Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Well, as another Christmas season passes us by and we close the books on 2008, things are pretty active in the Swanson household. We spent the last five days in Minneapolis visiting with Lisa's family. Cullen got to spend some quality time with his grandparents, great grandmas, aunts, uncles and cousins. He wowed them with some of his new skills, most notably, his new found ability to walk behind a push toy and continuing attempts to break the language barrier. The house was abuzz, as Cullen tried to communicate with everyone through a variety of da da das, and dit, dit, dits. While we are excited about this continued development, I am also aware that we are that much closer to back talk.

Lisa, Cullen, and I want to thank our family and friends for making Cullen's first Christmas such a memorable one. You're the best.

9 Months and the Swanson Family Christmas

We started our Christmas celebration by spending a wonderful day with Bob, MaryAnne and Grandma Ione. Cullen didn't really "get" the present thing. Not that we expected him to, but we had heard of babies loving bows, wrapping paper and boxes. Not Cullen - he just kept crawling away - too enthralled with all of the other fun stuff to climb on at Grandma and Grandpa's house. However, once we took the toys out of the boxes, he thought they were pretty cool. Thank you to Grandma, Grandpa and Great-Grandma for your generous gifts. Cullen has definitely brought the magic back to Christmas - and there's only more to come!

Snow Daze

Here's an update on some important "firsts" for Cullen: his first sled, his first trip through La Crosse's Rotary Christmas lights and his first belly-up-to-the-bar experience. We took a handsome cab ride through Riverside Park to view the lights and Cullen loved it. Afterward, we waited for our pizza to-go at Big Al's and enjoyed a beer at the bar. No, we are not encouraging beer drinking for minors, it's just that Cullen insisted upon hanging out at the bar. Like father, like son...

Snow Angel

Happy Turkey Day

Well Thanksgiving got off to quite a start here. Last night Cullen got a mysterious stomach illness. He awoke this morning and seemed to be doing fine. After much back and forth we called an audible early this afternoon and decided that instead of subjecting the LaVigne/Moore family to a virus, we would have our Thanksgiving at home. This was fine, in the fact, that Cullen, Lisa, and I would still be spending the holiday together. However, the problem was that we did not have anything to feast on and the last second decision to stay home put us behind the eight ball. With Bob and MaryAnne on the sideline with my Dad’s recent mouth surgery, we ventured to the local grocery. I have to say, and this might be a bit out of bounds, but if you are ever in need of a confidence boost, I highly recommend a trip to your local grocery store at 1:30p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. Whew. As you can probably imagine, at this late juncture our selection was a bit limited, but we were able to cobble together what we jokingly referred to as our ghetto Thanksgiving dinner. So, instead of the feast of wild rice, slow cooked turkey, 2 homemade gravies, 3 homemade stuffings, green bean casserole..etc, that we would have enjoyed at Mark and Liz’s, our menu consisted of the following:

Appetizer
Pretzel Sticks and Port Wine Cheese Spread
Tostido Chips and Taco Dip

Main Course
Frozen Turkey Breast
Grocery Store Deli Mashed Potatoes with Campbells Gravy Sauce
Jellied Cranberry Sauce

Dessert
Slice of Pumpkin and Key Lime Pie….the grocery store only had one slice of Pumpkin left

Luckily the one thing that was plentiful at the store was wine.

All joking aside, Lisa and I realize that the important part of Thanksgiving isn’t what you eat, it’s about recognizing and being thankful for the positive things that you have in life.. We are lucky to have such a great little guy, an unbelievable family and a tremendous group of friends, for that we are thankful. Here’s wishing you and yours a happy and healthy Thankgiving.

Busy Boy

8 down

Cullen is now a whopping 8 months old. It seems as though he's less of a baby and more a little person. Cullen is very active, but a good little guy. As you can see, one of his favorite activities is standing - standing anywhere. We think he may be walking soon. Watch out world!

