Reagan is already more mature than I am.

She actually thinks this is stupid instead of hilarious.

(I'll be disabling this link soon, so don't miss out!  I just wanted to see who's out there.)

UPDATE:  Apparently there's a copyright claim on an 8-second video of an Iguana farting in a bathtub, so the link was taken down.  Be sorry you missed it because it was something to behold.

It's been a while. So sue me.

Why did no one ever tell me how exhausting the second child is?  During the day, I'm working.  When I get home, it's family/dinner time.  By the time we get both kids down at around 9:00, just about the last thing I feel like doing is sitting at the computer and trying to put together a coherent blog entry.  But that's my problem, not yours, and I've owed you an update for quite some time.  So here it is.

When last we spoke, Reagan was possibly ingesting beetle larvae.  (I can't believe I left the blog hanging on that one.)  Well, we were able to find some of the Similac sensitive formula which was not subject to the recall, so we've been feeding her that, and she seems to be doing fine.  It's probably just a coincidence, but the "fussy feedings" seemed to end right around the time we stopped feeding her the beetle parts.

Reagan had her two-month pediatrician appointment, and that went well.  She's looking good, growing, etc.  She weighed 10 lbs., 9 1/2 oz., which put her in the 50th percentile.  She was 22 inches long (25th percentile), and her head size put her in the 25th percentile, which is still unreal to me.  I can't believe I have a kid with a head the size of an orange.

The pediatrician decided to send Reagan for a hip ultrasound since Amanda had had a "hip click," and apparently that condition is at least partly hereditary.  There had been no indication that Reagan had a problem, but the doctor just wanted to make sure.  We had the ultrasound, and it was completely normal.  Even though we hadn't expected anything to be wrong, it was still a relief.

We can now officially say that Reagan is smiling and laughing now, which is really awesome.  It's so much fun to go into her room in the morning, have her look up at us, and then just smile from ear to ear.  It makes all the long nights worth it.

And there still have been some long nights lately.  Even though we stopped the middle-of-the-night feedings at about the nine-week mark, Reagan still occasionally (about 1 in 3-4 nights) will wake up fussing at around between 4:00 and 5:00 a.m. for no apparent reason.  We'll go in to check on her, and she'll just be looking up at us with big wide eyes!  Usually, giving her the pacifier and soothing her for a few minutes will at least buy us another hour, but sometimes she'll just keep fussing because she's just not tired.  And since we're absolutely NOT going to re-introduce the middle-of-the-night feeding, I've had to take her downstairs and just hold her a couple of times.  Makes for some long, tiring days.

Another event since the last posting was Susan's "girls' trip" to Wisconsin followed immediately by a business trip to Chicago.  Basically, that meant I was more or less on my own with the girls from Friday morning through Wednesday night.  I don't know how single parents do it because I've never been so exhausted in my life.  We still had our nanny for the weekdays, and Susan's mom helped me take the girls to a Fall Carnival at the local elementary school, but it was brutal trying to maintain the schedule and keep the kids entertained over the weekend.  It also didn't help that Amanda threw up in her bed at about 5:00 a.m. that Sunday (I'm assuming it had to do with the carnival hot dog she had eaten).  Then, to make matters worse, she barfed again while we were at breakfast at Waffle House.  (Before you judge me, you should know that Amanda otherwise felt fine and had no fever or other signs of illness.  Except for, you know, all the vomit.)  I believe that makes her the youngest, but by no means only, member of the immediate family to puke at a Waffle House.  She didn't puke any more, so whatever it was got out of her system, and she was back to normal by that afternoon.

A couple of quick final points:

• It looks like Reagan's eyes are still blue.  I'm sure they can still change to brown (like Susan's and mine), but if not, Susan will have some explaining to do.
• We just did our own, informal, 3-month measurements, and it looks like Reagan now weighs 12 pounds and is 23 3/4 inches long.

That's about it for now, but with Halloween coming up, I should have more to show and tell before too long.  Let's just hope I can find the time and energy to get back on here.  If you're interested, both girls are dressing as ballerinas, as you may be able to tell in the photo above.

The All-Seeing Eye

This is more than a little creepy -- someone from Similac made a comment to my posting below entitled "The Song Remains The Same."  They expressed regret that, as I said in the posting, I couldn't get through to their website to investigate the beetle parts recall.  That's all well and good, but I don't know if the best way to reassure me is to snoop around my blog.  Sure, it's public and all, but still . . .

So, we've now got a company putting beetle parts in baby formula and spying on the citizenry.  Awesome.  A spokesman for Similac could not be reached for comment.

New Album Posted!

Hi Folks . . . I just posted a new album, complete with captions, so enjoy!

Formula Recall Update

It turns out our current formula container IS subject to the recall, so we may have been feeding Reagan beetle parts or larvae for the past few days, if not longer. I'm about to head out to pick up some new stuff. In a perfect world, exposure to beetle parts would lead to superpowers somewhere down the line, but I'm not holding my breath.

