Discovering digits

Who knew phalanges could be so fascinating? This week Eden found her toes! It has been a time of wide-eyed wonder. She's particularly fond of playing with them as she gets her diaper changed. She's also taken an increased interest in sucking on her thumb and fingers. As best as I can tell, her preference seems to be whichever ones she can get in her mouth first.

Last week Eden went to see her pediatrician, Dr. Benton. This was her first appointment since she was about 10 days old. She made herself right at home. Upon removing her diaper to get her weight, she immediately peed on the examination table. Based upon the nonchalant reaction of the nurse and the cleaning supplies within arm's length, I was assured that this was not a terribly rare event at the office. Eden weighed in at 13.1 lbs and measured 23 inches long (As a side note, that's also how long I was when I was born). So, she is growing very well.

She also received her set of vaccines at her visit. Needless to say, that was not nearly as enjoyable as finding her toes. But she did very well. Of course, she cried when they gave her the shots, and she was just a little fussy that evening, but otherwise everything went very smoothly. She did not have any noticeable adverse reactions or run a fever.

In other news, I'm pleased to report that we successfully completed our first full visit to church this past Sunday. Everything went off without a hitch this time. Our church has a much more organized and established system at the main campus, as well as warm running water. We very much enjoy our church here in Gainesville and it was refreshing to be back after being away for a while.

That's the news for now. We'll keep you posted.

Little Leprechaun

Happy St. Patty's Day, everyone!

First day... um try... at church

Today the family got up and got ready to go to church. This was our first Sunday back to church since Eden was born. We planned on going to the 9 a.m. service, but after Eden woke up around 4:15 a.m., we thought we'd sleep in just a bit and go to the 11:15 service. I should explain; our church now has Sunday service at two different campuses. We normally go to service at the main campus, but today we thought we'd try the satellite service that meets in a middle school on the east side of town.

We arrived at church and the parking attendant directed us to the nursery. When we arrived to the nursery - the trepidation of new parents leaving their child alone with strangers for the first time clearly showing on our faces - we signed Eden in and explained everything was in the diaper bag. We also explained clearly to the nursery attendant that if they needed to give her a bottle, they just needed to run it under warm tap water. We also put a note to this effect on the sign-in sheet where it asked for "special instructions." The lady in the nursery nodded and said okay.

Kendall and I made our way to the auditorium/sanctuary and within a few minutes, praise and worship was under way. But before we could get through the first song, our number flashed on the screen indicating that we were needed in the nursery.

We arrived to find Eden crying inconsolably and they told us that they didn't have a way to warm the bottle. Wait, let me say that again, they told us they didn't have a way to warm a bottle! Being as the church meets in a middle school, there were no water faucets in the classroom that had been converted to a nursery for Sunday morning. Okay, I thought to myself, that's fine; I can run to the bathroom and warm it up myself.

So, I ran to the nearest bathroom only to find that there was no warm water tap. Then I ran (literally) down the middle school hallway like a kid late for class to the next nearest bathroom only to find that there was no warm water tap in that lavatory either. I ran back to the nursery where Kendall was trying to settle Eden and told her I couldn't find a warm water faucet to warm the bottle. That's when the lady in the nursery said, "Yeah, we looked all around and couldn't find one." Uh... right... so you didn't think that was information that would have been helpful before I proceeded to sprint across the school.

Here's the thing, folks; I realize that the church is trying to provide nursery services in a middle school and that the classrooms weren't ever intended for infant care. I get that. What I don't get is why the lady nodded and said okay when I told her to warm the bottle under warm running water.

Moreover, when we were summoned to the nursery we realized that they had already put the nipple on the bottle and had attempted, or were going to attempt to give her the bottle as it was. Why on Earth would you try to give a baby a bottle straight out of a cooler? But even more importantly, why would you ask parents to write down special instructions if you only intended to ignore them completely?

But wait, there's more. It wasn't like we showed up to church this morning without having tried to do our due diligence. I called on Wednesday of last week to find out if they could feed our daughter a bottle, if they required shot records, and if there was anything I needed to know or do before bringing her to the nursery. The lady that picked up the phone at the church told me yes, no, and no, but that she would also have the woman who headed up nursery services give me a call. I never got that phone call.

I suppose Kendall could have nursed her, but they didn't even have a place where she could do that with any sort of privacy. Given that we had been told it wouldn't be a problem to give her a bottle, we didn't pack the nursing cover because we didn't expect to need it. One of the ladies in the nursery suggested Kendall sit there in the nursery and just turn around to breastfeed her. I know some people feel that it is a natural and beautiful thing that everyone should see, but we're just not the kind of bring-out-the-boob-for-public-viewing kind of people.

You know, I don't expect that nursery workers are going to dote on my daughter the way her mother and I do. It's not like we asked for Eden to have one-on-one individualized attention the entire time she's in the nursery, or for them to bathe her. We asked that they warm a bottle before giving it to her. Is that unreasonable? And what I do expect from people who are caring for my child is that they listen and pay attention to what I say. Don't just nod and tune me out. I expect people to call me back. I expect people to realize that they are caring for people's children - the most precious things in their lives - and that they need to have their head in the game.

Needless to say, we left directly and came straight home. Perhaps next Sunday will be better, back at the main campus.

