Jordan's first church picnic

We had our first church picnic with Jordan this afternoon. He was pretty good, and he enjoyed seeing Grandma and Grandpa, plus the Access Bible Fellowship Class.

The picnic is usually in a local park, but because of all the rain we've had this week, the city would not let us do the picnic there, so we moved it to our church parking lot. (I hope we have it there again next year (or on our new church property), because it was a lot better locale than the city park!)

We arrived about 4:30 p.m., just as it was getting kicked off, and almost immediately, Mom and Grandma headed into the church to get the free-for-moms massage. Dad and Grandpa took Jordan over to the petting zoo area so he could watch the goats, piglets, chickens and rabbits. He wasn't too impressed with any of it.

We ate dinner (your choice of hamburger or hot dog) and fed Jordan and visited with some friends. Then, about 6:30, we decided Jordan needed to come home and get a bath.

Here are a couple of pictures from our day today.

Birthday for Dad

This morning Jordan, Mom, Dad, Aunt Cristina, Grandma and Grandpa all caravaned out to The Cheesecake Factory and its new location in Southlake to celebrate Dad's 30th birthday. For those of you who live in Dallas/Fort Worth, and have never made it up to Southlake Town Square, you are really missing out on a shopping treat. It's a new old-style downtown full of great shops (including a brand-new Apple store,with a line stretching down the block this morning) and restaurants, The Cheesecake Factory among them.

Jordan was a prefect angel throughout our 45-minute wait, and handled the restaurant really well (if you excuse him throwing up on Mom once). Mom had chicken and biscuits, Dad the chicken and avacado club sandwich, Grandma and Grandpa each had a pulled-pork sandwich and Aunt Cristina had a fettucine chicken dish. If the serving sizes weren't big enough, we had dessert. Mom had the lemon raspberry cheesecake, Dad the "boring" (per our waiter) original cheesecake, Grandma had a strawberry cheesecake, Grandpa the German Chocolate cheesecake, and Aunt Cristina broke the chain by ordering a strawberry shortcake dish that was enormous! This was the first Cheesecake Factory trip for Aunt Cristina, Grandma and Grandpa. Mom and Dad are old hats at this, hitting the NorthPark-area one several times over the years.

Afterwards, Mom had to go home to change, and we headed over to Grandma and Grandpa's to open gifts. Dad got a new battery for his digital camera, some cash and new shirts to match work's soon-to-be-revised dress code.

All and all, today was a lot of fun.

Belated Happy Birthday Grandma! Belated Happy Birthday Aunt Deona! Early Happy Birthday Aunt Cristina!

What have we been up to? Well, quite a bit, actually. How 'bout some highlights:

* Friday, March 31, Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Cristina came over to celebrate Grandma's birthday. We had pizza, key lime pie and presents. Jordan fell asleep way before the key lime pie, but he had a great time with his grandparents and Aunt Cristina. March 31 was actually Grandma's birthday, so it was fun to have the party on the actual day.

* Sunday, March 26, Jordan, Mom and Dad went to Grammy and Grampy's to celebrate Dad's and Aunt Deona's birthdays. Great-aunt Diann and Great-uncle Jim were there. As were Trent, Jay, Kelly, AJ, Brittany, Aunt Deona and Monica. Jordan had refused to nap all day long, so that didn't go well. He lasted about 30 minutes before we took him home and Grandma and Grandpa came to baby-sit, so we could go back to the party.

* Saturday, April 1, was the big camp reunion Mom had been looking forward to. Grammy came to stay with Jordan and Mom and Dad followed frequent poster Wendy to the camp in Hood County. We made it as far as the Tarrant/Parker County line when some car trouble overtook Wendy. So, instead of a camp reunion, we had a two-hour reunion in the median of US 377 outside of Wheatland, Texas. The day wasn't a total loss, however, as (1) we found the nearest Honda and Hummer dealership to the Benbrook area and (2) we had a great visit with Wendy's mom and dad at their gorgeous new house (and to Wendy's parents, thanks for dinner!).

We have a slew of events in April and May (Aunt Cristina's birthday, Dad's birthday, Easter, Mom's birthday, Mom's graduation, first Mother's Day), so if the posts aren't as frequent, well, that's why.

Last Saturday, we had Jordan's 6-month-old pictures taken. He did not enjoy the experience at all, but we did get some good shots, as you can see below. (Due to copyright restrictions, you won't be able to expand the size of the photographs like you normally would; sorry, that wasn't our call to make).

Just a short update

Jordan had a well-baby check yesterday afternoon, and got another clean bill of health. He is up to 16.8 pounds and is 27.5 inches long. For those of you keeping score, he's a week past his 6-month birthday and is doing very well.

