Home again

We got home yesterday after waiting almost two hours for the wheelchair to arrive. My added delay of washing and detailing the car didn't help speed things up. The doc released us at 11:25. I think we pulled out about about 3pm or so.

Being home is good. But, it's more work. I just noticed that my toilet tank is leaking. Carter is still making messes. Afton isn't too much work. She just wants to be fed every couple of hours for a half hour.

She eats a lot! She left the hospital at 6 lbs, 12 oz. yesterday. We had to take her for to weigh in and her Billy-Reuben today. She tipped the scale at 6 & 15 oz., a gain of THREE ounces in one day!!

We got decent sleep last night. But, by the time we were through with insurance mixups and doctor visits, Carter was done. I'd hoped to improve his spirits by eating outside at Checkers. That was bust. :(

Afton loves to sleep. She's opened her eyes some. But, she can't seem to stay awake for longer than five minutes or so. I'll be glad when she's more active.

Racheal is doing well, though tired and sore.

Carter is being a great big brother, though. He's disappointed when Mom can't hold him. But, he's so sweet to Afton. The below videos are kinda long for general consumption. So, I mainly post them for Kimberly & Doug and Jessi & Paul's benefit.





Thanks to Angela Johnson for supper last night! It was tasty. And it converted into good breakfast sandwiches this morning.

Trying not to be 'up and at em' this morning

Somewhat up and at 'em after three hours of sleep. Racheal may have gotten more. Afton is sleeping well and eating even better. All of her pipes work. In fact, she pooped on Doctor Shah as soon as she left the womb! All health checks have been good.

We still haven't chosen a middle name.

I think she has Racheal's nose.

See more pictures in our Photo Album.

Welcome, Afton

We are incredibly excited to have brought Afton Whigham into the world at 9:04 PM last night. She weighed 7lb, 2oz. and was 20" long. We delivered naturally even though Carter was delivered by C-section. Mother and daughter are doing well. Both should recover quickly and be home by Friday.

Thanks to all of you for your thoughts and prayers. Thanks to our Heavenly Father for such a beautiful blessing! We appreciate Dr. Shah, our nurse Carmen, and the other staff at Athens Regional Medical Center.



I'm so thankful also to my wife, who did so wonderfully even though the epidural didn't kick in until after the baby was born.

Big Events in The Whigham House!!!

Our little boy is all grown up... walking... teething.... this is all too much for mama.He started walking about two weeks ago one step here and one step there... and then all of the sudden he was off... walking across the living room all by himself ... unsupported. He tends to walk best when he is mad. And then it is at more of a run. He has his first three teeth in his bottom middle came in on wednesday of last week and his top left just broke through today. He will be eating steak in no time at this rate. He is such a spunky little guy.. full of life.. always jolly, and very proud of his new teeth.He is going to be a heart breaker... he is just as handsome as can be bright beautiful blue eyes that are always sparkling like he has a secret to share... and gorgeous baby fine blond hair that curls just slightly when it is wet, and cute little dimples on each elbow. :) Jessi is living with us for a bit.. it has been fun... like having a sister again.. Carter has become very attatched to her.. when she left for school today..she was very sad... he cried for Jege for about five min. Along with his new teeth he has a new sense of independance...he dosen't want anything to do with rocking or cuddling... he likes to do things himself. It breaks my heart to see my little boy all grown up... what will I be like when he goes to school...or on his first date... or on his mission or gets married,..... a mothers life is full of heart break. Maybe this feeling of not being needed anymore is why people have their second baby. Now don't get me wrong I am so excited for him to be walking and growing up.. it just seems all too fast it seems like only yesterday that we were comming home from the hospital... completely lost but with this teeny little bundle that stole our hearts and has become the very center of our lives. And in a month and a half he will be one, and before I know it he won't need mama anymore. (tear)
I am going to go sob into my pillow
Love always
Mama

A Day With Carter

I skipped out on the second two hours of church today to go upgrade the
Monroe building computer. And Carter came to assist! He was so good.
We don't usually spend this much time alone together because he's a
Mamma's boy; besides, I'm usually working.

