Haven James Rising

I decided to make a list of the things that I was really happy to have while Melissa and I were in the labor and delivery at the hospital… There are all sorts of lists for mothers / babies… but I haven’t seen anything out there letting us guys know what to bring along for the ride.




Call-Em-All (http://www.callemall.com)

This is a voice broadcast service that allows you to place a bunch of people’s phone numbers into a call list where you leave one message and it calls everyone at once. This was really handy because we had a LOT of people who wanted to be updated with what was going on, and I was the one to make the updates. It allowed me to spend more time taking care of Melissa and the baby and less time talking on the phone saying basically the same thing to everyone. The other thing that this was especially good for is the simple fact that cell phone service in our room was very inconsistent. Call-Em-All allowed me to step out of the room for a few minutes to a good location, make the call with updates, and send it off to everyone. Of course some folks were upset with us because it wasn’t very personal, but hopefully they will understand (Sorry Mr. Clark!).




Wifi / Internet / Laptop
While cell phone service was not the best at the hospital, ours did offer free Wifi access… which was great because we were able to update on facebook and here on Haven’s blog. If you do not have Wifi available (make sure to ask during the tour), get yourself a USB dongle from your cell phone carrier (if your cellular service is decent in the labor and delivery department of your local hospital) and make sure that you have a data plan. Some hospitals do offer Wifi for a fee as well… so again… be sure to ask and compare the costs! Internet at the hospital is a must in my opinion, particularly if your wife is going through a really long labor or if there are complications, as you can research a bit online for things like the side effects of Stadol.




5 Hour Energy
If you’re a coffee drinker like I am, and like it strong enough to tar a roof with… you’ll find that the coffee available at the hospital is horrible. I picked up 2 of these little things for $5 at Walmart, and soon after Melissa went into labor I went ahead and drank one. It kept me alert through the whole 20+ hours. This was especially helpful because we were actually at the hospital the night before and spent the night there so I didn’t get a very good night’s sleep the night before. They taste horrible though, so make sure you drink it with a sprite or ginger ale.

Snacks
You’ll want to make sure to bring something salty, and something sweet. We brought granola bars and some kind of chocolate / peanut butter bars. The point here is that just because she can’t eat does not mean that you shouldn’t. I felt bad at first because she was suffering through labor and unable to eat… but there really is no point in you going hungry and you’ll need to keep your strength up too. I actually went out during lunch to get something more substantial while she was still at 1cm. This is something I would ONLY recommend if your wife suggests it. Every situation will be different. I had the benefit of time and a patient, loving wife on my side. Melissa began labor at 5:30am, and the hospital we were in did not serve meals to the father… so I really had no choice but to either go to the cafeteria (which I did for breakfast… yuck), or go out to eat.




Water Bottle
The water at the hospital is pretty good, but they do not give you your own bottle. We happen to have these Camelback bottles which are BPA free and very easy to drink from:

Ear Plugs
These aren’t really needed during labor, but afterwards when the baby is born and you’re exhausted … they are a must. They don’t completely eliminate the noise of your wonderful bundle of joy, but just cut out the edge of it that drives you insane. I’m not advocating completely ignoring your newborn and leaving his/her care up to your wife, but diaper changing during those first few fumbled attempts while they are screaming at the top of their lungs is a lot easier to concentrate on when 20db or so of the shrill is removed. I used a type called ‘Quiet Time’ made by a company called ‘Flents’. I got them at Walmart for about $5, but you can also get them at walgreens. These things are great because you squish them up, put them in, and they expand to the shape and size of your ear canal. They also come with a neat little plastic case to protect them in your pocket when not in use:

Your own pillow
Pillows at the hospital suck. They are small and squishy, and while they are great for folding up under your wife’s arm while she’s nursing, they are not made to sleep on. I am used to a king mattress and king sized pillows at home, and my stay at Hotel MTMC consisted of a twin sized roll-out rubber mattress cot and a single flimsy pillow my dog wouldn’t sleep on. The blankets they give you are also nonsense and for some reason my wife wanted the room temp set at 65 the whole time, so I was freezing. Not a lot you can do about this unless you bring your own sleeping bag. I’m sure they wouldn’t say anything.




