Merry Christmas... oh, I'm a few days late :/

Well, it has been a long time since I've posted anything. Life has been busy, but that is no excuse. I started - and stopped - playing World of Warcraft again, which makes this like every other year so far ;)

Anyways, Gus is a little over four months old now. He started rolling over a week or two ago - front to back first, and then within a day or two back to front. Now he refuses to go from his front to his back, but if you set him on his back he will flip over within about thirty seconds... and then proceed to flip out because he is stuck on his front. I'm not sure why he won't just roll back when he gets frustrated, but maybe he has inherited my laziness.

We keep adding pictures to our Picasa account each chance we get, though we are taking less and less these days. If you haven't looked recently, check out our family pictures from earlier this month. They were taken by David Sonsteng, who does an amazing job. If you are in the Seattle area and need pictures taken for just about any occasion let me know and I'll get you in touch with him.

Anyways, Merry Christmas everybody - and have a Happy New Year!

Gus is 2 months old!

Real quick post. Today we went to the doctor to address some constipation issues and we went ahead and had our 2 month physical too. He turned 8 weeks on Tuesday and will be 2 calendar months on Sunday the 26th. So, Gus is a whopping 12 pounds 8 ounces, and almost 23 inches long! So really he is like a 4 month old in terms of his weight, but he is not overweight at all, just a large guy. We have a clean bill of health. She told us to contiue whatever we were doing, because it is just great. He also got 3 shots and a rotovirus oral immunization, so he was sore. We tooj him home, gave him baby tylenol, he resolved his intestinal issue independently and then he and Dad crashed out on the sofa.
Yay for healthy babies! Next check back is 4 months, (End of December!)

farewell muffins, how we hardly knew ye.....

Another Myspace Blog transferred over for everyone's reading enjoyment!

So, people who know us know that our dog eats everything. If you refer to previous blogs on myspace you can find a list of innumberable objects he's eaten. This morning in my precious time during Gus's morning nap I made weight watcher's friendly carrot pumpkin apple muffins (so good, freshly peeled apples, carrot cake mix and canned pumpkin, with cinnamon sugar sprinkled on the top, try them so yummy!)
I baked them to perfection, fully cooked, no burns, slightly lumpy but oh so tasty. Before we left for bible study I took care to pack 16 muffins sealed tightly into tupperware pushed to the back of the counter. I felt like an accomplished and domesticated housewife providing a nutritious and delicious breakfast I could send with my husband in the morning. If only he drank coffee the picture would be complete. How I foolishly believed they were safe and sound. I was wrong.
It's now belief that my dog can fly. He can fly and get things off the counter. He can also open tupperware. That I know for sure. I found the container, no teeth marks, yellow lid daintly placed neatly next to the container, licked clean. It looks fresh from the dishwasher. He didn't eat any when I was in the shower and they were on paper towels on the edge of the counter
You'd think we don't feed him. I swear we do. And I would say he's mad he gets less attention now that Gus is here, but in order for that to be true, he's been mad pre-emptively since he could stand on his back legs. I wish I knew how to control his behavior when I'm not home. I imagine this is an impossible task. At least I know he is getting adequate fiber intake.

new pictures!

fresh off the camera, featuring a very cute outfit from Granddaddy! (2 actually) Enjoy. And leave us some blog love!

