The New "Normal"

So life for the past three weeks has been one GIANT learning curve. John and I are now calling this the new "normal". Normal meaning functioning on little sleep - pretty much living from one feeding to the next. The second week was a bit rougher because Reese had pretty much become the sleepiest baby in the world and would not stay awake to breastfeed. She lost some weight, so the pediatrician had us give her the milk through a bottle. So in order to keep up the milk supply, at every feeding John would give her a bottle and I would pump. Then we would have to hold her upright afterward for about a half hour so that it would all stay down because of her reflux. As she gained her weight back, Reese became strong enough to relearn the art of breastfeeding which I had no idea took so much patience on both our parts! That has made things a bit easier. So anyway, breastfed babies eat about every 2.5 - 3 hours. Sometimes sooner, sometimes later. Add all the diaper changings to the mix and the rare moments when she is awake long enought to have some conversation with her and you have some pretty tired Chilcotes.

I have found that a tired John is not a very trustworthy person when awakened in the middle of the night. More than once, he has tried to convince me that the baby just ate when in reality it was three hours ago! I have also had the worst diaper changing experienc yet at the ungodly hour of 1 AM. No one should experience what I experienced that late at night. Let's just say that by the end of it, Reese, the door two feet away fromt the changing table and me were all covered with what was in Reese just a moment before.


With all of those experiences, it is still the most amazing life we could have asked for! We have been overwhelmed by the support of friends and family. We have received meals almost everyday, gifts throughout the week, and most importantly prayers and encouragements! I don't think we could have survived these first few weeks without them.

These pictures are all just from today. We had an eventful morning of eating, bathing and napping. (We learned that using the kitchen sink was a whole lot better than using the baby bath tub. Our mom's could have told us that!) I can see why mothers have been warning me for the past so many months that the time goes so fast. Look how big she is getting! Yes, I'm already mourning...



We love you all!
- Nicole, John, & Reese


- a side note from John: In the kitchen bath picture, you can't see it, but my shirt's pretty wet. I was in the middle of carrying a naked Reese from the nursery to the kitchen after changing her, deciding that we didn't need a diaper for a 10 second transport. Just as I stepped into the kitchen, she decided to let it flow...all over the kitchen floor and my stomach! At least with a girl the streams go down!

1st week home

Well, it's been an interesting week at the Chilcote house. We got home on Sunday and Tuesday morning we went to the Pediatrician for the first time. Reese had been doing great although she remained a bit yellow from the slight jaundice we noticed in the hospital. We were curious to see what her biliruben level would be. On the good side, she had regained almost all of her birth-weight and was 7lbs 10oz. But she was still yellow in her face and chest, so our pediatrician decided that we needed some extra treatment for the jaundice. Rather than go into the hospital and lay under the UV light, Reese was put on a "Biliblanket," which is a plastic "blanket" with fiber-optic strands of UV light pumped into it.

To make a long story short, we kept Reese wrapped up in the Biliblanket non-stop (except to change and bathe her) and it was quite cumbersome at the beginning. Eventually, we got used to wrapping her up, holding her, and even feeding her with the blanket around her torso. The bad part was, the blanket was attached by an inch-wide tube that connected to the light-source. So we set up camp all week in the living room and let Reese sleep in the pack-n-play. Nicole took the couch and I took the floor.

Along with the biliblanket, we needed to up her feeding schedule. The UV light helps her body to break down the biliruben (her liver will do this once the levels are down enough. Right now it's just too much for her to handle on her own) and then she needs to have lots of wet and dirty diapers to remove the toxins. So we started feeding her every 2 hours instead of 3 hours. But this challenged Nicole's body to produce enough milk quick enough. So we've been doing some formula in-between breastfeeding. A side issue is, as Reese's body works on eliminating the biliruben, she is really sleepy. She probably sleeps 20+ hours a day! That makes it even tougher to feed her every two hours. Sometimes she'll even sleep through a diaper change! We do what we can to wake her for the half-hour feedings. Normally you want your newborn to sleep through the night, but that's not our case. Let's just say the last few nights have been rough! It's exhausting trying to wake a sleeping baby!

