Thursday Morning Update

Good Morning!

It was another good night in the LeClair house. Becca is sleeping for 2-3 hours at a time at night and waking up when she is hungry. In the hospital we would have to wake her up but I think she has found her appetite. After most feeds she will go through little awake periods where she will just look up at you and then look around the room. I wonder what she is thinking as she looks up at me with those big eyes.

Her first bath yesterday was a lot of fun. I have the feeling we will be doing it much more often as she begins to increase her feeds. There just isn't much to spill right now, but that will change. She has not been spitting up much of her feeds as long as we burp her pretty good. She is going to have a strong back!

Speaking of firsts we had our "First Meal Out" on Tuesday after our doctors appointment. Becca took Heather, Mom, and I out to lunch at Mia's. She was such a gracious host and slept quietly through the entire meal. The restaurant already held a special place in our families heart but now I will always think of that day when I go there with her.

Heather and I have been tag teaming it throughout the night sharing the feeding and changing duties. We both do the first feed or two and then Heather lets me sleep through the 4AM feed so that I can get up in the morning and take care of Becca while Heather gets some sleep. I think it is working out pretty well. I don't feel tired throughout the day but I'm always ready for bed at night. No need for Ambien with this schedule.

Our fantastic friends have been bringing over dinners for us at night. Oh my are we spoiled. I need to go to the gym because I have gained a pound a day. We have had homemade baked ziti, Campisi's pizza, Bubba's chicken and mashed potatoes just to name a few.

Becca is resting peacefully in her swing as I write this post. I have this fear that at the end of the month when we hit her actual due date this sweet little girl is going to disappear. Will this peaceful "womb baby" fade away only to be replaced by a hungry and screaming baby that has found her lungs? Only time will tell. One smile from her will make up for a thousand hours of crying.

Enough for now. My coffee is getting cold. -Mark

Becca's First Bath

UPDATE: We are having a little trouble getting the video to play. If you can see it please let me know. If you have any advice on how to get it upload I would love some help. I apologize for the post that just won't work.

Here is a video that we took just before her first bath. She has a little baby sneeze, it is too cute. Please forgive our voices, it is hard not to talk baby talk to her ;-)

Enjoy!

What an AMAZING week!

It is hard to believe that it has been only a week since Becca joined our family. It has been such an amazing week and it is hard to imagine life without her. We did not know it was possible to love someone so completly from the moment you put eyes on them. She is perfect in everything she does... even when she is crying at 3am.

Here are some pictures from the first week.

Getting ready to leave the hospital.



Dad feeding his little girl

Mom stop with the photos already

Getting her diaper changed.

She loves having her hands next to her face.

Sleeping in her crib... such a big girl

At our first doctor visit

Video of Becca

Here is a short video of Becca at the doctor. It makes her face look
really funny but we wanted to try posting a video so here we go....

Headed Home

We are in the car headed home with our little girl. More blogging to
come once we are home and relaxing.

Good Morning, Day Five

Discharge day! I'm very excited about the idea of sleeping in my own bed tonight. I got up at 4AM to change Becca's diaper and then played with her until she was ready for some breakfast.

Heather and Becca are laying in bed feeding and playing "Words with friends" on the iPhone. If you have an iPhone and don't play yet come join the fad. It is basically scrabble but you can have multiple games going on with all your friends at the same time. Since I started playing I have learned all sorts of fun new words. Grandma KK got mad at me the other day because I played "Ho". I was in the Christmas spirit, or at least that is what I told her.

Keep your fingers crossed! Hopefully the next post will be from home! Yipee! I'm off to Starbucks :-)

1/16/10 Day Four

Another day of hospital life. We got up in the early morning to do another feeding and then sat down for some cereal and TV. The news is dominated right now with stories from Haiti. Becca's feedings are getting easier everyday but we just can't seem to fatten her up. The lactation consultant came by in the morning to watch a feeding and we decided to start feeding Becca every two hours. Dr. M from the pediatricians office was making rounds today and encouraged us to stay one more night so that they could weigh her again before discharge.

Our good friends Derek and Kat came to visit in the early afternoon and Mike and Becki brought us lunch from Jason's Deli. We had our lunch and then it was time for Becca to have hers. After lunch we all laid down for an afternoon nap. My brother Doug and his fiance are in town planning their wedding so they stopped by in the early evening. They were shocked to see how tiny she was. They agree with us that she is absolutely perfect.
Mike and Becki brought us Patrizio's for dinner tonight...what a treat! If you have never had the pleasure I highly recommend it. My personal favorites are the ravioli with artichokes and wine sauce as well as the lasagna. Delicious!

After dinner we sat down for another feeding and then got ready for bed. They took Becca to the nursery for her nightly assessment then brought her back shortly after. I fed her when she got back and then I laid down to take a nap while Heather did the next feeding. I had reached my point of exhaustion and just really needed to shut my eyes for a while.

Friday Night Visitors

Friday night we had some visitors come by to meet and hold Becca and wish Heather a Happy 30th Birthday. It was a nice evening spent with friends and family. I hope that home does not seem too quiet after all the fun we have had with all these visitors.

It was a great way to spend a Friday night on Heather's birthday!

Becca's First Visitors

It has been a fun few days with Becca... here are some pictures of a few of her first visitors...

Thanks to everyone that has come to visit so far, it has been nice to have the company... we look forward to Becca meeting so many more of her favorite people.

Good Morning

Ahh sleep! Last night went very well. Becca stayed with us all night sleeping on Heather's chest. We had to wake her up about every 3-4 hours for a diaper change and to feed her. She was not fussy at all last night and was more than happy to go back to sleep after eating. We don't want to get our hopes up to soon but we are pretty happy about the way things are going. We look forward to today and to seeing what joys she brings today.

