Ok... so I havent updated in a LONG time... We're been staying at my parents house cause our apartment flooded almost 6 weeks ago, and I havent been online much. Here's an update...

Written April 16, 2006 by Andy

Update from the daddy:

Kim gave birth to our first child, Andrew James O'Dell Jr. at 6:22pm on Friday, April 14th, via c-section. He is 8lbs 3oz and 20 inches long.

She was given Cervadil Thursday night, which was only semi-effective and got her dilated from 1cm to almost 3cm by Friday morning. The doctor decided to start her on pitocin at 9:30am on Friday, which they slowly increased the dosage on about every 15 minutes. After many strong contractions, continued back pain, and a lot of general uncomfortableness, Kim finally reached 5cm in the early afternoon, so they were able to give her the epidural. Unfortunately, they had a hard time giving her the epidural and it ultimately only lasted for about 45 minutes before she was back in pain.

Her labor progressed quickly from there, and she spent 2 and a half hours pushing, trying to get his head down the birth canal. It did seem like she was going to give birth naturally, as the top of his head was so close that I could've touched the top of his head by putting only the very end of my finger in. (which I DID NOT do!) Unfortunately, Baby Drew was stubborn and kept his body twisted, so his shoulders would not pass through the cervical opening. At that point, it became evident that he would not cooperate and that a c-section was the only way to get this done without jeopardizing the baby's health. Although Kim is disappointed about having the section, she knows that she did everything possible to have the baby without one, so her spirits are pretty good in that regard.

Both Kim and Baby Drew are doing well, and are expected to be out of the hospital in the latter part of the day tomorrow. I am going to be working tomorrow, so I can take an extra day off for when she is going to be home with the baby this week. (I'll probably be home Tuesday through Thursday) I'm sure she will be posting pictures at that point, so keep an eye out for pictures soon! Thank you so much to everyone who helped us with our questions and provided tips and advice throughout the pregnancy!! All of your good thoughts and prayers were greatly appreciated!!

-The Proud Husband and Daddy

Written May 19, 2006 by me

Andrew James, born 4-14-06 at 6:22pm
8 pounds 3 ounces, 20 inches long, head 14 inches

Hi everyone!! I have missed SO much. I havent even read LJ in over a month. I want to catch up on everyone. Hopefully I can do that soon!!

Back on April 16th, my husband posted about our son Andrew being born, and basically wrote the birth story. I wanted to write a more detailed one myself, and I still might, but for now I have no time. When Andrew was 9 days old, our apartment flooded from the sewer line. We've been living with my parents since then and won't be back into our apartment, its just not good for me and the baby. In fact, my mom and my husband are over there now packing and loading up our van. We are moving into a new apartment on June 15th. I cant wait! We never really got to establish a routine and I felt like we havent really bonded as a family yet. It has been hard, living out of my parents' family room, but it has also been great cause my mom would get up with him in the middle of the night if I was too tired. We've been lucky with that.

Anyways, I have some pictures of him posted to the internet. My parents only have dial-up, so I havent been able to upload any pictures since we've been here. He is now 5 weeks old, and was 10 pounds 9 ounces at his appointment last Friday. He's breastfeeding SO WELL and he is also taking breastmilk from a bottle! They supplemented him in this hospital and I was so worried he would get nipple confusion, but no problems at all.

Here's the link for the pictures on the day of his birth. I have a ton more on there though, so check out the other folders. I cant wait til I can get recent pics on there, he has changed so much! I will try and write a detailed story soon!
Andrew's Birthday

Written June 1, 2006 by me

Hi everyone... I havent written or read as much as I want to... I hope everyone is doing well. Here are some pictures of Andrew we had taken 2 weeks ago. He was a month old.

then || now