A Few Firsts

Everett experienced a few firsts this week. He had his first visit to the pediatrician, his first bath and a few first visitors. We were discharged from the hospital on Thursday, the 4th and had to go to the pediatrician for a weight check the following Friday. He was 5 lb. 9 oz. He had already gained 2 oz.! Here we are with Dr.Stewart. Dr. Cannon will be his pediatrician but she wasn't working on Friday. I seem to be suffering from a case of "fat face" in the picture below. I'm going to blame the look on the steroids and IV fluids I got in the hospital.

Megan was jumping on the trampoline Thursday night after we were discharged from the hospital. The bar on the trampoline is padded but somehow she fell the wrong way and chipped one of her front teeth. We took her to the dentist where they took an X-Ray and did an exam. Everything they did looked okay but they still want us to watch the tooth for at least a month to make sure it's stable. They said that anytime there is trauma to the tooth there is a chance the tooth will die. Hopefully this won't happen! When we go back next month they should be able to do something to make it look better or at least soften the edges. The edges are kind of sharp and she has busted her lip twice since it happened. Phil took the girls to a birthday party on Sunday and said the consensus was that the chipped tooth was actually pretty cute. I think parents would have a different opinion if it were their kid with the chipped tooth.

Everett came home from the hospital wearing preemie diapers but I quickly switched him to the newborn size for the extra absorption. Since he weighed less than 6 lb. I thought we would be using some of the preemie outfits we were given. At 20 1/2 inches he is way too long for preemie clothes. On average he eats every 3 hours. He is a precious baby boy and is going to be spoiled in no time.

Uncle Zane flew up from Miami to meet EJ.

Our friend, Ashley came to meet him, too. We also had a big crowd of friends stop by but I failed to take any pictures. But we are counting the Monjazebs, the Cartwrights, the Gallimores and Lori as some of Everett's first visitors.

'Uncle' Ross got to meet Everett

and so did Mary Anna.

Makena wants to hold her baby brother all the time.

Megan likes loving on her brother, too. Just maybe not quite as much as Makena.

Uncle Larry already has the jet skis ready for Everett.

Cousin Madison

Aunt Shannon

Everett had his first bath this past weekend. Phil and I agreed that he handled it better than either of the girls did.

Here he is with the bath luve that Nana got him. It's an over-sized wash cloth that you wet in warm water that helps keep the baby warm during bathtime. (It also keeps you from getting peed on.)

Unlike the girls, he didn't cry the whole time.

Mommy, what was that all about?

Burrito baby in the bassinet.

No more pictures, please!

The Story

I was admitted to the hospital at 3:30 on Monday, March 1st. They checked my platelets and they were 72k. They started an IV and gave me a dose of steroids. After that, Phil and I sat around watching TV and looking at bath fixtures for the new house online. I started having contractions on my own that night. They just weren't regular or very strong. The next morning, they checked my platelets again and moved me over to L&D. The nurse hooked me up to the monitor and started running fluids and pitocin at a low rate. My OB came to see me and said he had good news and bad news. The good news was that my platelets went up, the bad news was they only went up to 83k. I had been told over and over that 100k was the number anesthesiologists usually want your platelets to be in order to receive an epidural. Dr. Lipscomb, my delivering OB, told me that he had already talked to the anesthesiologists and they were going to look at my case on an individual basis. The anesthesiologist came in soon after I talked to my OB. And apparently there is some literature that states 80k as an acceptable cut-off for receiving an epidural. So I got my epidural!! I was thrilled! I'm not sure I would have gotten an epidural had my OB not contacted anesthesiology ahead of time. They knew about me before I was admitted and I'm sure that helped me a lot. I feel like I should be writing thank you cards to my OB and the anesthesiologist. So I got my epidural before my contractions were even painful. They broke my water around lunch time and we sat around and waited. We watched Couples Retreat and looked at more bath fixtures while we waited. My OB checked me a little after 4:00 pm and I was about 5 cm dilated. Not too long after he checked me I could tell something was different. At first my nurse thought I may just need to go to the bathroom. And that was a possibility considering the IV fluids and all of the clear liquids I had been consuming. But after checking me she quickly determined that the "something different" was my baby's head looking for the exit. She paged my OB who was delivering another baby. He asked if I could wait 10 minutes. My response was, "I'll try." Once the doctor arrived, I pushed (and coughed) through about 3 contractions and at 5:01 pm, Everett was here. (I coughed a couple of times during delivery and Phil claims I coughed the baby out.) The recovery has been a lot faster this time and that's been really helpful. We had our first showing this past Saturday and had to get everyone out of the house. So we took Everett out to eat breakfast. He also went to eat barbecue for lunch one day. Given, both of these outings were with Phil and other family members so I had lots of hands to help me out. We're all doing fairly well at home and I'm just trying to get used to the nighttime feedings again.

Welcome Everett!

Baby Everett is finally here! Everett Joseph Moore was born March 2nd at 5:01 pm. He weighed 5 lb. 7 oz. and was 20 1/2 inches long. We didn't expect him to be so small! He is such an adorable little guy! Everett was Phil's Grampy's name. Joseph was Grampy's middle name and was also the name of my Great Grandfather. Here are a few pictures of Everett's big day...

Phil and I in the L & D room just before EJ was born.

Me and my mom.

He's here!

The traditional pic with the delivering obstetrician, Dr. Lipscomb.

Popaw taking a peek at his Grandson.

We had a photo shoot before he was whisked away to the nursery and I was taken to postpartum.

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Nana loving on EJ.

Everett has the same hairstyle as his daddy. He has quite a bit of hair on the sides and in the back, but very little on top.

The morning after delivery...

Their 1st meeting! Everett and Everett the Frog.

0 months old

A better view of his male pattern baldness. :)

When the girls got to the hospital they hopped on the bed and wanted to hold their brother. Makena has been referring to him as "her baby." She also said, "Mommy had a pretty baby in her tummy." How sweet is that?

The hospital staff was superb! Everett gave Makena and Megan doctor and nurse costumes.

G-Dada

Pat

Some people know how to make an entrance. EJ knows how to make an exit. When we were being discharged he cried from the hospital room all the way to the car. Luckily, he conked out as soon as we got in the car.

The sun was so bright! Here I am with Everett and my big helper, Makena, outside the hospital.

Welcome home!

I'll make another blogpost with more details of Everett's birthday soon!

Finally Framing!

The basement is framed and they started working on the floor and main level today! It's really starting to look like something. The first picture shows the back of the house. It was kind of hard to get pictures because our lot is a muddy mess and there is a huge dumpster behind the house. There is going to be a guest room, bathroom, TV room and garage on the basement level.

The second picture is of the side of the house. We have a corner lot and we're adding a 3rd garage bay in the basement. You can see the framed opening for the garage in this picture. This is where the red trailer will be living.