Gotcha Mommy and Daddy

Jess and I learned a whole new level of fear this past weekend, thanks to our 2 month old bundle of joy (and occasional terror).

We were in Montrose PA for niece's (and now goddaughter's) baptism. For those that don't know, Montrose is a small town about 40 minutes NW of Scranton PA - small like one traffic light in the middle of town. We had only a short ride to the church on Sunday morning, so I piled daughter, wife, and mom-in-law in the back seat, and had grandma-in-law riding gun with me. Not 1 mile into our 3 mile trip, I am told in a panic to pull the car over. Sitting in her car seat, Lily had a blank stare on her face and wasn't responding to any stimuli (wife and mom-in-law pinching her cheeks and rubbing her head) and her lips started turning grayish blue!! If any of you are parents, and have had a similar incident with your child, you know I cannot find the words to describe the fear and anxiety you feel in those moments. Jess pulled her out of her seat and startled her - she snapped out of her daze and slowly started clearing her throat and crying. Whew! We waited a few minutes, at which point she smiled and started laughing! We thought perhaps she was just in an awkward position in the car seat, so Jess made some adjustments, put her back in the seat, and we went on our way.

About 3 minutes later, she did it again! Jess again pulled her out of the seat, and she again let out a few good screams (which is what you want to happen) and started smiling again. We changed her out of the little dress and tights she was wearing (remember, special occasion) and were totally freaked. That's when we decided it was time to visit a hospital. OK, where is the closest hospital, and how do we get there? It's 45 minutes away in Binghamton NY and we take curvy back roads through the mountains! White knuckles??

We got to the hospital, and went into the ER. They were very nice people, and extremely helpful from the get-go. For the duration of the ride, Lily was awake, alert, and making noise, so we had all calmed down a bit (a tiny bit) but one of the nurses told me she could see gray hairs growing on my head as we spoke! They did a full work up on her, and thankfully, everything looked fine. But they suggested we stay for 24-hour observation just to be sure. During this time, they did an EKG, chest x-ray, and apnea monitor (see Taber's for help) to be thorough, and again, everything looked good!

According to the doctors, there is a good chance that she had some reflux that got caught in her throat, and apparently an infant's instinctual response to that is to pause breathing. That would explain the lifeless daze and blue lips!

So 24 hours, and three hospital meals and a cot sleep later, we chalked it up to a fluke occurrence. Fine with us! But scariest 50 minutes of my life!

At least now I can get to Binghamton NY via back roads!

Hi World!!

Lily is finally starting to "wake up" - as in, spending more time awake and alert. At times, it even seems like she is "corresponding" (as Mimi put it) meaning making noises more deliberately and responding to stimuli.

She also had her first graduation....into "1" diapers (from Newborns). Ah, where does the time go?





She is definitely looking forward to her first Thanksgiving. We will be heading to her cousin's house in Pennsylvania, where she can hang out with cousin Hannah and doggie-cousins Mangus and Louis.

Happy Holidays to everyone!

World Champions....Again!

Lily made it here just in time to see the Yankees Championship run.....#27 and counting!

Happy Teenie Halloweeny!!

Walks with the Family

Every once in a while, when the weather is nice, we get the family together and go for a walk through the neighborhood. Samson gets to play pack leader - he loves walking out in front, head and tail held high in pride. We have the standard "stroller" for Lily to ride in (see below) but Jess also has an "Ergo-Baby" which is essentially a kangaroo pouch for humans. It's great for her, cause she has hands free, and great for Lily because she is all snuggled up with mama.

Weather has been a bit of a challenge lately, though - either bitterly (and unseasonally) cold or raining and we can't get out as much as we'd like. Lily knows no difference...Samson, however, is not so fun when he doesn't get his exercise!!

Days and Nights...Nights and Days

This is a great picture of Lily sleeping...





We have many of these, because Lily likes to sleep during most of the day (or at least, when she's not eating). The problem is, she likes to be awake during most of the night!! I'd love to get more pics of her awake with eyes open, but we are both too delirious at 3am to grab the camera!! We did get this one of a few days ago, just after a bath...





I read that this confusion of nights and days only lasts a few weeks. Hopefully, we make it!

Welcome Sissy!

As many of you know, we have a 1.5 year-old Chocolate lab named Samson. There he is on the left. When we learned in February that Lily would be arriving in the fall, of course we started wondering how we would get Samson acquainted - would he be welcoming, overly curious, bitter and jealous? Based on his usual behavior, we figured chances were he'd just be his goofy self. But when your dog weighs 90 lbs (all muscle, literally) goofy can be a liability too. But we are happy to report, he has been great in welcoming his little sister home! He has "showered" her with kisses whenever he gets the chance (meaning, soaks her head with his bionic tongue) and was visibly proud to lead our first stroll outside yesterday.

His last adjustment: what is that screaming noise at 3:18 in the morning?

A Great Date!

On Tuesday, October 6, 2009 at 12:03p, Lily Maureen came in to the world!




She shares a birthday with several famous people, perhaps most importantly, her Uncle Justin! And since she is somewhat 'famous' in her own rite already, we figured everyone could follow her adventures through this blog - The Lily Patch

Enjoy, and be sure to use the Comments feature to stay in touch!!