At the doctor, Jordan had three more immunizations (which he didn't like), and then he slept for more than two hours when he came home. That was about all we accomplished yesterday!

This morning, if all goes as planned, we're going to head to a kid-friendly photography studio and get his six-month pictures. We'll post some new pictures later this week.

Baby Dedication

We dedicated Jordan at church in this morning's 9 a.m. worship service. Baby dedication is our opportunity as parents to commit to our church family that we will raise Jordan in a Christian home, and in a Christ-honoring manner. It is not the same as a christening or infant baptism, because, well, Baptists don't do those things.



Afterwards, Grandma, Grandpa, Grampy, Grammie D, Aunt Deona and Moncia, Mom, Dad and Jordan all headed out to a late breakfast/early lunch at Cracker Barrel. Aunt Cristina joined us for the baby dedication, but headed out to her church for Sunday school.

Sunday afternoon we went and had a diaper detail party for some friends of ours at church, then we spent the rest of the afternoon watching the Olympics, running errands, then a nutritious, energizing dinner from Taco Bueno. Yum. You can't beat a 99-cent burrito.... Well, you can, actually, but not for 99 cents.

Some pictures

Jordan (2-10-06), on his new blanket (thanks Great-Aunt Pam!)

Jordan decided his first trip to the River Legacy Parks (2-5-06) was a great time to nap.

Jordan looks like he's ready for baseball season to start.

A milestone

Jordan decided to roll over this morning. Dondi had him on his tummy, and after a couple of tries, he rolled over to his back. He did it twice today. Crawling won't be too far away. Then our cat will really have some fun with Jordan....

A Short Post

Jordan went for his 4-month checkup today and got another clean bill of health. He is up to 15.2 pounds and is 26 inches long. The doctor said Jordan is right in the 50th percentile with his length and weight. He had four more shots, which he did not like at all, but he took them pretty well. He goes back to the doctor again in late March for more shots and another checkup (he'll be about 6 months old then). We'll try and get his 4-month pictures posted sometime this weekend.

Some news we saw

For all our fellow new parents (and all our concerned friends and family), WFAA reports there is a pretty serious outbreak of RSV going on in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Which is surprising, since it usually spreads when it's cold out, and we're having record heat. Details here.

Happy New Year!

Christmas finally concluded yesterday, as we got together with Grampy, Grammie D, Mimi, Deona and Monica for presents and dinner. Jordan was definitely spoiled with more stuff than any 3-month-old needs.

Dinner was Spring Creek BBQ sausage and beef, plus potato salad, deviled eggs, a corn casserole and lots of desserts. Sharon from next door and Roy's parents joined for dinner, too.

After dinner, we broke out the cards for some Texas Hold 'Em. Grammie D, Grampy, Monica, Deona and Sharon played until 1 a.m. Dondi bowed out about 10:30 p.m. so we could get Jordan home and bathed. We watched the ball in Times Square drop live at 11 p.m., then watched it tape-delayed at midnight. We made it all the way to 12:03 a.m. Parenthood really does drain the energy of celebrating all night on New Years.

The schedule returns to some level of normalcy Tuesday, when Roy goes back to work. Dondi starts on her last two classes at school after the MLK holiday in mid January.

It's Christmas

Wow, December has been a fast month. Jordan's first Christmas has been a full week affair (and still isn't over).

December 18 marked Jordan's first trip to church and he did pretty good. Jordan skipped the actual church service and went to daddy's Sunday school class, where he was pretty popular, plus he was the best student there. He laughed at all of his dad's jokes. He also had his first experience of Mexican Inn that day (he slept until the wait staff came to shout "Happy Birthday" to the table behind us -- that startled him good!).

Saturday night, we went to our church's Christmas Eve service, along with Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Cristina. Jordan really had fun. His head bopped to the music as we sang Christmas carols, and he enjoyed the orchestra and choir as they sang the Hallelujah chorus and a couple of more contemporary pieces. Jordan did decide he was hungry when it was time for the Lord's Supper at the end of the service. Santa Claus stopped at Grammie D's and Grampy's a little early, and brought some stuff for Jordan that they brought by.










We had what may be our last Christmas to sleep in this year, since Jordan didn't know it, but Santa Claus came and brought Jordan a whole bunch of toys. He was pretty excited by the wrapping paper, the Christmas lights and all.










Christmas afternoon we went and saw Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Cristina and opened some more great gifts. We also ate lunch, and Jordan slept a lot.

Monday morning, we loaded up the car and headed north to Oklahoma to see Jordan's great-grandmother (Grammie D's mother). We left about 9:30 and got there about 2:30, which was pretty good, considering we had to stop in Denton to feed Jordan, stop at the Oklahoma line to change Jordan, stop in Davis for gas and in Guthrie for another feeding. We got to see so many family members once we finally made it. Jordan's Great-Grandma was thrilled to meet him. Here's a picture of four generations: Dondi, her grandmother, Grammie D and Jordan.










