Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! Matt's mom and Gram came down to spend the holiday with us. We all had a great time. Joann brought everything with her that we needed for a delicious Thanksgiving feast. Daniel loved meeting his Gram for the first time and seeing his Grandma Joann again!

One Month Doctor Visit

Daniel and I went for his one month check up today. Everything is looking great! When he was born, he was 8 pounds, 2 ounces and 19 1/2 inches long. He's now 10 pounds, 3 ounces and 23 1/2 inches long. All those hiccups he has is making him grow pretty quickly!

One Month Photos

On Monday, Daniel went to Photo Innovations for his one month pictures. There was a deal going on- something like 10 sheets of 1 pose for $9.95. You go in expecting to get that deal--- which I did--- but I didn't count on wanting every single picture that they took! So I ended up buying enough so that I got the CD with all of his pictures on it- they are all adorable. He did great for the first half of the session, but then he started getting a little irritated. Having your picture taken is exhausting (and hungry) work! Here are some of the pictures from that session. (I think the angel ones are just too adorable!)

Walk the Lights at Night

On D's one month birthday, we all went to Calloway Gardens to "Walk the Lights at Night". Calloway Gardens always has up a huge light display for the holiday that you normally ride a tram or your car through to see everything. One night a year, they close it to automobile traffic and you get to walk through it--- about 5 - 7 miles. The money raised goes to support the March of Dimes. This is my 2nd year doing it--- it's so much fun to listen to the Christmas music and see all the festive lights. Matt and Daniel went this year, as well as my mom, Shanna, and her family. We had a great time. They were predicting cold weather, so we bundled Daniel up (see the cute picture!), but it was really pleasant outside. If you get a chance to do something like this, you should- the walk goes by really fast and it's a great start to the holiday season.

Big Boy Outfit

Here is a picture of Daniel in an outfit that makes him look like quite the little man. He got his picture taken with his cousins on Sunday. Carter was wearing an outfit similar to this one (including the hat!), and Thomas and Bailey were also wearing red and black. Daniel and Carter weren't entirely happy about getting their picture taken, but I'm sure there are some adorable shots!

Two Kinds of Pilots

The first two pictures show D with our doggie Pilot- who had absolutely no reaction when I placed Daniel next to him on the bed. Pilot was on his best behavior with Daniel- they look too cute together! The white and blue t-shirt is one of the few pieces of clothing I personally bought for D before he was born. I think Daniel is already preparing to follow in his daddy's footsteps.

Pictures from the last week

Here are some pictures from the last week. D is showing off his new bellybutton in the picture that has his onesie pulled up. Sorry there are so many of the same--- I just couldn't choose my favorite!

More Family!

Daniel was quite the attraction this weekend! His Uncle Jason and Aunt Nat also came down to check out their newest nephew. These pictures (check out the smile on D with Nat- too adorable!) were taken Sunday night at a dinner at my parents' house. During that dinner, Daniel also got to know Carter (my 11 month old nephew) better--- Carter was very interested in D's scab. He would reach out with his hand towards D's nose... funny how C knew that something was a little different!

Handsome Boy

Last night, D's scab under his nose came off! He's had the sore since birth, so this was our first time seeing Daniel without it. He looks like such a little man!

Happy Halloween!

Daniel enjoyed his first Halloween. He dressed up as a cute little ghost. It was a special day because he got to meet his Aunt Fran for the first time and see his Grandma Joann again for the weekend.

Little Pumpkin

Here is Daniel all ready for Halloween! The pumpkin with his name on it is actually a trick-or-treating bag. He's too little to use it for its true purpose now, but he fits in it perfectly! On Friday, he's going to be dressed up in a ghost onesie. Tomorrow he's going to be sporting a long-sleeved orange onesie that has a mummy on it with the words "I Love My Mummy". He's quite the fashionable little guy!

Kissing Cousins

Carter, the youngest of my nephews, has recently learned to kiss. At their first introduction, Carter, without any prodding from anybody, decided he loved his newest cousin so much that he gave him a little kisser. Luckily, I was able to catch the sweet moment in progress!

