4:00 A.M.
I wake up to find out that Ashley had already been having minor contractions since 1 o'clock. I asked her why she didn't wake me up and she said there was no need too, which I then agreed and went back to sleep.
4:49 A.M.
I can't sleep with the nurse continuing to come in and out of the room so I decided to watch some Sportscenter.
5:49 A.M.
Only problem with watching Sportscenter so early in the morning is after one hour there is nothing else to watch. So I tried to go back to sleep.
6:18 A.M.
Can't sleep so I start to work on my blog.
6:42 A.M.
Ashley is now asleep and I am wide awake.
7:24 A.M.
I start taking pictures and video of this experience. Ashley yells and curses at me.
7:35 A.M.
We get our first visit from the doctor and Ashley is already 2 cm dilated! Doctor said at this rate we could meet Kherington by noon! They don't have to give her pitocin to speed up the process because she is doing it all on her own. Kherington can't wait to meet her daddy!
7:36 A.M.
Everyone is receiving mass texts from me letting them know noon is the time for my scheduled landing.
8:02 A.M.
Ashley's contractions are bad. She sounds like a wounded seal.
8:05 A.M.
Ashley is screaming for the epidural even though the doctor told her to wait till she is about 4 cm. But what do doctors know?!
8:32 A.M.
By this time Ashley's body is an ocean of sweat and she is screaming for an epidural like Mel Gibson screamed for his son in Ransom.
8:35 A.M.
I step outside the room to grab the nurse so Ashley can get her epidural shot and from the hallway her room sounds like a scene from Hostel. She sounded like she was being tortured.
8:46 A.M.
While Ashley is laying there screaming and cursing at me, I asked her, "This doesn't mean we aren't going to have another one right?" Wrong question to ask!
9:05 A.M.
Here comes the epidural man to save my day!
9:11 A.M.
Ashley is asleep.
9:20 A.M.
I'm asleep.
10:15 A.M.
My mom is the first person to come visit since we heard our target time of noon.
10:56 A.M.
Ashley is at 9 cm! It is almost time! My facebook and twitter are constantly being updated along with my mass texts being sent out.
11:12 A.M.
Ashley's dad is here now!
11:20 A.M.
Trying to figure out if we will be all set in our room for the St. Louis Cardinals game at 8 o'clock. They have to win to force a one game playoff but if the Atlanta Braves lose and the Cardinals win the Cardinals clinch the NL Wild Card. So Kherington didn't come on a Sunday to interfere with the NFL games but now she might interfere with one of MLB's biggest nights? I can already see that this is a sign from God telling me she will be getting in the way of a lot of sporting events in the future.
11:52 A.M.
We find out that Dr. Hardy has a C-section at 12 o'clock and that he will be in afterwards. The nurse says Ashley is still at 9 cm and she is going to give her some pitocin to help to that last centimeter.
12:10 P.M.
The wounded seal is back.
12:57 P.M.
The wounded seal is still, well... wounded.
1:05 P.M.
The nurses come in and gives us the instructions for when Ashley pushes. How to hold her smelly feet, where to give her leg support, and how to count to ten.
1:26 P.M.
Still pushing. Facebook and twitter getting constantly updated.
1:31 P.M.
Well hello Dr. Hardy!
1:47 P.M.
I can see her head! This is so amazing! Haven't started crying yet!
1:50 P.M.
O-M-G! (Yes, I just used OMG to explain my feelings. I am at an emotional state, give me a break!) This is by far the neatest most awesomest (Yes, awesomest) experience I have ever had!
1:53 P.M.
Her head is out! And tears form.
1:54 P.M.
Little miss Kherington Marie is born, cue the water works. The 10 or so seconds it took for her to start crying was probably the most nerve wrecking experience, and I couldn't even see her because my eyes were blurry. Her stats are 7 lbs. and 19.25 inches.
1:55 P.M.
I cut the umbilical cord which was like taking a pair of kitchen shears and cutting a garden hose. Not as easy as it looks!
