Saturday, January 3, 2009
Friday, January 2, 2009
Thursday, January 1, 2009
He has arrived!
"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." James 1:17
God is so good! Our beautiful, amazing miracle of God has arrived (with a melon head)! The whole thing is still very surreal, just hard to fathom ourselves as Mom & Dad. After a loooooong process, Calie and I welcomed our first-born son into the world at 2:12 am, today on December 31st! He was 8 pounds, 6.7 ounces and measured at 19.5 inches long. Here's a very quick and sketchy rundown so please give us a call if you want all the details! Proud parents always want to share their story!
We arrived at the hospital at 7:00am on December 30th. Calie's water was broke and we began the induction about an hour later. Slowly but surely, Calie became fully dilated. Though only after a visit by her new best friend—the epidural man! At about 10:30pm Calie began three hours of valiant and impressive pushing. Towards the end though the pushing was not enough as our little melon head wedged himself in and was not heading out (pun intended). Nearly 19 hours later, the decision was quickly made to have a C-section and baby Isaiah David Vera was born at 2:12pm.
Now to some of the not-so-fun details... During the course of the pregnancy Calie came down with a fever/infection. Nothing serious, but enough to add an extra bump in the road. As a result baby Isaiah was quickly whisked away to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit after delivery. He wasn’t breathing well enough on his own so they gave him some oxygen tubes. They also had to vacuum out his insides to make sure his inners were cleared out of all meconium (That’s the baby’s first poop. The little guy took his first poop inside of Calie, ha ha ha, and so they just had to make sure none of his wastes got into the lungs, stomach, and such.) He’s still there for now as they are making sure that he is getting enough oxygen, recovering from any infections, and clearing out any bad fluids. The major bummer news was that we had to wait quite awhile before we could hold him as he was being given fluids through tubing in his umbilical cord which causes a need for extra caution. Again, if you want all the specific details give us a call, too much for blogging but we’d love to share.
During Calie’s first visit to see him (nearly 10 hours later), he looked 100-times better. He is the perfect little baby (Which by the way, are the words of the nurses and not mine; no paternal favoritism here!) Skin is pink. Vitals are strong. Has 10 little fingers and 10 little toes. Head is full of curly dark hair and is still shaped like a melon, though not as much anymore. Eyes are blue and cutely cross-eyed. Now he’s breathing the same air as we do. Calie is also doing great; she looks as beautiful as always and is just happy to have the birthing process behind her. By the way, when you see the pictures, just remember it looks a lot worse than it is. Many tubes and wires are on the poor little guy, but they’re just being extra cautious.
Last night we were finally able to see him and hold him (along with Grandma Sue and Grandpa Dave). Isaiah finally stopped being stubborn to the point they were able to put an IV through his arm and remove the umbilical cord one. That was really when it began to sink it and the surreal feelings slowly started to disappear. There was nothing better than to hold him in my arms or to look at Calie holding him. We also tried feeding him for the first time last night, though that didn’t work so well. Perhaps we’ll have better luck later this morning.
After 2 hours of sleep in 40-hour time period, Calie and I crashed long and hard last night. We definitely did not see any New Year’s ball drop! I just got back from seeing him and Calie is getting ready to try and feed him again. Each time we go over there he looks so much better. Isaiah will stay in the NICU unit but is now breathing the same air we are and has only an arm IV to keep him hydrated and nutritioned. There are also a few sensors on him keeping track of body temperature, and other vital signs. He gets better by the hour, and once he becomes a bit more hydrated he’ll be rid of the tubes for good. Poor little guy just needs to pee! As I shared, the Lord is good and things are progressing so well. We are beyond thankful knowing that God’s watchful and compassionate arm is around us.
