1st and 2nd Week Update/Milestones

On Dec. 19th, Lee made 2 weeks old. He is now 7 lbs and 3 oz and 19 1/2" inches. He is most definitely an night owl. Lee likes to sleep all day and stay up all night to our chagrin. When he's awake, he is very alert of his surroundings and loves to hang out with people when playing "Rockband." He coos and makes a lot of facial expressions even when he's sleeping. Below are accomplishments and updates we have made in the past 2 weeks.

Dec. 10th- Got milk?! Breasts finally started producing milk! When I woke up, my breast had filled up which I was ecstatic about. He's a big eater likes his daddy- drinking both breast milk and formula because the breast milk can't produce as fast as he drinks it.

Dec. 11th- His first visit at the Pediatrician's office. He had gained 2 oz. Prior to leaving the hospital, he had lost 4 oz. which is normal for infants.

Dec. 12th (actual due date)- Lee was circumcised. We didn't have to be in the room to see the procedure because the pediatrician says that she had a lot of parents faint and she could not take care of the newly unconscious because she has to attend to the child. Anyway, Lee fell asleep during the procedure and woke up crying because the nurse took her sugar flavored finger out of his mouth for "clean up". The doctor told us that the numbing she gave him would die off in 2 hours. We got home and about an hour after the procedure, he started crying. It seemed like he was feeling the pain. I started crying because I felt so bad. So Mike and I decided "Screw it!" and give him Tylenol to kill the pain. After receiving the cherry flavored drug, he calmed down and went to sleep. Thank God. He's fine now.

Dec 13th- We took him to the Fashion Show Mall for Lee to take his first picture with Santa. See blog titled "The Double Deuce."

Dec. 14th- The whole family (Mike, myself, Baby Lee, Flans, Dusty & my mom) went for a mile walk at the drainage basin near our house. Mike carried Lee in the baby carrier. Lee slept the whole time. Sorry no picture of this moment but the next time Lee is in the baby carrier, we will certainly get one.

Dec14th thru 19th- Lee's cousins, David and Micela, came to visit from Northern California. They were both happy to meet their new cousin and very helpful around the house by making breakfast, changing Lee's diaper, feeding Lee, etc.

Dec 16th- We took our holiday pictures by the help of Micela. Luckily, Lee was up for this moment. The dogs did great also.

Dec 18th- Lee went to his first Christmas party at Lendall and Pam's 12 flavors of Cheesecake at their new store. Everyone wants happy to meet the little guy and I was happy to share the bundle of cuteness. Or course, he was the center of attention.

Dec 19th- Mike's wake up call.... This night Mike volunteered to take care of Lee so that I could sleep through the night as I was starting to feel icky. I gladly took him up on his offer. At 3 a.m., he woke me up. frustrated and exasperated. He was totally out of ideas of how to stop his crying. He had already fed, changed him, etc. I guess Lee wanted mommy time aka breast milk. So I took Lee and fed him and Mike went to bed. I told Mike that he sucks at being a graveyard worker. he he he

-Jenny

Confirmed

Most people thought I was a boob anyways.
-Mike

The Double Deuce

Adorable? Of Course!

Festive?

Indeed.

-Lee

Mommy's Take on the Big Day!

Tuesday; December 4th (Start of Induction)

We've been anticipating the big day, thinking it would never come and it was finally here. I decided to go to work so I could finish up what needed to be done and meet with Lendall to update him on what's been going on in the office since he's been busy with his new venture. I told Mike I should be done at 2PM but Mike told me that wasn't going to happen. He was right!

I finally left the office at 4:30PM, calling Mike to let him know I was on my way. As soon as I hung up with him, I starting crying, my emotions bursting out of me. I texted Mike to let him know that the emotions were really getting to me. He called me right away to make sure I was okay and that I could drive. I told him I could and that all the emotions I had been bottling up were coming out. Basically, I was working right up until today to block thoughts of what was about to happen. I finally got home and was still crying.

