Tuesday, September 30, 2008

4 Week Check-Up-Date

Liam was 4 weeks old on Monday and had his second doctor's visit (which he hates very much). He's up from 6lbs 14oz to 7 lbs 12oz and is 20 1/2 inches long. Jen and I think he should be bigger than that considering pretty much all he did this past weekend was eat. But the doctor said he's right where he should be, so no worries.

We've spent most of the last month in Topeka, KS, at Jen's mom. First we spent a week there house-sitting while her mom was out of town. The weekend we were supposed to go back to Bonne Terre just happened to be the weekend that a hurricane(!) passed through Missouri, so, after picking up Doris from the airport, we went back to Topeka. We came back to our apartment the next week and found it was infested with crickets. Having to stay because of a baby shower at church, we promptly left after a week (a week of pure hell. It was like living in a live bait shop.) and went back to Topeka so that everything we own could be sprayed with insecticide. We're spending the next few days here in Kansas City until Thursday, when we will make the trek across the state to Bonne Terre to finally visit my folks (along with other familial visits).

Not a whole lot of milestones have occurred. He's to the point where he doesn't sleep all day long anymore. And he likes to look around a lot. He does scream horrendously loud when he's hungry, though. Life is just so hard for a little guy.


Week 1 @ home

Ruby's first encounter

Brogan Guffey and Liam Reynolds


You takin' MY picture?


Ruby making sure Liam is alright. She's a concerned pup.

Checkin' out the scene.






Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Family so far and update

Liam has already met some of his family. In two weeks time, he'll meet more. For now, though, here are some more pictures.
We also had a visit from our Sunday school teacher and his wife and another girl from our Sunday school class who happens to work at the hospital we delivered in.
Jen get released tomorrow. We will promptly be traveling to Topeka to stay with her mom for a few days. We're not sure where we'll spend the weekend as Jen's mom is leaving from KCI on Monday morning to go to a seminar. Next week will be spent either in Topeka house-sitting or in Kansas City; since I have stuff due in two classes next week, most likely Kansas City. But, once the weekend comes, we'll be Bonne Terre bound so that Liam can meet Grandpa Jim and Aunt Jamie and Great-grandma Shy. And maybe even his Great-grandparents Reynolds and his Great-uncle Richard. Who knows what the weekend will have in store for us?



Grandma Doris (Deej)

Grandpa Randy

Aunt Emily

Step-grandma Natalie

Grammy

Liam, 2 Days Old

He slept most of the day.


Grammy made it into town last night.


Loving Liam.


Spitting image?



He likes to suck on his hand.




Monday, September 1, 2008

Labor Dabor

On this great day free of labor, Americans celebrate worker unions and enjoy the last fleeting moments of summer. Many are back in school and still many others are looking for a place to get rid of their white outfits. And as far as current events go, New Orleans is a wet ghost town and the RNC is looking much the same - complete with juicy gossip.

We, however, spent the day at Research Medical Hospital in Kansas City, MO, awaiting the birth of our first child, Liam Reynolds.
He was born at 4:47pm, weighed 7lbs 1.7 oz, and was 19 1/2 inches long.
Truly a great Labor Dabor indeed.

It's Been a While

So it's been like a month since I've last updated. In that time we have: gone to a wedding, a baby shower, a birth class, started school, gotten in a wreck, and let our apartment dwindle rapidly into the obvilion we all know as cluttered.

But, good news is on the way.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

The child shall be called...

We decided on a name. It's been thought of for a while, but now's a good time to tell. After careful consideration, lots of asking around, and sounding his name out (Caedman evidently sounds like "caveman." Thanks Omar!) we decided on one that we could both live with.

Is that how a name should be decided?

It works for us.

So without further adieu...

...the firstborn child of JD & Jen Reynolds is...

...named...

...William Ellis Reynolds.

But we're calling him Liam for short.

So...his name is Liam.

But in all actuality, his name is deeper than just something that we compromised on. William is a family name on my side (the first Reynolds in my clan in America was named William). Ellis is the English form of Elijah, which we like a lot (but couldn't use because it's currently being used by other family members). And both names have strong meanings. William means "will, determined, resolute." (Is that a redundancy for a Reynolds' child? Think about it.) Ellis (Elijah) means "the LORD is my God." All in all, we like. And in a family where nicknames abound - along with the fact that it's just cool - who can resist the name Liam?

So there you have it. William Ellis Reynolds. Liam for short.

You like?

Baby shower

We had a baby shower this past weekend. My mom and sister threw it at my parents' house in Bonne Terre. It was fun. We had lots of good food, lots of people (at least 26), and got lots of presents. It was a co-ed party, which is why I'm in attendance. We even had a few other guys show, though when it came time to open presents, they went somewhere else and grunted.

Enjoy the pictures.






