Our first few weeks of parenthood

If you look up the definition of "sleep", you will basically find several variations of the following:

"The natural periodic suspension of consciousness during which the powers of the body are restored." "....the eyes usually close and consciousness is completely or partially lost, so that there is a decrease in bodily movement and responsiveness to external stimuli."

Okay, we don't have this anymore....It's quite amazing how one little guy, who is really cute and sweet during the day, can cause us to lack this very basic, yet important humanly need at night.

Of course, when I fall asleep, I fall really hard. Ag sometimes has to hit me or yell (or let Drew yell :) ) to wake me if she needs help. It's crazy. Oddly enough, Aggie seems to do okay with one or two hours of sleep between feedings. I just can't function...I guess that's why she is "super mom".

Lack of sleep aside, we are doing great! Drew is developing really well and just had his 2-week doctor's appointment. He is 8lb 12oz and 21 inches long. The doctor said he is a 100% perfectly healthy little boy.

You can tell he is getting stronger as he is holding his neck up longer and controlling his movements a bit more. He discovered his hands the first day he was out of the womb and still loves to have them near his face and in his mouth.  Unfortunately, his vocal cords are developing at a rapid pace as well!

A few of Drew's habits so far:
1. He HAS to have one leg out of his miracle blanket/swaddle. If you put him in it with both legs inside, sometimes he wakes up and if you just "guide" a leg out, he falls back to sleep. It's so funny!  (As a side note, he gets this from his mother.  Agnes always has to have one foot outside of the blankets/comforter when she sleeps.  I will normally annoy her in the morning by grabbing said foot with a cold hand just before I leave for work.  Oh, love....)

2. He makes a "OOOooooohhhhhhhh" face when he has bad gas and is filling his diaper.

3. He LOVES to be cuddled and sit on his mommy's chest.  Daddy...not so much just yet.

4. The first week or so we had quite a few leaks and accidents. This week we had just one!

5. He seems to really like bath time. Of course, one time this week Aggie finished giving him a bath and had him all wrapped up in his towel when he proceeded to poo....he immediately had another bath!

After we came home from the hospital on June 30, we had a few days to fend for ourselves with Drew.  Then my parents, big Ferd and Andrea, were here for about 10 days during the 4th of July weekend (July 3rd-July 11th).  We basically hung out and watched Drew do what he does.  My dad and I went to the Cubs v Reds game on July 4, which was a really good time. Fred left for part of the week for work and Mom stuck around and helped us with Drew. I was working full, long days, so it was extra special and great that she was here to help Ag out.  Not sure what we'd have done without her.  We took Drew to a few restaurants and he was a champ!

After my parents left, Ann and Theresa, Ag's sisters, came to visit us for a few days (July 14th-16th). They loved hanging out with Drew! Plus, they ran lots of errands and again, helped Ag out a lot which was great.

We celebrated my birthday last weekend and had a few friends over.  We were supposed to hang out in the yard and BBQ, however, it proceeded to rain, so the party came indoors.  You know "man on man defense" in sports?  Well, it was a "man on baby" defense at our place because our friends who came each had two kids.  The night was busy, yet fun!

We have our friend from Switzerland, Carole, coming into town later this week for a visit and then are heading to Cincy for a few days. It should be a nice time.  Hopefully Drew will sleep well in the car....he is still not sold on the car seat, but seems to be doing better with it.

Stay tuned for next week's edition of "The Marcum Family: Adventures in Poo-ville"!

Introducing...

Andrew Frederick Marcum (“Drew”), born June 26, 2010, weighing in at 7lbs11oz and measuring 20in. Mom and dad are so proud! He is…the most interesting baby in the world. How do I know this? Well yesterday, in the middle of a diaper change, Drew looked straight at me and said:

“Papa, I don’t always drink milk, but when I do, I prefer Dos Boobies. Stay thirsty my friend.”

Okay, all jokes aside, words can’t describe how Agnes and I feel about the birth of our son. Blessed, ecstatic, nervous, proud, relieved, scared, lucky, confident – nothing can do our feelings justice and we can’t wait to keep growing our family in the future.

