It always amazes me how calm Chase is if he get swaddled. His arms really scare him. They scratch him. He's jammed a finger in his eye on more than one occasion. The only thing he likes about them that sometimes his fingers find their way into his mouth, then he'll suck away like there is no tomorrow. But when he's swaddled his arms and legs are on lock down and he is a much calmer baby.
Here are Andrew's swaddling secrets.
1.) Use two blankets.
2.) The first blanket should be big.
3.) The first blanket should also be relatively thin and of a flannel type material.
4.) Arms are the key. Wrap them tight like a straight jacket.
5.) Keep all the blankets away from the face as much as possible.
6.) Hat's can help but can also be hard to put on a newborn.
See for yourself...
28 February 2009
Snow in Salem
This winter has been great in Salem, if you love snow ( I do!).
Oliver does too...
Also, we've decided to give cloth diapers a try. We'll keep you posted on our results.
Doctors appointment
Chase, Megan and I went to Chase's doctor's appointment last Wednesday. He now weighs eight pounds eleven ounces and is 21 inches long. So he's gained nearly a pound in two weeks and grown 2.5 inches! I know for a fact that he did not grow 2.5 inches in two weeks. When he was born they barely stretched him out to get his measurement so he was probably almost 21 inches at birth.
24 February 2009
Two weeks
Well we made it another week with our new housemate. Nothing too exciting to report on. He still eats alot. He still sleeps alot...
He is awake from time to time...
Sometimes I wonder what he's going to look like. He looks different in different light conditions. Here I think he looks alot like me...
Say hi Chase...
Say hi Chase from andrew boes on Vimeo.
He is awake from time to time...
Sometimes I wonder what he's going to look like. He looks different in different light conditions. Here I think he looks alot like me...
Say hi Chase...
Say hi Chase from andrew boes on Vimeo.
18 February 2009
One Week Old
Well, Chase is one week old. Megan and I are very happy parents and thus far have yet to to be anything but totally smitten with our child, although he is developing quite a set of lungs so I'm sure that will change. Megan is doing very well feeding and so far Chase has had a great appetite. Earlier today I realized that she probably hasn't slept for more than 2.5 hours in one sleep session for more than 8 days. I do my best to make sure that all she has to do is eat and feed but I'm still amazed at how well she is doing given that little amount of sleep. Hope you enjoy the pics.
Getting sleepy...
Sleepier...
Asleep...
Because I have to go back to work eventually I decided to make some food that we could freeze. One of those foods was potstickers...
Here is a video of Chase with the hiccups...
(note: if someone would like a higher resolution picture to print please let me know and I'll send you one. The ones I post here have been modified to display on a website and are not really suitable for printing.)
Getting sleepy...
Sleepier...
Asleep...
Because I have to go back to work eventually I decided to make some food that we could freeze. One of those foods was potstickers...
Here is a video of Chase with the hiccups...
(note: if someone would like a higher resolution picture to print please let me know and I'll send you one. The ones I post here have been modified to display on a website and are not really suitable for printing.)
15 February 2009
Welcome Home Chase!
We got home around 1300 on Friday and both of us were glad to be home. Megan was glad for all of the time she got to spend at the hospital. The nurses coming and going all of the time got annoying but it was nice to be able ask questions at almost anytime. She is especially thankful for one of the lactation specialists that helped her learn how to nurse. She says that if it wasn't for this lady she might not be able to breast feed.
So far our plan of attack is that I do all of the housework and Megan is only supposed to feed, eat, sleep and clean herself. That has worked relatively well thus far. She changes the diapers at night too, unless she really needs a break. I get quite a bit of sleep, especially for a father of a four day old.
Since Chase is four days old we were told that we have to go to the doctors for his four day checkup. Let me just say that it was a complete waste of time (I have many more negative thoughts about medical businesses (yes, they are businesses) but we'll save those for another post). Chase is back to his birth weight so that means that he is nursing very well.
That's all I have to say but I do have a few good pictures to share with you.
Oliver meets Chase...
Mommy's Little Valentine...
Can he see the dog?
Grandma, Grandpa, Chase, and Oliver...
Cute as a button...
(note: I don't actually think buttons are anywhere near this cute)
So far our plan of attack is that I do all of the housework and Megan is only supposed to feed, eat, sleep and clean herself. That has worked relatively well thus far. She changes the diapers at night too, unless she really needs a break. I get quite a bit of sleep, especially for a father of a four day old.
Since Chase is four days old we were told that we have to go to the doctors for his four day checkup. Let me just say that it was a complete waste of time (I have many more negative thoughts about medical businesses (yes, they are businesses) but we'll save those for another post). Chase is back to his birth weight so that means that he is nursing very well.
That's all I have to say but I do have a few good pictures to share with you.
Oliver meets Chase...
Mommy's Little Valentine...
Can he see the dog?
Grandma, Grandpa, Chase, and Oliver...
Cute as a button...