BUT, today we finally got the green light to put the blanket away! Reese is lying in her pack-n-play all by herself and tonight she'll get to sleep in her bassinet for the first time since Monday. We are so excited! Hopefully we can re-establish a routine with Reese over next week.

On a lighter note, Nicole's mom has been with us all week and her dad came yesterday. Reese is their first grandchild. It was awesome to introduce Reese to her grandma and grandpa! It's been great having Roslyn here. While we work with figuring out what Reese needs,

Roslyn's kept up with laundry, dishes, and food. We're looking forward to just enjoying some time with them tonight and tomorrow.

Keep checking back for more updates next week! Love you all!

We're Home!

It's Monday morning and we've survived our first night at home! It actually wasn't that bad. We came home yesterday around 11. Nicole's mom, 3 brothers and 2 friends were there to meet us! It was a full house, but that's nothing new! We had tons of friends and family visit us in the hospital, so why should it change! She got used to many people holding her and loving her. But now it's just Nicole's mom, and honestly, we'll be glad for a change of pace.



Reese seems to be loving her new place. She has figured out how to sleep in her carrier, her pack-n-play, her bassinet, and her parent's arms! I'm sure you're all wondering about the pets. Lucy and James have been acting like nothing's changed. Simon's staying down in the basement and avoiding the whole thing. So everything's like it has always been.







We've got our pediatrician's appointment tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully she'll have a great visit. She's really a great baby. She only cries when she's naked and a little bit when she's changed. She actually enjoys laying and getting her diaper changed, but when we're done cleaning her up, she can't wait to get her clothes back on. She had her first bath today and did really well. It was quite funny seeing Nicole and I wipe her down and wash her hair on the Nursery floor. Watch for a video soon.

Nicole's doing great too. She's recovering well from the C-section and is enjoying fitting into clothes again! (Check out the earlier posts and see how big her belly was!) It's amazing to see her take care of Reese. I'm doing my best to help with the feeding process, especially during those twilight hour meals. We find times to take naps when we can, but too often we find ourselves staying awake so we can stare at our precious little girl.

Thanks for checking our blog. We'll try to keep you updated on how we're all doing. It's amazing how Reese has changed so much in the past few days. I can't imagine what documenting her life would be like without blogs and digital cameras!

Love you all!
John, Nicole, and Reese

August 1st - Day 3

Here are a few more pictures of Reese.

SHE’S HERE!!!

Reese Nicole Chilcote joined us in this world at 5:41AM on July 30th, 2008. She weighed 7lbs 11oz and was 18” long. What an amazing and surprising beginning of her life! With a C-section scheduled for August 31st, we were woken up early (3:30am!) on Wednesday morning by Nicole’s water breaking. After calling the Dr. we headed to the hospital and 2 hours later… “It’s a Girl!”

Reese is doing great and is constantly reminding us how amazing God is! She has definitely stolen our hearts with her little eyes, nose, ears, mouth, and big cheeks! We’re still trying to decide who she looks like, but we’re sure the cheeks came from me. She’s a really content baby, at least she has been these first 48 hours. She LOVES being swaddled and held. The only time she cries is when we undress her so she can feed. But once she starts to eat, she’s quite content!

Nicole is doing great, too. She’s recovering well from the surgery and has lost half of her stomach! She’s gaining strength and getting better with feeding each time. Today she walked around for the first time. She’s already an amazing mom! The next few weeks will be a bit challenging for her, as she’s not allowed to carry the car-seat or anything heavy, and she’s not allowed to drive! But we’ll get through it. Her mom is coming for a week after we get home from the hospital. She sure loves her Reese – e – Cup! (Yes, you spell it like the candy! Just an FYI.)

As for the delivery, it was a blessing to be prepared for a C-section. Reese (formerly known as ChiliBean) had turned breach from week 36 on, so we were pretty sure she wasn’t going to turn. It all happened just a bit quicker and earlier than we had expected. Nicole’s water broke at home, which started her into labor. She dealt with the contractions like a champ, even when they began to get really tough. Luckily she got the spinal tap quickly and didn’t feel anything from her shoulders to her ankles for the next 12 hours. (Her arms and hands were fine.) I quickly joined her in the operating room when I had put my scrubs on. A few minutes into the surgery, I was told I could stand up and watch over the screen if I wanted. Without hesitation, I jumped up and stared as they pulled my little daughter up and out of Nicole. It was incredible to say the least. We found out why she was breach; her umbilical cord was lightly wrapped twice around her neck like a scarf! She’d try to turn but her chord kept pulling her back. So we were again grateful that we committed to the C-section and didn’t try to turn her.

