The Birth Story.

The Birth Story, from Dads Point of View.

Wednesday August 17th, 2011 started off without much sleep and with a great deal of excitement.  The alarm clock went off nice and early at about 4am.  I wanted some time to get some coffee and breakfast before we headed to Mercy Hospital.  We arrived at the hospital around 530am and made our way to the Labor and Delivery Suites within the hospital. We checked in at the front desk and made our way to room 5006.

Our check-in time was 6am, we got to the room and began the long process of a million (relevant) medical questions, blood pressure checks, blood draws, and baby monitoring devices being hooked up.  Christine and I were both excited and a bit nervous.  I feel the nerves came because we had no idea what it would be like during the birth process.  After all the paperwork and questions the nurse started Christine on an IV of lactated ringers (basic fluids so she wouldn't dehydrate) because she could no longer eat or drink anything during the delivery day.  Soon after the IV was started the nurse came back and hung a bag of Pitocin and started the drip.  The plan at 7:45am was to start the drip VERY low, and get her contractions to continue at a steady pace and with some consistency.  Christine was 4cm dilated when we left our appointment on Monday morning and the decision had been made with the recommendation of the doctor to induce labor if she naturally did not start labor on her own.  As luck would have it on our walk into the hospital that morning Christine had her first really distinguishable contraction.  The nurse would also inform us once the monitors were hooked up that Christine was indeed having contractions on her own.  The pitocin would help to speed this process along and bring on the birth of our son.

The doctor came in to check on everything and check on Christine and determined that she had not additionally dilated more than the office visit on Monday so our starting point was 4cm.  Not too shabby in the eyes of our physician, almost half way there in his mind.  We continued on the process of gradually raising the levels of pitocin in her IV drip on the hour for the next few hours.  Around noon the doctor came back in to check on Christine and determined that she was now 5cm.  After nearly 4 hours on the pitocin she had dilated 1cm, at this rate the baby wouldn't be born until Christmas.  The physician recommended that we break her water to get things to progress a little quicker, but complete understood if we wanted to wait and only use pitocin.  Christine made the decision to "break the bag" and get this party started.  But, first things first she wanted to get the epidural started so that she wouldn't have to wait for pain relief when the contractions started getting tough.


We had our consultation with the anesthesiologist and made the decision to put in the epidural, test it for correct placement, and then leave it idle until Christine needed it.  This way she wouldn't be having pain and contractions while trying to get a catheter inserted into her spine.   The test worked but she was getting more numbness on the left side than on her right so the anesthesiologist said she would need to spend some time laying on her right side to let gravity work the medication to the proper areas.  Once he was comfortable with her level of numbness on that side, he turned the medication back off and Christine was able to resume the waiting game.  Our Dr. came back in shortly thereafter and broke her water around 12:30pm.  We decided to see if we could nap, after an hour of napping the contractions were beginning to get more uncomfortable.  Christine called the nurse and she came in with the anesthesiologist and restarted the epidural meds.  Christine was very comfortable at this point so she was able to sleep for a few hours.  The most comfortable position for her was to be on her left side, she fell asleep and so did I for about an hour.  At approximately 3:30pm Christine was awoken by some pain on her right side and we called in the nurse.  Since she had been laying on her left side, the medication was not working at 100% effectiveness on the right side.  She still had substantial numbing but not enough to dull all her pain.  The nurse did an exam and determined that Christine was about 9cm, this baby was coming soon!!


A half an hour went by and the contractions were coming very rapidly, Christine began to feel some of the tell tale signs that labor was imminent.  Not to get too graphic but the feeling was described to us by the nurse like a large poop or a firm pressure in bowel region.  When Christine began to feel those sensations we called the nurse in.  She had Christine roll onto her back and determined that it was time to get this ball rolling.  She called the Dr. and he prepped himself for the delivery.  He informed us that the babies head was positioned at a slightly unusual angle and that may prolong delivery, but would not put the baby in any risk.  He was very honest and straightforward with us, and said that first time mothers may have to push for up to 3 hours with a baby in this position.  I could see the look of absolute terror on Christine's with the thought of pushing for 3 hours.  After the Doctor left the room, the nurse reassured us that yes this could take 3 hours, but if Christine did what she needed to do, and listened and followed her instructions that most deliveries of this nature take about an hour or a little more.  Christine was determined to push for less than an hour because she was nearing the point of exhaustion after a day in bed without food or much else to drink. 

