Well we dodged our first serious bullet...2 weeks ago JT was diagnosed with pyloric stenosis. He was projectile vomiting everything he ate, and losing weight. We admitted him back at Oktibbeha Co. Hospital on Thursday, September 22, where they put him on an IV to keep him from dehydrating. He had surgery Friday morning, and all went well. It was a rough weekend, but I'm glad that it went the way it did; it could have been much worse. We were back home on Sunday, and JT is back to eating like the little piggy he is.
JT's finally here!!! He was born Wednesday, August 17, at 2:15PM, with all his fingers and toes, and is definitely his father's son. He weighed 7 lbs. 6.6 oz., and was 20.5" long. Crystal did fantastic, and was up and around 3 hours later. We had checked into Oktibbeha Co. Hostpital Tuesday afternoon at 4PM, and they put Crystal on Cervidil to get things rolling. Wednesday morning, they started her on Pitocin to induce labor, and after her epidural, things went along just fine. By 1:30PM, she started pushing, and JT was doing his best to get out. Dr. Chester (Cleothis) Lott delivered JT, and popped him out without any trouble! After a brief stay in the nursery, they let JT come back to our room, and he slept in my lap most of the night, happy as could be. We were able to get discharged (a minor ordeal...) after 30 hours (it should have been 24...), and we are settling in nicely thanks to the help of both our families and plenty of friends. We are now experts at changing diapers, and JT is an expert at filling them...
Well we had time for one last outing, and Crystal, Doug and I spent the weekend in Birmingham, AL, to see the Rolex 250 at the Barber Motorsports Park so JT could experience the sounds of a car race. : ) Crystal is a trooper...
OK, we are ready to get this over with now...4 weeks to go, but we hope it is sooner. Crystal is miserable, can't sleep, and her back hurts. We've been busy feathering the nest, and JT's nursery is coming together nicely. I'm painting cartoon murals on the wall with a nice assortment of cars, trucks, motorcycles, and planes (go figure...).Brother-in-law Doug has been up several times with friends Jonathan and Andrew, and the backyard now looks much better (thanks!). We have enough bird and squirrel feeders to start our own zoo. Still plenty left to do, hoping I can get it done before JT gets here and the fall semester starts back! August 16!!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! The big 36...holy crap. I can't deny it, I'm a grown-up now, like it or not. My boy gave me the best present ever, and he was ready for the camera today. We saw him smile, yawn, and even blink! Crystal and I went back to Lafayette for the weekend, and put the hassle of buying a house behind us for a few days. Alot has happened this year alone, and we are in the process of moving into a more "family-oriented" abode. No, it's not my dream log cabin...more "Beaver Cleaver" than "Grizzly Adams." Funny thing is I like it alot better. We followed up our previous visit to First Glimpse in Baton Rouge with a return visit, and got some great shots. Johnny is definitely his father's son, and we now have a steady routine of music and playing through Crystal's belly every night before bed. He has been enlightened to a steady stream of Mozart, Chet Atkins, Adrian Legg, Jerry Douglas, Richard Thompson, Buddy Holly, The Everly Bros., Robert Earl Keen, and Rush, just to name a few. His favorite song so far (or at least the one that gets the most response) is Andantino from Piano Concerto No. 20, K. 466 off the #1 Multi-platinum "Mozart For Babies" CD. A taste for the classics? We'll see...
Crystal and I headed back to Lafayette, LA, for a big post-wedding/pre-baby party and shin-dig thrown by our families, and we had an absolute blast! Thanks to everyone who came down. I'll try to get some pics together and post on a new page. On our way through Baton Rouge, we stopped by First Glimpse again to try getting a 3 and 4-D ultrasound of Johnny. We were all pretty wired and on edge because of all the activity, and Johnny didn't want to cooperate. He kept his hands and feet in front of his face, and turned around facing Crystal's back. He wanted no part of it! We managed to get a couple of decent pics, and the folks at First Glimpse told us we could try again the next time we came back through.
New ultrasound pics ...kinda grainy, but you can make out some facial details...
Crystal and I got married!
Here's the latest ultrasound pics, done at First Glimpse in Baton Rouge...it's a boy! Crystal and I stopped in on our way to Lafayette in the hopes of confirming whether lil Dude was a boy or a girl. It was the day after week 16 started, which is about the earliest they recommend you can do this. It was very cool and emotional (for me...I'm a wimp...tears of joy that I don't have to buy dresses! ) to watch, and we ended up with a 40+ minute DVD of lil Dude squirming away, plotting his great escape...still a bit too early for the 3-D ultrsound, which shows more defined features, but they gave us a pic anyway. Very clear evidence of fingers, toes, Crystal's long legs, and, uh, the Poole's family jewels...; ) Crystal is obviously made of Jell-O, or some other undetermined gelatinous substance...
Here's the first ultrasound pics!
January 2005
What a shocker...funny how fast life can change. Stay tuned for lots of inter-active wackiness as I chart Lil' Dude's (and his/her mommy's) progress for the next 6 months until he/she is completely introduced into this world.
RAP SHEET:
Conception date- Thanksgiving week(end?) 2004 (sorry Mr. and Mrs. Daniel...)
Date we found out-Thursday, January 6 (a date which will live in infamy...)
Due Date- August 16, 2005 (I am guessing August 17...)
Yes...we are getting married ...sometime in March! I gotta make an honest woman out of Crystal... : )
Potential names:
Boy- Jonathan Tate (JT) Poole
Girl- Megan Daniele Poole, Madison Marie (MM) Poole