Can you believe it? Baby B. is 3-weeks-old already! Family and friends seem interested in his comings and goings so here's an update on some frequently asked questions:
Q. How is Baby Stark?
A. He's doing good. He lost more weight than normal after we brought him home from the hospital, but he's gained it back and is over 7 pounds now! He doesn't like to poop (his face turns all red and he holds his breath when the buggers are coming out) and farting scares him. He sleeps with his arms in the 'stick 'em up position', which cracks his dad and I up.
Q. How is Momma Stark?
A. Happy. Tired. I'm taking meds for my blood pressure and anemia, but neither are serious. Some days I think I'm starting to get the hang of this mom stuff and the next day, it all kinda falls apart. (That's normal, right?)
Q. How is Pappa Stark?
A. Amazing. He is by far, hands down the best dad in the whole world. He took to fatherhood like a fish in water. It's been amazing to watch.
Q. How was delivery?
A. It's easy to say now, but being induced, getting the epidural and delivering the little guy were all easier than I expected. I set myself up for the worst and was pleasantly surprised.
Q. What are you calling the little guy? Why is his middle name 'Alan'?
A. I've been calling him Baby B., but he's 'Billy' to friends and family. Alan is my brother's middle name and I wanted to include a name from my side of the family. I'm really glad my brother's middle name didn't end up being 'Eclipse' all those years ago.
Q. How does he sleep?
A. Great during the day. Crappy at night. I hear this is pretty common, but it's taking its toll. I've been told to keep him awake longer during the day and to give him his bath at night. Any other ideas?
Q. Does Devo like his baby brother?
A. We think so. When Baby B. cries, Devo checks on him. He's also been sleeping in the nursery.
Q. Does Baby B. have any special talents?
A. Well, he farts like a champ and has great neck control. It's amazing how well he can hold his head up. He also always sneezes twice in a row.
Q. Do you have any funny stories to share?
A. Of course. And would you believe they involve poop? The other day, while at B.'s grandma's, I heard B. yell from upstairs, 'He's pooping on me! And it's still coming out.' I couldn't stop laughing! Baby B. has also peed on his dad, which B. thought was hilarious. The way we look at it, we, our clothes and our belongings are all washable so why stress?
Q. Anything else you'd like to add?
A. Baby B. went on his first walk Tuesday. We think he liked it and can't wait until the weather gets better so we can go on daily walks. He also met his dad and I's coworkers yesterday. I think he was a hit.
Q. And, finally, where are new pictures?
A. They're coming. We need to scan his first professional ones in and we need to decide on a photosharing site for the ones we're taking.
Some Random (and Long Overdue) Thoughts
Things are slowly falling into a rhythm at the Stark household. It goes a little something like this: eat, poop, sleep, repeat. Sometimes, just for fun, we mix it up: poop, sleep, eat, repeat. If only mom and dad were sleeping as much as Baby B.Since I'm not at the top of my game (and don't expect to be for years to come), here's my best attempt at a post:
- Having your doctor tell you to go straight to the hospital from his office is scary.
- Having an IV sucks. Having two IVs sucks more. I'm pretty sure I'll be sporting bruises for weeks to come.
- Having to wear a blood pressure cuff, and having your blood pressure checked every 15 minutes, sucks. So does having readings of 150+/105.
- Being induced wasn't as big of a deal as I thought it was going to be.
- The epidural didn't hurt as bad as I thought it would.
- No one told me that some women feel contractions in a place that's not their abdomen.
- The action really starts when you hit 10 centimeters, huh?
- Having a good nurse in the delivery room is key.
- Hearing B. say, 'It's a boy', is the single most happiest moment of my life.
- Holding Baby B. for the first time felt surreal. I still can't believe B. and I created this little guy.
- Those first few days at home are terrifying. Who am I kidding? They are still terrifying.
- I wish someone had told me what to expect from my body those first few days at home.
- Devo is getting used to his baby brother. He gets concerned when Baby B. cries. He checks on him when we do. If only he had opposable thumbs and could help with feedings ...
- Nursing is hard.
- I'm starting to think the lactation consultant is a little coo-coo ... although Baby B. is loving his Moby right now.
- B. is the best dad in the world. He's as or more exhausted than I am and I wish I could do something about that.
It's a Boy!
William Alan was born at 6:31 p.m. Wednesday. He weighed 6 pounds, 10 ounces and was 20 inches long.
I'll write more once I remember my name!
Another Prediction
Based solely on our baby's heartbeat, my non-stress test nurse is predicting a girl. I think most of the predictions are going that way, but B. and I are leaning toward boy - a hairy 30-inch boy with 8 legs if the heartburn, kicking and squirming are any indication!
Note to Self
I've never been the type of person who can live in the moment. I'm always waiting for the 'next big thing'. For example, in high school, it was football. I'd spend my entire week looking forward to Friday ... and in the process probably missed some cool Tuesdays here and there.I've been aware of this for a long time, though, and made a conscious effort not to do the same with my pregnancy, i.e. look so forward to 'the big day' that I missed all the milestones along the way.
Now that I'm in the home stretch (41 days to go!), I need to re-remind myself to slow down: enjoy every day, every kick, every pain because it's almost over.
(B., er Santa, brought me the beautiful figurine pictured above. It's a nice reminder of how special these past 8 1/2 months have been.)
Hold Your Horses
It took B. and I 18 months to get pregnant - and we can't wait to meet our little one - but when the doctor told me last week that he thinks our baby wants to come early, I kinda freaked out a bit. OK, a lot.I've had a stressful few days, thanks in part to the word 'STAT' scrawled across a lab form and weekly non-stress tests and some contractions. Gulp.
So, I've been instructed to take it easy. Stay off my feet as much as possible. Lay down on my left side as much as possible. Call if my hands, face or feet swell. Or if I get a headache or blurry vision. (They're concerned about preeclampsia, which I guess isn't the politically correct term anymore, but it's what people recognize.)
So far, the NSTs are OK. And my lab work is OK. My blood pressure is still high, but isn't that kind of to be expected when the doctor is talking about bed rest and hospital monitoring and biophysical profiling? It's ridiculously hard to relax when you have multiple people telling you to relax. But, that's what I'm doing (with lots of help from B.). I've even kind of resolved myself to the idea that the baby could come early. Kind of.
I Have a What?!
When D-Day gets closer, I'm really going to enjoy predictions and bets about whether we're having a boy or a girl and on what day and at what time ... as long as they don't sound anything like this:'I think you're having a boy because your butt is getting bigger.'
Yes, someone did tell me that. I asked a trusted friend to confirm or deny and she says it's not true, but that doesn't stop me from checking my rear end out every time I walk by a full-length mirror.
