has also never heard of someone getting to that point with virtually no pain either. Oh well. Now we play the waiting game.

Summary – I have been back to the hospital, and labor is progressing, but in days not hours. I am now back home and no baby yet.

Well, the stars are now painted for the nursery. They turned out to be one of the most difficult projects – and Wade paints every surface known to man. Finally they are painted and hung. Now I just have to check on the rocking chair and hope the man has finished recovering it.

Wade and I had a weekend full of people. Mike and Carissa came over for dinner and cards on Friday. It has been quite a while since we got to enjoy a game of Spades. It’s finding exactly four people that always seems to be the problem. Tonight Maren brought dinner over. Michael had to work so she came after Elise was in bed. We had a great evening and Maren seemed very excited to have some grown-up-only time.

I have to admit that I haven’t been overly concerned with staying off my feet, but I didn’t go and run a couple of miles either. Bed rest officially ended as of yesterday. I decided a trip to the dog park would be good for Madison and for me. We made the loop a couple of times and then came home and both slept a couple of hours. I guess we aren’t used to this thing called exercise!

Wade finished the nursery closet last night and I finally got everything put back inside. I should get the rug today and the rocking chair (currently being recovered) by the end of the week. Then the nursery will be ready for baby. Wade is painting a few things for the walls, but hopefully that can be completed by the weekend too. It’s looking like we might actually beat the baby on this one!
Before closet. You have to look closely, but you can see the bifold doors (which didn’t close), the wire racking inside, and the exterior walls of the closet didn’t have any floor trim:

Wade has done a great job. Here’s an outside view of our new doors and trim that does match the rest of the house:

Wade picked the color for the inside of the closet. The middle component, a ladder shelf, is part of a set Wade built while in college. The closet now has lights (none before) that work off a dimmer so they can be used as a night light:

I think the baby has enough clothes for the first year of life. We also had a family friend provide quite a bit in the way of toys, clothes, shoes, etc from her quickly growing boys. Thanks Leigh Ann!

I have always liked Oreos, but I have to admit to buying more in the last three months than in the last three years. It turns out Wade eats them too so they don’t stay around the house too long. When my mom was in town (she left on Saturday) she made a grocery run for us. One of things on the list was Oreos. She wasn’t paying attention and grabbed the Double Stuff Oreos. I didn’t say anything because I thought she liked those better. Turns out she and I both prefer the regular ones. Wade stopped at the grocery for me last night and I still wanted Oreos so I put them on the list. He comes home with Double Stuff. He noticed that was what we were eating last time and thought he was doing good. He had no idea that those were a mistake and we only ate them so they didn’t go to waste. Is it horrible that I am still going to go buy some regular ones today?

Wade decided the Super Bowl was the perfect excuse to order a Chick-fil-A nugget tray (the closest one is about 30-45 minutes south of us). We ordered a large tray, which is supposed to feed 25 people. Thank goodness some of our church friends (3 other couples) agreed to come help us eat it. I have no doubt Wade would have attempted it on his own. We picked up the tray yesterday – and of course got a bite to eat and a milkshake while we were there. Tonight we had a full house, lots of food, and there was even some football watching. Wade estimated he has just enough nuggests left for lunch tomorrow.