Before going to church, Carter got a bath. He's figured out how to pull
the plug on our tub so the water will run out. We try to tell him no.
But, he heeds "no" like his aunt Jessie treats yield signs. But, I told
him to put it back this morning. Guess what, he did! It was upside
down, so I told him to turn it over. Obediently, he turned it over and
plugged the hole. So, he pretends to not understand "no" while he does
understand "put the plug back in." Yeah, right, Carter.

I realized today that he knows how to throw a tantrum. He also enjoys
other kids. He was fascinated at the kids playing soccer after church.
He crawled in the gym and sat on the sidelines, spectating for almost an
hour. The Galbreath and Mahady boys were playing and they stopped and
played with Carter, too.

We ended up staying in Monroe for about 6 hours. :( When we called
Racheal, I put Carter on the phone. His eyes lit up, he said
"hiiiiiiii", then tried to kiss the earpiece. He got fussy and started
crying after that. So, I put him to sleep and he slept in my arms for
over an hour while I reloaded the computer.

We also got to see Zach, Jennifer and the boys, Nathan and Garrett.
They hoped Carter could run with them and play. He took a stutter step
for them. Maybe next time.

Brownie the dog!

Good Morning,
It has been a great morning, Carter has been really happy, we had wheat pancakes for breakfast which were really really good! And until about 10 minutes ago we have been playing in Carters room. Yesterday Grandma and Kimberly were visiting us... we spent the morning working on the house as Brian took off from work. The office floor was water damaged and had mold growing on it :( gross!!! So we had to rip that one up. Brian I hung sheet rock and put down a new floor yesterday and did a mighty good job at that!!!! It was lots of fun! Brian always said that the best dates are ones spent doing something productive together. He is right, working together is great! Grandma and Kimberly helped us paint (as the walls were a bright teal.... with pink flowers). We are going to paint the tops of the walls a light gray and the bottom a darker gray.. with white trim.. I think it will look great. And it is about time I came through on my birthday promise :)
We took some great pictures of Carter in the tub today!!!! Here are a few!
Yesterday evening Grandma, Kimberly, Carter and I went shopping! It was lots of fun! We went to the thrift store behind the Crowded Closet (where we also went) and that is where Carter met him! Brownie the Dog is an adorable, chocolate brown stuffed dog. Carter saw him up on a shelf and started doing his"ooh..oooh.ooooh. " and squirming, trying to get out of his stroller. I got him down for him and he was so cute, kissing him eating his eyes and nose, and hugging him. I would say it was love at first sight !!! Anywhoo.. that is our newest addition to our family.. that and a fly named George Mc who met a tragic end yesterday evening in an apple juice bottle.
Love to everyone.
Mamma

9 Month Dr. Visit

Good Morning,
Carter had his nine month well visit at 10:30 this morning. He was wonderful!!! Usually at the dr, we have to fight to get him to sit still... he sat very still and listened to Dr. Shani, she kept saying how wonderful, sweet and charming he was! go Carter!!!!
Everything looked good at the visit...
He was 20.14 lbs  in the 60th percentile... Shani said that about the time that they start to get really active  they stop gaining weight so quickly, so she said his weight looks great
He was 30 inches long (as long as the tape measure what are they going to use now???? )
90th percentile for length. He is going to be a basketball star!!!
His head circumference was 44cm. Average size :)

I asked her about the white bump on his penis. She said that is an inclusion scar. Sometimes when a circumcision is healing a small cluster of cells forms . She said that sometimes it goes away, but if not it shouldn't bother him at all... she said that it is pretty common and shouldn't cause any problems.

His heart and lungs and nose and ears and throat and stomache all looked great. He is a very happy, healthy growing boy. With a lot of supunk that " is going to wear you out " - Shani.

All in all it was a great visit!
Shots next visit (12 month)  :(

Mamma

Overview of the last few months...

