First Birthday This Weekend!

Wow, it has really been one year. Our kid is walking (sort of), talking (sort of), signing (sort of) and just generally being the best kid ever. I can't write too much as I am working at the moment but I did want to get this thread started. I promise to do a full report after this weekend. I am really looking forward to this and I can't believe everyone who is coming over for P's first party. This will be the biggest party we have hosted in the house. No surprise, everyone like her better than us. :-)

More to come but hopefully you are all coming!

Almost Nine Months In...

I honestly can't believe it.

Nine months. The one thing I have heard over and over again is how fast it goes. I feel if I blink too long she will be in college. That's how fast this is going. We are already planning her first birthday party. Wow.

However, if time flys when you are having fun, how much fun must I be having? I think part of what makes it easy is we really do have a good kid. I mean this in not the usual 'It's my kid so everything she does is so freakin' perfect' sort of way. I mean it as she is sleeping through the night, happy and playful sort of way. Sleeping through the night is important as that makes papa happy and when papa is happy, we are all happy.... Just kidding.

I know that what routine we have this week may change by next. I know it and expect it. I know she may start to get an attitude. I know that I don't really know much. That much I do know. But really, who cares? I mean, I come home every day to see these bright blue eyes and my day is complete. Our caregiver at the daycare always tells us that Porter is a 'happy' baby. That to me is the best compliment anyone can give me as that is my number one goal in life. It may not be when she explains why every other kid has a cell phone and mommy works at the cell phone company and I am unfair and she hates me and .... I digress. Stay in the moment, Dave.

Ok, so what is new with Porter? Well, for starters, she is a stones throw away from walking. She has always liked standing, but she now is strong enough to hold herself up. Right up to the point where she falls over. She was never one for tummy time, which means crawling is just so last month. She has started to kick her legs out and can almost walk as long as you help the balance. Oh, did I mention that NOTHING in the house is child proofed yet. Yep.


She talks a lot but is still struggling with rudimentary calculus. I know, I should do better as a teacher but I am doing my best. I think she said her first word the other day. I believe it was 'Aaaarrrrggguuuhhhhppphhhttttt'. She says it a lot actually. We don't know if it means 'Kitty' in her language or 'I am working on a really big poop.' Putting it in context, it could mean both actually.


On the serious side we have been trying to teach her sign language. She does see it, responds to it but doesn't do it on her own. I think this is about natural but as I said before, who knows? She is technically coming up on eight months but just looking at the weight and size of a normal baby, um... I think our kid is on the large size.


P is just about to finish her first round of swim classes. This has been an absolute blast. No surprise as both parents love the water that we gave birth to a fish. The craziest part was when we dunked her she started kicking with her legs. It was like a natural response. She opens her eyes under water and just loves being in the pool. We did find she was not a fan of the life jacket. This could be a problem as what is a summer weekend without a boat. Especially someone else's boat who paid for it all winter while not using it... I digress.


The fact is she is doing great. We are doing great. I am having the time of my life right now. I am blessed to have such a wonderful family and that we are healthy (and still employed). I will hopefully soon (right, the kid was 7 pounds lighter on the last post) put up some video soon. I have to tell you we have been so busy. I mean I know every parent is but I come home, we play with the kid, I work out (yes almost every day) and then it's off to bed. Today was a day off from working out so you are all blessed with my wit and lack of wisdom.



Since I forgot to mention earlier, Porter is 21+ pounds now. Papa is getting a sweet bicep pickup up this little kettle ball.

14 & 1/2 pounds and counting!

It's been a while since I posted. Tomorrow will be Aub's first day back at work. This has to be hard for a mom. I could easily spend every day just hanging out with this kid but I also understand that the bond from the mother is especially strong. The part Aub is having the hardest time with is that we will spend a short time with her in the morning and a little time at night. Porter goes to bed so early this may not be enough for mom to get her fix!

Aub is taking it all in stride however. She is a strong woman, and I am very proud of her. I do hope that Porter takes some of the many wonderful qualities my wife has. From me I just hope she gets my twisted sense of humor and the ability to laugh at yourself. The rest she can get from mom.

What I really should do is post the many lists that have appeared around this house. I do happen to live with a true planner; a good compliment to the seat of the pants living that I prefer. While the items may not all be spelled correctly, she is really good at this. I know event planners that are not this organized. The vehicle is fueled, the lunch is packed, Porter's stuff is loaded (or labeled and in place to be packed), laundry is done. I, um... well, I cleaned. A little. That was my contribution.

