Success with the stroller

I am home alone for the first time and needed to walk Josie. After I feed Bryce, Jo patiently waited as I loaded him into the car seat and then snapped that into the stroller. Off we went...

Josie tried to race the stoller for the first block but she settled in. Bryce loved the outing and is sound asleep. Josie isn't faring much better, the heat wears her out.

I'm just glad I could figure out how to work the stroller. All in all, the most successful part of my day!

Meet and Greet

Saturday reminded me a little of sorority rush week. Group 1 shows up at the house. We sing, entertain and then rush them out to prepare for the next group. In the morning my parents, Dede, Estelle, Andy and Russell's brother's girlfriend came by. Andy won the prize for giving the world's cutest gift from a single guy. It is a giant stuffed monkey and I love it so much Bryce may never play with it.

Myra and Bob came in the afternoon and will stay till Monday. I'm sure we took a million pictures yesterday but I have to turn on the other computer to access them so updates will have to wait.

Bryce was a little worn out from the activity but on the upside slept great all night. I woke him for both the 1am and 4am feedings rather than him waking me. Russ bought Bryce a CD player so I tried out a new CD that Papa gave us. Heartbeats with nature sounds...worked like a charm. We really appreciate all the gifts and visits!

First Dr. Visit

First visit to the pediatrician today. The hospital was all of 2 miles from the house and the pediatrician is about 1.5 miles from the house...it's scary to think if we were to ever move we might have to drive more than 48 seconds to get somewhere. Anyway...the Dr's office is currently under construction so our initial examination room was on the other side of the buidling from the scale. Some how between the time we left the exam room, to the time we got to the scale, the boy had managed to poop his diaper...figures since he has to weigh in the buff. I think it was a last ditch effort to be skinny...you know...shed those last few oz. Well, unfortunately for him, the name of the game is gaining weight these days. All told, he's down about 7% of his weight, which doesn't seem to set off any alarms. His goal is to get back to his birth weight in the next 2 weeks. It shouldn't be a problem so long as we can keep him awake during his feedings.

Rest of the day was fairly calm...the exam and the car ride must have worn him out b/c he slept most of the day in his Moses basket (many thanks to the Barbans):



In the afternoon we got 2 visitors. First...Paige's cousin Will and his Fiance Hannah stopped by on their Tour de Texas (don't think they test for testosterone in their PT Cruiser). They had a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, and were on a mission from god so they only stayed a minute on their way to Jackson, Mississippi via Dallas. They gave Bryce a cute book called "Where's Baby's Belly Button" (I'll be honest...I skipped to the last page so I could know the answer) and off they went.

The second visitor was the UPS lady. While she didn't actually visit us, she did bring treats. One was a basket of cookies from my Mom (I wish the dude could eat some of these and fatten him up) and the other was a sliver of bacon (doggie treat style) for a franticly barking Josie who is not a fan of the UPS truck...perhaps this will change her mind.

Spencer's girlfriend Julie is in town helping her brother for a few days, so we may get to see her tomorrow...stay tuned.

First Visit

My grandparents drove in to meet Bryce today.
He loved all the activity. The bonus was that we got a ton of prepared foods from Mr. T's (who does in fact pity the fool) in San Angelo.

My mother went home so we're left to figure stuff out all by ourselves. So far so good. As you can see, he really loves resting in his papasan. Thank you Uncle Spencer!

Home a little early

Well...last night was successful. A couple of good feedings and a trip to the nursury so mom could get some sleep. Lara stayed over and was a big help with the changing and even encouraged Bryce to eat some more from momma when he was getting too sleepy to keep going.

This morning went by quick...although not quick enough for Bryce since the "snip snip" lady came and found him about 9am. Once he left the room, Peggy called her father to say a little prayer for him...so the remote bris was a success. Since he returned to the room a little lighter than he left, Paige made sure to give him some nourishment and out he went...I mean, who wouldn't need a nap after that?

Pretty smooth sailing after that...a little paper work and a last checkup and we were out of there. Peggy couldn't wait to get him in to his cute outfit since she didn't think the hospital gear was very flattering. Looks like we'll have to throw some stuff in the drier to shrink it though since the little sprout needs to grow some more before his newborn stuff fits. But...you can take a look at his new pictures and see the outfit anyway.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/russelltnewman/album?.dir=/556bscd&.view=t

So...home we are and it feels good. Josie is a little confused about what all the yelling is coming from Bryce's room, but really she's more interested in eating lunch. I'm sure they'll get acquainted a little later on.

We're doing good

Despite a long night for both me and Paige. As smoothly as the labor and delivery went, Paige's blood pressure decided to crash the post labor party. For most, the labor itself resolves high blood pressure, but her's hasn't responded as we would have liked for now. As a result, she was forced to spend the night hooked up to a magnesium drip which is the equivalent of new mom kryptonite. Instantly her she lost color, started feeling nauseos, and got really tired...plus she was still hooked up to the blood pressure monitor for the entire night. That ment I was sleeping on the love seat next to the bed so I could pass her Bryce through the night to try and feed. Luckily for me...this was not your ordinary loveseat...one of the sides extends out to form a mini bed that was even more uncomfortable than the loveseat itself. I would have just put the cushions on the floor, but they were attached...brilliant. Anyway...I think we managed a few hours of sleep in between feeding Bryce...he was not impressed with the boob at first and the bottle seemed to be OK for him...but he still wasn't eating much. However...the kid could fill a diaper, and at record pace. He seemed to get enough food in him to not not worry anyone...I mean cut the kid some slack...he's been alive like 9 hours...I'm sure he'll get hungy eventually.