Mommy Scouts

Hey guys, this is kind of long, but it is an exact copy of my myspace blog I just posted. I is a very different format than what Willie usually posts. I have just been very reflective the past few days, and pretty much find that I can express what I am thinking with so much more elegance and class in writing than when I open my mouth. It probably has a lot to do with thinking before I post, rathen than blurting out what comes to mind. Anyway, here's what's been running through Rose's brain and happening in our little family lately. (I figure of Willie can post pictures of me in labor I have very few secrets from the world anymore anyway)
:)
Oh wow, what a whirlwind these last few weeks have been. Gus officially turns 7 weeks old well, what is now today, Tuesday October 14. He is fast approaching 2 full months on October 26th. Sometimes it feels like I just found out we were pregnant. Right now I am listening to him snore on the baby monitor. Gus is such a fireball. When he is happy he is soooo happy and when he is mad, holy cow, he is almost inconsolable. Sound like anyone you know? I am afraid he is his mother's child. He is rather stubborn as well. He wants what he wants. I am afraid I just don't know what he wants. The smile on that kid just melts your heart. He is starting to really just grin all the time. He loves the crosses on the back wall. I am guessing that they are different shapes and colors, they just capture his attention. He actually giggled at them once. I can't sit with him on the sofa without him staring. He also grins at the monkey on his bouncer. He laughed at that today as well. The mobile above his bed I'm afriad is becoming more harm than help, because he loves it the same way. He stares and laughs at it, reaching up at it. Infact, if he's swaddled, he works himself up because he can't reach up at it and kick his legs around trying to get to it.
He also is hellbent on being awake from 9-12 or 1am every night. Pretty much without a hitch. You can count on it. It is proving to be quite trying. He really gets so tired from being awake that long and then screams, just howls. The peak of the experience involves Gus swaddled being clutched tightly in either Willie or my own arms, crying so loudly that I can't hear a radio playing lullaby music loudly a few feet away. Willie's approach is to sing disney music at the top of his lungs, I usually grab him as close as I can and talk very softly in his ear. Eventually after about an hour of this he calms down and drifts off, only to wake up about half an hour later, screaming even louder than before, and the entire ritual is repeated. We have tried to let him cry it out in the crib, sitting right next to him, talking sweet, telling him we love him, putting a hand on his belly, even holding the pacifier in his mouth, but both nights we tried this, the crying sessions lasted over an hour (one time almost 2 hours) and I couldn't handle it anymore. We are trying so hard to instill good sleeping habbits in our child. I am afriad I still don't have good sleeping habbits as a 26 year old adult. Naptimes seem to go about the same way and he is sleeping even less, on average about 30 minutes no matter where he sleeps, the crib, my shoulder, the swing, his bouncer. I know we just have to get through it. I am earning my parents badge. So as you can imagine, this leaves him quite fussy during the day, and we don't get much playing done,it's more like, spend all day trying to keep Gus from freaking out and then pray that he takes at least 20 minutes for a nap so I can too.
I imagine that parenting is kind of like being a girl scout. I am in the process of earning my sleep badge. Once I earn it I will need to be able to use it in my daily "campouts" until it all becomes second nature. Campfire parenting. I am beginning to wonder if there will be wine drinking badges. I am seeing how this will also be useful or even essential to good parenting. I know that this is a passing thing. I know it will getter better in time. That this is merely a flash in his tiny little life that will move so quickly. And when I look back I'll remember him laughing at the mobile and the monkey and the wall crosses, and the way he cuddles his little head right in the crook of my neck, and the way he already reaches up at me when he wants me to pick him up, the tufts of blonde hair that stroke my chin when I hold him.
I can also confidently say that Willie and I are also working on our "communicating with your spouse in an effective and respectful manner" bagde. Having children is indeed not for the faint of heart, or someone in a rocky marriage. We were brought up in two very different households, and have two very different ideas about very small things that turn into large things, like how the baby should go down and what a bedtime routine consists of, and just small things like that. Nothing that will break us, but man, things like that start to add up. We are in the process of reading "the life you always wanted" by John Ortberg in our small group, and I was especially convicted by this weeks chapter on a hurried life. Once I stopped to consider how living in a rush effects our hearts and minds and families, I can't imagine why we all chose to live this way, and that it is so imbedded into our society. I do however think that this is a blog post for another day.
Having this new little guy get settled into our family is by far one of the most difficult things that I have ever done, but please know when I say this, I say it with no negativity. I am just attempting to be transparent. I would not change it. I know that all great things take hard work, and are not just handed to me. I know that there are thousands of couples all over the world, and millions across time that ache to have sleepless nights. People who prayed for years and years that God grant them a tiny life to hold. I assure you that I am not taking this gift that is Gus lightly, and hope that this is in no way construed as complaining. What I can see happening, and is my earnest prayer, is that I come out on the other side of his infancy a changed person. A person closer to who I desire to be. I am not totally sure what that looks like. I know that this is the challenge I am being given to grow as a parent (which I really am clueless how to do, but think that I on some level am successful). I desire to grow closer in my relationship with God. I can confidently say after 7 weeks that I desperatly need him, Willie and I can not do this without his help. I hope that I can be someone who rejoyces more often. Someone who has such joy radiating from her that people think I am almost weird for being so happy. I hope that I am someone who is knitted closer to her husband and can step out of her own pride in love for his respect. I hope that I am a better daughter and sister because I am an attentive and loving mother. I know I am going to be given many many instances to practice patience. I will be given many opportunities to chose forgiveness. Many chances to accept humility. Many jokes about my princess-like attitude have been made over my life, and hopefully I can become more regal and less rotten. I know that this is just the beginning.
So watch Willie and I grow as parents. Check out the little patches we have proudly sewn via our son. I can't wait to see what kind of adult he will be, what his gifts are, and how he will chose to bestow them on the world. I am trying to just soak it all in now becuase I know it goes by fast. We will continue to keep you updated on what we're up to and how Gus is changing right in front of our eyes. We love you guys!

