Happy One Week!

This time last week we were getting ready for the c-section. It feels like a lot longer than a week. Overall, things have been wonderful. We've had a rough start, but that is probably par for the course for brand new parents. Since about Tuesday, its been all smiles and giggles from all of us.

Drew is beautiful. He's such a little angel. Erika is turning into a Mom right before my eyes. The past day or so Drew has wanted to do nothing but feed. Not much I can to help in that category yet.

I also wanted to thank my Mom and Dad for all their support. They have helped with meals, transportation, baths, advice ect. They have both been a great help!

And some pictures of my little munchkin:

Just Pictures

IV'e got water in my bed

So.... now Erika had half an IV bag leak into her bed. She thought she was sweating really bad, but it turns out the valve that controls the flow was turned the wrong way and it was leaking . So now Erika had to endure getting her bed changed from under her. It even soaked one of our pillows we brought from home. But don't worry, it was my pillow. Hers was high and dry.

On a side note, the nursing staff and doctors we have dealt with have all been wonderful. They are quick to help, and lend support, or tell a joke. It almost makes you want to have another baby :)

No fun for Erika

Around 4pm one the nurses here came to get Erika out of bed. Never a fun thing for a mother that just had a c-section. I was holding Drew, and two nurses were guiding Erika toward the bathroom. Things seemed to be going fine until she tried to turn around. "I'm going to faint" were her lasts words. The nurses plunked her down on the toilet fast, and the Erika was out. Next thing she knew 4 nurses (instead of 2) were in the bathroom with her with a wheelchair. Smelling salts and some cold compresses later, Erika was being wheeled back to bed. If I had to guess, her fainting spell had something to do with her lack of a 'real meal' or any food with a decent amount of calories for roughly 24 hours. She's fine now, back in bed. They won't try to move her again until the morning.

So then we decided to get some food in her. We ordered dinner, and got here a sandwich (for later) and some soup. It was tomato. Within 3 spoonfuls of the tomato soup I was scrambling to find a suitable container for her to lose what little lunch she had. Again, Erika is fine. The nausea went away in a few minutes. She still hasn't ate anything, but we are hoping to find some jello somewhere in this hospital.

Anyways, she is feeding Drew right now. She might not be hungry but it doesn't mean Drew isn't!

Drew

As of 8:04AM this morning I became a Dad. Mom and baby are doing great. Baby is leaking all sorts of fluid. That can happen with a c-section, no tight tunnel to squeeze all the juices out.

I was in the operating room with Erika, and the anesthesiologist, Dr Potter, told me to stand up so I could see 'good part'. I saw Drew coming out butt first, but didn't see anything disturbing (like a big gaping wound in my wife). They finally pulled his head out and TA-DA! Drew!

I love this picture. He came out SCREAMING!!! He wanted to go back to the warm dark place he came from. That is Dr. Enegess holding Drew up for the world to see

He went over to the baby warmer. 10 fingers, 10 toes. He was perfect.

Right now, 3pm, Mom and baby are sleeping together. They are going to make Erika get up and walk in about an hour. I'm about to take a nap too. We didn't sleep that much last night.

More news to follow.

8 Hours to go.

Update 5:28AM 6/14. Erika is in great spirits. She's hungry. She slept till about 2AM, getting about 5 hours of sleep. Then we just laid in bed till about 4:30. We are just sitting around for another 20 minutes before we leave. Saw a fox and a hummingbird this morning. Watch for future updates.

Not much to say at this point. I had a talk with Dixie and explained about the new arrival. She didn't understand me. She doesn't speak english, only German.

Watch for updates. Hopefully my next post will be a picture of me or my wife holding our son.

Alarm goes off in 5 hours, gotta get to bed.

Who says I have bad bird karma?

This is the new feeder on the office side of the house...
(photo by Erika)

This is my rifle. There are many like it, but this one is MINE.

The chipmunks are getting out of hand. They are eating Erika's plants right and left. They are even attacking Hostas!!

I'm waiting for the clearance from my commanding officer to take the next step. Now I just need to find a ghillie suit.

Doug's New Truck

Doug is getting a new truck. Problem is he couldn't find one he liked anywhere in his area near D.C. The truck he did find was actually from Manchester, NH. So Dad and I went to go check it out and take some pictures. We approve.