Day 6 - Free Huggies!

2:31pm

I want to give a special thanks to a fellow dad blogger, Jim Higley, for congratulating us with a whole crapload (and used for crap-loads, you know) of Huggies diapers. He did some work for Kimberly-Clark, and they allowed him to give away a bunch of Huggies to a lucky family. Well, because Brynlee was born on Sunday, the day of the giveaway, he was nice enough to make us the winners! So thanks again, Jim. 

Oh and he also invited me to be a part of the #BigLeagueDads Campaign by Dove MenCare. This includes attending a Chicago Cubs baseball game tomorrow. Unfortunately, I have to work! 

Brynlee slept good last night. We did had to get up at around 2am to feed her. But it wasn't so bad. She got back to sleep pretty quickly. 

My wife's sister came over last night and we ordered pizzas. She is in love with Brynlee and vice versa. She loves her aunt, and her aunt sure spoils her! 

My wife caught this photo this morning while she was sleeping. I said she must be dreaming about her dad again! 

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Day 5 - Our Little Hairball

2:33pm

I already am dreading leaving her in the morning, when I have to go to work. My wife is nervous too, about how in six weeks we are going to have to give her up a couple days per week, to a babysitter. It would be nice if one of us could stay at home, but it would also be nice if the bills would pay themselves. We both have to work.  

This is what I have to leave in the morning...

Our little hairball, all swaddled up and comfy. She was smiling before I took that photo. I missed it. 

We are very thankful and appreciate all of the congratulations that we have received from friends and family. We are getting all kinds of letters in the mail, as a matter of fact, my wife called me a little bit ago, and said she was going to cry, because Brynlee got her first letter, addressed to her, today. 

I'm thinking that next week we are going to slow down on the visitors. It's been so overwhelming lately with everything that we have to do, that time is already passing us by. We haven't had much of a choice to enjoy her to ourselves. I think it's important to have that family bonding time. Especially since the six weeks my wife has off is going to fly by. 

Oh, and I guess Brynlee decided that she would have an "explosive" bowel movement while my wife was changing her diaper, earlier. So I have that going for me today.... When I say "explosive", I mean like "Have to clean the walls" and "Steam clean the carpets", explosive. Of course I found it kind of funny because it was my wife and not me, but I'm sure my day awaits. 

Day 4 - Changing A Diaper In 60 Seconds Flat

10:17pm



I was up with B from about 4:00am to 5:30am last night, or should I say this morning? Her poor mom was pooped, so I figured I would help out and feed her. It took her about an hour and a half to relax and finally get back to sleep. I'm thinking that if I would have swaddled her, she would have fallen asleep faster. She seems to like that. She is swaddled right now, and not a peep out of her.


She spent some time with her grandpa this morning, before going out on her maiden voyage into the outside world. A pit-stop at my wife's work was first, because everyone was just dying to see her. She also had to fill out some paperwork for the maternity leave. Even though there were about 10 people hovered over her car seat, she never opened an eye.

Next stop.... Pediatrician.

Her first check-up. She loved her new doctor. A very nice person, I think we found a good one. My wife's OB/GYN actually recommended her, and we can see why. The doctor is all about organic and natural, but very down-to-earth and friendly as well. Brynlee passed everything with flying colors. As a matter of fact, I believe she was considered "perfect".

They even mentioned about a newborn little boy who was in the office earlier. Him and Brynlee would make a perfect couple, according to the staff. I had to step in and say "Hey, wait a minute, here. Let's slow down a bit!" She's already a daddy's girl, for sure.

A few more errands to Walgreens, and Babies-R-Us, and she did great. She slept about 98% of the time, with no real fusses. I guess we can't ask for much more than that, out of a newborn. She's a great baby so far, although when she wants something, you know. She happens to have quite the set of lungs.

Dad is getting more comfortable changing diapers. Not to brag or anything, but I can change a diaper in about 60 seconds flat. Not bad for a rookie.


She attracts all kinds of attention, wherever we go. Mostly because of her hair. Everyone can't seem to get enough of her full head of hair!

I got a small taste of fatherhood today, when I realized that Brynlee had eating and pooped a few times during the day, and that my wife and I hadn't eaten since dinner, the night before. It's crazy how you put your own needs off to make sure your children are taken care of. (Don't worry, we ate a good dinner tonight)


Check out this little kid's Chicago Bears jersey. I think we need to get her one!

Day 3 - Pump And Save

10:39pm



Today was my first day back to work since Brynlee was born. I would have rather stayed home, but you have to do what you have to do. I am off tomorrow which is nice, because we have a lot to get done around home. Clothes are still packed from the hospital, laundry to be done, dishes to be done, house cleaning, and all of that fun stuff. Not really looking forward to it. My wife took care of some of the chores while she was home today, but she is limited on what she can do. Plus, she has a newborn to take care of as well!

Little B has her first Pediatric appointment tomorrow afternoon. Just a quick check-up to make sure she is getting enough food, and that she is doing well in general. Breast-fed babies need to be seen within 1-2 days after being released from the hospital. So we'll see how that goes. This girl has been eating like crazy.