I joined Reese at the side table in the OR as she was cleaned off and had the initial medical procedures done. I proudly cut the cord and watched in amazement at the new life in front of me. Shortly after that she was wrapped up and I held my daughter for the very first time. I brought her over to her mom who was still getting sown up (an amazing story in itself) and we had our first picture taken as a new family.

Many friends and family have come to visit us already and many more are still planning on coming to see the new arrival. Even though we’re tired, we’re always glad to have visitors. We’ll be in the hospital until Sunday and then will venture out to the world. Thanks to everyone who’s been praying and supporting us for the last 9 months. We can’t wait for Reese to meet each one of you! We love you all and hope to see you soon! Nighty-night!

8 Days or less - Guaranteed!

So Nicole has passed the 37th week. Aren't you proud of her? I am. Really. She's done an awesome job being pregnant and dealing with all of the...sensations that come with it. I was only "pregnant" for a half hour, as you saw on the last post. It's quite remarkable how she's done. Praise God there haven't been any complications or issues other than the one we're currently in. She looks great, don't you agree!

Here we are in the nursery. If you can't tell how big her belly is, here's a better shot.

Nicole's commented on how she now understands the phrase "barefoot and pregnant" because she can hardly put her shoes on! Pray that her feet stop swelling so much! Her other big discomfort is ChiliBean's head is positioned right under (and sometimes in) her ribs. But, only 8 days to go (if not sooner!)


We are truly grateful for our friends and family! Our friends and co-workers at church threw us a co-ed cook-out shower. It was lots of fun! Also, the Seekers Bible study, a group of about 20 senior adult women (75 and older!) wanted to throw us a little shower. I felt a little bit out of place, but what fun we had. We didn't even know all of the ladies, but we sure knew they loved us. It was fun talking about all of the things they have now that didn't exist 20 years ago, let alone 50! (Wipe warmers, breastmilk freezer bags and organizers, rubber duckies with hot water indicators, velcro diapers with "wet" indicators, just to name a few!)

So the final news is how we know that we've only got 8 days. The baby’s still breach (at 32 weeks it was head down, but somewhere around 34-35 it did a flip - hence the head in Nicole's rib!) and Nicole’s at 3cm, which she's been for 2 weeks now. Our Dr. thinks that the baby could turn any day, but there may be some reason why it hasn’t yet. And since we don’t know why it’s not turning, he doesn’t want to try to turn it and then put the baby or Nicole into a traumatic state which would call for an emergency C-section. Nicole could go into labor at any time. But she hasn’t, yet either.

SO...we’re assuming that ChiliBean’s going to stay breach at least another week. We’re scheduled for a C-section next Thursday, July 31st at 9:30am. We’ll go in and see him on Tuesday (29th) and do a final check of everything. Our Dr. didn’t want to wait too long for the C-section because he didn’t want Nicole to go into labor and complicate the procedure. But he also wanted to wait until after 38 weeks to insure the baby’s complete development. If the baby turns, or if Nicole goes into labor, that will obviously change the situation a bit. But we’re thinking the baby’s not going to turn, and are thinking that Nicole will probably not progress further. But who knows. What we do know is that God has everything in His hands, and by July 31st, we’ll be holding ChiliBean in ours!

We'll stay in the hospital through Monday morning, as is their policy on C-sections. Everything's about ready with just a few more things to get. We're so excited to meet the little Levi John or Reese Nicole. We've got "coming home" outfits for both and our bags are all packed! We're ready to go!

Love you all!
John, Nicole and ChiliBean (real name TBD)

Unexpected...

Well, we got some unexpected news at our last appointment. It looks like Chilibean has decided to move out of "optimal" position and is now breech. So what does this mean? It means his/her head is stuck under my right rib (not very comfy) and vaginal labor will not be possible unless he/she turns around in the next week or so. I'm also 3 cm. dilated which means labor is imminent...So we are looking at a scheduled C-section in about 2 weeks unless I go into labor before that. If I do, then they will just set us up for C-section when we get there. There is a chance that the baby will turn on its own, but we are now getting used to the idea of the C-section. This will mean a 4 day stay in the hospital for all and longer recovery for me. Honestly, we are just thankful that we live in a time where these options are available and our baby will be taken care of in the best possible way. Still...it wouldn't hurt for you all to pray that the baby turns.