Ok, back to my usual gushing about my beautiful kid...

There is nothing like your own child's smile. I look into her eyes and I am just in awe that this little girl is only four months old and she seems to understand so much. I love that I can make her smile with just words. Words that I know she can't understand, but from my intonations, she interprets that I love her. At least I hope she does. Maybe she just really enjoys having more hair than I do. Speaking of which, her hair was falling out but seems to be growing back slowly. She still has this thick patch in the back which does look quite silly sometimes (unless she is going for the male patter baldness look).

The good news is we found a great day care and we really like the gal who watches Porter. We were undecided for so long what we would do for care for her but I think we have found a great solution. When Aub finally wins the lottery, there may be a change. Until then, we will stick to plan 'B' but I expect the lottery to come through soon.

Haloween is just two days away. Expect some sweet pictures soon of a 'P' in the pod. Thanks to Auntie Erica for the great costume. And if you didn't catch it from the title, she is putting on the pounds. She is now on the growth chart for a term baby (actually in the upper percentile). We may have a volleyball player on our hands. Check out those sweet, chubby legs. And these pictures are a few weeks old.

14 & 1/2 Weeks and counting

Ok, my second stab at blogging, please bare with be. First, I can't believe Porter is 3 months old and I can't believe I've lived my entire life without having Porter in it. She's amazing! The love I have for this little girl is overwhelming.

Sleeping - everyone asks about sleeping.
Porter has put us on a schedule. She likes to go down for the night around 8PM. As we approach 8PM we begin our nightly routine: bath, diaper change, jammies, SWADDLE and nursing while rocking. Since we moved her from her bassinet in our room into her crib in her very own room. She's been sleeping from 8PM to around 2AM. Moving her from our room to her own room has really helped both Porter AND Dave and I get a better night's sleep. Porter sleeping for six hours in a row is great. However, after 2AM she'll wake between 4:30-5:30 and then again around 6-7AM. The 4:30 feeding is a tough one, but we're making progress so that's all that counts.

Dave has been amazing! Often he'll get up with her at 6AM and rock her and/or change her diaper... whatever she needs to get her settled so I can get a few more zzzz. Once she is up for the morning, Dave will make me breakfast before he's off to work. It's been SO helpful to have breakfast in bed everyday while I'm feeding Porter. Dave makes a fantastic over-easy egg!

Huckleberry - Porter's tumor/birthmark

To date, Porter has had 3 laser treatments for the birthmark on her left cheek. Prior to the last treatment, Porter had a bad reaction to the numbing cream used to numb the site before the laser zap. Her poor little face around the birthmark ended up blistering and peeled off, leaving some open skin. Good news, Porter did not seem to be in any pain or discomfort. All the same, this scared Dave and I. After another topical Rx from the baby dermatologist, her skin has healed and she will have her 4th laser treatment this Thursday 10/9. The dermatologist estimates that Porter will have another 6 to 8 treatments (roughly every 3-4 weeks) and the birthmark will be significantly reduced, if not gone! We are anxious to have the small red circle gone from her face, regardless, we think she's the most beautiful little girl!

How life has changed

Everyone says life will change when you have kids, and this is an understatement! I never knew how much I could love someone until Porter came along. I nearly cry daily at all the little things she does, the smiles, her talking, her progress, the toots from her butt! Dave is extremely smitten too. Porter has him wrapped around her little finger.

Dave and I are doing our best to take care of one another too. We are making time each week for a date night for us. It's funny how much I look forward to these few hours a week! Our parents have been wonderful about watching Porter during these times. This past weekend was Dave's 39th birthday. Friday evening we dropped Porter off at Grandma McKim's house for the evening while we celebrated Dave's birthday with 20 or so friends. Saturday evening Grandma and Grandpa Pruatt came over to watch Porter while I took Dave out to dinner and Phantom Of The Opera. So we've been getting out a fair amount.
The down side, Porter has forgotten how to take a bottle... Something we learned all too well this weekend. The Grandparents had a rough time feeding her. My goal for the next two weeks is to reteach her to take breast milk from a bottle. I need to get her back on the waggon before Dave and I head to Leavenworth for our ONE YEAR anniversary (October 17th).
We can't thank our parents enough for helping out whenever we need a hand.

