Heading Home

After a good 48 hours in the hospital, we are heading home. I hope LB enjoys her bedroom and sleeping arrangements. Overall very positive experience with tremendous support. LB has a clean bill of health. Eating every few hours compliments of Ashley.

Leighton + Dad

I don't stand a chance. Clothes, Jewelry, Ice Cream...How will I be able to say no.

First Night

A couple 2 hour snoozes, a couple 1 hour snoozes and now its morning. The Pediatrician stopped by, evaluated and gave no cause for concern. That was better than any morning coffee I've had in 20 years. Ashley is feeling good, sore, but good. Her positive spirits seem to be passing to Leighton and good vibrations (key Beach Boys song) are lifting room 230. Breastfeeding appears to be working- it's all about a healthy latch!

Thanks to all for the good wishes. Ashley is reading your comments and posts every hour. And thanks to all the visitors and phone calls yesterday. We are happy to have you in our lives.

Moving along.

3:04PM- Moved rooms. Much smaller. Ashley is doing fine, almost completely unplugged. She got her 2nd wish moments ago-turkey hoagie and dr. pepper. Polished off the whole thing. Baby Leighton has been in the nursery warming up and bathing. Everything looks good according to the Doc. I will post more pictures once the baby snatchers give her back.

Welcome to our family

12:26pm - Leighton Belle Golia. Mommy and Baby doing wonderful.
18 1/4, 6 lb 15 oz.

The day of days

4:45am wake up – this was really a 2am wakeup. 3 hours sleep down for what will be one of the most intense days of our lives. Good thing I got my McDonalds Ice T (unsweetened) and a delicious dinner last night, compliments of Mrs. Cheryl Kennedy.
5:03am – Ashley finished showering. The dog knows something is going on. Usually the travel bags are a dead giveaway but the house awake during Luxy sleeping time cued the interest level.
5:45am- Bags packed, off to the hospital.
6:07am- Arrive at hospital. Ashley complaining of gas pains all morning. We don’t know if the pain is last night’s beef slider’s sliding out her butt or the baby saying hello.
6:35am- Finished checking in, signing consents- off to room #10.
6:37am- Room #10 is roomy, about 360 square feet w/ a living room (couch and 3 chairs). Walls- institutional colors. If the drugs don’t make you crazy, the color selections will.
6:38am- Met Nurse Sarah. She is our co-pilot for the day. After a quick examination and some more affirmation about what is going to happen throughout the day, we set up the IV.
7:00am- Diagnostics have been established. Baby heartbeat, Ashley blood pressure, et al.
7:30am – Nurse Sarah mentions that she has been pretty regular w/ contractions. Today would have been the day regardless. Evidently the crap pains that she has been having turned out to be contractions. Who knew?
7:35am- Drugs administered to increase contractions.
7:55am- Ashley is worried she might crap the bed. We make a run to the bathroom to be safe. Couple farts and pees later, we are back in the bed.
8:30am- Doc come by- breaks water (took 2 seconds) and gave Ashley the towel diaper.
8:31am- Doc leaves. Damn- she is quick.
8:45am- Cavalry arrives. Kim and Ashley's Mom. Now we have a real support team.
8:50am- Anesthesiologist arrives...Time for the good drugs and time to say goodbye to the pain. We get the boot. Back in 20.
9:15am- We wait an extra 5 minutes. Images of walking into the room where the Doc is probing my wife w/ a sword scares the crap out of me.
9:17am- Back in the room. Evidently it took 2 pokes. Ashley was not happy about this. She has the spine of a finely tuned athlete so says the doc. I wish I was in the room to hear this comment. Toes are tingling. Spirits still high. Now the waiting game begins.
9:29am- I check the spreadsheet. the Peaks and valleys are occurring in closer intervals. Hmmmm.
9:45am- In goes the catheter! No more pee pee for Ashley
9:49am- Cervix check- almost 6 centimeters. Active Labor is upon us.
10:15am- On the menu for today, Ice Chips. Crumbled Ice Chips. Served ala cart in a styrofoam cup.
10:17am- TV turned on. The View...Is a view of my personal hell. I don't know what's worse, watching this or seeing my wife cry.
10:30am- According to Dave's watch, contractions are about 3 minutes apart and lasting about 20-30 seconds. Recalling those precious moments in birthing class, this needs to hit 2-3 minutes and last 60-90 seconds. Yep, I took notes. Taking nominations for birthing partner of the year. Me and my ice chips.
10:45am- I am completely amazed w/ this contraction machine. I am even more fascinated w/ the fact that Ashley has no clue what her body is doing. She could probably come up w/ some interesting dance moves, ala bologna ankles.
10:59am- New visitor. A different nurse. "I am here to assemble the delivery table". I was expecting to see her roll out an arsenal. Pretty simple presentation though- lots of towels and gauze.
11:04am- HOLY COW! 10 CENTIMETERS! GAME ON! Time to call the doc.

Parenting 101

3 books down and 1 birthing class complete. Biggest takeaways-

Do-
Establish your baby's routine.
In the first 7-10 days, focus on a full feeding.
Baby's need to burp.
Monitor your baby's growth.
Maintain primacy of husband-wife relationship...all other relationships in the home are impacted by the health and success of the husband-wife relationship.

Don't-
Mix adult drinks in the baby bottle. Effects can be damaging (see above).

Please feel free to offer some of your own advice. We are continuously looking to improve.

Unanswered questions

Now that we have reached the pinnacle of our pregnancy, it is time to address some of the more burning questions of the days to come.

What will LB look like? Will she exhibit Ashley’s debonair? Blonde hair? Blue Eyes? Or will the Italian pass down to yet another generation? My only request is 2 eyes, 1 nose, 1 mouth and 10 fingers and toes.

How will LB act? Will she display high levels of zeal (see Lux)? Or will the Ashley gene of “please keep your voices down” prevail? I sense (and hope) for the calm and collected baby.

What will Lux do? All of the toys that exhibit the “do not lick” sign already have her confused. But sharing the backseat? Changing her sleeping patterns? Not being the #1? This could be a roller coaster ride for the ages.

During labor- How many times will Ashley curse at Dave? I can smell a “you did this to me” coming out more than once.

And finally- When Ashley leaves the hospital, what will be served for dinner? My guess- Cheese Dog, French Fries and a Dr. Pepper.

On Call

T minus 270 has quickly become T minus 30. Each holler from the other room is greeted by an immediate “what”? “Is it time”? “Did you make a puddle?” I find myself clinging to the phone- in work, in the car, even in the bathroom. This heightened sense of awareness carries over to sleep time too. Nights are shorter and the bed is smaller and more sensitive to motion. Even the dog knows something is up -she is chilling on the floor now for most of the night.
Most common question we hear these days- are you ready?
Baby room (above)- check
Car Seat- check
Bottles- check
Extra perky bottle nipples- check
Box of chocolate chip cookies – check
I guess it is time to pack a bag. I hope there is room for my cookies.