How to leave Comments

So a lot of folks out there who read this blog regularly have told me that they were unsure of how to leave comments. I wanted to give a little insight into that question, in case more of you want to respond to things we post or ask questions.

To access a page where comments can be left, click the "# Comments" link just below the post you want to respond to. I used "#" to denote whatever number of comments already exist - this will usually be "0" for a new post, but can be any number from there on up. That will take you to a login page (unless you are already logged in) where you can write your comment, provide your identity, and then post.

To protect the comment system on my blogs, I have set the requirement that someone log in with a Google account or OpenID to use it. This was done to avoid spam, which can be a pain to go through and clean constantly. Both of these options are completely free, and will appeal to different folks in different situations.

To use a Google account, you can either sign up for Gmail (Google's version of email) or create a Blogger account with your existing email address. Both of these are easy to do:

- To use an email address you have already, just select "Google/Blogger" when going to leave a comment and then click on "Sign up here". That will let you create an account to use throughout the Blogger system, both on my blogs and others.

- To use Gmail, just sign up for an account. That will give you access to Gmail, Blogger, and a host of other Google services online. I really like their email service, as it isn't tied to your internet service provider as many types of email are.

The alternative to this is OpenID, which is useful if you don't trust Google (gasp!) or want to avoid being tied into one company for login services. I've not played around much with OpenID, but here are a couple informational links and the official site where you can get an ID:

Wikipedia Page

OpenID.net

Once you have one of those, just pick the OpenID option on the comments page and paste in your ID link.

Hopefully that helps anyone out there who has wanted to leave notes for us :) If you have any questions, feel free to comment to this post - or email me directly, if you are still having trouble logging in.

Birthdays and Dedications

This week had two special events for our family: Gus' dedication at church last Sunday, and my (William's) birthday on Friday. Pastor Rob did a very nice job at the dedication, and gave us some big goals to live up to as Gus' parents; it was also nice to have my parents and brother there. We've got a few pictures from it up on our Picasa account, though it wasn't anything really flashy.

For my 25th birthday Rose and I went on our first date night since Gus was born. We had dinner at a nice, romantic little Italian diner in Southcenter, Grazie, and the saw Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. It was pretty good, though some of the things the kids in the film (they were high school and college age) were up to would definitely not be things I'd want Gus to emulate.

I'd also like to give a "shout-out" to my Aunt Kathy, who is having her b-day on Sunday the 12th - happy birthday! :)

Where does time go?

So, unbelieveably, Gus will be 6 weeks old on Tuesday. I just can't wrap my brain around it. And I can't believe how different he is at 6 weeks than he was at 4 weeks. He is so alert when he is awake. He loves his little gym and can bat at the toys to make the music play and knows that he is making the music when he hits the toy. He isn't really grabbing things yet, and hasn't really grabbed anything since the earring. He does grab onto my shirt though and my hands still, he also does put his hands on his bottle and push it away. I don't know if he does that on purpose. He also touches his pacifier sometimes and holds his fist in front of it so it stays in his mouth while he's drifting off to sleep. He is getting a hang of a very loose schedule, and we are working on keeping it a little tighter, but honestly mom and dad aren't really schedule people, so it will be a bigger challenge for us than it will be for him. Gus also loves his baths, but hates when it's time to get out because he's cold and cranky. He's pretty much out of newborn clothes, mostly because he is too long and his feet are too big, and some 0-3 clothes are getting tight, but he is following both mom and dad's gene's with short legs, so his pants have to get pulled all the way up high like little old man pants.

