Category: family | { Steven Haddox's Blog }

Welcome to the World, Riley Jack.

2010-10-02T00:00:00-04:00

It's hard to believe you're already here.

There was so much more I had hoped to do before you arrived, but I suppose that's something you learn on your own as you grow up. No matter how much you do, there will always be more to get done. It's up to you to each of us to decide what is the most important and what really matters each and every day of our lives. Documenting this important time in my life is one of these things I value as important. Here is your story.

Your mother, @katiecupcake, had been having contractions for nearly a week and was 4cm dilated for quite some time before she finally went into real labor with you. She started having the final sprint of contractions on the evening of Tuesday, Sep. 28th around 7:30pm. At about 10:15pm her contractions were just under 3 minutes apart and lasting a good 1 to 1.5 minutes. We left for Frederick Memorial Hospital (Frederick, MD) at 12:15am on Wednesday morning, Sep. 29th.

At 12:45am we had finished all our paperwork and were in triage to have mama's progress evaluated. At 1:05am she was 5cm dilated and 80% effaced and you were in a position of -1. She started some antibiotics to help you keep from getting Strep B at 1:25am. At 1:30am I was able to run out and update Aunt Sherry as to your status. At 1:47am I had to go to security and get a visitor badge so I could get back in to see mama (you'd think they would have told me that before hand). I made it back at 1:55am and Katie was admitted at 2:06am (labor & delivery room 1042).

At 2:23am all of us were situated and the nurse came in to ask mama some questions at 2:28am. At 4:27am Aunt Sherry had a nurse come and check your mama's status. She had progressed to a 8.5cm dilated. Then the nurse said, "You're not going to like this..." and went on to explain that the anesthesiologist was in an emergency c-section that wasn't likely to end soon. Then she said, "...but it gets even better. Your doctor is in there too!" Your mom kind of had a panic attack as she realized she wasn't going to be able to get an epidural and she was about to deliver you to a complete stranger. At 4:34am your mother was a full 10cm dilated, but the nurses weren't ready for you yet so they had to keep asking her to try her hardest not to push!

At 4:42am (some 8 minutes or so later) they finally told Katie she could push. By this point she was insanely stressed and overwhelmed. It took a few minutes for her to stop fighting the contractions, but with Aunt Sherry's help and her own determination she gave birth to you in less than 15 minutes at 4:57am. I can honestly say I have never been more proud of your mom. She didn't swear once even though it was easily the worst pain she has ever been in. Her love for you is undeniable and will be something you can depend on throughout your entire life - no matter what!

You scored really well on your APGAR tests (an 8/9). You were a lot bigger than we expected at 8 pounds 7 ounces and 20.25" long (your sister, Paisley, was only 6 pounds 7 ounces and 19.5" long). You have the most amazing hair. It's perfectly dark and is styled better than I could ever get (even when I pay lots of money for it). Consider your father already jealous of you as you are constantly the center of attention because of how amazing you look and how adorable you are!

Your grandma ("mimi") flew all the way out from Arizona to meet you. Your grandpa ("papa") and your mama's twin brother Tyler did too, but you came out a day too late to see both of them. Your Uncle Jake and Aunt Jennie (plus your cousins Kenneth and Annabella) all came up the weekend before you were born as well hoping to catch you. We were so sad they all missed you, but we wanted to let you know that they tried!

Your sister, Paisley Jane, has already taken such a strong attachment to you. She has held you so much and gives you lots and lots of kisses. Last night she had a hard time sleeping so I was sitting on the couch holding you while you slept and she laid next to me. She started out by holding my hand, but before I knew it she had let go of my hand to reach up and hold your foot. I never would have believed that such an amazingly simple act could melt my heart, but I broke out into tears instantly. I hope you two can always love each other and look out for each other in the difficult world we live in!

With all my hopes and dreams for what the future holds of you,

Steven.Joseph.Haddox

PS - It only took you 52 hours to pee on me, and I couldn't have been happier or more proud about it! I love you son.

My First Father's Day

2008-06-16T00:00:00-04:00

As I woke up yesterday morning I was greeted to a loving wife who looked at me and said, "I'll get her, you sleep in. It's Father's Day." I had completely forgotten the occasion and was too tired (as I always am) to argue. I gratefully rolled over and slept for another few hours while Katie took care of Paisley and let me sleep.