Porter's Development

Being a preemie (born 5 weeks and 4 days early), we've been curious how Porter would grow physically and progress mentally. Can she truly be called 14 weeks? Or is she more like a baby who is 8 weeks old?

Physically, Porter is growing like a weed. She weighs ~13lb (born @ 5lb 5oz). She's more than doubled her weight! As Dave likes to say, she's Papa's little "chow hound" and has "sausage legs". She does love to eat and poop & toot! She's also beginning to hold her head up on her own. It's a little wobbly, but she's getting better.

Mentally, we think Porter is right on track with a normal 3 month old. She's able to follow objects from side to side with her eyes. She's able to bat at objects in front of her. She's smiling when talked to and is beginning to laugh. The smiling and laughing brings tears to my eyes every time!!! Especially when she smiles for Dave!

How we spend our days

Porter and I generally spend our days going for walks in the morning. She likes to "work out" in her little floor gym between naps. Afternoons are spent getting a few things done, chores or making dinner for Papa!

Going Back to Work

Ho Hum, going back to work... I have a little over 3 weeks until I go back to work on October 30th. The past few weeks have been really tough coming to grips with the idea of leaving my baby girl everyday. To add to the fact I'll only get to see her a few hours a day, we are behind the 8 ball in regards to child care. Our whole timeline was shifted to the left with Porter's early arrival. We are on the waiting list for daycare at a FANTASTIC center, Bright Horizons. However, we had always planned on an early 2009 enrolment, with their waiting list being full, we'll be lucky to get in in January. So how to care for Miss Porter until then?

We have frantically been interviewing possible nannies, but I'm so apprehensive about leaving Porter alone, in our house, in a stranger's care!

We've also been researching other daycare centers, but waiting lists are LONG (Sept of 2009 in most cases). If only I didn't have to go back to work... with the economy turning the way it has the past few weeks, quiting my job is not an option (just plain silly to turn away my great job at T-Mobile. I do love it there). Once we find a solution for this dilemma, we'll post.

Thanks to everyone for their continuous support!

xoxo

Aubrey

I know, I know...

Yeah, I have been pretty bad about writing. Apparently time flies when you are taking care of a kid. Also, it seems that I come home, play with the kid, then it's bedtime. Well, not bedtime for Porter, but for daddy. When did this happen? I used to go to bed around midnight or 1 a.m. Now I seem to be in bed by 9 or 10. Hmmmm....

OH! Since I have nothing but grief from a few of you, check out the link to photos as I have put up a whole bunch of new ones. (I know, I deserve it!)

So I will backtrack a little later, but I have to say this kid is puttin' on the pounds. As of today, she is 9 lbs. 12 oz. If you factor in the preemie part, she is on the big side. If she was born on time, she is light but not by much. In other words, she is doing really, really well. As far as her health, there is nothing really to report (can you hear my sigh of relief?). I still think back to the time at the NICU and still feel really lucky that everything turned out so well.



As far as her little birthmark, we are now calling her "Huckleberry" as that is what it looks like. Actually, she has about 3,271 nicknames. Not really sure how that happens but it must just be constant moments of inspiration. I am also not sure if she has any clue what her real name is.

Sorry, I tend to go on tangents easily, back to the point. Her little huckleberry had it's first treatment last week. They treat it with a small, handheld laser. They ice the spot on her face, put on these little eye pillows, and ZAP, it's over. The doctor offered to put the laser on us to see what it feels like. I'm not sure if I didn't see it that I would have even noticed it. That did make us feel a lot better. The goal right now is to stop the growth so she is going in again next week. This treatment will continue for some months to come but I keep thinking when we show her pictures years from now she will ask "What is that little huckleberry on my cheek?" :-)

When we thought she would be delievered in August, we had planned on my family reunion to be her first outing. Well, she was quite experienced by the time we introduced her to the Douglas/Warren clan. It was really great to see everyone and try to remember who I probably grew up with and what their names are. Wow. I really have a bad memory for names/faces. Now, granted there was about 8 years that I was always travelling during the reunion. But really, these people are my family. I told Aub not to ask me names or relations as it would probably just be best if she guessed.

For those members of my family reading this, I will apologize if Aub had to introduce herself. :-) But I do want to thank Aunt Biz for a wonderful time. I have always felt so welcome at your place. It was fun to roam around the house and remember so many good times I had there. I am looking forward to Porter sharing in some of those memories. That place is just so incredible and you are always the most gracious host!