1:57 P.M.
Ashley gets to hold the love of her life. I look at Kherington in her eyes and I can see she gave me the, "Move aside I'm number one now!" look. Already this child has her mother's attitude. Unbelievable.
2:01 P.M.
I get to hold my beautiful baby girl. Greatest moment of my life. I finally got to meet her.
2:07 P.M.
Family and friends are allowed to come into the room and share this experience with us. Thank you to all who showed up and thank you to everyone who didn't because that would have been really crowded then.
Tip #42: Watch your child being born. It sounds disgusting and in every video you watch before hand it is disgusting. But when that is your child being born, and you are watching him or her start their life. It is absolutely breath taking.
And this is when my plane landed on my journey to, destination... dad.
Showing posts with label NFL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NFL. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Monday, September 12, 2011
The Gameday: September 11, 2011
As discussed in "The Teams" there is a huge competition amongst Ashley and I when it comes to which team we are going to raise Kherington to root for. This heated debate has slowly cooled down since my post but with today being the first Sunday full of NFL games the debate started early in the morning. Like at 9 A.M. early in the morning when I turned on NFL Gameday and started my four hours of pregame television. We debated on whether Kherington would wear her Redskins onesie that my mom had bought for her. I agreed to let Ashley change Kherington into Chargers attire after my game is over and her game starts. This plan usually works perfect since my team is an east coast team (1 o'clock games) and hers is a west coast team (4 o'clock games). The problem today is that Kherington doesn't have any Chargers attire to change into. So Ashley was claiming that it was unfair for her to wear Redskins but not Chargers. In the end, it's not my fault she doesn't have Chargers stuff, so she proudly wore her Redskins onesie all day.
Tip #40: There is always a way to win a debate. Even if Kherington would have had a Charger onesie to wear I would have made sure it was "lost" on game day.
Tip #40: There is always a way to win a debate. Even if Kherington would have had a Charger onesie to wear I would have made sure it was "lost" on game day.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
The Tour: July 31, 2011
Before you go to the hospital for the birth of your child you are supposed to take a tour of the hospital. Why? I am not exactly sure and after our "tour" I still haven't figured out why.
We arrive at the hospital and are sitting in the lobby waiting for our tour guide to come get us. Well while we are sitting there two more couples come to the lobby to wait for the tour guide as well. One is a Mexican couple and we later find out that they don't speak any English because when the tour guide ask them what they are having the guy nods his head and says, "Si." The other couple, who just so happened to sit across from us in the lobby, decides she wants to try and talk to Ashley. The problem is she talks like she has rocks in her mouth and she was very hard to understand. I was reading a magazine at the time she spoke and I decided to bury my face into the magazine to stop from laughing. I'm not trying to be mean but do you know what it is like to try to talk to someone when you don't have the slightest clue as to what they are saying. If you don't just ask Ashley because she now knows what it's like.
The magazine I was reading was Popular Science and the article I was reading about is how we, humans, use good memories and thoughts to predict the future when making decisions. Meaning when we are faced with a decision in life we tend to think about what good has happened or what good can happen before deciding. We tend to block out the negative that we know or think could happen and weigh the positive much more than the negative, helping us make our decision. So we tend to think the positive prediction will be the result of our decision. So here I am sitting there reading this article and I started to think, maybe God is trying to give me a sign. When Ashley and I decided to try for a baby I was all for it. I helped raise my niece and have seen a child grow up, and it is an amazing and unforgettable journey. I remember when she first started to roll over, or crawl, or walk, talk, laugh, cry, show her personality, I remember everything! Or at least I thought I did. While reading this article it made me think about those years that my niece was growing up, and it made me think deeper, and then it hit me. When talking to Ashley about trying for a baby I was all for it because those things I just listed along with others is what all I thought about and those are the things that I wanted to cherish with a child of my own. I didn't think about the crying in the middle of the night, the temper tantrums, the crying for hours and you don't know why, the spills, the stains, the puke, or the poop along with many, many other things. I felt like God was talking to me throughout that article. But before I could get down on my knees and start talking to him, begging him for my child to have nothing but good memories, the tour guide arrived.
