Monday, March 31, 2014
"It's a Trap!"
Any Star Wars geek knows that infamous line. And we fell into it last night with our boy.
Seems like we forgot, in the madness of transitioning back to the house, that Lucca likes to be wide awake starting at 9 PM. That means he's rocking out for the next six or so hours on and off. That meant for a long night since we hit the sack around 10 PM. No sleep is a bad recipe.
After surviving the night, Sunday was pretty chill. I slept in and had an amazing time with my son from about 9 AM to 10 AM. We just started at each other and communicated on that most basic of levels. He'd reach out his wrinkled little hand and I'd share my pinkie finger. He'd yawn, I'd reciprocate. It was quiet and peaceful and wonderful.
We spent the rest of the day lounging about. We'd had snow last night (snow!) and it was freezing outside with 20-30 mile per hour gusts. But the day eventually warmed up somewhat and I got to spend some quality time with my daughter, who is probably starting to feel a little neglected. She has actually been quite impressive as the big sister. She has shown no resentment or jealousy towards her brother. I think being a little older has made this possible. I took her to the park and she rode her bike, flew a kite and ran around at the playground. Z continues to be as stubborn as ever though. Her will is impressive and she will fight you tooth and nail on a point, even if she's clearly wrong. It has to be her way. This will serve her well one day. It's quite difficult as the parent of a five year old.
Shannon has been feeling very good and is recovering strongly. She is pumping milk at an industrial level and we're slowly stockpiling the fridge with bottles of it. We even gave Lucca his first bottle of breast milk and he enjoyed it. Shannon is in good spirits and will be quite euphoric as we head into a week of weather topping the 70's. After this long cold winter, those temperatures will seems like we're in mid August.
For now, we are all happy and healthy. I am enjoying my time at home immensely. I can't imagine how stressful it would be if I had to race back to work. That's the farthest thing in my mind right now.
Seems like we forgot, in the madness of transitioning back to the house, that Lucca likes to be wide awake starting at 9 PM. That means he's rocking out for the next six or so hours on and off. That meant for a long night since we hit the sack around 10 PM. No sleep is a bad recipe.
After surviving the night, Sunday was pretty chill. I slept in and had an amazing time with my son from about 9 AM to 10 AM. We just started at each other and communicated on that most basic of levels. He'd reach out his wrinkled little hand and I'd share my pinkie finger. He'd yawn, I'd reciprocate. It was quiet and peaceful and wonderful.
We spent the rest of the day lounging about. We'd had snow last night (snow!) and it was freezing outside with 20-30 mile per hour gusts. But the day eventually warmed up somewhat and I got to spend some quality time with my daughter, who is probably starting to feel a little neglected. She has actually been quite impressive as the big sister. She has shown no resentment or jealousy towards her brother. I think being a little older has made this possible. I took her to the park and she rode her bike, flew a kite and ran around at the playground. Z continues to be as stubborn as ever though. Her will is impressive and she will fight you tooth and nail on a point, even if she's clearly wrong. It has to be her way. This will serve her well one day. It's quite difficult as the parent of a five year old.
Shannon has been feeling very good and is recovering strongly. She is pumping milk at an industrial level and we're slowly stockpiling the fridge with bottles of it. We even gave Lucca his first bottle of breast milk and he enjoyed it. Shannon is in good spirits and will be quite euphoric as we head into a week of weather topping the 70's. After this long cold winter, those temperatures will seems like we're in mid August.
For now, we are all happy and healthy. I am enjoying my time at home immensely. I can't imagine how stressful it would be if I had to race back to work. That's the farthest thing in my mind right now.
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Family Matters
How amazing was it to arrive home to a delicious meal and a cleaned up house? Aunt Julie, Cousin Emma and Gramy Lanie pitched in to make our homecoming a special one. Z was ecstatic to welcome her brother home. We were just relieved to walk into our house after almost four days of hospital time.
Of course, stress is always around when you are welcoming a new one to the house. Shan struggled to find some rest. I was pretty tired myself. I ended up going out to find some necessities Shannon felt we needed. After some bumps in the road, we finally settled in some and had a great dinner and got to this evening. Lucca woke up at what apparently is his time to rock out, 8:30 PM. We're hoping we can steal some sleep in the next several hours. Enjoy the photos. I'm working on uploading some more Lucca video.
