Little Biggs’s Blog

Due to recent complaints about content, this blog is being terminated.  Alexander has a new blog to keep his friends and family updated on his growth and future adventures.

The pictures and posts on this blog will stay active to record history, but all new happenings will be on the new blog.

Thanks for reading.  Sorry for the inconvenience.

Adios littlebiggs.wordpress.com

Oh how time flies.  It has definitely been a busy three weeks and thus why there haven’t been any posts.  We kept talking about posting, but we talk about doing lots of things around the house and on the internet.

Week one:  We were released from the hospital on Sunday and then readmitted on Wednesday through Friday.  Alexander had lost 17% of his birth weight and his billirueben count (jaundice) had spiked.  So, he got to spend 2 days under the blue lights to clear the yellow tint of his skin.  He is already making friends all over UMC hospital.  He has many friends in Labor and Delivery, Lactation, Speech Pathology and now Pediatrics.

Aunt Nora and cousin Brayden drove in to surprise Alexander, but he surprised them by not being home.  They did have a good but quick visit in the hospital and mom and dad were glad to have some company in this second stay.

Alexander sporting his shades

After being discharged, again, we had a busy weekend with Stephani’s family from Oklahoma City.  And then a week at home alone just to be a family.  In that week, we had more doctor’s appointments and some nurses who visited the house.  In Alexander’s first 21 days of life, he saw a medical professional all but 5 of them.

Alexander has had some eating and weight gain issues.  But, he is doing very well on the breast milk bottles again.  He has tried all forms of eating: breast, syringe, cleft bottle, tube, and cleft bottle again.  By day 16, Alexander had gained back to his birth weight and by  three weeks he was up to 8lbs 13.5oz.  So, he is steadily growing, trying to meet the weight needed to go back to the surgeon and dentist to start the cleft fixing process.

We have continued to receive gifts, calls, dinners and visits from friends.  We are very appreciative of all the love and support we have been given in these three weeks.  Jason went back to work on week three.  All three of us survived the change.  This week, Stephani will work Wednesday and Thursday and the boys will be home alone!

Still working on smiling for the camera

Three weeks old

While mommy goes back to work a couple of days, the boys will probably watch baseball and take a nap like this:

Yes, they were both sound asleep

Hopefully many more stories and pictures to come.  Cutting this shorter than planned because Alexander is asleep and when he sleeps we should all sleep.

Here are some photos of Alexander and his happy family.

Alexander and Parents with Dr. Phillips

Proud Aunt Lindsey

Great Grandma Ruby

Happy Grandmothers

and Grandfather (Bumpa: to be pictured later)

And Daddy making sure we have the happiest baby in the hospital:

Mommy and Daddy are very happy about their new little bundle of joy.  We had a great weekend and are so glad of all the support we have had in the hospital and at home.  Thank you to all of our friends and family who came to visit, are bringing food or just sent their well wishes over the internet.  Alexander is anxiously waiting to meet his Bumpa, Uncle Marcus, Aunt Nora, first cousins, and his new and wonderful extended family.

Little Biggs, now known as Alexander Harrison Biggs, is a beautiful baby boy.  He was born Friday, July 24th at 9:19am.  He weighed 8lbs, 9oz and was 19 inches long.  Mom, Dad, and Alexander came home from UMC on Sunday afternoon.

Stephani made it through a natural labor without having to get an epidural thanks to her wonderful coach.  It was a great team effort and a 14 hour workout.  More details and photos to come.

So, what are you doing this week?  Any bigg plans?  I think we’ll have a baby this week, but cannot be sure or plan for it.  It is weird when each day at work might be your last and might not.  Should I put that off for tomorrow?  What if I’m not here tomorrow?  Have I told my co-workers what they need to know in case I’m in the hospital tomorrow?  Should we eat dinner with some friends tonight or this week?  Hard to make plans.  Thursday is technically “the day.”  Jason thinks Little Biggs will arrive on Wednesday.  I’d still like it to be over the weekend or next Monday.  If we make it to Thursday, we have an 8am appointment to see if we are progressing.  This could tell us a lot more, but still isn’t going to tell us the day and time.  It’s an odd thing not knowing.  Knowing you are ready, knowing it could be anytime, knowing that whatever time it is you really aren’t ready.

