"This is crazy."

"This is crazy."  In the delivery room, Ruth Ann made that observation more times than anyone could count.  Here's a quick rundown of other notable items in the last week* (*or so, I'm honestly not sure what day it is):

• Time spent in labor at the hospital: 5.5 hours
• Time spent pushing: 20 minutes
• Times Ruth Ann asked if her legs were still there and/or if they were huge: 7 - 10
• Time Bryan spent unconscious: 0.00 (I even cut the cord, holla!)
• Time spent in the ER after going home: 9 hours
• Sleep stolen by Team Timmons the first night home: 0.00
• Subsequent sleep: Some, here and there (this number is on the rise)
• Supportive calls, texts, visits and refrigerator re-stocks: Let's just say it's a good thing I recently changed our phone plan.  Thanks so much to everyone for everything!
• Things I'd change on our way to getting this little guy: Not a one

(Mugshot)

Now for the details...Fair warning - this will be a lengthy post, fraught with joy, some scary moments, and some reflections on the first week of parenthood (some of it may not make sense, see bullets 6 and 7 above).  Oh, and pictures.  Plenty of those.

Stinker

For those keeping score Avett was due on 9/25, so on Sunday night when Ruth Ann said that her back was hurting, we both thought that it was probably from sitting in front of the computer all day knocking out grad school work.  I rubbed her back (bonus points), fed her some Tylenol, and we went to sleep.  Monday morning, she thought some things may be starting to happen in the downstairs region.  We haphazardly (over)packed our hospital bags, and headed off to work.  Ruth Ann called the doctor's office in the morning and they pretty much said that they didn't want to see her until she was having consistent contractions 5 minutes apart.  OK, fine.

I didn't hear from Ruth Ann again until the end of her school day, but evidently she'd been laboring away most of the day and had started having contractions around 3:45.  We decided to get her packed up and meet at home.  Now before you jump me for asking my uber preggo wife to drive home, you have to realize the message they put out in the birthing class.  Labor will be loooooooooong.  Hours and hours, and you don't want to spend all that time at the hospital when you could be at home and much more comfortable.  Blah, blah, blah...So, I wanted to get us home, consolidated, and ready for what was next.

That was all a moot point.  Before I could leave work, RA called again and said that her contractions were consistent and getting closer.  She called the doc again, and the same story - we don't want to see you, thanks very much.  I ran over to her work and we got in the car and drove to the doctor, which was just a few blocks away.  I went in, told them the scoop and they wanted to get her in.  We hobbled back to a room, the doc came in and checked, and she was dilated to 4cm.  Time to go to the hospital and yes, they would call ahead and tell them to expect us.

Now, the hospital is really just about 15 minutes from the doc's office.  By the time we got there, parked, checked in, and into a room (ask RA about that process), she was really feeling the contractions and ready for that epidural.  And she was dilated to 7cm.  Zoinks.  They don't do epidurals after 8cm, so the race was on.  The anesthesiologist was on her way, but for me, the race was to get out of the room (I avoided the start of the epidural and the IV).  I'll spare you the details of the actual delivery and give you these highlights: Ruth Ann did amazing (word has it that the doc was even bragging about her), I kept a little bit of distance from the action but stayed upright the whole time (and even cut the cord), and both Grandmas were there to welcome the little man.

Brand New

Stats

With Mommy

After a couple busy days at the hospital (seriously, those rooms should have revolving doors), it was time to go home.  Good thing we were prepared:

You could eat him up, right?

After an extra careful drive home and some welcoming from the fam...

4-legged siblings

What keeps making those strange noises?

...we started to settle in.  I was thumbing through some paperwork from the hospital and realized that the little man hadn't taken a whiz all day, and that if that was the case you should call your doctor's office.  It was after hours so I called the nurse line and after some Q&A, they suggested we take him to the ER.  What the what?!?  Just a few short hours ago, we were getting a clean bill of health and now we've got to go to the ER?  I won't bore you here with all the details, but after some ultrasounds on his kidneys and bladder, and a very bad experience with a Peds doctor, we were told that he was just a bit dehydrated.  They ran IV fluids all night while we did anything but sleep, and cut us loose just in time to go to our next-day scheduled appointment with our pediatrician.

Sporting a new bandage

We had a great visit at the doctor's office where they told us that a little dehydration is more normal than you'd think, and that we probably would have been OK not to go to the ER (lesson learned, ask to speak to the doctor on call after hours).  They pretty much told us to keep doing what we were doing, and wanted to see him back on Monday for another quick weight check.  Monday rolled around and our boy tipped the scales at 5 lbs 12 oz, so he's regained birthweight and then some.  That's quite an accomplishment with as many poops I've changed.