As we start to walk around the hotel with the tour guide she would ask a question to the group but Ashley and I were the only ones that responded. So from then on she just decided to talk to only us since we appeared to be the only normal couple in the group. I had asked Ashley if she signed us up for the handicap tour and then received a backhand to the chest. The tour guide took us to the delivery and post-partum room where I first checked out the TVs in each room. I calculated the size, looked at the wall mount and if it was on a swivel, checked out the lighting in the room, and decided where I would be sitting to get the best viewing experience. I then leaned over and asked Ashley, "Do you think they have NFL Sunday Ticket here?" and again received another backhand to the chest. How could you blame me? Ashley's due date is on a Sunday, one month into the football season, I can't miss my fantasy players games that day!
So after the completion of the tour we got to see every room that Ashley and Kherington will be in along with instructions and directions around the hospital. Now do they really think I or any other man will be able to remember all the things they just told us? Do you understand how big this hospital is? Every hallway and door looks the same, it's like she was giving birth inside one of those carnival fun houses with all the mirrors. Just tell me what to do and where to go when I get there. Thanks.
Tip #31: Be the guy who brings a notepad and paper to the tour. I really wish I did.
And this is when I realized that right before my plane is scheduled to land, all hell is going to break loose on my journey to, destination... dad.
We arrive at the hospital and are sitting in the lobby waiting for our tour guide to come get us. Well while we are sitting there two more couples come to the lobby to wait for the tour guide as well. One is a Mexican couple and we later find out that they don't speak any English because when the tour guide ask them what they are having the guy nods his head and says, "Si." The other couple, who just so happened to sit across from us in the lobby, decides she wants to try and talk to Ashley. The problem is she talks like she has rocks in her mouth and she was very hard to understand. I was reading a magazine at the time she spoke and I decided to bury my face into the magazine to stop from laughing. I'm not trying to be mean but do you know what it is like to try to talk to someone when you don't have the slightest clue as to what they are saying. If you don't just ask Ashley because she now knows what it's like.
The magazine I was reading was Popular Science and the article I was reading about is how we, humans, use good memories and thoughts to predict the future when making decisions. Meaning when we are faced with a decision in life we tend to think about what good has happened or what good can happen before deciding. We tend to block out the negative that we know or think could happen and weigh the positive much more than the negative, helping us make our decision. So we tend to think the positive prediction will be the result of our decision. So here I am sitting there reading this article and I started to think, maybe God is trying to give me a sign. When Ashley and I decided to try for a baby I was all for it. I helped raise my niece and have seen a child grow up, and it is an amazing and unforgettable journey. I remember when she first started to roll over, or crawl, or walk, talk, laugh, cry, show her personality, I remember everything! Or at least I thought I did. While reading this article it made me think about those years that my niece was growing up, and it made me think deeper, and then it hit me. When talking to Ashley about trying for a baby I was all for it because those things I just listed along with others is what all I thought about and those are the things that I wanted to cherish with a child of my own. I didn't think about the crying in the middle of the night, the temper tantrums, the crying for hours and you don't know why, the spills, the stains, the puke, or the poop along with many, many other things. I felt like God was talking to me throughout that article. But before I could get down on my knees and start talking to him, begging him for my child to have nothing but good memories, the tour guide arrived.
As we start to walk around the hotel with the tour guide she would ask a question to the group but Ashley and I were the only ones that responded. So from then on she just decided to talk to only us since we appeared to be the only normal couple in the group. I had asked Ashley if she signed us up for the handicap tour and then received a backhand to the chest. The tour guide took us to the delivery and post-partum room where I first checked out the TVs in each room. I calculated the size, looked at the wall mount and if it was on a swivel, checked out the lighting in the room, and decided where I would be sitting to get the best viewing experience. I then leaned over and asked Ashley, "Do you think they have NFL Sunday Ticket here?" and again received another backhand to the chest. How could you blame me? Ashley's due date is on a Sunday, one month into the football season, I can't miss my fantasy players games that day!