Also, Reagan almost made it all the way through the night again last night. She woke up a little after 5:00, but she wasn't too fussy, and we were able to hold her off until the 7:00 a.m. feeding. I guess last night's bottles must have been beetle-free.

The Song Remains The Same

We're into Reagan's ninth week, and there's not much new to report (which is why I haven't blogged lately). What there IS to report is basically the same stuff I've been saying all along -- some nights Reagan sleeps well, others she doesn't, and we still can't figure out what might lead to one type of night or the other.

Last night, for example, she was WIDE awake after her 8:30 bottle. Since she was just screaming in her crib, I got her and held her, which seemed to calm her down for the most part. Naturally, she fell dead asleep about 15 minutes before her next scheduled bottle at 11:30, and that feeding was difficult. The good news is that when I put her down after the feeding, she actually slept through the entire night, and Susan had to wake her up for her 7:00 a.m. bottle. Since Reagan was probably exhausted from having been up the entire evening, we're not going to claim that she has officially dropped the middle-of-the-night feeding just yet. Still, it was nice to get the uninterrupted sleep for a change, especially for Susan, who went back to work today.

Tonight she went down fine after the 8:30 bottle, and there's no telling what to expect later on.

Based on Reagan's unpredictable behavior, we're considering the possibility that she has a mild case of colic. I usually have my doubts about claims that a baby that happens to cry a lot has colic, but it's not just the fact of Reagan's crying. It's also the randomness of it and the apparent pain she seems to be in. All of this seems to point to colic, which would be kind of reassuring since we'd know we just have to wait it out. It also means our super-scientific baby bottles designed to prevent colic are worthless.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention another theory we're also working on. It turns out there's a recall of her formula mix because of the possible inclusion of beetle parts and/or larvae that may irritate a baby's gastrointestinal tract. I am not making this up. The Similac website and phone number are slammed right now, so I can't check if our particular container is covered by the recall, but we're not ruling anything out.

Okay, Susan has pointed out that everything I've said in this post so far has been negative, and I need to include some positive news. She's absolutely right, and I apologize if I've left the impression that raising Reagan has been nothing but trouble. Nothing could be further from the truth. Despite her occasional fussiness, she is still eating well and growing. She has even already outgrown the first batch of onesies and outfits, and she takes up a whole lot more room in the car carrier than she used to.

Reagan is also awake and alert more and more, and she "talks" while waving her little arms and legs, which is just the cutest thing. We've also discovered that she likes to look at herself in the mirror, which was also one of Amanda's favorite toys when she was an infant. Best of all, she's started smiling for us, and it just lights up the room! I'll try to get a picture of it and post it here, but for now, it's still pretty rare and elusive.

All in all, Reagan is still doing well, and we've just got to try to remember that she's still not even two months old yet, and we need to be patient with her development. In time, I'm sure we'll look back at this time in her life and wonder what the big deal was.

In other news, Amanda started Preschool a couple of weeks ago, and that's going really, really well. She goes two days per week, and she loves it. It's so cool to hear her talk about her new friends and what they did each day. Of course, extracting information about her day is like pulling teeth, even at this young age. And, despite being the youngest in her class, she is way ahead of the curriculum since she already knows her colors and letters. We're expecting her to be promoted to 3rd grade any day now.

Lots going on . . .

Well, folks, it has been a busy couple of weeks, which accounts for my lack of posting. I'll try to make up for it with a nice long entry today. Since I've got updates on both kids, you'll have a lot to read.



Amanda's Birthday

Although the blog is generally Reagan-centric, I'm going to deviate from that focus a bit right now in order to address Amanda's birthday. She turned three on Saturday, August 28th, and we had a party for her that day at Gymboree. But more on that in a moment.

Leading up to Amanda's birthday, Susan and I realized we hadn't really given much thought (actually, no thought) to what we would get her for her birthday. So one afternoon I trekked over to the Toys R Us near my office to see what looked good. Not surprisingly, it was difficult to make decisions from among all of the awesome (and expensive) toys. What struck me as I was shopping, though, was just how close I came to being one of "those" dads. Let me try to explain what I mean. Amanda has always liked playing with little Matchbox cars, and she is now aware of the Pixar movie "Cars." It made sense, therefore, to get a copy of the movie for her birthday, right? Well, those Pixar movies ain't free, and in a fit of weakness, I found myself digging instead through the bargain DVD bin looking for a cartoon with talking cars in it that could be had for $4.99. She won't know the difference, right? She's three! Fortunately, I caught myself before I tried to pass off something like "Automobiles" as "Cars," but it was scary how close I came to becoming the type of parent who buys Hydrox cookies and Chek Cola and doesn't think anyone will notice. For the record, we got her a mini trampoline, a minivan for her dollhouse family, and a couple of DVDs (including the real "Cars"). Swish!

