Ann vs. Jason

A quick post, Ann and I still owe posts about my family’s visit, Christmas, and more.

Athena looks surprisingly identical to me when I was an infant:

A week or so out  the resemblance isn’t as striking, but you can definitely tell we’re related:

She’s turned out to be just as alert and interactive as I was when I was an infant, according to my parents.  Whenever we see another baby, even if they’re a bit older, I’m so surprised as how much time they spend sleeping or staring off into space.  I have to remember that the baby I’m used to is unusually attentive.

Athena is starting to make cute little baby noises in addition to her normal cries and grunts, so I’m (completely unrealistically) expecting real words soon.  We’ll keep you posted.

By Jason

First off, I’d like to apologize for all the typos in the last update.  To answer the questions I’ve gotten:

• Yes, I was very tired.
• No, my lack of proofreading isn’t a sign of complete mental breakdown.

Taking care of Athena and Ann has meant missing sleep, but I’ve missed sleep in the past and recovered so I’m sure I’ll be alright.

Now that that’s covered, I just wanted to let everyone know that Ann is feeling better, though she’s still ill.  She ate some crackers, applesause, and even a little of her mom’s delicious green bean casserole today.  I have been stuffing myself on leftover chili, chicken and lasagna.  Athena still refuses to eat anything but milk.

I wrote a post today on my blog that you might find interesting, about how having an internet connection at the hospital let us keep everyone up to date on the birth.

Here are some more photos.  These are still from last week, during Thanksgiving.  There are more at Flickr.  I’ll try to get caught up soon.

By Jason

Ann came down with a stomach virus the other day so I’ve been trying to take care of both her and Athena.  We even went in to urgent care yesterday to get Ann some IV fluids and anti-nausea meds.  Their definition of “urgent” is different from mine…  I understand they have limited personnel and they have to triage, but after we got there the waiting room went from a few people to packed.  It took two hours or so to get seen, then we were there for another couple hours with the IV.  Athena was very calm for the most part but took it out on me later that evening.  I think she misses mom time, it makes her more ornery.

So, if you’re wondering why Ann hasn’t responded to your email or note on Facebook, there you have it.  She can’t look at a computer screen right now without the dizziness returning.  She promises to catch up with everyone once she’s feeling better.

I’ll admit it, it’s been tough.  Athena has to eat and get changed every 2-3 hours, 24 hours a day.  I’ve been trying to take care of all of it while Ann recuperates.

Last week Ann’s mom was in town so we were living on easy street – she made many delicious meals and was a huge help all around.

Right now Ann mostly needs to sleep and drink fluids, and Athena mostly needs to sleep and drink fluids.  Some other similarities that our favorite little freeloader has with her parents:

• Athena can’t seem to keep socks on for more than a minute, even when she’s sleeping.  Ann has this weird habit of taking off one sock, in her sleep, almost every night.
• I’ve found Athena asleep in her crib with her hands behind her head – this is a common sleep position for me, as Ann can attest.
• Athena sneezes no fewer than three times in succession, like Ann.
• Her hair looks a lot like mine when I was born, while she has Ann’s nose and long fingers.
• Athena hates to be cold.  Diaper changes and wet washcloths are her mortal enemy.  I don’t think I have to say which one of us also has an antipathy for chilliness.

By Jason

Sorry for the lack of updates since the quick announcement, Ann and I have been pretty busy with our little Athena Marie.  We’re home, the baby is great and Ann is doing well (though still very sore).

I thought I would write a bit about the birth from my perspective, and Ann will write her side of the story later.

Since Ann was being induced there wasn’t any need to rush to the hospital or anything.  Ann tells me this is not unusual but based on every movie and TV show I’ve ever seen the typical case is a mad rush followed by a birth in a taxi and/or stuck elevator.  Ann’s mom came with us for moral support.  The plan was to get the induction started, and then be as mobile as possible- walking, sitting on the exercise ball, etc.

Then the contractions really kicked in.  Ann was experiencing a lot of pain and discomfort, and there wasn’t much I could do to help.  During a contraction she couldn’t stand anyone touching her or really even talking to her.  It got bad enough that she decided to get an epidural.

With the epidural in, Ann could get some rest.  The baby’s heart rate was showing some dips on the monitor so they put her on oxygen just in case.  Ahan and Julie joined us at this point.

The hardest part after the epidural blocked off the pain was the waiting.  For a little while it seemed like we weren’t making any progress, but finally they did an exam and Ann was at 9.5 centimeters.

Ann pushed for a total of 3 hours.  This was one of the most intense experiences of my life. My participation was limited to helping hold Ann’s leg back and hold her neck up as she pushed and helping to keep her breathing between pushes, but it was physically and mentally exhausting.

Though she wasn’t in pain, the strain of pushing took an obvious toll on Ann.  Ahan and I were amazed to find her dozing off between contractions, only to wake up when the nurse counted down to push again.

We got to a point where the doctor saw that Ann was pushing as strongly as possible, but the baby’s head was just not moving past her pelvis.  They took a break and presented a new option: vacuum-assisted delivery. The hope was that they could get a grip on the head and help it maneuver through.  The only option left after that point would be a C-section, which we were hoping to avoid if at all possible.

After some setup time they go the vacuum in place and we got ready to push again.  Then it was over in a flash – the baby was out, covered in blood and goop.  They placed her on Ann’s chest and I cut the umbilical.  She didn’t cry or scream, but was amazingly alert and calm, so it was clear she was in good shape after all the strain.  They cleaned her up, suctioned her out, got her to cry a bit and then it was back with the two of us.

I’ll never forget the look on Ann’s face when they held up the baby – joy, surprise, and relief.  After over 10,000 votes in our online baby naming poll, we had narrowed the list down to three – Cassia, Ada, and Athena.  Like her mythical namesake, our Athena was born alert and ready to take on the world.

I have to add one more detail – Ann made her brother promise to get a picture of the placenta.  For those of you who haven’t met one in person, it’s not the most photogenic organ in the body (don’t worry, I haven’t posted any of the photos).  Add one more thing to the big checklist of things I love about Ann – her medical curiosity in even the most daunting situations.

I have many more photos up on Flickr, please feel free to take a look.

Athena Marie Morrison

I want to report that my cousin Ron and his wife Meredith have had a cute baby boy, thus beating us in the race to have the first great grandchild on that side of the family:

Did the headline make you think we had the baby for a second?  Sorry, I couldn’t resist.  Little Lucas is only a few days old and he already looks a lot like Ron.  I see matching Halloween costumes in their future.

I’ll post about our Halloween next.