1 Week Old

A week ago today, our son, Miles, joined the family.  Here's a recap of the past week.  Pardon any grammatical and/or spelling errors....  You know, lack of sleep....

Friday: (click photos for larger views)

After about 30 minutes of pushing, Miles was born at 5:43pm.  Grandma Joan, Grandma Bobbi and Grandpa Jeff, and Aunt Lora were the first (but not the last!) to see him.  After all of his hard work, plus his first bath, blood work, and hearing test, he was pretty tired, so we just watched him in awe as he slept.

Saturday (one day old):
Miles had a high white blood cell count, so the nurses put a tiny IV in his left hand.  The grandparents and Lora came to visit again.  Several of our friends came to visit as well.  Miles was pretty sleepy again, but had his moments of alertness.

Sunday (two days old):
We had to stay at the hospital another day due to the white blood cell count/infection.  We got to see some new faces from Miles and watch him begin holding his head up.

  

Monday (two days old & first day home):
Miles got good news about his white blood cell count and we were told we could go home around lunch time.  We put on some new clothes we received as a shower gift and the handmade hat from Aunt Sharon.  Miles loved the car ride (he slept the whole way home).  Louie and Ella were so excited to see us, but immediately had a difficult time adapting to Miles' noises.  Louie, who is usually the more apathetic dog, was especially sensitive to all of his whimpers and cries.  The first night at home also happened to be the roughest on Mommy and Daddy, as Miles was growing increasingly hungry and wanted to be fed hourly.

 

Tuesday (four days old):
Miles got his first bath at home on Tuesday morning (after his first big blowout) - he'll come around....  We hung around the house all day with Grandma Joan and simply relaxed.  Miles started having better feedings and had a pretty good night (only woke us up a few times).

Wednesday (five days old):
Today we went to see the pediatrician.  While unwrapping him for his 2nd official weigh-in, he had a little accident on Daddy's shirt (the first of many, I'm sure).  The nurse weighed him and he was down to an even 7 pounds (lost 9 ounces).  The doctor looked him over and chatted with us about some things to expect over the next couple weeks.  Overall, Miles appeared to be in perfect health.  In even better news, he only woke up three times in the middle of the night.

 

Thursday (six days old):
Miles woke up around 7:30 Thursday morning, but stayed in his bassinet for about an hour just looking around, giving Mommy and Daddy an extra hour of sleep and getting some valuable experience keeping himself busy without fussing.  He also started discovering the "long" nap (hence, all the sleeping pictures).  Now that he's getting more to eat with each feeding, he's taking some extended naps and beginning to start a more regular schedule.  Even with all of those good naps, he was still tuckered out by the end of the day.

Friday (one week old!):
Officially one week old today.  Mommy dressed him up in some clothes she picked out to celebrate.  

One week down, many more to go!

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2 Days Old

A message from Miles:

The past two days have been tough.  I won't go into ALL the details, but let's just say that cramming my 14 inch head through a 10 centimeter hole was not the most pleasant way to start the first day on the job.  Despite this (and the constant blinding light, needles, thermometers, etc. - I COULD go on...), I'm getting the hang of things...  So let's dwell on the positive.

First of all, the people here are great!  Everyone wants to hold me and for the most part, I can get whatever I want - my wish is their command (not too shabby)!  I showed off a little for Mommy on my first night and displayed my recently found eating skills.  The food around this place could use a little work, but I still ate like a champ.  Supposedly, they're changing the menu in a few days....  The overall accommodations are about average at our hotel here, but Mommy and Daddy insist that things will improve when we get to someplace called "home."

Well, I should probably cut this short....  I feel a nap coming on.  I may follow it up with a couple dinners.  We'll just see how things go.  In closing, I want to say how great it is to finally be here and I give my sincere thanks to all of my new family, friends, and fans out there who have been rooting for Mommy, Daddy, and me.

Love,
Miles

P.S. Daddy made sure I got lots of photos.  Here's an album of my first two days!

And now to the details of our little name-guessing fun.  First the clues and answers, then we'll get to the some of the guesses.

• He shares the same first name as a passenger on the Mayflower.
• Miles/Myles Standish (hired by the Pilgrims to be military captain of Plymouth Colony)
• He also shares his first name with a successful NFL receiver.
• Miles Austin (Wide Receiver for the Dallas Cowboys)
• The middle name is shared with a famous poet's first name.
• Allen Ginsburg (American poet during the Beat Generation)
• The middle name is also shared with a famous NBA guard's last name.
• Ray Allen (Guard for the Boston Celtics)

Here are a few of the guesses we received:

• Henry James
• Isaac James
• Isaac Thomas
• Miles James
• Miles Thomas

We can clearly see that some people were thinking of Isaac Bruce and Lebron James.  Maybe James Joyce?

We'll give some credit to Douglas Bowles who correctly guessed the name within about an hour of the blog post.  Kudos, Douglas.

Lastly, Melanie and I want to reiterate Miles' final sentence above.  Thanks to all of our friends and family who have come to see us, called, posted on the blog, texted, posted on Facebook, or thought about us during the past couple days or the past 40+ weeks.  We're so happy to have Miles in our lives and we look forward to sharing him with you (so stay tuned to the blog for more)!

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Introducing...

Miles Allen Blackwell

Born: June 22, 2012

7 pounds, 9 ounces

21.25 inches

 

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Home Stretch

Trying a mobile blog post for the first time....  Hopefully it works!