We had some family come to town for Amanda's birthday (and to meet Reagan). Cousin Danielle and her boyfriend Brian came in from Austin, TX, and it was great to have them here. I'd say something about what a great couple they are, but I don't want to be viewed as putting any undue pressure on the fine young man. And, of course, Aunt Terri (Danielle's mom) came in both for Amanda's birthday and to help with Reagan during the following week. She was really a God-send, volunteering to take the middle-of-the-night feeding most of the nights she was here. That really helped Susan and me a lot, and words cannot express how grateful we are for her.

Amanda's birthday party at Gymboree went really well. We had never been to Gymboree before, so we really didn't know what to expect. And, as always, we worried that Amanda would be all clingy when faced with a new environment. As always, she surprised us. She got right into the activities and really played well. One of these days, we're going to stop being surprised by the fact that Amanda does just fine without us hovering over her. All of the other kids (there were about 13 total) seemed to have fun, too, which was great to see. The best part of the party, though, was not having to prepare for it or clean up after it. There's no way we could have had a party at the house with a month-old infant, so it's a good thing we didn't even try.

Reagan News

Life with an almost-six-week old baby continues to be challenging. Since all Reagan really does is sleep, eat, and fuss, we probably over-analyze each of these activities. When she has a good night, we think we're out of the woods, and when she is up fussing half the night, we assume we must be doing something wrong. We know that neither extreme is the truth, but it's hard to keep the necessary perspective sometimes, especially on very little sleep.

So, as you may have surmised, Reagan has yet to settle into a predictable sleep pattern. We'll go a night or two where she goes right to sleep after the midnight feeding, sleeps for about four hours, then takes another bottle and goes right back down. The next night, it's back to being wide awake (and inconsolable) from 4:00 a.m. on. We haven't yet figured out which condition(s) favor one type of night over the other, and I have a sneaking suspicion there is no right answer.

Despite our concerns with what we view as excess sleep problems, we held off contacting the pediatrician's office for advice since we knew we had Reagan's one-month appointment set for August 30th, and we'd be able to find out what we were doing wrong at that point. Of course, when we told the doctor that Reagan has one or two feedings a day where she gets very fussy afterward, she said, "One or two problem feedings a day? You two must be doing something really right!" That was nice to hear, and it managed to assuage some of our anxiety, at least for a little while.

In general, Reagan's one-month appointment went great. She was up to 8 lbs. 8.5 oz. after her birth weight was 6-12, so there's no concern that she's failing to thrive. She's in the 25th percentile of length and weight, which is fine. And best of all, her head size is also in the 25th percentile, so she's a very proportional little girl. Who'da thunk I could have a kid with a normal-sized head? Maybe this one will be able to find hats that fit!

Even through all of the hand-wringing over perceived sleep issues, we can clearly see that Reagan has changed tremendously from when we brought her home. She is awake and alert more and more each day, and with her eyes open more, we can finally get a good luck at the color -- I'm calling it "gunmetal blue."

I apologize for not posting any new photo albums lately, but I plan to put one up over the long holiday weekend.

The Adjustment Continues

Well, that was an interesting weekend.

First of all, the visit with Gramms and Granddad was great, so there are no pictures of Gramms holding a shrieking baby. And there are no pictures of Granddad holding a baby of any kind since holding infants is not something he does. Amanda really loved him, though (and Gramms, too!) which was great to see. Amanda has always been stand-offish around people she only sees occasionally, but this time she warmed up very quickly and was giving the grandparents hugs and kisses in no time. Overall, we had a great visit with the folks.

As for the ongoing saga that is Reagan's sleep pattern, we ran the gamut over the weekend. Friday night was probably her worst so far. After the 2:00 a.m. feeding, she wouldn't go back to sleep longer than about 10 minutes at a time. She just kept fussing and fussing until after the 7:00 a.m. feeding, at which point she finally settled down and slept. At some point during the night, we switched her to the "sensitive" formula instead of the regular stuff, and that may have ultimately helped. Or maybe not. It's hard to tell with these little critters. But the damage was done, and we spent Saturday wandering zombie-like throughout the house.

Saturday night was certainly better than Friday but was by no means ideal. Reagan was able to go back to sleep after each feeding, but she would only sleep for two-and-a-half to three hours between them. Before that, she had been making it as long as four hours before needing to be fed again, which was fantastic. Still, since she went back to sleep easily, we're going to call it a "win."

And Sunday night was even better still. She fed well, went back to sleep afterward, and slept longer than three hours between each feeding. It was sheer bliss compared to Friday. Let's hope that continues tonight.

We decided that Reagan's sleeping problems (such as they are) can be traced back to gas. Despite the fancy bottles we're using that are supposed to prevent/minimize gas issues, she just bloats up like summer road-kill while she takes the bottle. While I would think the volume of gas should make it easy to burp her, that hasn't proven to be true, and I struggle to get any kind of burp out of her at all. Susan is better at it, but it's still not easy for her. The result is that feedings can be interrupted by burping sessions lasting upwards of fifteen minutes. It's very, very frustrating.

Even with the occasional problems, we realize that, in the grand scheme of things, we are blessed to have another easy baby. Of course, both Amanda and Reagan are probably just saving their real problems for the teenage years.