And oh man, this kid has a personality already. He is a cuddler, for sure. He loves to be held and he scrunches up in a tiny ball still if he gets a chance. He also has a really happy demeanor. He smiles a lot and just loves to stare at people and he has awesome eye contact. He doesn't cross his eyes anymore. If he's in a really good mood, if you stick your tounge out at him, he will stick his back out at you. But he has to be really awake and not distracted. He is also a wiggler. He does not like to hold still at all. I can not imagine how this is going to play out later in our lives.

He goes back for his 2 month check up in a few weeks, and I have my post partum check up on Tuesday. Time is just really flying.

Willie's birthday is on Friday (10-10) And I think we are going to go on our first date night since we welcomed Gus to the outside world. I believe he is staying with Grandma so that will be nice. Willie and I each are scheduling a few hours once a week each to be out of the house and spend time with friends or see a movie, all to maintain whatever sanity we had when we began this crazy parenting process.

This morning we has Gus's baby dedication at church at it was very nice. I am starting to believe the whole it takes a village thing, and Lord knows we will need all the prayer encouragement and accountability we can get. There will be pictures soon to follow.

Willie and I are working on eating healthier and taking better care of ourselves. Willie has been having some diet related health issues and I personally would like to be able to wear my wedding ring again. I purchased a pair of real life button and zipper jeans today (I still can't wear my pre-maternity jeans, or any pre-maternity pants really, and I can't stand my full panel maternity jeans). The size I bought is motivation enough to stop eating completely. But, it's not like this is my first rodeo with that bull, so just think encourging thoughts for us.

We have a very busy week ahead of us, Monday is MOPS, tuesday we have bible study Wendesday Willie is thinking about trying to help with awana, and Gus and I hang in the nursey and Thursday Chelsea is coming to meet Gus and eat dinner. To these people who may or may not read this blog: Heidi, Heather and Miranda, we need to connect and hang out. I promise I think about it every day, it will happen, I swear. All in all, things are pretty good. We have our up moments and our down moments (we have to live moment by moment, not day by day yet at this point) but it's a pretty happy ride.

If you are reading, I know Willie would appreciate the comment love. Nora, we are thinking baby prayers and contraction thoughts for you. I swear he will be born, he can't hide in there forever!

Goodnight Guys! Wish us luck getting Gus back to sleep...

So William has Decided to Eat Better

Yes, I've finally decided to try and eat in a more healthy fashion. Actually, 'try' is not a good word - I will eat better, I will train myself to eat better. I've attempted to diet in the past, with differing degrees of success, but I need to get away from the idea that I can eat nicely for a month and then go back to my old ways.

The way I've been treating my body is really starting to take a toll, and while I've lived with it for years I cannot afford to do so any longer. I have a son now, so I've got to take better care of myself - and I'm going to start with the way I eat. Here, then, is my plan; I think that I need to approach this in three ways:

1) I need to eat less overall

2) I need to eat little or no of certain foods that currently make up most of my diet (fast food, desserts, snacks)

3) I need to eat more fruits and vegetables

Rose is also of the opinion that I should begin taking a multivitamin, which is probably a good idea - but not directly related to the food choices I must make.

Those three rules are good, but they aren't detailed enough to help me make specific situational choices. As such, I've come up with a list of things I am going to adhere to - and I will probably be adding to this as time goes by:

- I will not keep any cookies, ice cream, or other treats that I like at home.
- I will order smaller portions of both food and desserts when eating out. Small cookies, small/single scoop ice creams, small/6-inch sandwiches, only one cheeseburger (when I indulge in that), etc.
- I will eat breakfast every day; something healthy, or if it is something sweeter (like waffles) not too many
- I will eat at home whenever Rose cooks something for me
- I will take leftovers or other food for lunch at least three times a week (rather than eating out a bunch)
- I will make sure to eat at least one serving of fruits and one of vegetables every day (and more over time)
- I will replace unhealthy snacks I used to eat between meals with more nutritious alternatives

Any of you that read this and are close friends or family, I would ask that you please help hold me to these decisions. Someday I intend that these will be second-nature, but until then I am sure I'll be tempted to fall back into old habits. If nothing else, I would appreciate prayer in this area of my life. Thank you in advance!