Dirk and I went to the Badger/Gopher game in Madison last weekend with Drew and Annie. The Gophers let us down again, but Dirk had a big grin at the end of the game.

Fun in the most peculiar places....

On the move

Little Pumpkins

Standing and Babbling

The World's Gone Mad

Well, the World is spinning out of control. Financial markets are crashing, the Badgers and Gophers have somehow traded their historical spots in the Big Ten standings...ugh!, and most importantly Cullen is growing crazy fast. Showing the Swanson genes are in full effect he has begun crawling forward and now is able to pull himself up (with a little help) on furniture and stand. Its nuts. This kid is a freak. Nothing he does anymore surprises us. He babbles constantly, a trait he must have inherited from his Mom, is always quick with a smile, and has grown quite fond of using his iron grip on Camp's fur. We are having a blast with parenthood and as always are excited to see what lies ahead....at this rate I'm hoping he'll be able to man the snowblower this winter.

P.S. Enjoy it my Gopher brethren

P.S.S. I guess the LaVigne genes might be playing a role in Cullen's above mentioned feats.

P.S.S.S. Lisa is standing over my shoulder

Autumn Bonus

Here's a treat - two posts in one week. These pics are just too good not to post right away! Enjoy.

Fall is here

And with the autumn season comes two of our favorite activities: Oktoberfest and Badger football games. Dirk and I were able to enjoy some adult time at the torchlight parade - followed by a party at the north-side fest grounds. Tracy and Jason headed up to WI so that J could experience his first Big 10 football game. Cullen and Camp stayed behind with Grandma and Grandpa Swanson. Jason's an LSU fan, so Dirk and Tracy thought it was important to show him a real football game! Unfortunately, it was "the day the music died". The crazy UW band kids got suspended for questionable hazing activities. Maybe that movie "American Pie" wasn't really that far off base!

As for Mr. Cullen, he's doing great. He's changing so much every week. He doesn't yet crawl forward, but he can still maneuver his way across the room with a series of rolls, lunges and turns. It's really an amazing sight (video to come...). Cullen always has a ton of fun spending time with his cousins. As you can see, the parents love making their babies pose for corny pics. He also loves his "big boy" high chair. We can't figure out if the feeders (i.e. mom and dad) are unskilled or if Cullen really is a messy boy.

Maggi's Wedding

We had lots of fun at the Maggi and Dave's wedding as evidenced by the party pics. Maggi was the happiest bride ever - not to mention quite stunning. Now 2 more Moore family weddings on the books (Lindsay and Annie). Do you think we can count on Tom for Mack the Knife at both?

Cullen has had quite the week. He is on the verge of crawling. In fact, he's pretty much crawling backwards. If we take our eyes off of him for a second, he will end up in some odd place like under the ottoman. Cullen is also a huge fan of the Johnny Jump Up. Basically, he loves to be on the move.

Aunt Tracy and Uncle Jason Head North

Happy Half Birthday

Well, Cullen has hit the six-month-old mark. It's just crazy that the little man has been with us that long. It seems like yesterday that Lisa awoke me with the announcement that her water had broken. Looking back, we've been through quite a bit in the last six months. From minor surgery for Cullen, to the birth of our nephew Mason, to the news that Tracy and Jason will be joining us on this crazy trip that is parenthood. Cullen is doing great. It's been amazing watching him develop from the little bird that just ate and pooped to this little guy who loves to babble, smile and roll around. He has such a great personality. This past week, he faced a horrible diaper rash, so bad that my butt was sore, yet he continued to smile and laugh as though nothing were wrong. Many early mornings, we wake up to the sound of Cullen cooing, babbling and laughing in his crib - never crying. We're excited for the road ahead and watching Cullen continue to develop.

It's been a great summer and it is hard to believe that we are moving back into the autumn of year. With that, though, comes football season and Cullen is extremely pumped that both the Badgers and Packers have started their seasons undefeated.

