Birth Story - Baby Adylyn

First I would like to thank all of you for your support and prayers.  We are blessed to have a great network of family and friends to support us as we raise Baby Adylyn.

At 5:30am Christmas morning Emily woke me and told me that she thought her water had broken.  We hadn't packed our bags for the hospital and really weren't totally prepared for the baby to come but off to the St. Vincent Hospital - Carmel we went.  When we arrived at the hospital the nurses checked everything out and informed us that Emily's water had actually broken (sometimes expecting mothers just have bladder control issues).  After that we made ourselves confortable in a labor and delivery room.  Emily's parents were already planning on heading down for Christmas Day so they came straight to the hospital when they arrived.  Emily wasn't very dialated so they started medication to make her dialate.  We all talked, watched movies, ate ice chips, and played card games (Monopoly Deal is great!). 

This went on until around 8:30pm (ya, that's 13 hours and we were expecting quite a few more).  About that time the doctor came in and informed us that after each contraction the baby's heart rate was not returning to baseline as quickly as the doctor would prefer.  The medical staff tried a few different techniques but we finally came to the realization that the baby would need to be born via caesarean section. Around 10pm Emily and I went into the operating room and baby Adylyn Esther was born at 10:22pm.  The surgery went great (I got to watch!) and everything went exactly as planned.  The doctor told us that the baby looked great and we could take her to the recovery room.

The next few days consisted of lots of rest and recovery.  We watched movies and Emily took a lot of time resting and waiting for her incision to heal.  On Sunday my parents and sisters came down to visit and got to hold Ady for the first time. Everyone agreed that she is the most beautiful baby ever.

On day two we faced a little rough patch. Emily has struggled in the past with allergic reactions from stress, skin pressure, and hormone changes. As you might guess this scenario was somewhat of a perfect storm.  Emily ended up having a severe allergic reaction the second day but after trying lots of different meds and chewing out a few nurses we got in touch with Emily's doctor.  Her doctor then prescribed her some steroids for her swollen face and body of hives (it was pretty rough).  Once the steroids kicked in we were back in recovery mode, but we were definitely a day or two behind.

On Tuesday a little after 1pm we left the hospital and drove home with Ady.  We had about 10 hours to ourselves until Emily's mother (Grandma Fox) came to help.  Since then it's been a lot of poopy diapers, learing to breastfeed, and fun outfits.  The sleep deprivation and learning curve has led to a few frustrating moments for Emily and I but we know it's all par for the course.  Overall everything is going great but Emily is very tired and still trying to fight off a large dose of crazy hormones and itchy hives while learning to take care of an infant.  I can't wait to see what we will learn tomorrow!

Thanks again for all of your thoughts and prayers.  If you would like to visit Baby A give Dan a call or text or send one of us a message on Facebook.  We hope to start having visitors as soon as tonight or tomorrow. We will take it slow but can't wait to start showing her off!


Grandma & Grandpa Fox



Grandma & Grandpa Stichter

You Want Pictures?

The Colts have won and life is slowing down a little (for now).  Emily is asleep in the hospital bed and has been recovering well.  I can't ask for a more beautiful wife or a more excellent mother for our children.  God has truly blessed us with baby Adylyn (ADD-a-lyn).  We have received an amazing Christmas gift and we are still praising God for His blessing. 

I keep hearing that the people want more pictures.  What a coincidence, I've taken a few (ok, maybe more than a few).  Here are some of my favorites.

Adylyn Esther Stichter

Adylyn Esther Stichter 22:22   7lb 2.2oz     20.25in"
Everyone is doing great. We are so happy and incredibly blessed. Merry Christmas!

Oh Snap - It's Time

Oh snap. Emily woke me up at 5:30 this morning and told me she thought her water broke. She was, in fact, correct. Hanging out in the labor and delivery room now. (Un)fortunately there is a "Christmas Story" marathon on TBS (Emily's favorite Christmas movie) so we will be watching that until the baby arrives. Nothing exciting yet, but we're on our way! Thanks for your thoughts and prayers. Merry Christmas!

Sent from my iPhone

Dad Post: The First of Many

I just decided that rather than try to maintain a baby blog and a personal blog I will just take advantage of my unborn child's celebrity and write here. Hence, the "Dad Post".  It may stay, it may fade but for now it's here.

Baby Thoughts: Baby A few days ago a co-worker commented "Dan, any day now you could be a dad!"  While I realize that's how this whole process works it didn't hit me until then.  I'm actually going to be a dad with real duties and responsibilities.  To this point Emily has pretty much taken care of me, but this baby will be completely dependent on Emily and I for good jokes, dating advice, and fashion sense.  Let's hope she gets the fashion sense from Emily. The other two I think I can handle.

Dork Corner: Today we were watching Jeopardy (a guy won for the 8th time in a row) and all the contestants were stumped on a $1000 clue.  I made up a word as I usually do (Emily may have more correct answers but I get the creativity award) and it was correct.  Who knew that "elephantine" was a word?  Congratulations if you did, I'm just an accountant.