Gus passed the 1 month mark!

Actually he did that a few days ago - I am just a little slow about posting updates :/

Other interesting things that have happened recently:

- We went out for Gus' first dinner out, and he slept through it (thankfully). My aunt and uncle took us to the Cheesecake Factory, which was a lot of fun. If you read this, 'thank you' :)

- Bible study has started up again at our church, and it is very nice to be spending time with other folks in the same stages of life that we are in. All of the folks in our group are young married couples, some with kids and some without, and it is a great time of fellowship and learning. We are going through a book right now called The Life You've Always Wanted, which looks like it should be very interesting and helpful in cultivating our relationship with God.

- My parents are finally getting high-speed internet, which should let them follow this blog (and my others) more closely. Welcome to the 21st century, dad! ;)

Not the Earring!

Yes, the earring - specifically, Rose's left heart-shaped earring.  What about it, you ask?  Well I'll tell you: Gus grabbed it!  He was hanging out with his mom the other day, and reached up and wrapped his little hand around the shiny silver shape; and whats more, he held on for a good minute or so.  I must say that I freaked out a little, thinking he was going to tear it off her ear - but it was really cute too, and shows a great deal of coordination for a kid just turning 4 weeks old.  I'm so proud :)

pictures!

Very soon Willie will be posting some pictures on the picasa thingy. www.picasaweb.google.com/williamandrose
We have cute pictures of Gus in his tigger bathrobe! (He has 5 bathrobes...)
We will be 3 weeks old on Tuesday September 16! Gus and I (Rose) are really getting the hang of breastfeeding, we have had a tough go at it, be we are hanging in there (no really really bad pun intended). He is getting so big too. At our last appointment for the 2 week check he was up to 9 pounds 8 oz, so he has surpassed his birthweight 9.3, and is only growing. We noticed he has this tiny little freckle on the top of his head, that will eventually be covered by his hair when there is more of it. He is totally blonde and his eyes are gray-blue. We are willing to bet that he will be either blue or hazel eyed, but there is no telling for quite some time. We sent Grandma Janet home on Wednesday and Gus and I are learning how to get along all day long. Gus doesn't have any sleeping patterns yet except that he usually likes a really big long nap in the morning, which I really appreciate, because it turns out I do to. We are both always very happy to see Daddy at 6pm when he gets home from work. Gus loves tummy time and is really strong. He is getting really good at holding his head up. He does it quite frequently and will have head control pretty quickly I think. Gus is also practicing pushing himself up. It will be a while before he really gets it, but it's a lot of fun to watch him practice and hold it a little longer each day.
Gus also smiles. A lot. He is so happy. He doesn't fuss a lot, and it doesn't look like we have any colic (keep your fingers crossed!) He smiles at me, Willie, the crosses on the wall, the lamp, the dog, pretty much everything. I thought I was totally special when he smiled at me, but them I caught him smiling at the wall decoration. I've made peace with it though, I've decided it means that he thinks that I am a good decorator. He is also still learning what to do with his hands. I don't think he's totally aware of them or what they're for, but they've accidentally been useful a few times. He's funny because he is tracking with his eyes, but he gets real cross eyed sometimes, just learning how to coordinate his eyes. It's all amazing to me. I can't imagine not knowing how to see, or touch or grab or any of those things, so it's mistifying to watch my tiny newborn son do it all!
That's what we are up to these days. We are still settling in. If we are not eating we are sleeping or chaning a diaper or pumping or something, so I am a little slow about calling people and going on errands, but have patience and we will get the hang of it all. Look for those pictures, and leave us some comment love, it know it will make Willie happy!

lab results

Hey guys! Great news, Gus went back to the lab yesterday, and after having to call down and extract the results (quite rude not to let us know what the results are after scaring us!) from the doctor's office and everything came back normal. They called us 2 days ago that they were concerned about his thyroid, that it was sluggish, and that we needed to come in right away to have the tests re-run. It turns out that 1 in 4,000 babies have congenital hypothyroidism and left untreated causes mental retardation. The treatment is usually medication that will be taken for the rest of the child's life. So it scared me when they told us they thought it was a problem. I just didn't want to get everyone else worked up, it feels like we are getting these calls quite a bit, needing to have more things tested, and everything is always fine. They drew 3 files of blood from him and the poor thing cried so hard he fell asleep! Anyway everything is absolutely normal. Thank you so much for all the prayers and support (we can definetly still use them... )