It’s hard not to get my hopes up yet because it really could be 2 and 1/2 more weeks before we meet this baby.  It seems like it could happen anytime.  I woke up walking around a pack n play in my room and then rode to work with a  car seat in the back.  It seems so appropriate that Clint was preaching on Beginnings and Endings yesterday in church.  The Alpha and Omega.  He was talking about how beginnings can be exciting and/or scary.  I would agree.  I’m definitely more excited than scared at this point, but this is a bigg beginning and it could be here this week. 

For now, we just wait.  We go about our days like this week is just normal, and maybe it is.  When we know more, so will our blog readers.  Have a great week!

So, is Little Biggs ready yet?  We’ll let you decide with this picture:

Sampson is excited about the new arrival.  We have a doctor’s appointment first thing in the morning.  Maybe we’ll find out if the doctor thinks Little Biggs is coming early or late.  We are still hoping for on or after the 16th.  It’s weird to think that this time next week or a little after, we could be parents.

More to come as Little Biggs comes.

Well, we have continued to get the nursery and house ready for Little Biggs’ arrival.  We have the furniture in place in the nursey and the bedding all washed.  Most the clothes are washed and put away, we have over a hundred diapers ready and in organizers and things seem pretty well organized.  I think we will see more what needs to be done when the baby is here.

Ok, so beyond nursery preparation, we have been pretty busy too.  Work has slowed down for Jason a little since it is Summer, but Stephani has been busy with her new responsiblities as Intensive English Program Counselor.  We celebrated Stephani’s birthday with two doctor’s visits, a visit to South Plains Medical Service, and a Korean dinner.  Instead of paying to go to the movies that Wedneday night, we decided to see “The Proposal” and “Up” at the drive-in that Friday night.  We enjoyed both!  So, as far as the doctor’s appointments go…We had our last sonogram on Stephani’s birthday.  They guessed that the baby’s weight was 7lbs, 3oz.  This was with three weeks to go until the due date.  Everything seemed good with heart rate and growth rate, but we couldn’t get any good pictures due to position.  Luckily, the baby is head down and getting into position.  The other two doctor’s appointments have been quick checks of blood pressure, heart beats, etc.  Nothing very interesting.  We have two more scheduled, this Thursday and next (the due date).  Can’t believe it’s already that close.  The baby is kicking a lot and Stephani is also feeling Braxton-Hicks contractions quite often.

Fourth of July was a great break from the busy-ness and a time to reflect on our freedoms.  We enjoyed a great cookout at our friends’ block party.  We might not have the coolest neighbors, but we are glad we know people who do.  Then, we got up Saturday and went to our third annual 4th on Broadway!  Granted, last year it was Broadway in Manhattan, but we’ll count it as three years in a row.  We went with our friends who are expecting a baby girl in November.  A street in West Texas at 11am on Fourth of July is a HOT place to be.  It was nice to hang out with our friends and at least say we got out and saw the town, but that much heat and no indoor bathrooms is not good for most people, especially a 9 month pregnant person.  We walked the whole fair deciding which stand to stop and buy lunch at.  Fuzzy’s Taco Shop with it’s indoor seating and great food won out over all the fair food we had thought about eating.  After a great lunch and semi-drying from all the sweating beforehand, we were all four ready to get back to our homes.  So, it was short, but good.  Then, Stephani’s Dad, Mom, brother, sister and Grandma arrived to celebrate the day.  We had a great time playing Wii and Cranium.  We had a great cookout (thanks to Jason) with gourmet burgers and chicken that was to die for.  Then we headed back downtown for more Lubbock festivities.  The amatuers around the Fair Grounds put on quite a show of fireworks leading up to the city’s professional show.  It was actually a really good show.

Stephani has her busiest week a work this week.  Hopefully, she gets everything done and can coast into next week before the baby comes and takes her out of the office for 3-6 weeks.  Right now, we are shooting for the 18th or 19th of July as our ideal dates of birth; but of course, we will be happy and excited whenever Little Biggs decides it’s time to meet the world and all the wonderful people that have been praying for, asking about and waiting on him or her.

Well, the nursery is much closer to being done.  After a few pieces of furniture get moved in this weekend, it should be done.  It has been a long process; maybe longer than some expectant moms take to get it together.  But, with lots of help from loving people, it now looks great!

Our office/junk room which was definately more the junk room really needed cleaned out.  Jason did a great job moving stuff out when I was in Houston.  So we worked and organized, gave away, threw away, and moved out our precious junk to make room for the Little Biggs and all the new baby stuff.

