Monday, August 31, 2009

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Hanging Out in the Sunroom

Today was another cool, beautiful day, so we spent some time out in our sunroom - let Owen get some fresh air. Our neighbors came over to visit Owen and to also pay a little attention to Betsy. Owen was well behaved and acting cute while they were over to visit - just resting himself up for his evening screaming.

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Baby Sitters!

Grandmom and Grandpop Smith came up to visit today. They babysit their grandson for a while, so that we could get out to lunch by ourselves. That was really nice! Thanks, Mom & Dad. Here's a picture of Owen dressed up in his little baby Gap outfit. He looks like a surfer dude.

Owen seems to be responding to us more. Today, he had some tummy time on the play mat that his Pawpaw got him. He has such a strong neck! He can pick his head up and turn it 180 degrees!

Friday, August 28, 2009

Kathleen @ 41 weeks

I forgot to post this picture last week when we took it. We took so many pictures of Kathleen's belly while she was pregnant, we thought that we should take one of her in the same pose after Owen was born. This was taken the day that we came home (8/20). It's been over a week now! Wow!

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Some Cute Pictures

Just posting some pictures of our cutie.

There are more pictures of Owen online at:
http://babysmithinbethlehem.shutterfly.com/

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Baby-cation

Kathleen's mom left yesterday, so Phil took a half day yesterday and is taking the rest of the week off to help Kathleen out. This is Phil's baby-vacation. He's trying to find some time to relax and read little in the middle of helping take care of Owen and doing laundry for Kathleen.

Kathleen and Owen had an appointment with the pediatrician on Monday. He said that Owen needs to learn how to sleep in his bed: if he's going to cry at night (which he likes to do) and we can't make him stop, we should just let him cry in his crib. So, the last two nights, we put him to bed and let him cry (and scream) in his crib, which he did for a while before tiring himself out and then sleeping for a really long time. On Monday night, he slept for about 4-5 hours. We woke up at 6 AM... and thought "what's wrong?" I guess he must've really tired himself out with all of the crying. This morning, Kathleen actually had to wake Owen up to feed him. So, other than dealing with Owen's nightly crying, he seems to be doing rather well with sleeping at night.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

The Smith Family

A little tired, but there we all are!


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An Injured Dog and a Crying Baby

Well, I think Betsy wanted some attention, because yesterday, she hurt her foot somehow and Kathleen had to take her to the vet. One of the nails on her front left paw was pulled back and was bleeding. So, the vet gave her an antibiotic, but didn't bandage her paw up.

Then, when Owen started crying a lot in the evening, Betsy got wound up and re-injured her paw. Betsy doesn't like it when Owen cries. She gets all upset and wants to give everyone kisses: Phil, Kathleen, and Owen. And somehow, in the midst of anxiety, she aggravated her injury.

So, we had a bleeding, limping dog and a crying baby - and a mother who was about ready to start crying. But, we collected ourselves - Kathleen and her mom bandaged up Betsy's paw, while I rocked Owen. Eventually, Owen did quiet down, and Betsy looked pretty cute with her injured paw all wrapped up.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Our First Walk

We took Owen on his first walk around the neighborhood tonight - just up to the end of the street and back. We haven't mentioned this on the blog yet - but Owen was born during our first (and maybe only) heat wave of the summer. It's been pretty hot and humid. But, tonight it cooled down quite a bit and was rather nice out. We stopped by so that Owen could meet Ellis, the pretty blond (one-year old) girl that lives across the street. Owen seemed to really enjoy the ride around the neighborhood, but he didn't seem like it when we stopped walking.
We were trying to tire him out a little. The only trouble we've been having with him is that he is the most energetic at night - particularly between midnight and 4am. He's a night owl - just like his mom. Today, he's been up and awake much more during the day, so we decided to finish it off with a walk to try to keep him up more and tire him out for the evening and night. We'll see how that works. For the past few nights, we've been taking care of him in shifts, which seems to be working: Phil has been taking the early shift until about 2am, with Kathleen and her mom filling in after that. Hopefully, we'll be able to shift him into sleeping more at night rather than during the day.

