It's all about Baby Steps!
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
4 Minutes!
It's all about Baby Steps!
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Growing Pains!
I'm not sure what Mallory was dreaming about in this picture but she throws her hands out during sleep at times and it is the neatest thing to watch!
Mallory continues to get bigger and more animated as the days go on. They say that during times of growth spurts, babies normally exhibit fussiness. Mallory certainly has this down pat. On some days it seems she wants to eat every hour. It's definitely a great thing to know that she is growing and staying healthy but she is definitely letting us know her "growing pains".
Here are some pics from the past week:
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| Chilling out on the Boppy Pillow |
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| Grandma Astriab and Mallory |
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Happy Father's Day!
Happy Father's Day to all the Dads! We woke up and went for a walk around the neighborhood. Mallory was really good most of the way until we were heading back about 1/4 of a mile from the house and the crying started. Somebody needed to eat! While Michol fed Mallory, I ran out and did the grocery shopping...with coupons might I add. The weather was perfect, so I decided to cut the lawn and let the pups run around the yard most of the afternoon while Michol and Mallory relaxed on the deck. All in all, it was a great first Father's Day...here's to many more!
As we head into our second week of parenthood, things are getting better each day. Feeding has proven to be a challenge, but with the help and advice of our friends, we are definitely feeling better about things compared to the first week. Michol is doing a great job of keeping Mallory healthy and nourished! We have a doctor's appointment on Tuesday, so it will be interesting to see how much Mallory has grown since last week. Unfortunately, I return back to work on Thursday so I am going to miss being at the house and helping Michol out when I can.
Here are some pictures from the week. I am working on getting some videos as well...stay tuned:
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1st Father's Day on the Deck     |
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Clean bill of health!
Mallory had her first doctor's appointment since being home and she passed with flying colors. We arrived at the office, checked in, and went to the exam room. The minute we stripped her down, she began crying. Apparently breakfast didn't fill her up so we gave her a mid-morning snack when the doctor was finished. It was like night and day when she finished feeding!
Overall, the doctor said Mallory looked great. She gained 4 ounces and her ears, eyes, heartbeat, and bones look great. We were able to ask the doctor some questions we have had over the last few days and were relieved to find out we are doing things the right way.
Well the first few days, since we came home from the hospital, have been quite the challenge but are getting better and things just seem to be "clicking". Things continue to get better with the feedings and the pups are really starting to warm up to their sister. We are still cautious with the them and will always have "supervised" encounters. They do a lot of sniffing and Oscar will rattle off a lick here and there. Sleep is taken in small doses which has been the biggest adjustment for us but totally worth it. Michol and I are definitely working great as a team and we feel so much better about things compared to the first night.
Here are some images of the day:
Mallory had her first doctor's appointment since being home and she passed with flying colors. We arrived at the office, checked in, and went to the exam room. The minute we stripped her down, she began crying. Apparently breakfast didn't fill her up so we gave her a mid-morning snack when the doctor was finished. It was like night and day when she finished feeding!
Overall, the doctor said Mallory looked great. She gained 4 ounces and her ears, eyes, heartbeat, and bones look great. We were able to ask the doctor some questions we have had over the last few days and were relieved to find out we are doing things the right way.
Well the first few days, since we came home from the hospital, have been quite the challenge but are getting better and things just seem to be "clicking". Things continue to get better with the feedings and the pups are really starting to warm up to their sister. We are still cautious with the them and will always have "supervised" encounters. They do a lot of sniffing and Oscar will rattle off a lick here and there. Sleep is taken in small doses which has been the biggest adjustment for us but totally worth it. Michol and I are definitely working great as a team and we feel so much better about things compared to the first night.
Here are some images of the day:
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| My Favorite Pic - "Will someone tell Laila to be quiet!" |
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| Oscar watching over his sister |
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| Oscar is just fascinated with Mallory |
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| Pups hanging out while we cook dinner (Mallory was in her boppy pillow in the kitchen) |
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| Oscar taking a nap while we watched some TV |
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Home Sweet Home!
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| Miss Mallory |
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| Going Home! |
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| Dad and Mallory |
The first night was rough being that it was a "first time" for everyone. We went to bed at about 10:30. Michol took Mallory up first, fed her, and put her to bed. Oscar had a little trouble getting to sleep since he could smell Mallory from across the room but he kept quiet. Laila went to sleep right away and put her head up a couple of times. Within the first couple of hours, Mallory was in and out of sleep. I would get up and check on her while Michol rested up. When the next feeding time arrived at about 1:00, Michol took Mallory downstairs for a diaper change, feeding, and sleep. I woke up at about 6 and the girls were downstairs asleep. It's going to take some time before things start coming together, but we made it through the first night!
Here are some more pics (the start of many more!) from the stay at the hospital...Enjoy!
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Thursday, June 9, 2011
Day 2: Making Progress!
Well we (I mean Michol and Baby) have made good progress this fine morning. Here is what day 2 brought us:
2:30 AM: Michol's water broke! Contractions still coming full force...Michol is so much tougher than me!!
3:00 AM: Decision made to administer an epidural. Michol is now much more comfortable and the pain is slowly going away. The contraction pain is getting much shorter as the epidural takes effect.
4:00 AM: After a routine check, Michol is about 4cm. She also needed a little extra medication added to the epidural since the initial batch wasn't doing the trick.
4:30 AM: Been watching Michol for about a half hour and she has pretty much rested through numerous contractions. Ahh..the power of drugs!