Calie and I made a special Christmas purchase this year in place of gifts to each other—a fancy, new camera! So with that in mind I have a pretty good feeling that we’ll have plenty more pictures, better pictures and ones without tubes, in the very near future. Thank you all for your many prayers, phone calls, thoughts and emails. Please continue to keep baby Isaiah in your prayers, that all test results would be in and that he’d be well enough to come home with us on Saturday. Thanks for reading, and seriously give us a call at anytime to chat and here about some of the other details.
Oh yeah, concerning his name, both grandpas are named David so the middle name was easy. Because Calie was not able to see the him for eleven hours after the delivery, we held off on giving him a name right away. But once we were in there for the first time as a family, we thought we really couldn’t call him ‘Babyboy Vera’ anymore. So we went through our list of about 4 or 5 names and really liked Isaiah the best. It’s not quite too common and we (by we, I mean Calie) wanted to ensure the name would not be shortened into annoying nicknames. Though cheesy, my fondness for the name stemmed out of my fondness of the book in the Bible—filled with awesome words of vindication and deliverance! The name Isaiah is a Hebrew name in origin and means: “God is my salvation.”
God is so good! Our beautiful, amazing miracle of God has arrived (with a melon head)! The whole thing is still very surreal, just hard to fathom ourselves as Mom & Dad. After a loooooong process, Calie and I welcomed our first-born son into the world at 2:12 am, today on December 31st! He was 8 pounds, 6.7 ounces and measured at 19.5 inches long. Here's a very quick and sketchy rundown so please give us a call if you want all the details! Proud parents always want to share their story!
We arrived at the hospital at 7:00am on December 30th. Calie's water was broke and we began the induction about an hour later. Slowly but surely, Calie became fully dilated. Though only after a visit by her new best friend—the epidural man! At about 10:30pm Calie began three hours of valiant and impressive pushing. Towards the end though the pushing was not enough as our little melon head wedged himself in and was not heading out (pun intended). Nearly 19 hours later, the decision was quickly made to have a C-section and baby Isaiah David Vera was born at 2:12pm.
Now to some of the not-so-fun details... During the course of the pregnancy Calie came down with a fever/infection. Nothing serious, but enough to add an extra bump in the road. As a result baby Isaiah was quickly whisked away to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit after delivery. He wasn’t breathing well enough on his own so they gave him some oxygen tubes. They also had to vacuum out his insides to make sure his inners were cleared out of all meconium (That’s the baby’s first poop. The little guy took his first poop inside of Calie, ha ha ha, and so they just had to make sure none of his wastes got into the lungs, stomach, and such.) He’s still there for now as they are making sure that he is getting enough oxygen, recovering from any infections, and clearing out any bad fluids. The major bummer news was that we had to wait quite awhile before we could hold him as he was being given fluids through tubing in his umbilical cord which causes a need for extra caution. Again, if you want all the specific details give us a call, too much for blogging but we’d love to share.
During Calie’s first visit to see him (nearly 10 hours later), he looked 100-times better. He is the perfect little baby (Which by the way, are the words of the nurses and not mine; no paternal favoritism here!) Skin is pink. Vitals are strong. Has 10 little fingers and 10 little toes. Head is full of curly dark hair and is still shaped like a melon, though not as much anymore. Eyes are blue and cutely cross-eyed. Now he’s breathing the same air as we do. Calie is also doing great; she looks as beautiful as always and is just happy to have the birthing process behind her. By the way, when you see the pictures, just remember it looks a lot worse than it is. Many tubes and wires are on the poor little guy, but they’re just being extra cautious.
Last night we were finally able to see him and hold him (along with Grandma Sue and Grandpa Dave). Isaiah finally stopped being stubborn to the point they were able to put an IV through his arm and remove the umbilical cord one. That was really when it began to sink it and the surreal feelings slowly started to disappear. There was nothing better than to hold him in my arms or to look at Calie holding him. We also tried feeding him for the first time last night, though that didn’t work so well. Perhaps we’ll have better luck later this morning.