Yawn

The title of this post has two meanings. The obvious one is that Susan and I are exhausted because for the past two nights, Reagan has not wanted to go back to sleep after the middle of the night feeding. She'll take the bottle just fine (if a little slow), but we put her back down and she starts fussing within about ten minutes. We comfort her for a few minutes or give her a pacifier, and she seems okay again. Ten minutes later, "waaaahhhh!!!!" And so on, and so on. So basically, Susan and I are operating on less sleep than usual. Not that we're surprised, mind you, but we want Reagan to know when she reads this in the future just how much she cramped our style back in the day.

The other meaning of "yawn" has to do with the fact that there's really just not that much going on with Reagan that's worthy of reporting. Thankfully, I guess, she's kind of boring. Of course, she's only three weeks old, so it's probably a little soon to expect her to entertain us with wacky antics. But when she can perform feats such as smiling, holding her head up, and reaching for things, it's gonna get crazy up in here.

In Susan news, she went to the doctor for her three-week checkup on Wednesday, and everything looks really good. She was cleared to resume normal activities, and we are thankful that she endured the c-section so well once again.

My folks are coming for a visit this weekend to meet Reagan for the first time, so I expect to be able to post a picture or two of Gramms holding a shrieking red-faced infant.

08/14/10 Update

I feel the need to post some sort of update even though there's not a whole lot to report these days. It turns out that newborns don't really do a whole lot that's worth noting. Her belly-button fell off this week, but that was probably the developmental highlight.

For the past several days, Susan has been making sure Reagan has more awake time during the day to make sure she's tired at night. We've also been giving her a bath each night, which really does a good job waking her up. Since the first bath (which upset her pretty good) she hasn't really fussed and almost seems to enjoy it. Then, after the bath, she's pretty alert, and it's fun to talk to her and make funny faces at her when she looks to be paying attention. Of course, she can't smile yet, so she just looks up at me with an expression that says, "who's this idiot?" Kinda like how I look at Carrot Top.

On Wednesday night, the entire family ventured out to dinner for the first time. We just went to a local burrito joint (I won't name it unless they pay me!), and the experience went off without incident. Reagan just slept in the car carrier the entire time, just like we anticipated.

Today (after going out for breakfast) we did some organizing of the playroom to free up some room for whatever new toys Amanda will get for her birthday in a couple of weeks. We also set aside some toys for Reagan to use and put some others in the basement. Being more or less housebound is giving us plenty of time to get the place in order. So, another rockin' weekend at the Pavloffs' house. Try to contain your jealousy.

It Worked!!!

So as not to leave hanging the three of you who are actually reading this blog, I wanted to go ahead and post that last night was a success. Reagan slept from about 3:00 until about 6:45, which is an eternity in newborn-time. As a bonus, here's an eyes-open photo of our little munchkin.

Two Week Update

It's hard for us to believe, but Reagan has now been with us for two whole weeks. At the risk of sounding like every other parent in the world, the time is really flying by. Let me rephrase that . . . the time is flying by for me. I get the sense it is dragging by for Susan since she remains housebound by a medical protocol which was probably designed for mothers who struggle to recover from c-sections. As I've mentioned in this space before, she truly has remarkable recuperative powers. Nonetheless, she's not allowed to drive until at least August 18th, and since we really can't take Reagan anywhere yet, Susan remains a prisoner.

Reagan is doing well, but she has yet to settle into a set sleep routine. Oh, she still sleeps for probably 22 hours a day, but for two of the past three nights, her two "awake" hours have followed her middle-of-the-night feeding, and she will fuss and fuss and fuss until someone picks her up and carries her around a bit. This situation is not ideal. Last night, I ended up bringing her downstairs at about 5:00 a.m. so Susan could sleep some more, and there was nothing on TV to watch. Reagan and I ended up falling asleep to the movie "Cabin Boy," which may well be the worst movie ever made.

Tonight, we're trying a new approach. After focusing on keeping her awake more during the day, Susan gave Reagan a sponge bath after the evening feeding, which seemed to wake her up pretty good. With any luck, the additional awake time today will translate into additional sleep time tonight. We're not expecting her to sleep through the night or anything; we would just like her body clock to be properly synchronized. Now.

If anything, Amanda has gotten even cuter in her dealings with Reagan. She has stopped asking quite so many questions and now seems more interested in "helping" with her baby sister. Suffice it to say, however, there are limits to the contributions a two (almost three!) year-old can make to the care of a newborn. In fact, her help is pretty much limited to holding things (diapers, burp cloths, etc.), but it's good for her to feel involved. Amanda also wants to kiss Reagan a lot, which is just adorable.

I almost forgot to mention another milestone in Amanda's life -- she has now pooped on the potty two times in a row. She's been using the potty for No. 1 for a few weeks now, but The Deuce has proven to be a formidable opponent. We're not ready to declare victory just yet, but there's light at the end of the tunnel.

Same Old, Same Old . . .

