Saturday, February 6, 2010
Cameron Eugene Graves
He is here. Weighing in at 7 lbs and 14 ounces, with 21 inches of legnth, and a full head of black hair. Mother and baby are healthy. More coming later. Let the adventures begin.
9 cm plus
Upon last measurement, Mindy was almost to the full ten cm. Mindy and nurse tried to push once, but decided to back off and let nature/gravity/burrowing baby do it's thing a little while longer. This is nothing I ever imagined because we are probably within 30 minutes of delivery and Mindy is fast asleep. She has been pretty much sleeping for the last hour. She has truly been blessed with the gift of sleep. It is amazing.
On a side note, I just set a new high score on the Scramble game on my phone (the score is a 172 for all those fellow Scramble competitors). I play this game all the time when I have some time to kill and I haven't set a high score in a couple of months. So this is no small feat. It also has some added significance because I seem to always set high scores on days of major events. On my wedding day I shot a 41 on the 2001 Tiger Woods. Mindy wasn't exactly excited for me when I informed her of this at the altar. But we'll see how she reacts this time when I break my big news as she begins to push. I think it is now fair to say that I perform extremely well at trivial unrelated games while I should be focused on life changing events. Some might call that clutch!
I'm guessing that the next post will probably be much bigger news than this. Maybe I'll score a 180. Or maybe we'll be parents. I'll keep everybody posted.
On a side note, I just set a new high score on the Scramble game on my phone (the score is a 172 for all those fellow Scramble competitors). I play this game all the time when I have some time to kill and I haven't set a high score in a couple of months. So this is no small feat. It also has some added significance because I seem to always set high scores on days of major events. On my wedding day I shot a 41 on the 2001 Tiger Woods. Mindy wasn't exactly excited for me when I informed her of this at the altar. But we'll see how she reacts this time when I break my big news as she begins to push. I think it is now fair to say that I perform extremely well at trivial unrelated games while I should be focused on life changing events. Some might call that clutch!
I'm guessing that the next post will probably be much bigger news than this. Maybe I'll score a 180. Or maybe we'll be parents. I'll keep everybody posted.
7 cm
I'm sure everyone is going to be huddled around their computers all day following these proceedings. I'll give you a brief recap of events. Mindy received the epidural around 7 a.m. this morning and has been pretty much sleeping since. She says that she has not felt a thing, but she is 3 cm more dilated right now then when she received the epidural. She is very amazed by the marvels of modern medicine and questions why anyone would decline such an elixir of the gods. Ed and Linda are here at the hospital with us and we are just waiting as G-Baby continues his decent toward our atmosphere. It sounds like things are progressing at a good pace now and the little one will be making his appearance sometime today. I am now going to turn this live-blog update over to Mindy and transcribe everything she says until she tells me to stop. And go:
"Oh. Um. I'll just write later."
And stop. I think she said a lot with a few words there.
The nurse just walked in and stated that we might be having a baby by lunchtime. It's 10:15 now and I'm starting to get hungry, so that sounds like it might be soon.
Here we go......
"Oh. Um. I'll just write later."
And stop. I think she said a lot with a few words there.
The nurse just walked in and stated that we might be having a baby by lunchtime. It's 10:15 now and I'm starting to get hungry, so that sounds like it might be soon.
Here we go......
Labor has begun...
I promised my readers some live blogging from the hospital and I have delivered (no pun intended; well that's not true). I don't know how long I'll keep this up, but since mother seems in pretty good spirits right now, I thought I'd take a minute to share these very intimate family moments with the cyber world at large. The waters have been broken. But, unless my wife is a total labor warrior and completely unfazed by pain, the contractions are still mild. Mindy is catching some shut eye right now in preparation for the long day ahead. Maybe the next post you read on this blog will be written by a new parent. Or maybe the next post you read will be written by a devious parent-to-be while another parent-to-be writhes in pain in the midst of a totally gnarly contraction. You'll have to stay tuned to find out. Wish us luck everyone (be aware that I use the us there very loosely and mean mostly Mindy). Here's to a healthy and relatively easy labor!
Goodnight for now,
Coach
Goodnight for now,
Coach
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Today's the day...or not?
Today is my actual due date...but unless there's a flurry of activity in the next nine hours, I don't know that G-Baby is going to arrive on his actual due date. I went to the doctor this morning, and he gave me a non-stress test, which just meant that I had to wear two monitors on my belly for a LONG time. The doctor was looking for spikes in the baby's heartbeat after he moved, and he also wanted to measure whether or not I was having any conractions. Apparently, G-Baby was a little sleepy this morning, so I had to drink some orange juice to get him to wake up and move a little. After a half hour or so, the doctor seemed satisfied with the results.
I have also progressed to 2 cm and 60% effaced. My doctor said that I should come in on Monday, unless I have the baby before then. At Monday's appointment, we'll pick a day to be induced next week. It is so crazy to think that this time next week, we'll hopefully be bringing G-Baby home!
