Day 11 - July 30 - My first cookout

Last night, I slept 6 hours in a row! Unbelievable! Mommy woke up at 6AM all in a panic wondering what had happened to me.

Today was also my first cookout at Aunt Karen and Uncle Vernon's. We were celebrating Tonton's birthday. Too bad I didn't get any hamburgers or hotdogs.

Day 9 - July 27 - Giving gifts to Daddy

More on the poo saga...

I have been eating very well the past few days and that is evident by the copious amount of diapers that I go through. This morning, Mommy was holding me, and she heard some gas escape. She handed me over to Daddy, who went into the other room to check my diaper. (Daddy is the official diaper-changer in the family.)

I only had a drop of poo, but since I had some pee, Daddy went ahead and started changing me. While he was cleaning me off, I had another little spurt of poo into the wipe. Daddy pulled the wipe away, but Mommy warned him that I might go off again. No sooner had Daddy put the wipe back next to my bottom but I exploded poo all into his hand.

At least I didn't spew all over the furniture, like I did for Mommy last week. :)

From Asher's Blog

Today was also my first day outside. Mommy took the quilt my Aunt Karen gave me and spread it out in the backyard under the big tree. Daddy was worried that it was too hot and too sunny for me... after all, it would have been too hot and too sunny for him! However, she hopes that the sun will do me some good as far as getting on a daytime-nitetime schedule.

Day 7 - July 26 - Holding my head up!

Today, I am one week old! To celebrate, I went to MeMaw and Big Daddy's again for dinner, but I didn't get any swiss steak or mashed potatoes, unless you count the fact that I got them indirectly through Mommy a couple of hours later.

My big developmental moment is that I held my head way up today on my own... both for Big Daddy and for Daddy. Everyone says that I am strong and brilliant, and I'm trying to keep it from going directly to my head. Also, I was laying on the couch with Big Daddy, and I was able to turn over onto my side. I haven't quite been able to do it since, but that doesn't keep me from trying.

Day 5 - Friday, July 24 - First visit to MeMaw & Big Daddy's

On Friday, I had to go to the doctor again. This meant another bath. Daddy gave me this one while Mommy got ready to leave... this was a little traumatic for me, but I felt so good and clean afterwards, I forgave Daddy.


Dr. Kuduk was really pleased with my progress. (1) I had gained 4 whole ounces and was now up to 9 lb 5 oz. I should only be gaining 1 oz/day, so I had gained twice the average. Go Mommy! (2) I have grown and should be able to be circumcised in a couple of weeks. As long as we do it before I'm one month old, I should only need local anethesia.

Friday was also the day that I had my first official visit(s). First, we had dinner at my MaMaw Della's house. MaMaw lives right down the road from us, so we didn't have very far to go at all. I ate before we left, but Mommy and Daddy had salmon patties, corn on the cob, tomatoes, mashed potatoes, and rolls. I am looking forward to being able to eat MaMaw's homecooking sometime soon!

After MaMaw's, Mommy and Daddy decided to go visit MeMaw and Big Daddy, too. I had not seen Big Daddy in a couple of days, and Mommy assumed he was going through withdrawal.

Day 3 - Wednesday, July 22, 2009 - Doctors and Diapers

Today I had my first trip to my pediatrician, Dr. Kuduk. Before I went, though, I had to have my first sponge bath. MeMaw was there to tell Mommy exactly what to do, so I wasn't too badly scared.

From Asher's Blog

I had already met Dr. Kuduk twice in the nursery at the hospital, but it was nice to be able to get out of the house for a little while. I was on very good behavior and had gained an ounce. I had lost 9 oz in the hospital, but after just one day at home with Mommy and Daddy, I was back up to 9 lb 1 oz. I also got to wear a cute outfit that my Aunt SheShe got for me.

After examining my nether regions, Dr. Kuduk casually asked if I had sprayed Mommy or Daddy yet while being changed. They said 'no', 'cause up until then, I had been on very good diaper behavior. As soon as Dr. Kuduk left the examining room, however, I had a poo. When Daddy went to change my diaper, I sprayed pee everywhere. It got all over the paper on the table and went under my back. Mommy tried to block the spray with her hand, but then she could do nothing but laugh. It took them a while to get me situated. Thank goodness for the change of clothes in Mommy's diaper bag!