So after the completion of the tour we got to see every room that Ashley and Kherington will be in along with instructions and directions around the hospital. Now do they really think I or any other man will be able to remember all the things they just told us? Do you understand how big this hospital is? Every hallway and door looks the same, it's like she was giving birth inside one of those carnival fun houses with all the mirrors. Just tell me what to do and where to go when I get there. Thanks.
Tip #31: Be the guy who brings a notepad and paper to the tour. I really wish I did.
And this is when I realized that right before my plane is scheduled to land, all hell is going to break loose on my journey to, destination... dad.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
The Teams: June 15th, 2011
There will be a huge fight between Ashley and I when Kherington gets older because there is only one sports team that we agree on, and that is the St. Louis Cardinals. In college basketball and the NFL we completely disagree. I of course love every sport, and Ashley loves certain sports, it is one of the reasons we love each other so much. We use sports in our lives all the time. I told Ashley if we were having a boy I was going to paint the room burgundy and gold for the Redskins, and we already decided that our wedding colors are going to be royal blue because that is Duke and Kansas University's colors. We have no problem with disagreeing on sports teams, we end up rooting for the other's team as long as they aren't playing each other, but Kherington can't grow up liking and rooting for two teams. We can't cause her that much confusion at such a young age, if she is confused about her favorite team, whose to say she won't be confused about other things in life, and I am NOT having that!
She will definitely be a St. Louis Cardinals fan because Ashley didn't even like baseball until we went to a couple of Cardinals games last year, and now she is a fan. I already bought her a "Mommy's future Cardinals fan" t-shirt. I tried to buy a couple Redskins and Duke one's as well but she told me it would be a waste of money because she wouldn't wear them. How unfair is that? It is my baby too!
So Ashley and I will need to make an agreement with the other two sports. Of course I am sure my reader's are saying, "Just let Kherington decide." my answer to that is, "Hell NO!" Kids like winners, and if we give Kherington the decision to choose who she wants instead of raising her towards a certain team, she is going to end up liking whoever wins the Super Bowl and NCAA Tournament the year she can first remember. For example this year she would be either a Green Bay Packers or Pittsburgh Steelers fan. I can't live with my child constantly wearing green and yellow or black and gold, and God for bid the Dallas Cowboys win the Super Bowl in a couple of years because she will have to be put up for adoption then! The same goes for college basketball, this year Connecticut and Butler made it to the championship, no and no. And again, God for bid the North Carolina Tar Heels make it to the championship because she would again be put up for adoption. Which she probably will end up liking them anyways because she is a girl and they have a girly color, baby blue, so she will think it's pretty and will ask for a UNC t-shirt one Christmas and she won't get anything but a bag of coal and I will tell her Santa Clause doesn't like UNC and she will never get presents from him again if she continues to like them.
Tip #24: If your biggest worry about your child growing up is who her favorite sports team will be, then you got it good!
And this is when I started to worry about what city I was flying over on my journey to, destination... dad.
She will definitely be a St. Louis Cardinals fan because Ashley didn't even like baseball until we went to a couple of Cardinals games last year, and now she is a fan. I already bought her a "Mommy's future Cardinals fan" t-shirt. I tried to buy a couple Redskins and Duke one's as well but she told me it would be a waste of money because she wouldn't wear them. How unfair is that? It is my baby too!