Jordan is currently the youngest great-grandchild for Katherine. She has 22 great-grandchildren, plus five step-great-grandchildren, ranging in age from 3 months to 20 years! That doesn't count the two we know of on the way for 2006. That's pretty impressive no matter how you slice it.

We headed home Tuesday night, which went a little better. We left at 6:45 p.m., made a stop to feed Jordan in Moore and another stop in Ardmore for gas, then made it all the way home by 11:15. We had to drive through two pretty serious areas of smoke from wildfires burning in southern Oklahoma, but otherwise it was an uneventful trip.

Jordan did pretty well, but the trip messed up his schedule quite a bit. The good news to report for December: he is now regularly sleeping 6-7 hours through the night. They aren't the 6 or 7 hours we'd like him to sleep (he's a night owl, like his mom), but they are pretty continuous, and that's great!

Merry Christmas!

Today was Jordan's first trip to the mall, and he got to meet Santa. Jordan was great the whole time (90 minutes in line), and told Santa everything he wanted for Christmas. Well, maybe not, but he didn't fuss at all around Santa!



Photo copyright purchased by Roy & Dondi Hayhurst. (c) 2005, Roy & Dondi Hayhurst

Happy Birthday Grandpa Jordan

We celebrated Grandpa Jordan's (Dondi's dad's) birthday Saturday night. His birthday was Wednesday, but because of the potential for icy travel conditions, we decided to postpone the celebration to Saturday night.

We went to Cici's Pizza near our houses and Jordan was mesmerized with all the smells, the colors and the noise. He was good the whole time (minus a couple of seconds of fussiness when he was tired of being in his carrier).

We came back to our house to open birthday gifts. Jordan had a great time seeing everybody.

Immunizations

Today was Jordan's first round of shots. He received the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine; the polio vaccine; the diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccines, the haemophilus influenzae type b (HiB) vaccine; and his second dosage of the Hepatitis B vaccine (he received the first one in NICU). That's a lot of big words to type about one little boy.

This morning, as those of you who live in the DFW area know, was pretty cold, so we bundled him up and took him to his pediatrician's office. He was taken right in to an exam room and got a clean bill of health. He is now 23 inches long and weighs 12.4 pounds. The doctor said Jordan is growing very well and is one healthy kid.

After the doctor's examination, the nurse came in and she gave the four injections, two in each leg. Jordan cried for a few seconds, but then went back to being his normal happy self. He has two crayola-shaped (and colored) bandages -- one on each thigh.

Next doctor's checkup is scheduled for late January/early February.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Jordan's first Thanksgiving was full of fun. We were going all day long.

(You can click on any photograph to make it bigger in your window; click on "back" in your broswer to return to the blog)

The day started so early. He was so tired as he laid down on Mom and Dad's bed.

We left the house this morning and went to Grammie D's. There, he had all kinds of fun:

Dad held him.

Then Mom had to feed him.

Then Aunt Deona and Monica wanted to hold him. (He spit up for them. I think in the baby world that means, "I like you." If so, he likes Mom and Dad a lot!)

Then Grammie D wanted to hold him. (He woke up for a couple of minutes, then).

Then Derek, Trent and Reid took turns hanging out with Jordan.

Bobby, Michelle and Kim got in on the fun, too.


Oh, he's so tired.

Four generations: Mimi (great-grandmother), Jordan, Grandpa and Mom.

After a stressful midday of sleeping and being held, he needed a bath to relax.

He needed to relax after the bath, too. (Bubble baths really take it out of him).

We spent the midday with the Jordan family and had a great time seeing everybody, then went home and relaxed (with the bath). Then, it was time to head to see Grandma and Grandpa Hayhurst and Aunt Cristina.

So he slept in Aunt Cristina's arms.

Grandpa spent some quality time feeding. Notice, Jordan will wake up for that.

And Jordan spent some time with Grandma just hanging out in her luxurious recliner.

Back home, Jordan was spent.


We had a great day seeing so many family members today. Jordan also got to be held by Jim and Diann and probably some others we didn't get photographed in time. He was a good kid and everybody seemed to enjoy seeing him today. Thanks to Grammie D and Grandpa Jordan and to Grandma and Grandpa Hayhurst for having us over today. We had a blast. And, as you can see, Jordan enjoyed every minute he was awake. All three of them.

We're Back

So where have we been you ask? Here and very busy. What's been going on? A lot. Highlights:

Since it's almost Thanksgiving, we thought you'd like to see Jordan's Halloween outfit.

