The Penguin's Arrival

So two more weeks have passed since I've written.  This time it's been for quite a good reason.

When I ended my last blog post, Leah and I were anxiously awaiting the arrival of our son, also know as the penguin, or "pengu".

Well, last Wednesday night (10/12) it all finally happened.  I went to an early dinner with my boss at 5 o'clock.  Leah was going to join us, but I found out that her friend Amy had flown in from Wisconsin to surprise her at dinner with Susan, one of Leah's other friends from Memphis.  I refer affectionately to Amy and Susan as "Salt-N-Pepa".

After dinner, I met up with Leah and company.  When I got to the restaurant I could tell immediately something was up.  Leah seemed uncomfortable, and had a look I had never seen before on her face.  Her friend Susan looked up and said "We're going to have a Penguin tonight!".  Then I thought to myself...Oh S&$%, this is going to happen tonight.

We made our way home, and started timing contractions (yes, there's an iPhone app for that).  A few laps around the block, and it was too uncomfortable for Leah to walk anymore.  Around 10:45, I called the doctor's office to let them know we would be coming in tonight.  As I was on the phone with them, her water broke.  Yep, this really is going to happen tonight.

I grabbed all of our bags for the hospital from the nursery (aka The Penguin Palace).  We got to the hospital at 11:15, and the contractions were still getting stronger and closer together.  It was killing me to see her in so much pain.  Around midnight, Leah got her epidural....I would have asked for it upon arrival!

She kept progressing until around 5 AM, when everything seemed to stall.  As it turned out, our son's head was too big, literally - just like his father.  Around 11 AM, after 12 hours of labor, her doctor called it - time for a C-Section.  I'm notorious for having a pretty weak stomach.  I passed out after seeing the birthing videos in Sex Ed during high school, and here I was about to see it first hand.

Luckily, I made it through.  The surgery was very quick, and before I knew it, I was looking over the top of the curtain at our son - Jackson Foster Wolford

 

The mask hides the fact that I was crying like a baby

Jackson was 7 lbs, 8 oz., 20-3/4" long, and scored two 9/10's on his APGAR test (which is very good, and uncommon for C-Section babies).  Leah did a great job, both throughout her pregnancy and labor, and blessed me with a happy, healthy, baby boy.

 Me and Jackson, proud as can be

We spent the next few days in the hospital, letting Leah recover, having friends visit, and getting to know Jackson.  My family made it in from Virginia, and helped welcome us home from the hospital on Saturday.

 

Jackson and his Grandma and Grandpa Wolford

So begins our journey as parents....

 

Jackson Foster (and his fauxhawk) after his first bath

Catching Up...

Wow, over two weeks since I've written!  It's been a busy couple of weeks, but as I got home and finished the day's work, put a pork tenderloin on the grill, and enjoyed a beer....I decided it would be a good time to catch up, so let's see what has happened....

I spent all of last week in Greenville, SC at a training class for work.  It was a great opportunity to catch up with other salesmen from around the US, and see people that I talk to everyday, but rarely get to see in person.  Busy, but fun week.

The Hokies took one on the chin from Clemson.  Quite possibly the most difficult Hokie football game I have watched in a while.  We looked absolutely terrible on offense, hopefully we can regroup like usual and work our way into the ACC Championship game for a rematch against Clemson.  That would also mean I could win back the Clemson shirt that I had to buy for a co-worker....and will also have to wear for a day at our regional meeting in November.  Gag...

Yuck

When I got back from Greenville, Leah took me to go see Moneyball, the movie adaptation of the Michael Lewis book. The book is one I read years ago, and has always been one of my favorites.

 

 Numerical Data Crunching + Baseball = My Heaven

It's true story about the Oakland A's General Manager Billy Beane, who was the first to use a numerical approach to dispel years of baseball myths about put together a winning baseball team.  Leah actually enjoyed the movie (whether she was lying or not, I couldn't tell).

Oh yeah....still no baby!  I think Leah and I are both ready for him to be here.  I even pulled out all the stops and made "Labor Inducing Eggplant Parmesan."  My mom passed along a recipe from a restaurant in Georgia that claims to have had over 300 women go into labor within 48 hours of eating their eggplant parm. 

Although Leah said it was better than Gianmarco's (the best Italian restaurant in Birmingham), 48 hours came and passed without any luck.  Less than one week until the official due date, so the next blogpost could very well be saying he's here!