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.