Of course, stress is always around when you are welcoming a new one to the house. Shan struggled to find some rest. I was pretty tired myself. I ended up going out to find some necessities Shannon felt we needed. After some bumps in the road, we finally settled in some and had a great dinner and got to this evening. Lucca woke up at what apparently is his time to rock out, 8:30 PM. We're hoping we can steal some sleep in the next several hours. Enjoy the photos. I'm working on uploading some more Lucca video.
Reports from 6 AM
All is well here on our final day at the hospital. Mission has been awesome and we appreciate their wonderful staff and pristine facilities.
Lucca is starting to eat more vigorously and Shannon is delivering! Her milk is coming in really well and she is even able to pump. This is all great news and we're relieved.
Lucca seems to enjoy his sleep time right now. He still needs so much time to rest and gain strength. But he is a tough little guy. He's been poked and prodded and had so many needles stuck in him. They even put one in his head to try and draw blood! Barely made a whimper. He's also expelling the tar like meconium in great quantities. He's also mastered the art of peeing on his dad.
I'm working on a video and hope to have it up soon. Stay tuned.
Lucca is starting to eat more vigorously and Shannon is delivering! Her milk is coming in really well and she is even able to pump. This is all great news and we're relieved.
Lucca seems to enjoy his sleep time right now. He still needs so much time to rest and gain strength. But he is a tough little guy. He's been poked and prodded and had so many needles stuck in him. They even put one in his head to try and draw blood! Barely made a whimper. He's also expelling the tar like meconium in great quantities. He's also mastered the art of peeing on his dad.
I'm working on a video and hope to have it up soon. Stay tuned.
Friday, March 28, 2014
Huge Day 2!
Lucca is doing awesome! He's feeding from mom without any real difficulty. All of his tests are yielding great results. This includes his blood sugar tests which are reading normal. All in all, it's been a great day.
Lucca also met his sister. Zahra was so excited to meet him and hold him. She couldn't get enough.
Enjoy the photos.
Lucca also met his sister. Zahra was so excited to meet him and hold him. She couldn't get enough.
Enjoy the photos.
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Lucca Solo Seijo
It's been over five years since I began this blog to chronicle our lives. Now we have a new member. Lucca was born March 27 at about 3 in the morning. He weighed in a a spritely 5 lbs 2 ounces and measured 17 inches. He's a little dude. But he's a tough one as well. Just like his mama. Shannon got that baby out with neigh a drop of any type of medication. She was always an amazing woman, now she took it up a notch. Watching her go through what can only be described in person as surviving a trip to the sun's core, I've a newfound respect and admiration for my "delicate flower" (as I call her sometimes). Shannon and Lucca have been recovering from a very long day on Wednesday. I'm still on that "high" of life. I can't really sleep (that may also have to do with the fact I don't have place to lay my head, but that's ok).
We started the day at MAHEC, a local medical agency with specialists who work with high risk pregnancies. Our became high risk after a few visits in weeks 34-35 revealed low fluid levels in Shannon's belly. After surviving our scare from about a week ago (as I chronicled in an earlier post), we soldiered on and waited. To our mutual surprise, we were told that Shannon's levels had dipped further. "Wiggles" had to come out.
We gathered ourselves and prepared for a long night. We rested, ate and packed up our things and headed to the hospital. We arrived around 4 PM. From there it was the waiting game. Shannon had many options to take for induction. She opted for the non-chemical type. A small "balloon" was inserted into her that made the cervix expand. Prior to that, she was "swept". This is a procedure that also helps induce labor and can be quite painful. We waited many hours. Finally, at around 11 PM or so, the "balloon" fell out of Shannon. Now her contractions started to ease up in intensity. But they also increased. Now the long process continued into the morning hours. Shannon was almost ready to quit and take the path I would have taken as soon as I walked into the hospital. But she was assured by our solid team of care takers (midwife and nurse) that the baby was almost here. Shannon was incredible. She grunted and groaned and cursed and shimmied. I kept doing my job, applying pressure to her back. Before we knew it, a team of doctors and assistants flooded the room and Lucca appeared.