Starting to get some cheeks

Lack of sleep aside, I feel like everyone (dogs included) are adjusting well to this new adventure and we're enjoying every minute with this little bugger.  I'd write some more, but let's be honest, you stopped reading halfway through this post and just want to see pictures.  That's understandable, as cute as he is.  Here you go...

Little Hands

Little Feet

Artsy Fartsy

With the Grandpas.  My hair really tells a story.

Most clothes don't fit me too well these days

Progress Report

 And, for those of you that made it to the end, how about a bonus video?

Stay tuned for what will undoubtedly be an endless supply of entertainment and subsequent blog posts from the new and improved Team Timmons!

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TV Time!

I take a quick break from the touching yet thought provoking yet sentimental yet pants-wettingly hilarious thoughts of Team Timmons you've grown to love to celebrate that new TV is coming back next week! I'm more giddy than Ron Swanson on his way to a lovely dinner at Charles Mulligan's Steakhouse.



That is all.

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Dear eight pound six ounce pound newborn infant Jesus..

...thank you for my red hot, smokin' (and pregnant) wife.  If you are offended or have no idea what the heck I'm talking about right now, please go here A.S.A.P.  Better now?  OK, read on...

I mean really, look at this pretty lady.  We've been pretty good about taking/posting "bump" pics, but you were all subject to my quick and so-so photos.  Just look what you get when you call in a professional or two.

(yes, I know this looks way better than the pics I take)

(see, they even make my goofy mug look halfway decent)

Three of Us

And speaking of professional, if you're looking to get some pictures made, I can't recommend Urban Bloom Photography highly enough (click here to show them some love (err, Like) on Facebook and take a peek at some more of our pics).  Joey and Brooke are good people, very relaxed and very reasonable.  Check 'em out!

And for Team Timmons, these will be among the last pictures of Avett before he makes his (hopefully quick, uneventful and witnessed by me in a fully conscious state from start to finish) entrance into the world, at which point there will undoubtedly be 1,239,502 pictures of the little man.  If he stays on schedule, that entrance is less than two weeks away...

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Nursery v2.0

We've come a long way since v1.0 and with the exception of a backordered slipcover for the chair, the nursery is ready for Avett.  This was a labor of love, and couldn't have been done without help from a host of folks.  Proof:

Thanks Ginger

More thanks to Ginger

Cooper likes it

Soon to be stinky zone, thanks Brandy & Damion

Thanks Ouida, Craig & Joy

Animals rule!

Just pretend the chair is navy.  Thanks Doug and Syl for the fun green guy.

Thanks Aimee

Sleepy time, thanks Mom & Dad

Yeah, I got my Mod Podge on

And there you have it!  All we're missing is that baby boy (just hang on and cook for a couple more weeks, mmmmkay?).

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A little more about that name.

So, yesterday we finally decided on a name for our baby boy.  As a nerd myself, I felt like the other nerds of the world should get the first crack at the big news (see previous post).  Well, the head start is over.

Avett James Timmons, ETA 9/25/11

We started months ago with a list of over 100 names, whittled that down to a more manageable couple handfuls, but had been stuck making the final decision for a couple months.  We had tons of criteria: nothing too wild, nothing too traditional, and definitely not something that would stir bad memories for Ruth Ann from her 10 year kindergarten teaching career.  Let's not even get started on our scoring/ranking/elimination system (it was fairly intense).

The middle name was easy, we knew we wanted to use her dad's name.  The first name was a bit tougher.  Avett was one of our fringe names from the beginning but we just couldn't quite make the call.  We are big fans of the Avett Brothers and what they stand for (remember this?), but didn't want to look like the crazy, stalkerish superfans.  It's a great name and we're excited that the little man can start to have some more identity.  And if we happen to get free concert tickets to the Greensboro show in October (or for life), then so be it.  Just kidding.  Unless you guys happen to be reading this...

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A name, finally!

Remember a couple weeks back when I wrote about SUBBT?  Well, our boy has a name, and it's:

C'mon now, you didn't think I'd just come out and tell you the name, did you?  Be resourceful, first one to comment wins ultimate nerd respect!

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Warrior Dash 2011

Let me first start by saying this ain't my first rodeo.  When I heard that we would have a Warrior Dash in Huntersville, NC this year it took me all of .002 seconds to sign up, then talk it up to anyone that would listen.  As a seasoned veteran of last year's Warrior Dash in Mountain City, GA, I kind of knew what to expect from this year's edition.  Some mud, some fire, some obstacles, and the coolest, most refreshing adult beverage waiting for you at the finish line.