So Ashley and I will need to make an agreement with the other two sports. Of course I am sure my reader's are saying, "Just let Kherington decide." my answer to that is, "Hell NO!" Kids like winners, and if we give Kherington the decision to choose who she wants instead of raising her towards a certain team, she is going to end up liking whoever wins the Super Bowl and NCAA Tournament the year she can first remember. For example this year she would be either a Green Bay Packers or Pittsburgh Steelers fan. I can't live with my child constantly wearing green and yellow or black and gold, and God for bid the Dallas Cowboys win the Super Bowl in a couple of years because she will have to be put up for adoption then! The same goes for college basketball, this year Connecticut and Butler made it to the championship, no and no. And again, God for bid the North Carolina Tar Heels make it to the championship because she would again be put up for adoption. Which she probably will end up liking them anyways because she is a girl and they have a girly color, baby blue, so she will think it's pretty and will ask for a UNC t-shirt one Christmas and she won't get anything but a bag of coal and I will tell her Santa Clause doesn't like UNC and she will never get presents from him again if she continues to like them.
Tip #24: If your biggest worry about your child growing up is who her favorite sports team will be, then you got it good!
And this is when I started to worry about what city I was flying over on my journey to, destination... dad.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
The Snoring: April 20th, 2011
Ever since Ashley starting spending nights at my house she complained about my snoring. In the middle of the night she would shove me to wake me up because my snoring woke her up. If I could I would stop snoring, but nobody has control over that. I would get so mad at her for waking me up when I was obviously in a good state of REM since I was snoring. Well you know what they say about paybacks.
I don't know what causes it but pregnant women snore, or at least my pregnant woman does. But it's not like a Fred Flintstone snore, it's even worse. It is actually heavy breathing with an occasional snort mixed in. This is so much worse because with a traditional snore you know what you are getting. With Ashley's kind of snoring, once I get used to the breathing and am just getting comfortable and ready to fall asleep the snort comes in and makes me jump as if someone just hit me with a defibrillator. I feel like I am sleeping next to a scientist in a Hazmat suit getting ready to check the radiation levels in Chernobyl. (More people would have been able to relate to Japan instead of Chernobyl, but it's just too soon.)
Ashley then realizes that she has developed allergies, which a lot of pregnant women do. So she decides to go buy these breathe right strips to help her breathing. Now lets just say I never really put two and two together with these nasal strips. I just thought it was a great idea because I figured she wouldn't breathe loud while sleeping anymore, but it never clicked that she would actually be wearing the nasal strip. So I come home from work one day to see that my pregnant fiance now looks like NFL middle linebacker Brian Urlacher. I didn't talk back that night in fear she would call an all out blitz and hit me from my blindside.
Tip #16: Your significant other will change throughout her pregnancy... a lot. But whether she becomes a scientist, a linebacker or even your own worst enemy, I promise you will love her more and more every single day no matter what.
And this is when I realized that sleep would not come easy on my journey to, destination... dad.
I don't know what causes it but pregnant women snore, or at least my pregnant woman does. But it's not like a Fred Flintstone snore, it's even worse. It is actually heavy breathing with an occasional snort mixed in. This is so much worse because with a traditional snore you know what you are getting. With Ashley's kind of snoring, once I get used to the breathing and am just getting comfortable and ready to fall asleep the snort comes in and makes me jump as if someone just hit me with a defibrillator. I feel like I am sleeping next to a scientist in a Hazmat suit getting ready to check the radiation levels in Chernobyl. (More people would have been able to relate to Japan instead of Chernobyl, but it's just too soon.)
Ashley then realizes that she has developed allergies, which a lot of pregnant women do. So she decides to go buy these breathe right strips to help her breathing. Now lets just say I never really put two and two together with these nasal strips. I just thought it was a great idea because I figured she wouldn't breathe loud while sleeping anymore, but it never clicked that she would actually be wearing the nasal strip. So I come home from work one day to see that my pregnant fiance now looks like NFL middle linebacker Brian Urlacher. I didn't talk back that night in fear she would call an all out blitz and hit me from my blindside.
Tip #16: Your significant other will change throughout her pregnancy... a lot. But whether she becomes a scientist, a linebacker or even your own worst enemy, I promise you will love her more and more every single day no matter what.
And this is when I realized that sleep would not come easy on my journey to, destination... dad.