Nope, we didn't take him trick-or-treating, and we only had one ringing of the doorbell Halloween night, but he got all dressed up, anyway.

That little hat he's wearing reads, "Mummy's Little Pumpkin." Too adorable.

Early November was relatively uneventful, but Jordan did surprise us with sleeping through the night one time. He hasn't since, but that was a great 5 hours of sleep.

Jordan made his first trip to see Daddy's office in Dallas' Uptown area early this month, too. He slept all the way from the house to Dallas, then slept when Daddy got in the car to go to lunch, then slept while Mom and Dad ate lunch at a great little deli near work. Then, we brought him to my office. He was officially done sleeping then.

He cried some, but for the most part was a huge hit with Dad's co-workers. He also made a trip to see Mom's work where he was pretty good and received many more admiring ohs and ahs.

November marked his great-grandmother's (Mimi's) 90th birthday celebration. We all got together for dinner at Spring Creek Barbeque in Bedford to celebrate her birthday and AJ's 17th birthday last Sunday evening. Jordan didn't join us (Roy's parents graciously babysat), but he did finally get to meet Mimi on Tuesday, Nov. 15, when she came over to see him at the house. Mimi and Jordan both seemed to enjoy it (Jordan doesn't quite get how to smile on cue, but we're working on that).



Jordan's umbillical cord stump also finally fell out this week -- his lasted a little longer than normal, due in part to the IV tubes they inserted there while he was in NICU -- so that meant no more sponge baths. Instead, he gets to have real big-boy baths. You can see, he was thrilled by that! (He'll also be thrilled when this picture gets carelessly laid out for his first girlfriend to see, or when it shows up on the video montage our church puts together for seniors at high school graduation. Parental blackmail really is fun).

And yes, that is a giant inflatable yellow duckie he gets to be bathed in (with a beak that quacks!). I bet you wish you had a giant inflatable rubber ducky to take a bath in.

Jordan's upcoming week should be exciting, too. He'll head over to Grammie D's and Grandpa's for the Jordan family Thanksgiving Thursday morning. Then, we'll head over midafternoon to Grandma and Grandpa Hayhurst for another Thanksgiving dinner. By then, Mom and Dad will be worn out, even if Jordan isn't.

Will we post pictures of Thanksgiving? Of course. By Christmas....

We're still blogging

Just not as much. We have adorable pictures to post of Jordan in his Halloween costume -- he didn't go trick-or-treating, but he still got dressed up -- but, someone hasn't adjusted well to the end of daylight saving time. He was on a schedule. He was doing so well. Then we "fell back" and he hasn't been the same since.

Last night did go better. Tonight hopefully will, too. And if Dondi and I can catch up on some sleep, we'll post some pictures this weekend.

He's a Growing Boy

Jordan had his 30-day checkup today. He's doing great (if you don't mind the fact that he doesn't sleep when his mom and dad want him to). He is now almost 9 pounds (up from 6 pounds 9 ounces at birth) and is now 22 inches long (up from 19.5 inches at birth).

Not bad for the kiddo who was born four weeks early.

Today's appointment followed up Dondi's Friday morning appointment where she got a post-delivery clean bill of health, so at the moment at least, we're all in good shape.

Some new pictures

Thanks to Grammie D for these new shots...















(... and to Lisa for the quilt and Marilyn for the afghan)

Another Weekend

Jordan just keeps learning new stuff. This weekend while Dondi was feeding him, she had to place his bottle on the table next to the sofa to burp him. He actually reached toward the table toward the bottle to show us he'd rather have the bottle.

This was a 3-day weekend because of my work schedule, so Friday morning, Jordan's Great Aunt Diann and Great Uncle Jim stopped by to say hello. This was the first time they met Jordan, though they did come to the hospital the day he was born to see everybody. Grandpa (Dondi's dad) stopped by, as well. Friday night we pretty much hung out at the house.

Saturday, Jordan and I watched Texas beat up Oklahoma in the annual Red River Shootout (I say this as a loyal UT fan, it's about darn time; the five-year OU winning streak was enough for me). Grandma and Grandpa (my parents) came over to babysit so Dondi and I could go out on a date. We know how to party. It was our first trip out together in five weeks. We went to El Chico for dinner and to Wal-Mart to shop afterwards. We are party animals.

Sunday included Grammie D (Dondi's mom) and Aunt Cristina popping in to see Jordan. Jordan slept through the Cowboys game, but he looked up every once in a while when I was cheering. All and all, another fun weekend.

Where are the pictures, you ask? We're working on them. New pictures are coming any day now. He's getting cuter and cuter every day.

Jordan's First Weekend at Home

We had a lot of fun this weekend. Starting Friday night, when Aunt Cristina stopped by and hung out for a couple of hours. He slept really well Friday night/Saturday morning, and Dondi and I got close to 6 hours of sleep. Actually, I think I got close to 9 hours sleep, but Dondi got 6.

