» Next Entries

Baby Stuff

Baby Stuff
At least it didn’t look like pea soup…
September 19th, 2006 (5 years, 4 months ago) by Jeff | Permalink | 7 Core Dumps

Like the pic? We had this made a little over a week ago and a certain department store with its own (cheap) photography studio. Ben wasn’t exactly cooperative that day; he was nice and quiet all day long, throughout the entire drive to the mall, and up until the moment we took him out of the car seat to change his clothes for the picture. Instantaneously, he went from the sweetest, quietest baby you’ve ever seen to… well, this. We managed to calm him down somewhat and get a few decent pictures out of the session, but this one oddly enough seems to be our favorite. Instead of him looking like he’s in some sort of drugged, unhappy stupor like the others (not to worry, no drugs were actually involved), this one has such emotion and energy that it just seemed to fit perfectly, even if he was being a little squalling monster. And, of course, the instant he went back into his car seat he returned to his normal quiet self. Isn’t that about par for the course?

Well, that’s not really what this entry is about, but it’s a good segue into it because there was a very good reason the little guy was so unhappy. It turns out our little man had pyloric stenosis. For those too busy (or lazy) to click the link, that’s a small congenital narrowing of the valve at the bottom of the stomach which causes nothing to pass down into the intestines. As you might guess, if the stomach contents can’t follow the flow of gravity, they’ve got to come out somehow. Needless to say, we spent a good bit of the last week changing bibs, burp cloths, baby clothes, and occasionally our clothes several times in one day (and on the worst of occasions within the same hour). You can imagine how many The Exorcist references were thrown around this past week….

A little in our defense (so we don’t look like the worst parents on Earth), we didn’t know it was pyloric stenosis until this past Friday, a good week after he started showing symptoms. He seemed to be having gas problems more than anything else, which both we and at least one doctor seemed to think may have been related to his diet. So we changed formulas several times, which as you might guess had little to no effect. After a couple more trips to the doctor, an upper GI was ordered that confirmed the final diagnosis. Once again our plans for a “normal” weekend were completely shattered as we ended up making an unscheduled trip to the hospital. (I’ve already informed Ben that trips to the hospital are not allowed to become a monthly occurrence, but I’m not sure how well he was listening at the time.)

It’s very scary when your month-old child is mentioned in the same sentence as the word “surgery.” Even though we’ve come to find out that a pyloromyotomy is considered to be a routine procedure, that’s still not something new parents want to hear. That morbid thought enters your mind as you hand your child over to the anesthesiologist that this could very well be the last time you get to hold your son, no matter how reassuring the medical staff tries to be. Looking down at his little nose where the tube runs out where they emptied his stomach, seeing his tiny arm taped down like a useless club so he won’t accidentally pull out his IV… not images I’ll want to remember, but I know I will for the rest of my life.

However, I’m happy to report that Ben is doing incredibly well now. He’s home and back to his normal self. He’s eating like nobody’s business, already surpassing his pre-stenosis intake. He even slept most of the way through the night last night, which made both Mommy and Daddy a lot, lot happier.

All of this means, however, that this was yet another weekend where no comics were drawn, no boxes were unpacked, no drivers licenses or vehicle registrations were transferred, etc. I imagine we won’t get completely settled into our new house until Ben moves out to go to college or we find out we have to move again for whatever reason, whichever comes first. If it’s the latter, at least, half of the packing should already be done….
Baby Stuff
The best five days I’ve ever spent without Internet access…
August 19th, 2006 (5 years, 5 months ago) by Jeff | Permalink | 7 Core Dumps

I apologize for not updating in so long, folks. But I swear it’s for a good reason. You see, I’ve had to do a lot of crash-course reading in the past few days….

(For those who can’t read the cover, that’s a copy of The Baby Owner’s Manual, which is pretty darn hilarious and informative at the same time. It comes highly recommended from this new end user.)