Almost there!

The end is in sight! As I was drinking my ONE cup of coffee this morning, it hit me that the end is near. Soon our lives will be changed forever. Our actions reflect that reality - we have been running around getting stuff ready - putting finishing touches on the nursery, polishing up the new budget, going to baby classes (check out John in the sympathy suit), etc...
I guess they call this nesting. At any rate, for every one thing we get done, I can think of five more that I want to do. Plus, we are trying to do stuff now that we may not be able to do in a month - go to movies, hang out with friends, catch a baseball game (we tried to go to a local game last night but opted out because of the rain) or whatever we feel like doing. It's very fun and exciting. Check out pictures from our latest outings.

Mother's Day Surprise and Boot Camp for New Dads

Nicole went to see her family in Erie over Mother's Day. Since she stayed through Sunday, I remained at home. With a few friends' help, that was all of the time I needed to get the nursery done! Thanks to Dave & Cheryl Murray-Miyamasu, Mark & Lorien Boyer, and Rob & Cori (Winter) McCabe (well, they will be McCabe in 2 weeks!)



We're probably going to do one more coat of paint, and have lots more decorations to do. We also still are going to get a glider of some sort. We haven't picked it out yet, but will add it to a registry when we decide. Anyhoo...there it is! Can't wait until you can come over and see it - with a little baby in it!

27 Weeks as of today! Time is going super fast! Nicole has Dr. appointments every 2 weeks now. They say she's doing really well.

Classes are all scheduled for June & July, except for Boot Camp for New Dads, which I went to on Saturday (in the middle of the construction chaos!). There were 6 'rookie' dads there. Mark Boyer and a co-worker of his went along with me. The other three guys were from Zanesville. Two were due in the summer, but one had just had a baby girl. There were also 3 'veteran' dads. One was the director of Forever Dads. The second was the facilitator of the morning. The third was a new 'veteran.' He brought his 5 month old girl in for the morning.
We talked about everything from diapers and feeding, to adjusting sleep & hobby time, to car-seats and diaper bags, to how the moms will change and how we can be good dads and husbands. One of the most fascinating things was watching most of the guys (including Mark) sit in a room with a baby 2 hours and watch how the 'veteran' dad took care of her while she got hungry, got tired, got scared, played, laughed, cried. Most of the rookies probably hadn't seen a baby away from their mother, or another woman, for more than 15 minutes, if ever.

Well, that's about it for now. We have a huge garage sale this weekend and next weekend we head out to Chicago for our anniverary, and to visit Granny and the Prinkes and to go to a Cubs Game!

Love you all!
John

New Carpet

Hey Everyone,
Well, things are moving right along! We've got new carpet in the whole house except the nursery. For some reason they didn't have the last roll to finish the house, so they're coming back today to lay it. It's like living in a new house! We ventured to IKEA for the 2nd time in a month on Wednesday to pick up our crib and a few other things. If you haven't ventured to the new store, block out an afternoon and just wander through. It's a really fun place! Anyway, now I'll have some more furniture to put together. Our bedroom looks great with the new dressers, bed, and night stands sitting on our new carpet! (That's 15 drawers to assemble!) After we paint the nursery, I'm sure it's going to look even nicer! We're going with a Farm animals theme (Farm Friends from Babies'R'Us). The furniture is all white and the walls will be yellow.

Enough about the house, Nicole is doing great! I'm starting to see how Chilibean will act - Mom is tired and hungry all the time! But she's doing well. 24 weeks along and strong. We'll get some pictures up soon. There's no denying that she's pregnant now! Sarah said Chilibean is more like a Chili Dog now, and that's true. at 24 weeks, the baby is about a foot long and weighs a whole pound!

For those of you that were curious, we did not find out if Chilbean is a boy or a girl. It's going to be a fun surprise. We'll keep you posted!

Chilibean at 20 weeks!