Mike and I were supposed to meet my mother, my brother and his girlfriend for one final dinner. We met at our favorite Thai restaurant. After dinner, my mom braided my hair and did some last minute organizing before heading to the office. During our drive to the hospital, we were both saying this is it and were both emotional.

We arrived to the front desk and told them we were here for an induction. We were lead to room 253 where we would inhabit for the next few days. The room was a fabulous suite with all the fixins for me but for Mike, he got a sofa bed which he couldn't fit. As we settled in, nurse Lori got started hooking me up with all the necessary gadgets to monitor me and the baby- I.V., blood pressure, baby heart monitor, contraction monitor. Then the nurse inserted the Cervadil which would soften my uterus to help me dilate/contract.

Finally, Mike and I were alone. Now it's a waiting game. It was hard to sleep with all the wiring and gadgets on me and Mike sleeping on a small sofa bed. Mike finally asked the nurse for the sleeping pill that Dr. Miller said I could take if I had a hard time sleeping that night. It was two little pills and I took one and slipped the other to Mike when the nurse left. It was still hard to get a good night sleep because the nurse would come in and out to do something to me.

Wednesday; December 5th (Continuation of Induction/Arrival of baby Lee)

When the morning finally came, nurse Jennifer was next on duty and the Cervadil was to be removed. She checked to see how much I have dilate and I didn't dilate at all. :o( Note: Being check for dilation is like being mined because it was very uncomfortable and it hurt.

The nurse called Dr. Miller to tell her my progress. She decided to put me on Petocin which they would start on a low dose and increase it every hour to help me contract and dilate. Great, ANOTHER waiting game... Nurse Jennifer had to help with a delivery so nurse Grace came to take care of me for the rest of the day. My mom, brother and Katlyn (brother's girlfriend) came in the afternoon to keep me company while Mike went home to take a nap, see how the dogs were doing & take a shower since it seems nothing was happening.

At about 6, Dr. Miller decided to break my water since I had not dilated much even being on Petocin for over 8 hours to speed the process. She broke my water with a long apparatus that looked like a plastic knit needle with a hook. I called Mike to tell him that Dr. Miller just broke my water and it should speed the process up.

So now, I feel like I'm peeing myself, laying in bed while the contractions are getting more and more intense. I proudly can say I didn't scream or anything. :o) After a couple of hours, Mike asked if I wanted the epidural as he could see I was getting very uncomfortable and unhappy. I said no but he went to ask the nurse how long would it take for the anesthesiologist to come and give an epidural when I wanted it- 45 minutes. He came to let me know and then he recommended that I order one since it is a wait. So I agreed. The nurse came in and said the anesthesiologist said if I wanted some other pain medication administered which could affect the baby before he arrives. I said I'll wait for the epidural.

The anesthesiologist arrived and explained how it works. The nurse stood in front of me holding my shoulders as I hunched my back. He said what I would feel right before he would do something. I felt a sharp pinch then a grinding of something being turned like when you screw together but instead he was trying to separate my spine disc. He did this procedure 5 times because he could not get it in the right spot. The fifth needle, the pain was so unbearable that I burst into tears as I breathe out.

He finally got it in the right spot and could administer the drug. I felt a cold burst at my back then a electrical surge down my right leg. I'm wasn't sure if I was going to be able to recommend the epidural to anyone, but then the drug kicked it and I didn't feel any contractions or pain from that time on. AHHHHHHHH. Nice.

Nurse Grace was soon to be replaced by nurse Remy. At about 8:30, nurse Remy came to check my dilation. I was stuck on 5 cm and was at the maximum Petocin dose. Remy explained that my labor wasn't progressing and they will probably have to do a c-section but Dr. Miller will have to make that decision. I told Remy to let Dr. Miller that I didn't want to have a c-section and if we could try a little longer. Mike says we'll agree to what the doctor recommends.

