2 Weeks Old

September 25, 2007

I can't believe Joshua is already 2 weeks old today. Time seems to be flying by. (Today was actually supposed to be Joshua's due date). Josh is still doing his normal routine - eating, sleeping, and pooping. That is Josh's world at age 2 weeks. Josh moves around a lot and is very squirmy, so we are thinking that he may roll over at a pretty young age. Who knows. He seems to be a relatively good baby and not fuss too much. (Knock on wood). Yet, he doesn't always want to go right back to bed after his 3am feeding. Mommy sure does. We are still learning how to calm him relatively quickly. It always seems that he fusses at the wrong time. Is there ever a right time?

Josh had a nice visit with his grandparents from Florida for the week. He enjoyed having them there and all the attention. Grandmom and Grandpop Uhr also enjoyed meeting their grandson and spending a lot of quality time with him. We know it was hard for them to leave. Yom Kippur was during their visit, and we had a nice Break the Fast dinner over at Grandmom and Grandpop Eichenholz's house. It was Josh's first outing out of the house besides a doctor's visit. (It was only 3 minutes away). Soon enough, Josh will get a little bigger and be able to really venture out into the real world. Mom is looking forward to taking him on her shopping trips.

At Joshua's 2 week doctor visit all went well. He now weighs 6 lbs 3 oz and is 19 1/4 inches long. The doctor said that the goal at the 2 week visit is to get his weight up to his birth weight. He surpassed it by 2 ounces so breast feeding is going well. Josh is a very hungry boy. He seems to eat every 2-3 hours with times where he eats, gets changed, and then wants to eat again.

The Bris

September 19, 2007

Joshua's Bris occurred on his 8th day of life as required by Jewish law.

"The first mitzvah experienced by the newborn boy is his Bris Milah, the ritual circumcision. It is through this highly significant ceremony that the child enters into the Covenant of our forefather Abraham and is given his Hebrew name, cementing an irrevocable bond between him and his Jewish soul".

You would think that I would be squeemish watching my son get circumcised. Yet, for some reason, I was really ok. Maybe because our Mohel was great. (A board certified pediatric surgeon and very calming personally). Maybe it was because we had our close family and friends there. I am not sure. However, I was quite calm during the ceremony. So was Keith. Josh did great as well. He took it like a man and didn't even cry!!! (That could have been due to the anaesthesia and wine he had). Keith's brother, Jason, warned us that Josh was going to scream. Yet, Josh was very brave. The ceremony was really nice and Joshua received his hebrew name - Baruch Yisrael. (Blessed Israel).

It was really nice for Keith and I to both have our brothers, Rob and Jason, fly in for the occassion. We know they were really excited to become uncles and meet their new nephew. Although the visit was short, it was really special to have them there.

Going Home

September 15, 2007

I spent 4 nights in the hospital. Today was the day that I got to go home. There were mixed emotions about going home. On the one hand, I was looking forward to bringing Joshua home and starting our new family. On the other hand, it was also a feeling of nervousness as things were easier in the hospital. I had doctors and nurses taking care of me and the baby, and I didn't really have to worry about anything. Now it is just me, Keith, and the baby. Keith and I didn't really know what to expect as new parents. Our friends could tell us their stories and give us advice, but until you experience it on your own, you just don't know.

In the Beginning

September 10, 2007

As far as I knew, it was a typical Monday. I woke up early and went to work. Throughout the day, I was feeling some minor contractions. They seemed like the Braxton Hicks kind but I could feel it a little more than before. It didn't hurt so I didn't think anything about it. At the end of the day, I felt another contraction and my coworker approached me. She noticed that I seemed to be having contractions of some sort all day. That prompted me to start timing them. 15 minutes, 13 minutes, 11 minutes, 15 minutes, 9 minutes, 7 minutes, 13 minutes, etc.... Sporadic contractions that were not getting closer together and not getting more intense. Yet, I was having contractions of some sort. I spoke to a few of my girlfriends with babies and no one really seemed to think anything of it. Being in early labor never entered my mind. At 8:30pm, Keith asked, "Are you in labor. Are you going to have the baby tonight? Can you have the baby tonight". (September 10th is Keith's mom's birthday. So, he thought it would be cool to have the baby on the same day). "No, Keith. The baby is not coming in the next 3 1/2 hours. I am not even in labor". Little did I know.

September 11, 2007

I woke up about 4:30am in excruciating pain. It was the worst lower abdominal pain that I have ever felt. I tried to lie down and go back to sleep, but the pain was way too intense. Keith woke up, and I told him that we can wait until the doctor's office opened up. I would be ok. Little did I know. 10 minutes later, Keith called the doctor''s office. 10 minutes after that, Keith called the hospital. The hospital asked the typical questions, "How far apart are the contractions, how long do they last? How long have they been occuring?" Once again, "I am not in labor". (My due date was in another 2 weeks, and I really didn't expect to be having the baby today. Little did I know our son was going to be born today). I just had excrutiating pain in my lower abdomen that was a constant pain. The doctor at the hospital said to wait it out. Another 10 minutes goes by, and I am still in constant pain. Keith calls the hospital again, and the doctor asks the same questions. This prompts me to try to pay attention to the pain. It turns out that the reason it seemed to be constant pain is that the contractions were occuring 2-3 minutes apart and lasting for about 1 minute. Keith called the hospital for the 3rd time, and they told us to come in.

We left for the hospital around 6:30am. Me going into labor and driving to the hospital during rush hour traffic was one of our fears. It took us about 45 minutes to drive to the hospital from Rockville to DC. It was a very long 45 minutes. Keith driving like a maniac, speeding when he could, driving in the break down lane, honking at the other cars and flashing his lights screaming "My wife is in labor. Move over". Commuters looking at Keith like he was crazy. Then there was me sitting in the back seat screaming in agony and yelling at Keith "Slow down" during my very short break in pain. We arrived at the hospital at 7:15am, went up to the 3rd floor, and I collapsed on the floor. (It was more like me falling to the floor and kissing the ground, thinking how happy I was to be there. They will take away my pain).

I went into a labor and delivery room, and they got me connected to the fetal and contraction monitors. The nurse helped me breath and manage the contractions. (The way I was manging the contractions, by screaming, I guess was not the right way to do it). 0 centimeters dilated. "Are you kidding me?" The nurse made some comment about probably sending me home since I am not dilated. "I am not going home until you take away the pain", I thought to myself. Keith said to me, "we are not leaving here until after rush hour traffic is over". Shortly after, I measured 2 centimeters dilated. Based on my level of pain and quickly dilating to 2 centimeters, they decided to keep me there. Bring on the Epidural!!!

At 10am, the Edpidural set in and I was feeling much better. We spent the next few hours hanging out in the labor and delivery room waiting for me to reach 10 centimeters dilated. At 3:35pm, I was finally ready to push. Almost 4 hours later, I was still pushing. Unfortunately, I wasn't going to be able to deliver naturally. The baby had his head turned the wrong way. The doctor tried to turn it. But, the stubborn baby kept moving his head back. Couple that with my "prominant" tailbone, and a C-Section was ordered.

Joshua Brett Eichenholz arrived at 8:11pm on September 11 weighing 6 lbs 1 oz and measuring 19 inches long.