Xander ... 1 Month Old

Xander had his one month checkup this morning. He is up to 10 pounds, 2 ounces and measures 22 and 1/2 inches long. All other checks were positive, so we have a growing, healthy, happy baby boy!

Pic of the week ...June 28, 2009

This week there were several good pictures, so please follow the link on the right and check out all of June's photos.

Pool Party and Grandma Sal's

This week, Grandma Sal hosted a pool party for Xander and his "cousins" James, Tori, Tommy, and Ryan. While James and Tori had a blast playing in the cold, cold water, Xander enjoyed his pool day with Ryan in a completely different way.


Maybe next time Xander will actually be awake for the party.

Pic of the week ... June 21, 2009

Xander, protected from mosquitos.

Pic of the week ... June 14, 2009

Caption This

In addition to our "Pic of the week", I decided to run a photo caption game as well. Its easy, at the end of the post, click on where it says "x comments" and tpye your comment/caption in the box on the right. If you don't have a google ID, you can click on "name/url" and type in your name in the box where it states. If people have fun with this, there will be more Caption This games in the future.

And now, today's Caption This pic....

Pic of the week

Come back each and every weekend for Xander's new "Pic of the week!" Also, new picutres available at the link to the right.

Xander...5 Days Old UPDATED 6/5

UPDATE: Xander's jaundice level has dropped to 12 and he has been removed from the Billy Blanket. He weighs just over 8 pounds. We go back to the doctor on Monday and will see if the levels continue to drop.
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Today is day five with little Xander, and I thought I'd give you all the update. As of this morning, Xander weighs 8 pounds. He also has a mild case of jaundice. At his pediatrician visit yesterday, they drew some blood to see how severe a case it was. (Xander and Mommy both cried as they poked his little heel) At about 6:00 PM, the doctor called and said his level was at 18.6 and we needed to do some home treatment beyond just putting him in the sun. At about 8:30, a home health care delivery man arrived with what is called a Billy Blanket for our little man. Basically, it simulates UV rays for Xanders skin.



We need to keep the pad on his skin as long as possible until Wednesday night. Unlike the lights at the hospital, we are able to swaddle him with this against his skin. After twelve hours or so, the level has decreased to 17.1 this morning, so it is working. He goes back to Doctor Patrick on Thursday morning to see if further treatment is needed. For the most part, it has been okay. He isn't bothered at all by the device, and has actually slept better the past twenty-four hours. Come back Thursday evening for the doctor's results.

A Baby Story

Now that things have settled down a bit, I thought I would share the story of Xander's birth.

On Tuesday May 26th, the amnio showed that little Xanders lungs were in fact developed, and the doctor called the hospital and said we would be coming in that night to begin the inducement. There were a few problems, however. As the nurses put it, Stacy is a tough stick. It took seven tries to get the IV in her arms. It wasn't until the anasteseologist was called that they were successful. Stacy spent the night with cervadil to thin out her cervix, and went on pitocin on Wednesday morning, which is used to induce labor.

All day Wednesday, the contractions came and went rather quickly, but she didn't thin out or dialate past one centimeter. So at five o'clock, they took Stacy of the pitocin, and she could relax until nine. Wednesday night, Stacy was put back on cervadil with the hope that another twelve hours would do the trick. The next morning, the nurse felt that she was a little thinner, and she was put back on the pitocin.

The doctor came in around noon, and said that Stacy was dialated two centimeters now, and that she was thin enough. Without telling us, the doctor broke her water, and things spiraled quickly from there. By two, she was at four centimeters and in came the epidural which took four tries due to my wife's "hard stickiness." Around four, she was getting sick to her stomach and everytime, she would dialate a little more, until now she was at 9 1/2. At this point, the doctor was called and by five thirty, we were pushing.

Joining me in the delivery room were my mother and Stacy's mother. Not having daughters, my mom was thrilled to be included. Truth be told, she was as much there to be a part of it as she was there to be sure I didn't pass out, or else she would have had to Moonstruck me. "Snap out of it!" Xander was a sweetheart, even while he was on his way. He gave Stacy nice two to three minute breaks in between contractions for her to rest up before pushing again. I did as much as I could at this stage holding her leg back for her, but apparently I was not doing this well, and I was subsequently replaced around six by a nurse. Finally, after only about forty minutes of pushing, our little Xander arrived!

Being the queasy person that I am, Stacy's mom did the honor of cutting the cord, which I was told was incredibly thick. While Stacy was being cleaned up, I had the pleasure of watching them clean up my new little man, measure him, and weigh him. Then, finally after nine months of waiting, I was able to hold my son in my arms!

For me, this experience was not at all what I expected. There was no screaming, no cursing, no passing out. I stayed up as high on her body as I could and managed to stay on my feet the entire time. As for Stacy, she was a trooper and as strong as I have ever seen her. I had never been so proud of my wife.

Hopefully, you will continue to come back to this site as Xander grows. I will update as often as I can so that you can, in some way, be with us as we embark on the adventure that is parenthood!