Bonding

Happy Friday all! Here is a picture of Owen and Dad bonding while mom rested. Now off to Target for diapers.

Have a wonderful weekend.

sent from my Blackberry

And it was a good night

Another good sleep under our belts overnight, thanks Owen. A little bit more grunting in between feedings which woke mom and dad up a bit, but no crying! Little O is starting to get use to this world.

Rainy day here so looks like a good day to make Target runs and maybe watch a movie.

Happy Friday all! Enjoy your weekend.

- Ben, Em, O, Sumnutters

sent from my Blackberry

Pre puke

Here is a picture of Owen and Ben just before he puked on the front of dads shirt.......common first time dad mistake as you can see the mis positioned birp cloth. Now I know!

sent from my Blackberry

Here comes friday...

Hi all - so today we had an action packed day. Owen and dad started the day off cooking mom a special 30th bday breakfast.......wait let's back up to the sleep seeing as that is a favorite topic. We went to bed around 10:30pm and thought we were in for a sleepless night again, but once Owen settled down a little bit he was able to eat and get sleepin around 1:30am. During the night he woke up for the standard 2-3hr diaper/feeding and then back to sleep so we were happy for that. That was a close one.......

Later that morning gma schulze came over and made Emily a lovely shrimp pasta dish and had some good conversation. From there we had a lactation consult where we learned some tips and had Owen checked.....he's progressing great and gained 1.5oz in one day which I guess is good (who knew).

After the adventure to the doc we came home to relax before enjoy yet another wonderful meal at gma/gpa schrievers. Ben also surprised her with Lilith Fair concert tickets which she had her heart set on, but Ben had to come up with the excuse of "I am not sure Owen will be ready for us to leave by the time" so that she didn't buy tickets. It worked!

Such good food and company today to make Emily feel so special on her bday.

Tomorrow, Target eun (which I am sure will turn into a routine for Em and O), friends Heather and Jay for dinner at our house and then a saturday of errands before Ben goes ack to work next week. Emily is looking for company during the week while Ben is at work so let her know if you are able to get together for lunch!

Well let's hope tonight is restful. Cheers.

- schulze crew

sent from my Blackberry

Finally they are open.....

Here is a much requested picture of Owen with his eyes open.  They are a grey'ish blue.....we don't get to see them too often as this one sure is a sleeper (during the day).

Spring Blossoms

What a wonderful spring afternoon we had today.  After a nice time with Auntie Kris this morning we ate some lunch left over's, had a nice visit from Jennifer who lives down the street (she brought us yummy breakfast food that's I'll cook up for Emily tomorrow on her 30th birthday), and then had Jamie and Jenna over for bday lemon bars and baby visiting time. 

 

The blossoms were opening up on the crab apple tree in our backyard that we had to take a family picture in front of it.  Ahh love Spring!  As mentioned tomorrow (Thursday April 29th) is Emily's 30th birthday.  To help celebrate Grandma Schulze is coming over and making lunch, we head back for a routine milk training visit (lactation specialist) and then off to Grandpa and Grandma Schriever's for dinner.  What an action packed day.  Let's hope we get the same (....or more please) amount of sleep tonight.  Mr. Owen if can you hear me........that would be the best birthday present Emily could ask for............rest.  Have a great rest of the week.  I know I have been and unfortunately this week is flying by.  Back to work next week for Ben. 

 

 

- Schulze Crew

 

 

Sleep was great!

So it's true, things can get better. The family got lots of sleep in two hour chunks last night....to the tune of 7-8hrs, yeah! We are feeling great today and really hope this trend continues. Mom and dad took turns last night so that helped with allowing sleep to take place.

Today Auntie Kris is coming for the morning and then Jamie, Jen and Jenna are coming over this eve for desert and to celebrate Emily's 30th bday (which is actually tomorrow April 29th). No shortage of love at the Schulze house.

Owen also received his first at home bath this morning, due to a peeing accident on his head. He is now nice and cozy in some new clothes and ready for some sleep so we can eat breakfast. Ahhhhhh its going to be a good day.

