Welcome Baby Evan!!

Evan Bradley Keller is finally here!! And what an entrance he made! He gave us all quite a scare, but more about that later. He entered this world at 7:19pm on July 27, 2009, weighing in at 8 pounds, 1 ounce and measuring 19 inches long. He has a healthy set of lungs and a FULL head of beautiful long hair. Mom is doing great and recovering from surgery. She is currently learning the art behind breast feeding.

As for the story, yesterday was a fairly relaxing day of entertaining out of town family and waiting for a scheduled doctor’s appointment in the afternoon. Our bags were ready in the car and we were mentally prepared to head to the hospital for an induction, pending the recommendation of the obstetrician. Amy had been enduring contractions throughout the day and hoped to show some progress for the effort.

The doctor was pleased with the progress, although it was less than we had hoped for. However, after consultation, it was decided that we would give Mother Nature one more chance to make things happen naturally over night and we scheduled the induction for the following morning.

Upon returning home, Amy and I went for a short walk down the street and back. Before we continued on further, we stopped by the house for a quick potty break. While I waited with our guests, Amy yelled from the bathroom that she thought her water had broken. It took a quick straw poll from the adults in the room to convince Amy that it was in fact her water breaking and it was finally time to head to the hospital.

On the way to the hospital, Amy maintained a chipper and positive attitude, even laughing between the contractions. Because she was feeling so strong, we opted to skip the expecting mother’s drop-off area and park in the garage. She even walked to registration and later to triage (even during contractions with her water breaking more and running down her legs). We got cleaned up and settled into a bed in triage. The staff ran through their typical admission exam and prepped Amy to move down to a delivery room for the duration.

Out of the blue, Amy’s contraction went from mild (easy for me to say) to completely off the chart. She was uttering phrases that would make a sailor blush. What I had failed to notice is the baby’s heart rate plummeted during the massive contraction. All of a sudden, the door to the tiny waiting triage room flew open and staff started pouring into the room, shouting orders, and taking action. The baby’s heart rate had dropped dangerously low and was not improving.

Within seconds, they started rolling Amy down the hall, straight to the operating room. For me, reality kicked me in the stomach when I heard “OB Operating Room STAT” over the hospital speakers. With those simple words, I knew the severity with which my wife and son were now faced against. As Amy was wheeled towards the operating room, I was directed towards an area to scrub up. I quickly called my sister and said, “There has been a problem. I need for you to get everyone here fast and safe.” She knew from my tone that there was not time to ask questions. She hung up the phone and immediately gathered the troops.

I was told to wait outside of the operating room doors until I was summoned. Staff continued to run in and out of the doors like busy bees. Finally, a doctor stepped out of the operating room and told me to sit down and breath. The baby’s heart rate had returned to normal. We had some time to relax and make some decisions. Our obstetrician was on her way.

I was allowed in to sit with Amy. She was strapped into the operating table and the drape had been placed. She was amazing and brave (probably more so than I was)! Eventually, it was decided that a long traditional labor (which we were probably facing) might continue to stress the baby. Instead, we opted to proceed with the C-section for the safety of the baby and momma.

Before I knew it, I was being told to look over the drape to see my baby boy entering the world. It was a miraculous and spectacular site. His crying voice was an absolute musical sound! As every parent knows, it truly is the miracle of life.

We were blessed with a remarkable staff of caregivers and prayer from God. Just over an hour after we arrived at the hospital parking lot, we were holding our beautiful new son.

As I said before, mom and baby are both doing great. He is asleep in her arms as I finish this posting.

Still waiting...

With less than 14 days left until the official due date, we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our new baby. I awake every morning amazed that we have slept through another night without having to race off to the hospital. We might be blessed with two more weeks of uninterrupted sleep, or we could soon be sharing our sleeping arrangements with hospital staff, family and hopefully our new son.

Our bags are still packed and waiting by the back door. They have been packed for so long that I occasionally have to dig through them for a phone or laptop charger. The magazine that I brought to read is going to be two months out of date. It will probably have more articles about Michael Jackson!

