Now that's perfect?

These before and after pictures show what happens when a baby cramps your workout routine. Former heavyweight champion of the world Brian "Mister Perfect" Woglom was brought down by his very own dog, the current champion of the World Canine Entertainment League, Kasey "The Body" Moe. In this tables, ladders, and chairs match, these previously mentioned items were not even needed as The Body dropped Mister Perfect with a sleeper hold and then finished him off with her specialty, the canine clutch. The match was observed from the sides by Christopher "the New Nature Boy" Woglom who simply commented, "Eh, eh, wah." No one really knows what this means for Perfect's career but it sure is embarassing when 35 pound dog drops the heavyweight, excuse me, former heavyweight champion of the world. Stay tuned for updates and news from the Perfect camp to see where this loss leaves the disgraced champ.

The Ring Sling

I wanted to give Brian one more reason to call me a hippie so I busted out the ring sling yesterday to hold Christopher in. Thank goodness it came with an instructional DVD to show me how to put him in correctly! At first our son was not really thrilled about it--he lasted 10 minutes to start. Later after a good nap and afternoon snack, he was much more content and hung out in the sling for about 3 hours in between feedings. We even went for a walk around the block with him in that thing! I felt like a member of some primitive tribe or something. One of our neighbors saw us from a distance and asked where the baby was because we didn't have our stroller. The sling is great though because it frees up my hands and feels pretty good on my back. I'd like to wear him more as I get back into doing things around the house. I'll eventually experiment with more holding positions but for now we're going to stick with what works! Anyway, here is Daddy and son hanging out as Mommy took a much needed evening nap...

Kasey's turn

Hello, everyone. Mom dropped me off at Pawz at Play this morning and I managed to get onto one of their computers while the other puppies are napping. It's been over a week now that my mom and dad brought home this creature from the hospital and I'm still not sure what to make of it. When I first saw them carrying a container into the house, I thought they might be bringing me a huge basket full of treats because they missed me so much. But much to my surprise as they walked with it toward the living room, the container started making noises! I have to say, it stopped me in my tracks. They say denial is the first step of the grieving process and that is what I felt when I realized I wasn't the only baby anymore. Now that time has passed, however, I am leaning more toward acceptance, especially since we've been going for walks almost everyday. Prior to the baby coming along, I was not a big fan of strollers or toddlers. I think now that I am coming to terms with both, although I'll let you know about the toddler thing in a couple years. Mom and Dad still love on me a lot, even when they are holding the baby. I like to sit in front of Mom's chair when she's feeding him and let me tell you, I sometimes even get close enough to lick his little hands. He gets squirmy when I do that! But boy oh boy, his diapers sure can smell ripe to a dog who's sense of smell is about 400 times greater than a human's! Anyway, the bump on Mom's stomach that I referred to in my last post has gone away so I am fully expecting us to resume our runs shortly. She should have absolutely no excuse!

Doctor doctor, give me the news...

We went for our first well visit today with Dr. Brooks this morning and everything with Christopher looks good. They took his measurements and weight and then checked his eyes, ears, and mouth (which he opened wide with a nice cry!). He gained another ounce so he's up to 8 pounds. We go back again next week for a weight check but that's it for now. Daddy went back to work today after the appointment so we'll see if he survived when he comes home tonight. For the past 3 nights, Chris has been sleeping pretty well (2 to 2 1/2 hours at a time in between feedings) but he wanted to make sure Brian remembered what a newborn is all about last night by having me do marathon feedings interspersed with crying fits that required Brian's use of the hairdryer. He didn't really want to go to his first day back at work on a good night's sleep, did he?

Beefcake...beefcake!

We went back to the lactation consultant yesterday to check in on Christopher's weight. It was really a funny experience because as we started undressing him completely to put him on the scale, he first spit up and then he exploded all over the little bin he was sitting in...without his diaper on! I guess he didn't want to be too heavy for his weigh-in. Anyway, they were looking for half an ounce gained per day since Thursday. Our little beefcake was up 4 ounces in 2 days! No, we didn't slip him any Weight Gain 4000. We just have a championship eater on our hands. The true test will come tomorrow when we go to the doctor for the first time. We'll keep you updated.