- Schulze crew

sent from my Blackberry

Just chillin'

Just hanging out with Dad and getting caught up on DVR from last week. Notice who is sleeping...someone thought last night was day time. Here's to hoping Mom and Dad get some sleep tonight.........

sent from my Blackberry

Sleep please......

So I guess everyone who said "you won't get any sleep within the first two weeks" ARE RIGHT!!!!! Em and I super duper tired today after getting maybe a combined hour or two of sleep last night. Mr Owen for one thinks night times are day times but then it turns out that he may have been a bit sore overnight from his circumcision yesterday........who would have thought, ouch!

Everyone has been so wonderful withkind words of support or for bringing over yummy food like rhubarb or pasta dishes (thanks moms)! We love food visitors!!

So Tuesday, whay shall we do today. Well Mr Owen had some baby tylenol so he is feeling good and the picture attached is Em and I with Owen eating lunch. Then off to take a walk while Emily showers up, back to watch some DVR'ed TV and then some zzzzz's in between.

Ohh by the way checked out good yesterday, we have a follow appt this thursday and next week with the lactation specialist as well as Em meeting with her OB to ensure all is well.

One last note: Poop up the back last night.......that's all I've got to say!

Happy tuesday. Off for a walk with Sum and O.

Ben (Em says hi too)

sent from my Blackberry

Bringing home baby!!!

Well, we couldn't be more excited to be on our way home with the world's most adorable little boy. We're loving our first car ride...here is to sleeping when we get home so mom and dad can take a nap. We'll update more later.
Love from the Schulze crew

sent from my Blackberry

Going home outfit

Thanks grandma and grandpa schulze for the cool duds.

Love Owen

sent from my Blackberry

Ready to go home

Mom and baby all ready to go home right after lunch. All checks passed for both and we are cleared to leave.

sent from my Blackberry

Owens extended family

Here are some pictures of the Schulze (first picture) and Schriever (second picture) extended family. Everyone was so happy to see Owen yesterday, especially new members of "THE GRANDPARENT CLUB" Mark and Cindy Schriever!

10am Sunday - We're going home today!

Good Morning -

 

So we had a pretty sleepless night....ok I won't lie, it was sleepless, due to a gassy baby.  He is eating very well and has only lost 5% of his total birth weight so well within the acceptable 10%.  It seems like the gas has passed though because after a feeding at 5am Owen slept for about 3.5hours in the nursery so that mom and dad could get some rest and boy was that appreciated!  Owen has passed all his tests and will have one last evaluation sometime this morning from our pediatrician before he is able to be released today. 

 

Emily is also doing well too.  She is recovering from the fun events of child birth, eating well and has been able to start walking around more.  Her hemoglobin levels did drop to from 8.2 yesterday to 7.3 today, but in speaking with our doctor this morning she is feeling fine with these levels since Emily is feeling well (not dizzy, eating, and overall energy level is good).  The doctor also did release us so once Owen has been checked out and the paperwork is all done we should be able to leave the hospital maybe around 1pm today.

 

So what do the next couple days hold for us?  We are looking forward to getting home in our own environment to start establishing some sort of routine (if there is one at this point...).  We will be going into the pediatrician tomorrow to meet with a lactation specialist so that they can ensure feeding is going well.  Owen will also be circumcised tomorrow....poor little guy.  Then from there we will meet again with the pediatrician towards the end of the week and Emily will go in for a check up the following Wednesday to ensure she is recovering well.  Dad is also to take this next week off of work to be home with the family and Emily now starts 3 months of maternity leave. 

 

We are grateful for all the support from our friends, family and nursing staff here at Abbott.  Your words of encouragement, advice and love were much appreciated by Emily and I. 

 

Signing off from the hospital for good, will pick up with updates once we get home. Our goal will be to at least post weekly updates on how the family is doing along with updated pictures.   This has been such a neat way to be able to share how the Schulze family has been doing along this fun journey.

 

We love you guys and cannot wait to have you part of Owens life.

 

Ben, Em, O

Close Up's

Here are a couple more pictures of Owen all fed and pooped.  Night Night!