Sports/Accounting/Stats (SAS): In case you weren't already aware, taxes are rediculously complicated.  I claim to be an accountant and I haven't the slightest what's going on these days.  Keeping up with the tax code is getting to be worse that trying to keep up with Brett Favre's injury/employment status.  I ended up finding a listing of commonly overlooked tax deductions that is actually pretty good.  I think the key with this stuff is to just ask questions.  If we don't talk then we can't learn from each other.

Fun Fact*: You are more likely to be killed by a champagne cork than a poisonous spider.

Baby Time Top 10

Our recent Christmas parties and other events have got me thinking.  Since Baby Stichter is due this holiday season there are some awesome "baby's here!" scenarios.  No, I did not consult Emily for her thoughts before I put together this list.  This is my top 10 list anyway.  Do you have thoughts on this list or a great idea I forgot?

Top 10 "Baby's Here!" Scenarios

*events have already occurred

10.  Due Date

9.    New Year's Day

8.    Dec. 27th or 28th - Emily's choice so it makes the list

7.    Christmas Eve - Christmas Carols in the delivery room 

6.    Jon McLaughlin & Sarah Scarborough Concert*
5.    Today

4.    Company Christmas Party - Lucas Oil Stadium*

3.    New Year's Eve (delivery pre midnight)

2.    Colts v Jags game - seriously. How awesome would it be to have to leave the biggest regular season game of the 2010 season because my wife is having a baby. Epic. But number one wins out...

1.    Any day when it's twins.

The Numbers Are In

In case you haven't figured it out, I kind of like numbers/stats (a little) and I'm pretty stoked about that our baby girl is almost here. Hence the whole Baby Stichter Pick'em thing.  The numbers are in and now it's official so let's check out what we've got.  I have included all guess no matter how "interesting".  I can tell you up front that the ludicrous heights and weights were all submitted by the male half of the population. Way to go boys... 

Total Entries - 37

Male - 43%

Female - 54%

Couples - 3%

Birthdate

Average - Jan. 2, 2011 1:38pm

Median - Jan. 1, 2011 9:22pm

Earliest - Dec. 20, 2010 8:30pm

Latest - Jan. 15, 2011 1:35am

Height
Average - 21.5"
Median - 21.5"
Min - 11.75"
Max - 29"

Weight
Average - 7.84 lbs
Median - 7.78 lbs

Min - 4.69 lbs

Max - 14.44 lbs

When I looked at the data for patterns there surprising weren't many.  The one couple that entered has been excluded from the analysis.  Overall men guessed that Baby Sticher will be born 15 hours earlier than women (men - 1/2/10 7:02am, women 1/2/10 9:59pm).  Women guessed that Baby Stichter will be both lighter (men - 7.88 lbs, women - 7.72 lbs) and shorter (men - 21.80", women - 21.74") than men.  Not sure any of this means anything, just a great waste of 5 minutes if you get snowed in next week. That's all for tonight, I'm still trying to get the more interesting half of our marriage to blog some, but I don't think that will happen in the near future.  Gotta go, the wife wants to investigate hooter hiders and disposable diaper sacks on the internet.  Any suggestions?

The Nursery Is Decorated!

Emily and her mom decorated the nursery today. It looks great! I can't believe how close we are getting. The day of reckoning is quickly approaching.

Expanded Guess Matrix - See Where You Rate

There are a few of you who believe we will either be having a bowling ball or twins (greater than 14 lbs.) or a midget (less than 12").  For the recorded, if that is the case we will love either unconditionally. (I'm thinking I'd lean midget.  She can play softball.  Can you imagine the strikezone on that girl!?!)  Also, there must be a level of distrust with modern medicine as pretty much everyone is avoiding the actual due date.

Baby Clothes Time

Baby Stichter Pick'em

You are invited to participate in Baby Stichter’s First Pick’em contest!  Here are the categories:

·         Time of birth – closest over or under - $20

·         Height – closest over or under - $10

·         Weight – closest over or under - $10

Limit of one entry per person.  Winner of each category will receive a gift certificate to the store of their choice.  Ties will be broken by each entrant's average ranking in the other two categories.  If the same person wins all three categories I will award them with a $100 gift certificate of their choice.   Both kids and adults are encouraged to participate, but all entries must be submitted by Dec 12, 2010 at midnight.

A few facts to keep in mind (they may or may not apply)

1.       Dan’s fantasy football team currently has a record of 7-5

2.       Baby Stichter is due January 3, 2011

3.       The Stichter’s have a dog named Macchiato who is an 8 year old beagle, lab mix.

4.       Dan was born three weeks late.  Emily was born two weeks early.

5.       Dan is 6’2” tall. Emily is 5’4” tall.

6.       Dan drives a Honda Civic. Emily drives a Jeep Liberty.

7.       Baby Stichter is a girl and has extra long legs (according to the doctors).

8.       Emily is a certified pastry chef with experience in the cupcake industry.

9.       Emily’s fantasy football team is 6-6.

10.     Dan’s favorite number is 5. Emily’s favorite number is undecided.

Check back this week and see where you rank as we update the list of entries.  There will be a table posted on this blog.  Invite your friend's to participate too.  The more the merrier!

Fun Facts - Caveat

I'd like to be clear. Fun facts are simply pulled from the internet. No guarantees on their validity. Who knows, I might even just make one up every now and then.