My biggest nightmare about my labor was about to come true. Mike knew that I didn't like the idea after we went to pre-natal class and saw the video on c-section. I also knew that if it had to be, it had to be. At about 8:50, Dr. Miller walked into our room and explained how we have come to the end of the induction phase and it wasn't working. We tried what we can do to have a vaginal birth but she wouldn't risk me or the baby, therefore, we need to do the c-section. I asked her who will be the doctor that is doing the c-section. She said it would be her. I felt so much better and relaxed that she was going to be the one as I was thinking it would be someone else.

Dr. Moore, the anesthesiologist came to prep me for surgery. He gave me a drug that made me shiver uncontrollably and made me numb all over. While a bunch of people prepped me, I could hear them trying to get Mike some scrubs for him to wear in the OR. He's a big guy so finding a size for him proved futile so he finally got a robe to wear. They rolled me from my room into the OR. Everything happened quickly but I was awake and alert for it all.

Dr. Moore told me what I would feel as things was happening. Mike was on the right of me stroking my hair while my arms were strapped down and I kept warm. I feel a little tug and heard my baby first cry. They walked him over to the warming area behind Mike. Mike said he was covered in goo. and he is so alert. I started to tear up as the little being that I have been carrying for 39 weeks has finally made his appearance.

Once they got him cleaned off, Mike went over to see him. The nurse asked if we had a name and I said does he look like a Lee and Mike said yes so Mike said he's name is Lee. They finally got him wrapped up and I got to see little Lee wrapped up like a little football; kissed him. Mike followed the nurses with Lee to the nursery while they finish up the rest of the procedure.

Dr. Miller mentioned that I had a scar tissue in my uterus and asked me if I had bad cramps when I had my period and I said no. Also, she asked how long were we trying to get pregnant. I said about 3 years. I did not have a chance to ask her about this conversation but I will when I have an appointment with her. The surgery was finally over and they rolled me back to the room.

When I was in the room, Mike came back to tell me that whatever a healthy baby is required to do within the first 24 hours, Lee had done in less than an hour- pooped, peed & drank a full bottle (50 cc). They had to feed him right away because he had low sugar blood count due to me having gestational diabetic. The nurse brought him in right next to my bed. I was still shaking/shivering. I got to hold Lee for a while. Mike had sent some messages to let some people know that Lee was born. I didn't want him to call my mom or brother till I stopped shaking. At about 11, I called my mom and told her that she had another grandson. I asked if she wants to stay with me and Lee that night so that Mike can have a good night sleep and take care of the dogs, she agreed. :o)

Thursday; December 6th (Monitoring of mother & baby)

The night was more of a try-to-rest time. Mom took care of Lee when he would cry. Of course, nurses came in and out of the room to check on us. I've been eating only ice chips for the past 30 some hours. I finally got to drink water, eat jello and drank ginger ale. Woo hoo! My first experience of breast feeding was a bit frustrating but Remy helped me through it where Lee did get colostrum which is known as "liquid gold".

As the day went by, we started the breast feeding and then the bottle so that Lee got used to my breast. The second time, he latched on quickly. Lee and I make a good team in the feeding department and eating is one of his stronger qualities. Mike came back to the hospital in the morning and bought my mother home to rest when Katlyn came to see Lee at 9 a.m. When Mike got back, he had to change baby Lee's poopie diaper. Mike got his welcome to fatherhood when baby Lee who hasn't finished his business pooped and peed on Mike.

Nurse Pam explained to me what I needed to do to get me back to my feet from surgery and how to work myself back to eating solids. She said that if I could walk around the maternity area, I could have a real dinner. So I started working on standing and walking around the room. Dr. Glasser,the pediatrician, came to look at baby Lee and said that he was doing great and thought she could release him to go home tomorrow. Dr. Turner, Dr. Miller's partner, came to look at my stitches and said I was healing great and probably could be released tomorrow.