8am Update Saturday (our first full day)

Good Morning Everyone -

 

So we made it through our first night as parents with a pretty good amount of sleep (good being 3 and 2 hour sleeps).  We were able to use the nursery overnight in between feedings so that allowed us to get some zzzzz's.  Owen also has been a good eater right from the start so that is wonderful to see.  Emily is doing a great job nursing! 

 

Emily is also feeling better today.  Her blood pressure is good and her fever has come down from a high of 100.9

 

Well breakfast has just arrived and the nurses are checking mom and baby so time to go.  Looking forward to getting into routine today of eat, poop and sleep!

 

Hope you enjoy the pictures!  They are of his first bath and getting changed into his pj's.

 

We thank you all so much for your support along the way during this fun adventure and more so through labor yesterday! 

 

Love from the postpartum room.

 

Ben, Em, O

HE'S HERE!!!

   Owen Benjamin Schulze was born at 6:25pm Friday April 23rd at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis MN.

He weighs 8lbs 14oz,  20.5inches long and head is 14.5 inches.

 

 

After a long labor Emily did a wonderful job today delivering Owen in 45minutes!!!  May have taken us a long time to get here, but we made short work of it once it came.  At least to me, but Emily may think otherwise.

 

Emily had some hemorrhaging afterwards which was a little bit scary for both of us, but all is under control.  She has a fever of 100.3F right now so please keep her in your prayers for a quick revcovery.

 

Daddy changed his first diaper and gave Owen a bath too!  Now time for me to get some dinner in me and then the three of us are going to take a nap.

 

Love much and thanks for all of the kind words and prayers today.

 

Ben, Em, Owen........and Mr. Summit (who is at camp)

2:50pm Update

Well how quickly a matter of minutes can change things.  So it turns out that we have been increasing our pitocin over the past 1.5 hours but the "internal contractor-o-meter" may not have been working too good because the device was showing the contractions were actually decreasing in strength which was bringing on the thoughts of C Section..................................................but the fact of the matter is that over the last 1.5 hours we have now dilated to 8cm.  I guess the key trigger to having the nurse check Emily out was that she started to get the shakes like she was cold.   I am just amazed on how interesting the body is and how it can change so quickly to adapt to certain situations.

 

So now things are starting to rock and roll a little more and they just prepped the room for delivery by bring out many different blankets and "tools".  Not sure the timing of delivery, but we are moving in the right direction and at this point C Section is the farthest from our thoughts.  Phew!  That was not a fun thought, but we are back in good spirits now!!

 

More to come!!!

 

Ben and E ("Shakes")

2:30pm update (going on 18hrs in the hospital)

What's the latest from the Schulze delivery room you may be thinking?????  Well Mr. Owen is still deciding to not want to move too much just yet.  We are still at around 4-5cm and the pain was starting to come on for Emily so "The Pain Doctors" came in and gave Emily some special juice to make the pain go away.  She is feeling a lot more comfortable!  Our Doctor that we have been seeing for the past 9 months also came around 12:00pm today to check the progress.  She will be coming back around 4-5pm today to check the progress and see where we are at.  Since the water has been broken today the feeling is that we need to have the baby one way or another today.........which Emily is not too thrilled about "the other" option being the C Section.  We did ask the doctors lot's of questions about C Sections and did some reading up in our birthing book on this as well to ensure we know our options.  Let's hope we don't have to have that procedure!

 

Emily's trying to get some rest and Dad to be here is hoping this all happens soon so that Mom and baby are safe, healthy and back home soon!  The waiting game is sure not fun especially with a possible surgery looming in the background.  We won't know that for a while and will do everything we can to avoid it so say lot's prayers for us and will update more once we know.

 

Love much.

 

Ben and Em

11am update

Well not too much on TV at 11am on a Friday, but thank goodness for the internet to be able to communicate with you all and most importantly keep us entertained!

 

The contractions are still consistent and they have upped the level of pitocin to 4 (whatever that means....).  Emily is doing well, but would sure love to have Owen speed up the process.  They have oxygen on her to keep his heart rate moving at a nice pace up and down and ensure she changes positions often.  We also were able to experience "The Corkscrew"......for those of you in MN no that is not the ride at Valleyfair, but is a position used to be able to allow a "sunny side up" baby to turn around so he is facing Emily's back.  And so we sit laptop in hand and "Corkscrewed" sitting and waiting for little man to arrive.