We've settled into a routine here over the last couple of days, so there's really not much news to report. Reagan is still doing really well, and it looks like her jaundice has almost completely gone away. She's still sleeping and eating well, though the pattern is not yet what we're looking for. Ideally, we want her to be awake after she eats instead of settling into a milk coma after (or in the middle of) each feeding. We did that for Amanda, and she has always been a really good sleeper. We hope to get that straightened out in the next couple of weeks.

So far, Amanda has not gotten bored with Reagan and still seems really interested in what she's doing. She also likes to kiss her head and touch her cheek or nose. We've had to reprimand her for trying to touch Reagan's eyes, but overall the interaction has been very loving. Tonight, Susan brought Reagan into Amanda's room for her bedtime routine, and Amanda snuggled in bed with her sister, which was just adorable.

I worked full days yesterday and today for the first time since Reagan's birth, so at least I'm getting some sort of return to normalcy. I think Susan still has some residual "pregnancy brain" because after feeding Reagan yesterday, she put her shirt back on not backwards, not inside out, but BOTH backwards AND inside out. The tag was on the outside under her chin. And we both knew that brain-fart was going to go on the blog. And so it did.

Jaundice? What jaundice?

Okay, we're back from the pediatrician's office, and Reagan looks great. Her bilirubin number was down to 11, and she put on another two ounces. The doctor felt good enough with how things are progressing that she told us we don't have to use the light bed at all anymore. We can also stop supplementing her feedings with formula, which is also good news. Reagan is still a little yellow in the face, but everywhere else she's looking much paler (which is good).

Not to jinx us, but overall, Reagan has been extremely good so far. She eats well, sleeps well (including about a 4 1/2 hour stretch last night), and fusses very little. Even when she's awake, she just kind of looks around, probably silently judging everyone.

Amanda still seems excited about having a little sister, but we had our first sign of an inter-sister conflict last night. Amanda was trying to watch TV, and Reagan started crying (which she has done around the same time just about every night). Perturbed that her television enjoyment was being infringed upon, Amanda turned to Susan and me and said, "I can't hear. Can you fix Reagan?" In the coming years and decades, each sister will probably want to "fix" the other too many times to count, but we were hoping to get at least a week of domestic harmony out of the girls. Oh, well. It will definitely get worse, so we continue to count our blessings.

Space Baby/Pumpkinhead Update

The afternoon we trekked back to the pediatrician's office to re-check Reagan's bilirubin level, and it the results were really promising. Yesterday, the level had been at 19, and by today it had dropped all the way to 13. According to the PA, that's a really big one-day drop and a really good sign. Coupled with the fact that Reagan also gained 1.5 ounces in one day (0.5 would have been acceptable) and that she continues to output urine and stool regularly (to say the least), we may be at the beginning of the end of this little adventure. We're going to keep her on the light bed for a few more hours today, but then we get to stop using it pending another test tomorrow afternoon. If the bilirubin keeps dropping, we might be done, except for a re-check at two weeks and again at one month.

By the way, there is no "normal" bilirubin level since it is a waste product and needs to be excreted by the body. Ultimately, it will get to zero, and once it's on its way down, it's unlikely to go back up. Here endeth the lesson.

The Face of Jaundice

Here's a good picture showing what a newborn with jaundice looks like. Looking at it now, it's hard to believe we didn't really notice it on our own. Her head looks like a pumpkin, and for once, that's not a reference to the size!

Space Baby!

This picture may look familiar to some of the parents out there, but for the uninitiated, what you're seeing is Reagan lying on a light bed as treatment for jaundice. We thought we were out of the woods for that when her bilirubin level went down while she was in the hospital, but at yesterday's first visit with our pediatrician, the level had spiked up again. To get the bilirubin level where it needs to be, Reagan needs to lay on this light bed so the light can help break down the bilirubin so she can get rid of it easier. Unfortunately, she basically has to lie on this thing constantly (except for meal times), so we haven't been able to really hold her since about 6:15 last night.

When we first put Reagan on the light bed, she cried for a LONG time, which was just awful for Susan and me to hear. We felt so helpless. Since then, however, she has actually been pretty good (maybe because she tired herself out), and she slept better last night than the previous two. She woke up hungry at the appropriate times (1:00 and 4:00) and ate well. So after a rough start, Reagan has adapted to the light bed quite well. Hopefully, that's an indication that she'll adapt very easily to change, just like her sister.

Speaking of Amanda, she also had jaundice as a newborn and needed to lay on one of these contraptions. However, that was at the hospital, so it didn't seem as weird or serious as having a piece of medical equipment sitting in our house. This time around, it's almost like Amanda knows what Reagan is going through because she has asked no questions whatsoever about the light bed! Ha ha ha, not really . . . she won't stop asking about it.

We go back to the doctor this afternoon for another bilirubin check. While we're not expecting to be able to ditch the light bed after one day, we both think Reagan looks less yellow today than she did yesterday, so, fingers crossed. The doctor's office said the beds are usually used anywhere from two to three days up to a couple of weeks.