Splish splash I was taking a bath...

Mommy and Daddy finally mustered up the courage to give Christopher his first at-home sponge bath yesterday to celebrate his first full week in the world. It was a comedy of errors on our part but Chris didn't seem to mind. We set up shop by the kitchen sink and it took our four hands to get the job done. I thought our little boy would be thoroughly irritated by the whole experience but he was quite content and smelled very nice afterward. Taking advantage of his pleasant state of mind, we went for a family walk around the block where we ran into our neighbors Dave and Sue. We talked with them for a bit...according to Christopher it was a bit too long because he started crying at the top of his lungs. I later ascertained that stopping the stroller was the issue because once we started moving, he was fine. I guess for 9 months he got used to his mother constantly moving and won't have it any other way! Two good bits of news--Grandma Turick (aka Grammy) is coming into town today to help out and visit for a couple weeks while Daddy goes back to work. And we found out that Mare, Sheryl, Ally and Julia are coming to visit in the end of August on their back from Florida. We are so excited for them to visit this fine state of ours!

Put me in coach

I think we have a new Yankees pitching prospect on our hands. He's a lefty out of Kansas with great aim (those of you with boys should know what I mean) and he's got youth on his side. He may only be 20 inches tall but his arm makes up for it. I don't know if the yanks can afford him though because his agent/father is demanding a very large salary. But can't you hear Bob Sheppard now? "Ladies and gentlemen, now pitching for the Yankees, number 24, Chris Woglom, number 24." Seriously when I feed Christopher It is so hard to keep his left arm still and out of the way. He must have been flexing in utero the whole time. Just look at the guns in this picture! You try holding them down while getting him to latch on! Speaking of that we visited a lactation consultant at the hospital yesterday who helped us improve our skills a bit and her suggestions were great. Chris is latching like a champ now. Hopefully he will return to his major beefcake at birth status by our first appointment with his doctor on Monday.

Pictures

Change, Eat, Burp, Repeat

One thing's for sure...We have all perfected the above routine to a T. Last night we actually did this routine about a hundred times (it felt like that anyway!) and there were minimal tears and NO, repeat, NO crying fits. Even though sleep was still somewhat lacking until the wee hours, it was calm and quiet here on Sunset Drive...Daddy slept really well last night and is now motivated to mow the back yard. I actually slept well too and feel refreshed right now. Quality not quantity... Yesterday we celebrated our third wedding anniversary in style by taking a trip up to Emily's Frozen Custard for a post dinner treat. I though we might both go into the store but somebody decided that he wasn't going to let the car ride calm him down so Brian was sent to bring back the goods. Little man calmed down on the return trip--surprising because we didn't get him any custard. Brian always throws a fit when he doesn't get ice cream! Anyway, it was a very romantic anniversary. Brian brought me roses and soothies from Walgreens. What else could a nursing girl ask for!

A hairdryer, a swing, and a baby...

What do the above items have in common you ask? When combined in equal parts, they spell sleep for the entire family. Yesterday, and again last night, we bundled Chris up, turned the hairdryer on high for white noise, and rocked him in the swing, thus leading to a fairly calm baby. For all you concerned citizens, fear not--we did not actually use the dryer on our son, just next to him. This worked beautifully around 5PM so we all took a 2 hour nap immediately! Later last night we had to break down and use a pacifier as well. Our other adventure of the day included an evening walk around the block in the stroller. Who would have thought that 0.7 miles could be so exciting? And to Kasey's delight, we have not forgotten her favorite pastime. As we got our little man in the car seat, he started throwing a fit so we took a ride in the car. Many people said this would work but I wasn't convinced at first because he kept bawling as we toured the side streets. The magic happened when we hopped on K-7 and revved it up to 60mph. In an instant he was out! Note to self: forget gas prices and conservation...drive! Our walk was fun and we ran into several neighbors who got to see our bundle of joy. All together, Brian got 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep and I had about the same but got up once to feed. Now Christopher is peacefully sleeping on me after a hearty breakfast and I am awaiting the return of my hubby (3 years today!) with some hot Panera egg sandwiches. Speaking of food, our friend Jaime brought us sesveral fabulous dishes, which we have been enjoying for dinner the past 2 nights. Thank you Jaime for being an awesome cook and friend!