Babbling Cullen

Cullen, Cullen, Cullen

Grand Marais '08

Dirk, Cullen and I took a trip up to Grand Marais to hang out with a bunch of the LaVigne clan: Mark, Liz, Brigette, Mason, Doug, Annie, Drew, Laurie, Joe, Kelly, Mike, Kathy, Chris, Emily, Claire, Molly, Dan, Aren, Sylvie and Michelle (+ our friend Stevie). We drove the 4 hours to Duluth on Thursday night and stayed at a great hotel in Canal Park. Dirk and I put Cullen to bed and sat on our balcony, with a 6-pack of Stella, looking up at the hills of Duluth and watching the ships pass under the lift bridge. Then, it was up to Grand Marais on Friday. We ate lunch at the Angry Trout (superb as always) and Dirk and the boys got in a round of golf. On Saturday, we took the babies on their first hike via the Baby Bjorns. Sunday was perfectly sunny and we sat on the lawn at the Landing all day anticipating "music by the lake" . The tunes was great, the drinks at Joe's Backstage Bar were better and the Salmon was perfect. It's always a ton of fun to get together with the crazy LaVigne bunch. And now the madness continues...we've added three more to the clan with Cullen, Mason and Sylvie. As you can see from the pics, a good time was had by all.

Boys Week!

Well, Cullen and I had several days of male bonding last week. Lisa was in Seattle for work and as the saying goes, when the cats away, the mice will play. We had a blast. We watched the Olympics, played some patty cake, Cullen rolled around and even pounded back a few bottles of formula...completely taking advantage of Mom's absence. Truthfully, I am quite amazed at how single parents do it and was happy to get my partner back.

Michaela and Paul Wedding

Miss You Mom

Summer Daze

You Laughin at Me?

Our Little Angel

This was a big week for Cullen. Not only did he roll over for the first time, but he was also Baptized. Both milestones made his parents very proud. On the day of his Baptism, we sat through mass while Cullen slept on Grandpa Mark's lap. Then, he woke up, drank a bottle and was ready for the show. Cullen was a very happy baby during the ceremony - he cooed and smiled the whole time. He really enjoys being the center of attention. I guess if you are that cute - you had better get used to it!

Four Months and Counting

Well kids, in case you haven’t noticed and judging by the page hits you haven’t, it’s been a while since our last written update. Summer got a bit of a late start, but it’s been a fun one so far. Cullen turned 4 months on Sunday. It’s hard to believe the little guy has been with us that long. It has been an amazing ride and watching him develop these past weeks has been as rewarding an experience as I have encountered.

This past weekend was pretty action packed. Aunt Tracy visited us from Austin. It was great to see her and she looked fabulous. Her visit wasn’t as wild as those of the past, being that her and Jason are now expecting their first child. There is an ongoing joke in our family that Tracy has always been a step behind her big brother and once again she has proven this to be true. However, Lisa and I couldn’t be more excited that Cullen will have another cousin to grow up with.

The wild part of last weekend came with the visit of Lisa’s college friends, Tony, Katie, their son Wyatt, Derek, Megan, Chrissy and James. The first cold one was cracked at 2pm and the last game of tippy cup ended at 1am. It was a blast, with a grill out and bonfire in-between, and D showing his fishing prowess by landing one ugly ass catfish. Scotty would inform us later that they are the best eating fish in the river. You can take a look at the picture and be the judge of that. Good times had by all and looking forward to the next one.

Happy Birthday USA

Cabin Fever

Cullen made his first trip up to Wowee’s cabin on Big Fish Lake along with my Mom, Brigette, Mason and Annie. Mason and Cullen were angels. They spent their playtime eating, burping and farting – because that’s what infants are good at. By next year they will be playing on the beach and swimming in the lake. Brigette, Annie and I have great memories of time spent at Big Fish Lake as children. It’s fun to begin introducing Cullen to the things that I enjoyed growing up. I’m realizing that’s the fun part of parenting.

