Navel gazing

Navel gazing
Originally uploaded by dyrlac.

Hooray, no more rotting umbilical cord stump! Now he has a regular looking innie.

First outing

First outing
Originally uploaded by dyrlac.

Monday, we took our first outing. As expected, other parents wept from their shame upon sighting the celebrity pushchair of the stars.

We had planned an exciting trip to NatWest, but someone decided there were too many germs there. So we came home.

Little gymnast

Little gymnast
Originally uploaded by dyrlac.

This is how Nathaniel sleeps, as if he's on the rings. While in this position he does leg lifts, normally because he's just pooped.

Large pantaloons

Large pantaloons
Originally uploaded by dyrlac.

On Saturday morning, before the Fulham v. Southampton match (a much needed 1-0 victory to the Whites), Nathaniel got to dress up in his leisurewear. We enjoyed it a lot more than he did.

His first night home

Nathaniel and I were finally set free from the hospital on Thursday afternoon. We loaded him up in his car seat and he took his very first black cab ride. The cab driver even seemed to enjoy giving our little boy his very first London ride. We all arrived home and spent the afternoon getting him used to our house. That evening we gave him his very first bath and he rewarded us by pooing right into his daddy’s hand.

His first night could have been worse, but it was pretty difficult for all of us. I spent the first four hours worried that he was too sleepy and lethargic. I couldn’t left myself go to sleep because I needed to watch his breathing. He then rewarded my worrying by staying awake between 1 a.m and 5 a.m. and demanding to be fed every 20 minutes. We finally got him to settle himself on our bed for a little while. But he managed to pee our bed during the course of his first nap. We proved ourselves fairly typical first time parents—overwrought, confused, and thoroughly exhausted.

Home at last

As noted earlier, because Deirdre's delivery began with a PROM, mom and baby were supposed to stay in the hospital for 48 hours to watch for signs of infection. This seemed to consist entirely of checking Nat's temperature every eight hours. When I suggested we could do the same at home, the midwives and pediatricians pointed out that Nat's tempature was low. So he got a hat, and all (read Deirdre) agreed to stay an extra night.

But it didn't do any harm. At least other than the two of them being trapped in the same wardroom as the twee-est toffs in all of Twickenham, but that's why you give birth in the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea. So this morning we got to go home, as Nat's temperature had stabilized and all his other tests checked out. Note that we took a black cab home, not the 14 bus. Largely because the 14 bus doesn't have seat belts to attach a car seat into.

And here they are at home. I couldn't get our cats to take more of an interest in him. Because they have no idea what they're in for.

What are you lookin' at?

What are you lookin at?
Originally uploaded by dyrlac.

Here's Nat in his third day of incarceration. everything turned out fine once we figured out he needed to wear a stylish hat.

Nat's Birthday

Larger verisons of our pictures are here but aren't organized in any meaningful way. I am trying to get the thumbnails to create new images, but relax people.

On Sunday morning (19 Sept), Deirdre woke up to either incontinence or broken water. Unfortunately for the adult protective pants industry, it was the latter. So, as photoblogged in previous entires, we took the bus to Chelsea & Westminster Hospital (hereinafter C&W). Scans showed little contractive activity, but the baby was doing fine. we were ordered to report back to C&W 12 hours later in keeping with current thinking on PROM.

So we went back. Once there, contractions strengthened. Nat's heartbeat showed a tendency to dip at each one (a deceleration in the lingo). This was distressing because it meant his oxygen supply would be reduced in the more active stages of labor. All looked well, though, when Deirdre changed position, so we were sent home, and ordered to report back on monday morning.

That night was long. At 0230, Deirdre started getting fairly strong contractions every 10 minutes. We packed our bag in anticipation of going directly to the labor ward when we were scheduled to go in for more monitoring at noon on Monday (20 Sept). But at 1030 on Monday, contractions stopped.

So we took the bus back to C&W, a little (OK a lot) disapointed. Back at the day assessment unit, monitoring revealed that Nat's heartbeat was still decelerating with every (by then fair weak) contraction. A doctor came in to look at the trace, and suggested that if the situation didn't improve, we would need a caesarian section, because of the aforementioned oxygen problem.

This diagnosis was enough to promote us to the labor ward for continuous monitoring. As it happened, contractions began in earnest, and we though we were on our way. At 1600 at the first vaginal exam, however, Deirdre was only 1 centimetre dilated. Worse, after another three hours of awful, awful contractions, the second vaginal exam revealed the same diagnosis, still 1 centimetre of dilation. We would have to induce, and given the pain of the useless contractions, Deirdre elected to get an epidural. To monitor the deceleration problem, we would have to keeping the monitor on throughout the entire labor.