He was so tiny! He was also wailing like a banshee. Oh what a glorious sound it was. Our boy was here, safely in our arms. I got to hold him while Shannon recovered from an incredible delivery. I stared into his eyes. I was so sacred. I was also so glad to see him alive and healthy.
Now we wait. The battery of tests will begin shortly on the boy until they clear him to go home. We hope you all get a chance to meet the little rugrat.
We started the day at MAHEC, a local medical agency with specialists who work with high risk pregnancies. Our became high risk after a few visits in weeks 34-35 revealed low fluid levels in Shannon's belly. After surviving our scare from about a week ago (as I chronicled in an earlier post), we soldiered on and waited. To our mutual surprise, we were told that Shannon's levels had dipped further. "Wiggles" had to come out.
We gathered ourselves and prepared for a long night. We rested, ate and packed up our things and headed to the hospital. We arrived around 4 PM. From there it was the waiting game. Shannon had many options to take for induction. She opted for the non-chemical type. A small "balloon" was inserted into her that made the cervix expand. Prior to that, she was "swept". This is a procedure that also helps induce labor and can be quite painful. We waited many hours. Finally, at around 11 PM or so, the "balloon" fell out of Shannon. Now her contractions started to ease up in intensity. But they also increased. Now the long process continued into the morning hours. Shannon was almost ready to quit and take the path I would have taken as soon as I walked into the hospital. But she was assured by our solid team of care takers (midwife and nurse) that the baby was almost here. Shannon was incredible. She grunted and groaned and cursed and shimmied. I kept doing my job, applying pressure to her back. Before we knew it, a team of doctors and assistants flooded the room and Lucca appeared.
He was so tiny! He was also wailing like a banshee. Oh what a glorious sound it was. Our boy was here, safely in our arms. I got to hold him while Shannon recovered from an incredible delivery. I stared into his eyes. I was so sacred. I was also so glad to see him alive and healthy.
Now we wait. The battery of tests will begin shortly on the boy until they clear him to go home. We hope you all get a chance to meet the little rugrat.
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Its happening!
We are heading to the hospital for induction. Next time i post we will have a baby boy!
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Monday, March 24, 2014
No News is Good News, right?
Update- Today we found out we have two doctor's appointments in the coming days. We go to New Dawn on Tuesday to check in with the midwives to see how things are going. Then on Wednesday we meet a high risk pregnancy doctor to see what the game plan will be from here on out. That's the latest.
I will post a slew of videos on here to help everyone catch up on the year that was 2013.
I will post a slew of videos on here to help everyone catch up on the year that was 2013.
Sunday, March 23, 2014
We Meet Again
It's time. Time to break back into the world of the inter webs to share data about ourselves. Posterity beckons.
So since we've last posted, we've moved into a nice new place. We have a bun in the oven who is eagerly awaited. Che lives on a farm with a family friend. Rumi has moved on into that kitty place in the sky. And all of our loved ones are still around and kicking, even if some can't quite kick as hard.
Zahra has grown into a five year old little lady. She's full of piss and vinegar. But we will keep her along for the ride because she is so darn cute! Seriously, she is still as loud and joyful as ever. Eager and brimming with energy to lead the whole world. Not sure where she wants to take everyone but it will definitely be a fun ride.
Check out her birthday party.
Zahra's Fifth Birthday from deadbrave on Vimeo.