After 2 hours of sleep in 40-hour time period, Calie and I crashed long and hard last night. We definitely did not see any New Year’s ball drop! I just got back from seeing him and Calie is getting ready to try and feed him again. Each time we go over there he looks so much better. Isaiah will stay in the NICU unit but is now breathing the same air we are and has only an arm IV to keep him hydrated and nutritioned. There are also a few sensors on him keeping track of body temperature, and other vital signs. He gets better by the hour, and once he becomes a bit more hydrated he’ll be rid of the tubes for good. Poor little guy just needs to pee! As I shared, the Lord is good and things are progressing so well. We are beyond thankful knowing that God’s watchful and compassionate arm is around us.
Calie and I made a special Christmas purchase this year in place of gifts to each other—a fancy, new camera! So with that in mind I have a pretty good feeling that we’ll have plenty more pictures, better pictures and ones without tubes, in the very near future. Thank you all for your many prayers, phone calls, thoughts and emails. Please continue to keep baby Isaiah in your prayers, that all test results would be in and that he’d be well enough to come home with us on Saturday. Thanks for reading, and seriously give us a call at anytime to chat and here about some of the other details.
Oh yeah, concerning his name, both grandpas are named David so the middle name was easy. Because Calie was not able to see the him for eleven hours after the delivery, we held off on giving him a name right away. But once we were in there for the first time as a family, we thought we really couldn’t call him ‘Babyboy Vera’ anymore. So we went through our list of about 4 or 5 names and really liked Isaiah the best. It’s not quite too common and we (by we, I mean Calie) wanted to ensure the name would not be shortened into annoying nicknames. Though cheesy, my fondness for the name stemmed out of my fondness of the book in the Bible—filled with awesome words of vindication and deliverance! The name Isaiah is a Hebrew name in origin and means: “God is my salvation.”
Saturday, December 27, 2008
...and We're Still Waiting!
Our Christmas Day due-date has come and gone, still no baby. I joke and say that Baby would be smart to stay inside until June with all of the cold, nasty weather we get up here. Calie doesn't seem to find that very funny. But she is doing well and feeling fine, just ready to have the baby and begin the next chapter of this always exciting journey into parenthood. If Baby doesn't come on his (or her) own within the next couple of days, we will be going into the hospital early on Tuesday, December 30th and Calie will be induced! Please keep Calie and Baby in your prayers!
Until then, here are some beginning pictures of the baby's room:
Because we still do not know if we are having a boy or a girl, it was not easy coming up with a "theme" for our room. Of course, we have also been known to make these decisions much more difficult than they really need to be. But we now have our "jungle theme" and a homemade sign to welcome people to our child's room.
Our first wall sports our fancy, coffee-colored dresser and changing table. As you can see we have a sweet jungle lamp and three lovely wall-hangings: a monkey, a tiger, and a giraffe.
And off to the right of the crib, our elephant and frog wall-hanging complete our jungle decor.
Until then, here are some beginning pictures of the baby's room:
Because we still do not know if we are having a boy or a girl, it was not easy coming up with a "theme" for our room. Of course, we have also been known to make these decisions much more difficult than they really need to be. But we now have our "jungle theme" and a homemade sign to welcome people to our child's room.
Our first wall sports our fancy, coffee-colored dresser and changing table. As you can see we have a sweet jungle lamp and three lovely wall-hangings: a monkey, a tiger, and a giraffe.
Just beyond our fancy dresser/changing table we have a lovely, comfy rocker given to us by one of our favorite Our Redeemer church ladies. The chair is surrounded by the Diaper Genie (part 2), a jungle pillow boppy, and the very-beginning stages of our library. And that ridiculously beautiful picture hanging upon the wall is a maternity picture that Calie and I had taken somewhere in month eight!
Turning the corner, you will see our lovely crib. Overlooking the baby you will see a well-crafted shelf (more on that later). What you can't see too well is the baby's own boom box for bedtime lullabies and his (or her) very own humidifier.