And when this is over, if I ever have to say the word "bilirubin" again, it'll be too soon.

Two Kids is HARD!!!

Well, we made it home Saturday with very little difficulty. The only hiccup leaving the hospital had to do with Reagan's decision to resist the last feeding there. She had been doing great all morning, and we wanted to get in one last meal before heading out. Reagan had other ideas and simply would not eat, preferring instead to shriek at the top of her lungs for 30 minutes. It's tough to feel so helpless as your new daughter is in such obvious discomfort. She ultimately settled down (as they always do). After a couple more problematic feedings, we were able to isolate and remedy the problem.

Bringing an unanticipated newborn into a home with an almost-three year-old has proven to be a challenge for the first couple of days. In fact, the delay in posting has to do with the fact that we have been working non-stop getting the house where it needs to be and keeping up with Amanda almost since we walked through the door. Since Reagan's timing was a surprise, we didn't have the place quite ready yet, so we've been scrambling to set up (and clean) things like her pack-and-play, swing, bouncy seat, etc. Plus we had a lot of our own laundry and grocery shopping to do since we basically haven't been home since Tuesday. And all the while, Amanda has been firing question after question after question at us with all the energy and determination that a three-year-old can bring to bear. I got to take her to lunch and to the store to give Susan a bit of a break, but it's tough playing man-to-man on Amanda, and I'm beat.

Making matters easier the first couple of days has been the generosity of friends in providing us with meals. Please know how much we appreciate your kindness. Please also know how much we wonder why no one has brought us beer.

For her part, Reagan herself has been an absolute dream. Aside from the feeding issues discussed above (which we fixed), the only Reagan-related "issue" we have concerns her sense of humor. She has decided it is absolutely hysterical to wait until the precise moment when her old diaper has been removed and the new one is underneath her to let loose her urine (or worse) one more time. She has followed this pattern on probably 75% of the diaper changes, resulting in our using far more diapers than expected. I think we went through close to 20 today alone. Ha ha ha, Reagan . . . it's coming out of your college fund. I guess it's good she's not a boy, or we'd have pee all over the walls, floors, and ourselves.

When she's not wasting diapers or eating, Reagan pretty much sleeps in the pack-and-play or in our arms. She has been awake (with her eyes open) far more since we got home than she was in the hospital, and she's got that great clueless newborn look that says, "Where am I, and how did I get here?" For those keeping track, her eye color appears to be brown, so Susan doesn't have any explaining to do. Reagan seems very content, except when she's hungry, which is just as it should be.

And for those wondering how the first night went, it was basically what we expected. We stayed up for a last feeding at 12:45, then had our sleep interrupted at 3:45 and 7:30 for additional feedings. After the 7:30 feeding, we got to sleep until almost 10:00, which felt great. Amanda may have been up for a while, but she has it in her head that she's not allowed to talk or get out of bed when she wakes up. We're not in an hurry to disabuse her of that idea, either.

Another observation I'd like to jot down before I forget is that having a newborn around has had the unexpected side effect of making Amanda appear absolutely gigantic. She has been our little girl ever since she got here, but now she's freakin' huge!

I'd also be remiss if I didn't discuss how Susan is doing. Put simply, she's fantastic. I don't know how she does it, but her regenerative powers are astonishing; she's like Wolverine. Since we got home, she's taken a little Motrin, but her Percocets remain unused. Maybe we can sell some to cover the cost of the diapers. The only "complication" in Susan's recovery thus far has been her emotional vulnerability to romantic comedies. Today she was brought to tears by both "Notting Hill" and "Failure to Launch." Fortunately, she sees the humor in the situation, so I'm allowed to laugh at her about it. You can, too!

I've added another short album, but I haven't had time to do the captions. Maybe tomorrow. Until then, feel free to submit your own captions in the comments section!

Day Three Update

At the close of the third day, things continue to cook along smoothly in Room 272. We had another solid (under the circumstances) night's sleep, and Reagan has been good for us almost all day. While there were a couple of times when she cried for no discernible reason, she basically sleeps all day, which is totally fine with us. It is really sweet to see Reagan resting comfortably in her mommy's arms after a good meal.

Amanda paid us another visit today, as Nana brought her down around lunch time. She is still very interested in her baby sister and asked lots of questions. Actually, she had about three questions which she asked lots of times.

To pass the time, I took Amanda to Chick-Fil-A for lunch (and to get something for Susan and Nana), which seemed like a good idea at the time. Unfortunately, there was a person in a cow costume at the Chick-Fil-A, and if there's one thing Amanda doesn't like, it's people in animal costumes. And monkeys. She also hates monkeys. Anyway, I spent the entire (brief) trip to Chick-Fil-A trying to prevent Amanda from going into cardiac arrest at the sight of a giant, friendly cow. Mission accomplished.