Flip Video / Digital Camera
The digital camera is pretty obvious, but I would add that my Canon 30d was a bit large / clunky in the operating room with scrubs and such on. I would have preferred to have a smaller camera for this event as the quality of the lighting was not the greatest anyhow. I was very happy to have my Flip Video with me though… which took great HD video of my son’s birth. I have both the Flip Ultra and the Flip Mino HD. I would highly recommend spending the extra $ and getting the Mino HD because the quality is so much better, and it’s going to be really important to you to have HD of your baby’s premiere. This little device is awesome because just minutes after Haven was born, I was importing the video of him onto my laptop and then uploading it to Facebook for everyone to see. They are about $200 but I actually won mine at the Nashville Flex User’s Group Christmas Party last year! Thanks to Scott Gordon at Vaco, Matthew Wallace and Boaz! They are worth the money because they are small as a cell phone, and really easy to keep on in your pocket.

Power Strip
Go ahead… laugh. Seriously though… They didn’t have many working outlets in the room, and beyond the rechargable devices we brought with us (camera, flip video, 2 cell phones, laptop), we also had a portable ipod boom box type device for music while Melissa labored. One outlet to rule them all.




Essentials bag
This is probably the most important. Shaving cream, Razor, Toothbrush, Toothpaste, deoderant, shampoo, soap, Advil (or other pain killer)… all the stuff that you would normally bring with you on a trip. While the hospital will supply your wife with some of this, you’re not going to get the quality that you’re used to. Make sure that you pack one for her as well. You both will feel a lot better having it before, during, and after labor. Melissa must have brushed her teeth 3 times that day!

02/25/2009 at 12:35am, 5lb 7oz, 18in! Momma and baby are both doing well!

He has a little skin tag on his chin that the doctor has tied a silk suture around. It should fall off within a week to 10 days. He’s doing wonderful… got a great set of lungs! Mom is in a bit of pain after the surgery, but is starting to move around now. All of us thank you so much for all the prayers and gifts!

More pictures of him found here

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wow! everything has gone into high gear around here! I just got back from a cruise around the Caribbean (San Juan, St. Thomas, St. Maarten), and when I arrive… I find out that Melissa’s water is a bit low, and the doctor is talking about inducing next Tuesday! We’re really excited to meet Haven, and apparently he is too! He was originally due April 1st, then they changed it to March 13th, and now February 24th!

Mom and baby are both doing fine…Mom’s on bed rest, we listened to his heart beat and had an EKG done on Monday (everything’s good with his heart), and we’ll be going in for another ultrasound this Thursday. The doctor says though that if the amniotic fluid is lower during that ultrasound, she will most likely induce that day, so we could be meeting Haven even earlier than the 24th! *YAY!*

He’ll come when he wants to come. Meanwhile, I’ve been scrambling around getting all of what we need together, as we figured we’d have another month to do all our shopping! I spent about 6 hours at Babys-R-Us… and got 5 carts full of stuff! One of the clerks said ‘is all this stuff yours?!?’

I’ve been told that this is ‘not on the top of the list’ (like the Cobra 427?), but I would so love to be able to put up a webcam in Haven’s room for family to be able to see! It fits with my general geekiness, and who wouldn’t want to watch us get ‘blessed’ by the fruit of our loins?


I’ve looked at several of them, and so far the best ones are the following:


Linksys WVC54GCA
http://www.linksysbycisco.com/US/en/products/WVC54GCA


D-Link DCS-920
http://www.dlink.com/products/?sec=0&pid=664


Both of them are wireless, which is nice because although I do have an ethernet port drawn to that room, it is at the bottom of the wall, and would mean routing more cat5 cable through the wall to get there. As it is, I’m already going to have to do that with power, and don’t really want any more hassle. Besides, the wireless capability will make it easy to move the camera elsewhere if we decide.


I’m a fan of Linksys… particularly since they were acquired by Cisco. I’ve never really liked D-Link stuff, but have seen good reviews of this camera. They are both priced about the same… but the one feature that stands out is the ability to stream Quicktime / Real / Windows Media from the Linksys device. I’m not sure if I would wind up using that… would probably just opt for using FTP and have the pictures uploaded when there was movement in the room… but still a neat feature.


I think that the D-Link has a java admin… while the Linksys requires ActiveX … which would mean that I could not use the web interface on the Mac without using Paralells.