Let's start with what you can see: a simple shelf with a few jungle animals overlooking the sleeping place of our future bundle of joy. What you can NOT see are the plethora of unused holes and broken screws that accompany this masterful final display. Also not visible is the dent in the aluminum closet doors to which I threw a hammer and wrench at in my assembly frustration. After using enough four-lettered words to make a sailor blush, the only other thing that would help was hitting or throwing something!
And off to the right of the crib, our elephant and frog wall-hanging complete our jungle decor.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Mary's Journey
So I know that many of you have been checking and hoping for an update. Sorry it has taken us so long. Each time I think of blogging I think, maybe I'll wait and just update it when the baby comes...so far, obviously no baby. And so here is the update...
There has not been a real significant change/progress in the progression of labor. I just found out this morning during a non-stress test that I am having Braxton-Hicks contractions. No big thing though, I hardly know when they are happening. It only means that my body is getting ready for birth. So if we don't have the baby before December 30th, I will be induced. So we will (keep your fingers crossed) have a baby before the New Year!
I was thinking about this whole experience the other day, and realized that since it is the day of Jesus' birth, Mary and I have something in common. I know it may be a stretch, but being due around the same time, I was thinking how uncomfortable I am. That led me to think about Mary and how she must have felt. I have the luxury of riding in a car, wearing shoes, and not traveling on a donkey across a desert and mountains. I can only imagine that must have been what induced her labor. I am excited that tonight I get to reflect more on this thought and celebrate with all people the joy that I am feeling and the joy that Mary felt too.
I wish you all a Peaceful Christmas and time to enjoy your loved ones company. We will be thinking of you all during this joyous season.
Merry CHRISTmas!
With love from the Vera's
There has not been a real significant change/progress in the progression of labor. I just found out this morning during a non-stress test that I am having Braxton-Hicks contractions. No big thing though, I hardly know when they are happening. It only means that my body is getting ready for birth. So if we don't have the baby before December 30th, I will be induced. So we will (keep your fingers crossed) have a baby before the New Year!
I was thinking about this whole experience the other day, and realized that since it is the day of Jesus' birth, Mary and I have something in common. I know it may be a stretch, but being due around the same time, I was thinking how uncomfortable I am. That led me to think about Mary and how she must have felt. I have the luxury of riding in a car, wearing shoes, and not traveling on a donkey across a desert and mountains. I can only imagine that must have been what induced her labor. I am excited that tonight I get to reflect more on this thought and celebrate with all people the joy that I am feeling and the joy that Mary felt too.
I wish you all a Peaceful Christmas and time to enjoy your loved ones company. We will be thinking of you all during this joyous season.
Merry CHRISTmas!
With love from the Vera's
Friday, December 12, 2008
Ready or Not...
I can't believe how busy we have been... and we haven't even had the baby yet! Yikes! Our apartment has long looked like it was hit by a mini-tornado. Now with part of a day off, I am hoping to do some serious cleaning. These past few weeks since Thanksgiving have flown by; we have had something going on just about every weekday night and weekend since then. It seems like we are only in our apartment for sleeping and an occasional bathing! So as we have been running around, the boxes and garbage and dirty clothes have all been piling up. By the way, thank you to all of you who have sent gifts and cards to us for Baby Vera!!!