We keep meaning to sit down and write this ... we have missed so much, it is sad to think that our little baby is all grown up... or at least he thinks he is! Lets see momentous events......
1. February 19th Carter rolled over for the first time... early in the morning wearing just his diaper he rolled from stomach to back.
2. Carter sat up and started crawling within a weeks time... we don't remember the exact date but he was doing very well at this before his 6 month check up ... Dr. Sprayberry was quite impressed!
3. Saturday 07/07/07 we have this fun little play center for him.. it sings songs when he pushes buttons and spins wheels and has a ball shoot where the ball rolls down little ramps and out. Carter figured our how to put the ball down the shoot himself.... he did it over and over for about 30 min with Grandma!!!! We have one smart little guy!
4. For the fourth of July 07 we went to Hurricaine shoals with Gran and Papa and fam. Carter really enjoyed the water... he would crawl out when he got to cold and then right back in he went. He didn't like it much when it got too deep but other than that we couldn't keep him away from the water... maybe we'll give the beach another shot. We went down to the beach the first week in June and Carter hated the water.... screamed and cried :( although he did enjoy eating the sand). After a while he warmed up to building sand castles ( as long as we kept a succer in his mouth the sand castles we later found in his diapers weren't to big. :)
We got carter a little wading pool we put about an inch of water in it and he loves it... maybe that is why his is suddenly so fond of water. And we got to start blowing bubbles, he is just amazed by them .. I think bubbles is a momentous event... it is half way to playdough :)
I know I have missed tons... he does something new and exciting every day.... but just for the record he said MaMa first! that was a while ago... now he is the babbling king! He says MaMa, DaDa, PaPa, BaBa, Ball, He knows what a fish says .he is deffinatly a mamma's boy, and has recently rediscovered his cuddly bone, he loves to give kisses and blow rasberries, he blew rasberries on my chin this evening :)
Anyhoo... being mom to such a little treasure is amazing! He teaches me something new every day, I am so thankful to have him! he is a joy!

Dance, Dance, Dance

9 months, 10 days old, Carter started dancing today!  We were all in his room playing.  I brought in the laptop, which was playing a random song from shoutcast.com, and he just started moving to the beat, unprovoked.  It was soooo fun to see him.  He had a ball.  Of course, when we brought in the video camera, he was done.

I put him to bed.  He was especially agreeable this evening.  I tickled his feet and we listened to the rain and thunder.  He has a boyish laugh now.  I expect him to just start talking to me as if he were ten.

He does speak to me, just not in words.  I know that he wants about three sips of his bottle before sucking on his binkie to catch a breath.  Then, he wants the bottle back.  When he's tired of rocking and ready to sleep, he stretches and half-heartedly tries to climb out of my lap.  When he whole-heartedly tries, he just wants to play and not sleep.  He's good about picking which books he wants us to read to him.  He especially likes Five Little Ducks, an Elmo book about stars and bedtime, and Scuffy the Tugboat -- oh, and a board book about animal patterns.  Carter stands up and holds his arms out when he's ready to get out of the tub.  He holds his lips tight when he's done eating and swats the spoon.  He cries and rubs his eyes when he's tired.

And, he started waving bye and hello about six weeks ago.  Sometimes, he'll say 'ba' as he waves.  He almost always waves goodbye now.  He also likes to wave in the mirror.  He is fascinated by the mirror and his hands.  The other day, while we were in the Primary room at church, he waved bye, crawled half-way to the door, turned and waved again, and out the door he crawled!

He's just a blessing.  I just can't explain how much I love him or why I think he's the cutest kid in the world.

happy, healthy, growing

Carter is really growing like a weed. He's really long and got some chunky legs. About three weeks ago, he weighed in at 10 pounds, 1 ounce. Two nights ago, he slept through the night (7 1/2 hours) without eating nor waking up. That's welcome news, especially for mama. He's very healthy right now; we believe that his ear ache is gone now.

I think he'll be very opinionated 'cause he'll let you know if he's not happy. He smiles a lot, though, so long as he's happy. He's cooing now and sits in his high chair most all through supper. We let him taste stuff. He didn't like the beef stew last night. But, he did like the fried ice cream. :)

going well

Carter is eating and sleeping well. He has developed a small rash. But, I think he's already gettin over that. We changed him at least twice last night without even a whimper. Yea! :) We're headed to the doctor now.