Dr. visit update/prayer request

Hey guys, I don't want to make a huge deal out of this right now, but I got a call from the pediatrician's office today letting me know that we need to do a repeat test because one of the values has come back abnormal. I need to take him back again tomorrow to have the blood drawn, so I would appreciate prayer. I don't want to make a specatcle out of this, I just know that I can't get specific prayer unless I ask for it, and having abnormal labs on a 2 week old is scary. So please keep little Gus Gus in your heart tomorrow morning when we go back. I know that there are people that have faithfully praying for us and I so much appreciate it. We are blessed because our troubles are so small and we have pulled out every time beautifully. Thank you so much for those prayers.
I will keep everyone updated when I know more. Hopefully there is nothing more to report!

Doctor visit today

Gus and company (myself excluded - I was at work) took a trip to the doctor today for his 2-week checkup and Hep-B vaccination. It seems that all went well, except that the little fellow took the liberty to relieve himself while his diaper was off - twice. I think we are all looking forward to year #2, and potty training! ;)

Gus' First Outing

We are heading out shortly to church, and then to lunch at my parents' house. This will be Gus' first real outing, not counting the various trips to the doctor he had earlier. I'll try to remember to take one of our cameras and get some pictures to upload later.

UPDATE: The trip went well, and the folks at church got a kick out of seeing the little fella. We didn't end up taking any pictures, though - my bad!

Gus has a Bellybutton!

Or more precisely, you can now see it :) As with all babies, there was a little bit of the umbilical cord left on him it was cut (at birth), and it finally fell off today. They usually say it takes 1 - 2 weeks, and we are right in the middle of that now. There are still some small scabs of blood left around the area, but those should just wash off in his next bath.

Here is a link to his first bellybutton-visible picture.

New blog announcement

I just wanted to notify my loyal readers that I have started another blog. This brings the total to three, which hopefully I will be able to keep up on. In case you aren't aware of my other writing endeavors, here are descriptions and links to all three:

Read One Daily - A forum for my thoughts as I read through the Bible one chapter a day

The George Family Post - Regular updates on my family, especially my new son Gus (you are already here!)

Earth to William - Rants and ramblings about what I think is wrong with the world, and how it could or should be fixed

I know that not all of you will be interested in every one of these topics, which is why I chose to have multiple blogs rather than just one, but I wanted to make sure that no one misses out on stuff they might enjoy reading. I also really appreciate feedback on all three of these, so if you are out there please don't hesitate to comment!

No more hospital visits!

At least, not for a few days. From his birth until yesterday, Gus was at either the hospital proper or the doctor's office every day of his life. At first it was a weight check, then checking his jaundice levels each day, then once that subsided his week one checkup and then finally the circumcision yesterday. He did remarkably well for all that poking and prodding, though; I really think it took more out of poor Rose than it did him.

A mother worries over such things, naturally, and she hardly slept except a couple hours at night until we got back from Group Health yesterday. Once that weight was lifted from her shoulders she hit the sack, and has been sleeping on and off ever since. I'm very glad that she is finally able to get some well-deserved rest, and hopefully that will help speed her recovery from the delivery as well.

I'll be posting more pictures that we've taken since we got home, probably tomorrow. From now on, though, I won't announce every single time we add to our Picasa photo albums - you all will just have to check there on occasion for updates :)

Snip-snip

So, little Gus got circumcised this morning (sorry if you think that is too much information - I don't pull any punches). Normally this would have been done before he left the hospital after being born, but because he was a little jaundiced they wanted to wait till that subsided.

Interestingly, though, this is the 8th day since he was born - and that was (is?) the traditional day for circumcision under the covenant between God and Abraham. I was just reading that chapter of the Bible last week, the day Gus was born, and while it isn't super important I am rather pleased it worked out this way :)

BTW, if you ever read this some day Gus: you did a great job! No big fuss - you took it like a man. I'm very proud.