So one thing I have been looking forward to is for Porter to hit nine pounds. Here is why: One of my favorite beers is 9 Pound Porter by Georgetown brewing. So, since I am hosting Bill's bachelor party, we brought in a keg of slice of malted heaven. I must say that the last time I tapped a keg it was in Bill's blazer on the way up to boys weekend at Deception Pass. Yes, IN the car. I think the way it went was Bill saying "Hey don't tap that in the (SHHHHHHHHTTTT the sound of a keg being tapped). Oops".

That was just a few short (COUGH!) years ago and ended up the way you would think with six guys and one keg in just a few days. Again, on a memorable but not noteworthy tangent. We also picked up some 9 Pound Porter posters. Yes they are going in the nursery. Yes I am that kind of parent. No CPS hasn't stopped by yet. Yet.

Ok, more about being a dad. Well, really Aub is doing all the work. She gets up at night, feeds her, changes the diapers and does it all with such a great attitude. I am really proud of her. I may have said this before but if so it bears repeating, she really is a great mother. I am so happy to have her in my life as the mother of my child and as my wife. She is wonderful in both roles and I am very fortuneate.

But for my part, there isn't a day that goes by that this kid can't make me cry. She feel asleep on my lap tonight. Before she did, she stared at me and I swear I saw her watch me make a funny face, mimiced it, and then smiled. I could see that she wanted my attention and it worked. Then just watching this angel make her little snoring noises (more like a squirrel grunting) are enough to make me sit still even if I was planted on a chair of nails. You lose track of time. Again, this is one of the many moments where parents are reading this going, "Yep".


As far as development, she is really starting to hold up her head. She spends a lot more of each day awake. Her ear hair is almost completely gone (Aub will love that I told everyone that). And she started reading "A Brief History of Time" . Well, maybe not that last one but she did really have some great ear hair. I am just jealous. Her dad is bald her hear covers her ENTIRE head, including the ears.

Ok, off to bed. I'm sure I will have an update after Bill's bachelor party. Or maybe there will not be enough participation and I will be forced to finish this fine beverage all by myself. Who knows, I might treat you to some Hunter S. Thompson gonzo blogging.

Take care everyone! On a last note, I do have to share these photos. We had the Sayers over the other night and I am not sure these kids can take a bad photo. I am biased as to the cutest kid in the world, but these two sisters are a darn close second place tie. Somebody had to test Porter's new rocking horse. :-)

The first few weeks

After a tough week trying just to get home from work, I finally start my time at home with the baby. She came home Wednesday, but I really didn't make it home until Saturday night. This was really tough for me. I wanted to be there when we brought her home but there was really no way out of it. I was really surprised how well Aub had adjusted to everything. By the time I was around, she had everything under control. Little Porter was feeding every four hours, and everything seemed normal. (begin foreshadowing... :-)

Fast forward two weeks ahead. We have a true newborn. This little girl can cry when she wants to. We realize how spoiled we were with her before as it was so easy when she woke up only when she was hungry. Now, we don't always know what she is trying to tell us. I'm sure every parent has seen this and probably is laughing out loud now. I guess I knew this was coming but hey, I can hope right?

First quick side note, I am selling the motorcycle. First, I hardly ever ride it anymore as I now commute on a bicycle. Second, it is more important to me to try to around for this little one. Now, you can't live your life in fear but I can cut back on the dangerous endeavors. I will miss it and maybe in the future, I will get another one. Aub was sad to see me sell the bike. This has been my decision and she understands but she always loved time on the bike.

Ok, since you know where we are I will skip back a little bit to the baby shower. Normally, not something I would want to attend. However, it was great to see everyone and I really have to hand it to Jan, Grace and my Mom, they REALLY did a great job. I probably ate at least 1/2 of the food (again, thank you ladies! I highly recommend the Cowboy Caviar). Some of my family that I have not seen for a while came to visit and I was so proud to show off my beautiful little girl. Oh, and everyone had been WAY too generous! Not that I mind, but I want you all to you know how much I appreciate it.

I am skipping all over the place as far as time so please bear with my. This is the result of someone who should be writing more often but neglecting his post. So I do have to say how much I love to take this little one out and about. Today we went to Greenlake. After a quick feeding under a tree (Aub had egg salad, Porter hit the bottle), we walked around the lake. She loves being in the stroller. So far, she has seen wonderous downtown Bothell, dined in Kirkland and now has tasted the metropolitan flair of North Seattle.

