Week 1 in Review

After spending 3 nights in the hospital, they sent us home with baby Aaron, as if we would know what to do with him once we got home. Some days have been harder than others, but overall, things are getting a little easier each day as we learn his eating and sleeping patterns. For the most part, our new boss tolerates us pretty well, but is quick to let us know when we have kept him waiting too long for a feeding or when we are taking too long to change his frequently dirty diapers.

In the first few days, we wrapped him up like a burrito which seemed to calm him down. After about day 5, he no longer tolerated having his arms pinned down and could work them out of his swaddling pretty quickly.

On Sunday, my brother Jim and his fiance Barbara came to visit Aaron with their combined 4 kids. Larissa, our future babysitter, held him while his other cousins looked on.

Aaron frequently falls asleep during feedings. With a little luck and much prodding, we can usually get him to wake up to finish his meal, but sometimes it's more fun to just watch him sleep.

On his one week birthday, Aaron went to his new pediarician's office for a checkup. He didn't have jaundice and he had gained 4 oz since leaving the hospital, putting him at 8 lbs and 5 oz. He shouldn't have any trouble getting back to his birth weight by next week, which is the goal.

His trip to the pediatrician's office was in his brand new car seat. My sister had given us an infant car seat, but it didn't fit well in the car and after the ride home from the hospital, we decided to get one that fits better. Plus the newer models have a 5 point harness verses the standard 3 point harness from several years ago. So far he seems to like his carseat and doesn't mind riding in the car.

Besides sleeping and eating, Aaron also enjoys being held by Daddy. The porch swing on a warm afternoon is a good place to sleep in Daddy's arms.

Things we learned during our first week as parents:

• Don't feed the baby every time he cries. Sometimes he just needs to burp.
• Green colored baby stools are not a cause for alarm.
• Huggies newborn diapers seem to leak more than other brands.
• Don't put Huggies diapers on the baby before going to the pediatrician's office.

Aaron Maslin: The Beginning

Aaron Maslin was born on Tuesday, April 17th at 11:46 AM. Weighing 8 pounds, 9 ounces and measuring 20 inches, and sporting a full head of hair.

Aaron was born via a scheduled c-section. At 38 weeks, he hadn't dropped and we knew since week 20 that he was going to be big. We were concerned about requiring a c-section due to his size and some other factors. I've known a lot of women having their first child after 30 and ending up with a c-section after a long labor. I saw my own sister go through 24 hours of labor and 3 hours of pushing to end up with a c-section with an OB she hadn't met. We were really attached to my OB and after talking it over with him, we felt that a scheduled c-section was the best option for mother and baby. This ensured that my own OB would deliver Aaron and it would be during the day when doctor and staff would be well rested. Even having him delivered at 39 weeks, he was 8 lbs and 9 oz - I can only imagine how big he would have been at full term.

Aaron began crying as soon as the doctor pulled him out. It's like he was ready to go, even without labor to prepare him. Shortly after I heard him crying, the doctor was saying something about a knot in his umbilical cord and showed it to Thom. It was a loose knot and didn't pose a problem at that point, but it made us glad that we had opted for a cesarean, not knowing what would have happened otherwise.

The surgery went remarkably well and we spent only an hour or two in recovery (where Grandma and Grandpa got to meet their 7th grandson) before going up to our post-partum room for the next 3 days. I was up out of bed within 12 hours and eating solid foods shortly after that. Aaron roomed in with me the entire time and Thom stayed over each night to help out with late night feedings and diaper changes.

The whole experience was surreal. Especially seeing Aaron for the first time. It was hard to believe he was really ours. I could see them cleaning him up and all I could think was "Wow, that's a lot of hair."

My sisters Theresa and Lia, and my sister-in-law Linnea and nephew Alex were able to visit us the first day. (Somehow we didn't get a picture of Theresa with Aaron.)

Grandma came to stay with us during the days, allowing Thom some time to go home and rest, shower and eat. The hospital staff were excellent and a big help in getting me back on my feet and getting us off to a good start with breast feeding, but there was no way I wanted to be left alone with the baby those first 3 days. It was reassuring just to have my mom in the room.

Auntie Linda also came to visit us at the hospital. Linda has been friends with Thom since grad school 20 years ago, and friends/coworkers with Liz for the last 8 1/2 years. She has become honorary family and was the one non-blood relative we invited to see Aaron at the hospital.

About his name:

Aaron is Thom's middle name. It is of Hebrew origin (Aaron was the older brother of Moses) and most likely means "shining" or "mountain".

Maslin means "little Thomas" in French. We stumbled across it in a baby name book from the library and immediately liked the sound of it and found the meaning appropriate. It is also an English word that means "a mixture; medley". And a surprising coincidence, it is remarkably similar to the name of Thom's hometown, Massillon.

Preparing for the storm

It's hard to believe that it has been 9 months since I peed on the stick that has brought us to the brink of parenthood. All in all, pregnancy hasn't been as bad as I feared. The first trimester with constant nausea and fatigue was rough, but once I started to show and had more energy, it wasn't too bad. And once we could actually feel Baby S moving around in my belly, it was really quite fun. I especially enjoyed watching the look of horror on my husband's face the first time he felt the baby do one of his sudden acrobatic movements and realized that his son does more in there than just kick.

The worst part has been developing carpal tunnel syndrome, which for a software engineer on the computer all day, has been the biggest inconvenience of the pregnancy. Fortunately, my OB says it should go away after the baby is born. All of the other common pregnancy symptoms have been pretty mild. Even at 38 weeks, I am getting plenty of sleep, despite frequent trips to the bathroom. I think at this point, I expected to be suffering insomnia.

In preparation for our first child, we took 3 separate classes: a 2 day interactive Childbirth Preparation class where we learned everything from what to pack for the hospital to several breathing/calming techniques for labor and delivery; an evening of Baby Care Basics where we learned how to diaper and swaddle our little one; and an all day CPR and Safety class which was perhaps the most educational for us. After talking to some friends who have successfully breastfed just from the help they got from the nurses at the hospital, we decided to forego the Breastfeeding class and just wing that.

Rather than devoting one of our 3 bedrooms to a nursery, we combined the nursery with the guest room. We know some day we will need to give up the home office, but why rush it? The crib fits opposite the queen bed and is currently adorned with numerous choking hazzards (i.e. anything other than the crib sheet) which will have to be removed before the baby starts sleeping here, but in the meantime, they spruce up the crib. The beautiful jungle themed quilt and matching pillow were hand-made by our friend Julie. At the foot of the crib is a hand-knit baby blanket from my mother (in the same pattern as the one I had as a baby).

We were lucky that my big sister was done with her baby gear and was kind enough to give us a crib, a co-sleeper (for the early months), two car seats, a stroller, a play yard, a changing table, and miscellaneous other pieces of baby gear that will come in handy. And our generous friends have given us many other nursery and baby essentials, such as a cradle swing, Diaper Champ, baby bathtub, receiving blankets (you cannot have too many), sheets, books, toys and many, many clothes. There were a few other essentials we bought and we know that after we have the baby, the list of necessities will grow and change.

Despite having all the equipment we should need for the baby's first few weeks, despite having the car seat installed, despite the classes we have taken, despite finally getting our estate plan documents signed, despite having the hospital bag packed, despite having interviewed a pediatrician, we are still not sure we are ready for the coming storm that will be our son. But I'm not sure there is anything else we can do to prepare.

This blog is for our distant friends and family who want to follow along on our adventures as first time parents. Stay tuned for our first post-baby posting..