Melanie's water broke at 3:50am and she started having some STRONG contractions a couple hours later.  She's been progressing steadily throughout the day and after receiving her epidural, she's feeling great and keeping her strength up for the big push.  As of 2:20pm she's now 8 cm dilated!  With any luck, Baby Blackwell will be here by dinner!

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At the Hospital....

We're here at the hospital.  The doctor just saw us and said they plan to start Pitocin in the morning to induce labor.  In the meantime, we're supposed to get some rest and plan for a long day tomorrow.

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The Time Has Come

We went to our weekly Dr.'s appointment today.  No change on the dilation/effacement.  The doctor had Melanie do a non-stress test and ultrasound.  Baby B's reaction to the test wasn't quite what she hoped for and the ultrasound showed the fluid level was low.  He's doing fine in there, but the doctor recommended that we have the baby today!!  So we're heading back to the hospital to get this little guy out!! 

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Baby Watch 2012 - Today's the Day

9:55pm:  Just got home from a walk around the neighborhood.  Melanie thinks she's been having some more Braxton Hicks contractions today, but nothing that really indicates labor is imminent.  Almost time for bed....  More updates tomorrow.

4:15pm:  Melanie says she's experiencing some new pressure this afternoon....  although that could simply be from sitting for three hours during lunch with the girls.

12:05pm:  Still no change.  Melanie got sick of waiting so she went to lunch with her girlfriends.  She looks amazing today!

7:45am:  Well, today's the due date.  As of right now, there is still no baby.

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Baby Watch 2012 - 1 Day Until Due Date

Tomorrow's the big day....  maybe.

Today obviously was not.  Hurry up and get here, kid!  We're getting impatient!

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2 Days Until Due Date

Still nothing new to report.

Melanie is SO restless and ready for him to get here, she's been cleaning the house.  Yes, folks, you read that correctly.  She vacuumed the whole house, cleaned our bathroom, did the dishes, and did laundry.  Later, she rewarded herself with a shopping trip to Target and a new candle.

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No Change - 3 days until due date

Here's the big, daily update.

...

That's right - nothing to report.

In other news, the guest bathroom is ready for use.  I did some painting yesterday and got it all cleaned up, so grandparents, aunts, and anyone else that stays with us has a working toilet and freshly cleaned shower.

His room is ready to go.  We have rechargeable batteries for the swing, changing pad, and a new drawer front for the dresser to replace the one that was barely hanging on.  Hurry up and get here, kid!  Your room is waiting for you!

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Where is he? - 4 days until due date

Anxious to see little Baby Blackwell?  Wondering where the heck he is!?!?!

He's right here!

He was moving around a LOT last night, so we tried to get it on video.  We weren't able to capture a whole lot of the movement....  Naturally, every time we get the camera out he stops moving.  We put it away and he's doing jumping jacks in there.  We get the camera back out, he starts sleeping.

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Week 39 - 6 days until due date

Greetings from Week 39.  For the rare few people who haven't called, emailed, texted, or sent a message via Pony Express the past few days, there is not much new to report.

If you recall, last week we found out Melanie was dilated 1 cm and 50% effaced.  At today's visit, we're still around 1cm....  bummer.  On the positive side, he's dropped a little more and there's been some additional "softening."  So, for all of you who haven't voted in the Due Date Poll (don't forget), keep this new information in mind when casting your votes.

Changing the subject briefly, there appears to be some slight interest from a few in knowing the name.  Apparently these people don't think his name will be Baby Blackwell...

...and they're right.

With that said, we thought it would be fun to start putting some hints on the blog.  So, here are your hints:

• He shares the same first name as a passenger on the Mayflower.
• He also shares his first name with a successful NFL receiver.
• The middle name is shared with a famous poet's first name.
• The middle name is also shared with a famous NBA guard's last name.

Hopefully that helps settle it for everyone.  We were a little reluctant to just completely give away the name, but we thought you'd appreciate it.   :).   EDIT:  If you want to send us emails with your guesses, go ahead.  We'll post a follow up after he's born announcing any winners and how smart you are.

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What will be Baby Blackwell's Birthday?

Guess our little guy's due date!  Click the link to our poll here.

Our bags are packed - we're ready to head to the hospital when he's ready!

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The end is near! (Week 38)

38 weeks and ?? to go!

Hi All! Today we had another doctor's appointment. Over the last week I have been feeling a lot more pressure as the little guy continues to drop. I have also had more intermittent nerve pain in my left thigh, but no real contractions to speak of. Given all this, I was hoping the doctor would tell me that these symptoms were signaling that the end is near.

So.....all was not in vain, as I found out today that I am officially 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced!! Yeah! I'm so excited! Now, this doesn't mean that I'll be in labor tomorrow, but does suggest that things are moving along and hopefully Baby Blackwell will be here in the next week or so.  So stay tuned because our next post may be the best one yet!

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Week 37

Week 37 is almost done.  Baby Blackwell is full term and will be here soon.  Melanie has been feeling him dropping and now experiences occasional nerve pain in her legs and pressure in her abdomen.  She's been pretty tired lately, too - it's hard work making a baby!

Week 37

Our friends in Hattiesburg threw Melanie a wonderful shower last week.  Here is a SAMPLE of some of the new gifts we received at the shower.

We played games, had some good food (Melanie loved the M&Ms), and had a lot of fun - so glad we got to share the experience with our friends down here.

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