Advent is indeed a time of preparation. Calie and I are anxiously looking forward to the birth of two babies. The birth of our own, and of course the birth of the Christ Child who must never be overlooked at Christmas time. It certainly appears that these two babies may have pretty similar birthdates as Calie is perfectly on schedule to deliver pretty close to our December 25th due date. Unfortunately, the doctor certainly didn't seem think the baby would come any sooner. Hopefully they decorate those hospital rooms nice and cozy for Christmas time. Calie is still feeling very good—no sickness or anything like that! Her feet are a bit more tired at the end of the day but she's a trooper and rarely ever complains. She is definitely ready for this little bundle to leave her body, but she would be the first to tell you how lucky we've been thus far. But as you can imagine, we are sooooooooooo excited! We sat at our church's childcare Christmas program last night and couldn't help but become even more excited about our own incoming cutie as we watched all the kids singing their Christmas carols. Although this is being said BC (before children), but I'm even looking forward to getting up multiple times in the middle of the night to attend to a crying baby. I know, I know I’ll change my tune quickly in a few weeks! Oh yeah, and my sister sent me a "Father to Be" t-shirt a couple of weeks ago. It's pretty dang sweet. I think I have worn it more days than not. In fact, I am wearing it as I sit here blogging.
This upcoming Saturday afternoon our church is throwing us a baby shower. The congregation that has already warmly embraced and shown us so much love is now very excited to share in this baby experience with us. Our newborn will have plenty of honorary grandparents and I'm sure that, at least for once in our lives, we will never be at a lost for babysitters! So on Sunday after church, Calie and I hope to spend the rest of the day making sure we are ready for whenever Baby Vera arrives. We'll make sure our diapers and spit-rags are well stocked. Put the finishing touches on the baby's room decor. Finish installing the car seats. And probably head to good ol' Target for some last-minute essentials. I'm not so sure that we'll ever be really ready, but hopefully this weekend will give us a chance to feel a bit closer!
That's about all for now. Please keep Calie and Baby in your prayers, for safe and healthy delivery for both! And stay posted as we'll have news and pictures up as soon as possible. May this Advent season fill you with hope and joy as we celebrate the in-breaking of Christ and live in expectation of His return. Merry CHRISTmas!
Advent is indeed a time of preparation. Calie and I are anxiously looking forward to the birth of two babies. The birth of our own, and of course the birth of the Christ Child who must never be overlooked at Christmas time. It certainly appears that these two babies may have pretty similar birthdates as Calie is perfectly on schedule to deliver pretty close to our December 25th due date. Unfortunately, the doctor certainly didn't seem think the baby would come any sooner. Hopefully they decorate those hospital rooms nice and cozy for Christmas time. Calie is still feeling very good—no sickness or anything like that! Her feet are a bit more tired at the end of the day but she's a trooper and rarely ever complains. She is definitely ready for this little bundle to leave her body, but she would be the first to tell you how lucky we've been thus far. But as you can imagine, we are sooooooooooo excited! We sat at our church's childcare Christmas program last night and couldn't help but become even more excited about our own incoming cutie as we watched all the kids singing their Christmas carols. Although this is being said BC (before children), but I'm even looking forward to getting up multiple times in the middle of the night to attend to a crying baby. I know, I know I’ll change my tune quickly in a few weeks! Oh yeah, and my sister sent me a "Father to Be" t-shirt a couple of weeks ago. It's pretty dang sweet. I think I have worn it more days than not. In fact, I am wearing it as I sit here blogging.
This upcoming Saturday afternoon our church is throwing us a baby shower. The congregation that has already warmly embraced and shown us so much love is now very excited to share in this baby experience with us. Our newborn will have plenty of honorary grandparents and I'm sure that, at least for once in our lives, we will never be at a lost for babysitters! So on Sunday after church, Calie and I hope to spend the rest of the day making sure we are ready for whenever Baby Vera arrives. We'll make sure our diapers and spit-rags are well stocked. Put the finishing touches on the baby's room decor. Finish installing the car seats. And probably head to good ol' Target for some last-minute essentials. I'm not so sure that we'll ever be really ready, but hopefully this weekend will give us a chance to feel a bit closer!
That's about all for now. Please keep Calie and Baby in your prayers, for safe and healthy delivery for both! And stay posted as we'll have news and pictures up as soon as possible. May this Advent season fill you with hope and joy as we celebrate the in-breaking of Christ and live in expectation of His return. Merry CHRISTmas!
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