Aunt Nancy came to visit and got to hold, feed & burp baby Lee which she hasn't done before. My brother and Katlyn came over to see baby Lee. After all the visitors left, it was mommy, daddy & baby time. We walked around the maturity area- me pushing my I.V. machine and Mike pushing baby Lee's crib. For dinner, I got a turkey dinner and it was good. :o) Mike took care of baby Lee during the night while I try to rest.

Friday; December 7th (Homebound)

Early in the morning, baby Lee was taken for a bath and a hearing test. Again, he passed with flying colors. Nurse Jennifer came in and said that we may be able to go home if both doctors released us. I could take a shower to freshen up. Dr. Foster came to check on me and said I was released to go home today. The lactation consultant, Lisa, came to answer any/all questions I had. I told her we were successful with breast feeding and boasted on how baby Lee latched on. She asked to see and gave me some pointers. She said that I should go with her to the other new mother's room to show them my breast feeding technique. he he he :o) Also, she mentioned that new mothers met every week to talk, share, etc. I don't know if I'll be able to go but it's nice to know it's there. Dr. Glasser came to check on the baby Lee and release him to go home today. We were now waiting for the paperwork for us to be released. At about noon, we were all set to go home. HOORAY!!!

We just want to thank the staff at St. Rose Dominican- San Martin campus for making our first child birthing experience as great and as comfortable as a hospital can make it. Also, thank you all for your thoughts and prayers while going through the whole pregnancy and induction/delivery period.

Now we are VERY PROUD PARENTS OF LEE SIMPLICIANO HOWLAND and eager to share the next chapter of our lives with him.

-Jenny

I'm ADORABLE

Here are some new pictures of me!



-Lee

Life.

As most of you know, and now all of you know since you're reading this, The Wife is quite pregnant. In fact, she is so pregnant.....

(Did anyone think of saying "how pregnant is she?" If so, well done!)

She is so pregnant that tonight at 7:30PM we will be going into the hospital to start an induction. Not much of a punchline, but true nonetheless. Anyways, to keep everyone as updated as possible, I will be keeping a running diary on here. I'll just keep updating the same entry as time passes and interesting things happen. You can expect the first addendum sometime tonight after we check in. Wish us luck as BABY HOWLAND 2007 sweeps the land!

7:30 PM - We arrive at the hospital armed with just about everything Jenny could need to be comfortable. Socks, games, iPods, all the creature comforts are now in this sterile environment. Jenny's doing well. She's nervous and has had a few moments of emotion but is handling it in stride. I, on the other hand, am a wreck. I've thought of nothing else for the last few days but baby and given myself an upset stomach. I'll be doing most of this blogging from the toilet.

7:50 PM - Guess what doesn't work well. The internet, at the hospital of course! Instead of one update every so often, it's going to be a mass of updates every few hours. Sorry about that.

8:10 PM - The nurse comes in and starts going to work on Jenny, giving her IV's and monitors that show the baby's vitals and hers. All is going well until it's time for the cervix check. This is the part of the story where I get to watch the nurse shove her hand up my wife's crotch. Ugh. I'm not really sure if I should file for divorce or tip them both $20.

8:30 PM - All the consent forms are signed, all the tubes and wires are going where they are supposed to. Time for Jenny and I to get some sleep! I'm aided by a couch that has a fold down cushion that was built for someone approximately half my size and half my weight. Jenny is aided by a blood pressure collar on her arm that goes BZZZZZZZZZ every 30 seconds or so. It's going to be a long night.

9:00 PM - It might be a little bit shorter. Apparently, the good doctor saw that we might be a tad uncomfy and took the liberty of writing Jenny a prescription for a mild sleeping pill. Luckily for me, the dosage was a two piller. I'm not saying the wife gave me a prescription sleeping pill. That's against the law. I will say however, that maybe I'll be able to sleep after all.

11 PM - So Tired. The beds couldn’t be more uncomfortable. The drugs I didn’t get are not helping at all. Jenny is actually sleeping ok, right up until that blood pressure collar activates every 30 seconds, waking her up.