Our nurse then instructed me that I would be needed to help Christine and hold one of her legs so that I could aid her in pushing since she couldn't lift her numbed legs up on her own.  I happily obliged.  Christine began her sequences of taking a deep breath, contracting her stomach muscles, and pushing while holding her breath, then another deep breath followed by a push, and repeated 1 additional time for a total of 3 sequences during each 1 minute contraction.  After one or two cycles of pushing, then rolling to her side (she was getting nausea laying on her back) the nurse called out to me and said, daddy look at all the hair on your babies head.  I wasn't originally sure that I wanted to see much going on down there in fear of being completely traumatized seeing my wife like that.  But I took a look and was immediately shocked, amazed, and astounded.  That was top of my little boys head and boy did he have alot of hair!  Christine was progressing along at an amazingly quick rate.  Our nurse told her not to push because the baby was nearly crowning after only 10 or 15 minutes of pushing.  She immediately called for the physician to come in to the room.


The first words out of the doctors mouth when he came in was, there is no way you are ready yet...REALLY?  He did a quick exam, and told Christine that for a first time mother she was the best pusher he had seen.  He told her that his mentioning a 3 hour push session must have really motivated her.  A few more good pushes from Christine and the babies head crowned.  The doctor told us to get ready because one more sequence of pushing and this baby was going to be born.  On the first push his head started to come out, second push the whole head came out, that was my baby boy and he was beautiful!!!  Third push and the shoulders came free and then the rest of the baby just slid out.  What an amazing and beautiful little boy...and then came the quote of the day from Dr. Rapkin, "This is the shortest umbilical cord I have ever seen, not a problem, but I can't toss this baby up onto your belly mom!"  There were definitely smiles of joy and tears in the room from both of us as I cut the cord and the doctor was able to place the baby onto Christine's chest for their first eye to eye contact as mom and baby.  The entire experience was just so surreal, so organic, and so beautiful that I just can't begin to describe the feeling.

After a minute or two on her chest the baby needed to be taken to be cleaned, weighed, measured and tested.  So our second nurse called me into the next room to take pictures and spend some dad time with my newborn baby boy!  He was weighed in at 7lbs, 9oz., measured in at 22 inches, and was given an official birth time of 4:49pm.  After a quick cleanup and some more tests he was ready to be swaddled up and taken back over to see mom.  I was given the important task of delivering him to mom.  I placed him down onto her arms and she smiled and said "hello Noah" and she smiled.  We almost immediately tried to breastfeed him and he tried to latch but our technique was poor at best.  It felt like a struggle but Christine was determined to try to breastfeed him.  Soon after he was taken to the nursery for more tests and to get cleaned up.  We spend another hour or so in recovery so that Christine could get the feeling back in her legs.  The hospital family side was actually full while we were there so we would continue our stay for the next two days in the labor and delivery suites.  They moved us to the back corner of the hospital for some peace and quiet to room 5012.  My mom and Christine's dad were arriving just as we were moved to the new room.  Mom came bearing subway subs for us because we were starving, I guess I didn't realize how much I didn't eat while we were in the hospital all day.

The rest of the evening was spent with immediate family and constant nurses in and out of the room checking Christine and the baby.  About 10pm they took Noah to the nursery for the night so that we could get some sleep after a long day.  His first few feedings in the nursery would be by bottle and we hoped that it would not affect his ability to latch with Christine.  He came back to us the next morning around 6am after we had about 8 hours of heavy but somewhat uncomfortable sleep.  We tried to feed him again the next morning and still struggled with the breastfeeding technique.  We had a lactaction nurse come in around 9am, her name was Sarah, she was able to get Noah to latch in a matter of seconds.  I was amazed at the technique and stood by listening, watching and taking mental notes so that I could assist Christine after Sarah left.  We practiced feeding again on our own that morning, and then had Sarah come back for a feeding just before she was scheduled to leave for the day.  Of course the latch and feedings were just so much better when she was there.  I was beginning to think that we were going to have a substantial amount of frustration and anxiety with breastfeeding on our own.

The second night in the hospital was probably going to be a little more difficult though because we were going to have to be up every 3 hours to try to nurse the baby.   We definitely struggled and the frustration level with Christine was beginning to grow.  I knew that part of it was anxiety, part was hormones, and part was genuine fear that Noah wasn't going to be able to breastfeed.  We brought in the nurses at night and they were able to help some but our little guy seemed a little frustrated as well.  Sarah came back for one last consultation in the morning on Friday and suddenly everything CLICKED!  We were able to get him to feed much better and we felt so much more comfortable with our feeding technique.  Sarah then informed us that she wasn't worried about us, or our baby.  She told us that most babies lose about 5% of their weight the first 2 days in the hospital and that babies who lose 10% or more don't get to go home with mom and dad.  Noah lost 0.3lb his first two days which means he had only lost 3.79% of his body weight.  He was definitely feeding well and we were ready to go home much more confident in our ability to provide for our son!  The first car ride home was uneventful and he slept the whole time.


