Week 4 and Fun Facts

Kinda tired today...last night we had our first "incident". Graham projectile vomited around 5pm and while at first we didn't think to much of it, Addie remember the nurse at the hospital saying "spit up is fine, but if they projectile vomit - MAKE SURE YOU CALL THE DOCTOR"! So we decided to read through our books and check the internet and of course that can be a blessing or a curse. After getting all worked up reading "any time a child projectile vomits under 6 months call your doctor", we decided to do so. Not to mention we thought it would be better to catch him at a reasonable hour and ask what we should do if the vomiting continued into the wee hours of the night. He explained what we should do...and of course, the next feeding went great and aside from a little extra nerves throughout the night, it appears everything is fine!

Coincidentally, the state of CA has an "under 5" program that sends a nurse to your house within the first two months of your first born. Ours happened to be scheduled for this morning. The nurse was great, she continued to reassure us and did a mini check-up and Graham passed with flying colors. He's already weighing in at 10lbs 2oz and is just over 23 inches. He loves to eat!!

Here are some fun facts that we've learned about Graham:

• Half birthday is October 5
• Birthstone is Diamond (Innocence)
• Astrological Sign is Aries
• Flower is Daisy or Sweet_Pea (Yellow, Red and colorless)
• The Chinese Year of The Brown Earth Cow
• Will start kindergarten in 2014, be old enough to drive a car in 2025, finish high school in 2027, and will graduate from college with the class of 2031, give or take a year. Can you imagine?

This weeks photos include a picture of the nurse checking him out, Graham getting his milk from a cow (other than his mother - and I mean that in a purely functional way!), photo with mom laughing and one of him "lounging" at his grandparents house where his uncle Matt found the perfect cocoon!

Week 3

So, Graham has already outgrown his first set of clothes and the newborn sized diapers! Wow, this may be normal but it seems really fast. We are preparing for a never ending growth spurt : )

This week Addie's Grandparents (Great-Grammy and Great-Papa) flew in from New York to visit. It was amazing having 4 generations together. We had a great time enjoying stories and speculating about what Graham's future will add to the legacy.

In addition to Graham's great-grandparents leaving, Liz and Steve headed back to Salt Lake City today. Thank you again for everything! It was amazing having you here and we truly appreciate all of your help!! Their departure marks the first day (since the first day in the hospital) that Graham will be stuck with just his parents. I hope your ready for this little fella'!

On a side note - One of the most common phrases you hear when you are expecting is, "you're life will change forever". When you hear it, you really have no idea what that means. Here's two things they mean: 1) You'll do more laundry than you ever have in your entire life 2) When you think you have enough diapers to start with...buy ten more bags! It's amazing with all the money spent on diapers that the companies haven't developed one that seems to work consistently!! Hence the extra laundry!

The Many Faces of Graham Emerson

The joy continues! It's been another great week as we continue to learn and be amazed. Addie's Mom and Stepfather, Dad and Stepmother, are all in town to support us. Their love and knowledge has been unbelievably helpful. - Thank You!

This weekend Graham experienced his first trip to the beach (a necessity with the heat wave we've been experiencing). Here's a couple of the "Faces of Graham Emerson" including one of his most common and our personal favorites..."the Popeye"!

Happy Easter

The first few days have been amazing! We are so lucky that Graham is incredibly patient with us. We fumble around trying to figure out how to do this and that...He just sits there patiently waiting for us, with amazingly helpful cues (that we are just starting to learn how to read). The changes probably seem subtle in the photos, but they still blow our minds. His first Easter Basket (thanks Ness) and Addie's favorite habit - the stacked feet!

The First 24 hours

I know we mentioned that the labor was intense, but just 48 hours later we've completely forgotten the bad and are overwhelmed by the good. In fact, I think Addie wants to have a litter now! The recovery in the hospital went very smoothly so we were released after just 24 hours. Here's a sample of some pictures of Graham's first 24! We've been amazed at how every day he looks different then the day before. Day one I was convinced he looked just like my cousin Eric. Day two There was no mistaking he was a Daubner. Today his eyes remind me of Addie's uncle Pat. The one consistent is Addie's furrowed brow! We can't wait to see what he looks like tomorrow and at the same time don't want today to end...

Graham Emerson Murdock

It began on Saturday @ approximately 8pm. Addie started feeling "cramp" like pains that we would later discover were the first contractions. The pain made it very difficult to sleep on Saturday night and by Sunday morning they started to intensify. By 4pm on Sunday afternoon the contractions were getting really intense. We monitored the contractions, starting from 8 minutes apart then to 4 then they'd jump to 6 and so on... 6pm the mucus plug released and we thought it was just around the corner (little did we know!). By 11pm we had established a consistent 4 minute pattern of 1 minute long contractions for 2 solid hours (representing the the latest time our birthing class instructor recommend we go to the hospital). Upon arrival at triage we were very disappointed to find out that in lieu of all her hard work, she was only 1cm dilated and we were sent home!

Needless to say Sunday night was unbelievably difficult. No break of longer than 8 minutes between contractions and the pain continued to intensify. At 10:30am Monday morning, after too many contractions to count, dozens of walks around the block, and seemingly no end in sight - we went back to triage. This time, great news! Addie was 4 1/2 cm dilated and we were officially admitted. At 12:30pm (after 40 hours of contractions) exhaustion started to set in. The doctor strongly recommended an epidural and although Addie was confident she could get through the pain (I have no idea how), the threat of not having the physical strength to complete the final stage was a serious concern. The epidural slowed things down a bit and gave Addie a chance to regroup for the final push (pun intended). The pushing stage of labor was amazing for all. For Addie and Lucas it meant the introduction of our new offspring. For the nurses and Doctors it meant witnessing first hand one of the "strongest pushers" they had ever seen : ) And we were very fortunate to have some amazing friends create a room full of love!

At 6:43pm Graham Emerson Murdock entered the world! He weighed in at 7lbs 3oz, 20 1/2 inches with a full head of sandy blonde hair.