Saturday morning, Grammie D showed up to watch Jordan for an hour or so while we went to Babies R Us and Target. After an hour, we were back home to feed him, and he got another bath (he's getting better at the whole being bathed thing). Saturday evening, Roy's parents and Aunt Cristina stopped by to celebrate Grandpa's birthday. Spring Creek BBQ and chocolate cake are pretty good ways to celebrate. Saturday night/Sunday morning -- he didn't sleep so well. And neither did we, remarkably.

Sunday included a visit from Aunt Deona and Grammie D. Jordan and I watched the Dallas Cowboys play this afternoon. He pooped during the middle of the game rather loudly. Which was very accurate commentary on the Cowboys on-the-field performance.

All and all, a pretty exciting weekend for the little guy....

Jordan's Home, Now What?

Wow. Jordan doesn't do much, in case you're wondering. Which is good, because right now, we really don't know what we're doing!

Jordan's actually had a great first few days home. He sleeps quite a bit, even at night, and he is eating more every day.

Jordan, Dondi and "Grammie D" went to his first doctor's appointment Monday. The doctor said Jordan is doing great at this point in his development.

Here are some pictures provided by Dondi's parents that we thought were just too cute not to post. The first and second photos are of his first bath at home (he doesn't look too happy if you ask me) and the third one is of a favorite activity: eating.



We'll post more pictures soon. He's just too adorable....

Guess Who Came Home Today?

Jordan was released from NICU today, and he's doing fantastic! The staff was pleased with his improvements, he's eating from a bottle really well, his jaundice is greatly improved, and he's regulating his body temperature very well.

Chloe's response to his arrival was pretty lukewarm, but she hasn't done anything bad yet, so that's good. She's not real sure what to make of him at the moment (that's him in the bouncy chair; we've covered his eyes because he doesn't care for the light in the nursery just yet). We've got a softer light that Jim and Diann gave us we need to install, yet.

Jordan is slowly adapting to the new home (unlike NICU, there are no alarms going off every couple of minutes, so the silence is a little hard on him -- we got a great lamb from my former employer that provides background ambient noise that we'll be using to help drown out the silence).

While we know everyone wants to come see him now that he's home, we have some strict doctor's orders. We have to limit his contact with the outside world for the next 4-6 weeks. This is the beginning of RSV season (What is RSV?), and that is a serious condition for a premie like Jordan. It's hard for us to fathom that a baby that is 6-plus pounds is a premie, but he is.

We have to limit visits to his grandparents and aunts for the next couple of weeks. Once he's able to have more visitors, we have a couple of ground rules imposed by Jordan's doctors:

• You must wash your hands when you come into our house, before you touch him.
• You may not smoke around the baby. That means you must finish your cigarettes before you get here (like before you pull onto our street), and you may not smoke on our property at all (inside or outside). Once you need a cigarette, you're done with Jordan for the day. No exceptions.
• If you think our rules are strict, consider our friends Brady and Julie's house rules as they deal with RSV precautions for their twin daughters!

We will have to limit his contacts, but we'll do everything to make sure you can visit our little bundle of joy as often as possible. He's absolutely perfect, and we want y'all to get to meet him soon.

The Latest

Jordan continues to make progress, with some minor hiccups. He's back on oxygen, but the nurse said that's common at this stage, and he should be off soon. They started some phototherapy, which should help eliminate the jaundice he's suffering from.

Tomorrow, they'll do another blood test to determine what to do on the jaundice front (if there's anything left they need to do). Tomorrow also is the Infant Rescue Breathing class Dondi will attend. Should Jordan, once he's home, go into breathing distress, Dondi will know what to do. I'll learn more about the rescue breathing at a later date.

We have some photos to post, but just haven't had time to ready them. Hopefully, we'll be able to do that by Tuesday.

Pictures

A recent photo from the last couple of days


Here is Jordan with just the feeding tube down his nose. Hopefully, that will be gone in the matter of a day or two.

Jordan's Improvements Continue

We made two trips to the NICU today, and spent an hour each time. The staff had to place him back on oxygen today, but they are slowly weaning him from that, and they expect him to be breathing totally on his own very soon. He's breathing quite well on his own, but there is a threshold he can't quite maintain on his own, yet.

The big step today is that he is being bottle-fed. Dondi and I got there in time for an evening feeding, so Dondi got to rock him in the glider and feed him. We, of course, forgot to bring the camera, but it was great. He ate about half the 25 cc's of formula they fed him via the bottle, and the other half they gave him through a feeding tube.

The staff really has been upbeat about his progress, so we thank God that Jordan's doing so much better, and pray he continues to progress.