Later that night, I had another diaper incident. Mommy was sitting on the sofa with me on the boppy pillow next to her. She heard this wet blow-out come from the direction of my bottom, and when she looked down, I had pooped out the side of my diaper, all over the boppy pillow, and down in between two cracks of the sofa. Daddy was having a heart attack about the sofa. Tatie Monique was there, and she took care of me while Mommy threw everything she could in the washing machine and Daddy tried to clean off the sofa cushions. Luckily for them, they have that microsuade stuff on the couch which is completely stain-proof and my poo came right off.

However, Daddy thought he was doing the right thing by cleaning my poo off in the kitchen sink because he didn't want to get poo in the washing machine. Mommy went ballistic over the poo in the kitchen sink because that's where she cooks food. Since then, I think she's been rinsing my poo in the toilet where it belongs.

Day 2 - Tuesday, July 21 - Going Home!

I was named Tuesday morning at 6:00 a.m., almost 48-hours after my birth. The nurse came in with the paperwork for my birth certificate, and although she told Mommy and Daddy that they did not have to name me before leaving the hospital, that is kinda what they had promised the other members of the family. With a big breath, they named me Asher Watson Caudill. I like it!

On Tuesday, Mommy and I were cleared to leave the hospital! I was not badly jaundiced, and Dr. Kuduk said everything was looking good. Unfortunately, he wanted to wait to circumcise me, so I will have to go back in a few weeks for outpatient surgery. At least I don't have any idea what's going to happen! :)

Dr. Pascuzzi released Mommy, who didn't need the wheelchair and walked out of the hospital on her own. Go Mommy!

Tatie Monique had decorated my new home. There was a sign in the front yard announcing my birth (without a name of course) and balloons on the mailbox. Tatie was very happy to write my name on the sign... finally!

Although I have a beautiful nursery, Mommy and Daddy set up a bassinet in their bedroom so they didn't have to be separated from me. Although they were tired from rooming in with me at the hospital, I think they secretly enjoyed having me that close. :)

I also had my first tummy time with Daddy that evening. I really liked laying on his chest and listening to him snore.

Day 1 - Monday, July 20

The following day, I still was "Baby Boy Caudill." Mommy and Daddy were together considering Parker and Asher. Daddy was still thinking about Gabriel, and Mommy had thrown Boaz into the mix. Asher was actually a pretty late entry, coming in the week before or so because Mommy ran across it on a biblical names site. She liked that it meant "happy" or "blessed" --- that is exactly how she felt when she thought about me! However, after my precipitous delivery, she thought that she might prefer a name that meant "quick." On his iPhone, Tonton found Boaz meant "swiftness," and Mommy thought that she could call me "Bo" for short, since Beau was on their original name list. However, Daddy thought Boaz was too weird. Everyone was getting impatient calling me Peanut for sure.

Mommy and I spent most of the day trying to get in the swing of things with nursing. I had some good sessions and some bad sessions, to be sure.

I also had two portrait sessions. One with the hospital photographer, and one with my cousin Whitney. I can't post the one from the photographer, as it is copyrighted, but I can post a similar one that my Mommy made that's not nearly as good. I will also post a couple from Whitney...

My Birth Story

At our 39-week appointment, Dr. Pascuzzi informed my parents that, although he respected their wishes for a natural childbirth, he did not feel comfortable allowing the pregnancy to continue beyond 41 weeks. With apprehension, they agreed to an induction on July 27.

They decided to begin natural induction techniques the weekend of my due date. On July 18, they walked in the morning, they walked in the evening, and they pulled weeds in our front yard. Mommy drank two cups of Raspberry Leaf tea and began using Evening Primrose Oil. Tatie Monique and Mommy played Mario Kart until 11:30; and after she left, Mommy went to bed.

At 1 a.m., Mommy got up to use the bathroom, and when she lay back down, she had her first contraction. She had been worried that she wouldn’t recognize a true contraction when it came, but there was no mistaking it. She smiled to herself with a little excitement and settled back into the bed to try to fall back asleep.