I have also progressed to 2 cm and 60% effaced. My doctor said that I should come in on Monday, unless I have the baby before then. At Monday's appointment, we'll pick a day to be induced next week. It is so crazy to think that this time next week, we'll hopefully be bringing G-Baby home!
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
"What to Expect: The First Year"
Mindy recently brought home the self-proclaimed "bible for new parents." I have perused this masterpiece and wanted to share some of my knowledge. Here are just a few of my favorite excerpts. These are actual quotes from the book (with some added commentary in italics):
- Three to six rompers (one-piece, short-sleeved, snap-at-the-crotch outfits without legs), for a late-spring or summer baby. I'm not exactly sure what this means, but it sounds like a baby who is ready to party.
- Wet regular tea bags with cool water and place them on your sore nipples. Note to Mindy, I think G-Baby would prefer a peppermint flavor.
- In more than twenty states, legislation has been passed stating that women have the right to breastfeed in public - that exposing a breast to nurse is not indecent and is not a criminal offense. Except in Texas where it is punishable by execution.
- Normal breast milk stools: Seedy, curdy, creamy, or lumpy; light yellow to mustard or bright green. Is this describing crap or a game of Clue? I'm not sure if I know what a seedy shit looks like, but I'm really looking forward to those curdy rainbows of joy.
- Don't put anything in your mouth if you don't know what it is. I was just confused about whom this sentence is directed toward. I'm assuming it's the baby. But, if they think any child within the first year of life is reading than I think I need a new book.
- Expressing milk by hand: To begin, place your hand on one breast, with your thumb and forefingers opposite each other around the edge of the areola. Press your hand in toward your chest, gently pressing thumb and forefinger together while pulling forward slightly. I have nipples Greg, can you milk me? Seriously, I feel dangerous with this knowledge. I think this is why God didn't allow men to nurse. You give me a weapon like that and I would walk around squirting everybody.
- Many experts concur that even the best that television has to offer isn't very good for one-year-olds. Clearly written prior to the creation of Jersey Shore.
- Do not permit anyone (visitors included) to smoke in bed or while falling asleep on the sofa. Huh? I am truly baffled by this statement. I like to think I would try to stop anyone who was falling asleep while smoking, but now I know to definitely stop them if they are visitors to my sofa.
- Appearance: Some feel removal of the foreskin makes the penis more attractive. And this is how we got into this mess to begin with.
Well, that's all the pearls of wisdom I have right now. And don't worry, I am fully aware that the tournament o' names has recently fizzled to a standstill. All I can say at this juncture is that the race is close, both opponents have fought valiantly, and as faithful readers of our blog you will be the first to know.
- Three to six rompers (one-piece, short-sleeved, snap-at-the-crotch outfits without legs), for a late-spring or summer baby. I'm not exactly sure what this means, but it sounds like a baby who is ready to party.
- Wet regular tea bags with cool water and place them on your sore nipples. Note to Mindy, I think G-Baby would prefer a peppermint flavor.
- In more than twenty states, legislation has been passed stating that women have the right to breastfeed in public - that exposing a breast to nurse is not indecent and is not a criminal offense. Except in Texas where it is punishable by execution.
- Normal breast milk stools: Seedy, curdy, creamy, or lumpy; light yellow to mustard or bright green. Is this describing crap or a game of Clue? I'm not sure if I know what a seedy shit looks like, but I'm really looking forward to those curdy rainbows of joy.
- Don't put anything in your mouth if you don't know what it is. I was just confused about whom this sentence is directed toward. I'm assuming it's the baby. But, if they think any child within the first year of life is reading than I think I need a new book.
- Expressing milk by hand: To begin, place your hand on one breast, with your thumb and forefingers opposite each other around the edge of the areola. Press your hand in toward your chest, gently pressing thumb and forefinger together while pulling forward slightly. I have nipples Greg, can you milk me? Seriously, I feel dangerous with this knowledge. I think this is why God didn't allow men to nurse. You give me a weapon like that and I would walk around squirting everybody.
- Many experts concur that even the best that television has to offer isn't very good for one-year-olds. Clearly written prior to the creation of Jersey Shore.
- Do not permit anyone (visitors included) to smoke in bed or while falling asleep on the sofa. Huh? I am truly baffled by this statement. I like to think I would try to stop anyone who was falling asleep while smoking, but now I know to definitely stop them if they are visitors to my sofa.
- Appearance: Some feel removal of the foreskin makes the penis more attractive. And this is how we got into this mess to begin with.
Well, that's all the pearls of wisdom I have right now. And don't worry, I am fully aware that the tournament o' names has recently fizzled to a standstill. All I can say at this juncture is that the race is close, both opponents have fought valiantly, and as faithful readers of our blog you will be the first to know.
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