Homecoming Photos

Dad making sure that Schuyler is safe and secure in the F-150.

Passed the car seat test and ready to ride!

Our little early bird's coming home onsie was a bit too big!

Note from Mom: Coming Home!

After five and a half days at the hospital, we were finally able to bring Schuyler home on Wednesday evening. We could not have been more pleased with the care that we received at the hospital. All of the nurses and doctors were great and took good care of our little "peanut" or "petite little mademoiselle." (Those are the nicknames that the nurses gave S. So far, I have been leaning towards "munchkin" or "chipette." I will admit to accidentally calling her "Doober" which is Dixie's nickname on at least one occasion.)

When walked out of the elevator into the hospital lobby, Pachalbel's Canon in D was playing. I barely managed to keep it together! A nurse waited with S and I while Dad went to get the truck. That's right, the Subaru was in the shop so Schuyler's first car ride came in a pick-up truck listening to country music. We may be living in the northeast, but our baby girl will know her roots!

When we got home, we saw the decorations that Dad put out on Monday in anticipation of a timely arrival home. They held up really well despite some gloomy weather. Todd had pink balloons around the light fixtures and "It's a Girl" banners across the garage door and the front door. He also decorated the inside. He's very sweet.

S was definitely aware of a different environment, but we did make it through our first night alone! After giving her a quick bath, we took her to the pediatrician the next morning for her first check up and yet another blood test for her billirubin level. She got a great report and weighed in at 5 pounds, 2 ounces. (She was up an ounce from the day before so were pumped! I never would have imagined being so excited about ounces and billirubin levels.)

Meanwhile, the "Grandparent Brigade" arrived from Missouri. Their flight landed while we were at the doctor's office and they were anxiously awaiting our arrival back at the house. Needless to say, all four of them swarmed us at the back door and were in love at first sight. It has been wonderful having them here and they have been a huge help. We picked up the last member of our little family that night. Dixie had spent the past two nights at the kennel. She was excited to be home and I was just as excited to see her!

We brought Schuyler down from the nursery and put her in the car seat carrier on the coffee table. Dixie came over and gave her a sniff, wagged that long lab tail, and then attempted to lick any exposed body part. Dixie has been very good, but she is still a little confused about this new small person who is getting so much attention.

A quick word of "thanks" to our friends who helped us out while we were at the hospital. Laura and Eugene came down from Boston Friday night. They helped us pass some time at the hospital and were a nice distraction from increasing labor pains. They also stayed with Dixie Friday night before coming back to the hospital Saturday morning. I am so glad they were there. It was nice to have someone in the waiting room. After S was born, Todd went out to deliver the news to them. His words: "She came out!"

Our friends Kevin, Lauren, and Greg were also a huge help. Kevin and Lauren even brought us dinner from The Cheesecake Factory one night. The four of us ate together in the hospital cafeteria. It was delicious and it was nice to get out of our room for a while. We are thankful to have made such good friends here.

More Schuyler!

Little girl.
Cozy.
Sleepy girls after a long days work.

Uncle Chad drove 3 hours just to hang out with Schuyler for a few hours on Sunday. As you can see he was smitten from the start.
All Clean after my first bath.
So little.
Schuyler was born with a mild case of Jaundice and had to spend 48 hours in Photo Therapy. It was basically like a mini sun tanning bed. She seemed to love it. She would stretch out and cross her legs and relax. These are the stylish goggles that she had to wear.
Sleepy Sleepy

Proud Papa
Miss Schuyler made her mark on Hartford Hospital with some solid foot stamps!

Schuyler decided that she did not want to wait until April 1 to make her big entrance!!!

To our surprise we found out that Mandy was 1cm dilated on Thursday afternoon March 5. At that point we determined that we better get her bag packed and that we had at least 2 weeks to wrap up all of the last minute details. We were also happy that we would be able to attend our labor and delivery class on Saturday, March 7.

Well, at approx. 11:15am on Friday, March 6 Mandy was preparing a Brief when her water broke and she decided it would be a good idea to head to the Hospital. She gave me a call and I picked her up and tried to set a land speed record on the way to the hospital.

Mandy was 2cm dilated and admitted by 12:45pm, and much to her dismay found out that she could not eat again until after the baby came.

Mandy was awesome and progressed well. She didn't need the epidural until around 2am on Saturday, March 7, when she was stuck at 4 cm. Of course, the screaming lady across the hall did help to solidify the thought that drugs were they right way to go. The epidural was great and allowed Mandy to sleep from 3am to 6am.

She was ready to start pushing by 9am on Saturday and did outstanding. She said she could not feel any pain and she was a great pusher. All of the nurses and doctors were thoroughly impressed. After a couple of hours of pushing Beautiful Baby Schuyler arrived at 11:32am.

Schuyler weighed in at a beautiful 5lbs. 7oz. and was 18.5 inches long. She quickly announced her presence with a strong cry.

Baby and Mama are doing great and are quickly getting to know each other.

Schuyler has already had quest. Laura and Eugene were in Hartford to help us out when she was born and two of our three Connecticut friends stopped by for introductions as well. The Grandparents have secured travel and will be in Connecticut in a few days.

Dad Duties

One month to go and the nursery is coming together! Todd has put the furniture together - he did an awesome job - took him no time at all! These are some pics of my man at work!

Schuyler Grace

Some of you have asked about how we came up with our baby girl's name. "Schuyler" (pronounced SKY-LER)is actually the original spelling of "Skyler" or "Skylar." The name is Dutch and means scholar. We have loved the name for as long as I can remember. After much debate and consideration, we decided to go with the original spelling. It seemed a little more classy and sophisticated to us. Plus, I'm hoping people will be less likely to shorten her name to "Sky." Also, when I did a search of the baby name "Schuyler" on google, a picture of the actress/singer Schuyler Fisk came up - she was drinking Starbucks and walking her chocolate labrador with her mom (Sissy Spacek). I took it as a sign! So, even though it's "different," we really love it and we are in good company - Michael J. Fox named his daughter "Schuyler."

Her middle name "Grace" is much simpler. It was my great grandmother's name on my Mom's side. She was a tall, very sweet woman who used to write letters to my Mom that ryhmed. In fact, when I was going through my baby book at Christmas, I discovered a letter she wrote to my Mom after one of our visits. I'm hoping to find a frame and put it in Schuyler's room.