Before we get to the finish, let's rewind a few months to the recruitment period.  For me, this event is not competitive.  At all.  It's most fun to run with a group of folks, preferably in a costume, and just have fun with it.  As such, I cast a wide net to bring people along for the fun and got a pretty solid group from work, along with some friends from Charlotte, signed up for some muddy fun.  I mean, anybody could do what we did last year.  Maybe you run a few times, or tackle a couch to 5k program to prepare, but remember, this is a fun, slightly challenging event.  No big whoop, right?

Wrong.  Since last year, they upped the ante a bit.  None of the obstacles on the course were really difficult, per se, but they did get your heart racing, and with the heat of the day, it was a bit more challenging to keep up a reasonable pace.  My choice of costume did not help a single bit with the heat/heart rate situation.  Surprisingly, the finest threads that $11 at a Goodwill store will buy you do not breathe well.

It's business, it's business tiiiiiiiiiiime

This year's course loaded most of the running at the beginning, and by the time we got through first obstacle, I knew that a) I needed to back off the pace or risk a major meltdown (thanks to the Daves for hanging back with me), and b) All of my friends that I convinced to participate under the guise of "this is fun!" were probably going to want to drown me in the mud pit (sorry Ginger, and thanks again for not punching me in the face at the end of the race).

Now am I knocking this race?  Heck no, it is friggin' awesome and I'll definitely be doing it again next year.  Well organized, efficient, and yes, tons of fun.  Will I rethink my choice of costume?  Absolutely, although I'm proud to say I stayed true to the suit and kept everything on until we finished (it was a nice consolation to get a little Twitter shout-out from the Warrior Dash folks complimenting my attire).  To all you potential Warriors out there, you need to do this event.  And you need to have fun with it, preferably in a creative, breathable costume that covers your knees (you'll know what I mean after you traverse the mud pit).

Until next year, enjoy these photos from the Carolinas Dash.  See you on the battlefield...

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Five Weeks To Go

My, my how the time is absolutely flying by.  We are looking at t-minus 5 weeks until (as of today still unnamed baby boy Timmons or SUBBT) baby time.  Since the last baby blog post, we've gotten the nursery 98% done (pics to follow), been showered a couple of times by some special folks (see below), and been to birthing class.  I am happy to report that one of us stayed fully conscious through the entire class.  Spoiler alert, it wasn't me.

For those of you that know me, you already know that I don't like to see, or really even think about, things that should be inside your body when they are not inside your body.  Needles, blood, etc. typically trigger vasovagal syncope in yours truly.  In layman's terms, I drop like a pile of bricks if I start thinking too much about gooey stuff.  This is a talent I've had since I was five, and it is awesome.  I had really hoped that in the heat of the delivery, I could block this out and be there (and stay upright), but after the birthing video in class, we are definitely working on plan B just in case things go south.  Do any of you readers have suggestions on how to cope/treat this?  I would love to not be the center of attention in the delivery room if at all possible.

In much brighter news, we are very lucky to have some really good friends close by, and some really good friends that live in California that came a long way, to help this baby (and Team Timmons) feel the love.  Since our first shower, we've had a couple local shindigs as well.  In typical fashion, these things were over the top and tons of fun.  You guys (you know who you are) put in so much work to make these special days, and we can't thank you enough.  Here are some pics from the shower at our house, and here are some shots from the shower thrown by the good folks over at Nixon-Notes (Ginger, if RA had her way you would be designing rooms/nurserys in the near future).  And to everyone that's come to our showers and/or offered advice, we really appreciate you!

In a late addition to this post, we went in for our checkup today and baby mama is dilated 1.5 cm, which as I quickly learned, doesn't mean much other than a "little bit of a head start" according to the doc.  SUBBT measured a little small today, so next week we get a bonus ultrasound!  He measured fine at the last visit, so it's likely just where he's riding that made the measurement a bit small, but they want to take a closer looksie.  Me too.

And finally, a baby post wouldn't be complete without some pics of the bump.  Space is starting to get tight in there, which means I get to see and feel the little guy more often.  He's certainly not afraid to throw some 'bows to make some extra space for himself, and I think he may be about as ready to meet us as we are him.

32 Weeks

33 Weeks (hi, Cooper)

34 Weeks

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Beer Update

If you remember back to an earlier post, I tried my hand at making some beer.  Last night was the moment of truth, and although I had convinced myself that something was wrong and I would be drinking flat yuckwater, things turned out much better than expected!