So we've got a few pictures to show you. Chilibean isn't really a bean anymore! Along with these shots, we got to see the 4 chambers of the heart, the spine, and the big belly with the umbilical chord stretching down by the legs! There was a strong heartbeat, but not much movement, so it was probably taking a nice nap. But it will be moving around soon. The ears are fully developed and it can begin to recognize sounds like voices, music, and Lucy's barking! So between John's Sneezing, Nicole's Laughing, and Lucy's howling, it will have much auditory stimulus! This one is a profile shot of little ChiliBean. You can see the forehead and nose, mouth, and chin. I really doubt the little strands on the forehead are hair, but you never know! You can also pick out an arm underneath the head. That's an elbow right above the chin and part of the hand can be seen right under the "R" of profile. It looks like a speck, but it's probably a thumb!
This is a close up of the foot and calf. The toes are on the bottom, with the heal pointing up and the leg going to the left. The little line across the ankle is the umbilical chord. She couldn't show us a full shot of the legs because we want that surprise hidden!
Here's another profile shot. The head's turned slightly, and you can see the neck and collar-bone pretty well. See those three smudges on top of the crown - that's the hand it's lying on. This is our Skeletor Face! The ultrasound picked up the skull outline pretty well! It's looking like it's going to have a longer, more Truitt-like, face. But you can also see those Chilcote cheekbones!

Here's a good shot of that arm under the head. You can see the other hand down by the arm pit. Two legs, two arms, one head! We've got a healthy baby and a healthy mommy! Half-way there!

Love you all!

John and Nicole and Chilibean!

ps - if you'd like, go ahead and click subscribe to this blog. Then you'll get emails sent to you when we've updated it. We'd love to hear your comments!

First Day of Spring

Apparently, yesterday was the first of spring. Here in Ohio it definitely looked like it - blue skies, birds chirping, etc. So I did not think anything of stepping out of my car at the school's parking lot and heading into the building without looking for ice. Oops. I took one step and BOOM! fell flat on my back. It was painful. I got up and went into the building pretty shaken up but okay. I called our doctor's office just to let them know that I fell for the baby's sake. They told me that I definitely needed to come in that day which I was glad for because my body did hit pretty hard. So John and I got to go again for an unscheduled appointment and hear little Chilibean's heartbeat and know that all was well. He(she) is growing, and we could tell because the heartbeat sounded a lot stronger. So, the doctor confirmed that mom and baby were okay and also gave me the go ahead to go in the hot tub at the cabin we are staying in over Easter which I thought was taboo. She said it would be fine just as long as I didn't let myself get too hot. Next Thursday morning we will go back for our 20 week ultrasound which we are very excited about. Afterward, John and I will go and register for all the fun things that come with having a baby at Target and Babys R'Us. Happy Easter, Everyone!

Final Answer...

Okay, so we know we told you all that we were going to find out the sex of Chilibean, BUT we changed our minds AGAIN. This time our FINAL ANSWER is that we are going to wait. Really, we are. Deep down it was our true desire to wait, but my practical nature got in the way. I wanted to garage sale for baby clothes this summer and needed to know the sex in order to do that. Then I thought, why not just buy clothes for both a boy and a girl? There are so many babies being born this summer (our friends Megan, Heather, Lorien, and Rebecca and my brothers J0e and Danny) that surely someone will have opposite of what we're having and could use the clothes! So there you go. Final answer - we are waiting.

There really isn't any other news to share right now. I'm feeling good. I had a few bouts with heartburn this week, but Tums took care of that pretty fast. One of the big things John and I did this week was map out our calendar from now until August. We're getting new carpet for the house...we're having our own garage sale...we need to paint the nursery...we need to register...I'm helping with other people's showers...John's rearranging the garage (Matt, he may need help with this - hint, hint)...we plan on doing summer camp...we're going to Chicago to visit Granny and catch the Cubs...the list goes on and on. We had to map it out on the calendar or else we'd go crazy. It's all pretty overwhelming but really fun at the same time.

This Thursday we have our next check-up and we'll let you know how it goes. Hope everyone has a great week. Can you believe it's March already?

John's First Post

Hey there everybody,

Nicole (aka Nikki) and I are so excited (and obviously a bit oblivious) about what God has in store for us in the next 5 months and beyond! We'll definitely be keeping you updated as the weeks and months progress.