Monday, February 28, 2011
The Names: February 28th, 2011
People tell Ashley and I that we both take the role of the opposite sex. When people ask us what do we want to have, Ashley says a boy and I say a girl. So traditionally when the question "what name do we give our child" comes up, stereotypically Ashley should have said, "Well ever since I was a little girl I always wanted to name my son/daughter..." followed by a name. However, in this situation I was the one who said, "Well I have always wanted to name my daughter..."
In 2008, when I still lived at home, my mom used to always watch the reality competition So You Think You Can Dance. I always watched it with her because there were hot girls in little clothing. One year there was a (hot) girl on the show who's name I liked and ever since then I told my mom that I was one day going to name my daughter that.
So when Ashley and I were trying to decide on names I told her about the name I wanted to name my daughter. She liked the name and agreed, and I told her that I would like to name our son after me making him the III and we will call him 'Trey'. Ashley didn't like that idea, so to be fair to her I told her that she could decide on the name for our son. She then asked, "Well what about the middle names." I told her that she could pick the middle name for the girl and I will pick the middle name for the boy. That way we both have an input on both names. Well it didn't work out that way, she ended up picking both names for the boy and I ended up picking both names for the girl. So the verdict is...
Boy: Ethan Eli
Girl: Kherington Marie
Ethan Eli - Ashley picked these names for no reason, she just liked them. She decided to go with the letter 'E' for both names because my last name also starts with an 'E' so that way I can still call him Trey if I wanted too. However, when I hear the name Ethan I think about the creepy "Others" guy from Lost who infiltrated the survivors camp, kidnapped Claire and ran test on her baby. Then when I hear the name Eli I think of the only NFL quarterback that I could beat in an arm wrestling match.
Kherington Marie - As stated before the girl I got this name from, Kherington Payne, was on SYTYCD starred in the Fame remake. I like uncommon names but not I'll-never-ever-get-a-real-job-with-this-name names. I decided to give her the middle name Marie because it is currently Ashley's middle name but I told Ashley to make her middle name her maiden name and get rid of her middle name when we get married.
Tip #8: Never relate a name to someone you know or have seen on TV, because all you will do is think that your son is going to grow up to be a weak armed kidnapping baby tester.
And this is when I found out the possible name of my where my journey will end to, destination... dad.
In 2008, when I still lived at home, my mom used to always watch the reality competition So You Think You Can Dance. I always watched it with her because there were hot girls in little clothing. One year there was a (hot) girl on the show who's name I liked and ever since then I told my mom that I was one day going to name my daughter that.
So when Ashley and I were trying to decide on names I told her about the name I wanted to name my daughter. She liked the name and agreed, and I told her that I would like to name our son after me making him the III and we will call him 'Trey'. Ashley didn't like that idea, so to be fair to her I told her that she could decide on the name for our son. She then asked, "Well what about the middle names." I told her that she could pick the middle name for the girl and I will pick the middle name for the boy. That way we both have an input on both names. Well it didn't work out that way, she ended up picking both names for the boy and I ended up picking both names for the girl. So the verdict is...
Boy: Ethan Eli
Girl: Kherington Marie
Ethan Eli - Ashley picked these names for no reason, she just liked them. She decided to go with the letter 'E' for both names because my last name also starts with an 'E' so that way I can still call him Trey if I wanted too. However, when I hear the name Ethan I think about the creepy "Others" guy from Lost who infiltrated the survivors camp, kidnapped Claire and ran test on her baby. Then when I hear the name Eli I think of the only NFL quarterback that I could beat in an arm wrestling match.
Kherington Marie - As stated before the girl I got this name from, Kherington Payne, was on SYTYCD starred in the Fame remake. I like uncommon names but not I'll-never-ever-get-a-real-job-with-this-name names. I decided to give her the middle name Marie because it is currently Ashley's middle name but I told Ashley to make her middle name her maiden name and get rid of her middle name when we get married.
Tip #8: Never relate a name to someone you know or have seen on TV, because all you will do is think that your son is going to grow up to be a weak armed kidnapping baby tester.
And this is when I found out the possible name of my where my journey will end to, destination... dad.
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