Well, it was a little bit unexpected, but the time has finally come. For those who have been keeping tabs on the baby updates ever since our initial announcement, this is the big payoff. I’m extremely proud to announce that Benjamin Thomas Darlington was born Sunday, August 13 at 6:52 pm Eastern Daylight Time (10:52 pm GMT). He weighed 6 pounds 11.6 ounces (3.05 kg) and was 19 and 3/4 inches long (50.165 cm). Needless to say, this has kept me incredibly busy over the past week; I was offline for a good five and a half days, and even after that I’ve been so busy that this post has been written in a very piecemeal fashion. But I wanted to make sure I chronicled everything (or at least enough to satiate those of you who really want to know and for posterity because of my own occasionally faulty memory).

On Friday, August 11, my wife (“kmd” from the GPF forum) went in for her routine 37-week doctor’s appointment and ultrasound. Something big was going on at my day job that day (a number of dignitaries were coming to the building’s dedication, including the state governor and our senator), but I had already arranged my schedule to get off early so kmd and I could go to the Division of Motor Vehicles and start working on transferring our drivers licenses and vehicle registrations to our new home state. I happened to get into town just in time for the ultrasound, so I thought it would be nice to swing by there, pick her up, and proceed to the DMV afterwards. Boy, were we in for a change of plans.

At the ultrasound, the technician seemed concerned that her amniotic fluid was getting low. I can’t remember the exact numbers, but it was about half of what it was supposed to be. As far as we knew (or had evidence to support), her water hadn’t broken yet, so this was a major surprise. kmd asked what would likely happen, and the tech said she would probably be admitted to the hospital overnight for observation. Of course, that’s really the doctor’s call, and since the ultrasound was to precede the doctor’s appointment, we immediately made our way down the street to the next office.

“Observation” was not what the doctor seemed to have in mind. When he saw the ultrasound results, his words were something to the effect of “let’s get that baby out of there.” The decision was made for the baby’s and mother’s safety to induce labor. At 37 weeks, he may be a bit early, but definitely strong enough to make it outside the womb. We left the doctor’s office sometime between noon and 1 pm with instructions to be at the hospital by 6 pm and be ready to bring a newborn home with us.

This, of course, was not what we expected. We were definitely not ready for this course of events. While the nursery was pretty much put together, we didn’t know where anything in there was, as it was put together by various family members while we were busy doing other things. The rest of the house, of course, was a shambles, as we had only been in the house for about a week and were still struggling to put things away. Undoubtedly, the local laws require infant car seats to be installed by trained civil service personnel like police officers or firefighters, so we were planning to make an appointment later that day to get the cars in to have the car seats installed. Needless to say, an emergency trip to the fire station was imminent. We hadn’t even packed her hospital bag yet… another thing we were planning to do in the next week.

We got to the hospital right on time and were (relatively) quickly escorted to our room. Within a few hours, the doctors and nurses were buzzing about, getting things ready. Since her body was not ready, the doctors administered some drugs to dilate her cervix, a process which can take 12 hours per dose. Needless to say, we were in for a long wait.

Saturday came and went with little progress. While the drugs were working, her cervix was not dilating nearly as quickly as they had hoped. Additional doses were applied, as well a drug to induce contractions. An epidural soon followed. We spent two long, sleepless nights there in the birthing room, with other mothers coming and going in the surrounding rooms, undoubtedly with a lot more success than we were having.

By Sunday afternoon, things were still not promising. Her cervix had only dilated to seven centimeters (or eight, depending on which doctor/midwife you asked) and only became 90% effaced. In his oh-so-elegant and technical assessment, one doctor said that her contractions weren’t “strong enough to take a poop.” By early afternoon, the decision was made to perform a c-section. I was handed a set of disposable scrubs and informed to suit up while kmd was given a number of additional IVs in preparation. At around 6 pm she was wheeled into the operating room and I was instructed to wait outside until they were ready for me.

