[Nicolas] Cooker Baby

we got nicolas a stroller frame yesterday - cheaper and easier than a whole new stroller, you just put the car sear in, lock it down and go. we took him for a nice walk yesterday and today. it felt so nice to get some exercise and get out of the house, and he seemed to enjoy it as well. we made a little video clip of it too:

This was taken at 3:30 today while i tried to get some work done. He's so fun when he's not screaming at us. Any of our parent friends out there - what is up with this newborn thing of sleeping for most of the day, and then fussing ALL NIGHT LONG? we're trying to adjust/reverse his schedule, but last night he was wide awake and fussy from midnight to 4 a.m. sorry, no pics of that to share here. he only settled down when mary let him lay on top of her to sleep. we got some gripe water for him, and have been changing and feeding him regularly, but still not having much luck. we even took him to our awesome chiropractor here, who thought he looked great. so if you have a tip, we'll listen.

sure he's not even three weeks old, and he's still keeping us up most nights, but nicolas is really enjoying his afternoons. mary took this picture of us on our back porch Saturday. times like these help us get through some of the rougher all-night crying bouts he's had lately.

Mary's sister Elizabeth came down from New York to meet Nicolas this weekend. They seemed to really hit it off.

i really enjoyed yesterday afternoon hanging out with nicolas. see how his eyelashes keep growing? this one and other new pics are in the nicolas set on flickr. His aunt Liz is coming to visit tonight. We'll try to post some pics of their first meeting over the weekend.

<--- Nicolas enjoyed napping in his sling today. more new pics in the nicolas set on flickr. We realize it's just a few days after Easter, but today we're giving thanks. the kindness and love our friends, neighbors and families have shown over the past few weeks is immeasurable, and we're really touched by it all. It's been a little strange for us to be here with the new baby, away from our friends and relatives back home in New Orleans, but we've taken a lot of comfort in all the phone calls, e-mails, cards, and gifts we've received for us and Nicolas - they've helped us deal with the change and made us realize how lucky we are to have such wonderful people in our lives. As we try to get Nicolas and ourselves into some sort of schedule, postings here may be a bit erratic. But we will attempt to update it at least 3 times a week - and more often if warranted. For today, please accept our heartfelt gratitude for helping make this experience so memorable.

we took some pictures of Nicolas on this beautiful Easter day. Thanks to our friend Cindy for the plush blanket - he really seemed to enjoy it. we're missing our families and friends today but look forward to seeing you soon. the new pics are on flickr, in the nicolas set .

wow. newborn babies sure do keep crazy hours. little nicolas didn't feel like sleeping much at all last night, so mary got to hold and nurse him pretty much the whole evening and early morning. we've all been sleepy all day today, almost punch drunk, but filled with love and amazement, mary and i at the miracle of nicolas, and he at seemingly everything he sees or hears. everyday it seems like we notice something new or different about him. a longer second toe than his big toe (just like his mom and his dad). more hair. a new expression. a funny hiccup. eyelashes that seem to double in size overnight. just silly mundane stuff that makes us appreciate every moment we have with him. for the die-hard nicolas fans, we have some more of that mundane silliness, in the form of a little video below, or you can click here to watch . and if anyone out there has aol instant messenger or ichat and a broadband connection, we can schedule (ha ha, ok, we can try to schedule ) some time for yo

nicolas turned 1 week old today. it's so nice to have him home and out of ICU. it's been an amazing experience. to all our friends and relatives who are parents, my respect and admiration for you cannot be quantified. there's been a lot of fussing, crying, and dirty diapers this past week but holding nicolas for 5 seconds makes all that seem trviial. mary and i keep looking at him and wondering if this is all real or if we're both having the same wonderful dream. i'm sure there will be tougher times ahead that we'll face as parents, but we're really just enjoying every moment of it right now - even the dirty diaper changing, screaming moments. we visited the pediatrician today for his first post-hospital check-up. he's gained 4 oz., which is unusual in the first 2 weeks according to our doctor, but a good thing. he's also grown from 19" to 20.5". everything else looked good to her as well and she was encouraged by the fact that we didn'

for those of you checking this blog regularly, our apologies for not writing sooner. this happened friday night:

for those of you who really want to be here right now to see him, this is the next best thing. not sure if this will work for you, but it should, esp. since it worked on my mac. Just give it a couple seconds to come in once you hit play. If it doesn't work, click this link .

we're thrilled at the response we' ve gotten from all our friends about nicolas - it's been so great to hear from everyone. one thing people seem to want is more pictures. we took some more today and have uploaded them to our flickr site (just click the "our flickr photos" link in the right column of this page. then click the set called "nicolas.") the poor guy's still in ICU, hooked up to monitors and IVs while they try to get his temperature regulated, so you may see some wires on him. He's also got some newborn rashes and birthmarks on his eyes and cheeks, so you'll notice he's a little extra pink in those areas. we met with the pediatrician today. she'll have his test results tomorrow, and should be able to let us know when he can come home at that time. will keep you posted, of course.

hi everybody. thanks so much for all the kind wishes and thoughtful comments. we're doing fine. unfortunately nicolas needs to stay in ICU for a few more days while they run some tests. we'll know if he can come home with us by Friday morning. we'll probably be here through Friday as well, while Mary recovers from the c-section. if the doctors find any problems with nicolas, he may need to stay here for another 7 - 10 days, which would be unfortunate, but not the end of the world. he looks good though, the NICU nurses think he's doing great, and we're hopeful everything will be fine. more soon, jeremy and mary

it was a little harrowing, but he's finally here. nicolas ---- cooker 7 lbs 2.3 oz. he had a fever, so he is in intensive care for now, getting antibiotics and a watchful eye. mary's in recovery as well. what a trooper. steely dan's "reelin in the years" was playing as the surgery began, then the doors' "hello, i love you" was on when he was pulled out. mary holding him was the most beautiful thing i've ever seen. much love and thanks everyone. more news to come soon. jeremy

mary pushed hard for 2+ hours, but the baby just isn't positioned right. so we're going in for a c-section. we were hoping not to have to do this, but he's not coming out the other way. so the plan is now: emergency/unplanned c-section - i'll be in there with mary and the doctor, then the staff will check the baby out and make sure everything's okay (the meconium's still a bit of concern for them here). from there, mary will go to recovery, and i'll go up with the baby to the nursery after he's out. thanks for all your kind thoughts everyone. we'll keep you posted.

mary's resting now. she was at 7 or 8 cm an hour ago. we're hoping to be at 10 by 4:30. so far, so good. more soon.

mary's contractions became a lot more intense around 11 EDT so at the advice of her doctor and the RNs she decided to get an epidural to ease the pain and help improve her dilation. within a half hour or so, she went from 1 to 4 cm, so we're headed toward the home stretch. we've got a monitor on the baby's head now because there is some meconium present, and they want to watch him closely before he comes out, but the doctor feels good about everything and has asked mary to rest a bit for now. more soon.

we got to the hospital this morning at 6:15. they just got wi-fi here last week. how cool is that? so i should be able to provide more frequent updates than i'd originally thought. they've started mary on pitocin and her contractions are picking up. we'll keep you posted here as things progress.

today mary was craving chinese food for lunch, so she got take-out from PF Chang's. here's the fortune from one of the cookies that came with lunch:

we had a beautiful day here in tampa. we went for a walk through our neighborhood this evening as the sun was setting. It was really beautiful - just the perfect time of day. mary's not feeling great tonight, but we're not heading to the hospital just yet. We're going in Tuesday for sure. But if we need to go in sooner, we'll let you know here. -jeremy