Happy Birthday Heather! I hope that Becca is the best gift you could ever ask for. I love you with all my heart and I look forward to many joyous birthdays together.

Day Two

I left the hospital early this morning to make my coffee run and catch a quick shower and change at home. I picked up some breakfast at Chick Fil-a and headed back to the hospital. We had a little breakfast and waited for Becca to come back from her morning nursery run.

They changed the meds in Heather’s epidural over the night in order for her to regain feeling in her legs this morning. She was able to get up, shower, and do her hair and makeup (I played the role of uber metro sexual best friend hairstylist.) I think Heather felt a lot better after having a nice hot shower. After two weeks of bed rest I believe she was ecstatic to be free to roam again.

Man I was tired today. It’s kind of hard to sleep when someone knocks on the door every 15 minutes. I mean I’m good, but I’m not that good. Heather went to the breastfeeding class today at 11AM. I decided I’d rest a little since I didn’t sleep the night before. I lay down, phone rings, lay back down, patient care technician comes by, lay back down, birth certificate and social security department comes, lay back down, newborn hearing exam (she aced it), lay back down, lactation consultant comes for a session. Maybe I exaggerate a little bit, but it sure felt that way. I now gauge amount of sleep in minutes versus hours (like I slept so much before!)

Mom stopped by later in the afternoon to say hi and cuddle with Becca. She has a big smile every time she sees Becca. My other Mom Kaye called while we were sitting around. Poor Kaye has a cold and has not been able to meet her precious grandbaby yet. I sent Dad home with some pictures yesterday on his iPhone for her to look at. We are wishing her a speedy recovery so that Becca can meet her grandma KK.

Grandpa Chimarys and some friends stopped by later in the evening to say their hellos to little Becca. Everyone commented on how tiny she was and that she had “cute lips.” Mom and Bill, who wants to be called “Mister Underwood” by the grandbabies, brought us some salads for dinner. We don’t do much here in the hospital but we sure do get hungry.

After everyone left we went for a walk around the unit while Becca went to the nursery for her daily weights, measurements, and testing. Once Becca got back we all got settled in for the night. We stated a movie and I lasted about 10 minutes before I drifted off to sleep.

Pictures of Day Two

Proud Grandparents

Mike, Becca, and Heather

Becca and Dad (Pops)

Cold and crying!

Still cold and crying with a mohawk!

Mark and Susan

Becca's hearing test

Mom and baby :-)

Day One

Good morning! Heather and I begin day two as parents. We had a good night and were able to get a few naps in here and there. Becca is doing great and is starting to look around this new and exciting world. She gets fussy sometimes but is always happy to cuddle up with Mom.

I guess I’ll give you a little run down of yesterday. Heather woke up at about 3:30 AM, her nerves were getting the best of her but I’m sure she was just excited. I got up at about 4:00 AM and jumped in the shower. We got the last of all the stuff loaded in the car and headed to Starbucks for my morning coffee. We checked into the hospital at 5:30 AM and started getting IV and labs done. Our good family friend Dr. F, an anesthesiologist, was able to be with us that morning. Heather was very relieved to have a familiar face in the room and I was happy to know that Heather was getting the best. Dr F made yesterday a breeze and I owe him big time.

At about 7:40 AM Becki, Heather’s mom, and I got suited up in our OR scrubs as they wheeled Heather down the hall. The OR team got Heather all started and then came to get Becki and I. I sat down next to Heather and gave her a reassuring smile. Dr N and Dr B were working away and after a few short minutes they said “here we go” and a little head popped out of Heather’s stomach. They pulled Becca out at 7:52 AM and there she was, happy birthday baby. She started to cry and we all smiled as they held her over Heather so that we good look and take pictures. They took Becca over to the infant warmer to dry her off and do an assessment. Grand mom took pictures of Becca while I stayed with Heather. Becca weighed in at 6 pounds 3 ounces, much smaller than we had anticipated, but she is so small and cute.

They handed Becca to Heather and I and we got to hold her while they finished up the surgery. The OR lights were so bright that she didn’t want to open her eyes. She would squint every once in a while and then shut her eyes again. Shortly after we rolled out of the OR and headed back to a recovery room. After about an hour they took Becca up to the newborn nursery to get her newborn exam and her first bath. My Mom and I walked up with her to watch while we let Heather take a short nap.

We went back to recovery to get Heather and then rolled up to our hospital room. They brought Becca back shortly after and we all got to spend some family time together. My Mom was nice enough to go get me some food because I was starving. Thanks Mom!

The rest of the day went pretty smooth. We held Becca, took lots of naps and visited with family and a few friends. Our first night as new parents went well. We got up every few hours to feed Becca. I only hope that every night goes as smoothly as the first. It’s hard to believe that just 24 hours ago she entered our lives; I can’t imagine it without her now. I love my new family.

Introducing Becca LeClair

Rebecca Anne LeClair

January 13, 2010 7:52 AM

6 pounds 3 ounces 19 inches

My Daughter's Birthday

Today is my daughter's birthday... that sounds so weird to write!! Please forgive the picture, it is 4:30am and I have been up since 2am. Just wanted to get in one last belly shot before Becca is here.

We are headed to the hospital shortly to check-in for my c-section. Earlier this week we had a doctor's appointment and after two weeks of bed rest my doctor felt like with my blood pressure rising and my blood work it was time to get the show on the road. We discussed induction but Becca seems to be much to comfortable. My doctor even called her a "Sooner Baby" because she was still in Oklahoma.

So this morning at 7:30 am we will start the procedure to introduce her to the world!! The next post will be pictures of our little girl!!!

All your prayers for a safe delivery are greatly appreciated!!

With Love,

Heather and Mark (a.k.a. Mom and Dad)