1 AM – Fed up with sleeping like crap, I decide to drive home and get a bunch of comfy pillows. At home, I am greeted by two dogs who are in a bit of a panic. They saw us pack up and usually when we pack up we take them over to our friends house. But they were left at home this time. So when they saw me, they flipped out and wouldn’t leave my side. Because of this, I stayed an extra 20 minutes, lavishing the pups with attention. It might be the last time they get that for a while.

2 AM – Armed with a bunch of comfy pillows and a heap of exhaustion, Jenny and I both get some much needed sleep.

8 AM – The nurse arrives to awaken us with a nice fist in Jenny’s crotch. Jenny informs me that this nurse is nowhere near the gentle lover the last nurse was. Eww. More bad news, the drug that was supposed to soften Jenny’s cervix has done nothing of the sort. No progress. We’ve been in this hospital for over 13 hours now and basically we haven’t even left the starting gate. Jenny’s quite bummed but I just explain to her that if I was baby, I wouldn’t want to leave such a great home either. After all, the food is good, it’s nice and warm and the big hairy guy I hear outside scares me. We were supposed to start the contraction drugs at 9 but now it’s uncertain.

9 AM – Jen’s OBGYN is Dr. Miller and she is awesome. She’s funny, very intelligent, and straight forward, which we both love. Our love grew for her even more today when after 2 nurses told us that because the first drug didn’t work Jen would have to start over, Dr. Miller came in and said start the second drug and if that drug didn’t break Jen’s water, she would break Jen’s water herself. AWESOME! We’re back on track.

12PM - Nothing is happening. Bored Bored Bored. We're watching crap on TV we would never otherwise. I'm going to go home and shower up. Who thought labor could be so mind numbingly dull.

1PM - The nurses are starting to get concerned. They keep shoving their fists in my wife's crotch hoping for progress but none comes. Dr. Miller comes in and says it's time to get this party jumping, shoves her hand WAY up the wife's crotch and breaks her water the old fashion way. Jen seems both relieved and repulsed at the ooze leaking out of her. For some reason, I'm ok with it.

3PM - The contractions are escalating! I'm very excited because I, having read all the latest books on childbirth, know this is a step in the right direction. The wife....not so much. In fact, the wife, who is known for her smile, has stopped smiling altogether. She's now pretty much frowning more and more as the minutes tick by. "Any chance you can find out about that epidural?" I rush into the hall and the nurse says she'll call the anesthesiologist.

(On a side note, I spelled anesthesiologist on the first try. No spellcheck needed. That kid is going to have an awesome dad.)

4 PM - In walks the drug man. (Just cause I CAN spell doesn't mean I want to over and over). He tells Jenny to hunch over and gets one mother of a needle ready. The nurse grabs Jenny by the shoulders and pulls her forward. He misses where he should hit and hits her in the spine. Pulls out the needle and tries again. Misses again. Pulls it out again, tries again, and misses again. He tries to twist it in, nope. Now the wife is sobbing with pain. I'm on the couch watching this, trying my hardest not to walk over and kill this man who has now stabbed my wife in the back three times. He pulls it out once more and tells the nurse to really lean my crying wife over more. The discs are not separating. He shoves the needle in again. NOPE! He missed again. I'm about to start begging him to stop torturing my pregnant wife when on the 5th try, he finally got it in. The relief was pretty quick but I think if my wife had the choice of natural childbirth or 5 needles in the back again, her epidural would never have happened. Anyways, the nurse says this should speed things along. For the first time all night, I feel terrible for what the wife is and is going to go through.

6PM - The epidural, which should speed things along, has not. The wife is stopped dilating and the baby isn't dropping into place. The nurses seem concerned but the wife, full of painkilling happy juice is ok with letting it go a bit longer. She's come this far and really doesn't want a c-section. I haven't slept in a long time and am getting pretty damn tired. I'm starting to root for the slice and dice

8PM - Nothing Nothing Nothing. Seriously, why be in labor if nothing progresses. Give me something, an inch, a drop, something. The wife's labor has totally stagnated. The nurses decide to call the doctor and see what she's recommends. The wife is pleading her case for more time, all she needs is a few more days and she's guaranteed to give birth naturally. The nurses leave to call the doctor.