More Pictures of Daniel

Daniel Matthew Perrer

Daniel Matthew Perrer

8 pounds, 2 ounces

19 1/2 inches long

Born 9:57 pm on October 16, 2008

After much waiting, Daniel is finally here! It was quite the event and wasn't exactly the smooth arrival that I was hoping for. Here is the long drawn out version for those of you interested in all of the excitement. I was scheduled to be induced at 7:30 am on Thursday, October 16. Matt's mom arrived into town Wednesday night, and apparently, that's all D was waiting for. At about 11:30 m Wednesday, I started having enough regular and strong contractions to wake Matt up to start timing them. At about 1 am, as I was getting out of bed, my water broke. I was in a state of disbelief- I looked at Matt and told him that had happened. At this point (and at many others for the next 24 hours), I realized that there was no going back. Matt called the doctor, we told our parents, and made our way to the hospital. It was such a surreal feeling- knowing that the next time we came back, we'd have Daniel with us. We checked into the hospital at about 2 am. We were in our own personal birthing suite- at Emory Eastside, they have no nursery. Everything they do for the baby (bathe him, test him, etc) is done in the same delivery room with me. I had on two external monitors- one to track my contractions and the other to measure the baby's heartrate. At about 5:30 am, the nurse started the Pitocin and the fun began. As soon as the Pitocin hit my system, I had one extremely long, painful, and no end in sight contraction. The nurse was right there, and she noticed that Daniel's heartrate was dropping to 80. All of a sudden, about 6 nurses were in the room giving me all sorts of instructions- turn to the left, turn to the right, get on my elbows and knees. Though they didn't stop to explain anything right then, everything was being done to get D's heartrate back up. I was given a shot to stop my contractions. It turns out that they were within minutes of knocking me out and performing an emergency C-section. Luckily, Daniels' heartrate resumed a normal rate. Fast forward a few hours later... contractions and the pain are getting stronger. I had been unsure of whether or not to get an epidural. At this point, there is no longer any question. Epidural all the way. The anesthesiologist came with his lovely pain meds, and, after 3 tries, successfully put an epidural in my back. The pain meds going in created a sense of very warm water being poured down my back. I'm not sure, but I may have promised to name my first-born after him. After receiving the epidural, the contractions felt like nothing. I could feel a little pressure, but absolutely no pain. It was a miracle! I was even able to sleep for a little while... until it started wearing off- I could start really feeling my legs when I touched them and the contractions. After some time, I told the nurse and she called for another doctor to come and give me a booster shot for my epidural. This one, for some reason, didn't take--- still feeling the pain of the contractions. I was regretting telling the doctor that I loved him- I now disliked him intensely because his pain meds weren't working. A few hours later, at about 5 pm, my doctor came in and checked- fully dilated and ready to start pushing. She had another patient next door who was in the same state as me, so the competition was on (little did we know...) I pushed for a short time... for what seemed like 12 hours, but probably for about half an hour... the pain was very intense. The doctor suggested that the anesthesiologist come and give me another booster shot and said that we take a break for awhile. The anesthesiologist took FOREVER to make it to my room. In my pain haze, I sent my mom out to look for him and bring him to me. I didn't even realize that she just went out in the hallway, spent a few minutes out there, and then came back in to tell me that he was coming. At last he came, and with him was a huge syringe full of Lidocain. As soon the medicine hit my body, I felt that lovely warm feeling down my back. This doctor I truly did love. I was painfree again and felt like I could finish this task of having a baby. I think my mom, Matt, and Joann will tell you that I was a different person with pain meds and without and which one they preferred to be around! I was just so thankful that I had a chance to rest and to not have all of that pain for a little bit. Despite all of this, the time in that room just seemed to fly by. It was hard to believe that I'd been having contractions since 11:30 the night before. At a little after 7, the doctor came in. The patient next door had won the contest, and now it was my turn. The doctor had also delivered an 11 pound, 6 ounce baby two babies before mine- ouch! To be honest, the next 2 and a half hours are a blur. I remember a lot of pushing, a lot of Matt counting (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10... take a deep breath... 