Our first few days at home have been surprisingly good and we are confident that this little guy is going to be a great baby!  Boy he is cute too!  But I guess I am a little biased!  I will definitely be following up soon with a blog of the first few (uneventful) days.  

My brother Andy told me something very profound after the birth of his first son before he headed off to fight with the Marines in Iraq.  He said, "Ron, I love my wife but that love took time it wasn't love at first sight.  If we had never met I feel like our lives would be missing something but we would be none the wiser.  But the first time I laid eyes on my son I loved him in a completely undescribable way and I can't imagine my life without him."




I can say for certain that the first time I saw him I knew that this was my son, I love him more than anything, and I have an incredible task of raising him to be the best man he can be, it was definitely love at first sight!

You never forget your first....

You never forget your first time...going clipless.  First, I never quite understood why people call them clipless pedals because technically you are "clipped in."  I call them clip in pedals but I digress.

Yesterday marked a first for me in my biking life.  I rode a road/racing bike for the first time ever on local roads.  I have ridden BMX and Mountain bikes all my life but never once climbed onto a road bike.  Honestly, I have a fear of spandex pants and the images of people wearing them.  I also really never thought I would be interested in road biking like I am in mountain biking.  I also have never ridden clipped into pedals on a bike.  The whole concept was rather terrifying to me.  Especially with a mountain biking backround its hard to just jump into clipping in because there is a fair amount of thinking involved everytime you stop the bike.

The last thing I wanted to do was tip over at a stoplight like a tree still attached to my bike.  I set up the bike with the SPD pedals and practiced on a bike indoor trainer for a week before my first actual ride on the road.  That made a huge difference in improving my confidence in being able to ride on the road.  But nothing replaces actually doing it.

I decided to take an experienced rider out with me, one of my co-workers husband is a very experienced rider and I came to learn an excellent coach.  Mark is a police officer in the area and an avid cyclist and triathlete.  He loves riding and it's definitely a big part of his life, right after his wife and new daughter. 
Mark was able to ride ahead of me and coach me along the road as we headed out.  He helped me to feel very comfortable with the pedals and getting the feel for road riding.  He threw in important bits of info for riding in groups on how to use hand signals for traffic, as well as to make fellow cyclists aware of hazards.  So I was able to focus on pedaling and making sure that stopping included kicking my heal out to detach from the pedals.

Speaking of which, the first stop light we approached I was up on the top bar pedaling hard as the light turned yellow and we came to a pretty abrupt halt.  I have pretty good balance on the bike and was able to steady myself and unclip.  We took off from a dead start and were moving along at a healthy clip of about 18-22mph for some of the flat sections.  We stayed on the 4 lane (25mph) road for the first half hour or so of the ride, just cruising up and back to get used to the bike.  Then Mark suggested we go after a few hills and I obliged him.  He said he was going to torture me on a few hills as payback for a stunt I convinced him to pull on his mtn bike last week.  I dropped down to a smaller ring and we attacked, Mark has disgustingly fast acceleration and he FLIES up hills.  I was in and out of the saddle at times getting comfortable with the hills.  About 2/3rd up my calf decided to cramp up every time I stood up for more power.  I hopped off the bike stretched it out and then finished riding up the hill.  Mark met me at the top and told me that they best part about going uphills is going back down.  After a brief discussion about braking and proper cornering technique we were off and FLYING downhill.  We were easily hitting 30+mph at times.   There is an amazing adrenaline rush and feeling of freedom when you are riding like that.

We spent the next 30 minutes or so attacking a few more hills which Mark DESTROYED while I puttered along at my gradual more comfortable pace.  Again hopping off to get that knot out of my left calf AGAIN.  We finished the ride back on the 4 lanes of Corrigan drive in South Park.  We finished our ride in just over an hour.  We covered about 14 miles and I felt AWESOME.  I am hooked!! I can't wait to get out on the bike again.

The bike I have is an aluminum frame with a carbon fiber fork.  The aluminum definitely does not absorb alot of the shock of the bumpy Pittsburgh roads.  Some people love aluminum bikes and some hate them.  I love the feel of the bike.  It's very planted and snappy.  It takes corners quickly and feels very composed at higher speeds.

