Carmen, the Boom Op

The other night, while Carmen was attempting to feed Hunter, it struck me. Our little guy was bobbing and weaving and she was chasing his mouth around with her nipple... and I suddenly realized this reminded me a whole lot of an aerial refueling!

Now, I never had the urge to take one of the KC-135 "morale" rides. The plane is very cold (anyone who knows me can just leave it at that explanation), and if I recall correctly, it had to be on our spare time. My spare time in the desert was spent catching up on my sleep, shopping downtown when we were allowed, or playing cards. so while I never witnessed it from the boom-operator's pespective, I did get to see all the AR I needed to from the front of our own airframe, thankyouverymuch.

Like an Ant

One of the good things about his small weight is that his strength is at least normal... which means he can much more easily lift/move himself. With my hand on the ground for him to brace his foot on, he was able to flip from front to back at 11 days old. At 12 days, he decided he didn't need to wait for me to put my hand down, and just rolls over on his own. Which makes giving him his requisite tummy time kinda tough, because he doesn't like it on his tummy and won't stay there for long.

Construction Adhesive

I am convinced that you could use baby poo as a super adhesive... once that stuff has dried, it won't come off for "love or money."

It's kinda crazy...

...just how tiny he is. But he is pretty cool :)
Any doubts/fears I had are different, now. Now my biggest concerns are making sure he stays healthy and thrives & grows. But I think I'm starting to get the hang of this whole daddy thing.
I originally was apprehensive of the dirty diaper business, too. But other than a couple times, I've been the primary "poo person" this whole time, and it's not that bad. My little fireman *has* nailed us a couple times when we uncovered his package to change him. It's funny how the exposure to open & cool air makes us guys feel the urge to pee - even later in life. I ask him where the fire is that he's trying to put out but his reply is just another baby face & some baby noises.
I've uploaded more recent pics to flickr.

Home is where the heart is

Woo hoo... the hospital released our little guy today. So around approx. 1400 hours, we brought little Hunter Allen home to meet the kitties and see his nursery.
The cats were mildly curious... but since he hasn't cried yet, they've done nothing but sniff at him a bit.
Now Carmen and I need to figure out exactly how we work our new "routine." Right now we are on a 3-hour feeding schedule, but I'd like to talk to the pediatrician to figure out if a 4-hour would work for him... if so, that would give us a bit more time to rest and take care of the things that life springs on us.
He's out like a light right now... just swinging next to my desk while I type. So cool :)

Poor Baby Cyborg

burping baby cyborg - 2
Originally uploaded by Ben AE

As I mentioned, his levels were high enough that we were sent to the pediatrics ward last night. Since they weren't terribly busy and there were two beds in the room, I was able to stay the night with mom & baby, which is nice.
At some point last night (midnight?) they decided to put him on an IV... which as it turns out was a good call. He was so dehydrated that they couldn't get a vein to stay open in his hands or feet... so they stuck his head. And yes, the mere thought of this was extremely traumatic for poor mom (who was already in tears because she could hear the nurses' attempts from down the hall). But it worked out well -- he has fewer nerve endings in his noggin, and he flails that around much less than his hands/feet. It makes feeding & burping (see photo) a bit more challenging, but I don't think any more challenging than having a tube in an appendage would be.
His levels tested lower this morning (down to 13, yay!), but they're telling us that there's still only a very slight chance that we'll get to go home today. Most likely they'll keep us over one more night, just to be safe.
Having him under the blue lights really sucks, because we both want to cuddle him so much. And we can't wait to get our little guy home.
I've uploaded a handful more pics to flickr, if anyone is interested.

Blue Light Special

Blue Light Special
Originally uploaded by Ben AE

Here's a bad camera phone shot of our special little guy under the grow UV lights.

Sent remotely.
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As I mentioned below, the bilirubin levels when they checked today were fairly high (18+), so they decided to keep us at least one more day, maybe two. The second check was lower (16) which is good... but he wasn't making any wet diapers, so they warned us that if he didn't start peeing that they'd put him on a baby IV! :(( He peed once (all over the nurse, lol) but they want more before 2100 or they'll stick our poor little guy.


Speaking of nurses... all of the nurses here at Kadlec have been absolutely FANTASTIC! They are all very very nice and have helped us tremendously - we're extremely impressed by the level of care we've received.

I'll eventually upload some better blue-light pics I took with our real camera at some point. But for now, I think I'll try to get a bit of shut-eye before our 2100 feeding.

Little Yellow Men

Aren't from Mars. We just found out that our little yellow-ish man is going to have to stay for a while under some photolamps, to help with his jaundice. Evidently his levels are high enough that they want to treat him with phototherapy and supplemental formula. The birthing center is releasing us, and pediatrics will be admitting us. Carmen is understandably upset, but after I take her home to clean up we'll be back and she's going to stay with him until they clear him for release. I won't get a chance to stay overnight, which sucks. But I'll be able to get those last minute things taken care of that we hadn't had a chance to prior to Wednesday morning.

Day which?

