Going Home from the Hospital

Gabe finally got to leave the hospital today, so he put on his travelling outfit.

It kind of looks like he's dancing, but considering who his father is
it's doubtful he has any rhythm.

Gabe does a pretty passable Popeye impersonation.

Gabe all strapped in and ready to brave the New Jersey Turnpike.

The whole family happy to be leaving the hospital.

Mommy and Gabe in the back seat.

Gabe doesn't quite fill up his crib just yet.

Lorrie stopped by the apartment to visit and brought us two meals
complete with brownies for dessert! You rock, Lorrie!

Day Two Highlights

Gabe (and by association Naomi) had a rough first night. He was clearing a lot of the mucus from delivery, so he was congested and cried several times. Of course he was fine by the time I got back to the hospital, and he slept through most of the day.

Gabe did get a rude awakening at one point to be circumcised by Dr. Cogliani. So he was a little irritable during diaper changes (quite understandable!), but all-in-all he seems to be a pretty quiet baby. Naomi may tell you otherwise after that first night, but I joked with her that he was only crying because I wasn't around.

He got a couple visitors in the afternoon as you see documented in the photos below. My apologies to Maria N., who visited on the first day -- I forgot to get a picture of her holding Gabe!

It was a pretty good second day at the hospital. We can't wait to bring him home!

Pictures from Day Two at the Hospital

Gabe at the hospital in his plexiglass bassinet.

Gabe sure loves sleeping!

Kristi stopped by to see Gabe.

Kath stopped by and had lots of pointers for Naomi.
(Her son Robert was just born about 6 months ago.)

Pictures from Gabe's First Day

Gabriel Logan Miller in his first picture after being delivered.

Gabe on the baby scales showing his birth weight.

Naomi admiring the result of all her hard work.

Daddy's first picture with Gabe

Mike with Gabe in the nursery.

The first Miller family photo.

Gabe's first visitors - Uncle Jon and Aunt Sharna

Mommy, Aunt Sharna and Gabe

Labor and Delivery Recap

June 27th

• 2:30 am - Naomi's water breaks, leading to the following exchange:
• Naomi (Waking up Mike): I think my water broke.
• Mike: You think it broke or know it broke?
• Naomi: I keep wetting my pants.
• Mike: Are you having contractions?
• Naomi: No.
• Mike: Let's go back to sleep. (!)

• 5:30 am - After doing a 3 hour internet search on "water breaking", Naomi calls the doctor, who tells her to head to the hospital to get checked out.
• 6:45 am - Dr. Choubey at St. Peter's University Hopital in New Brunswick, NJ confirms that Naomi's water broke. The nurse asks if Naomi is having any contractions. Naomi replies that she's just having cramping that comes and goes, to which the nurse replies, "We call that contractions!" Naomi is hooked up to two monitors -- one to chart the fetal heartrate and one to chart contractions.
• 12:30 pm - Since contractions have not become more frequent and a cervical exam revealed only 1 cm dilation and 40-60% effacement, the decision was made to induce labor. The first step was to insert a suppository of Cervidil for 12 hours to ripen the cervix.

June 28th

• 12:30 am - A cervical exam reveals 3 cm dilation and 80% effacement. Oxytocin is pumped through Naomi's IV at 6 mL/hour in order to intensify contraction frequency. This rate was increased by 6 mL/hour (12, 18, 24, 30, 36) about every half-hour throughout the course of the night.
• 2:00 am - During a cervical exam Dr. Bakshi reports "9 cm" dilation. Our initial elation quickly turns to frustration as the doctor corrects herself to not 9 cm but 4 cm dilation. At this low point, the doctor and nurse encourage Naomi to get an epidural, and she nearly accepts. After thinking it through however, she decides to see if she can make it a bit longer without one.
• 3:00 am - Stadol is administered through Naomi's IV to "take the edge off". The caveat was given that Stadol is a narcotic that is usually administered in early labor and probably wouldn't do much for Naomi's pain now that she's in active labor.
• 5:00 am - Naomi hits 9 cm dilation -- for real this time.
• 6:45 am - Naomi is finally given the okay to start pushing with only the nurse and Mike present to help her. After about four pushing contractions, the head has nearly emerged. Dr. Bakshi comes in at that point and immediately performs an episiotomy*.
• 6:58 am - Gabe is born.

* In retrospect, my one regret is that I never questioned Dr. Bakshi when I saw her about to perform the episiotomy. However, at the time I didn't want to ask questions not knowing if time was of the essence or not. In retrospect, Naomi and I both feel that Dr. Bakshi should have given Naomi, who had gone the entire process without an epidural, the opportunity to deliver without an episiotomy.

Birth Announcement!

Gabriel Logan Miller was born on June 28th at 6:58 am. He weighed 7 lbs. 3 oz. and was 20 inches long. Mommy and Gabe both did awesome throughout the 28 1/2 hour ordeal from the time Naomi's water broke until the time Gabe was finally delivered. The picture above was taken immediately after delivery.

Visitation Calendar

Of course once he arrives, you are welcome to come and visit the baby anytime. However, for those travelling from far away who want to stay in the spare bedroom, we've created this interactive calendar so you'll know when it will be vacant! Just click on the arrows to move month-to-month.

A Spirited Round of Mini Golf

Naomi and I decided to get out of the apartment to go on what could be our last date for awhile. We went to play some mini golf at Hyatt Hills in Clark. It was a back-and-forth affair throughout, but we were even going into the final hole. Naomi's first putt rolled to within 2 feet of the hole, whereas mine took a bad bounce and stopped 6 feet away. When she holed her second shot, I thought she might have won the match. I refused to concede defeat however. I composed myself, drew back and putted it straight in! After 18 spirited holes, we ended up having to settle for a tie.

Frisbee at the Doggy Park

This is Jake's favorite thing to do lately. After work, I drive him a couple miles away to the Linden dog park then throw him the frisbee until he gets tired and goes to lay down in the shade of one of the benches. After a little time to cool off, he grabs the frisbee and is ready to go again!

The Belly

As promised, here is a picture of Naomi at 8 1/2 months pregnant. She's pretty remarkably light on her feet considering she could give birth any day now! The handsome fellow in the background is Jake, our Australian cattle dog. I hope to get some pictures of him playing frisbee this weekend.

Favorite Ultrasound

This ultrasound was taken back on February 6th, but it's my favorite. Hopefully we'll have actual pictures in the very near future! Still working on getting a pregnant Naomi picture...

First Post!

With our first child due in a mere two weeks (!), we thought it would be a good idea to have a place to post pictures of him for family and friends. I plan to post pictures of a pregnant Naomi in the very near future.