Big Sister

Betsy has been doing well with Owen. She's very curious about him, but we haven't let her get too close yet - only a little sniffing and licking of Owen's feet. She really seems like she wants to help out when Owen cries. She has at least been able to cheer Kathleen and Phil up and keep them company while they've been up with Owen during the night. However, she hasn't been able to nap like she normally does - so she's been very tired and ready to curl up in your lap as soon as you sit down.

Owen's New Home

Hey, Owen here again. Just helping daddy out by writing another blog post. I really like my new room in mommy and daddy's house. They played Beethoven for me today and I really enjoyed it. Mawmaw Hudson has been staying with us to help out for my first days at home. Yesterday, Grandmom and Grandpop Smith came to visit me. But before that, I got my first sponge bath, so I would smell all nice for my grandparents - but I didn't like that very much at all!! I made quite a ruckus!

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Mommy and Daddy's First Night Out

We know that it's not long after Owen was born (only the day after we got home), but we went out for dinner last night -- just the two of us -- to celebrate Owen's birth and relax a little. Mawmaw isn't here to babysit all the time, so we took advantage of that (thanks, so much, mom!). We went downtown to Bethlehem Brewworks - our normal haunt. Phil had the backyard platter, which included two grilled beef/veggie skewers covered with Aw Shucks spices (Aw Shucks roasted corn is a favorite food at our local festivals). Kathleen got one of her normal orders: the hummus plate with some French Onion Soup. We had a nice time, but wanted to get back to Owen before too long.

Owen's Trip Home

After more than two days in the hospital, we were all ready to get home. We got Owen dressed up in a nice "going-home" outfit: a onesie that said "Here We Go". But Owen took "Here We Go" to mean something other than our trip home: he "went" in his outfit as soon as we got it on him. So, while we waited to get discharged from the hospital, we undressed him and left him wrapped in a blanket, rather than dressing him immediately in new outfit.

Owen really likes his car set and riding in the car - he napped most of the way from the hospital to home. Betsy was so excited to see us after being gone for a few days that I don't think that she even noticed Owen at first. We haven't let her get too close to Owen yet: we don't think that she'll hurt Owen on purpose, but we just want to prevent any accidents. We've been letting her sniff him and lick his feet a little to get familiar with him.

After getting home, we took Owen up to see his new room. He seemed to really like it - he took a nice long nap in his crib. He looks so small when he's swaddled in his crib! We got Owen his own MP3 player and loaded it up with lullaby, piano, dixieland, celtic, and other types of music. The music really sets the mood in the nursery and makes it pleasant to spend time with Owen in there.

Owen's Stay at the Hospital

Hey everyone. Owen here. I'm doing a blog post so daddy can take a break. I was very happy to finally arrive at the hospital and meet my mommy and daddy on Tuesday. However, I was very tired, so I slept most of the first few days while I was staying in the hospital. Mommy was also tired, so she took some naps with me. My daddy was able to stay with mommy the whole time we were there because he slept on a pull-out bed in our room. On my first night, I stayed in the nursery all night, so mommy and daddy could get some sleep. I had some visitors while I was at the hospital: my Pawpaw and Mawmaw Hudson and my Grandmom and Grandpop Smith. They like to hold me and make crazy faces at me. I've discovered that I like to fart and poop while daddy holds me. And I like to pee in my diaper right after daddy changes my poopy diaper, so he has to change my diaper again.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Owen's Delivery

At our OBGYN appointment this past Monday morning, the doctor decided that Owen's fluid was getting low and that they would induce labor at midnight on Monday (actually, the appointment was at 00:01 on Tuesday). We had been ready for Owen to come at any time, but when we ended up scheduling an appointment for his delivery, it was a little strange. At least we could take our time getting to the hospital and we didn't have to worry about going to the hospital too early.