We have heard countless experiences from friends and families. Everyone has given us great advice for the upcoming challenge. However, it’s like trying to remember the 37 different golf swing instructions in the 0.7 seconds that it takes to whip your arm around. My mind is racing with different recommendations, tips and things to look out for. When is the tarry poop stage? Is it something to fear or is the breast milk poop that follows actually worse? Is it really true that an infant goes through 12 diapers in a single day?

Needless to say, we have a lot more questions than answers. Some day we will be old hands at this foreign process. However, for now, I am going to pick up my expectant father’s book and reread the section on what to expect after the delivery.

Recent Updates & Exciting Times

I have recently been a little remiss in fulfilling my duties as the family communications officer. My photo and blog updates have been absent, to say the least. I hope to post updates more regular now that things are really starting to change for our family.

As the month of June begins to wrap up, we are in full swing of the pregnancy. I believe that today’s count puts us at 35 weeks and 4 days (not that we’re counting). Amy has been AMAZING through out this whole process. Her body (like all expecting mothers) has undergone changes more rapidly than my boxer shorts. Everyday day seems to bring a new aliment or discomfort, often with the strange resolution of a previous symptom. By this point, slip-on shoes are a necessity and dropped items on the floor often remain until more nimble assistance can be offered by someone else.

Though we are still over four weeks away from our due date, we already have our bags packed and by the door. The house is filled with baby supplies, cribs, strollers, and a massive surplus of diapers. Still, I am frantically trying to finish Chapter 23 – What to Expect When You Bring Your Baby Home. The speed dial on our phones have been preprogrammed to Dial-A-Mom for that late night guidance on how to get the baby back to sleep. At this point, I feel like the soldier in basic training standing in the open doorway of the C-130 with a parachute in hand. I am scared to death to jump out that door, but there is no turning back now.

Fortunately, we are pretty well established in our new home. Most of the boxes have been unpacked (or at least stored in the basement) and the decorations are starting to appear on the walls. The baby’s room is finally painted and already furnished. With a few minor exceptions, the house is fully functional. We have already hosted out of town family on three separate weekends! With Amy’s large family, the guest rooms have really come in handy.

This is an extremely exciting (and often overwhelming) time for us. On top of our first pregnancy and the new house, we are still getting settled in a new city. Living in the temporary apartment and the parent’s house somewhat stagnated our ability to settle down and meet people. Additionally, both of our careers have limited our social and play time. Needless to say, like everyone else, we are encountering a shortage of functioning hours in the day. From what I am told, with a new baby at home we will soon sacrifice our sleep hours, too.

As always, we are so thankful for the support and blessings from all of our friends and family during this time of excitement and change. I cannot imagine undertaking this adventure without the help of those close to us.

I look forward to the day when I can post a picture of our newborn son on this blog!

IT'S A BOY!!!!

So many thoughts are racing through my head right now. Baseballs, dinosaurs, fire trucks, Legos, robots, Hot Wheels. What will he like to play with? Camping! Is it too early to think about taking him camping? How are we going to teach him how to ski when we live in Kentucky? Is his mom going to have to show him how to throw a better spiral than his dad? Is $1.00 still the going rate for the Tooth Fairy? I know that I am getting ahead of myself, but there are so many questions flooding through my mind.

Yesterday afternoon at 1:05 pm, I met my new son for the first time. Yes, son…we’re having a boy!! Wow, I am still beaming with pride, excitement, and relief. After a health scare (which put both of us through the emotional ringer), we went to the hospital for an unscheduled sonogram. According to the doctors, he is a very photogenic, healthy baby boy (and not shy about it).

After getting past the scary analysis part of the exam, we were able to watch as our son practiced the Running Man Dance in Amy’s belly. I’m please to say that he appears to be blessed with his mother’s rhythm.

As I sit in my office, I cannot stop staring at the sonogram picture of my beautiful baby boy. I cannot wait to meet him and hold him for the first time. The camping and Legos will come soon enough, but for now, I continue to pray for the health of momma and baby.

Rapid House Progress

Things are moving along very fast at the house these days. It looks more and more like a home every time we stop by to look at the progress.

The painters have finished painting all of the rooms and trim (check out the colors in the picutes). The hardwood floors have been standed and stained (you can all see them in the pictures). Almost all of the trim work has been completed, including the stairwell handrails. They also put the stone on one of our fireplaces last week.

