"Jubilant Daddy"

It has been well documented on this blog the hardships that Suzanne has endured during the last few months. I am happy to report that she recently received a "major gift" from her cardiologist; a clean bill of health. She has also received good standing from her OB, so it appears the worst of her spells are over (thoughts and prayers still needed, though).

Now on to the really tough time I had over the weekend. That's right, it was the eagerly awaited Daddy Boot Camp. About ten of us future fathers came together to learn the ins and outs of newborns. We indeed were commanded to change a real live baby's diapers. The catch here was that only one of us in the room was assigned this task; I'll bet you'll never guess who was chosen.

With the real live baby, I had a real live wet diaper. I got to practice cleaning the private area (a boy, thank goodness!). I also learned to hold both legs like wine glasses and lift up so that the baby's bottom came off the ground for a thorough checking and cleaning, if necessary.

My crowning achievement, though, came after the diaper change. The baby immediately began crying, but the real live father was away disposing of the diaper. I was then instructed by our daddy drill sergeant to pick up the baby and comfort it. I wisely followed his instructions and actually stopped the baby from crying! After I returned home, I had Suzanne take my picture with the souveneirs I had received from the workout. The joy on my face is obvious.

We have one more class (CPR) and only 10 weeks left! We head to the Southshore specialist one last time and then we're on to the home stretch. I have butterflies thinking about it; you can imagine why I am already one JUBILANT DADDY!!!

Strike a pose-red carpet style

This is a picture taken last weekend (before a childhood friend's wedding shower) of Suzanne at 27 weeks. Look at the Week 24 picture and notice the difference!

Suzanne will be 28 weeks this Wednesday. Time is really flying now! We are both getting joy out of feeling the baby move around. I had felt a couple of sporadic nudges up until the other night when I felt all sorts of stuff. Talk about neat!

Suzanne had a pretty good week health wise. She is still visiting plenty of doctors but seems to be winning the battle with low blood pressure for now. One of her doctors told her it should go away about this time, so that is what we're hoping for. The countdown is on. Hopefully, I will get some good shots of the baby room. There's nothing much to show yet, as pretty much all of it is on the way (the crib is the only thing in). George hasn't figured out a way to get in there yet.

Hello!

Hopefully you all can see this picture of the baby looking straight at you. There's the right eye, the nose, the lips and the chin just above the stomach. It also appears he (or she) may be waving or flexing a muscle. This is the latest ultrasound from the doctor we've seen a few times on the Southshore. The good news: the baby is still perfectly healthy and now weighs 1 lb. 9 oz. (normal we're told as opposed to larger than normal the last two ultrasounds).

The interesting part of our day was just getting there. Suzanne's weak spells usually come in the morning and she has the good fortune of working from home. She literally has a bed right behind her work desk. If she feels weak, she lies down. Today during her weak spell, we were travelling across the 24 mile bumpy Causeway to Metairie, where the doctor is located. I had to make an impromptu pit stop off the Interstate just as Suzanne got sick. We were close the doctor anyway, so we got there, she got into the ultrasound room and got sick again during the ultrasound. Meantime, they checked her blood pressure, which was again extremely low. Please continue to keep her in your thoughts and prayers. This particular doctor had not seen her since this started. She informed us that this would likely last a few more weeks. We're at 25 weeks today and those who have this type activity during pregnancy see it diminish around week 28 or 29, we're told. That's what we're hoping for!

Of course, I haven't helped matters this evening by dumping half a jar of silver paint on the carpet in the baby's room...then trying to clean it up with bleach. I have never proclaimed to be Albert Einstein, in case you're wondering. Fortunately, the brains of this operation may have saved me (I switched to soap and water halfway through) because as of now there's a very slight stain (grey) and no sign of the bleach turning it white.

Suzanne update

Mom told me this morning that many people had been asking about Suzanne and her health. We both appreciate the thoughts and prayers. I continue to believe they have helped.

As for her overall condition, things have improved. She still has weak spells each day. Gradually, they are getting shorter and shorter. I would say now the spells require her to sit down for ten minutes or so and relax. She is very good about knowing when is "enough." Last Wednesday was the last day I felt she was going black out. She made it through that day and has eaten MORE salt as the doctor ordered and we both think that has helped.

She also was kind enough to let me take a picture of her the other night. She is 24 weeks!

If you look hard enough you can see the bump. It is growing...and is still perfectly round. This was just before our trip to St. Tammany Parish Hospital and our Baby Care Basics class. There, we got to see "moving" images of women literally birthing their own babies, people handling various sorts of poopy diapers and plenty of breastfeeding. It was not a G-rated film, I do not believe. Next for me is Daddy Boot Camp, where I will change the diaper of a real live baby! I guess you could say I'm moving up in the world. Take care, everyone.

Home for the Holiday

Suzanne and I got home about ten this morning from an overnight stay in the hospital. It has been a slightly scary couple of days. I say "slightly" because all along the doctors have told us our baby was fine and that what Suzanne was going through was not uncommon for pregnant women during their second trimester.

I will backtrack with what has happened for those of you who may not know:

Suzanne was at a friend's house Wednesday morning when she passed out on her couch. The friend told me she was out for about a minute. I took her to the emergency room for some testing and everything came back OK. She went ahead and set up an appointment with her OB the following day. While in the doctor's office Thursday morning, she passed out again. Same time of day, same feeling. Fortunately, the nurse practictioner was in the room asking questions. It was determined that Suzanne's blood pressure was very low.

The decision was made to put Su in the hospital overnight and run some tests. Again, it was quickly determined that the baby was fine. I believe its heartbeat was checked at least three times. After a long night for both of us and more tests, her doctor released her this morning.

It's strictly a blood pressure issue. It has been low begin with and now that she has more blood pumping through her and an extra person to support, it was dropping even more. She must take it easy for a couple of weeks, and fortunately I have a job where I can stay home with her and still get some work done.

Suzanne has been a real trooper. She is an easy patient to take care of. Please continue to pray for her in the coming weeks and also that I make the right decisions if she passes out again. We appreciate it!

A one pounder

Our baby eclipsed its first milestone of sorts earlier this week. Suzanne had an ultrasound and the baby weighs a pound! That's still a little more than the average weight at this point by a couple of ounces. Suzanne said he was constantly moving, which is a clear indication that it's a Brister!

Tomorrow, Suzanne will be 22 weeks along. She has felt the baby kick a good bit recently, more and more by the day. She is very excited about that and now I am ready to see some movement; at least I've been told I will later in the pregnancy.

As for me, I am very proud because I put up a new closet all by myself in the baby room over the weekend. It is nothing fancy, just some of those wire shelves. But the fact that I did it without messing up the first time really says something, if you know how I can break things!

Quick update

Just wanted to update you all on what's been going on. I have been knee deep in studies for the Series 7 Exam, which I take a week from Monday. This is simply the exam I must pass to keep my job and hopefully become a Financial Advisor in about a month. I have been out of communication for the most part this past week and have just finished studying after a hard Saturday! Let's just say I feel a lot better about where I am right now than I did when I woke up this morning.

Suzanne and her mother went shopping on the Southshore this morning and she found some bedding for our baby. I managed to put together the crib last weekend and in record time, no less. It came from the Land of Nod and I will have pictures up at some point to show it off.

For now the color of the room will stay the same. It's essentially the color of every other room in the house but tends to go well with light colors. Suzanne is nearing twenty weeks! She is anxiously waiting on the baby to kick.

She did have a doctor's visit this past week. Everything is well and there is nothing to report. No ultrasounds to show and no measurements were made so that has not changed since I created the blog. Hopefully, we will get a new report on her next visit!