We also met the newest LaVigne: Sylvie. Dan and Aren are the proud parents of a beautiful little girl. Sylvie definitely looks like Dan as a baby. And unfortunately, she also has the LaVigne head – and caused Aren a bit of trouble during delivery! Cullen and Mason are already discussing hazing tactics to initiate her into the LaVigne club.

Life Is Good

Happy Fathers Day to Me

Today I celebrated my first Father’s Day, now known as the greatest holiday ever. It’s hard to believe that Cullen has been with us for three months. It has been amazing to watch him grow and develop and I’m excited to teach him the ways of the world as he continues to grow. I’ve had an unbelievable mentor in my father. If I can be half as good of a father to him as mine has been to me, Cullen will be in good shape.

Whew. Now that you’ve had some time to wipe the tears from your eyes, it’s been a good couple of weeks since our last post. Summer is upon us and the weather has finally turned. We are looking forward to the upcoming months of boating, golf, and cocktailing….vodka lemonades are my flavor of choice right now. The plan is to have Cullen on the wakeboard, pulling some sweet inverts by the end of the summer. Either that or down to a single digit handicap on the links. Hopefully, this isn't too much to ask of the little guy.

Cullen and Jack

What up Cuz

No, Cullen has not all of a sudden sprouted a full head of hair. Lisa and I are pleased to introduce the newest addition to the LaVigne family, Mason Douglas Parnell. He was born to Brigette and Doug last Friday night. He weighed 7lbs 6oz and was 20 inches long. Brig and baby are doing great and we are excited that Cullen will have a cousin so close in age.

Boy, what a couple of weeks. There must have been something in the air nine months ago. Dennis and Kari have Jack on Tuesday. Brigette and Doug deliver Mason on Friday. Now we wait on Lisa’s cousin Dan and his wife Aren who are due any day now. The stork has been a busy bird.

Memorial Day Weekend

Well, Memorial Day weekend is over and it was a crazy one. It started with cocktails at the Tobins’ and ended with the birth of Cullen’s new buddy Jack Vogel. Saturday turned out to be the wildest of the nights as Cullen threw his first bbq. With friends from Madison, Minneapolis, and Afghanistan (our friend Andy Reuter just arrived home from service) the table was set for quite a night. Numerous beers (Cullen stuck to formula) were consumed and laughs had, as many old friends shared stories from the past and present.

Our Sunday was a day of recovery. It is amazing how hard it is to put in back to back nights at this ripe old age. It seems like a few years ago we would have just rolled out of bed and headed out for breakfast and bloodies. Now I was just lucky to make it out of bed. Although, seeing Cullen’s smiles served as motivation for a little extra effort.

On Monday after a hike and some yard work, Lisa and I headed over to dinner at the Vogel household. Dennis and Kari were expecting a baby boy, Jack, in a week. We arrived at their house at 4pm with Kari praying that Jack would forget his due date and come very soon. At 6pm her wishes would be answered as we heard a scream from the kitchen “Kari’s water broke.” Talk about crazy. The Vogels got everything loaded up and headed to the hospital, while Lis, I and the Hundts finished dinner. Jack was born this morning at 9:00am. Cullen has had a very mischievous grin today – no doubt, he’s very excited that his partner in crime has arrived.

Hangin with the Daines

What up? Cullen in the house. Whew, it’s been a busy week. In addition to me turning two months, I also had another shower and had the honor of meeting the Daines side of my family.

I got to meet the Daines family at my Cousin Kayla’s wedding reception. Boy are they a lively bunch, I’m lucky I got a nap on the trip down so I was able to keep up. I was extremely hungry from my shower earlier in the day (thanks Barb, Deb, Marilyn, and Elinor) and I quickly drank eight ounces of formula. I almost went ounce for beer with my Uncle Vernon! After that I spent the night hanging with my cousins Allyson, Kelsey, and Ryan. I am extremely excited to spend a lot more time with these guys in the future. Hopefully, Allyson and Kelsey will show me their secrets of text messaging and Ryan will show me how he became the coolest little guy in the room.