Big Guy, Little Guy

Thank you everyone who had great advice for us! We are taking it all! Here are some pics of Daddy with Christoper in a quiet moment this morning. Notice the thrilled look on Kasey's face in the first picture. She likes to sniff the baby but as soon as he starts crying or making other noises, she heads for the hills--well at least the end of the bed. Yes that's right, she still sleeps in our bed--probably more than we do these days! Anyway, the little moments like these pictures are so enjoyable so we will savor them as much as we can. We'll keep you updated.

"Waaahhh." --Baby Christopher

The quote above describes last night. I guess we got our first taste of "He's crying hysterically and I have no idea why--what do I do?" We're working really hard on feeding and sometimes it goes better than other times. But 3 times last night, no matter what I did, Christopher would belt out a cry like I've never heard. It's interesting because when it's just the 3 of us and it's late and he's crying like that, you think there must be something terribly wrong or that other people's babies can't possibly cry like that but I'm pretty sure everyone must go through this. It's only been a couple nights at home anyway so everyone is still getting the hang of things. We'll figure it out! Encouraging words or advice from parents would be much appreciated!

Who needs sleep?

As every new parent knows, there's not much sleeping going on the first night home from the hospital! I actually thought I would get nothing last night but ended up with about 3 bringing the grand total since I went into labor on Thursday to about 10. But it doesn't matter yet because I'm sitting here right now typing with one hand and holding the most beautiful baby boy in the world! I hope Christopher doesn't get a complex because I tell him how perfect we think he is. Anyway, the labor and birth of our son was AMAZING and Iwill be happy to tell anyone who calls all about it. Special thanks to Mare and Sheryl for being such a great inspiration to us in that department! Brian's parents came to visit an it was so good to see them see their grandson for the first time. Jan also cooked us a fabulous dinner--spaghetti never tasted so good! And Eric suggested ice cream--always a great idea in this Woglom household. Needless to say, I'm keeping this short and will add more as things settle down. Right now we are all just learning from each other, crying, laughing, and pacing the halls as a family...Kasey too. (She already licked Chris and is very respectful of him and me when I'm holding him.) We are putting together a picture album which we will send out soon so check your e-mails. Enjoy these pics for now...

In labor? Definitely...

I'm going to add a post now while I still have a sense of humor... There are so many misconceptions about how this process actually works. For starters, there's a whole lot of sitting around and NOT a whole lot of drama--at least in the beginning. I've been having contractions since 7ish PM and it is now 3:16AM. We both tried to sleep but didn't have too much luck. I should have made the poll ask how much sleep will we get the first night of labor! Anyway, the contractions have become a little more intense but they are still about 10 or so minutes apart. Uh oh, Brian has officially busted out the diet coke. I've just finished an apple and some water... We were discussing when in our lives we have pulled all-nighters and I think the only one I've ever done was on our graduation night from high school. This is just about as much fun as that (ha!). Back to the misconceptions, there is not a whole lot of screaming and running around to pack bags. Our bags have been packed for a couple weeks, but that's just because I'm a crazy planning teacher. Maybe there will be more excitement later--I don't want to wish for it at this point because we just might get it. The doctor said to rest if we can...the doula said to drink lots of fluids...Kasey said "I just left Pawz at Play, why are you bringing me back" and Brian said, "It's midnight, I'm having a cookie." I say that's all I'm going to write for now. Maybe I'll check back in or maybe you'll just have to wait until a few days from now when I feel like typing again. Good night and have a pleasant tomorrow...