So, we arrived at the hospital in the middle of the night, and they had everything started around 1:30. Kathleen's body was ready for labor, because the contractions started very quickly - she justed needed a kick start. After she got the epidural, she relaxed quite a bit (not too surprising) and labor progressed much faster. She even took a 1-1/2 hour nap. Owen was delivered not long after she woke up. 13 hours total. Kathleen was amazing through it all! I'm so in awe of what she did!

I didn't realize how involved I would be with the actual delivery - holding her legs and helping to coach her. I even cut the umbilical card, which I said before hand that I didn't want to do (didn't want to risk passing out or anything). But after the delivery, it didn't seem like a big deal!

It was such a relief to see Owen emerge and finally hear him cry. I was a little shaky and teary-eyed. But I quickly remembered my camera and (after asking if it was OK) started taking a ton of pictures of my little newborn son.


After about 2 hours in the birthing room, we moved upstairs to the maternity ward. The rooms have little sofas with pull-out beds, so I was able to stay with Kathleen and Owen for their entire stay there. Kathleen and Owen were very tired after the delivery, of course.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Owen Patrick Smith - born August 18, 2009

He's here! Owen was born at 2:47 pm on August 18, 2009. He weighed 7 lbs, 6 oz and was 20 3/4 inches long at birth. He's beautiful! Kathleen's doing great - although she's a little sore and tired, of course. She did AMAZING in labor and delivery! 13 hours total!

Stay tuned to the baby blog over the next few days for some stories and details about Owen's delivery and trip home to Bethlehem! I haven't been able to post anything for a few days and I need some time to catch up!

Sunday, August 16, 2009

+2 days

Still here waiting. Kathleen's parents left this morning. But hopefully they'll be headed back soon to meet the newborn Owen.

Saturday, August 15, 2009

+1 days

Still no Owen, but we had a nice day trying to keep Kathleen busy and not thinking about how pregnant she is. We had lunch downtown and then walked down Main Street to the Moravian Bookshop for some book shopping and the Chocolate Lab for a few chocolates. Then some reading at home.

For dinner, Phil made Kathleen some "help-Owen-be-born" chili, which we spiced up for her. So, we tried a few "wives tales" today: spicy food and walking. Let's hope that that works. Maybe he'll come tonight!

Friday, August 14, 2009

D-Day

Well, Owen's due date is here and he's still not here. But we have two parents! Kathleen's parents are here - at least for the weekend. If Owen doesn't come by the end of the weekend, they may leave and then come back. Kathleen's been rather bored sitting at home with not much to do. But she's gotten through 300 pages of Anna Karenina while she's been waiting for Owen to come.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Due-Date Eve

Still waitin'. We hope he takes after his mommy and daddy and is punctual - by coming on his due date - not too early, not too late. We all want to meet you, Owen!

Taking a walk in the Rose Garden.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Let's Go Owen!

Just trying a little cheer to try to encourage Owen. We've been talking to him - telling him that he can come now. Unfortunately, he does seem awfully comfortable in there. He just had some new furniture delivered and carpeting installed. And with the economy the way it is, it's just not a great time to move. No reason to do anything risky. At least he's sensible - just like his parents.

Kathleen @ 39.5 weeks

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

The Countdown Continues - 4 Days to Go

Not much news from the doctor this afternoon. Still no big signs or indicators that he's coming in the next few days. Kathleen scheduled her first post-due-date appointment with the doctor, so let's hope it doesn't come to that. But at least, he's safe and healthy in there! We'll just have to be patient to meet him!

Monday, August 10, 2009

5 Days and Counting

Well, we made it through Musikfest without Owen coming. Kathleen's been told a lot that walking can bring on labor. But I think she walked about a mile a day during Musikfest and that didn't seem to move things along.

So, now the final countdown starts. Friday is the due date. But Kathleen would like Owen to come before that if possible - the sooner, the better. We have a doctor's appointment tomorrow, so we'll see if there's any news then.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

FestBlog 2009 (Day 10)

Well, we got through Musikfest and still no Owen. But we had a great time! At least for Kathleen, it was as great of a time as you could have being 39-weeks pregnant. We caught some great free live music, had some nice lunches out, and saw a lot of friends!