1, 2, ...), my mom giving me words of encouragement like "Grunt! Push this baby out!", and then a lot of pain. My epidural was no longer working on the pain. Let me just say that Matt was amazing--- he was a very patient counter (though at times, I thought he counted VERY slowly) and very encouraging. He also had the job of helping me push my chin into my chest while I was pushing. Since I didn't really want my chin into my chest, I was pushing back against his arm a lot of the time... Apparently, there was a little lip in my cervix that D had to make his way around (and that I had to push him around). The doctor used the vacuum 3 times... each time, the suction would break (I believe it automatically breaks when it reaches a certain pressure) and she would almost fall backwards off of her stool. Each time, I was just sure that it was Daniel who had popped out. Nope- though according to Matt, the vacuum did help move Daniel down. I remember telling Matt that I wanted to stop--- couldn't they just give me the shot to stop the contractions and let me rest a bit--- that I didn't want to do this anymore--- who knows what else I said at that point. I was just purely exhausted. The doctor would tell me that we were getting close... my response? Just three more pushes??? She and the nurse would look at each other and tell me not quite... And off I would go pushing again. The nurse told us that he was bald... which had to mean that he was getting close! For about the last 5 - 10 minutes of pushing, I don't even remember being in the room which probably ended up being a good thing. I was just a pushing machine. My mother said that the nurse and doctor kept on sharing looks, and an entourage of nurses came into the hospital room. I took no notice. The doctor said that when the head came out, I was to stop pushing so she could suction out his mouth. Well, his head came out and so did the rest of his body- like a rocket, my mom said. Within 5 seconds, the cord was cut and he was on his little hospital crib being worked on by the nurses. I didn't see this, but his umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck twice and under his arms--- his head was pretty blue. He also had a huge sore on the top of his head and under his nose, plus a lot of swelling on the back of his head from the suction. His 1 minute Apgar score was a 2- for his heartrate. He wasn't breathing, had no reflexes, no muscle tone, wasn't crying... I asked the nurse if he was breathing, and she told me they were working on it. Pretty scary... I really couldn't see anything because I was lying down and people were in between me and the crib. I heard a lot of suctioning and pounding, and pretty soon (or after an eternity depending on how you look at it), he was breathing and wailing- best sound ever. His 5 minute Apgar score was an 8- much better! Apparently, he was positioned against head down against my pelvic bone during my last little bit of pregnancy, and, as I was pushing, his head (the top and his nose) repeatedly hit against my bone creating the sores. Also, I was not the only one who didn't want my chin in my chest- neither did Daniel. As he was making his way into the world, he was looking chin up- making for a much harder exit. Daniel wasn't born bald- the nurse was just looking at his forehead and didn't realize it. Because of the rough entry, it was decided that it would be best if he spent his first night in the NICU. We didn't realize it, but it would be the first of several nights. I was discharged Saturday, but they let Matt and me stay in the hospital room until Daniel was discharged from NICU last Monday. The main reason he was in NICU for so long (about 4 days) was because of the big sore on top of his head--- they didn't want there to be any chance of infection. We were able to visit every 3 hours- to hold him and feed him and love on him. All in all, he's perfect! The CT scan (because of the swelling) came back and the NICU doctor didn't really see anything to worry about. We went to a neurosurgeon last week, and he feels the same way. We go back in a month for an ultrasound of D's head just to double-check. The sore on his head and under his nose are all healing up. It was quite an adventure for everybody, but we all made it through fine. He was definitely worth it! Here are some pictures that were taken off him in the hospital.