The phrase those of us who worked shifts and/or flew missions in the Air Force used to use to describe this feeling is "bleeding." As in, "man, I just got off a 20 hour and I am bleeeeedin' - gotta crash bad." My friends Hans and Rich have both told me I'll end up negotiating with Carmen for 10 minutes of sleep, here and there... and I can see why.
Even though I have a very long-standing dislike for staying in places other than my own, I'm so glad we were able to stay another day in the hospital. Several people (myself included) recommended that we take advantage of the nurses while we can, so last night we let them take Hunter for a few hours between midnight and 0300 or so... three hours of blissful rest, which I am sure will be difficult to come by in the next few days (weeks? yikes!). I know that the sleep deprivation we both underwent in survival school probably won't even hold a candle to what we're about to undergo. But I console myself with the knowledge that millions of people survive parenthood every day :)

Baby Hunter is taking a little nap right now (so is mom -- good!). Both of them have started to get the hang of this whole breastfeeding thing, which is making us all very happy. He had his circumcision this morning. Unlike some of my insane friends I didn't watch... not a chance. It was bad enough just knowing it was going to happen. He was so nice and peaceful and non-fussy when they brought him back, but Carmen still burst into tears. We've both become much more emotional. I'll admit that even before he was born I found myself getting teary-eyed during certain commercials/tv shows. It makes me wonder if there isn't *some* kind of hormonal change in guys, too. Triggered either by the state of mind, or in reaction to the woman's pheromones.
We took a few more pics last night and this morning -- I'm uploading them to flikr now, so by the time you read this they'll be available.
We get to go home today, yay! So much to do at home... but I'd like to get C & baby H down for another nap once we get there, and then putter around cleaning things... maybe run a couple errands that need to get done. I've had at least 4 cups of coffee once I decided I wasn't going to get much more rest this morning.
T-shirt slogan idea: "New Daddy: Cruisin' on Caffeine." Maybe that only seems amusing to me right now *because* of the sleep deprivation. I'll have to re-read it next year.

Anyways... check out the new pics if you are so inclined.

Thank you

Carmen and I want to extend our deepest and most sincere gratitude for all the love, support, and prayers we've received over the last few weeks of bedrest and last (and coming) days with the birth of Hunter. It means so very much to us, it can hardly be expressed in words... but thank you, thank you, thank you.
--B & C

The deal with birthing...

Well, C woke me up a little after 2 this morning, "Beeeeen - my water broke!" So we're at the hospital now [edit: now=0300 hrs] in one of the birthing suites, and she's actually feeling her contractions this time around.

[time passes]

Man, C was a bit pi55ed off.... She was at 5cm around 0500... The contractions were pretty bad, so she was going to get an epidural.
I was watching the monitor, and was thinking to myself, "that waveform looks a LOT like the pattern we saw in our birthing classes that indicates the final stages of labor. Huh. Must be a wonky monitor trace."
By the time the anethesiologist rolled in at 0530, she was having the baby! The nurse told him, "forget the epidural, get the doctor and the baby catcher!" boy Carmen was mad... "WHAT? THIS IS SO NOT COOL!"
So after not quite 3.5 hours of labor & bit of pushing later, baby Hunter was born at 0538. He's 5 pounds and a bit over 10 oz, and 18.5 inches long.
They whipped him right into the NICU because he didn't look very good... Some of the meds they gave her at the beginning that should've been out of her system by birth didn't have time, so he was affected.
NICU pronounced him good to go... And he's currently [was approx 0700?] getting his first meal right on tap :)

Anyhow -- I've uploaded a bunch more pics to flickr, so check out the link.
http://flickr.com/photos/benjaminellison/sets/72157604459422075/

[edited to fix link, add tags]

Ben & Hunter

Daddy & Hunter
Originally uploaded by Ben AE

Nap time!

Sent remotely.


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Hunter's Born!

Hunter is here
Originally uploaded by Ben AE

At 0538 (remember, she was just 5cm at 0500), little Hunter Allen came into the big outside world.
I'll post stats later.

Sent remotely.


[edited to add title & keywords]

Baby Time!

Baby time! C's water broke at 0210, and we're at the birthing center now.

[edited to add title & keywords]

Ben's Coffee Bar

Ben's Coffee Bar
Originally uploaded by Ben AE

I love having a nice espresso machine in my office. Now all I need is
one of the "daily special" boards, a mini-fridge to put milk in, and a
green apron.

Tiramisu

I made some tiramisu this weekend... as usual, I looked at about a half dozen recipes & then threw something together. Had some issues getting my egg whites whipped (pretty sure there wasn't any grease in the bowl, though). But it turned out pretty good.

4 eggs, separated into whites/yolks
1 1/4 c powdered sugar
2 c (16 oz) mascarpone cheese
1 c coffee (stronger the better... )
2 Tbsp liqueur -- put in coffee (whatever flavor you think goes w/ coffee... i used a coconut/chocolate flavor)
a box or so of Ladyfingers (cookies! I suppose you could use vanilla wafers if you had to...)
grated chocolate (dark is my fav)
cocoa powder (for serving, if you want)
half-and-half or normal heavy cream (for serving, if you want)

Whip the egg whites w/ sugar until stiff.
In a separate bowl beat the egg yolks until they're very smooth & you've incorporated a lot of air
Cut the mascarpone into small pieces (well, "cut" may be a misnomer... smoosh? blob?) and fold into the egg yolks.
Fold the egg white mix into the yolk/cheese mix.

Get a deep casserole dish, and line the bottom w/ your cookies.
Brush the cookies w/ the coffee/liqueur mix
Put a layer of the cheese mix on
sprinkle with grated chocolate

repeat layers (cookie + coffee, cheese, chocolate) , finishing with a layer of cheese mixture sprinkled with grated chocolate.

Chill for a few hours to set... serve with some cream & a dusting of cocoa powder.

Phew...!

The blood work turned out with good results... so we're in the clear for now, woot! :)

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Baby watch

Wow... at today's bio-physicial profile appt. the doctor indicated that based on the results of some lab work(which we should receive in a few hours), we may be induced TODAY! Yikes... I think our little guy really should 'bake' for a few more weeks (official due date is May 1), but of course whatever is best for mommy & baby will dictate what happens.
Stay tuned... I'll either keep this or my twitter as up-to-date as I can.

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