A Tale of Two Slides

Back on a warm day in March, we took Elliott to Shoup Park for the first time. He was just 13 months old and this little slide was high adventure. 

Throughout the summer, Elliott mastered bigger slides, tunnels, bridges and stairs. He had never, however, taken a trip down the BIG slide at Shoup Park. Until Saturday. What a difference five months makes in a little boy and his courage.

Pictures, etc.

They say you end up with more pictures and video of your first child, so to try and even things out, I'm trying to get a jump on the photo sessions with William.

We spent some time outside on Saturday on the porch and at Wegerzyn, letting Elliott burn off some energy and let William get some sun since he's jaundiced. I also took the opportunity to snap some shots of both of them, as well as Tracy.

Though I ruined half a roll of film with the Holga by having it on the wrong setting, I did manage to still get a few that turned out really well I think.

In Elliott news, he's started making a really silly smile when you take his picture or ask him to smile. Tracy has taken to calling him "Cheezer" sometimes, making William "Squeaker" because of how he cries. Elliott also started to say "Oh man" last week, which he picked up from his Nana, though he learned it with a country accent, making it more like "awww maaen!"

He's Here

We welcome William Emerson Staley into the family. He was born at 1:16 a.m. on August 13th, weighing in at 9 lb, 10 oz and 20 inches long.

In spite of Tracy's 40 week appointment on Monday making it look like William was going to take his sweet time, Tracy's water broke at about 3:30 a.m. on Wednesday, the actual due date. Since her contractions weren't too strong or close together, we decided to labor at home for a while, and didn't head into the hospital until around 9 a.m. Things seemed to be progressing pretty well, but around 6 p.m. Tracy's temperature was above normal and the baby had an elevated heart rate. Since it had been so long since her water had broken, the doctor decided it would be best to move from Family Beginnings (the natural childbirth center at Miami Valley Hospital) to Labor and Delivery, so the baby's heart rate could be monitored more closely. Unfortunately, this meant Tracy couldn't get in the water, which was something she was looking forward to to help deal with the pain.

Luckily, our wonderful nurse Judy from Family Beginnings was able to accompany us over so we didn't have to switch nurses during the change over to Labor and Delivery. After some fluids and antibiotics , Tracy was moving along pretty well. However, after getting all the way to 9 cm naturally, her body decided to back-track, going back to 6-7 cm. At that point (around 10 p.m.)the nurse and doctor ordered pitocin, so Tracy decided an epidural was in order. The good news is that all of that time allowed the baby to descend slowly, so by the time he was ready to come out, Tracy only had to push for less than 5 minutes before he was out in the world.

Though William's hair is a bit darker, he does bare a strong resemblance to his older brother. Unfortunately, his birth story is a bit too much like his older brother's as well, though labor with William only clocked in at about 22 hours, compared to Elliott's 28 hours.

As of Friday, we're all home and baby and mom are doing wonderful. Elliott is also doing well as a big brother.

Numbers numbers

I have my 40-week appointment tomorrow. I am so curious if I have dilated any this week. If I haven't, it won't mean that labor isn't still going to commence on its own. However, it will be a bit discouraging. 

Sometimes I wonder just how useful it is to know any numbers before 40 weeks. If the pregnancy is healthy, most of those figures really mean nothing if you aren't in active labor.  Most of the time, they only serve to falsely encourage or discourage you. Yet still I want to know. 

Tim is going to the appointment with me tomorrow so we can both hear what the doctor will do if I haven't gone into labor by the following week. We're not induction-minded, but we want to understand all of the options and possibilities. 

Elliott's 18-month appointment went well. He grew two inches over the past three months and made a jump from the 50th to 70th percentile for height. He stayed in the 25 percentile for weight. 

We had a house cleaner come today. I am more and more convinced that the best shower gifts for an expecting mother - especially if this isn't her first baby - would be services such as meal preparation, house cleaning, a spa day, baby sitting, gift cards for shopping post-baby. 

Elliott at 18 months

Elliott will be 18-months-old tomorrow, on the verge of all things toddler. The so-called "verbal explosion" usually starts at 18 months, as does a big jump in physical ability (climbing). 

Lately, he's been saying more and more words and communicating better non-verbally. He's obsessed with shouting "ON!" to get us to turn on the TV, computer, radio or record player (yes, we have a record player in our living room and Elliott is a big fan).  He's added "thank you" to the words he often says, but still just does the sign for "please." And, much to my dismay, he now knows a little four-letter word: "Elmo." 

He's a sweet boy who is prone to being a major ham for our friends and often to complete strangers (especially women). He likes play dough, but isn't keen on coloring. He loves music and dancing, trips to the park and to the mall play area. His favorite game continues to be playing with balls, but chasing the dog with a broom or some other dangerous item is a close second. He hates sitting in shopping carts or his stroller; he prefers to be free.  He doesn't like his diaper changed or to put on clothes, unless they are hats. The kid loves hats. He likes watching two music videos that we found on the Rolling Stone video podcast (Sara Watkins and Dan Auerbach). He is a drug fiend, always begging for more Tylenol or gas drops.

Happy half-birthday Elliott! 

Week 39: Baby update

So the doctor says I am no more progressed toward labor than I was a week ago. Still about 75 percent effaced and not even to one centimeter dilated. The baby is at negative 1 station. 

Maybe he's afraid of what he hears on the outside ... 

Barring labor before then, I go back to the doctor next Tuesday for my 40 week check. I won't be induced until 41 weeks if I were to make it that long. 

I am not entirely opposed to induction, but I would prefer to wait as long as it is safe to wait before throwing any hopes of laboring and hopefully delivering at Family Beginnings (the natural childbirth section of Miami Valley) out the window.

That said, I am SO READY TO HAVE THIS FREAKING BABY that induction might just start sounding good to me after all.

P.S. I am watching Elliott try to put on my deodorant. 

Book shower

My friend Yvonne graciously hosted a small shower at me last week. Since I have most of everything I need for a baby, she suggested the guests bring children's books as gifts. What a treat. All of the books were so thoughtful; I have read a few to Elliott already and am looking forward to being able to read them to both boys over the next few years. You can see pictures of some of the books at my friend Becky's blog (I am too lazy to go find a camera right now; in fact, I'm too lazy to do much of anything.)

And that brings me to a pregnancy update. I will be 39 weeks on Wednesday. I wasn't dilated at my last appointment, but there's other evidence that things are moving along toward delivery. I am much more impatient this time around than with Elliott. With him, I had prepared myself to to wait it out, even two weeks over my due date would have been acceptable to me because I had mentally prepped myself to be late. But now, I am more than ready to get this show started. I doubt that I will be induced or try any other measures like membrane stripping before my due date; however, if I go over, I'm just not sure what I'll do. I really am tired of being pregnant. It has come over me suddenly to be incredibly put out by carrying this child any longer. He needs to just come on down and out.