December 11, 2009
August 02, 2009
Getting big!
It is hard to believe that 6 months has already come and gone. Miles had his checkup and it simply huge! 20lbs 5oz and 27 1/2" long. He is officially a sack of potatoes.
The nifty graph calculator comes from:
July 11, 2009
Getting so big!
It has been a while since I have blogged about Miles' growth. Between work and home, it seems like there are not enough hours in the day. Miles is growing like a weed. He started turning over from back to front a few weeks ago and started on cereal about a week after that. We haven't weighed him in the last six weeks, but I bet he'll top 20 pounds at his six month checkup. I've been posting photos and HD Videos on Flickr for friends and family, so if you feel left out, shoot me an e-mail and I'll add you as a friend on Flickr.
March 27, 2009
Two Months!
It is hard to believe, but Miles has been with us two months already! While our sleep deficit is piling up, Miles has been an amazing baby. He is incredibly strong, has an infinite appetite, and has an amazing smile that keeps coming up more and more often. For this I give you exhibit A:
Over the past few weeks I have found several things to be true.
- As much as I think recycling is good and purchasing organic/green products makes sense, if someone were to take away my right to use disposable diapers I think I would have a violent reaction. I'll buy carbon credits or whatever, just leave me the sweet disposable diapers that are super absorbent and have reclosable velcro.
- There is this magic stuff called Mylicon which gets rid of gas in babies. Why didn't anyone tell us about this elixir before Miles was born!
- At a certain point there is an equilibrium between sleep deficit and the threshold of crying that wakes you up. At this point I might be able to sleep through a Southern Pacific train rolling through the bedroom.
- As noted in item three, the crew at Rancho Relaxo are all tired. Caffeine is helpful, but at a certain point you are just very awake and not useful, as some of my co-workers may have (or hopefully have not) noticed. In this instance you sort of stare at the monitor and try to look busy.
- In the first few weeks Miles had terrible diaper rash. We tried a lot of products until we were told to try the Burt's Bees Baby Bee Diaper Ointment. Pure Magic! Thanks to Lisa and Karen for recommending this one.
- You don't love your pets less when you have a baby. Maybe they get a little less attention, but everyone should have room enough in their hearts for babies and furry creatures.
February 28, 2009
Who watches the watchmen (or your baby monitor)
Recently I had a discussion about video baby monitors with a neighbor. I mentioned that we had bought a unit that digitally encrypted the video and audio stream, so that creepy people would not be able to watch our baby sleep. They seemed to think that it wasn't such a big deal and that you would need a lot of equipment to spy on your neighbors. To rebut this I have two items that are freely available in the United States for a minimal cost. Both of these items can be outfitted with higher gain antennas to allow for the long range monitoring and reception of video signals.
- The discontinued ICOM R3 scanner with Video (About $400 USD on eBay)
- The AOR-STV Unit. At approximately $900 USD, this thing can view any NTSC or PAL nannycam, baby monitor, backup camera, or analog wireless camera in production.
February 13, 2009
Two Weeks
Miles visited the Pediatrician today and is up to 9 pounds 8 ounces. His main goals in life right now are eating, sleeping and being cute.
February 12, 2009
Blessings and Lessons
Sometimes when you look back on your experiences, you can clearly see that the world was preparing you for the future. Over the past two weeks, we've experienced sleepless nights and the need to change poop filled diapers on an inconsolable child. This is not the first time that Christie and I have experienced this. Those of you who know the details of our life, know that Duke the Dalmatian was taken from this world last December. What many people might not know is that the same day that Duke's bladder burst following his cancer surgeries, and we decided to not put him down and do everything we could to bring his life back to normal, is the same day that we found out that we were pregnant with Miles. We chose life that day.
In some ways Duke gave us Olympic level training. Changing the blood and feces soaked dressings on a 70 pound dog will always trumph a few ounces of yellow poop. Dealing with an inconsolable dog that is in pain and is depressed because he can't sleep in your bed anymore due to the mess and safety issues (falling off the bed) will always trumph a baby that can be satiated by a bottle or a diaper change. Duke gave us the lesson of undying affection and the need to pull out all the stops for a family member. Whatever the long term outcome, you know you tried your best and explored every possible route.
I don't know what Miles' life is going to be all about, but I'm glad the world has provided us with lessons whether they be blunt or subtle. Every life has a plan and purpose, but sometimes you just don't see it right away.