Moore Cullen

Cullen attended his first ladies night – a.k.a. the Moore family shower. Aunt Kathy and Aunt Ann threw a very nice baby shower for Brigette and me and Wowee was nice enough to host the shower at her house. All of the Moore girl cousins were there + Grandma MaryAnne. Cullen was very thankful that his cousin Auggie came too – he needed another boy to help balance things out. Cullen was a bit overwhelmed by the commotion and the noise level – I think the Moore’s may be one of the loudest families ever! We spent the rest of the weekend in Minneapolis where Cullen was introduced to Maggie Hanson (+ her parents), the Lichty’s and the Pope’s. Notice the picture of Cullen in the U of M bib – I think Grandpa Mark nearly gave Dirk a heart attack, but I loved it. This was also my first official Mother’s Day. Cullen has attached a whole new meaning to the day. I feel truly blessed to be the parent of such a sweet baby.

Give Me Sexy

Cullen had his first photo shoot today. Thankfully it went better than Kramer and George’s or Kramer and Elaine’s photo shoots on Seinfeld. Lisa set this up with Brooke Duval and everything went great. Cullen did his best Derrick Zoolander impression and while he has not mastered Blue Steel yet, he definitely is really, really ridiculously good looking. We are patiently waiting for the cover offers for Baby GQ and Babies Health to role in.

In other news, George and Joanie Parke, pictured here, have agreed to be Cullen's God Parents. We are extremely excited that Cullen's spiritual guidance will be led by these two outstanding role models.

The Littlest LaVigne

We made the journey to Minneapolis for a baby shower honoring Dan and Aren (a.k.a. “Daren”). Cullen seemed perplexed when he met the strange man who looked exactly like grandpa, yet wasn’t… Uncle Grandpa? Mike and Kathy are back from Arizona looking tan and they were very excited to meet the newest LaVigne. Cullen was also doted over by Michelle, Chris, Emily, Claire and Molly (and of course Brigette and Annie). He enjoyed being cuddled by everyone – especially Claire and Molly. Chris also informed us that Dirk’s blog is making him look bad – so please enjoy all of the pix of the girls. It doesn’t look like Emily’s pressure is getting their blog produced any sooner! (Sorry Chris!). Cullen is the littlest LaVigne, but not for long… Brigette is due in May and Aren is due in June. He can’t wait to meet his cousins, but for now he’s content soaking up the limelight.

Cullen Messes with Texas

Cullen’s Aunt Tracy and Uncle Jason ventured across the Mason Dixon Line to meet their nephew. Although, the weather was not as nice as we would have liked, a great time was had by all. Tracy and Jason arrived on Wednesday night and stayed through Sunday morning, spending the majority of their time hanging with their new nephew. Cullen was back in pre surgery form: attacking his pacifier and bottle during his waking moments, while cooing and grunting as sweet dreams rolled through his head the rest of the day. He is looking forward to their next trip up in mid July.

Cullen and Friends

Pyloric What?

The other day I was perusing an issue of Men’s Health, when I read of the importance of hard abs for attracting the ladies. Well, thinking that I want Cullen to be the heartthrob of his upcoming daycare class, I immediately got him on a workout program with the hopes of him forming a six pack to show off on the first day. The intense sessions led to the over-growth of one of his muscles. Unfortunately, it was the muscle that connects his stomach to his intestines: a condition known as Pyloric Stenosis.

All kidding aside, Pyloric Stenosis is a condition which occurs predominately in first born males between the ages of 4-6 weeks. The Pylorus muscle that connects the stomach to the intestines becomes overgrown and seals off the exit point for food to pass through, thus starving the child of much needed nutrients. With the food unable to pass through into the intestinal tract the stomach basically tells it, “if you aren’t going out that way, then you’re going the other way.” The result is projectile vomiting, which is how Lisa and I noticed that something was amiss with young Cullen.