Another ultrasound





For those who don't know, my mother is an ultrasound tech. I don't remember if I mentioned that elsewhere but just in case I didn't, there it is. Anyway, she wanted to do another ultrasound when we went back last. It's always fun seeing what your future child looks like before he comes. Kind of like the trailer to a movie. I just wish it was in 4D. That would be awesome!

Friday, July 18, 2008

Coming Soon!

Ultrasound pics

Baby shower pics

The revealing of the name

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Getting stuff

Super Ruby. She enjoyed trying on the baby's stuff.

Our new glider
Ruby's supervising


Our stroller. It comes with a car seat, also.

Zoo


Quick Catch-up

Nothing exciting has really happened between April and now. A few things though are worth mentioning.
  • Jen was measuring larger than they would have liked, so she took the gestational diabetes tests. Both came back negative for gestational diabetes. They are still keeping an eye on her, though. We hope it's just the way she's carrying.
  • We had to go into the hospital one Monday afternoon because some weird stuff was going on. They hooked her up for observation. When it was all said and done, it turned out that she was a little under-hydrated. That was a relief.
  • We've had two more ultrasounds since April. One was done by Mom and the other was done up here. I'm not going to post pictures because we're more than likely going to have another ultrasound done this weekend.
  • We have started to feel the baby kick these past 2 1/2 months. That's been pretty neat. A little weird; but still neat. And he's getting stronger which has caused Jen some discomfort.
  • We registered for stuff.
  • We've gotten some stuff. Plus, our neighbors gave us a changing table and a crib. Unfortunately the crib is broken. We won't be able to use it.
  • We've come up with a name. More on that later.

And I think that's about it. I can't think of any other milestones in the past 2 1/2 months. If I do, I'll just pretend like they didn't happen. You'll never know the difference.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

What is it?


As I mentioned in the last post, the organization that has been taking care of our natal stuff offers free ultrasounds. And as in all pregnancies, the time came to find out what we were having.


As you can tell from the rest of the blog, we're having a boy (sorry, no suprises for those who didn't know). After we found out, which was on April 28th, we spent 4 hours that afternoon in Borders' coffeeshop looking up names and sounding them out trying to find the one name - out of 110,000 that we were comfortable with saying for the rest of our lives.


We had had a bunch of girl names picked out that we liked; we weren't really expecting to have a boy. We were in a bit of a pickle. Needless to say, we didn't figure it out that day.


A little bit of humor from the exam room, though. After the tech did the ultrasound, the doctor came in to "verify" things (I guess). The only thing he said to us was, "And there's a little something extra for ya." Ha!

The next steps

After we found out we were pregnant, we started searching for care providers. That was a particularly hard time because we needed to find a place that would give free or next to free health care for mom and baby. And someone who would see patients regardless of insurance status. You're probably thinking that such a place doesn't exist...but it does.

After a little bit of sleuthing around, Jen found a place here in the Northland that provides natal care for mom and baby. Not only that, but it will clothe, feed, diaper, and furnish the child for the first two years of it's life. Not only that, but it's a Christian organization that is supported solely on donations and exists to reach low-income women (and just recently, men) who usually are in a crisis pregnancy situation. They offer Bible studies and Christian support to all who will accept it. It's a pretty cool place. All that a patient has to do is qualify for Medicare.

Through this place we have free check ups, ultrasounds, medical testing (glucose and what not), and hospital visit. It was really a blessing that we found such a place.

Just recently this place has started offering classes for the men who have fathered the children. The mission of the organization as a whole is not abortion (obviously. And ironically enough, they are located right next to Planned Parenthood) or adoption but family. They are seeking, as rightly they should, that families be brought together and/or established so that they child will have the best possible situation in which to grow up. A men's ministry in the area, the Kingsmen, have come alongside this place and is offering classes for men on how to learn how to be fathers and to go back to school or to get a job or to whatever you can think of that a man might want to know concerning babies, fatherhood, and how to keep from having more babies unexpectedly.

The world needs more places like this one.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

In the beginning

We first found out we were pregnant in January; at five weeks. I made Jen take three tests just to make sure. When we actually did make it into the doctor, though, he confirmed it. It was officially official; we were pregnant.

*This one was supposed to be before the one with the ultrasound picture. I started to write that one and then remembered that this bit of information was important, also. Sorry for the out of order-ness.*

The first ultrasound




My mom did the first ultrasound at 10 weeks. You can see much except for - obviously - the baby. I don't know much about the development of the baby at this point, but it was pretty cool to see everything going on.

Monday, July 7, 2008

The First Post

This is a test of the emergency...

Wait. No it's not. But this is a test post. Does it work? How now, brown cow.

This site will be devoted (hopefully) to the development of the Reynolds' family ala JD and Jen. A little one is on the way - due in September - but for now we have a Ruby to keep us occupied. Please stay tuned for more information, more action, and hopefully more fun.

Thank you for choosing to ride with us.