February 11, 2009
Born to be in pictures
Everyone has been asking me about the baby photos recently. I've just uploaded them recently and have made them accessible through Flickr. Without an account you can see a few photos, but to see everything you'll have to have a Flickr/Yahoo account, which then I can grant access to see all the photos.
These are the photo sets so far:
- Miles meets the world - http://www.flickr.com/photos/aaron_anderer/sets/72157613382384557/
- Miles' first few weeks - http://www.flickr.com/photos/aaron_anderer/sets/72157613581539774/
We also have some video to share as well, but I'll have to do a bit of video editing before it will all be releasable. Sorry for the delay, as we've be up to our neck in diapers.
In the future you can see any Miles related photo sets here:
February 05, 2009
Let there be light
The last few days have been fairly crazy. We didn't have much sleep in the hospital, or after we came home. The day after we were discharged we dragged ourselves out to our first pediatrician appointment with the requisite lab work. A few hours later we received a shocking call from our pediatrician that we would need to readmit Miles to the hospital. It seems that his minor jaundice wasn't so minor, and he would need light therapy to get the bilirubin levels in his system down to where they were not a health risk. Off we sped to the hospital, where we spent another 24 hours with him as he received his therapy.
Like magic, after 24 hours, his mood improved, he started eating more and the jaundice was almost gone.
We are so glad to be back home!
February 02, 2009
hello_world()
Hello Everyone,
I just wanted to send off a quick note announcing our new arrival. We've been at the hospital for the last few days, so unfortunately we were only able to do a few announcements via phone. Miles Arthur Anderer was born at 9:36AM on Friday January 30 at ValleyCare Hospital in Pleasanton, California. Our baby boy's birth weight is 8 lbs 11 1/2 oz and he is 19 3/4 inches. We came home from the hospital today February 2 after the doctors signed off on an early release.
Originally this was a planned induction, which turned into a cesarean birth after half a day of labor. Christie's doctor was kind enough to allow Aaron full access to the whole event, so we could experience the birth together.
Thanks for all the kind wishes and greetings from everyone! We haven't been ignoring you emails, we just didn't have Wi-Fi access at the hospital and just got home. :)
We've attached some pictures that you might enjoy. If you want to keep up to date with what we are up to, check out http://baby.spectrox.com
Warm Regards,
Christie, Aaron and Miles
January 21, 2009
The final stretch
Today marked 37 weeks and 6 days of pregnancy (according to the OBGYN's math). The ultrasound measurements they took today show that he's 7 pounds 12 ounces, so as long as everything keeps going the same way, we can do a traditional delivery. Yay!
January 19, 2009
Close to the finish line.
We are due to have our baby boy the first week of February. The nesting is now complete and everything is in place...
(Photo Courtesy of Tambako the Jaguar on Flickr)
Nursery painted and furniture installed, check. Car seats installed, check. Stroller built, check. Bags packed for the hospital, check. The only thing we haven't figured out yet is a name. Still working on that one. Wish us luck!
December 29, 2008
Getting Educated
During the past few weeks we have stepped up the preparations for the new baby. My Mother-in-law threw a great baby shower and many family and friends have helped us out. In the spirit of preparation we have also taken taken several childbirth classes from the local hospital. Between these classes and all of the programs we have watched on TLC and Discovery Health, I think barring a two headed child, I am ready for anything. The one thing I've drawn from this whole process is that you have have to inject a little bit of humor. The book below (Safe Baby Handling Tips) was given to us by family friends at our shower... It is a good and amusing read.
October 09, 2008
Online photo safety / Identity Theft
I was searching through Flickr today and was looking at some ultrasound images of babies that are right about as far along as ours. Some really nice shots (32,515 of them actually). And then I gasped. Did they? Yes, they did.
Parents, don't post ultrasounds on public forums with the Social Security Number of the mother attached. I know this sounds pretty basic, but some people may gloss over it without thinking. The hospital can protect your information with HIPAA, but when you put it out there, there is nothing they can do to help you. Even if it is just your name, a random billing code and the medical facility name, why even risk identity theft? There is no excuse in Flickr, as you can use Picnik (a great online photo editor) to edit it out or just crop it.
Links:
September 19, 2008
It is official!
We had an appointment with the Perinatal Specialist over in Walnut Creek this morning. Everything is great, the baby is healthy, Christie is doing well, and by the way we are having a boy! I'm including a recent ultrasound image for your viewing pleasure.