My wife pumped breastmilk for the first time today. She was able to get about 8oz. Her breasts were hurting and the baby wasn't eating fast enough. They were leaking so she decided to pump because, face it, breast milk is like gold. Pump and save. Pump and save. Sell it on Ebay. (Just Kidding)

The lactation consultant said it's important for my wife to feed her only from her breasts, because that is how a mother and child bond. Obviously, there are other ways as well, but that's a big one. As far as dads, we bond with our children more by ways of playing, and changing, and things like that.


I changed my first official diaper tonight. A nice, poopy one. It was great. I loved it. Can't wait to do it again. Do you like my sarcasm?

We have this Medela Pump In Style breast pump

Day 2 - Guess Who's Home?!

10:55pm



We are exhausted! So much going on the last few days, it's just great to be home. Brynlee is already enjoying her little rocker/sleeper and is passed out in there as I am typing this.

We were able to leave the hospital after our Doctor released us. He wasn't able to show up until about 7pm this evening. I think the extra time waiting was good for us though, because we learned a lot of valuable tips from our helpful nurses.

Before we left, we asked the Doctor about the "newborn insert" that you can see in the car seat in the photo above. It is an extra accessory that fits into the car seat to help support newborn's heads, and bodies, because the car seat is actually too big for newborns. I posted a picture on Instagram of just the car seat with the insert in it, ready to go for when she was born, and I received a lot of criticism about it. Several people told me that they are extremely unsafe, and not covered by the car seat's warranty. But the Doctor told us that we SHOULD use it, because her little head needs to have some extra support. So for anyone wondering if they are safe or not, I'm not sure about that, but our Doctor did recommend using it.

We had great service the whole time during our hospital stay. And we would recommend it to any of our friends. So if you are in the Chicagoland area, ask me and I will fill you in. 

My wife is recovering extremely quickly, and has been an awesome mother already. As a matter of fact, I slept all through the night last night, in the hospital, and she got up a few times with Brynlee to feed her. She said that Brynlee never cried during the night, and that she actually had to wake her up to feed her. Hopefully she stays like that because that would make our lives a lot easier.

I am going to go to work tomorrow, because they are so short-handed, and because my wife insisted that she will be fine. I will probably take Thursday off to help get everything settled back in to the house. We have a couple bags packed for the hospital, that need to get put back away. And my wife's hands are going to be quite full. I will help with all of the household duties. 

Time for some much needed rest!

Do you have any questions about her delivery? Labor? Pain? Epidural? Feel free to ask, I would love to answer any questions!

Day 1 - Welcoming Baby!

10:51pm

My wife pushed for about 45 minutes. They actually turned off the epidural because they needed her to get the baby out quickly, and the epidural tends to slow down the process. The complications with preeclampsia cause the health risks to be higher, so the sooner she is out the better. 

She did great throughout the whole labor. I was able to be a part of it by holding one of her legs and keeping close to her side. I now have an incredible amount of respect for any mother after witnessing what they go through. 

Our beautiful baby girl was born at 12:46pm yesterday (Sept 15, 2013). She was 8lbs 10oz, and 19.5 inches long. My wife is recovering very quickly and the baby is doing great. 

This journey has been such an experience and I wouldn't have it any other way. Other dads always tell me that there is no other love like the love you will have for your children and I can already see what they mean. 

The best part is that the real journey has just begun. And I am really looking forward to every day from here on out. 

Introducing Brynlee Rose....

And check out the amount of hair on this girl's head! (Coming out of the back of her little hat!)

Week 39 Day 7 - Water Broke, Here We Go!

9:59pm

She's here! And she is adorable! She looks just like her momma!

Her water broke at 5am this morning. We were both half awake already because she was having painful period-like cramping every 15 minutes or so. Possibly contractions? But when it broke she knew right away. She felt the "pop". She turned to me and said "Kevin, my water just broke". I responded with a quick, "Alright, let's go!"

We called the doctor and he said we have some time to shower and get everything situated. So we both took a shower, and got all of our stuff put together (bags were already packed but not ready in the car). I had to talk my wife out of doing her makeup. There's no time for that!

Her contractions started after she showered and were progressively worse during the 20 minute car ride to the hospital. By the time we arrived she was asking for an epidural, though it was still too early for that. She actually stayed pretty calm throughout the whole labor. 

We moved from the triage room to a delivery suite. She came in dilated at 4cm and a -2 head position. (Dilated to 10cm is when you start pushing, and they want the head to a +2 or +3 from what I can remember them saying. Correct me if I'm wrong). About an hour after we were put into the delivery suite, she was already at 7cm. Not long after, 9.5cm. They determined that she had preeclampsia so they ran some magnesium stearate through her IV to help with preventing seizures. High blood pressure, the main problem with preeclampsia, can cause seizures. 

12:00pm and it's time to push!

The IV's in her hand

 

Her epidural situation...

Holding hands, ready to push!

To be continued.....