5:45 AM: 8cm!! She is moving fast and it won't be long before the Baby comes out. All vital signs are right where they need to be. Michol is feeling good and is going to be ready for the delivery process.
8:00 AM: Fully dilated! Getting things prepped for delivery.
8:57 AM: Mallory Elizabeth has arrived. 6.9oz, 20.5in long. Only 2 pushes and out!
Michol is doing great! I will post pictures soon!
2:30 AM: Michol's water broke! Contractions still coming full force...Michol is so much tougher than me!!
3:00 AM: Decision made to administer an epidural. Michol is now much more comfortable and the pain is slowly going away. The contraction pain is getting much shorter as the epidural takes effect.
4:00 AM: After a routine check, Michol is about 4cm. She also needed a little extra medication added to the epidural since the initial batch wasn't doing the trick.
4:30 AM: Been watching Michol for about a half hour and she has pretty much rested through numerous contractions. Ahh..the power of drugs!
5:45 AM: 8cm!! She is moving fast and it won't be long before the Baby comes out. All vital signs are right where they need to be. Michol is feeling good and is going to be ready for the delivery process.
8:00 AM: Fully dilated! Getting things prepped for delivery.
8:57 AM: Mallory Elizabeth has arrived. 6.9oz, 20.5in long. Only 2 pushes and out!
Michol is doing great! I will post pictures soon!
Day 1: Let the games begin!
This is the first time I have posted directly from my phone, so I hope it comes out ok.
Well we had an interesting Wednesday to say the least. So here is the day as we experienced it:
5:45 AM: Rise and Shine
9:00 AM: Arrive at the Doctor's office for the follow-up exam. Michol's blood pressure was very high so they decided it was time to go to the hospital for an additional Blood pressure test and eventual inducing. Not what we expected, but ran back to the house, dropped one car off, grabbed the overnight bag, said goodbye to pups, and hit the road.
10:30AM: After hooking Michol up to some monitoring machines, Michol is laying comfortably in her bed. The nurses said her blood pressure is still higher than they would like to be, but all in all, no signs of contractions and her cervix is completely closed.
11:30 AM: The baby's heart dropped to about 50 BPM and a team of Doctors and Nurses rushed in and said they need to do an emergency C-section. They gave me scrubs and told me to wait until it was ok to go to the operating room. After about 5 minutes of waiting, the Doctor came in and said the Baby's heart rate was back to normal and they were bringing Michol back to the room. The Doctor's were not exactly sure why the heart rate went down but thought it could have been from a contraction or the umbilical cord could have been pinched. That was scary!
2:30 PM: The staff is set on assiting Michol with the dialating of the cervix at this point. To assist with the inducing, the Doctor applied medication to the cervix. The next 12 hours will involve monitering blood pressure and contractions.
7:00 PM: Michol's parents just left and she begins to feel her first set of consistent contractions.
9:45 PM: The cervix is making some progress. Contractions are coming more frequently. Michol is holding her own.
10:30 PM: Michol is in and out of sleep and managing contractions with some breathing. I am on my second large Dunkin Donuts coffee (and maybe a donut). I am going to try and catch a quick nap before the 2am check.
1:00 AM: Nurse checked everything and Baby and Mom continue to do well. Contractions are getting stronger and more frequently.
1:40 AM: Cervix medication has been removed and it is about 80 percent thinned out. Nurse wants to monitor for an hour before giving her some labor inducing medication or another cervix medication. Sorry for the lack of technical language. I am all caffiened up at this point!
2:00 AM: signing off...Day 2 coming up
Well we had an interesting Wednesday to say the least. So here is the day as we experienced it:
5:45 AM: Rise and Shine
9:00 AM: Arrive at the Doctor's office for the follow-up exam. Michol's blood pressure was very high so they decided it was time to go to the hospital for an additional Blood pressure test and eventual inducing. Not what we expected, but ran back to the house, dropped one car off, grabbed the overnight bag, said goodbye to pups, and hit the road.
10:30AM: After hooking Michol up to some monitoring machines, Michol is laying comfortably in her bed. The nurses said her blood pressure is still higher than they would like to be, but all in all, no signs of contractions and her cervix is completely closed.
11:30 AM: The baby's heart dropped to about 50 BPM and a team of Doctors and Nurses rushed in and said they need to do an emergency C-section. They gave me scrubs and told me to wait until it was ok to go to the operating room. After about 5 minutes of waiting, the Doctor came in and said the Baby's heart rate was back to normal and they were bringing Michol back to the room. The Doctor's were not exactly sure why the heart rate went down but thought it could have been from a contraction or the umbilical cord could have been pinched. That was scary!
2:30 PM: The staff is set on assiting Michol with the dialating of the cervix at this point. To assist with the inducing, the Doctor applied medication to the cervix. The next 12 hours will involve monitering blood pressure and contractions.
7:00 PM: Michol's parents just left and she begins to feel her first set of consistent contractions.
9:45 PM: The cervix is making some progress. Contractions are coming more frequently. Michol is holding her own.
10:30 PM: Michol is in and out of sleep and managing contractions with some breathing. I am on my second large Dunkin Donuts coffee (and maybe a donut). I am going to try and catch a quick nap before the 2am check.
1:00 AM: Nurse checked everything and Baby and Mom continue to do well. Contractions are getting stronger and more frequently.
1:40 AM: Cervix medication has been removed and it is about 80 percent thinned out. Nurse wants to monitor for an hour before giving her some labor inducing medication or another cervix medication. Sorry for the lack of technical language. I am all caffiened up at this point!
2:00 AM: signing off...Day 2 coming up
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