Of course, with so many other things going wrong, we couldn’t get through the rest of the process that easily. My poor little sweetie had been so thoroughly pumped full of IV fluids that all her limbs were terribly swollen. They needed to put in additional IVs for the c-section, but they couldn’t find any usable veins in her arms or legs. Eventually, they had to settle for inserting a pipeline directly into her jugular vein… which still required several attempts. During this agonizing 45 minute ordeal, I was forced to wait outside the operating room, listening to my wife screaming and moaning as nurses and anesthesiologists poked and prodded her repeatedly. Finally, I was ushered inside, where the procedure was underway.

I can’t say I remember every single detail of the actual c-section. There was so much going on that I felt overwhelmed, bombarded with so many events happening in rapid succession. I was ushered onto a stool next to my wife’s head, where I could hold her outstretched hand and place another hand on her forehead. The struggle of the IVs was enough to make her extremely uncomfortable, and it wasn’t long before they had to effectively knock her out (or at least make her semi-coherent) to help her deal with the discomfort and pain. I distinctly remember getting some sort of IV spilled all over my scrubs. I dared to peek over the drape only twice, the first and most important time being when they announced that they were pulling out my son. I saw this squirming, bloody, blue mass (with an astonishing amount of black hair) pulled from the incision. They quickly suctioned the fluids from his throat and nose and I heard my son’s distinctive cry for the first time. I was asked if I wanted to cut the umbilical cord (symbolically, at least, as they had already cut the cord to move him from the operating table). I did, and I think I remember telling him to be a good boy and not to play with the scissors, which they set right next to him. I sat back down next to my wife to comfort her. When they asked me if I wanted to stay with her or follow the nurses and the baby to the nursery, I was plagued with crushing indecision. I’ve never wanted to be in two places at the same time so badly. I finally decided that my son had been declared perfectly healthy, so I would stay with my sweetie until they wheeled her out.

The next few days were a blur. We spent a great deal of time just trying to rest in between bombardments of family members and well-wishers. We were awakened every so many hours by nurses bringing Ben in from the nursery so we could attempt to breastfeed him (a task that took days for us to get the hang of, and we’re still working diligently at with mixed success). I think I only got three showers in six days; kmd got far less. I didn’t get a shave until the following Friday, a week since my last shave, the scruffiest I’ve been since I started the new job.

Everyone is home and resting now. We’ve started to get into a routine (which unfortunately still means at least one or more middle-of-the-night feedings and/or diaper changes), and Ben is about to celebrate his first full week of life outside the womb. Between the move and the birth, I haven’t had any time to work on comics, which in an odd sort of way has been refreshing, like an unplanned vacation.

One final note: During our childbirthing class the previous Thursday, kmd joked about us missing the final class because the baby wouldn’t wait until his due date. Needless to say, the irony of her statement came back to haunt her the following Monday or Tuesday. When the next Thursday rolled around, we obviously didn’t make it to class (as we needed to take care of the new addition). However, the instructor called us at home during the class, as everyone there was dying to find out how we were doing. (I think most of the first-time mothers were wanting to know how things went, and were probably scared to death once they heard the results.)

Now excuse me. I just got him fed, so I’ve got three or four hours of sleep until it’s time to feed him again….
Baby Stuff
The promised baby update
July 14th, 2006 (5 years, 7 months ago) by Jeff | Permalink | 3 Core Dumps

I apologize that the baby updates have been few and far between lately. All the fervor surrounding the impending move has overshadowed a lot of the baby-related events. With me in one state and my wife in another we’ve been splitting duties, one searching to buy a house and the other working to sell. Now that we’re in the same state again and we have a definite closing date, things have slowed down enough that we can catch our collective breath and reassess the child compilation process. That’s when we realize that we’re in the linking phase and the executable will be written out really soon.

