Happy Two-week Birthday!

Luke is two weeks old today! It's amazing how much his face changes every day, and even from expression to expression. You can start to see the little boy he will become. He is growing too fast!


At his last pediatrician appointment Luke weighed in at 10lb 4.5 oz. He did get down to 9lb 15.5 oz at the appointment before that. The doctor was a little concerned that he lost weight after leaving the hospital, but now I think we have the feedings figured out. We try to feed him every 3 hours during the day and every 4 hours at night. He's a good night sleeper already. I have to wake him up to feed him. I think he could sleep 5 or more hours sometimes if I didn't. All in all, he's a very good baby with a good disposition. He doesn't startle easily and seems to be interested in new things. I hope he has Matt's easy-going, friendly personality!

Day 10

Here are some pictures of Luke from the last two days. Enjoy!

And here's a picture that Matt's mom took when we were in the hospital. I just like the way Matt and I are looking at each other.

Mondays

Luke is one week old!


Luke spent the morning multi-tasking with Dad. In just a week, Matt has become a real Dad. He can watch TV, surf the internet, drink coffee, and entertain Luke all at the same time.


Here is Matt's newborn picture.

Compare it to this picture of Luke. Do you see the resemblance?

I never posted my 40-week belly shot. Here is what I looked like the morning my water broke. Would you think there was a 10lb 11oz baby in there?

And here's the picture that finishes out the belly-shot series. You can click on the Flickr Slideshow link over at the left to see the whole series.

Saturdays with Luke

It's Saturday with Luke.

First time watching soccer with Dad

Proud poppa

First sponge bath

Hey, this is not too bad. Luke loves to have his hair washed! He closed his eyes and looked so relaxed when the warm water sprayed over his head.

Family portrait

Ahh, post-bath sleepy time.

Luke's First Week

OK, I have to make this fast, but here are some pictures of Luke from his first 5 days. We obviously have a ton more pictures to share, but it's been really hard to get on the computer as you can imagine. Aunt Ronny is here and her help has been invaluable. She's really made the scary first week of "oh my god what do I do" so much easier.

Luke is very strong and "vigorous" as his pediatrician said. He can lift his head and hold it up for a couple seconds at a time. He loves to have belly time and look around:

Luke's first nap in his crib:

Luke zonked out after eating:

Swaddled in Aunt Ronny's arms:

After his first pediatrician appointment:

Look at those hands! The pediatrician said Luke was the first baby he'd seen that could palm a basketball (music to his daddy's ears!).

Day Three

Luke gets to go home today! We'll be discharged at 11am. We can't wait to introduce Luke to his house, his pet cat Roosevelt, his neighbors, his room, and his Aunt Ronny who will be flying in from Michigan today to give him lots of love and attention.

Here is Luke and Daddy just a little while ago at Luke's 6am feeding.

We've been breastfeeding and supplementing with formula for now since big boys have big needs. All of you women who successfully breastfeed, I salute you! Ugh, it's so hard. Especially with a hard chomper like Luke. He will basically chomp down and start sucking on anything put in his mouth, so there doesn't seem to be any problem with nipple confusion.

Here are some pictures from his Day Two photoshoot yesterday. I present, the many faces of Luke Siorek:

The nurses say that Luke is the biggest newborn they've seen in the maternity ward in a long time. And this is a hospital that sees 6,000 births a year! We honestly are just as perplexed as the doctors about why Luke is so big. I certainly didn't do anything special and had no idea I had such a big baby inside me. Every doctor who examined me and my belly during the pregnancy said to expect a 7-8 lb baby, and his 20wk ultrasound measurments were normal.

He is incredibly healthy. His bilirubin count was only 2 and his blood sugar was great. He has only dropped to 10lbs 1oz, so less than the10% of weight loss that they usually expect. He is a wonderful, good-natured baby so far and we are lucky to have him!

Introducing Luke Anthony Siorek!

Born March 16th at 9:47 p.m.

10lbs 11oz
22" long

Delivered via c-section after 24 hours of labor. Labor stalled because Luke was too big to enter the birth canal!

More to come . . .

Progress! But No Baby Yet

It's been 18 hours since we were checked in to the hospital. After a sleepless night of contractions that went nowhere, they put me on Pitocin at 7am. I experienced Pitocin contractions for 5 hours and decided I had had enough and asked for the epidural. At that point I was still only 1cm dilated but 100% effaced! The doctor was happy with this progress and said I would have this baby in 4 to 8 hours. That was at noon. I was checked just a half hour ago and was at 4 cm. The contractions are steady and the baby's hearbeat is very good. He/she is tolerating the contractions well. Here is a picture:

What is with that "orb" hovering above the baby? Ok, I know it's probably just dust, but we've seen a lot of these bright white perfectly round orbs in the pictures we've taken associated with the baby. Right now I'm just going to believe it's a guardian angel looking out for a successful, healthy delivery. ;)

Admitted to the Hospital

My water broke at about 5pm tonight. We drove to the hospital shortly afterward to be checked. Sure enough, it was amniotic fluid and they have admitted us even though I am only 1cm dilated. It is now 10pm PST and we are in the birth suite waiting it out. I'm feeling contractions every 6 minutes or so. We have the computer in the room, so Matt or I will update when we can!

Due Date!

Today is our official due date. No baby yet, but am feeling crampy and lots of baby movement. Stay tuned for more pictures . . .

In the meantime, here is a poem I wrote this morning when I couldn't sleep:

In the moment
Before you come down from the clouds,
We measure the silence between lightening and thunder
And wonder how far off the rain is.

In the moment
Before two becomes three,
Before life becomes better lived,
We gaze at each other
And fall in love with the new parent emerging.

In the moment
Before the space we cleared for you
Is revealed as emptiness we didn't know we had,
We wander the house
And imagine how it will feel with you in it.

In the moment
Before you turn us into our future selves,
Before all the past becomes mere preparation,
We look across the chasm and hold hands
To leap and not care where we land
Because you will be there.