Talking about weeks, for those of you keeping score at home, we change "weeks" on Tuesday. So tomorrow will be 16 weeks!

I surprised Nicole Saturday by coming up with the idea* to go to Baby's 'R Us and getting some more concrete ideas on strollers, travel systems, pack'n'plays, etc. We were looking at one Evenflo stroller/travel system, that is pretty cool. So cool, in fact, that three other couples were looking at the same one. It's sort of heavy, but really easy to move around and fold down. And there's a canopy that goes all the way from the handle to the foot rest - a sweet upgrade from what Matt and I had 30 years ago! Can't you tell I've learned a lot already? I've decided that whatever we get, I want each thing to have a canopy that can go over the entire contraption - whether it's a carrier, a "bouncenette" or whatever. Just because it's cool. And how about every thing you can get now plays music, or sound effects or something. I'm surprised that there's no touch screen or ipod dock. I'm sure that option will come soon!

So, I did want to give my two cents in on Nicole's cravings or whatever you call them. I see she mentioned Mexican. Well, it's actually cheap Mexican - Chipotle or Taco Bell. We hadn't had TC for probably 3 years and then out of a dead sleep she sits up and says "I need a crunchy taco...3 crunchy tacos...from Taco Bell."
"are you serious?"
"yes. Ooo with sour cream, tomatoes, cheese, and lettuce."
"So you want 3 supreme tacos?"
"Yes. Right now!"
When I got back, we saw the Taco Bell commercial - the one where the pregnant wife says "I want something crunch, chewy, melty, and cheesy) for the first time and just laughed and laughed! Nicole had said that it had to be Taco Bell and not Chipotle, because she wanted something salty and crunchy with ground beef. And there's no meat like Taco Bell meat!

Along with Mexican, she's been NEEDING a vanilla shake from McDonald's. We went hiking down at Old Man's Cave last weekend with some friends. (It was beautiful, but really icy! See the frozen Waterfall?)
Afterwards, we needed some food, but there's only Bob Evans and McDonald's in beautiful Logan, Ohio. Since we did breakfast at Bobs, we did McD's. Nicole let me know that she wanted a milkshake, so I ordered for us. Well, I ordered a small vanilla shake and she wanted a medium. She drank the shake and had her cheeseburger and split my fries. But she still needed more shake. So she went and got one when we left - another small. But one small plus another small actually equals a LARGE (32 oz) shake! Ever since that day, she's needed a small vanilla shake about every day. She's also drinking milk and eating cheese. So she says it's all a dairy craving. The good thing is, whenever she needs a shake, I get to get a chocolate one!

OK, well, enough for now. Other than Nicole's belly starting to grow, there's no real updates until her Dr's apt next week. So we'll update you when there's new news!

Love you all.

John

* by the way, never go to Babies 'R Us on Saturdays. Too many pregnant people scanning, shopping, registering. Some of them brought grand-parents and friends. No offense to anyone, but Nicole and I will go some day on our own when no one else is there!

Welcome!

Hello Everyone!

John and I decided to start this website because we have so many family members out of town, and we wanted you all to walk with us on our new journey. So through the power of technology, here we go!

We are now in our fourth month (15 weeks along), and I am starting to get some of my energy back. Thankfully, I did not have any morning sickness in the first trimester. Just fatigue. I am starting to gain some weight and a little belly has begun to poke out:)! John has been very supportive and wonderful as he has already had to make a couple of food runs for some of my cravings. I love Mexican! We have decided that we will find out the sex of the baby. Sorry for all of you traditionalists out there, but we couldn't pass up all the deals we would get garage saling(?) this summer (thanks, Mom, for passing that addition...er...hobby on to me!). Our next appointment is March 6th, but we will not have another ultrasound until the appointment after that where we will find out the sex.

Thanks to everyone who has been such a support to us over the past five years of us trying. I'm still overwhelmed by this blessing and honestly still have a hard time believing it's actually true. God is good, and this blessing has definitely taken our breath away (especially when we get to hear the heartbeat!). So, that's it for now. Grandmas and Grandpas, we plan to keep this site going after the birth so you can daily be updated on your grandchild. Love you all!