(note: I don't actually think buttons are anywhere near this cute)
12 February 2009
Details
Tuesday, 10 February started like many other days in an Oregon winter. Foggy and wet. There was a dusting of snow on the ground and when Megan walked Oliver she wore some warm clothing. I woke and cooked us both a bowl of oatmeal with a sliced up apple while Megan caught a few more moments of sleep. After breakfast Megan asked me if my phone had a full charge because she had a pretty rough night with some cramps and she thought (hoped anyway) that our baby might come a few days early.
I left for work excited at this prospect. During the day megan and communicated a few times through varius means (txt, email, and chat) but her hopes for an early baby were never as high as when I had left for work. At one point she told me she was excited because the cramps we getting a little intense but after she walked the dog they all but went away. When I got home that night (1900) Megan had prepared one of my favorite dinners and asked me to right down the times when she had a small cramp. At first I enthusiastically wrote them down but, like many other things in my life, quickly lost interest. My ADD tendencies may have played a part but I really lost interest when she told me this could last for hours, days or even weeks. After dinner we watched the last episode of The Office from season four on Netflix.com and downloaded the first episode of season five. I remember the evening being very relaxing. Oliver and I got back from our walk around 2230 and every body was in bed shortly thereafter.
Megan got up around 2300 with cramps to find a more comfortable place to lie down. She very peacefully woke me up at 2330 and told me that she was pretty sure that "it's time". I slowly got out of bed and helped her get all the hospital stuff together. Our original plan was to stay at home until the last possible moment. The idea being that it would be less stressful at home because we wouldn't have all the medical people around us all the time. Also, megan wasn't sure she wanted to use any kind of pain medication and thought that if we were home it would be less of a temptation and also easier to keep her mind off the pain.
Turns out we didn't know anything. Nothing we did let us take our mind off the pain. Megan would have a few moments to relax but when she was having a contraction was hysterical with pain. We tried some breathing techniques with very limited success. I grew more stressed out with every moment that went by. We abandoned our isolationist strategy and at around 0130 I loaded the car.
Bags. Dog. Wife. Shoes on. Shoes off. Water. Shoes on. Ignition.
We stealthly dropped oliver off at my parents and were in triage by 0200. The nurse checked to see how far along she was and found that she was dialated 3 cm. Because she had vomitted a few times and she wanted the possibly of a quick epidural they decided to put Megan on an IV. One point five hours and eighty billion contractions later she decided an epidural was the way to go. We had heard many horror stories about it taking a long time for the anithesiologist to come. sometimes taking so long that the baby came out first. This was not our experince. When the nurse asked if we wanted one Megan had one no less than fifteen minutes later. At this time she was dialated 5 cm. The epidural was in at 0345 and at by 0400 Megan was VERY comfortable. She would later say that the pain wasn't the part that caught her off guard but rather she didn't feel like she got a break between contractions. In her mind there was going to beunbearable pain for a minute or two with a few minutes of relative calm between. After the epidural she was able sleep between contractions. Now that's relative calm.
I slept straight from 0415 to 0715. Megan will have to update you on what happened during this time, although, she slept through a good portion of it too. I woke up and heard that she was 10 cm and was about to begin pushing. When she began pushing, sometime around 0730, the midwife asked me to help hold her leg in a certain position. It only took about 30 seconds before I knew that I would not be able to help in this capacity. After getting a little further from all the action I realized that I would not be able to help in any capacity and that if I didn't move futher away I would only hurt the situation by passing out.
Chase was born at 0746 and sometime between 0730 and then I could tell that there was a slight problem. First I heard someone say neecu and knew that it was an acronym, NICU, that stood for neonatal intensive care unit. These are the people that prospective parents never want to see. They are called on when there are problems. The second sign was that put a special monitor on Chases as of yet unborn head. We learned in our parenting class that they "sometimes" need to this. To me "sometimes" only happened when there was an apparent problem. The third and final sign I picked up on was that Megan shifted her position her birthing position several times while pushing. note that none of the signs were from the medical personal, they had a calm demeanor and were very professional.
When Chase came out I didn't need any subtle signs. He was as blue as a smurf! Immediately after coming out of Megan they put him on her and scrubed all of the slime off of him. While doing this he didn't seem to be moving at all, but it was hard to tell because of the four hands and half as many cloths doing the cleanup. After what seemed like five minutes (but was probably only twenty seconds) the midwife picked him up to bring him to the NICU people. After only one step Chase let out slight peep. She paused. Nothing. Again she started heading away from Megan and I. Another peep only this time not as small. It was almost a chirp. For the first time since Chase was born I saw our midwife, nicknamed Happy, smile. Her smile, though encouraging, did not cheer me up nearly as much as the full blown cry that Chase blurted out only moments later. I was the pround parent of a beautiful baby boy.