All in all, everything is going swimmingly for the little tike. It’s all the things external to the womb that have been plaguing us. We just had a doctor’s appointment this morning which included the fourth (and I’m assuming final) ultrasound. Unfortunately, I missed the third ultrasound (which was in NC while I was in WV), but I was able to get the morning off at work today to go with my sweetie. While we’ve got a couple pictures, I haven’t had a chance to scan them, so they won’t be accompanying this post. (I got to see the scanned versions of the third ultrasound pics, but have been too busy to process them for online consumption either.)

They performed a number of tests on him, and he seems to be completely healthy and normal. They have some sort of rating scale where he was rated ten out of ten (to which we both independently thought to ourselves, “Knowing what overachievers we tend to be, I wonder how we can score an 11…”). His size and weight are all normal, as are every internal and external bit they could find and assess. I did see five little chubby digits wiggle in a half-hearted wave at one point, but that’s about all I could definitively make out. (Ultrasounds are like Rorschach tests, don’t you know….)

Momma, however, isn’t doing as well as she would like. I won’t go into all the details as per her request, but she’s had a number of minor complications that have made things for her rather difficult (but which haven’t impacted the baby yet). For one, she’s been diagnosed with gestational diabetes and now has the joy of testing her blood sugar four times a day and shooting up with insulin in the mornings. She also has a low iron count and may possibly have thalassemia, meaning more nutritional supplements. This is on top of the normal fun aspects of late-term pregnancy, including swelling feet, lack of energy, etc. But despite all this she still remains excited, and I’ve been making sure that she takes it as easy as possible given our unusual circumstances.
Baby Stuff
My wife made me look at all kinds of boobies last night…
June 2nd, 2006 (5 years, 8 months ago) by Jeff | Permalink | 1 Core Dump

Get your mind out of the gutter. It’s not what you think.

Last night we went to the first of two breastfeeding classes. We’re still several months away from Baby Day, and we’ve been busy searching for new doctors in West Virginia. However, while we decided to wait to take the childbirthing classes in WV (so we’ll be able to go together), we went ahead and kept our breastfeeding appointments here in NC (especially since they’re free). I’ll end up missing the second one, but the first one was certainly… educational.

At first, I wasn’t really sure if I should be going. After all, while there are plenty of things a husband can do as the “coach” during childbirth, I wasn’t quite sure how much use I’d be at breastfeeding class. (“So, um… sweetie? Do you want me to… um… hold that for you?”) I also wondered if I would be the only man there. Fortunately, there were other men there, and there are a number of things I picked up that will prove useful down the road. I’d recommend that all potential fathers join in on these classes if you’re given the opportunity.

Before we got there, we joked about whether or not I’d be embarrassed when they pulled out the big plastic breasts. Well, it wasn’t plastic (it was cloth), but it wasn’t long before it came out. The “life-like” baby dolls, which were actually for use in the diapering portion of the childbirth class and were a little too big to be representing newborns, were just “life-like” enough in some ways and just un-”life-like” enough in others that they were sufficiently creepy.
Baby Stuff
Second Ultrasound
March 28th, 2006 (5 years, 10 months ago) by Jeff | Permalink | 2 Core Dumps

This morning was was my wife’s second ultrasound, and everything is going perfectly. The baby seems to be healthy and all the right bits are in all the right places. In fact, the little squirt was actually a bit active once we woke it up (which consistend of the technician poking on my wife’s belly with the ultrasound head), so we got a pretty good show for our money. So without further ado, here are the next batch of pictures. (The live ultrasound was a lot more interesting than these stills, as the technician went over each major bodily system to make sure everything was okay, but these were the only pictures we were given. I’d love to get my hands on a video, and you can bet I’d have that streaming in every available codec and bitrate.)

First, the baby’s face from the front. If you squint and look at it cross-eyed, you’ll make out all the main features: eyes, nose, mouth, etc. Even little tooth buds are visible.

A bit more of a distance shot, but here’s the baby’s head in profile. The left arm and chest are also visible.

