We HATE this machine.....

So things are well at the Logan Compound....ESPECIALLY since this machine has run its course.  Existing parents, I don't know if you've had the "pleasure" (& I mean that in the most sarcastic way possible) of using this machine, but we used it for 10 days.  That's about 10 days longer than I recommend.  Average usage time is 2-3 days.  Parents-to-be, beware of this thing.... think long & hard about using it because your other option is to stay in the hospital another day or two.  

This contraption is called a "Billi Blanket".  It is what they have created to help jaundice babies get all of the "bilirubin"  out of their system.  From my best translation of what the docs & nurses say, jaundice is the liver's inability to process dead blood cells out of a baby's system.  This leads to a slight discoloration in the baby's skin -- giving a yellow tint.  If the liver doesn't process it out properly it can re-absorb into the baby's system....I'm not sure how bad that is, but probably not good.  But I digress....

The little paddle looking thing you see at the end of the hose is to be placed UNDER baby's clothes & in contact with the skin.  The tube then leads out to the box machine which houses a fluorescent light that is shone through a blue lens.  The light helps break up the bilirubin, thus making it easier for the liver to do its thing.  This gives off a nice little "glow worm" effect that you see here:  

While this is pretty cool LOOKING, it is probably one of the most inconvenient devices we've ever had to use.  It pretty much ensured that we couldn't walk freely with Ethan around the house because we needed to have it on him as much as possible.  As in, 24 hrs a day.  So we had to pick our place & plug it in & sit.  

The test to see the bilirubin level is a blood test that they draw from the heel.  We had to get this test 8 times out of the 10 days of wearing it..... so needless to say, his heels are pretty nicked up!

Granted, with all that said, the device DOES do what its supposed to do.  It got his levels down & frankly, anything that helps our child be healthy is a great thing.  Its what they recommended & while it was tough to use, it did a fantastic job of getting Li'l Man healthy.

The call from the doctor today that informed us of his levels being where they want them to be was the best news we've gotten since he was born.  This news included the instructions to call the company who provided it to us & have them pick it up.

Adios "Billi Blanket" -- good riddance!

Ethan's Arrival

Boy, I've really dropped the ball on this blog -- for that I apologize!  Well, lots has been happening since my last post.  I'll cut to the chase & fill you in on the biggest news of all....

Ethan David Logan was born on 5/30/08 at 3:47 pm.  Yes, his due date was actually 6/26/08 so he came a month early!

It was a rather surprising occurrence, but we knew she had been dilated 1 cm for about a week.  Her water slowly broke at about 2:45 am on Friday, May 30th.  We took off for the hospital after speaking with the doctor on call & she said, given the info Mel gave her, that we should go.  After Mel got her shower & packed her bag, we headed to Community South.  The contractions were fairly far apart, about 7 minutes.

We were checked in & by the time the paperwork was finished, her initial check was complete, she was still at 1 cm.  Her contractions still weren't bad, but they were increasing in strength.

Before we knew it, she was dilated to 4 cm.  As the contractions grew the nurse checked her an hour later & saw she was dilated to 8 cm!  At this time, the contractions were strong enough & we called for the epidural - it was only 7:30 am.  The block was administered without a hitch & it took effect slowly.

The nurse told us there would be a pretty good break while the block set itself.  This was good because her parents & sister had just arrived & with all the commotion, we needed a quick nap.

Shortly after our nap, they checked her again & she had dilated fully to 10+ cm & 100% effaced. Her family left the room & we knew things were about to get good.  The time?  12:30.

Our nurse readied the room for pushing & called the doctor.  She told us that the doctor was about 20 minutes away & instructed the 3 of us to begin pushing.  While I was surprised by this news, I thought, "Here we go!  Our time to shine!"

We began pushing & after a few good pushes, the doctor arrived at 1 pm & told us we were doing great job but to give Mel a break.  (I thought that was weird, considering how quick everything happened to this point.)  We broke for about 30 minutes before we started back up.

At 1:30 pm, we hit the main stretch -- & boy what a stretch it was.  From 1:30 pm to 3:47 pm was hard, frustrating work but the end result was so incredibly worth it.

At that time, we welcomed our first son into the world.  We were so excited.... an incredible miracle that God delivered us a healthy baby boy.