Rewind 2 weeks back to bottling day.  Good lesson learned: I have no idea how to effectively siphon things.  Good thing super brew assistant Suzy was in town visiting to lend extra hands and brainpower.  We got it done, but it certainly wasn't pretty.

(yes, I'm sweating)

This looks easy, right?

Bottled!

I had to take a taste.  It tasted like beer.  I was hopeful.

Once everything was in the bottles, we had to wait another 2 weeks for it to carbonate itself.  I had checked on the bottles a few times and they just looked flat to me, so my hopes were somewhat dampened as to the success of my first batch o'beer.  Last night was the big reveal, and after a short car ride to casa de Nixon, I noticed that the bottles looked a little bubbly - good!  I held my breath when I opened the first bottle and heard the relieving pop! of a carbonated adult beverage.  After a very foamy first pour, this is what we were working with:

Looks like beer, eh?

Cheers.

The verdict?  Not half bad!  The mix was for an IPA, but it ended up tasting like a hoppier than normal wheat beer.  Certainly drinkable, and a pretty rewarding experience.  I had already decided to step up to a 5 gallon brewing operation, and brew day is today for some Chocolate Maple Porter.  Stay tuned for an update on round two...

Update!  Round Two:

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The Grey Kids

I've always heard that before anyone has a kid, they should have a dog.  Or in our case, two lovable, loyal and absolutely crazy dogs.

Sure they look innocent here, just wait until the doorbell rings

My good pal Ouida recently lost one of her four-legged kids, and her eloquent tribute to Cole inspired me to get a few things out of my head too.  To echo her sentiments, if your pets aren't a part of your family, you're doing it wrong.  These guys live inside, eat the bestest of dog foods and are spoken to like human people on the reg.  They are pack animals, we are their pack leaders (sometimes), and subsequently, they love being around and close by.  Nothing makes them crazier (aside from the aforementioned doorbell, rattle, knock, or imaginary knock) than when we just won't settle down in the same place.  They need to keep their eyes on us and that's MUCH easier when we're close by.

A little back story on the canine fam.  I got Wrigley as an 8 week old puppy.  We always had dogs growing up, and after college I was ready for one of my own.  Weimaraners are cute puppies.  Wrigley was cute AND famous.

July 1st in the 365 Puppy a Day Calendar

I spent all kinds of time teaching her the ropes.  She had a doggie doorbell that she used to tell us when she needed to go outside.  This was retired after she figured out the doorbell would also get her outside most any time she rang it, regardless of any call of nature.  I also wanted her to be a frisbee dog.  Check.  She loves the thing and has mad skills.  The word frisbee is off limits at our house unless you mean it.

(Agreed)

Wrigley was an only dog until she was about four, a.k.a., "the time that weimaraner  puppies settle down".  Now that she's 10, I'm a firm believer that weimaraner puppies never settle down.  These pups being pack animals, they don't like being left at home alone, and when an opportunity to rescue another pup dropped into our lap, we took it, and so Cooper joined the family to keep Wrigley company.

An early pic of Coop.  This pretty much sums up his personality.

And a more recent shot.  He was banged up with a broken toe, but that didn't diminish his love of a sunny spot, as well as the uncanny ability to fall asleep sitting up.

Cooper acclimated himself to his new surroundings pretty quickly.  He came from a family with a lot of kids and was a hungry fella.  He got handouts all the time and extra food if he "seemed hungry".  Big boy tipped the scales at 90 pounds on his first trip to the vet, but has since slimmed down to around 75 healthy lbs.  We learned pretty soon that anything edible (that includes food (duh), paper, books, toilet paper, bills, etc.) was fair game and had to be out of reach when no one's around.  I consider that a light course in baby training.

Fast forward to current day and we have two 10 year old (gasp) senior dogs.  Now, I hate to even mention this movie or the feelings it stirs in me, but a couple years back Ruth Ann made me watch Marley & Me.  I made it until the end, but it was not a happy movie.  I'm still a little bit mad at Ruth Ann for making me watch it and thinking that I may too be in the same boat as the lead character making "that" trip to the vet.  Sheesh.  I choose to mostly ignore that part of pet ownership until absolutely necessary.

I'm excited for still unnamed Baby Timmons to have 4-legged friends and can't wait to see how they adjust to having someone new shack up with us.  They haven't met him yet, but I'm sure he's heard them "protecting" the house.  Sorry in advance, guys, for the knock down you'll take on the family totem pole, but here's to you and your 8 legs of crazy.  I know you'll be good siblings for Baby T!

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