Jordan's Big Day and Dondi Comes Home

Jordan had a great day in the NICU. He was removed from the breathing tube and is breathing all by himself, which was a huge blessing. His lungs are still developing, so we're hoping and praying to continue to see big improvements. He's also jaundiced, but that's not uncommon, and is easily treatable. All and all, he's doing great.

The NICU had been running antibiotics to him through a tube in his bellybutton, which has been removed, replaced by a regular IV in his hand. He also got his first bath today (he did not care for that one bit). Dondi and I both got to change a diaper (we may not be as excited by that next week when it's more routine). We also both finally got to hold our son, just for a couple of minutes, but it was awesome.

They are going to try to remove him from the feeding tube sometime in the next day or two, and put him on bottle-feeding.

On a different front, Dondi was released from the hospital this afternoon, and she is happy to be at home. Chloe, our cat is glad to have Dondi home, as well.

We do have pictures from today -- including seeing Jordan with a lot fewer things attached to him, but the battery in our camera is out, and we need to recharge first. I'll try and post some new pics tomorrow.

Quick Update

Sorry to make this short, but I know y'all understand: Thank you for your prayers (and to our God for answering them!); Jordan is improving very well. He may be off the breathing machine by morning. Still a couple of hurdles after the breathing, but that was the first and most serious one. Dondi is being sent home from the hospital Friday, so she is looking forward to seeing the cat and sleeping in our own bed.

We'll update the site when we have news to report this weekend.

Announcing Jordan's Arrival

Six pounds, 9 ounces. Ninteen-and-a-half inches long. Four weeks early. The most beautiful baby ever.

Here's the details we want to provide tonight: on Tuesday, Dondi's blood pressure continued to worsen, and her doctor made the decision to induce labor at 4 a.m. Wednesday. Dondi was already in the hospital for observation, so I arrived about 3:30 a.m. to witness the birth of our son.

The labor progressed normally all day long, and at about 1:30 p.m., Dondi was fully dilated, and the decision was made for her to start pushing. She started that about 2:05 p.m., and round about 3:30 p.m., Jordan Robert made his entrance into the world. Dondi is physically and emotionally exhausted, but is otherwise fine. She is an amazing trouper. I am truly proud to be married to such an amazing woman (I'm sure all husbands who watch their wives give birth feel the same way, but be that as it may, it's how I honestly feel). And, on my front, I never passed out!

You'll notice from the above picture that Jordan didn't come out problem-free. Because he was so early, his lungs are not fully developed, so he was placed in NICU. Doctors expect our son to be there for a week to 10 days. The best news: his lungs should grow quickly and will not cause any long-term health problems. Please pray for a quicker recovery, as we want him to come home healthy as soon as possible. We're both exhausted from the day, but we're resting more comfortably knowing Jordan is in good hands with great medical professionals.

I'm sure there are more details to post about today, but I've slept a total of 2 hours of the last 36 or so, and I'm going to sleep. The new chapter of our life started today. And we're very excited....

Short Update

Dondi's doctor finally is back from vacation, so she visited with Dondi today. The news: nothing's changing. They're going to keep her in the hospital for another week. No inducing. No other decisions made.

Sunday Update

Dondi remains in the hospital today. Roy spent the night on the most uncomfortable cot ever made by human hands in her hospital room (seriously, we could have gone down to Home Depot and bought plywood that would have been more comfortable).

Both the specialist and the on-call doctor from her doctor's practice stopped in to see her today. The specialist came by first and said that her blood pressure was looking better, so there'd be a chance he'd recommend letting her come home on Monday. Then, about 5 minutes later, her doctor came in and said she was probably here until the baby comes. I think doctors make it up as they go along, personally.

The on-call doctor asked if we knew how big the baby was, and when we told him 6 pounds, 14 ounces, he raised his eyebrows and said he thought Dondi's doctor would probably go for inducing later this week when she hits 36 weeks.

Dondi's doctor is back on Monday, so we'll probably be able to make some firm decisions then. Because of work and other responsibilities, look for the post late on Monday or first thing Tuesday.

Saturday Update From the Hospital Front

You know, Saturdays used to be so much fun.... About 10 a.m., the on-call doctor this weekend stopped in to check on Dondi. He reiterated what the doctor said Friday, that she might as well get comfortable. He didn't sound as positive that induction was going to happen this week, but we'll wait and see.

Meanwhile, my dad and I headed out to install the car seat from the travel system. It fits good and snug in Dondi's car. Unfortunately, the carrier for our seat has a defect in it, but Babies R Us assures us that it can be swapped out for another carrier.

