worth a thousand words

Good people,

The pics on the link below show a glimpse of everything Sophie went through in the hospital. She quickly recovered from her collapsed lung but was subjected to the blue "Billy" lights to treat the jaundice for the remainder of her stay. We're still battling it with a light at home but jaundice is not a big deal...

She is an incredibly good baby. We were worried the first couple of days we had her home because she NEVER cried. Jen woke up in the middle of the night twice to find her searching for a milk spicket (breast) without making a sound. She has become more vocal - especially when we change her diapers but for the most part she is pretty content just taking it all in.

Click here to see her...

She's home...

Hello All,

I'm going to keep this relatively short because I'm sure the thing most people are interested in is pictures and I won't have them until we get my sis-in-law's camera cord. Baby Sophie is home as of noon today and she has acclimated well. When we were in the hospital, I thought she might be a cryer, but I couldn't have been more wrong. What was really happening, it seems, was that she didn't like being poked in the foot for 1/2-dozen different blood tests. She also didn't like having to wear completely blacked out goggles to be sandwiched between Billirubin lights, nor did she enjoy being stuck for IVs, having a bath, or being woke for scheduled feedings. A baby doesn't like that stuff?? ....who knew??

Anyhew, she is a very content baby. Feed her, burp her, and change her diaper and she will reward you with a quiet and adorable fascination of the world around her. Even the crazy light we were sent home with doesn't faze her; she still has jaundice and we need to keep her on the silly thing until her Billirubin levels are lowered. Ryan is almost as bad as me about crowding her space and drowning her in kisses. He loves her.

Jen asked me in the hospital how I felt about having her and I didn't answer her well then. I will answer here again... I cannot put to words the awesome and humbling feeling of overwhelming love and adoration I feel for this little girl. It's very strange to feel such a bond with someone I've never met before and I can't stand it when she's out of my sight. I hated that she had to sleep in the hospital nursery (2 rooms down from ours) when she was under the Billirubin lights, and I suspect I will have an equally hard time moving her out of our bedroom when she is ready to move to her crib (in Ryan's room, about 15 ft from me) in a few months.

It's been a crazy week with very little quality sleep. Jen & I have talked to many people so if we made plans to call you, scratch them and call us instead... I will post pics as soon as possible, but trust me, she is adorable. Thanks to all who visited us in the hospital and to those who didn't, I hope we see you soon.

~Curtis

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sophie Lorraine Stratton is here! Born 4/18/07 at 8:24pm after an arduous labor by Mother. She weighs in at 7 lbs and was 19" at birth!!

She was born with pneumo-thorax, meaning she has a partially collapsed lung. She is under an oxygen tent (her Dr. calls it a "head box" - ??) and is already doing better as the lung seems to be filling out. Jen is doing well.

Sorry this is short - I'm just home to pick up a few things then I'm back to the hospital but I wanted to share the news! Later people.

I think today is the day people... Jen has been having contractions for 17 hrs and a few other symptoms that lead us to believe it. I'll update as soon as possible...

The home stretch

The Good: Jen is 50% effaced. She is dilated 1 - 1.5 centimeters and all delivery conditions are progressing well.

The Bad: Doc Mohling said Jen most likely will NOT deliver BEFORE next Friday. Although, he also said it's a crap-shoot and she could deliver tonight...

The Ugly: Jen had protein in her urine and high blood pressure. Two symptoms of preeclampsia. Read more about it here. We have to take a urine sample in to the hospital this weekend to be tested. If it tests above some threshold (a level of protein in the urine, I assume), we go in on Monday to deliver baby Glenda Lou.

So, another update will be coming soon. A week at most.

Good people, I say good day to you.

And we wait...

I won't go into the details, but we have reason to believe baby Juanita will be with us very soon. We have an appointment tomorrow so we should have a better idea then. Forget about another belly pic. I promise I will post updates immediately. ......which, of course, means I will post updates within 5 days. I will give 4:1 odds* that she is with us by this time next week.

* - all odds and bets may or may not be honored, depending solely on whether I win or lose.

A tunnel. Some light.

Good people I say Hello,

It's crunch time people. The baby dropped (which is also called "lightening") over 2 weeks ago and Jen's been having contractions almost as often as American Idol is on (a show which after the hilarity of the mass auditions is over, brings tears of boredom and pain to my baby browns).

We had a Dr. appointment last night and Jen is 20-25% effaced. I will post some information on exactly what "effacement" is once I've done some research. Jen tried explaining it to me last night when we went to bed but I was thinking about the Packers and their infuriating lack of activity in the free agent market this off-season. There is little hope that the draft will be able to fulfill their glaring needs (at least as many needs as the number of times American Idol is on), and playing the crap-shoot of grabbing other teams' has-beens once roster cuts start is NOT going to give them the talent nor the depth needed to go anywhere in the play-offs. And whatever happened to the Randy Moss trade?! ....ok, sorry.

As I'm typing this, my lovely wife sent me a site with some info. Click here.

We are still looking at homes, but we've had NO activity with ours. The housing market is only good for one group of people right now: first-time buyers/non-contingent buyers. And even that statement is debatable because many market analysts/economonists are saying that dipping home price indexes may not have bottomed out yet. This is bad news for our heroes. I realize this may sound selfish but I would REALLY rather not be on the road over 2 hours a day with a new baby in the house. Luckily I have 2 weeks off after young Lucretia's birth. ...maybe after those 2 weeks, I'll be happy to spend 2 hrs/day on the road? J/K.

I'd like to get another belly pic tonight or tomorrow so check back soon.

Curtis, out.