Other than Amanda's slight emotional trauma the day was fairly uneventful, giving me an opportunity to compile a few random observations:

• Though it's apparently normal, Reagan has a newborn rash which makes her look like an geeky high school kid.
• While we're on the subject of geeky high school kids, Reagan shares a birthday with the late Gary Gygax, co-inventor of Dungeons & Dragons! Cool!
  
• Susan's recent bout of snoring over the past few months appears to have been cured by downloading the life form within her.
• Reagan has a Houdini-esque way of escaping her swaddling. Within minutes of starting to stir, her arms are loose and flailing about.
• Her flailing arms have caused a whole bunch of tiny scratches on Reagan's face. Looks like she's been in a really tiny knife fight.
  

The last remaining health concern the staff has been following has been the potential for Reagan to develop jaundice. But her numbers are trending in the right direction, so we're optimistic we'll all be cleared to leave tomorrow.

So we're basically done with the third day, and we're ready to go home and gather our family under one roof. Despite our preparation and our prior experience with Amanda, the home front will undoubtedly present a host of unforeseen challenges. But we'll conquer them, and we'll have fun doing it!

Back to Business

Okay, after much trial and error, I managed to figure out how to post an album on here (another downside to the early birth -- I didn't have time to master the blogging site). So there's the first album, over there to your right. I'm not sure how long the President Reagan theme will continue, but I'm sure I'll work it in where I can.

Today has been much more relaxing for all of us than yesterday or the day before. First of all, our decision to let the nurses handle the middle-of-the-night feeding was sheer brilliance. We actually got close to six hours of uninterrupted sleep, so we were ready for the 5:30 feeding. Susan was able to take a shower afterward, which really helped her feel even better. She continues to heal and can get up and move around at will now. I'll have her fetching me Funyuns from the snack bar by tomorrow.

While Susan rested, I was able to get home and take care of a few things which had been left undone because of the unscheduled birth. I drove Susan's car home. It had been parked at the parking deck at the doctor's office since Tuesday, so I couldn't wait to see how much THAT was going to cost me. Well, after the booth attendant summoned his supervisor for a pow-wow, it was determined that I owed the princely sum of $5. Ouch! But I digress . . .

Reagan (oh yeah . . . her) has had a good day, too. Her blood sugars officially satisfied the hospital folk, so she no longer needs her heel pierced every three hours. She also has exclusively taken breast milk today, and has done great at thee of the four feedings so far. The neonatologist checked her out again and confirmed that she does not have the same "hip click" that consigned Amanda to an awkward harness for her first ten weeks. There's a chance she might develop slight jaundice in the next day or so, so they're keeping an eye on that.

We also had a bunch more visitors today, most of them from Susan's office. It's so nice of people to go out of their way to visit us, and we appreciate each and every visit. Hard as it may be to imagine, it can get kind of dull in a hospital room. Even the dynamic conversation of a one-day-old can't keep us entertained for too long. But man, is she cute!

A Long Day

Well, here we are at the end of Reagan's first full day, and Susan and I are exhausted. We had quite a few visitors, all of whom were very welcome. We thank all of you who came to meet Reagan, and we thank you for your generous gifts of frankincense, gold, and myrrh.

While we enjoyed everyone being here, the most anticipated visitor was big sister Amanda. Our nanny, Miss Erin, was kind enough to bring her down in the middle of the afternoon, and the meeting could not have gone better. Amanda was very excited and, above all, curious about her new sister. Like all two-year-olds, she already asks loads of questions, and she had plenty about Reagan - "Why's she sleeping?" "Why can't she talk?" "Where are her feet?" For some reason she was very concerned about Reagan's feet. We showed them to her, so all remains right with her world.

Amanda also loved the gift Reagan gave her for being her big sister -- a "big sister" furniture set for her dollhouse! For her part, Amanda arrived bearing a sign on pink construction paper welcoming baby Reagan to the family. I'm sure Reagan will appreciate it when she's old enough.

Reagan continues to do great, with the last few feedings going really well. Her blood sugar continues to hover around the acceptable level, so they'll need to keep testing it a little longer. The pediatrician didn't seem worried, though.

And now it's almost time for one last feeding before going to bed. We've decided to let the nurses handle the middle-of-the-night feeding so we can get more sleep, at least for tonight.

Holding Reagan

It's my first blog post while holding my new daughter! She's absolutely precious! So far everything today is going very well. Susan is feeling better now that she has been totally disconnected from everything. Plus, she's on new pain meds, which might also have something to do with it.

Reagan is an angel so far. She's been hit or miss on the breast feeding, but with a little formula supplement, she's been able to keep her blood sugar where the nurses like it. And they've stopped checking her pulse ox, so I think the breathing concerns are put to rest. Of course, when the pediatrician checks her out, we'll probably get a whole host of other non-concerning concerns.

Tale of the Tape

In all the activity I completely forgot to post Reagan's statistics, so here goes ...