Before she was able to fall asleep, however, she had another contraction. She thought that it was strange to have another contraction so soon, so she tried again to get some rest. At that point, they had to be coming every five minutes or so; so she got up and went to the kitchen to prepare a bowl of cereal and drink a glass of milk. She didn’t want to go walking at midnight, so she opted next to try the shower. Nothing provided any relief, so she finally went back to the bedroom to wake Daddy up about 1:45. She nudged him and said, “I think we are go,” but he barely moved. She nudged him a little harder, and he told her to go back to sleep. If they really were in labor, he reasoned, it would be a long day ahead of them. She told him that they were coming too fast for her to rest.

Daddy reluctantly got up. Mommy lay down in the side relaxation position and tried unsuccessfully to get comfortable. Daddy tried to keep her calm, got her water, and sat on the bed with her; but he did not begin timing her contractions.

After forty-five minutes or so, Mommy went to the bathroom, and her mucous plug came out. Mommy told Daddy to call Miss Deb, but he argued that it wasn’t really Mommy's mucous plug. He was in denial about what was really happening. Mommy got online and looked up pictures of mucous plugs to confirm what had happened; and She even left the mucous plug on the sink in case someone needed to see it later. Daddy finally called Miss Deb at 2:45.

Daddy told Miss Deb that the mucous plug had come out but there was no bloody show. Miss Deb thought this sounded promising and suggested some things to do to keep Mommy comfortable. Daddy also began timing contractions. As they started timing contractions, Daddy told Mommy that we must be doing something wrong. The contractions were lasting about a minute and coming every three minutes or less.

Daddy got Mommy out of bed to try to slow the labor, so they danced and Mommy labored on the birthing ball. Daddy drew a bath for her, and she lay down in the tub hoping to find some relief. It felt good to immerse herself almost completely into the water, with just her face above. She was so thirsty that she turned her head to the side and drank the bathwater… she didn’t even care at that point.

However, all Mommy wanted to do was be in bed. At the next bathroom visit, she noticed bloody show. By this point, she was in complete misery and almost unable to relax.

The contractions were coming very quickly. Mommy made Daddy call Miss Deb back. She was asking him questions about Mommy's labor, and rather than answer, he would then relay the question to her. Mommy vaguely remembers him asking about her contractions and her snapping, “I’m having one NOW.”

Around that time, Daddy told Miss Deb that there must be something wrong because my last contraction was a minute and forty seconds long and less than 3 minutes apart. It seemed as though she would have a strong contraction and then a weaker contraction. She was unable to relax at this point: she tried to avoid crying out by clapping her hands. The pain was unbearable, and she told Daddy she couldn’t do it any more.

Shortly thereafter, the contractions stopped, and Mommy was able to get out of bed. She went to the bathroom, got something to drink, and rested. Time seemed to stand still. Suddenly, waves of an indescribable sensation began to come over her body. As these contractions began to peak, Mommy felt an overwhelming urge to go to the bathroom. She went into the bathroom and labored on the toilet, in case she had an accident. Daddy stood in front of her and rubbed her back until each contraction passed; it felt so good to Mommy. She went back to the bedroom to see if she could resume the side relaxation position, but she couldn’t get comfortable.

Daddy then suggested that she take a shower; and it was there that it dawned on her. She was finally able to use the bathroom but got absolutely no relief. In fact, she thought to herself, “Perhaps I need to tuck my chin,” and she suddenly realized that she was trying to push the baby out. She told Daddy to call Miss Deb and that they needed to leave immediately.

All her plans for delivery day were gone. She did not make brownies for the nurses. She did not fix her hair. She did not put in her contact lenses. She did not finish packing. They got into the car and began the trip to the hospital. Thank goodness we were only a few minutes away! Daddy was speeding, of course, and all Mommy could do was yell at him to slow down. She was trying not to push in the car, but it was so difficult.

They pulled into the emergency room parking lot at 5:15 a.m., only 4 hours after beginning labor. Daddy was sure that Mommy was barely dilated and that we would be sent home, so he left the camera and all our personal items in the car with the exception of Mommy's pillow. Mommy sat down in the waiting area while Daddy spoke with the girl at the desk. As she had another contraction, the girl asked her if she could come over and sign some papers; she said no. The girl then offered to come over to Mommy. She slapped a signature and date on the form, and they were ready to go to the maternity ward. The girl told Mommy that she had to wait until they brought a wheelchair. She doesn’t really remember what happened next, but the girl said, “well, it’s procedure for you to be wheeled down there, but since you threatened me, I guess you can walk.”