Our Growing Girl

Eden is growing and changing so fast! Here are some pictures of her at one month old. Enjoy!

Enjoying Eden

If you ever get tired of your daily routine, have a baby. I assure you, the notion of routine will quickly become a hazy memory that visits you briefly in the early morning hours while you're in the rocking chair with your finger holding the pacifier in place, trying to hold your eyes open as your baby decides she has no intention of shutting hers. And as that memory visits you, taunting you like an oasis mirage on the burning sands that fill your eyelids, you'll look down at your baby and think, "I never knew what I was missing."

Life has certainly taken a drastic change for us here in the Neely household, but we are adjusting well and enjoying each day of learning and loving with our new baby. Truth be told, Kendall has taken the bulk of the late night child-tending duties as she is off from work right now. Since I can't nurse and I'm trying to get data collection done on my dissertation, we have decided that, at least during the week, it makes the most sense for Kendall to do most of the getting up during the night. But I still feel guilty. Does that count at all?

Eden is doing well. She is eating and pooping and peeing and sleeping and pooping and eating and pooping and pooping and peeing and sleeping and eating and pooping... not necessarily in that order. She went to her pediatrician 10 days after she was born and she was up to 8 lbs. The doctor was very pleased and told us that unless something came up that we would not see him again until March. So far she seems to be healthy and thriving.

We are currently looking for daycare for when Kendall goes back to work. We've called and driven by a couple of places and visited two. We have one or two more to visit and then we'll be making a decision soon.

We recently took a trip to Tampa to do our first visit to the grandparents. We did our belated Christmas with my side of the family and we got to see Kendall's aunt, uncle, some of her cousins and their families. It was nice to enjoy the time with everyone.

As I'm sure you noticed, I attached a slideshow to this post with pictures from this first month with Eden. She is such a delight. We hope you are all doing well.

That's the news for now. We'll keep you posted.

Our first walk

Here is a quick little video from our first walk with the baby. Why didn't anyone tell me I sounded like a mix between Rudolph and Big Bird?!

Welcome to the world, Beautiful

It doesn't matter how many times people tell you that your life is about to change or that you're going to love this new little person more than you can imagine; until it happens, you can't comprehend how true these words are.

Eden Faithe Neely came into this world in December 2009. She weighed 7 lbs 14 oz and was 20.5 inches long. She is the most amazing thing this first-time father has ever seen. She is beautiful just like her mother and perhaps a little stubborn just like her dad.

Kendall and I checked into North Florida Regional Hospital in Gainesville at 10 p.m. on the night before Eden was born for a scheduled induction the next morning. Being two weeks overdue, Eden's eviction papers had been served. It was time for her to vacate the premises and meet the outside world.

At midnight, the labor nurse gave Kendall Cervidil to prepare her for the induction slated for 7 a.m. However, by about 2 a.m. it became evident that labor had already started. Throughout the early morning hours, Kendall held on through contraction after contraction, while I did what I could to soothe and support her. When the nurse examined Kendall at about 4:30 a.m., she told her she was two to three centimeters dilated.

Kendall's mom Cathy had driven up from Tampa the night before and slept at our apartment. Kendall's dad Tom would drive up from Tampa and arrive later in the morning. They were both a tremendous support not only emotionally, but also in keeping Henry and us fed and helping with housekeeping. When Cathy arrived to the hospital at 6:30 a.m., Kendall's contractions were very strong and she was in active labor.

The midwife Shana came in and examined Kendall at 8:15 a.m. and told us that she was only four centimeters dilated. Realizing that this was not going to be a short labor, and being in a great deal of pain, Kendall asked for some relief. The nurse came about a half-hour later and gave Kendall a dose of Nubain to take the edge off the contractions. Then at 9:45 a.m., the nurse anesthetist came in and gave Kendall her epidural. I think this was one of the best decisions Kendall could have made, as we had no idea how long the labor would really last.

As it turned out, Kendall continued to labor with decreasing progress until late-afternoon when the midwife and labor nurse decided to put her on Pitocin to help strengthen the contractions. Thankfully, Eden showed no signs of distress throughout the long labor. Kendall continued to progress slowly until about 10 p.m. when the doctor, nurse and midwife came in to determine if Kendall would need a C-section. After another exam, they decided to have Kendall try to push.

An hour and a half later, after more than 21 hours of labor, Eden Faithe was delivered. She scored a nine on both her 1-minute and 5-minute Apgar scores and all tests have indicated that she is healthy.

While her first-time parents are still trying to figure out their new life of child rearing, they could not be happier or prouder of their precious baby.

Kendall and I are experiencing and surviving the notorious sleepless nights and keeping busy cleaning up after our little poop and pee factory. But we are also loving every minute of it.

Jeff's parents Bill and Joy, along with Jeff's sister Stephanie, her husband Brian and their children Josh and Shaylee came to visit on New Year's day. We had a fantastic day of enjoying Eden, snapping lots of photos, eating pizza, and playing Band Hero. It was a real blessing for us to celebrate the new year by sharing this time together.

Again, thank you to everyone for the thoughts, prayers, well wishes, and generosity in our journey to this new stage of life. We hope you have had a wonderful holiday season and that 2010 brings you the greatest joy. May you prosper even as your soul prospers.

That's the news for now. We'll keep you posted.