The next time I get a chance to write a blog I will probably be a new daddy!  So hopefully I will be able to keep squeezing in workouts between diaper changes.  Life is changing soon and dealing with the difficulties of having a newborn at home are going to be the foundation of this blog.

Thanks for reading! 

The waiting was the hardest part!

After 9 months of waiting we are down to 48 hours or less.   I am so excited I can't stand it!  I also can't stop smiling. 

Say a prayer or two for the wife its all hard work for her now, I just get to be the squeezy stress-toy and the guy she can yell at for the next few days. 

Of course a better update will follow...BUT I GOTTA PACK!  

In Recovery.

Hi, My name is Ron and I am a recovering fat guy.

I have worked very hard over the last few months to improve my fitness level and drop some excessive poundage.  I hit a milestone today and was very excited to share it.  I normally check the scale halfway through the week to see if I am still on track for the week.  When I weighed myself yesterday morning the scale read 199.  I haven't been below 200lbs in I can't tell you how long.  I don't expect that number to still be below 200 on Sunday for my weigh in though, we are headed to Burgatory on Saturday to celebrate Christine's birthday.  I am banking as many points as I can for this epic journey because its going to be a weight watchers points record most likely.  Crossing my fingers that I will have the willpower to resist getting EVERYTHING on the menu, and just keep things to the smorgasbord level.

I was working in my old store a few days ago, and one of my customers came in and said, "wow Ron, you look great!!" I thanked her for the kind words, and she continued on,  "what have you been doing?  you got a pill that I can take that will do that for me?"   I told her it was just eating right and recording my food into an online journal provided by weight watchers, and also plenty of regular exercise.  Mind you this customer really isn't overweight so I am sure she was kidding about taking a pill to lose weight.

As a Pharmacist though, this is a really common question that I receive at work.  People looking for a quick way out, a fast fix for years of bad habits.  I don't want to preach or get on a soapbox in this blog because it's supposed to be enjoyable and easy reading.  But it got me thinking.  Is what I am doing, or anyone else for that matter who is working hard to lose weight...is it really that hard??  I am not a guy who is much into willpower or resisting the things I want but I am learning to control those feelings.  I made simple, small, and healthy changes to my lifestyle and I set goals for myself and I reward myself when I attain them.  Is it really that hard to take lunch to work with you everyday and plan ahead for your meals during the week so that you don't eat poorly?  Is it really that hard to try to squeeze in a few 30 to 60 minute workouts a week?  I would say no, it just takes a will to succeed and some planning on your part.

Right now, my life isn't as chaotic as it could be but I am by no means sitting around all day looking for something to do either.  I plan my workouts most days and force myself out of bed at 5:50am to workout before I go to work everyday.  The wife and I plan out meals for two weeks at a time and we shop for all the items that won't spoil in that time period every other week.  We add veggies, milk, and other items that may spoil with small trips to the store once a week.  It just takes a little planning on our part, but rarely are we scrambling for a meal during the week.

Sometimes I lack motivation in the mornings to get out of bed and workout and sometimes I reward myself with 45-50 extra minutes of sleep (because sleep is healthy too right)?  But most days I trudge out of bed, put on the workout clothes, and get to work.  I have NEVER regretted a workout, (had to steal that line Susan.) and I always feel really good throughout the day when I have worked out.  I feel light years better than I did before I decided to change my life.  I have an amazing amount of energy now, I can just drop everything on a whim now and run 3-5 miles without even thinking about it.  I can hop on my bike and ride for 1 to 2 hours, come home and still have the energy to cut the grass, cook dinner for the wife, and spend a few hours watching the Pirates on Root Sports.  (Although that has been more difficult recently with the current 6 game skid).  I know that this will only help me when it comes time to raise our son.  There are going to be plenty of sleepless nights, plenty of long and difficult days ahead, and plenty of days where I won't have time to workout.  But when I do have time, I will because this is the new me and I never want to go back to the old me.

My name is Ron, and I am in Recovery.

multi sports switchup!

A few weeks ago I finally had some time to get out on my mountain bike.  I really missed being out on the bike.  I have since been out about 5 times in the last 2 weeks.  Adding biking to my training regimen has also helped to break up the monotony of running all the time.  As much as I like to run, sometimes its nice to have another avenue to take to freshen up your workouts.  After some discussion with friends I have decided to start training for a potential sprint triathlon or two in the coming year.