The walk down the hallway from the emergency room to the women’s care center seemed never ending. She had two contractions as we went down the hall. She put her hands around Daddy's neck and pressed her back into the wall. A group of orderlies came by and asked if they could get her a wheelchair; She basically told them no and to go away.

When we finally made it to the maternity ward, the nurses were waiting to get her settled into the labor and delivery room. Daddy tried to explain to Barb, the nurse on duty, what her symptoms were as she went into the bathroom to have a contraction on the toilet. Barb asked if Mommy wanted to put on a robe or wear her own clothes, but they asked for an immediate cervical exam instead. Imagine their surprise when she told us that we were “complete.” Daddy looked at Mommy and said, “I guess I need to start making some phone calls.”

Barb called out, “I need a table and Dr. Pascuzzi!” Another nurse asked when we needed the doctor, and Barb yelled “NOW.” She asked if she could give Mommy an IV, but she asked for the hep lock instead. Then Barb positioned the external fetal monitor to get a reading on me. As soon as the hep lock and fetal monitor were in place, Barb told Mommy she could start pushing. However, she wanted to wait for Miss Deb and Dr. Pascuzzi to show up and fought the urge to push for a little longer.

Miss Deb and the doctor arrived around 5:40 a.m. Dr. Pascuzzi checked on me and then went to go get his coffee, and Mommy began pushing. Even though it felt so good to be finally able to push, she couldn’t remember what she was supposed to do. She forgot to grab her legs and had a tendency to raise her arms above her head; Daddy and Miss Deb kept reminding her to keep them down. Then, after having held her breath through the pushing contractions, she breathed too rapidly afterwards and was given an oxygen mask. Miss Deb asked if Mommy wanted to change positions, but she did not want to get off her back.

When Dr. Pascuzzi came back, we had made some progress, but my heart rate was not recovering quick enough after contractions. It was holding in the 80s. Mommy heard Dr. Pascuzzi say, “there comes a time when I will choose to intervene, and the time is coming soon.” Thinking that he was talking about a c-section, she put pushing into overdrive, pushing beyond what she thought possible.

Even though Mommy and Daddy had hoped to avoid an episiotomy, Dr. Pascuzzi told Mommy that if he made two snips, I would come out the next push. Mommy remembers mumbling for him not to make promises in case it wasn’t really the next push. He used some local anesthetic before making the cut. In the background, Mommy heard Dr. Pascuzzi explain that after the head was out, Miss Deb and Daddy would need to move aside so that the nurses could push me out; and before I knew it, that’s what happened. Mommy pushed, she felt warmth as my head passed through, she had some realization that the nurses were on either side of her pushing, and then I was out and placed on her chest at 6:10 a.m.

They began administering pitocin through Mommy's hep lock to help start uterine contractions and stop bleeding. Since I had made it through medication free, Mommy felt it was okay to have drugs now.

Daddy cut my umbilical cord, and Mommy looked down at the most beautiful baby Mommy had ever seen. We had no camera in the delivery room, so someone went to go get Memaw to take some pictures. Meanwhile, the nurse put the drops in my eyes, gave me a vitamin shot, and took my temperature. I took all of this extremely well until it was time to get my footprints, and then I screamed my head off.

After only a few minutes, Dr. Pascuzzi told Mommy to give one more push, and the placenta was delivered. Happily, she never saw it at all.

It seemed like forever and yet just a few minutes when they came to take me away to the nursery. Daddy went to watch over me during all the newborn procedures; and Miss Deb sat with Mommy as she marveled in the wonder that was our 5 hour birth. Mommy finally had the time to fill out the hospital paperwork that she normally would have completed beforehand; and she was very anxious to see me again. As soon as she was able, she got up and walked to the bathroom with the aid of the nurse. After successfully going to the bathroom on her own, she asked to be moved into her recovery room, which they had not even had time to prepare. Like a champion, she refused the wheelchair and walked to our room where my entire family was waiting to welcome us!