On the subject of mis-reported measurements

We took Gus in for a follow-up appointment today, where they checked his weight and height (among other things). He lost a little weight, as all babies do after brith, and is now 8lbs 9oz. He was also found to be 20.25" tall - a bit less than the 20.7" they reported at the hospital. It isn't a huge deal, but it is rather funny since something similar happened with his weight at birth. The initial report came in as 9lbs 2oz, which they then revised due to rounding as 9lbs 3oz. At this rate, the next thing they'll probably tell us is that Gus is actually a girl! Thankfully we can check that one for ourselves ;)

More details about Gus' birth

Here is a copy of a blog entry that Rose made on her MySpace account, which has more details and a different perspective on the actual labor and delivery, as well as some of the events since then:

"Monday morning I was sure I was never going to have Gus. I went to the Dr. and we set up another appt for past my due date. Long about 3pm my water spontaneously broke. I went to the birthing center just to verify that it was a ruptured membrane and while I was there I went into labor strong enough to admit me. I planned on going as natural as I could, but after 10 hours of back labor back to back to back with less than 15 seconds between contractions I took the epidural. At that point I was fully effaced but still dilated only to 3 (back labor can be far less productive) This is by far the best decision I have made in my entire life, if I had not taken it I would have had to have an emergency C section. I was able to relax and went from 3 to 7 in 4 hours and 7 to 10 in half an hour. I was able to push, I was told I was one of the best pushers they have seen, especially for an epidural and a first time mom, but the baby was OP (sunny side up) and too big and he wouldn't turn over. After 2 hours of serious pushing they called a doc in to manually flip the baby and I was able to deliver after another half hour of pushing. I did end up with a second degree tear but they told me with his head I should have had a 4th degree. He had some trauma after being in the canal for so long and pushing the wrong part of his skull against my pelvis. He had to go up to the NICU right after he was born because he wasn't breathing well. He had a fever (I was group B negative) he had the cord wrapped around his neck and he was striding instead of breathing. He scored a 5 on his 1 minute apgar and 8 on his 5 min apgar. He was pretty coneheaded and his nose was smushed and bruised so bad, bless his heart! That is evening out some now, his nostrils are just uneven. He also had blood sugar issues because he was so big. He was born at 9:01 am Tues and was 9 pounds 3 oz and 20.7 inches long. They finally released him to us from the NICU around noon and we came home Wednesday around 3pm. Last night was our first night home and it was rough, but we made it. Because of his trauma he had to go back to see the pediatrician today. He is jaundiced and he has lost too much weight. He weighed in this morning at 8 pounds 2 oz. We have to go back for a weight check tomorrow to make sure that he hasn't lost anymore. I am struggling with the feeding, but he and I will continue to learn together. He is just a big strong guy and my production can't keep up, and he needs so much to heal from his birth, it really was pretty tough on him. My mom has been here to help and it has been fab, I am really glad she is here. I have had maybe 10 hours of sleep since I woke up on Monday morning, so I haven't felt much up to phone calls or visitors, and I am still pretty sore.

I am really hopeful that the weigh in will go well tomorrow, and when I get a chance I will let you know. Willie has been updating the family blog, but is such a trooper helping me and staying up to help at night, so he will update that more as he can to, please be sure to follow that too, so you miss nothing about the George family.

Gus is a sweet natured baby that is easily consoled, but he works himself up pretty quickly when he is mad. I think he looks like a god mix between me and Willie if you look at our baby pictures, which you can't as you don't have access to them. He hates having his diaper changed more than anything, but he keeps his eyes open a lot just taking everything in. We are so blessed to have this little guy, he is an angel.

Thank you so much to everyone who has called! I am getting caught up eventually. I love my new little man. I think I am up to starting to take visitors here at home, but I respectfully ask that you call first, because the breastfeeding thing can be really really tough. Don't give up, I am not ignoring you, I am just really tired and overwhelmed! I really feel loved and cared for. When you call Willie or I can get you our new address and directions.

I need to crash out while I can, love you guys!"