While they were cleaning up & taking care of Ethan -- I headed to the waiting room.  We knew there were people out there who were concerned because the first half of the day went by so quick, but the second half seemed to stand still forever.  As I opened the door, I saw that 15 people were waiting patiently.  Controlling my excitement, I filled them in, "He's HERE!"

The excitement was unbelievable.  Everyone erupted with joy & gathered around to see the few pictures I had taken.  Handshakes & hugs, congrats & questions, the entire gamut was covered.  After the all clear was given, family fled to Mel's room to congratulate her & to the viewing area to see Ethan getting his bath/tests done.

The experience was exhausting but exciting.  We couldn't have wished for a better staff or better situation.  Everyone was so great & informative.  They never made us feel stupid & always welcomed our questions.  They stayed patient with us with the swarms of visitors we had Friday night & all day Saturday.  Sunday was a relaxing day for us & after they finished the tests, we were discharged late Sunday night.

Welcome home, Ethan.  We love you.

The Pup

Every single day of our lives, we wonder what goes through Nala's mind (see picture above -- we had nothing to do with that except capture it on film.) But more specifically, we have always wondered whats going through Nala's mind in regards to adding a member to our family. While we won't know until he arrives, we can only guess that they're going to be best buds.

Recently she has been acting weird so we're sure she is aware of Ethan's upcoming arrival. She is pretty conscious around Mel & her belly. Used to be, she would just jump all over us with no thought about it, but now she seems to know thats a sensitive area. However, now she is starting to "mark her territory" in the living room. Its pretty frustrating because she's been so good in the house & just now, she's starting to try to get our attention in this unfavorable way. We try to really spend a lot of time with her when were home & make her still feel like the princess she is. The issue is when were NOT at home. Since we've been at the house, she's been able to roam free throughout the house & we've never had an issue. So its pretty obvious that she is trying to get our attention & let me tell you --- she has. Our biggest concern is we're about to get new carpet & that can either be awesome because it will take her scent out of the area so she wont know to go there again OR it will be a nice new area to ruin! Frustration sets in & we're kinda at a loss.
Nevertheless we love her more & more everyday & she has prepared us for kids in her own way. We know that she's going to make a great "big sister" & we are excited for her to get to know Ethan when he arrives.

Adios, muchachos!

On the way to Daddy-ville

Being the end of February, time is really beginning to fly. We have been looking for ideas for Ethan's room, we have been thinking of how to change our old "office" into the new guest room, & we don't have much time to do all this....let alone all the other stuff that goes into this parenting thing!

Every time we're out, we check out clothes, toys & cribs/strollers. Its overwhelming, but extremely exciting! We are planning to go do our baby registries this weekend. I remember doing the wedding registry & its kinda like going on a big shopping spree -- except you don't actually shop. Anyways, going through all this really puts things into perspective. Soon the two of us are going to be the three of us & while thats pretty cool, its kinda scary to go from a newly married couple to a family.

Mel is showing pretty darn good now & sometimes feels great, sometimes doesn't. I think being a teacher really opens her up to the possibility of illness & during this time of the year its hard to stay well but we both do what we can. We're looking forward to spring so that it can warm up & we can get on with the fun times!

Happy Leap Year everyone!

Hello!

So its been about a month & a half since I last wrote -- & boy has a lot happened since then! First & foremost, congrats to the New York Giants for re-writing history with their Super Bowl win. Second, Happy Valentine's Day to everyone -- especially the ladies...... :o)

But, most importantly -- we have proof of what sex our child will be! Mel is in her 21st week & from the pix below, you can see that we're having a li'l boy! We pretty much had a gut feeling all along that we were going to have a boy but the ultrasound proved us right!

I'm sure he's going to be thrilled that this picture is online

We were so excited to find out the news that we both took the day off so we could spend it together. We went to lunch with her sister & dinner with her family & my dad. We went around to shop for li'l guy wear & made calls to as many people as possible. Overall just a great day. We are now trying to figure out what we're going to do with the nursery room. Mel has found a few things she likes & while we both like a lot of different things, we have yet to settle on one idea.

This is the unofficial beginning of fatherhood for me. While she is in her 21st week, knowing that we're having a boy seems to have a solidity to it for us. Now we can concentrate on parenthood & that road traveled begins now.

Here we go!

"The way of the future." - The Aviator