So yeah… I’m torn.

ok… first off i will need to preface this post with the fact that i am a ThinkGeek addict. i’d say that at least 50% of my wardrobe came from them, and is in the obligatory black. i think that one of the greatest things about having a boy on the way is the simple pleasure of actually being able to justify all those toys that i always wanted as a kid but never got! not wanting to rush him to grow up… but how old does he have to be before i can justify a ‘66 Cobra 427 Hemi?


well… until then… here are some things that I would love him to have:


I Tcp/IP onesie
http://www.thinkgeek.com/geek-kids/newborn-infant/5e09/


Version 2.0 Shirt
http://www.thinkgeek.com/geek-kids/newborn-infant/6c71/


Version 1.0 Shirt (this one’s for me!)
http://www.thinkgeek.com/tshirts-apparel/unisex/generic/6c68/


ItzBeen Timer
http://www.thinkgeek.com/geek-kids/newborn-infant/b45e/
This thing is a must have. Anything that will help to keep our sleepless selves on track!


Newbie Onezie
http://www.thinkgeek.com/geek-kids/newborn-infant/59cc/


Input / Output T-shirt
http://www.thinkgeek.com/geek-kids/newborn-infant/592c/


Baby Tux Shirt
http://www.thinkgeek.com/geek-kids/newborn-infant/5ace/
he will be indoctrinated early. oh yes, he will.


Further indoctrination
http://ipopmybaby.com/


Baby Tag Onesie (web 2.0 baby?)
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=7483180


Hoberman Rattle
http://www.thinkgeek.com/geek-kids/newborn-infant/b0ad/


Winkel Teether
http://www.thinkgeek.com/geek-kids/newborn-infant/b0a3/


Mozart Cube
http://www.thinkgeek.com/geek-kids/newborn-infant/b412/
We’ve been told that playing music, particularly classical music is one of the best ways to enhance a baby’s congitive abilities.


Color Burst Safety Mirror
http://www.geniusbabies.com/colburbabsaf.html
It seems that Manhattan Toy does a really good job… has some pretty cool stuff for infants.


Curiousity Cube Early Years
http://www.geniusbabies.com/curiousity-cube-baby-toy.html
This one looks like a lot of fun… so much to do in such a compact space!

Melissa is wanting to use cloth diapers with Haven. We’ve gotten mixed reviews from different folks who have used them with their own children, and it seems like the technology has improved quite a bit because the folks who are all saying ‘good luck with that’ were using just straight up 4 corner white cloth diapers held in place with bobby pins (ouch!), where now we’ve got some really cool ones like these:


http://www.willowbuns.com/


ahhh… the wonderment of velcro!


Over the last few months, I have learned more about these things than I ever thought I’d care to.


One of the more obvious issues with this process is that there is well… poop involved, and you need to figure out a good way to rid yourself of it before the diaper finds it’s way into your washer. I want one of these:





I had actually considered making a hose / sprayer for the toilet myself… as I’ve gotten rather handy as of late, but decided that the over-all cost would be about the same with parts from Lowes, and I could probably use the extra hour or more (between driving, shopping, building, installing) to do something else.


This device seems so ingenious really, just sits right on top of the toilet, and all the poo goes down the drain!

I just think these things are so cool. What a simple product to market!

and they come in CAMO!!!

http://www.bebabean.com/products/pptp.aspx

I am not sure where I heard / read it… but they say that Moms are Moms as soon as they are pregnant, but Dads are not Dads until the baby comes out.

I don’t know when it really hit me. Maybe it was a few days ago when at about 2am I put my hand on Melissa’s belly and felt Haven doing somersaults in there. Or maybe it was the experience of actually seeing him smile at me while watching the ultrasound technician do her thing. Or possibly it was when I went running out to Walgreens to pick up a pregnancy test, and we went through three of them before we finally decided it was time to go to the doctor ‘just to be sure’.

Today as I sat in Melissa’s glider after positioning all the baby furniture in it’s ‘final’ place within Haven’s room, I prayed for awhile… and then looked at his crib and imagined him standing there looking at me. He was cute… just like his daddy. It is amazing to think that in less than 2 short months, he’ll actually be here in our arms.

I decided to pull these out of the animated video and just post them into an article.





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