Date: 7/27/10 (that's a Leo for those who follow the stars)
Time: 8:45 p.m.
Weight: 6 lbs. 12.1 oz.
Length: 19.5"
Head: 13.75" (not sure yet whether that's joke-worthy)

Oh, yeah ... I remember this

It's almost 5:00, and Susan hasn't slept at all. I've "slept" just a little. By the time we kind of settled down, it was after midnight, but then it was almost time for the 1:00 feeding! That went pretty well, with Reagan latching on and getting her first taste of mama's milk. The 4:00 feeding didn't go as well, but we'll keep trying.

Susan's epidural wore off quite a while ago, and her body keeps reminding her of what it just went through. She's having pretty bad abdominal pain, which the breast feeding apparently makes worse. She has been hitting the pain button like a Jeopardy! contestant. Plus, her carpal tunnel syndrome is just as bad as ever, which makes it hard to hold Reagan to feed her. But Susan has been quite the trouper and continues to amaze me.

Reagan's blood sugar has been fine the last couple of times they measured it. Her breathing is good, as well. Hopefully she'll continue to successfully adapt to the world!

Oh, good ... Susan just dozed off. :-)

She's Here!

All is well. More later.

Sent from my iPhone

Update

The anesthesiologist just stopped by to say Susan is doing well and the epidural is in. The OB went in about 5 minutes ago, so it should be any minute now.

The next phase begins

They just took Susan back, and I'm getting my gear on. Shouldn't be long now!

Any time now . . .

We're still sitting in L&D, but they should be coming soon to take Susan back. Then I get to suit up with the booties, mask, hairnet, and gown. But I make it look gooooood.

Still waiting ...

The OB just dropped in to check on things, and everything still looks good. She gave us a heads-up for a possible lung-related complication based on the fact it's a 37-week baby, Susan has gestational diabetes, and it's a c-section, but even if it happens, it's not a big deal. And, to clarify, there's no evidence this complication is actually present. The doc just wanted to mention it ahead of time so we don't get too freaked out. Easy for her to say. Even if there's an issue, they know how to deal with it, and it's not a long-term deal.

The Best Laid Plans

Well, when I started this blog two days ago, we were two and a half weeks from the c-section, and everything was on schedule. The checklists were getting smaller, the excitement was slowly building, and the reality of he impending arrival was gradually setting in.

Cut to this morning, and baby Reagan announced in her own way that had her own schedule. Susan was working at her desk when her water broke. A quick appointment with the OB followed, and Susan was sent to the hospital to be prepped for the c-section.

On hearing the news, I raced home to pack a bag (one of the un-checked items from the list) and get to the hospital. Let me tell you, you have never seen a more random and disorganized packing job as the one I threw together. There's no telling what I forgot and what I threw in that we don't need.

Anyway, we're right now sitting an a labor and delivery room at Piedmont Hospital. Since Susan ate lunch, she's got to wait (barring any unforeseen issues) to have the c-section until about 8:30 tonight.

Before leaving for the hospital, I was able to tell Amanda that Reagan decided to come early, and she said, "and I'm going to be a big sister?". She's very excited, and we hope she can come down tomorrow to visit. For now, she's in good hands, with Miss Erin (nanny) until 5:30 and Nana Joy taking over this evening and overnight.

The waiting begins/continues . . .

She's Growing Up!

Here's a shot of Amanda on the first night she slept in her Big Girl Bed.

It begins . . .

Greetings friends and others! With the c-section scheduled for the afternoon of August 11, 2010, we are now about two-and-a-half weeks out from the arrival of Reagan Marina Pavloff. The time therefore seems right to kick off our blog dedicated to her arrival and to the impact (good, bad, and exhausting) that our second daughter will have on our lives.

If you've been receiving (and reading) the updates and pictures we have sent out about Amanda over the past three-ish years, you should have an idea of how this blog will develop. Hopefully, the blog format will make it easier to create more frequent updates (at least that's our thinking).

From a logistical sense, we believe we are almost completely ready for Reagan's arrival:

• Amanda has been transitioned to her new room (with its fresh paint and new big-girl furniture) with very little drama.
• The nursery has been reset for Reagan (with its same old paint and hand-me-down furniture).
  
• We've got a closet and dresser full of clean baby clothes.
• The car carrier has been cleaned and stands ready to transport the newborn.

We're holding off on stocking up on diapers because we plan to liberate as many as we can carry from the hospital. Also, there's currently a little controversy over the new Pampers (our preferred brand) and their alleged tendency to cause diaper rash. We'll consult with the hospital folk before purchasing a giant box of potential chemical burns.

From a biological sense, Susan is beyond ready to have this baby. Unlike with Amanda, she has been experiencing pretty serious carpal tunnel symptoms that have limited her ability to type or write for longer than a few seconds at a time. So those of you who have received an e-mail or a note from her recently, please know that she suffered greatly in preparing it. Along with the carpal tunnel syndrome, Susan has battled heartburn, backaches, and a snoring disorder that verges on rending her throat asunder on a nightly basis. So, Tom is also ready for Reagan to get here.

I guess that's about it for the introductory post. Feel free to bookmark, subscribe to, or otherwise follow us. And if you don't, then you're worse than Hitler.