A couple of weeks ago, my Dad and brother brought down a bookcase we had bought and put it together for me.

After we picked the “Down Under” theme, my sister and Art-Teaching aunt decided they wanted to do a mural or paint something to do with the theme.  My mom’s best friend from high school is quite the painter when it comes to solid colors and indoor paint.  So, Mom got Grandma Ruby, her friend Debbie, my Aunt Debbie and my sister to all come to Lubbock this last weekend for my shower and to paint the nursery.

Before they came, I taped off the nursery so Jason could prime it before all the help came for the weekend.  He flew out to San Marcos for the weekend just before they all arrived.  The team did a great job all weekend.  Debbie even decided to repaint the kitchen and dining room.  It looks great!  The team:

I had sent Lindsey and Aunt Debbie some sketches the week before and they did a great job getting some of our theme in paint on the walls.  They put in hours and now the bedding won’t be the only cute “Down Under” part of the nursery.

During the painting, Grandma, Mom and myself worked on baby laundry and organizing all the great things people have given me.  After the painters had left, Lindsey and I put together and organized the new bookcase with our wonderful collection of kid’s books.

Thanks for all your help, everyone!!  It turned out great.  Little Biggs is going to love it.  I’m sure Jason and I will enjoy spending a lot of time at all times of day in our newly redecorated office/junkroom.

Today was a loooong day.  We had a doctor’s appointment first thing this morning.  I got tested for Group B streptococci.  We heard the heartbeat and we went over lots of questions Jason and I had compiled over the week thanks to baby classes.  We talked a lot about labor and delivery, vitamins, drugs, doctors, and future appointments.  I have weekly appointments with her from now until the birth.  Except, she will be on vacation two weeks, so I see two other doctors.  Which means I have her 3 out of 6 appts if I make it to my due date.  That will mean I have seen her 6 times in 9 months and other doctors about 15 times.  That’s why we asked, “What is the probablity that you will not deliver our baby?” and she answered, “Fair.”

I like being in control (I know you are all loudly agreeing with that statement).  But, this pregnancy, labor, delivery thing really is my chance to realize I am in control of NOTHING.  It’s all a big unknown at this point.  I don’t know when it will happen, how long it will take, how bad it will hurt, what doctor will be there, what I’ll decide to do about an epidural, how Jason will react or what gender of baby will come out.  I don’t know anything!  Although part of not knowing really scares me, mostly I am learning to go with the flow.  If I can’t control it, why stress trying.  At least that’s what I keep telling myself.

Jason is home right now being a good daddy and priming the nursery for this weekend.  The fumes are not good for me and I had work to make up from missing this morning, so I’m up at the office until the house airs out a little.  I did tape off the nursery last night so I could have some help in the final product even if I can’t be around fumes.  I am so excited for Debbie, Debbie, Lindsey, Mom and Grandma Ruby to come this weekend.  We are going to conquer that nursery and have fun at the shower Melinda, Amy and Kristin are throwing for me.   It might look something like this when we are done: 

Probably not much like that, but I’ll have pics of the whole process on the next blog.

Jason flies to San Marcos in the morning.  Girls Weekend, here I come!

Today, Jason’s office threw us a really nice shower over lunch.  It was a joint shower with the Associate Director and her husband who are a few weeks behind us.  The food was wonderful!  They played fun games I had never heard of but definitely enjoyed.  Mixed gender showers are really fun.  We played a game called “Whose water breaks first.”  It was about plastic babies coming out of ice cubes in the punch glasses.  Baby gift BINGO was really fun.  Never have you heard so much excitement when a mom-to-be opened a gift of onesies.  Jason won the baby dressing race vs the other dad-to-be.

Little Biggs is blessed to have so many people supporting and taking care of their parents.  Jason’s whole office is excited to meet Little Biggs.  It’s nice for both of us to have so much support at work.   

I’ll try to get some pictures that were taken during the shower.  Which reminds me….if you were at the Fort Worth shower and have photos…I want some!

After the shower, we went to the doctor’s office and met Dr. Cassanova.  He was really nice.  Probably the only time we will see him, but it was a nice, short visit.  No real new news.  But, no news is good news.  With all the talk of pre-term labor in the birthing classes and from other people, I’m glad there is no news in that direction.  Little Biggs will be 34 weeks tomorrow, not ready yet.