So now that all the mushy stuff is over, here’s the recap:

We found out around 5 weeks ago that Drew was breech (butt down in the womb) and would have to be delivered via C-section unless he somehow “turned” himself into a head down position before his 39^th week. We had the option of trying a procedure called an “external version”, which basically means that our doctors would try to turn Drew by pushing on him from the outside. Although our doctors were really promoting it, Agnes and I didn’t have a good gut feeling about it and had also heard some bad stories about how painful it was, the low success rate, the chances of Ag needing an emergency C-section if the procedure didn’t go well, etc. So, we opted not to try that and went about scheduling our C-section.

We chose Saturday, June 26 as “the date”. A few factors went into this choice, mainly the fact that (i) it was on a weekend and our parents could come up, (ii) the OB we really liked would be on call that weekend and able to perform the procedure, (iii) that would put us right inside Ag’s 40^th week of pregnancy and (iv) we didn’t want to miss the Friday all-you-can-eat and drink pizza and beer special at one of the local bars. Kidding!

The morning of the 26^th was pretty calm. We woke up, I went for a jog with my dad (the Marcum grandparents arrived the night of the 25^th), Agnes hung out with my mom and finished packing her bag. By 11am, we were off to the hospital! Ag’s parents arrived around noon, and at around 1pm, Ag and I were in the prep and recovery room. A nurse came in, hooked Ag up to some machines and explained how the day would proceed.

Leading up to June 26, Ag was feeling some strong movements in her belly. I thought this was promising, because maybe that meant the baby was turning. As it turns out, these were contractions, and we didn’t even know it! When Ag got all hooked up to the monitoring machines in the prep and recovery room, we were surprised when the nurse said “Um, you are contracting like every 2 or 3 minutes. I guess this baby was coming out today one way or the other!” What??!!

Eventually, the doctors and nurses came to get Agnes ready and carted her off. About 20 minutes later they came and got me, and they sat me down by Ag’s head in the operating room. Five minutes after that, the doctor said “Okay Matt, I’m going to get the baby out of here and you are going to tell Agnes what you are having!” We didn’t find out whether our baby was a boy or a girl all along and the anticipation was killing us.

About a minute later, the doctor said “Okay, Matt, here you go!” Among the flurry of doctors, arms, heads, movement, etc, I saw one leg emerge, then another, then a butt, then the back of a head. Dr. Chen got a good grip, then flipped Drew over. I looked straight down at Ag, wide-eyed with anticipation, and whispered an emotional “It’s a little baby boy!” Both of us were overwhelmed; it was the happiest, most intense moment of our lives together. Drew got weighed, cleaned up and then handed over to me. What a feeling! I took him over to Agnes and there we were. A family.

The three of us then got taken back to the prep and recovery room, and I went off to tell the grandparents about the goings-on while Ag and Drew got tested and settled into the recovery phase. Walking into the waiting room and announcing “It’s a boy!” was amazing. Everyone hugged and then I took the grandparents back to the see Ag and Drew one by one.

Later that night we got admitted to our room; this was home for the next few days. The rooms at the hospital were really big and nice – and private. That was key. The nurses there were great too. We were really pleased overall with the experience.

Because the delivery was via C-section, we stayed in the hospital for 4 days. We eventually got home on Wednesday, June 30. So far, Drew is adjusting well to our apartment and really likes his new room!

So that was that. What a thrill! Some initial thoughts from Ag and I:

Matt: I never knew I had this hidden talent for changing diapers. Good thing I do, because Drew is keeping me busy. I didn’t realize how often babies poop and pee. Add to that the fact that Drew is a Marcum and it’s twice as bad! Drew has already given me three wardrobe malfunctions (e.g., peed all over me, to the point where a quick shower and change of clothes was necessary).

Ag: Drew is soooo stinkin cute.

Matt: Sleep is a hot commodity. Agnes seems to be able to survive on about three 20-minute power naps a day. Me, I’m struggling and getting 5 times what Ag is getting. Our coffee machine is working overtime. Ugh.

Ag: I love my little guy!

Matt: Babies go through clothes like a Kardashian. I bet we dress and undress Drew four times a day. The moment you pee through 4 different “onesey’s”, I get to thinking you are trying to make a point instead of just being a cute little baby with no bladder control. It’s unbelievable!

Anyway, that's all for now. Until next time, stay thirsty my friends.