Needless to say, this last few weeks have flown by. I enjoyed my vacation (or manternity leave as I like to call it) but I need to get back to work. I am also not sure this was a 'vacation' by any means. How does a whole day dissapear and all you did was go for a one hour walk. I did have some big plans for my time at home but I also did figure they might not all turn out. Two weeks passed, I mowed the lawn. That is my big achievement.

A quick sidenote: Strawberry Kiss
When we left the hosptial, we noticed a little rash on her left cheek. We didn't think much of it until it became a little bigger, more red and a little raised. Well, this is a birthmark. Come find out, these are rare but found more in girls and preemies. Two for two. Apparently these marks grow for the first year or so, then spend the next four to ten years dissapearing. Hmmm... Word of advice, don't google this condition, as you will see extreme cases, which will tear your heart out.

I have to say at first this was really hard for me at first. I mean, you want the best for your baby and I guess i thought we were out of the woods. Again, parents are laughing out loud at this point. You are never out of the woods. I love this little girl and I just want her to have a good life and the first thing I think of is someone teasing her for her birthmark. I can't keep kids from being mean and I guess I can't kill myself trying. I just remember what it was like growing up. I could write a book here but I will hold back (however I am in talks for a movie deal - probably will go straight to the $3.99 bin at Target.)

The doctor says P's hemangioma is small, and may stay small but we are going to see a dermatologist next week as it seems there are some options to treat this early. Most important to know, these are benign and only cosmetic. Her health is great and that matters more than anything else to me right now. I will write more when we know more about this after we see the dermatologist. But for now, she is my beautiful girl with a strawberry kiss on her cheek.

Home Sweet Home - Mama Morck's first blog

We made it! Home sweet home at last. Twenty days since my water broke and 13 days since little Porter's arrival. What a roller coaster ride this has been... all the other parents are telling us this is only the beginning. What have we gotten ourselves into? :)

Before I dive into today's going home events, I wanted to take a moment to give thanks to all the friends and family who have supported us during this tough time. Thank you!
AND to say thank you to my AMAZING husband. Dave has been so strong throughout this entire ordeal. He is my rock and truly the best man, best person I know. I do not know how I would of made it without his love, support and positive attitude. I am extremely blessed to have this wonderful man as the father of my baby girl and my partner. I LOVE this man!

On to the coming home story.
Earlier this week, Monday, the Doctors and nurses were very positive with the improvements little P has been making with her feeding. She was almost able to doubled her intake of 40ml per feeding to 70ml. 70ml is exactly where she needed to be to go home. They had said Tuesday would be the day we would be discharged.

However, we had a slight set back, the car seat test. With premie babies, before they go home, they must sit in their car seat for a minimum of 1 hour with the appropriate heart and oxygen levels. This is very important for the little ones, as their neck muscles are very young and if their head rolls forward or to one side, it can restrict their oxygen levels and .... well, I don't want to even write about what can happen. Scary stuff. Monday she failed the car seat test after 12 minutes.

The plan was to test her again on Tuesday and see how that goes. The nurses thought it was a fluke thing she failed on Monday, possibly due to a reflux issue. All the same, I would rather have her fail and get a few days stronger before we leave. Luckily Tuesday rolled around and Porter passed. Wednesday the 9th is our new assigned discharge date.

One more small problem, Dave's work commitment. Dave has been planning a new car launch event for Kia at the Suncadia resort in Cle Elum. Unfortunately, he is in charge of this event and must work some very long days this entire week. He will not be able to take Porter and I home. So we roll with Plan B.

This morning at 11 my folks came to the hospital. After watching the infant CPR DVD, the Pruatt Grandparents helped Porter and I pack up our stuff and load up the Benz. I drove, little P and my mom rode in the back seat with The Boss (aka Grandpa Pruatt) following shortly behind. My folks have been super. My dad went and got us lunch this afternoon and my mom helped us get settled. Thanks goodness for retired grandparents!

Porter and I have been home since noon and doing very well. We've found a great perch for her on a large ottoman in the family room and she's been sleeping there most all day. I'm sure the ottoman won't last long as she'll be wiggly and rolling over before we know it.
Dave is home from a long day, he and I have just finished up with our dinner and now Papa is giving Porter her bottle as I type (and cry = hormones!).

It is good to have the entire Morck family home.