More Family Visitors
Posted by Andrew
This weekend, Andrew and I had the pleasure of hosting Sherry
and Artie, Andrew’s parents. This was the second visit by the
Artemenkos to see Caroline and we had a great time. Caroline got
plenty of hugs, kisses and attention, and Andrew and I got some
much needed relief. We even managed to go out to dinner with the
babe and she did wonderfully!
Sherry also did “tummy time” with Caroline and documented her
efforts. Caroline loved looking at herself in the mirror!
Mom and Baby
Posted by Andrew
Face Time
Posted by Andrew
Got Milk?
Posted by Andrew
Gassy and Sassy!
Posted by Andrew
A day in the life of a diva
Posted by Laura
I think the following three photos pretty much sum up our lives
these days…
Caroline is a wonderful addition to our family, but things are
of course unpredictable. Since returning home from the hospital,
however, we have made strides in the right direction. Caroline
is eating well and staying awake more during the day, and she is
sleeping better at night.
The dogs have fully accepted Caroline as their new sister and
love her dearly. They want to be near her at all times and like
to slip in a kiss or two or ten whenever possible.
Andrew and I are holding up well. We have been graced with the
helpful presence of my mom this week and have even ventured out
into the real world on outings the past few days. I never knew
how exciting a trip to Target could be!
Blog Milestone: 31,000 visits since going
live
Posted by Andrew
The recent uptick in traffic to the site had me looking through
Google Analytics back to the beginning (or at least back to when
I started tracking things in
November 2005).
To me this begs the question of why anyone would come here
outside of our extended family of about 30 people and 20 or so
friends (even that estimate sounds overstated). No way to know
for sure, but it has been cathartic to share everything from
movie reviews to childbirth with you all.
Now if you'll excuse me I need to get back to watching
The Thing
starring a bearded Kurt Russell (rare) with Caroline. This
movie is pretty sweet.
Day One Observations
Posted by Andrew
This is not easy. But it has the potential to be a lot of
fun.
I also think that raising two dogs has helped
us brace ourselves for the full impact of our own child.
For example, Oreo was so wild as a puppy
that we had to employ "station training" whereby a special leash
was attached to my belt at all times. This meant he could not escape
and cause mischief, but did however, unleash a radius of destruction in our
path.
I also like diapers. Dogs do not have
diapers. So if nature calls whilst not in nature, you have
a protective barrier inside the house
So already Caroline has proved to be quite
the amenable pack addition -- much less destructive and messy
than her canine companions.
Despite having the least amount of hair and
the worst hairline imaginable, I am still the proud leader of
this pack!
We've already been brought meals by our
neighbors and our good friend Gail, and still managed to let my parents
buy us groceries. We are thankful to have such great
support.
Last night I had a celebratory cigar
(which I tossed in with the free groceries) with Dad in the back yard
It has been fun to watch my parents react
to their first granddaughter -- especially after my brother
Peter and his wife Katie just had their second son only 3 days
earlier.
Check out my new nephew Ben and Caroline's cousin at
Pete's Flickr page here.
Caroline Anne Artemenko
19.75 inches long
6 lbs 9 ounces
Posted by Andrew
"Some women sneak by us," said the nurse.
“What do you mean?”
“A majority of women arrive at the hospital
experiencing pain, thinking they are about to give birth at any
moment. However many of them find out they are just at the
beginning of labor.”
“In your wife’s case, she was actually
ready to go as soon as she got here.”
That was the conversation I had with our
nurse, Debbie, as our baby scooted across the floor in a clear
acrylic case toward the nursery. We had
arrived here only a couple of hours ago, and in a blur
some guy with black gloves handed me a kid.
Laura was amazing. She
did not take any pain medication, and delivered so fast they
didn’t even have time to give her an IV.
During the event, I was jammed into the
corner behind the bed, partly trapped by the arrangement of
chairs and my own inability to comprehend what was going on.
I cheered on from what seemed like a mile away, drowned
out by the steady coaching of the doctor.
I counted about five rounds of pushing and
we were done.
As soon as she arrived I followed her to
the weighing table. Since then I can’t
help myself from following her around everywhere. I've
been tracking this little thing since
September.
By the end of the big night it was time for
Laura and I to grab a bite to eat so I went down to the
hospital cafeteria. Laura gave me explicit
instructions to get a hotdog with everything.
She was pretty excited to have her first hotdog after 9
months. Can you tell?
After that I went home and slept with the
dogs. At the advice of one of the instructors
in our earlier baby classes, I brought home Caroline’s sleeping
cap so they would know a familiar smell.
Oreo tried to eat the cap.
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