8:50 PM - We haven't heard from anyone in almost an hour. I decide to check out for the night and go to bed on the crazy uncomfortable couch. I'm exhausted so I settle in for a good night's sleep.

9 PM - I'm awakened to find Dr. Miller in our room explaining to Jenny that it's time for a c-section. It's been too long, no more options. Jenny reluctantly agrees and asks what surgeon will do it. Dr. Miller informs us that she herself will be doing the surgery. Jenny, who completely trusts her doctor, is immediately on board with the c-section! And away we go! The same nurses who have been shoving their hands in my wife's crotch become obsessed with shaving it, actually shaving it as she's being loaded back into bed. Another doctor comes in a gives Jenny a shot which immediately makes her shiver. They give me some large size scrubs and tell me to put them on. Then they give me some new 3XL scrubs that actually fit and tell me to put them on. And we're off to the OR.

9:10 PM - I'm instructed to wait outside the room while they set up. After what seemed like 2 hours but was probably 3 minutes, they allow me in. Dr. Miller is prepping Jen's tummy and I am escorted to her head area where they have draped a large curtain so we can not see the proceedings. This is a good idea as I have no desire to see my wife get cut open. Stuck five times with a gigantic needle, sure, just not cut. The wife is awake but groggy so I tell her how good she's doing and stroke her hair. A few seconds later at....

9:21 PM - I'm a daddy. I hear the baby crying and tell Jenny she's a mommy. I see the baby whisked over to a baby warmer so the nurses can start to clean him up. This was simultaneously one of the most joyous and agonizing moments of my life. On one hand is my wife, the love of life, helpless and crying. On the other is my child, the new love of my life, a few feet away helpless and crying. I couldn't be with both and I had no idea who I should be with. The wife, sensing my painful confusion, told me to go be with my son. So I left my wife to attend to my new son. As I type this, it still makes me feel awful that I left her, but she was right, I had to. There he was, covered in blood and assorted goo. They asked me if I wanted to cut the cord. I know they ask the dads if they want to cut the cord so they feel like they're a part of it. Let's be honest, daddies don't do squat. If labor was an NFL game, mommies would be the quarterbacks and daddies would be the cheerleaders. I was actually going to decline cutting the cord, but the scissors were in my hand before I knew it and next thing I know, I'm cutting his cord. The nurse asked if we he had a name for him. If you read this blog, you know what we were leaning to. I asked Jenny, if was okay to name him. Jenny asked if he looked like the name we choose and I told her yes, so she said to go ahead and name him. We named him Lee Simpliciano Howland. And he's so beautiful.

9:30 PM - The nurses instruct me to come with them into the nursery so Lee can be processed. I kiss the wife goodbye and tell her I'll see her really soon. Lee and I head into the nursery and start the processing. Weight: 6 lbs 11oz. Length: 18in He gets a few shots and some goop in his eyes. I take a quick cell phone picture and send it out to the family. I call the folks and inform them of their upgrade to grandparents which makes them quite ecstatic. I've heard that the birth of your first child will instantly become the greatest day in your life. I wish I could say that's the case. Don't get me wrong. It's a pretty great day. But I've always been under the impression that the best day in your life doesn't include getting peed on. And Lee made sure that was the case about 10 minutes into his new life. Looked right at me and peed on me. I'm fine with it. I'm not even saying it wasn't cute in a weird way. But it makes it impossible for his birth to be the best day of my life. Oh well.

10:30 PM - Lee and I head back to the wife as she has had the full hour to recover. She's still a little loopy but as soon as she sees Lee she starts crying and wants to hold him. I hand him over and she looks so happy holding our son. Our little family is all together now.
I was wrong. This is the best day of my life. Pee and all..


- Mike