I probably should have zoomed in on this one, but here’s a foot:

And I swear this is my first and only dabbling in child pornography (I solemnly affirm I did not put the cursor in that location; the technician woman did):
Baby Stuff
Fetal Kickboxing
March 17th, 2006 (5 years, 11 months ago) by Jeff | Permalink | Dump Core

All you experienced parents out there can relive old memories with this one; those who are sickened by obnoxious new expectant parent gushing might want to skip it.

Last night I got to feel the baby moving around for the first time. At least, I think I did. To be honest, I can’t be entirely sure. We had just turned out the lights and bedded down for the night when my wife told me she felt the baby moving. Of course, she’s only about 16 weeks in so the kid’s still tiny enough to swim laps in there (although the pool’s getting a little more crowded), so you wouldn’t think she’d be able to feel anything. I placed my hand on her belly (she’s just now starting to “show”) and, sure enough, I felt a quick, tiny patter patter patter under my fingertips.

It was such an odd sensation. It was so light of a movement that it was hard to tell if it was actually the baby moving or my own fingers involuntarily twitching. But I’m pretty sure I felt it repeatedly over the course of a couple minutes. I couldn’t help but sport a huge, goofy grin on my face as I rolled over to fall asleep.

The next ultrasound is in a week and a half, and that’s when we’re supposed to find out what gender the baby is.
Baby Stuff
No real melody, but it’s got a beat you can dance to…
February 28th, 2006 (5 years, 11 months ago) by Jeff | Permalink | Dump Core

Yes, it’s obnoxious expectant parent time again. My wife had her second doctor’s appointment this morning, and his word to describe how things are going was “perfect.” We actually got to hear the baby’s heartbeat this time, and being the utter geek that I am, I had my Palm out with the microphone ready and waiting. I edited it down to just 15 seconds of heartbeats, but that’s plenty, I think.

Babys_First_Heartbeats.mp3 (74kb, 15 sec.)

My wife has already fussed at me for playing it repeatedly, but I keep insisting that I’m double-checking the file to make sure that the compression encoding isn’t ruining the sound quality. No really, I am. MP3 encoding can be so tricky at times. Anyway, each time she fusses at me, though, she keeps smiling. I can’t for the life of me figure out why….

Toward the end March is the next ultrasound. That’s when we expect to (hopefully) found out the baby’s gender. Like I’m going to tell you people what that’s going to be… [evil grin]
Baby Stuff
First Sonogram
February 6th, 2006 (6 years ago) by Jeff | Permalink | 2 Core Dumps

Sorry I didn’t have anything up earlier this morning. I wrote today’s GPF News post all the way back on Friday with the intention of also writing a blog post here that would eventually go live this morning (or yesterday night) in concert with the News post. Ah, the best laid plans of Moose and Min….

Anyhoo, here’s a quick picture of our first sonogram (ultrasound, whatever you want to call it). This was taken back on January 24, when the baby was about eight weeks old. (You can see this in the light gray box in the lower left corner; you’ll also that the baby was 1.95 cm long at that point.) This was our first official doctor’s visit of the pregnancy. There was some confusion about how far along the baby really was; our estimates didn’t match the OB nurse’s estimate, and neither of those matched the doctor’s official word. So while we went in hoping to hear the baby’s heartbeat, it was far too early to do so. However, we were able to see the heartbeat in the ultrasound, which was both exciting and bizarre. We have a second picture that I’ve also scanned and shared with friends and family, but it’s much less clear. The left “bulb” on the “fuzzy peanut” is the baby’s head, the second “bulb” is its body, and the weird little circle after that is the yolk sac (like in a chicken egg) that eventually disappears when the placenta is formed.

At this point, we have no idea what sex the child is. While we have some baby names in mind, those are a closely guarded secret that not even our family knows yet. I’ve placed one of those Baby Gaga pregnancy tickers on the main index, because I’m now a proud, obnoxious expectant parent and because I can.

Sorry there isn’t much to this post. I promise more will come. Right now, I’ve got a bunch of day job work to do, as well as comics to work on. Hopefully I’ll have something more detailed by the end of the week.