We made it to the morning and Peggy came to relieve me for a few hours. While I was gone the Pediatrician came in, Bryce got a hearing test and some blood drawn, and a shot in the leg for Hep B...very productive. I returned with some Shlotzky's for lunch as the nurses wanted Paige to eat more than the cajun (blackened a.k.a. burnt) bagel that room service provided for breakfast. After a sandwich and the nurse finally removing the magnesium drip, Paige really started to perk up. Pressure was still a little high, but at least she could get up and walk around.

Despite still slightly high pressure, they agreed to move her to post partum. Our first nurse was a little skeptical about having her there, but luckily her shift was almost over. Shortly after arriving, the lactation consultant showed up and got that kid hoovering on Paige...and boy did he eat. Unfortunately, she left as quickly as she showed up thinking that Paige was a natural...our next attempt to feed a few hours later promptly disproved that theory. Thankfully, our night nurse was more than willing to help and we got the kid eating...another good feeding...see, it just took a little over a day...no big deal right? Full belly, empty diaper...nap time.

Our night time nurse seemed much less concerned with what Paige was doing in the room, so we took full advantage. With some help from her mom, she was finally able to shower and enjoy a nice baked potato and salad for dinner...generously provided by her cousin Lara. Feeling fresh and full...it was time for the next feeding. Our technique at this point is to let him wake up a little, change his diaper (which really makes him mad, but at least he's awake), and then start feeding. This time our nurse was on the spot to help start the feeding...and boy was there feeding. Bryce went through all Paige had to give and and additional half a bottle...I think he'll sleep well for a little while. Lara was nice enough to volunteer to stay with Paige tonight and thanks to her nephew Sam, she's well versed in the art of diaper changing...and good thing given Bryce's last meal.

After our guiness book worthy feeding, Peggy and I headed back to the house to pay some attention to our other child...Josie. She was so happy to see us she promptly ate dinner and curled up for bed...and I think we'll do the same.

The little man is here...

and 2 days early at that. Little Bryce Harper Newman did not want to wait until his scheduled arrival on Tuesday and decided that Sunday would be a more appropriate day to be born. Of course, his first good deed was to wait until after the British Open coverage ended to arrive. Lil Bryce thought 1pm CST would be as good a time as any and out he came. A fairly uneventful labor as Paige was well medicated shortly after our 5am arrival. Truthfully, I think the most sleep she's had in the last week came once she was good and numbed up. What happened to the days of yelling, cursing, throwing things, and wishing for the husband to be dead? Happy-durals (as our Dr. calls them) are certainly the way to go. Had her eyes not been open, I could have sworn Paige was asleep during the whole thing. Well...maybe she did have to work a little harder than that, but no more than 5 pushes and the kid was out...all 5lbs 15oz, 19" of him. Since he was a little early he had his glucose tested immediately and everything cam back fine. It was quite an eventful first hour of life for the little man as he was bathed (probably could have had a haircut after the shampoo), foot printed, fed, & photographed (several times...ok, a lot but who could blame me). He really spent a good deal of time just absorbing what his new, non liquid surroundings looked like. He was very attentive and quite alert...his eyes were open a lot and constantly surveying the landscape. He thought hanging out with Dad for a little while, while Mom ate some lunch and rested was a good idea, so we cruised a little bit, but I'm sure he'll soon figure out where lunch is coming from. Well...enough suspense...have a look at the little guy.



If you want more details, have a look at my photo album with all the pictures:

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/russelltnewman/slideshow?.dir=/5eecscd&.src=ph

We should be coming home on Wednesday. Mom asks that if you want to send something, please wait and just send it to the house (and Bryce really likes cookies...he told me)...the rooms aren't very big, plus I think getting the little bugger in the car will be challenging enough.

That about wraps up today's events...we'll be heading back to the hospital with some Mangia Pizza and apple pie so Paige doesn't have to suffer through another cafeteria chicken sandwich. Happy Birthday Bryce :)

A long day

My mother is in town since Russell is still in Brazil. I went to the doctor on Wednesday for a blood pressure check and ended up in the hospital. It was looking like they were going to begin inducing overnight so we got a hold of Russell and he decided to fly home. Everything seemed ok at the hospital so they discharged me around 2pm. I go back on Friday for another blood pressure check...most likely I will have the baby next week!

Just waiting...

Since Russell is in Brazil and I am home waiting forthe baby to be born I thought I would go ahead and set up a blog site. I still think blogs are a little too much information forthe general population but I do see their purpose. I'm using this site because Missy just set one up and hers looked good. My goal is to post weekly once the baby is here to keep everyone up to date on what's going on. We'll see how it goes...