Today was a nice final day of Musikfest. We checked out Girls Guns & Glory (a honky-tonk country band) at Liederplatz and the Blue Vipers of Brooklyn (dixieland band) on Main Street. The Blue Vipers had an amazing percussionist with his own homemade instruments.

Girls Guns & Glory @ Liederplatz

Blue Vipers of Brooklyn @ Main Street Stage

After the shows today, we did our normal end-of-Musikfest activities: making dinner at home while listening to a mix of all of the great music that we heard all week. And then... watching the fireworks from our sunroom.

Saturday, August 8, 2009

FestBlog 2009 (Day 9)

We started our festing today by stopping by our friend Nicole's annual Musikfest party. Nicole is also a teacher at Phillipsburg and one our Bethlehem townie friends.

We had lunch with our friends Joe and Rebecca and watched the Women in Docs concert at Liederplatz - followed by The Duhks, also at Liederplatz.

Women in Docs @ Liederplatz

The Duhks @ Liederplatz

The second Friday and Saturday nights of Musikfest get very crowded. It's about time for everyone to go home. At least, after we catch a concert or two tomorrow on the last day of Musikfest.

Friday, August 7, 2009

FestBlog 2009 (Day 8)

The weather was beautiful once again today. We caught a Dixieland band (the Syncopatin' Six) on Main Street today that was amazing. We both closed our eyes and dreamed about being in New Orleans!

Syncopatin' Six @ Main Street Stage

We also saw a little of the West Philadelphia Orchestra. They play Eastern European and Balkan music! Lots of fun!

West Philadelphia Orchestra @ Volksplatz

On the way home, we stopped by to listen to a few songs by the Billy Bauer Band (which is my barber's brother's band). They play original Dave Matthews-esque music. Main Street gets crowded on the second weekend of Musikfest, so we didn't stay long.

Billy Bauer Band @ Main Street Stage

On the walk home, we ran into a friend on the street. Liz used to teach at Phillipsburg with Kathleen.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

FestBlog 2009 (Day 7)

We had a doctor's appointment this morning including an ultrasound. Owen looks happy in there. He's presently estimated at 6 lbs., 14 oz., so he'll probably be a little over 7 lbs at birth. Kathleen has progressed a little towards labor (at least as compared to last week), however there don't appear to be any signs that he's in a hurry to get out of there. So, the expectation is that he'll come about on his due date or maybe a little later.

We had a nice time at Musikfest today, once again. The weather cooled down a lot today - and the humidity was much lower. It was really beautiful. We caught the entire concert by The Doc Marshalls, a band from NYC that plays Texas honky-tonk swing as well as cajun music. We saw them last year at Musikfest and at a concert in town in November, so we were really looking forward to this concert.

The Doc Marshalls @ Volksplatz

We also saw Carrie Rodriguez and her band at Liederplatz. Carrie is a Mexican-American singer/songwriter who plays the violin, mandolin, and guitar.

Carrie Rodriguez @ Liederplatz

We met up with some friends of our tonight: Ethan, Jen, and their 2-year old son, Evan. Jen is also pregnant and just found out today that she's going to be having a girl! After watching a little of the Carrie Rodriguez concert with them, we tried to tire Evan out by walking him down Main Street. Evan and a few other toddlers were very entertained by the ragtime jazz band playing in front of the Hotel Bethlehem.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

FestBlog 2009 (Day 6)

This is the first year that we're members of Artsquest (the organization that runs Musikfest). Our big find this year are the members-only bathrooms with running water in the old mill (shown below). No more porta-potties for us! They've come in very handy - especially for a pregnant woman! The indoor bathrooms are right next to Volksplatz, where we like to watch shows and where the only other options for bathrooms are the porta-potties.

The concerts we went to today were bands that we're fans of: Oakhurst (a bluegrass/rock band) and Scythian (a Celtic/Gypsy band).

Oakhurst @ Volksplatz

Scythian @ Volksplatz