I am curious to see how having the baby will affect my exercise routines.  I know that the first few months to years are going to be very time consuming and are going to strain my workouts.  I would never put a workout first when it comes to my son.  I am going to have to be creative to get my workouts in while the baby naps or when Christine and I are both home and I can sneak away for an hour.  Add to that the lack of sleep we will have from having a newborn in the house and this whole fit dad thing could go out the window in a few weeks! (unlikely...I've worked too hard to get here!!).

So after talking to some friends that cycle, riding some bikes, test riding some bikes on craigslist and lusting over the $10,000 carbon fiber featherweights the guys in the Tour De France were riding I went to my Local Bike Shop.  I went to Trek of Pittsburgh and tried out some Focus and Trek bikes but the prices for the bikes I wanted were just too high for my budget.  I went to ProCycles in the South Hills and the bikes there were too high for the budget as well.  On a whim I asked the guy who was helping me if they had any bikes they were offering deals on now.  He showed me a few bikes that were carbon fiber and out of my price range.  I asked if they had anything at any of their other stores that were aluminum and reasonably priced into my budget.  He told me they were dealing on a couple of older Cannondales.  I tried one out, and the frame fit me very well!!  So I had them ship one over and I am now the proud owner of a 2009 or 2010 (not sure) CAAD9.  It's light, its fast (has a compact sprocket), and it was in my budget!!  

I can't wait to get the clip in pedals set on the bike and learn how to use them so I can get out and use this thing on the road.  I will follow up with a review/writeup of my experience with the bike as well as my foray into road cycling.  For now the bike is relegated to use on the trainer in the game room just until I get comfortable with the pedals.  Of course I am sure there is going to be an amusing story to go along with my first road trip on the clip in pedals!  Wish me luck!

Can I call this a timeline?

At 16 years old, I definitely wasn't ready!  I cared about girls, sports, and driving.

At 18 years old, I can assure you I wasn't ready.  I was a serial dater, competitive athlete, and was thinking about college.

At 21 years old, I wasn't close to ready.  I was more concerned with beer, parties, and making sure I passed my tests in Pharmacy School.

At 24 years old, I wasn't ready but I could have provided for.  I was a freshly minted Pharmacist, I drank too much, worked too much, and cared too much...about myself.

At 27 years old, I had so much more I wanted to do.  I still cared more about myself but was ready to care equally about someone else.

At 29 years old, I was sharing my feelings and my life with another person.  Christine became the center of my life but she was my focus.

At 30 years old, I caught the traveling bug, Maui, BoraBora, and Italy, we came home refreshed and happy and ready.

At 31 years old the time had come I was ready to care more about someone else than I did about myself.

At 32 years old, I am going to be a Dad.  I'm ready to devote my life to this child.  Changes are going to be swift and drastic in the coming weeks.  I'm ready.  I don't entirely know what to expect but that's part of the excitement of being a first time parent.  I know now that it will never be about me anymore, it will be about him, about us, and about everything else.

We have about 20 days left until the due date, with the current progression with Christine I would say that she won't make it to the due date.  I have a feeling that little boy in there is going to be here sooner than later.  I can't wait to meet him and I can't wait to show him to you.

Life is going to change...sooner than later.

Why We Run.

Let me start off by saying I don't feel bad for Ben Comen in fact, I am very happy that Ben Comen found running.  Watching this story had a profound effect on me a few years ago and I want to share this amazing young mans story with the world.  I first saw this story on an episode of ESPN Sportscenter a few years back.  I was getting ready for work and while watching it I was balling like a little baby.  I'm not a cryer and I am thinking to myself dude, get it together!!  But then I felt this overwhelming feeling of happiness in the story because Ben overcomes so much to be a part of this team it's just amazing.   If you don't smile, choke back tears, and watch in awe at the power of the human spirit in this kid you need to check your pulse.

After being part of the Cross Country team in high school and now getting back into running I can tell you that the way his teammates respond to his drive is everything that is good about running.  It's the mindset of a group of people who strive for individual achievement but come together so strongly for someone who is just like them, a runner.  I beg you to take the 8 minutes or so will take to watch this video.  There is so much this young man can teach you about life and the value of being part of something bigger than yourself.

Why do you run?  Is it to keep in shape?  Is it to feel better about yourself?  Or is it to feel like you belong to a team, a fraternity of runners, a group of like minded people who share your love for the run?

I run because I love it and I hope that never changes.  I promise to raise my son to be as accepting and amazing as the teammates of this young man as well!!