In labor? Maybe?

Without going into too much detail, there is a distinct possibility that I am in the very early stages of labor as we speak. I've heard from a lot of women (including my mother) that they definitely knew they were in labor and I am leaning in that direction but we don't want to get too excited yet (and risk getting all of you family members and friends excited on top of it!). For the past week or so I've had random, intermittent contractions that last for like a minute and then don't come back. But for the past two hours, however, I've been having some that aren't exactly going away. To be on the safe side, Brian dropped Kasey off for boarding (thank you Pawz at Play!). Better to do it now than at 2 in the morning. Anyway, if this is real labor, I'm pretty sure this will be the only blog entry I'll write until after the baby is born. If it turns out to be false labor, I'll eat my hat tomorrow and continue to update all of you who may have gotten excited... One more clue that this might be real labor-- I just bought a great book this afternoon that has nothing to do with baby care, started to get into it and couldn't put it down. I knew that would happen!

Midsummer Classic

Against our better judgment, we stayed up to watch ten innings of the marathon All-Star game last night. There were so many highlights watching such a spectacle at Yankee Stadium and it brought back memories of being there for big events (i.e.--2001 World Series game 4). I thoroughly enjoyed watching the Red Sox players getting booed (what did they expect in the Bronx!) and love the fact that the fans do a Derek Jeter chant every time he takes the field. It also sounded like the crazies in the bleachers were doing their typical first inning call-out to all the players in the field but I was wondering if they actually called the names of the Sox starters. The pre-game festivities were cool (minus the red carpet parade in Times Sqaure) and it was great to see Yogi Berra and hear the whole stadium erupt in a Yogi chant. One of the reasons we stayed up as late as we did was to see Mariano Rivera come in to pitch the ninth (and tenth) inning. It was very cool that Francona waited a batter to put Mo in so we could see him run out to "Enter Sandman" and a standing ovation. Too bad Fox cut to a commercial before he reached the infield! By the way, I think we're going to play "Enter Sandman" as the baby is being born. That would be a cool entrance into the world, don't you think?
Just a side note, Brian found this great article in the Post (his favorite paper) about a beagle who was reunited with his family after 5 years. Check it out! And if you have a dog, get the microchip put in them!
http://www.nypost.com/seven/07162008/news/regionalnews/dog_gone_glad_120142.htm

Baby fish

Well, we have added the baby's fighting fish to the new tank in the nursery. For those of you not familiar with the history of fighting fish in Brian's life, he has apparently always had a fighting fish since he was a little kid so we are carrying on the tradition for the next Woglom boy. The fish we got is a descendant of Brian Fish 1 through 10. Of course, we hope he survives at least until the baby is able to recognize that there is a fish in the tank. Time will tell.

Another tank ?!?!?!

When you're bored on a rainy day in Kansas, what could be better than visiting your local Petsmart and setting up a fighting fish tank for your yet-to-be-born baby? Originally we said we were going to get a fish for the nursery, then we changed our minds...then we changed them once again. The fish will be arriving tomorrow but this is what the tank will look like... Of course, you can't go to a pet store and not get something for Kasey. At the check-out, they had these stuffed donkeys and elephants that say 2008 on them. Being the suckers we are for check-out items, we decided to get the donkey for Kasey knowing that she would tear it apart within hours. Even though I am a registered Democrat, my dog is most certainly a conservative Republican as proven in her destruction of Al Gore's "The Assault on Reason" as well as every issue of my New Yorker magazine that we leave out. Note: once we left out an autographed copy of John McCain's book "Character is Destiny" and it was left untouched. I guess we all know who Kasey is voting for this fall...

Mmmm... Pancakes

I can't believe that dog got on our computer again... Just a quick update--we went to the doctor yesterday for our weekly check-up. Everything looks good--heartbeat and measurements are all good. Now it's just a waiting game. Brian and I have been enjoying our last days before parenthood by eating out, seeing movies, and sleeping in. Last night we went to see Wall-E which is such a wonderful movie! Who would think that a robot would be so stinkin' cute. This morning I actually slept until 9:30 which, for those of you who know me, is absolutely unheard of! Then my fabulous husband made me pancakes. Granted, they were healthy oat bran pancakes but if you douse them in enough honey, they are just as good as IHOP. Come to think of it, maybe I'll stay pregnant for a lot longer if I get extra sleep and pancakes out of it! We'll continue to update you.

Kasey Moe weighs in

Woof! My name is Kasey Moe and for those of you not "in the know" I am the coolest, cutest (that's me in the picture to the left), most perfect dog on the block. Even though I eat my mom's hippie magazines and dig up the mulch that my dad puts out, Karin and Brian still love me, feed me, and let me jump on the furniture. They are such suckers! Anyway, while my mom is away from the computer, I thought I would weigh in on this whole "baby" thing. First of all, I've been noticing some changes in the house that are rather disturbing. I mean, what is the deal with moving my bed to the other side of the room to make space for a pack and play? It's not like I sleep in my bed anyway. And over the past few months, I've noticed my mom getting rounder and rounder. I keep telling her to take me out for a run in order to "take care" of that bump growing in her stomach but she keeps insisting on taking me for shorter and shorter walks instead. Plus she talks to the bump sometimes. I thought I was the only non-human thing she talked to! The final straw though is the roller bag that is being perpetually packed and left on the window seat. Now, every time that bag comes out, I know I'm heading to Pawz and Play and my parents are going somewhere fun without me. But it hasn't happened yet and the bag is still sitting there. I'm extremely suspicious. Anyway, I keep hearing talk about some "baby" coming. My mom says to me "blah blah blah blah, baby, blah blah" and then touches the ever-expanding bump. I give her a look like I'm interested in what she's saying (I'm really not unless she says "outside" or "dinner") but I know this baby is going to cause trouble for me. I have been the baby in this family for 2 1/2 years and I'm not looking forward to relinquishing my title. Oh well, I suppose that I must continue to be on my best behavior when this little creature arrives so I can continue to eat, get treats, and pretend to chase bunnies. We all know, however, that I am the real first child in this family.

The Stadium

While we're waiting for the baby to get here, I thought I would throw in a little thought about Yankee stadium. As I was driving to an appointment this morning, I heard a commentary by Frank DeFord about the stadium and the all-star game. (If you want to hear it, go to http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92329107 and click on "Listen Now.") It was pretty good but it made me sad that we're probably never going to get to see a game there again. I've seen some pretty memorable games there, including game four of the 2001 World Series when the Yankees came back from being down and won the game with a home run from Derek Jeter. I also have walked out before some incredible endings, like when Jason Giambi hit a grand slam in the pouring rain to beat (whoever--I don't remember) in the 14th inning. (Still can't believe I missed that one.) Anyway, I hope some of you New Yorkers/New Jerseyans are getting a chance to enjoy the last season at the Stadium, even though the Yankees are less than inspiring this year. I've enjoyed some great times there and will miss it when it's gone.

Waiting... July 7, 2008

Well, we are entering the world of blogging... I swore I wouldn't do it but I feel like I need to get with the technological times and blog about our child. I have to say I was inspired by my cousin Liz who has just started her own blog that is so fun to read! You can check it out if you want at www.smileonitanyway.blogspot.com. This is especially for those friends and family members who live far from Kansas and want to keep up with the adventures of our little guy when he gets here.
At this point, we are just waiting for this baby to arrive. He's officially due on July 18th but if he's like both of his parents, he has a mind of his own and will get here on his own time. Brian and I are both nesting at the moment. Brian is doing manly, home improvement-type stuff while I have been busy making casseroles and straightening the garage. At the moment, however, we are being lazy, are both on the computers and are awaiting a lovely pizza to be delivered. Anyway, we will try our best to keep you all updated so keep on checking to see if we are doing a good job.