On the outside of the house, we now have a concrete driveway and a VERY long public sidewalk.

They are working on the bathroom tile today. If the weather holds out, they are going to pour our front sidewalk and rear patio soon. I think (cross your fingers) that the kitchen and bathroom cabinets are going to start installation on Friday. Then, they will start installing the granite tops.

By next week, they might start installing the lighting fixtures and the plumbing fixtures will soon follow. Carpet will be the week or two after that.

Overall, things are progressing very well.

Midwest Ice Storm

Most of Kentucky was pounded last Tuesday by a snow storm that turned into an ugly ice storm. It started last Tuesday morning with about 4 inches of fresh, fluffy snow. For Kentucky, that is more that enough white stuff to shut down the schools and most businesses. Tuesday morning was fairly calm, but by Tuesday evening the storm had turned to freezing rain.

After spending some time at the fire station on Tuesday night, I drove home around 10:30 PM. By that point, the tree branches were already starting to hang low enough to scrape the top of my truck.

Sometime around 4:45 AM, we lost power at home. I added another blanket to the bed for Amy and went back to the fire station around 6:30 AM. By that time, the roads were almost impassable due to the tree branches. They were literally hanging all the way to the ground. I had to drive on both sides of the road to negotiate around the obstacles.

Around daylight, another storm surge dumped about 4 more inches of fresh snow on top of the layer of ice. I spent most of the morning helping out around the fire station and running a few calls. Amy spent that time bundled under blankets and reading through magazines.

Because Dani and Brandon had a two-month-old baby to care for, they really needed to find some place with power. Brandon called 30 different hotels before finally finding a room at the Seelbach Hotel in downtown. After an hour of loading the car with baby supplies, they were off for the evening.

Amy and I opted to stay the night at Dani and Brandon’s house since they had a working gas fireplace. We put the air mattress in front of the fireplace and loaded it with about 5 blankets. We stayed pretty warm throughout the night, but the trips to the bathroom were pretty chilly. By morning, the house was down to 50 degrees.

Dani and Brandon were able to extend their hotel room for another night and also reserved a second room. After making arrangements with the rest of the family, Amy and I decided to take the other hotel room. Heat and power never felt so good!

Mom and Dad decided to drive 4 hours north to stay with my grandparents in Illinois. We shut the water off at the houses and hoped for the best.

By Thursday afternoon, we had power back on at the office. Dani and Brandon got power back at their house by Friday afternoon. I stayed with them on Friday night while Amy enjoyed visiting her college friends in New York City.

Finally, by Saturday afternoon, the power was back on at Mom and Dad’s house. Since the temperature inside had reached 34 degrees, it took a few hours to bring it back to an inhabitable level.

All in all, we were pretty lucky. Several large branches came down at Mom & Dad’s house. Amy and I lost another tree in our new yard. However, none of the three houses received any damage from the storm (at least that we’ve been able to find).

I said it after the big storm last September, but we really do take the luxury of electricity for granted. You really cannot appreciate it until you have gone without it for an extended period of time. This last event was especially difficult due to the cold weather.

Thank God for the amazing efforts of the electrical companies all across the nation. We have seen electrical crews from Michigan, North Carolina, and Virginia (just to name a few). We are forever grateful for their efforts.

Overdue Updates

Well, I am a little overdue in updating our blog. With all of the new Internet technology out there, I sometimes have a difficult time keeping everything updated.

Carter Update: Little Carter is doing well and continuing to grow. It sounds like he keeps Dani and Brandon pretty busy and a little light in the sleep department. I think they are counting the hours until he can start sleeping through the night.

Amy and I have had a couple of babysitting practice runs, but have not watched Carter very much yet. I think the grandparents are busy filling that role for now. They are all very happy to look after the little guy.

House Update: Two more months and counting!! It cannot get here quick enough. Amy and I are ready to have a place of our own again. After a year, I am tired of living out of boxes and suitcases!

The trim and built-in shelves are finishing up this week. The tile crew is going to start laying the bathroom tile next week. I think the painters are going to start priming sometime soon. And, one of these days we are supposed to get our kitchen cabinets. Keep your fingers crossed.

I will try to get some pictures of the house progress posted soon.