(Update @ 4:07 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 18 -- the nice folks at Babies R Us said no problem to replacing the carrier part only of the travel system, and they delivered. I was in and out of the store in 10 minutes with no hassle. Good people at our local store and good customer service.)

That's been our day. I'll post again this evening or tomorrow if there's anything new to report.

The Latest

Dondi's 24-hour tests came back pretty good; not as good as the other day, but definitely within acceptable results. She visited with a specialist who works with pregnant women who have high blood pressure. He told her that she will be spending the rest of the pregnancy in the hospital.

That's the bad news. The good news is that the doctor had a sonogram performed today, and Jordan is doing very well. His head is down, rump in the air -- in other words for the uninitiated, in the words of Roy's dad, "he's in the exit position." The sonogram pegged his weight at 6 pounds 14 ounces, so he's a big boy (considering he's still five weeks away from his due date). And, oh yes, we're told he's definitely a boy.

Roy was at work during the sonogram, but Debbie went with Dondi and the doctor explained that since Jordan would be "on-time" if he came any point after 38 weeks -- or a little over 2.5 weeks from now -- he's in good shape. Debbie asked the doctor if he thought the pregnancy would run another 2 1/2 weeks and his response was "oh, no." Later, he talked about consulting with Dondi's regular OB/GYN about her condition on Monday, and followed up by saying, "if you're still pregnant on Monday."

So, there's a chance that Jordan will be making his entrance into the world this weekend. He looks like he's dropped and he's at a healthy size and all, so it'd be a good thing. We're just in a waiting pattern. We fully expect that if he hasn't come by the weekend, Dondi's doctor will choose to induce sometime next week.

We'll keep you posted.

Dondi Back in the Hospital

All did not go well at Dondi's doctor's appointment this morning -- her blood pressure was up again, so the doctor chose to put her back in the hospital.

She is resting comfortably (as comfortably as you do in a hospital). While we appreciate everybody's concern, at this time, she really needs her rest, so please don't come visit. The more people come, the less rest she gets and the less likely she'll recover as quickly as she'd like.

The good news is that the baby is doing well, and if he were to come (or if the decision was made to induce labor), he'd be in great shape.

We'll let you know more as we find out. Thanks for your concern.

Dondi On Bed Rest

Let's start with the important stuff: Dondi and the baby are well. But, we had a bit of a scare this weekend.

Saturday, Dondi wasn't feeling well, and immediately went to bed after coming home from another baby shower. When she got up, she wanted to check her blood pressure. Since we don't own the equipment, it meant a trip to Albertson's to check her pressure. It was very high. After a phone consultation we went to the hospital and they admitted her Saturday evening for 24 hours of tests. Though her blood pressure wasn't as high as the Albertson's machine said it was, it was elevated, but the nurses and doctors were more concerned that she was having contractions.

Well, the contractions stopped, and the test results came back good, so she was released Monday morning and is on bed rest at home. There's still a chance she could start having contractions again, but this far along in the pregnancy, the baby would be fine if she did go into labor. She'll go to the doctor Thursday, and we'll learn more then.

Meanwhile, we'll post pictures from Roy's work shower later, and we'll post pics from Saturday's shower later, too (thanks to Heather and Wendy for throwing such a great shower). Dondi did say it was great to see so many friends there.

Birthing Class, Part One

We wrapped up our first birthing class hosted by the women's center at our chosen hospital. Who would have thought giving birth could be such an ordeal? Who knew that so much went on in the delivery room? Who knows why they insist on showing those graphic videos to a bunch of pregnant women and their scared-out-of-their-minds "partners." It's like being back in driver's ed with those "Blood on the Highway" videos. Maybe they should show the birthing class videos in high school health class....

Anyway, we had the opportunity to tour the maternity wing, again, which was great, because there was so much to take in the first time, we were bound to forget something. The class was great (except for the videos), as it showed some great breathing techniques (not Lamaze, surprisingly to us), and we learned about some basic infant care kind of things.

We take another four-hour class a week from tonight, so then we should be experts on this whole giving birth thing. Maybe not experts.

Roy's Work Throws a Shower

Roy's workplace through a shower/going-away party for Roy this afternoon. Roy's last day with this company was today, and to celebrate Jordan's coming (and his leaving), the department had a small lunch catered by Jason's Deli and then his co-workers came by to enjoy cake. Many brought gifts to share with Jordan, as well. And we are deeply appreciative of their generosity.

Special thanks to Julie, Andy, Geri and Karen for putting all of this together. Y'all are the best.

Pictures were taken, and will be posted by Sunday afternoon.

32-Week Doctor Visit

Just got back from the doctor. Again, all is good. Dondi is now at 32 weeks, and 4 days. Jordan's heartbeat is good and strong, Dondi's blood pressure is in the good zone, and her weight gain is normal. She's having trouble sleeping through the night, and her joints are beginning to hurt. "All that's part of the deal, though," she says.