Update

I went to the doctor this afternoon. Still no change! Apparently, D is nice and cozy and doesn't care to make an appearance any time soon. The doctor went ahead and scheduled me to be induced next Thursday, October 16 at 7:30 am. So, the end (and the beginning) is for sure in sight!

No Little Daniel Yet

Tomorrow is Daniel's due date, and so far, he hasn't shown any signs of wanting to arrive on time! I've been doing great- still teaching and getting around without too much trouble!- but I think Matt and I are both just ready to meet little D. I go back to the doctor tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully I'll have more information for you tomorrow! I've decided that Monday will be my last day at school (if Daniel is like most first born babies and decides to be late). It's a teacher workday, which mean it will be pretty low key and the next day starts off a new 9 weeks. It's helping me to think that this was my last Wednesday until next year! Hope everybody is doing great!

Atlanta 2 Day Walk for Breast Cancer

I signed up for the 2 Day Walk for Breast Cancer before I found out I was pregnant (which was a long time ago!). You walk 20 miles on Saturday and 10 miles on Sunday. Unlike the 3 Day Walk, you spend the night in a hotel. I did it last year, and I swore that I wouldn't do both days again (my feet were telling me that). However, the very next day, some of my good friends told me that they wanted to walk the next year. I completely forgot my misery (but for a good cause!), and told them I would be happy to captain a team. So, The Mamhandlers were born. We had 6 2-Day walkers (Shanna, Casey, Brenda, LouAnn, Tracey, and me) and 3 Sunday walkers (my mom, Susan, and Casey's mom- all the way from NJ!) on the team. We raised funds all year and were able to meet and even pass our fundraising goals- $1,000 for 2 Day Walkers and $500 for Sunday Walkers. The event was this weekend. Shanna, Casey, and I shared a hotel room Friday night. I love the night before a big walk--- eating PASTA! You have to carbo-load, right? Maggiano's made for a delicious dinner. We got up early Saturday morning to check-in and warm-up. At about 8, we started walking. It was really perfect weather- a little overcast and a bit cool. My plan was to walk 10 miles to the Governor's Mansion where lunch was on Saturday, and then I would walk the 10 miles on Sunday. I was doing pretty good, if I do say so myself- we all were enjoying all the "Brest Stops" (instead of Rest Stops) along the way. They reward you with stickers to put on your nametag- like a badge of honor. I loved catching up with Shanna (miss you!) and getting to know Brenda's sisters better, plus talking with Casey and Bren! Each stop had a reality tv show theme, lots of water and Powerade, port-a-potties, and snacks. I made it to about 8 1/2 miles when I decided Daniel and I had walked enough for the day. There are lots of sweep vans (also decorated- think of the theme here- everything revolved around a certain part of the female anatomy), so I hopped onto one at the next Brest Stop. The van cheerfully delivered me to the Governor's Mansion where I waited on my teammates. After lunch, I headed back to the hotel, while my friends continued walking. They did an amazing job! I am so proud of all of them. 20 miles is such a huge distance, and every step after mile 15 is one of pure determination. All the walkers ate dinner at the hotel, and then everybody headed off for an early night. All along, I was planning on walking Sunday, but I just did not have a good night Saturday night. Rather than pushing it, I decided to sit Sunday out (and it was not just to avoid walking through the Georgia Tech campus- kidding!). I went downstairs with everybody and cheered my friends on their way. The weather was even nicer than the day before- very overcast and cool- the perfect walking weather. The finish line was at Centennial Olympic Park, which is not where the hotel was. I drove the car and luggage over the the park so that we wouldn't have to worry about walking back to the hotel. Mom and Susan kept me updated on the progress of the walk. I met up with them at the World of Coke, which was just a little bit before the finish. They convinced me to cross the finish line with them, even though I felt a little bit like an impostor because I didn't do the whole thing. Oh, well! I did help raise money. After crossing, I cheered on everybody else who was finishing up. I know from last year that doing all 30 miles creates quite a feeling of accomplishment as you cross the finish line. I had an absolutely wonderful time, and all of my teammates were so great to me the whole weekend. Shanna and Casey are even talking about next year. I have to say--- I think I'm in- for the whole thing! It's a very emotional and very fun time. I don't think I've ever had another experience like it where everybody is going through the same thing, the same pain, for the same goal. Here's the website if you're interested in checking it out: http://www.2daywalk.org/

Carter

Carter is our almost 10-month old nephew. He was born last December 10. Because of him, Daniel will be one very well-dressed little boy! He's grown up so quickly. Matt and I were at the hospital to meet him pretty soon after he was born, and he's just doing so much now! I was at my parents' home with family (my Aunt Candy was in town), and I brought Maxer with me to visit. Carter was fascinated by this furry, close to his size creature. Despite lots of tail pulling and other "love" from Carter, Max did great. I think Pilot and Louie will do just as well around Daniel. That's my dad in the middle with Carter on the left and Bailey, our 10-year old nephew (we also have Thomas, who is 14), on the right. It's a house full of boys when the family all gets together.

Daniel's Nursery

Here are the latest pictures of Daniel's nursery. I spotted the palm tree lamp at Lowe's, and I thought it would go great on the end table. My grade-level is wonderful, and they gave it to me for a shower gift (that's a picture of us all at Park Cafe- a fantastic restaurant in old town Duluth)! Mom and I put it together, and I think it adds a fun touch. Mom and I also put together the mobile--- we felt pretty proud of ourselves. Those things have a lot of pieces, and we didn't use any foul language! I found a children's picture book that has several poems of jungle animals. I pulled out some that match the nursery, and Joann is going to mat and frame them for us. It's so nice having such talented family members! I'm really bad about finding things to go on walls, so I'm excited that I found some things to hang. After the pictures, the only thing the nursery needs is Daniel! It's hard to believe it's getting so close to actually meeting the little guy (I'm skipping over thinking about the actual birth right now!), and yet it seems SO FAR away! I go to the doctor on Thursday for my 38 week checkup, and I'll keep everybody updated. Matt and I were both early babies, so who knows? Maybe D will follow in our footsteps.