Racheal is getting over her soreness(es) and is adjusting well to motherhood. She's great!

Day 5, Retun to 'Normalcy'

Things are probably getting to 'normal' stage. Racheal and I got some good rest last night. Carter's wound is healing. So, changing him is not torture any more. I'm gonna head in to work a half day today. Gran is here for a few hours to help. Carter slept like a log last night.

I posted some more pictures and videos. I even dressed these pictures up a bit. See the photo and video links to the left. Here's an preview:

Video

Home Sweet Home & Baby With a Name

We finally made it home about 7pm yesterday evening -- sooner than planned, really. Before we left, we had to decide on a name. So, we can now call him Carter Keith Whigham. It's really nice to have something to get his attention other than 'son', 'boy', 'young man' and 'fella'.

It was a long night. Changing is not one of his favorite past times. Racheal has gotten very little sleep. I've gotten some but would welcome more. Grandma bought him a swing, which he loves (and I love). Gran should be here in a few minutes to help. I may try to go into work after I take the trash to the dump and try to work a half day. Hope to update pics/videos soon. Look out for a new 'videos' link to the left.

going home?

Yippeeee. We might be going home today! That's welcome news since we
thought it would be Tuesday morning.

Racheal is tired. She just got her staples out. Didn't hurt!?!!?
Little Whigham was just circumcised. Shoot! Racheal said he just
filled his diaper, too! :( Poor kid. Gran (Isenberger) is visiting
right now. But, I just got out of a warm bath (the first bath I've taken
in years). Darn jets didn't work! I was so looking forward to the
jacuzzi jets. :( I know &em; it's tough being a dad. :)

Cross your fingers so that we can go home soon.

some eye candy

decided to add some eye candy to the site. No time to do my own. So, I just copied the announcement page to my blogger.com account. Links to pictures are on the right. Video links are currently only in the first post on this blog. I'll rearrange it later. Racheal just ate breakfast and showered. I'm about to follow her example.

Initial Announcement and old site

Presenting the unnamed baby Whigham!

Note: this was not posted in January.


We are excited to announce the birth of a healthy, bouncing, baby BOY! Weighing in at 7 lb. 14 oz., our 21 1/8" long, blonde-haired, brownblue-eyed surprise was born by C-section at 12:39AM, September 29th, 2006 after he refused to turn posterior for normal birth, though he almost made it that way. He's just a big fella and even a posterior position would have been tough. However, Racheal was proud to dialate to a full 10cm.

Also, Racheal is in good health and spirits even after 12 hours of labor. Breastfeeding went well this morning and he took a little bottle last night.

Thank you all for your prayers, concern, encouragement, advice, and help! We love you all and hope to see you soon.

Updates

• 9/30 12:15pm - Baby's doing great. Thinking about Carter as a first name (maybe Evan). We all slept well. Baby ate about twice last night. We're up for visitors now (call first might be best). Grandparents Whigham came yesterday and are staying for the weekend. Adding photos/videos regularly.


• 10/1 8:50am - Racheal is almost off pain medication, I think. She's able to change him and do everything by herself. Baby's checkup (eyesight, hearing, etc) went well. Enjoyed several visitors yesterday, including Thad, Jenni, & Eva Taylor, Uncle Jeremy, Aunt Swan, Clay, all the grandparents, Aunt Jessie, Uncle Tyler, Steven, Joy, Emily, & Sierra Arnold, and Krista & Evan Mullins. Grandma Whigham cut my hair last night (as you can see, I needed it sorely). Grandma & Grandpa Whigham picked out and installed new blinds, fans and doorlocks at our house for us. I got some decent rest last night. Mostly, though, it's feed, burp, change, upload photos, feed, burp, change, take photos, listen to the nurse, feed. . .

photoz & vidEo

• See more pictures of baby Whigham


• Labor video (rated G)


• Just mom and baby Whigham (rated G)


• Vitals (rated G)


New! 9/30 2:41pm


• faces video


• another video


• yet another video


• yet another video