More Pictures

So we've got some additional pictures from the first few days of Gus being home. I decided that I want to separate batches of photos by time frame, and I'm sure there will be more additions over the coming days and weeks. Here, then, is a link to our Picasa Web photo page - where all future family pictures will be posted:

http://picasaweb.google.com/WilliamAndRose/

A lot of these are also being posted on MySpace and Facebook by Rose, so if you are active on those sites there will be a lot of overlap.

On the subject of birthdays

As many of you know, I am a numbers guy. Not as crazy as some accountants and engineers I know, but I like to find patterns to things that help me remember them. This is especially true with birthdays, as I have a horrible time remembering them (I'd like to say 'sorry' to all of my friends that I've forgotten b-days for over the years).

In my immediate family there is a trend that really helps with this. Check it out:

My birthday: October 10th
My mom: November 9th
My brother: December 8th

See? Each adds up to 20, and they go in order! By this logic, I was really hoping that baby Gus would wait till September 11th (yeah, I know, not the best date in history). Needless to say that my wife was not excited about that - it would have been 2 weeks past the due date, and she was getting sick of being pregnant.

When he was born on August 26th, I was trying to figure out how the heck I would remember that of all things - but I came up with two ideas. One is that each section of his birth date adds up to 8: 08-26-08. That works pretty well, but even cooler is the similarity to my wife's date. See if you see the pattern:

Gus: 08-26-08
Rose: 06-08-82

See that? The six digits are all the same - just in a different order! How cool is that?

Home from the hospital

We are all safe and sound at home, after a very nice stay at the Group Health Family Beginnings Unit. Both Rose and the baby were discharged late this morning, though we didn't leave till both had a chance to get nice naps in. I'm sure it will take everyone a little while to get adjusted to being at the apartment, but we've got Rose's mom here for a couple weeks to help and a great doula who is ready to help us settle in.

It was nice seeing those of you who were able to come visit us in the recovery room, and for those who didn't get to swing by - we weren't there very long - you will all have to come visit our home in the coming weeks and months :)

Pictures are uploading...

Rose and Gus are still doing well; they are working on breastfeeding as I type. Our nurses have all been great, and the last two have been quite good about helping with this art form.

I am about to head to bed, but I've got pictures in the process of uploading right now. They are just going to be medium-size for now, since GHC's free internet has a pretty poor upload speed, but they should be available for viewing in about an hour at the following site:

http://picasaweb.google.com/WilliamAndRose/GusAtTheHospital

Enjoy! :)

Resting now

So Rose and Gus got moved up to a new room where they can rest, eat, etc. Mom and baby are laying down sleeping right now, buying me a precious few minutes to write this posting. We have taken a lot of pictures, but I didn't think to grab a USB cable and my laptop is too new to have a Compact Flash reader, so it will probably be tomorrow before we have pics online. As soon as we do I'll link to them from here, though.

If you want to come visit we will probably be here till mid-day tomorrow, but please call my cell phone first. We are on the 4th floor of the north building at Group Health Central Campus in Capitol Hill. Just ask for Julia R George when you go to the desk.

He has arrived!

Welcome to the world, son! Gus Finley George was born today (August 26th) at 9:01am. He weighed in at 9lbs 3ozs (an initial 9-2 was reported because of rounding from the metric they really weigh in) and 20.7 inches long. We will be calling family and friends soon, but the list Rose made pre-birth is REALLY long - so if you don't get called right away (or at all, if I "lose" the list) don't feel left out :)

Mommy is pushing!

I woke up this morning at 6:23am to Rose sitting with our Dulah and starting to push. Our son will be here soon! I'm so excited! :)

At the hosptial, expecting soon!

It seems very appropriate to begin this blog with a couple postings related to the first human addition to our family. So for the inaugural "issue", I am writing to you from Rose's room here at the Family Beginnings Unit at Group Health. We went into the hospital at about 5pm this afternoon, shortly after Rose's water broke. She spent several hours in labor, and shortly after midnight went ahead and elected to get an epidural. She is now resting peacefully, and is back to her chatty self.

I suspect my guess that the baby would be born at 4am this morning will not make it, as she is just dilated to 3cm - oh well! Hopefully we both will be resting soon, and I'll post again in the morning when things have progressed a little further. Once the baby arrives, we'll announce his name (a secret, so far) and hopefully post pictures.