Saying Goodbye

You were our first baby.

You were instantly a part of the family.

We celebrated many years together.

You hated bath time . . .

But you loved to get dressed up.

You saw our family go through many changes.

We will always remember you as the "good buddy" you were.

You will truly be missed, Teddy.

Eli's First Doctor's Appointment

On Friday, we took Eli to meet Dr. Shirley and she automatically dubbed him "the precious" as well (see post about Lela's first appointment). But to avoid confusion we'll have to refer to him as "the precious #2" and since I'm feeling especially lazy I think we'll shorten it to p#2.

Well p#2 demanded to be fed as soon as we were in the waiting room and I realized immediately that it was the first time, believe it or not, I had to breastfeed in a public place. So I was slightly hesitant at first but I figured if I was nonchalant about it, no one would notice. As far as I could tell I wasn't getting any looks and no one seemed to care that my indecency was was only concealed behind a thin piece of fabric. Eli did good too despite the fact that his feeding skills are touch and go at this point.

Once we were in the doctor's office, we realized Eli looked a little yellow. You can kinda tell in this picture.

Dr. Shirley noticed it too so she tested him for jaundice but it came back normal. P#2 weighed 7 pounds even so he hadn't quite gained back to his birth weight which is normal for a four-day-old infant. Everything else looked good but we did leave with a prescription for baby Zantac since he has been spitting up just like Lela did. Hopefully we'll only have to use it for a few months.

And in case you're wondering, this is what happens when Nathan is in charge of photographically documenting the event:

He would probably want me to share with you that he successfully completed the butterfly puzzle. He was quite proud of himself.

This picture requires some explanation.
There was a mural of Noah's Ark painted on the wall and Nathan felt the need to point out that the bird bearing the olive branch was not the theologically correct species. I guess a blue bird was more pleasing on a white wall rather than the obligatory dove.

Anyway, we go back to see Dr. Shirley this Friday so there's more to come.

Eli's comin' better hide your heart

WARNING: This post is extremely elaborative and mostly serves to remind me of the experience years down the road. Read at your own risk.

I am aware that Eli came without a whole lot of warning. That's not to say we didn't know he was on his way because I was having contractions all day Sunday, but by the end of the day it had tapered offsome and I wasn't sure if I had made any progress. So I went to bed Sunday night convinced I was in for another long day of labor judging by how labor went with Lela. I was awakened at midnight to consistent contractions and I timed them for an hour before I woke Nathan up. So we took our time and got ready to head to the hospital. I could tell the contractions were stronger but I just knew I had at least six hours before Eli made his appearance. Nathan packed up the car and then asked me one more time if I thought we could wait a little longer (we didn't want to spend twelve hours in labor and delivery like last time) and I told him we better go because I was determined to get an epidural this time and didn't want to wait too long.

So we got to the hospital around 2:00 am (after turning around to pick up my purse that I forgot) and got checked in by 2:30. I was surprised/relieved to hear that I was dilated 7 centimeters when I arrived but again I was sure I had a few hours left if not more. The contractions started getting stronger really quickly but I was comforted by the thought that my epidural was on its way because again I was convinced I was in for a long haul. Suddenly the contractions were very intense and I began to panic because I didn't think I could handle it very long. My water broke a few contractions later and I immediately had the urge to push. At this point the nurse asked me if I could sit up to get my epidural and I told her I didn't think so. (My actual response was more like a panicked "Well am I about to deliver!?!" She wasn't much help so I simply declined.) To make a long story short, Eli made his appearance at 3:42 am, just an hour and 42 minutes after we arrived! Good thing we didn't wait any longer!!

We are now officially a family of four :) Crazy.

Waiting . . .

So, I really thought Eli would be here by now. I was for sure he was coming early but I went to the doctor on Tuesday and nothing has changed in the last week. So he seems very content inside me and I don't think he has plans to come out any time soon. I'm still four days away from my due date so maybe I'm just being impatient. Especially since Lela was right on time (born in the wee hours of the morning the day after her due date), I have a feeling now that Eli will be the same way.

I forgot what it was like to have this feeling of anticipation to meet my child. I think it might be more intense this time since I was so convinced he'd be early. With Lela I knew she would come right on the due date and she did. I guess Eli likes to keep me guessing, and I suppose I'm okay with that ;)