Blog Archives - October 2006

Sunday, October 29, 2006 - New Header Graphic!

I've created a new header graphic! We took a new picture of Julie, Michael, Moxie, Hank, and I yesterday and I added it to the top of the webpage. Now that we have a member of the family that will be growing and changing rapidly I'll try to keep updating the graphic regularly.

This was the old header image, before Michael was born.

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Wednesday, October 25, 2006 - Michael on Video!

It's been a little while since I posted anything, but I've been busy figuring out a good way to get videos of Michael up on my web site. We bought a little video camera on Friday that lets me save the video to the computer. So now I can post videos of Michael and other important stuff! Check out the first videos here: Michael Photos And here's a sample:

And Michael is doing great. On Monday he had his two week pediatrician checkup. He's up to 20 3/4 inches and 8lbs 10oz! That's 1/2 inch longer and 15oz bigger than he was a week ago! Our little boy is growing up so fast. He's opening his eyes a lot more (they're changing from the dark gray when he was born to a greenish hazel, like mine), looking around at lights and stuff, and becoming more alert and active every day. He is fascinated with his own reflection and is starting to find interest in his mobile. And Julie is still recovering slowly. It'll be a while before she's feeling back to herself again, but we're heading in the right direction.

Also, I added a new Survey for people to vote on. It's only available for a short while because it's a vote on what Michael should be for Halloween. So go ahead and place your vote!

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Sunday, October 15, 2006 - Made it through the weekend...

Well, we made it through the weekend. After the scare on Friday things went pretty smoothly. We actually got almost six hours of sleep on Friday night (although not all in a row). Last night was a bit more restless, but we made it through. So now we're just hoping for the "all Clear" from the pediatrician on Monday. Michael does have a bit of a runny nose, but we don't think that's anything to worry about.

On Saturday Michael got a big visit. All at once he got to meet his Great Grandma and Papa, Aunt Jackie, Aunt Missy, cousins Joey and Ava, and also got to see Grandma and Grandpa Jaros again. It was a busy day, but Michael handled it well. Today was a quiet day to try to get recovered from all the big events. Hopefully this coming week will smooth things out and we'll get a routine down.

I also uploaded a bunch of new pictures. I created a single photo album for Michael with different galleries. There's one for pre-birth pictures - including the ultrasound pictures and more; one for hospital pictures (I noticed that some of them the color got messed up on so they're fixed), and one for pictures from Saturday's visits (I only have pictures Aunt Jackie took, but I'll have more when Grandma and Grandpa send me the ones they took).
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Friday, October 13, 2006 - Almost a scare...

Today we had a bit of a scare that actually turned into a blessing... We had to take Michael in to the hospital this afternoon. That was the scare. Fortunately, everything is great. That's the blessing.

When the nurse came to give him his antibiotic injection this afternoon we told her about the problems he had yesterday - vomiting, reduced appetite, and a rash. She thought it might have been a reaction to the medicine so she called our pediatrician to check before giving him the medicine. The pediatrician wasn't available, but the doctor on call said we should take Michael in to the emergency room and have a physician there take a look at him before any medication was administered.

So we took Michael to the ER where we got good news for a change. The doctor there examined Michael and said he looked very healthy. There was no fluid in Michael's lungs (which could have meant pneumonia) and his breathing and heart rate were excellent. The doctor thought the reaction last night was most likely due to the stress of having the first injection at the hospital plus the complications with his IV. Since he was getting better and had resumed his voracious eating habits the doctor said he thought it would be best to just keep an eye on Michael and not upset him with more injections, especially since we have a pediatrician visit scheduled for Monday.

So we got to go home and Michael is now (hopefully) going to be injection free. It was a little scary for a bit, but everything turned out ok.

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Thursday, October 12, 2006 - Welcome Home Michael!

Michael came home today! We had been told by the doctor in the morning that she wanted to be safe with the infection Michael had and keep him in the hospital and on antibiotics until Tuesday. So we were settling in for a long haul. Then in the afternoon he started having trouble with his IV staying in. We got pretty upset, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The nurses checked with our doctor and because Michael was feeding well, active, and strong, she decided that it was safer to finish the antibiotic treatment from home than to try to insert a new IV. So around 3:30 we were officially discharged! By 6:30 we had Michael home!

Once home we got to introduce Michael to his room and to Moxie and Hank. Hank is mildly curious, especially when Michael cries, but doesn't seem to care too much. He's decided that Michael isn't food so his interest is waning. Moxie on the other hand has been very interested and wants to be near Michael all the time. She's constantly trying to jump up and smell Michael. I think she's going to be very protective of him. She got very upset when we wouldn't let him in his room for a diaper change.

So, Michael is home now and doing well. Now we'll try to get on with the rest of our lives. Everything has changed, but it's weird... Mentally I know it should feel very different, but emotionally it just feels right. I can't imagine anything different right now. I guess that's parenthood for you!

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Wednesday, October 11, 2006 - Michael Leon notice...

It's come to my attention that the small addition that I added to the birth announcement yesterday could have been worded better. Call it lack of sleep or whatever you want, but it came across sounding like we were requesting money.

I just want to make it clear to everyone that Julie and I would never request money from anyone. We know that many people buy savings bonds for babies when they're born. Savings bonds from when Julie and I were babies are how we were able to pay for her masters degree and they helped us buy a home. Unfortunately with the way the economy is today savings bonds are barely worth the paper they're printed on. They are earning around 1% and even less.

My intent with adding the post script was not to encourage people to send us money or savings bonds (we've never asked for money for anything and did not even have a wedding or baby shower), but a request that those people who wish to send money for the baby put it into a college fund, which will help ensure an education for Michael's future. Money put into a 529 fund can only be used for education by the beneficiary. So we're not asking for people to send us money so we can take Michael to Disney World or buy him a silver spoon, we're asking that anyone who feels compelled to send money do so in a way that will benefit Michael in the future.

I added the brief message to the announcement so that people don't run out and buy bonds now that they know the baby's name. I'm sorry if the message was unclear or sounded rude.

On a more positive note though, both baby and mommy are doing well. We're all exhausted, but hanging in there. Michael has a very minor infection and we will be with him in the hospital for a few days, but the doctor's assure us it's nothing to worry about and he's just fine. He's eating and sleeping very well.

So than you to everyone who has sent their well wishes and I'll post any additional updates on my web site.

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Tuesday, October 10, 2006 - Announcing the arrival of Michael Leon Jaros!

We have a baby boy! Michael Leon Jaros was born on Monday, October 9th at 11:21 pm. He weighed in at 7lbs 10oz and was 19 1/2 inches long. Welcome Michael Leon!

View the Birth Announcement or some Photos!

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