Life with Two

I went to check on my princess Jane ...

and returned to find Matthew, oh so proud of his art work.

The Story of Jane's First Days

Dr. Venuto was ahead of schedule so we started earlier than planned, it was time to head off to the OR. Erin and I hugged and prayed together just before she went off to the operating room without me. I sat in the room for 10 minutes reading a book waiting for a nurse to escort me back into the room where Erin was prepped ready for birthing.

I walked into the OR and it was like a party behind the blue curtain that I was only semi invited to. I sat down next to Erin’s head in front of the blue curtain so that we wouldn’t have to bare the sight of the details of the procedure. Her arms were laying flat straight out on either side of her like a good girl so as not to disturb the operation. The anesthesiologist was our narrator to the whole event. I don’t remember his name but he was Asian, funny, and friendly.

So that I wouldn’t get too queasy I held the camera over my head to take the first couple of shots of baby Jane; considering that I wasn’t watching where I was shooting, the images turned out pretty good. Jane was born at 9:46am weighing in at 7 lbs and 14oz, her length was 19½ in. She looked identical to her older brother on his “birth”-day, and sadly like my father.

Jane was tagged and swaddled and handed to me to show to mommy for a couple of minutes, just enough time to capture a picture, taken by the anesthesiologist. Next it was back to the room while Erin was being sewn back together. Erin was not more than ten minutes behind me, but Jane was too impatient to nurse, she had found her thumb to suck moments before mommy was ready. Once Erin was ready, Jane latched on like a pro. No lactation specialist nurse needed for this baby, she knew what was going on.

More babies needed to be born, so an hour after surgery we were moved down one floor to our new, smaller room. Among Jane’s first guests were big brother Matthew with Grandma and Grandpa Hardwick. Matthew loved Jane from the very beginning; he smelled her hair, hugged her, and kissed her. Then he went to tug on every wire, cable, and cord in the room asking, “What is that?” I took him away for about an hour so the grandparents could get more acquainted with their 12^th grandchild. Someone had carved a bunch of letters and painted them all sorts of colors and left them in a park downtown, Matthew thought they were just as much fun as his new baby sister.

Jane passed all her blood tests for diabetes and didn’t give us cause for concern with jaundice because she was such a good eater and pooper at the hospital. In fact, she went through an entire package of diapers in just the two days at the hospital. It is much different changing the diaper of a girl, if she pees in the middle of a change it is very covert, all of a sudden she’s just laying in a puddle and you don’t know why.

Other guests that visited us in the hospital were: Uncle Joe, Aunt Pattie and Uncle Jim, Aunt Mary with cousins Marisa, Chandler, and Mavric, Friends Janelle with daughter Ella, Heather and Kimber with her daughter Reece, and Erin’s former student Katie. Marisa stayed with Erin the second night at the hospital while I got to stay home with Matthew.

Matthew went shopping with mom a couple of days before Jane’s birthday to pick out a special gift. He was apparently picky and directed mommy to go to several different stores before he picked out the perfect one. I figured that Jane needed to get Matthew a gift too. “Jane” got Matthew a wooden train set. When we got home we stayed up until two hours passed his bedtime playing those trains. His cousin William had introduced him to them a week before, and he totally got it.

I feel blessed to have a wife and two great healthy children, and I thank her every day for carrying them into this world.

More pictures can be found by clicking here.

My Babies

True love. Does that make you tear up or what?

At the Hospital

We arrived at Grandma and Grandpa’s house and took one last picture of our family of three. Matthew was not cooperative, but was happy to wave us goodbye and have a grandma fun day.

It is less than an hour to baby time. We are admitted into the hospital and have a room with a great view of the Puget Sound. The weather is overcast with grey clouds hovering over us. It is 55 degrees outside, but no rain… yet.

The worst part of Erin’s anticipation is already over, the IV. One attempt and it is in. We listened to the nurses give us the standard questions and procedures of the operation. Erin’s nerves kept her shaking the whole time until a baby started crying next door. Something about the baby’s cry made Erin remember why we are here, and she is now feeling calm.

Good Morning, Baby Day

I woke up at 5:30am and Mom and big brother Matthew were still in bed. I sat in the living room and surveyed the house. It had undergone a deep cleaning for the last two weeks, and now looks like a model home for a new development. It was the calm before the storm with no sounds being made except for the clicking of my laptop keyboard checking Facebook. I'm already getting into the baby day mood after reading about one of my California friends' wife giving birth to triplet girls yesterday. They are lucky to have a birthday of 8-9-10 at 11am. Their combined weight is still less than what baby Jane's birth weight is expected to be because of the gestational diabetes.

I have now showered and everybody is awake. Matthew knows today is baby sister's birthday and says "8-10-10." He wants to watch Clifford the Dog in our bedroom while Mommy and I finish packing and getting ready for the day.

When Erin showers, I ask to make sure she can have one. I've been teasing her since last night because she can't eat or drink anything after midnight. No crackers, coffee, or even ice chips; maybe a shower is too much water for her.

In 15 minutes we are heading out the door to deliver Matthew to Grandma and Grandpa's house to wait and play until Jane arrives. I'm sure he will have is fill of playing with trains, gardening, and throwing rocks into the water.

As of this moment only 3½ hours left until baby is here...

Momma Whale & Super Sale

Yes, I am very pregnant in this photo. This was taken just 10 days before baby girl is scheduled to arrive. But here I am for all you bloggers to see.

We have been eyeballing a bike seat for Matthew and found one at a super yard sale a few weeks ago. He has so much fun wearing his "helmeck" that we got at the fire station and riding Daddy's bicycle.

If I weren't so very tired from waking up at 4 every morning, I would tell you more, but for now, that's all she wrote.

Check back soon for baby girl's birth story!