About a week ago, we began to notice that Cullen was spitting up everything he was eating. While we knew that babies spitting up after eating was a pretty normal activity, the force and volume of these spit-ups did not seem normal. On Thursday afternoon, Lisa decided to have him checked out. With Cullen falling in the demographic and possessing the traits of someone who has P.S., our Pediatrician had him undergo an ultrasound. The procedure confirmed that Cullen indeed had P.S.

Unfortunately, the only way to correct this abnormality is through surgery. We were assured by the doctors, most importantly my Uncle Dick (a radiologist, who coincidentally was at my parents house waiting to meet Cullen when we found out the news), that this was an extremely safe procedure and not to be overly concerned about it. While this helped lessen our fears, the last thing you want to hear is that your five-week- old son is going to be put under and operated on. So, with extremely nervous parents by his side, Cullen was admitted to the hospital.

Cullen was operated on early Friday afternoon and, as promised, it was a rousing success. We spent the next day and a half in the hospital while he recovered. We were discharged early Sunday and are now thankfully under our own roof. Cullen is doing great and more importantly is eating, digesting and processing everything normally. There is little doubt of this as we now have an increasing number of dirty diapers and a decreasing number of Dad’s dirty shirts.

Happy Birthday to Me

Hey all, Cullen here. I’m a month old today and boy has it been a whirlwind. I stayed up to 5 a.m this morning. It was pretty exciting. I was burping and spitting up, you know the normal activities of a one month old. My dad told me that he also has stayed up a few times to daylight, coincidentally also burping and spitting up. The most enjoyable part of my first month has been all of the quality time that I have spent with my mom. She is always talking to me and telling me how cute I am. She is dead on with the last comment, take a look at my pictures, the mold was broke when I came out. I’ve also enjoyed all the time I have spent with my Grandparents. Whenever, I see them I always get their undivided attention. My parents are always telling me how lucky I am to have such fabulous grandparents and how much they appreciate them. Anyway, gotta run, Camp is trying to have his way with another of my stuffed animals. Down boy.

Head West Young Man

Cullen spent the weekend in, what his mother refers to as the homeland, Minneapolis. It was an extremely enjoyable weekend in which he was introduced to both of his Minnesota great grandmothers, relatives, and numerous new friends. He was extremely excited about the numerous gifts and compliments that he received. I was uncomfortable with the University of Minnesota onesie he received and will probably need psychological help to cope with the sight of my son sporting the maroon and gold.
Then, to add insult to injury, I come to find that Grandpa Flyer, as Mark wants to be known, has been whispering the name of Minnesota’s mascot in Cullen’s ear as he sleeps. Ugh, I now live with the mortal fear that the first word uttered from my son’s lips will be “Goldie.” Lisa on the other hand is on cloud nine.

*** We have been asked about prints of our pictures. The pictures are linked to our online album. Click on any picture and it will take you there and orders can be placed.

Cullen and Friends

Packin' On The Pound

Cullen had his 2 week check-up today and the doctor was thrilled with his weight gain. He now checks in at 6 lbs. 13 oz. – up almost 1 lb. since he came home from the hospital. He’s still not fitting into most of his clothes, but we keep promising him that he will soon be growing out of most of them. The doctor also measured his head circumference and we are happy to report that he has not taken on the LaVigne trait of an abnormally large head (sorry Grandpa Mark). Cullen is a good baby and pretty predictable so far – he eats every 3–4 hours and sleeps most of his days away. He’s had a few fussy spells, and it seems they mostly fall on Dirk’s bedtime feeding (but I know my luck will eventually run out!).

Thanks again to all of you who have called or sent well wishes. Cullen can’t wait to meet all of the members of his growing fan club.

One week down, a lifetime to go

Well, the first week is in the books and everything has been going well. First, a big thanks from Lisa and I for all of the well wishes, packages, cards, etc. We are very lucky to have such caring friends and family. A special thanks to Grandma Liz, who spent a few nights here this week and helped us a great deal.

