Commander Crank

This is my new nickname for our little bundle of joy. Last night I learned my daughter was actually made up of little bits of pure Satan. 4 hours of screaming at the top of her lungs. Oh joy. Sounds like colic. After the second hour, I could actually feel my skin tightening and begin sweating. I was very frustrated, not with her, but with myself, for not knowing how to help her. But as we both read last night, this is just a phase of ~20% of babies. In two months it should be (mostly) gone. I hope its a few weeks.... the sleep deprivation is not good.

Jenn and I actually found that she likes a bath and doesn't scream during one, even in the middle of a screaming session like last night's. Let's hope she's a water person like her mom.

Parent Panic and an Epic Poo

Oh my god. Last night Zoë pooed the likes of which I have never seen or heard. EVER. It was everywhere. She pooed for at least 90 seconds straight. It was unreal. I was running around trying to get things while Jenn took on the task of trying to clean her up. She got a bath. I will say no more.

Yesterday also gave Jenn and I our first Parent Panic. Zoë's umbilical cord was green and oozing. We were a little concerned with that as we know that's generally not a good sign. Call up the pediatrician, go in and he tells us it looks great. I was a bit confused, but he went on to explain that if it was truly infected the area around the umbilical cord would be red. The green ooze was normal and by the looks of things it should fall off in a day or two. Sure enough, last night it came off.

The fun continues....

The Meeting

So the meeting between the dogs (Anya and Jasper) and our new little arrival went very well. We weren't too concerned with Anya, as she has been around an infant before and showed little interest. Or little man Jasper though, was a different story. For those who haven't met Jasper before he's a very timid dog, especially around strangers. It takes a long time for him to warm up to people. He still doesn't trust Jenn and I fully, so when we brought Zoë home we were a bit apprehensive. All for nothing, as he took to her very well and now is almost a protector for her. Cesar Millan's work helped us with the introduction and if anyone out there is looking for information on introducing an infant to a home with dogs, check his site out. great information!

The Feeding Bonanza Begins!

Today was a great day for little Zoë. She fed very well all through the day, though she's having issues with feeding from Jenn. She'll latch on, but then stops. The lactation specialists here gave us a few options, but Zoë really needed to eat. So Jenn will pump and then bottle feed Zoë. Not ideal, but critical for the wee one. Hopefully she'll take to Jenn and feed from her, but we do have a good backup plan if that doesn't occur.

And with the end of today comes tomorrow, which is the return home for us. We've been in the hospital a full week now, and although most of the nurses and doctors have been fantastic... I want to sleep in my own bed dammit! For those who don't know we went through a 3 1/2-day induction period before it was decided to do a C-section. I'm not sure why the doctors were so insistent on pushing the induction to the end, but Jenn's body wasn't having any of it. We both understand a C-section isn't a walk in the park, but after 84 hours of meds, if your patient only dilates 1 cm and effaces 20%, is the plan working? I'm not a doctor and I admit that readily, but the numbers don't add up to me.

In any event, tomorrow is a great beginning for us as a family. Though there is some worry on our end. It's the day we introduce the baby to our two dogs, Anya and Jasper.

So.... meconium....

All the pictures in childbirth class, all the descriptions of this stuff wasn't even close to preparing me for cleaning it. It's like tar, plain and simple. Go to your local Home Depot or Lowe's, find a bit of tar and then smear it anywhere. Then try and use a wet cloth to clean it up. Sounds like fun, right?

The best part of today though, was changing Zoë's diaper, getting her cleaned up, new diaper, swaddled and then a nice audible "poooot"! Oh yes, my daughter is SUCH a redhead.

The Beginning...

So today my life has changed in the most profound way possible; I became a father. My little girl was born Saturday, December 5th at 0956, weighing in at 8 lbs 7 oz, measuring 21.25 in long. My wife and I have named her Zoë Karys. She is the most precious thing I have ever seen. I plan to share my trials and tribulations in the coming weeks and months here, and please feel free to leave feedback on what worked for you Moms and Dads out there.