 

Until the next update.......... Ben and Em, (via the 6th floor o'fun)!!

 

 

8am update

Well it's 8am and we have been at the hospital for 12 hours now.  Emily is doing well and we were able to get some rest last night so we are ready for baby Owen to come today April 23rd!!  We are at 4cm still so the doctors have started petocin and have broken Emily's water so now this should help things progress.  Well, we hope to be writing soon advising you all of Owens arrival. 

Love Ben and Em

We are ready for baby!!

Well we had contractions that started at 4am today and lasted the whole day. To relax we took a walk around the neighborhood and then Em sat in the sun while I spruced up the yard. The contractions became stronger and closer together so we began timing them and sure enough they were close enough that we were told to come in. We checked in at 8pm and were admitted the first go around.

Now we wait at 3cm for the magic to happen. ETA around 7am.......yikes let's get some sleep as its going to be a long night.

Come on Owen, let's go!!

Love Ben and Em

sent from my Blackberry

mini watermelon this week - 39wk update!

Well, today marks the official one week ‘til due date mark!! 

Your baby's waiting to greet the world! He continues to build a layer of fat to help control his body temperature after birth, but it's likely he already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds, a mini watermelon. (Boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls.) The outer layers of his skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath.

Mom and Dad are doing well and are VERY anxious to meet Owen!  House is clean, bags are packed, baby clothes washed, car seat in the car…..

While we would love him to come this week, we are prepared that he may want to wait a bit still….hopefully not too late past his due date!

Have a wonderful week.  We cannot wait to update the blog with an announcement that he has arrived!

~Ben and Emily

 

 

2 weeks left!

WOW, time is dwindling down and the big arrival is fast approaching!  Due date is exactly 2 weeks from today!....if you haven’t yet, feel free to take the poll on when Owen will come (see top left of page).  Right now it looks like he is coming a bit early!  Hope you all are right!

Looks like baby O is the size of a leek this week….very interesting considering yesterday I bought leeks to grill this week.  Might this be a sign that he will come this week??!!

Your baby has really plumped up. He weighs about 6.8 pounds and he's over 19 1/2 inches long (like a leek). He has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold his hand for the first time! His organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb. YIPPEE!!!!
Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? You may not be able to tell right away. If he's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If he's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time he's 9 months old. That's because a child's irises (the colored part of the eye) may gain more pigment in the months after he's born, but they usually won't get "lighter" or more blue. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.)

Have a great week! 

~Ben, Em and O

Sunny Spring Day

It was such a nice out earlier this week that we decided to bring the patio furniture out front and relax after a hard days work.  Emily makes being pregnant look so easy......

New Twins Stadium

After work today Ben went and walked around the new Twins stadium in downtown Minneapolis to snap some pictures with the new camera.  He is getting some good practice in anticipation of family portraits to come!

Hot Mamma - 37 weeks

Emily and I walked around Wayzata this past weekend enjoying one our last few weekends of being able to bounce around town without having to plan ahead around feedings and naps.  We had a wonderful time planning the adventures we will go on with Owen this summer.

 

Ben and Em

Counting the days....

Well we are approaching the home stetch until Owen arrives and we couldn't be more excited. The sleepless nights, aching back, body and every other part couldn't be more worth it (of course I am speaking on behalf of Emily!). Looking forward for April 26th to approach!!!!!!! Will keep you all updated on the progress.

Ben and Em

sent from my Blackberry

Swiss Chard!

Happy Monday!  Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter and was able to enjoy the beautiful Spring weather.

This week is very exciting as we are now FULL TERM!!  Below is the baby update of the week…..we go to the doctor on Friday for our 38 wk check up!  Will post more then….Ben & Em

Your baby is now considered "full term," even though your due date is three weeks away. If you go into labor now, his lungs will likely be mature enough to fully adjust to life outside the womb.

Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz.