More Grandmas! This is Great!

Freddy met grandma #2 this week, opening up vistas of coddling and spoiling he previously had only dreamed about (we suspect). As you can see, doubling the adoration took its toll, and Frederick had to sleep off the attention hangover...

First Walk

Frederick braved the wilds of Orange County and crossed Smith Level Road in his hotshot stroller this afternoon for the first time. Not as easily impressed as when he was a younger lad, he did not open his eyes once during the whole outing.

Two Weeks Old: The Many Faces of Frederick

Freddy's Skiing Mishap (aka Where's My Hot Toddy?)

No, he didn't get the cast in Park City hitting the slopes, this is just a shot of one of Freddy's serial casts, as the docs like to call them. Since he was born with a club foot, he has to have it corrected by a series of casts. About every 3-4 days he gets a new one. He's progressed a lot already, much faster than we thought he would (they told us 2-3 months but it's been two weeks and in another week or so he'll be nearly done with the casting).

The cast is a pain in the butt: we think it probably makes him uncomfortable at times and Freddy never tires of soiling it during diaper changes. But it's really not that big a deal. Someone asked the other day why we hadn't put a photo up of the cast, and it was really only because Freddy's almost always gettin' his swaddle on. That's just how he rolls.

I'll try to keep some photo updates on his progress, the foot looks AMAZINGLY better compared to when he was born. If anyone wants to sign the cast, Frederick will receive you by appt. only, of course :)

Freddy Through the Years:

Ok, the first of these photos is from Day 11 of the Frederick Era, the second is from Day 3. See if you can discern any differences. No stubble on the chin yet, but progressively more chin...

He spent almost the whole day on Day 11 with looks pretty much like this on his face after sleeping 20+ hours/day pretty much every day before that. His mother & father were very glad he figured out the whole "awake in the daytime" routine. Now if he could only get the "sleeping at night" thing...

Ok, let's review:

This is what it looks like to be with Mom:

And this is what happens when Dad gets in the picture:

Happy One Week on the Planet Day!

I tried to think of a funny caption for this picture, but it's just so cute, it speaks for itself. Enjoy.

A word about doulas, midwives, & labor/delivery nurses:

Here is our doula, Wendy, and the midwife who delivered Frederick, Deb. For those who aren't aware of the role they play, a good doula makes a HUGE HUGE difference in having the labor & delievery experience you want. Wendy was our shepherd through several difficult, exhausting, and ultimately very rewarding days (the end result was Freddy, after all). She not only took care of both mom and dad in the delivery room, she helped make sure that things kept going the way we wanted even when we were so out of our minds we didn't know what we wanted. My advice: if you have a baby, have a doula. A good doula. In fact, just call Wendy now and see if you can convince her to book in advance.

Deb was also spectacular, as were all the midwives at the UNC midwife practice. We took Deb to the very edge of her stamina (and her shift: Freddy demands overtime!!) but she was tireless in her efforts to ensure the best possible care for both baby and mom.

Finally, on the right is our labor & delivery nurse, Charise, just minutes after Freddy was born. She also labored through the night, keeping close watch on Freddy and making sure Nina's induction went smoothly through the extended hours of labor and delivery.

All this is just to say: WAY TO GO TEAM FREDDY! We absolutely could not have done this without you.

Freddy's Got a Stalker

Ok, so Zilch Riggs hasn't always had the best record with "child relations." He's growled, nipped, and occasionally lunged at youths, toddlers, small people, and even large men.

So we're trying to document his interactions with Freddy to make sure everything's on the up & up. What should we make of this?

One Week Down, 51 More Until Freddy's First Birthday!

Freddy turned one week old today and what a week it's been! He is doing very well, his serial casting to correct his club foot is going smoothly so far, the doctors say he's making great progress and he barely notices anything that doesn't produce milk, so no worries there.

In TRULY spectacular news, Freddy had his best night's sleep since conception last night, crashing out in three separate three-plus hour shifts (a truly amazing feat at this point). I now have no doubt he'll be sleeping through the night by week 4 [raucous laughter here].

We just wanted to say thank you to everyone who's been helping us out, bringing food, gifts, help, support, and general good wishes to Frederick's first week. We've really been overwhelmed by all the support. Particular thanks go to Freddy's maternal grandparents, Jan & Peter, who have given up much of their time to come coddle their first grandchild (and his parents) through the initial stages of life.

Next on the blog: Freddy's first encounter with Zilch, the child-eating dog. Frankly, I don't like Z's chances in this one, the kid's a pistol.

Homecoming

We finally got home on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 27) after an extended hospital stay. Everyone is in very good shape all things considered. Freddy might disagree with that assessment post-circumcision, but he can't talk so we're going to go ahead and say he's doing great! He's eating and sleeping like a champ, and dirtying diapers at an alarming rate. In addition to Frederick's homecoming, Saturday was also John's birthday, and Freddy responded by filling extra diapers in Dad's honor. We think there may have been 31 ounces of poop in one of them. What a thoughtful kid.

I'm not saying he's going to play hoops at Chapel Hill, I'm just saying that on his first night home from the hospital UNC whipped Arizona on the road. You can't argue with that kind of result.

You can't sleep on the Tarheels!!

Happy Birthday Freddy!

After only 41 weeks and 41 hours of labor . . .
Frederick Riggs Duberstein was born 9 days after his due date on January 25th, 2007 at 7:17 am. He had a long hard road to get here, starting on Tuesday afternoon of the 23rd, but he was well worth the wait. We arrived at the hospital about 3pm for an ultrasound and they admitted us because the fluid levels in the amniotic sac were very low. Nina started on pitocin that afternoon, but they backed off to let her sleep from about midnight to six (thank goodness!!).

On Wednesday morning things got started again, but progressed very slowly. Nina and little Freddy worked all through the night, and 41 hours after admittance, an epidural, 4 hours of pushing, and a vacuum extraction later, they were both resting comfortably. We are so grateful to our tireless midwives, our amazing doula Wendy, and the knockout nursing staff at UNC without whom the Freddy's birth would have gone VERY differently.

We could not be more in love with our son. Thanks to everyone for all of the love and support we've been given.

Now it's time for some serious digital picture-taking!