Katie made me a beautiful Father's Day card from Paisley that was adorable. I never could decide what I wanted for Father's Day (seeing how the iPhone 3G doesn't come out until July 11th). As a result I finally just asked Katie if we can get a dashboard base for our GPS so it doesn't keep attacking her when it decides to fall off of the windshield when we accelerate from a stop-light. It's definitely something I've been wanting for a while and it will be nice to get that annoyance done with :)

Otherwise, Katie watched a movie while Paisley napped and I was able to work on one of my side-projects that I've been unable to get to in entirely too long. I made some good progress and got the basic theming taken care of (I still have to implement some AJAX goodness but nothing new there). The site is getting much closer and with a few Rails plugins (RESTful Authentication, and a WYSIWYG editor) it should be good to go. After that I an tackle one of my many other side-projects....

We went over to Katie's family's house for Sunday dinner and had some really good enchiladas (beef and chicken). There was also some great dessert (lots of fruits, apple crisp, and some pie).

When we got home I started a second load of dishes as I've procrastinated them for too long. Katie told me that she felt bad having me do dishes on Father's Day and I told her that I enjoyed doing the dishes on Father's Day as it is part of what being a father is all about. Once they were completed I felt like I finally had the first productive weekend I've had in a while around the house. My chores are mostly taken care of and I'm slowly getting caught up on my huge list of to-dos for paperwork related issues. It's not to be enjoyed for too long though. Later this month we need to start the packing process to get ourselves ready for another move in September.

So, to all the dad's out there who I may not have said it to in person, "Happy Father's Day."

So Cute I Cried

2008-05-19T00:00:00-04:00

Katie has spent a lot of time teaching Paisley what "loves" (or "luvs" as I think of them due to some diaper company marketing I'm sure) are over the past several months. "Luvs" are when we kiss Paisley on the cheek and then she returns the favor by leaning towards our cheek with a wide-open mouth so as to distribute as much slobber as possible amongst maximum surface-area on our face.

Paisley routinely gives Katie luvs several times throughout most days (and generally multiple times in a row). She also gives luvs to pretty much any female-related family member on Sunday (two aunts, a grammy, and possibly grandma as well). Even papa (Katie's dad) gets luvs more than I do some weeks.

Don't get me wrong, Paisley has given me luvs every now and again as well. Maybe once every week or two I'll get a couple of kisses or an intentional hug. However, tonight all that changed. Tonight after we had finished Paisley's routine of feeding her, then bathing her, then letting her nurse she acted like she wanted to be held by daddy a few minutes. So as I picked her up and started to hold her she came towards my cheek with a big open mouth. Not her normal size mouth either, it was full-on daddy cheek drenchage as she gave me at least 15 luvs in a matter of 3 minutes or so. I couldn't believe it. Katie got quite a few as well, but nowhere nearly as many as she gave me. It had me in tears within one or two minutes once I got over the surprise. My little girl finally gave me a lotta luv!

Anyway, that's enough mushy stuff for one blog entry ;) Back to helping around the house and reading for me.

To Grandma & Grandpa Haddox

2008-04-01T00:00:00-04:00

Paisley just wanted to say hi really quickly :)

A message for Grandma & Grandpa Haddox

And So It Begins

2007-09-23T00:00:00-04:00

At about 5:30 pm this evening Katie started going into early labor. She's been having contractions on and off for a few days now (Thursday evening for four hours, last night throughout the night and a few hours this morning). But as of 5:30 pm this evening she started having contractions lasting from 30 to 52 seconds (averaging between 37 to 45 seconds) about every 4 to 8 minutes. This has been going on for about 4 hours now pretty darn consistently.

As a result we've done our research and are biding the advice of our caregiver and waiting until she starts having contractions every 5 minutes lasting at least 60 seconds where it is hard for her to smile or talk during them. Once this happens consistently for an hour we'll head to the hospital.

So I guess we just sit and wait to see how things progress. We'll keep an eye on them frequently and see if they keep progressing. Early labor is supposed to last an average of 8 hours (but can take less or more depending upon each person). If we stick to the average we'll be heading to the hospital in about another 4 hours at the earliest. We'll keep everyone posted through phone calls and blogs, etc.

Here goes to hoping we can welcome Paisley into the world soon!