(I wrote most of this post from our hospial room with Chase asleep on my chest. :o) )
I left for work excited at this prospect. During the day megan and communicated a few times through varius means (txt, email, and chat) but her hopes for an early baby were never as high as when I had left for work. At one point she told me she was excited because the cramps we getting a little intense but after she walked the dog they all but went away. When I got home that night (1900) Megan had prepared one of my favorite dinners and asked me to right down the times when she had a small cramp. At first I enthusiastically wrote them down but, like many other things in my life, quickly lost interest. My ADD tendencies may have played a part but I really lost interest when she told me this could last for hours, days or even weeks. After dinner we watched the last episode of The Office from season four on Netflix.com and downloaded the first episode of season five. I remember the evening being very relaxing. Oliver and I got back from our walk around 2230 and every body was in bed shortly thereafter.
Megan got up around 2300 with cramps to find a more comfortable place to lie down. She very peacefully woke me up at 2330 and told me that she was pretty sure that "it's time". I slowly got out of bed and helped her get all the hospital stuff together. Our original plan was to stay at home until the last possible moment. The idea being that it would be less stressful at home because we wouldn't have all the medical people around us all the time. Also, megan wasn't sure she wanted to use any kind of pain medication and thought that if we were home it would be less of a temptation and also easier to keep her mind off the pain.
Turns out we didn't know anything. Nothing we did let us take our mind off the pain. Megan would have a few moments to relax but when she was having a contraction was hysterical with pain. We tried some breathing techniques with very limited success. I grew more stressed out with every moment that went by. We abandoned our isolationist strategy and at around 0130 I loaded the car.
Bags. Dog. Wife. Shoes on. Shoes off. Water. Shoes on. Ignition.
We stealthly dropped oliver off at my parents and were in triage by 0200. The nurse checked to see how far along she was and found that she was dialated 3 cm. Because she had vomitted a few times and she wanted the possibly of a quick epidural they decided to put Megan on an IV. One point five hours and eighty billion contractions later she decided an epidural was the way to go. We had heard many horror stories about it taking a long time for the anithesiologist to come. sometimes taking so long that the baby came out first. This was not our experince. When the nurse asked if we wanted one Megan had one no less than fifteen minutes later. At this time she was dialated 5 cm. The epidural was in at 0345 and at by 0400 Megan was VERY comfortable. She would later say that the pain wasn't the part that caught her off guard but rather she didn't feel like she got a break between contractions. In her mind there was going to beunbearable pain for a minute or two with a few minutes of relative calm between. After the epidural she was able sleep between contractions. Now that's relative calm.
I slept straight from 0415 to 0715. Megan will have to update you on what happened during this time, although, she slept through a good portion of it too. I woke up and heard that she was 10 cm and was about to begin pushing. When she began pushing, sometime around 0730, the midwife asked me to help hold her leg in a certain position. It only took about 30 seconds before I knew that I would not be able to help in this capacity. After getting a little further from all the action I realized that I would not be able to help in any capacity and that if I didn't move futher away I would only hurt the situation by passing out.
Chase was born at 0746 and sometime between 0730 and then I could tell that there was a slight problem. First I heard someone say neecu and knew that it was an acronym, NICU, that stood for neonatal intensive care unit. These are the people that prospective parents never want to see. They are called on when there are problems. The second sign was that put a special monitor on Chases as of yet unborn head. We learned in our parenting class that they "sometimes" need to this. To me "sometimes" only happened when there was an apparent problem. The third and final sign I picked up on was that Megan shifted her position her birthing position several times while pushing. note that none of the signs were from the medical personal, they had a calm demeanor and were very professional.
When Chase came out I didn't need any subtle signs. He was as blue as a smurf! Immediately after coming out of Megan they put him on her and scrubed all of the slime off of him. While doing this he didn't seem to be moving at all, but it was hard to tell because of the four hands and half as many cloths doing the cleanup. After what seemed like five minutes (but was probably only twenty seconds) the midwife picked him up to bring him to the NICU people. After only one step Chase let out slight peep. She paused. Nothing. Again she started heading away from Megan and I. Another peep only this time not as small. It was almost a chirp. For the first time since Chase was born I saw our midwife, nicknamed Happy, smile. Her smile, though encouraging, did not cheer me up nearly as much as the full blown cry that Chase blurted out only moments later. I was the pround parent of a beautiful baby boy.
(I wrote most of this post from our hospial room with Chase asleep on my chest. :o) )
11 February 2009
Another Video and more pics
Grandma and Chase...
Chase and Troy...
Troy is a little over two months old in this pic.
Here is our beautiful boy...
Introducing Chase from andrew boes on Vimeo.
Chase and Troy...
Troy is a little over two months old in this pic.Here is our beautiful boy...
Introducing Chase from andrew boes on Vimeo.
Seven Pounds
We welcomed our baby boy Chase Andrew into the world this morning at 0746. He weighted 7 lbs. 15 oz and was 18.5 inches long. Megan is doing excellent, much better than either of us had previously thought. For now I'll dispense with the info and show you a pic...
And some videos...
Notice the goofy shape of his head. Lot's of math brains I guess :)
For those of you that are interested if you click on the first video it will take you to the video's webpage. Below the lower right hand corner there is a hyperlink that says "watch in high quality" this will allow you to see much higher quality version of the same video. It may take a bit longer to load but I think it's worth it.
More pics and info will be coming!
02 February 2009
Belly Pictures
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