Vitamin E is, as our friends across the channel term it, les genoux de l'abeille. Deirdre's total abstention from recreational pharmaceuticals (such as Fullers London Pride) left her totally unprepared for the delights of high grade opiates. The next three hours flew by and despite suspiciously small monitored contractions, by 2300, Deirdre was between 5 and 8 centimetres. At 0300, we were ready to go, that is, wait for another hour and then go.

I don't recommend the pushing bit of giving birth. (Note that this picture was not an actual push, as I still have possession of my equipment, but merely faffing about while we waited). But at 0449, it was done. A tremendous shout out is owed to Beverly, our midwife at C&W.

The results at 0510. These are two incredible troopers and the most important people in the world.

21 September was a busy day at C&W. Apparently, Londoners had little else to do during the Christmas holidays. So we hung out in our delivery room for another seven hours. Deirdre got to take a shower and looked little worse for wear, though she mentioned that she could go for a Vitamin E top up. I went home for six hours of shut eye, as no one gave me narcotics to sleep through bits of the first stage of labor or maternal hormones to let me stay awake after 48 consecutive hours. I note in passing that companies pay hundreds of pounds an hour for my and my colleagues' services after similar periods of wakefulness.

Technically, because Nat was born more that 24 hours after his amniotic sac broke, he is at risk for infection, so he and mom get to stay at C&W for another day. Not too shabby, because his early arrival meant that our house is not quite ready to take a newborn.

Nathaniel Edward Smith. Nathaniel, after Nathaniel Greene and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Edward, for inter alia Robert Edward Davidson, Deirdre's dad, currently winning hearts and minds in northern Iraq. And Smith, for all the people with a surname so common they couldn't get decent gmail addresses.

Nathaniel Edward Smith

Born: 21 September 2004
Weight: 7 lbs. 2 oz.
Length: 20.5 inches

Mom and baby doing well.

Pictures & birth notes to come.

2d Time

2d Time
Originally uploaded by dyrlac.

The second time we were at C&W on the 19th. We're going back today.

Bus Stop

Bus Stop
Originally uploaded by dyrlac.

I did warn her we would take the bus to the hospital. The 14 takes all of 8 minutes from our house to Chelsea & Westminster. A trip spoiled only by driving past Stamford Bridge, home of the hated Chelski.

Deirdre at Stonehenge

Deirdre at Stonehenge
Originally uploaded by deirdred75.

Mom, Fiona and I all hit Stonehenge last week before Fiona started school. We wandered around the stone circle and went and visited Old Sarum, one of the thousands of castles that William the Conqueror left around England. I am still able to get around decently, even if I feel as if my belly sticks out around 10 feet in front of me.

The Stroller

Our moms teamed up to acquire the Bugaboo for their grandson. It arrived yesterday. This is, simply put, the finest piece of engineering ever devised. More important, it is the "celebrity pushchair of the stars". I would post a picture, but at the moment it remains unassembled in the living room until I finish the B.Mech. I'll need to put it together.

UPDATE: Behold, the stroller in all its glory. Sadly, several furry animals were injured it its construction:

Pont du Gard

Pont du Gard
Originally uploaded by dyrlac.

Did we mention it was hot in Provence? Seriously, don't go in August.

Arles

Let him live
Originally uploaded by deirdred75.

A colloseum. Doug looks happy, or possibly manic. Effects of heat stroke no doubt.

Our first picture

D&D in front
Originally uploaded by deirdred75.

The front door to our palace, obscured in part by Deirdre's increasing bump.

Open Thread for Comments

This entry is an open thread for comments so that we can sort out a commenting protocol. In all likelihood, you'll have to register. This avoids dreaded "comment spam" and keeps casual visitors out (go away casual people, come back better dressed!). If it proves too burdensome, we'll change it. Anyway, because I've just told mom (Hi Mom!) that this site exists, I'll expect comments from her.

So, to comment, click on the link that says [0] Comments. Remember that, but for the insubstantial veil of obscurity, anyone in the world can read this. So don't say anything here you wouldn't want your mother to read (Hi Mom!).

Hello

This blog aims to satisfy the demand by certain unnamed parties for photos and news from the London branch of the Davidson-Smith-Long-Codd-Peterson clan. Mostly, this news will be in relation to the expected baby, Nathaniel TBD Smith. Sometimes it will lament the performance of the Fulham Football Club, see, e.g., Fulham 0 - Arsenal 3. But generally, this is an experiment in moderated extended family discussion.