Lisa and I are doing a good job of adjusting to the life of parents. So far, Cullen has been a pretty easy little guy to take care of….knock on wood….as he sleeps the majority of the day. I’ve been informed not to get to comfortable, as this will not last. J

Cullen is doing great. He passed his first checkup with flying colors. He is eating well and definitely processing his food nicely. J He was extremely excited yesterday, as his mother got him the DirecTV Mega March Madness package for his one week birthday. He was able to tune into all of the NCAA Tourney games, although he slept through the majority. Dad is impressed that he has seemed to grasp the concepts of good and evil at an early age, as he cooed when Wisconsin pulled away in the second half of their game and cried as Duke hit their game winning shot.

All in all, everything is going very well and it has been a good first week. We are excited about the road ahead as Cullen continues to grow.

Go Tell It On The Mountain

Cullen Robert Swanson arrived on March 13th at 12:45p.m. He weighs 6lbs 5oz, was 18.5” long, and is healthy. It was an unbelievable experience and everything went very smoothly. It all started out early in the morning and the day is a bit hazy, but here is the story.

Lisa got up to use the bathroom at 3:45am, no big deal, this has become a common occurrence the last nine months. I thought it was a bit weird when she got up again 10 minutes later. These concerns were confirmed when there was a shout from the bathroom….”I think my water broke”. Oh shit, its go time. We arrived at the hospital at 4:30a.m. and were ushered up to the labor and delivery floor. The nurse on duty confirmed that Lisa’s water had indeed broke and we would be having a baby today. ….deep breath, deep breath, we’re good.

At 8:30 Lisa’s OB, Dr. Kuffel, made her appearance. Lisa was extremely excited to see her, almost to the verge of tears ,as she walked in. Dr Kuffel is a rockstar and as Lisa has been seeing her a few times a month for the last nine months she brought a much needed level of comfort. Lisa’s at ease attitude quickly diminished as Dr. Kuffel informed her that she was dilated to 7cm and 90% effaced. She had been at 4cm an hour and a half earlier. The tension in the room rose as Lisa began to worry that she might miss her window for an epidural. The nurses were scurrying around bringing in bags of fluid as Lisa continued asking about the epidural. They reassured her that there would be no problems and the tension subsided.
Dr. Kuffel had to take off for her morning appointments and informed Lisa that she hoped to be here for the delivery, but had a very important meeting at 1pm and there was a chance she wouldn’t be here. Lisa responded that coincidentally she had an appointment with her today at 10am and she would try her best to get this guy out in her appointment time slot. This was met with uproarious laughter from the nurses and Dr. Kuffel.

Our anesthesialogist , Dr Carlyle showed up 20minutes later to administer the epidural. The epidural is a catheter located in the spine that blocks sensation from the stomach down. He immediately lightened the mood by commenting on what a great back Lisa had. Lisa quickly responded , “imagine Dr Carlyle on vacation, sitting around a pool, commenting on peoples backs, “ooh check out her back“, or “damn look at his back.” Once again uproarious laughter. She and the Dr. went back and forth the entire time, with Lisa sharing stories of friends epidurals and he sharing some of his stories. He finished up about 45 minutes later. Although, he did come visit us in the post-partum ward later on to see how we were doing and inform us what a great time he had with us.

Lisa’s 10am appointment came and went with no baby. She sat comfortably in the bed and I sat, somewhat comfortably, in a chair watching “3 Men and A Baby”. At 11am the nurses noticed that Lisa’s contractions were coming more frequently and began preparing the room for delivery….oh shit, deep breath, deep breath were good.

The time is now 11:15 and the nurses inform Lisa that she is now fully dilated and her cervix is gone. I immediately rush to the bathroom. They inform Lisa that it is time to start pushing. For the weak stomached ( I used to be in this camp) I will skip many of the details of the last hour and a half. Dr Kuffel arrived at 12ish and informed us that things were going well. She removed her watch at 12:30 and we knew it was go time. Cullen was delivered at 12:45. Dr. Kuffel, would later inform us that she was only five minutes late for her meeting, but had a real good excuse. We couldn’t have agreed more.