51 Photos of Eliza

One for (almost) every day of her life. This is the third installment, it gets bigger every time, and so does Eliza!. It's fun!

Slideshow of Eliza Photos

I have created a little slideshow with the photos of Eliza and/or Me and/or Amanda I have put on Bradmanda.com. I hope you like it. It should update with new photos as they are added so keep checking back every so often for more!

2 Days Old - Letter To Eliza

Dear Eliza,

How does it feel to be 2 days old like you are right now? I bet it feels pretty neat. It's August 9 at 4:43 am as this is being posted.

We saw you again today in the NICU. You still have the CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) on you to help your little lungs inflate but you should be getting that off some time tomorrow according to your day nurse. That will sure be nice huh? I see you grabbing at it sometimes, I'm sure it's not the most comfortable thing you could have on, but you need it right now. It will be cool when it's off so we can see your pretty face more clearly though.

We changed 2 of your diapers and checked your temperature also, Eliza. Real mommy and daddy things! But we're only part time mommy and daddy right now cause of your situation. We're easing into it. Your situation also give us time to get what we need for your homecoming since you came so early that we were not quite ready! We have a lot of it but not all. We did just get a carseat yesterday from one of your mom's work associates. It's used but only gently and it's fairly new.

Oh, also we got the form to fill out for your birth certificate! It proves you are real to other people and employers. You're also getting a social security number! Yay! Also we're adding you on to our insurance so we can get you doctored up once you leave the 'spital. You had such a busy day Eliza! What do you think will happen tomorrow?

Love you,

Dad

Babies Are Awesome

We're still here at the hospital, today will mark one week. I was pretty worried when we first got here with all this happening so soon and all. But the more time went by and the more I learned about premature babies the less I worried.
And now little baby Eliza has been born and all is well. She is resting comfortably in her hotbox in the NICU just growing and growing. The only concern with her now is there is either fluid in her lungs, what would go away over time, or she might not have enough surfactant in 'em in which case she would need a breathing tube. The doc we spoke to yesterday was fairly sure it was just some fluid though, so we'll see.
This has been an amazing experience for Amanda and I (and Eliza too.) It is so incredible how this whole thing works. I mean, Eliza started out as two tiny things that merged into one tiny thing and then grew to be this wonderful little girl. And all this happened right inside my wife!
All the books and shows and things people say couldn't prepare me for the actual experience of having a baby. Even if I went back to school and got 7 different English degrees I could not express in words how freakin' awesome this is.
I know it will not be all fun and games the whole time. But for now, I am simply enjoying our miracle of life. When we got to hold her yesterday it was about the best thing ever. She is so small but will grow so big.
I feel like a different person now that we have her. Everything I do now has to be for her, not me. Every decision I make now effects not just me or Amanda,  but Eliza. And I can't do anything what may bring her harm.
A'ight then, I will be going now. Thanks to everyone who has called or wrote to us or an intermediary regarding our situation. We appreciate your concerns and it was very nice of yous. Stay tuned to this here blog for more in the future. Things will really start ramping up once we get to bring Eliza home in the next some number of weeks and you wont want to miss it!

Eliza - One Day Old

Dear Eliza,

You are one day old right now (4:43 am, August 8) and are so beautiful. Your mom and I are so excited about you. It's ok that you were a little bit early. You are in the NICU so we don't get to bring you home or anything but you will be there in no time since you are in good health and have a great team of doctors to watch after you. We did get to hold you a couple times this afternoon and evening. It was so nice. As time goes by we'll get to hold you more and even stay the night with you!

Well Eliza, I will see you later today. I hope you were good overnight and got some good sleep to help you grow big and strong and help you move on out of there.

Love,

Dad

No Baby Yet

We had quite a scare yesterday with they baby trying to come on out. As you know we do not want the baby to come out, well we do, but not right now. She needs to stay in for a while longer, our bun is not quite ready to come out of the oven.

What had happened was, Amanda started having contractions fairly close together and also they checked to see if she was dilated and she was. Some other things happened and then the doctors said she was in labor. They moved us to the delivery room across the hall and started giving Amanda magnesium sulfate and regular IV fluids. Then they strapped her up to baby monitoring machines and we waited for it to happen.

She dilated more and had contractions throughout the day but at some point it all stopped and we had won in the fight against having a baby right now. She had to stay in the delivery room for most of today and she wasn't doing too good because of some things that were going on, the pain and the poo. Both of those have seemed to lessen as today has gone on. We are now in another room that is much more comfortable and Amanda is not hooked up to any sort of monitor or anything and can sleep when she's not having painful contractions.

Well, I left out a lot of stuff but that's the gist of it. We're just waiting now, it's inevitable that the baby is born. Probably sooner rather than later, but we'll take whatever we can get. One doctor today said that each day baby is unborn equals 3 days in the NICU, so it's been 5 days since the water broke and we have saved 15 days in the NICU. That is where preemies go when they're born if you were wondering. It means neonatal intensive care unit!   Ok then, I better get going. Thanks for reading our amazing baby adventures and have a great day.

Anschutz Medical Campus

Photo by Jeffrey Beall.

Well, we're one day closer to having a young'in round here.The good doctors at our hospital say the due date is October 1. That's only 114 days away! And those days are going to speed by like the first however many have. Why it seems like just yesterday we learnt of this happening (it was actually January 31).

Speaking of our hospital, it is really really far away from where we live. We go to the University of Colorado's Anschutz Medical Campus way out in Aurora, Colorado. It's a really nice facility, they have everything you could think about ever having in a medical campus and it's only a few years old so it's all new and stuff too. Also with Amanda's insurance it is really affordable. Like almost free, which is nice. They also have classes for us to take, we're taking at least one, the Childbirth Preparation class. This will give us a basic understanding of the labor and delivery process and will include relaxation and coping skills what surely be needed. 

Welcome!

Hello there, I'm Brad. I'll be your main host here at Stay At Home Brad. This website will be your guide through the life and times of a soon to be father. I'm sure it will be very entertaining and you will love it.

Let me tell you a little bit about the current situation. My wife Amanda and I have been married for just over a year now and we are all in love and stuff. We are expecting a baby in either late September or early October and are so excited. We are already in love with our little bundle of joy and it's only almost 6 months developed!

We don't know for sure if it is a boy or a girl, but at our last ultrasound they said it is probably a girl. So we're going with that tentatively. We may get a surprise in the delivery room though like happened to one of Amanda's friends. She had to send back all her pink stuff, o' the troubles!

So like I said, we're having a baby, just like millions of other people are doing. The thing that separates this instance from many others is that the father (me) will be staying at home with the baby, at least during the day. This is because Amanda is the one with the good day job and the insurance and all that. I have a low paying evening job with no benefits and it wouldn't make sense to have me be the bread winner because we'd be having moldy bread.