Next appointment is in about three weeks, and the last sonogram should be in about a month.

More Nursery Work

The nursery continues to come together. Saturday afternoon, Roy's parents bought another piece of our nursery furniture set, a chest of drawers, which we put underneath the nursery window. Then Sunday, Dondi's parents hung the blinds and valance they had gotten for Jordan. It looks fantastic.

Jordan's room was a flurry of activity as we got the furniture moved in, blinds worked on and valance hung. We sincerely appreciate all the help all four of Jordan's grandparents in getting this nursery done. It looks great. Below, see some pictures of the crib with the new crib set (thanks Elaine and DeeAnn!) on proud display.

Jordan will be here in just about seven and a half weeks. His crib is ready, and Mom and Dad are trying really hard to be ready. Dondi took her breast-feeding class last week at our chosen hospital, so she is now an expert with no fears, qualms or questions. Well, maybe a couple of questions....

Dondi has another doctor's appointment Monday morning. Look for a short update by Tuesday morning.

Two Days, Two Showers

We had two more showers yesterday and today. We have the best friends, co-workers and families anyone could ever ask for. And for the record, Jordan (who isn't due for another 8 weeks) may be the most spoiled child on the face of the earth.

Friday's shower was held by Dondi's co-workers and was held in the company's training room. Jennifer, Misty, Christy and Erin hosted the shower, which had great balloons, blocks and airplanes as decorations and pizza and cake to eat. We also received great outfits, blocks, some more outfits, some baby gear, gift cards, and still more diapers.


Dondi with Jordan's burp cloths.

Thanks to everyone who helped organize the shower, and thank you to everybody who came, as well.

On Saturday morning, Elaine hosted a brunch shower at her home for many of our family friends, who all came out to celebrate Jordan's soon-to-come birth. And they didn't let us leave empty-handed.

Elaine served a wonderful brunch, full of fruits, breads, an egg and susage casserole and plenty of other great food. Plus, she had brought in a chocolate fountain. Life doesn't get any better than a fountain with chocloate continuously flowing.

We received more outfits, the mattress for the crib (along the way, cribs and mattresses stopped being sold together; which was news to almost everybody among our friends and family), more diapers (because apparently, Jordan will go through a lot of them), and a cool ducky bathtub.

We were definitely reminded how blessed we are with such loving friends and family. Thanks to everybody who has come to the showers. Formal thank-you notes are en route over the next week or so.

Oh yes, here's that chocolate fountain:

Another Doctor's Appointment

Not much to report on this one. Dondi's blood pressure and weight are in the good range. Also her blood glucose scores were great, so that is over and done with.

We're doing appointments every two weeks now. In six weeks, we'll have the final sonogram. So, the countdown is on. October will be here before we know it.

The Picture at 30 Weeks

Here she is this afternoon, mid-way through week 30. That means, Jordan should be here in 10 weeks. You ask, "are you ready?" The answer: of course not!

According to the experts at BabyCenter.com, the average baby at this point is about 3 pounds and a little more than 15 1/2 inches long at this point.

We did some shopping today with Debbie, picking out blinds at Home Depot, a couple of items at Babies R Us and then on to Target for a curtain rod and some other household goods. Oh yeah, lunch at Chili's was great. The heat and humidity, not so much.

Dondi has another doctor's appointment Monday where we'll get the latest news and see how she and the baby are doing.

First Baby Shower

The family held our first baby shower this afternoon, and they provided Jordan with a lot of great stuff: diapers (do you guys really think we're going to need that many?), some outfits, lights, pack & plays, a take-along swing, some more diapers.



Jordan's joining a pretty generous family, and we truly appreciate it all.

Special thanks to the hostesses of this shower, Sandra, Stacey, Diann and Elise. Y'all are the greatest.

Chloe with the Bassinet

We haven't decided if Chloe is warming to the idea of Jordan's arrival, or if she just likes his stuff.

Hospital Tour and Doctor Visit

We toured the maternity area of our chosen hospital on Tuesday. It was fantastic. Friendly staff, great rooms, and lots of fun stories. Dondi especially liked hearing how long first labors usually last (average, according to the labor/delivery nurse giving the tour is 18 hours). Dondi figures 18 hours means she can watch six movies (there is an in-room TV/VCR). I bet Dondi would go for a Lethal Weapon marathon....

We were impressed with the nursery, the labor and postpartum rooms, the attention to detail and the security measures they have in place.

Dondi also had a doctor's appointment today where they did her glucose screening test. The nurse said if we hadn't heard anything by Monday, that means she's good. If there's a problem (and she has to go in for the three-hour test), we'll probably know by tomorrow.