Shannon is currently done with work and resting. She has grand aspirations of gardening and shaping earth. It's been a really long winter and we are all ready to burst. I'm trying to cope with reality and keep the Seijezzali ship sailing in the right direction. Can't say I'm not ready for this little guy to get here. I almost had my wish today. March 18th. This past Tuesday was a day to remember. I worked a half day and made my way home to get Shannon for our new schedule of visits to the hospital. Her latest check up revealed a low level of fluids in the belly. The midwives were taking precautions against a placenta that could possibly fail so ultrasounds every three days from here on in. So everything is cool and a bit quiet (I almost fell asleep during one of Shannon's tests) we get word that her amniotic fluid is at 3.8. Apparently that is bad because before we knew it, we'd hit DEFCON 5. "What? This isn't happening, right? I feel like I'm hallucinating." This was Shannon's candid and frightful reaction to the news that we were being induced right then and there. We were rushed into a room and had a gown tossed on the bed. Nurses sprung into action and assured us everything would be alright. The midwife began explaining what was about to happen. Shannon was really low on fluid. This is very dangerous for the baby. At this point in the pregnancy, if levels get any lower, we would be jeopardizing the life trying to reach us out here. It's amazing how quick the mind can race under such duress. I'd compiled a list in about a nanosecond once the news sunk in. My boy's coming out and I need to move it. I'm making calls to family, friends and co workers. The wheels were spinning and I was out of that hospital to grab what things we did have ready at home so that I could return and begin the epic adventure. Damn, I forgot to ask Shannon about something (can't even recall now). "I was just about to call you. They spoke to another doctor, we're not having the baby." So as we unwrapped out frayed minds from the madness that had just occurred, I couldn't help but wonder, "why did we just go through that?" This incredible moment has been the catalyst for a series of events that have been pretty stressful. We left the hospital that afternoon ready to deliver Thursday. Then when Thursday came, after about 36 hours of Flash like packing and preparing, Shannon's fluid actually increased. Now the new plan was Saturday induction. But on the eve of the Saturday plan, we received word that more data analysis revealed more options. After much discussion with a new doctor (whom we will meet this Wednesday), the plan was to come in Sunday. We will evaluate then and see if we have to induce you later that evening. And so Sunday is here and I'm typing this and trying to prepare for a return to normalcy.
Zahra's Fifth Birthday from deadbrave on Vimeo.
Shannon is currently done with work and resting. She has grand aspirations of gardening and shaping earth. It's been a really long winter and we are all ready to burst. I'm trying to cope with reality and keep the Seijezzali ship sailing in the right direction. Can't say I'm not ready for this little guy to get here. I almost had my wish today. March 18th. This past Tuesday was a day to remember. I worked a half day and made my way home to get Shannon for our new schedule of visits to the hospital. Her latest check up revealed a low level of fluids in the belly. The midwives were taking precautions against a placenta that could possibly fail so ultrasounds every three days from here on in. So everything is cool and a bit quiet (I almost fell asleep during one of Shannon's tests) we get word that her amniotic fluid is at 3.8. Apparently that is bad because before we knew it, we'd hit DEFCON 5. "What? This isn't happening, right? I feel like I'm hallucinating." This was Shannon's candid and frightful reaction to the news that we were being induced right then and there. We were rushed into a room and had a gown tossed on the bed. Nurses sprung into action and assured us everything would be alright. The midwife began explaining what was about to happen. Shannon was really low on fluid. This is very dangerous for the baby. At this point in the pregnancy, if levels get any lower, we would be jeopardizing the life trying to reach us out here. It's amazing how quick the mind can race under such duress. I'd compiled a list in about a nanosecond once the news sunk in. My boy's coming out and I need to move it. I'm making calls to family, friends and co workers. The wheels were spinning and I was out of that hospital to grab what things we did have ready at home so that I could return and begin the epic adventure. Damn, I forgot to ask Shannon about something (can't even recall now). "I was just about to call you. They spoke to another doctor, we're not having the baby." So as we unwrapped out frayed minds from the madness that had just occurred, I couldn't help but wonder, "why did we just go through that?" This incredible moment has been the catalyst for a series of events that have been pretty stressful. We left the hospital that afternoon ready to deliver Thursday. Then when Thursday came, after about 36 hours of Flash like packing and preparing, Shannon's fluid actually increased. Now the new plan was Saturday induction. But on the eve of the Saturday plan, we received word that more data analysis revealed more options. After much discussion with a new doctor (whom we will meet this Wednesday), the plan was to come in Sunday. We will evaluate then and see if we have to induce you later that evening. And so Sunday is here and I'm typing this and trying to prepare for a return to normalcy.
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