Week One- pin up the growth chart!

And how fast it flew...
I took one week off work to attend to my ladies, but it felt like a weekend. Ruthie quickly showed that her consumptive and digestive tendencies came from the Chan side of the family, as she has a voracious appetite (in her mother's words, "You are an aggressive little sucker!"). Friday's OB appointment was switched to a Day Six mother-baby visit, and at weigh in, Ruthie had already surpassed her birth weight by two ounces. The nurse declared that babies aren't generally expected to regain their birth weight and start making forward progress for two weeks. Well it's a good thing that Ruthie doesn't have any conventional wisdom, because she's sure to defy it! Yes, like all proud papas, I was prepared for my offspring to be above average, but even I am amazed at her intelligence, good looks, and general modesty.

Yes, I also took a bit of time to work on the Karmann Eclectric, and even took it to one show as a work-in-process. As you can see, Ruthie is a big fan and can't wait to take her first ride.

Ruthie's keeping a fairly regular schedule, with a 2 1/2 hour feeding rotation. It's tough on Ruby, but at least she gets to join in the afternoon naps. I'm just trying to keep my head off the table during staff meetings......

Sunday Visitation

I freshened up in time for Church on Sunday, and even swooped by Walgreens to print out a few of Ruthie's more photogenic moments. Of course, everyone was heartened by the news, and I invited our fellow choir members to stop by the hospital or house anytime.


But first, it was time for Grandma and Grandpa Chan to get some quality time. (Try to ignore that image of Israel's indiscriminate bombing of Beruit in the background, Ruthie is apolitical thus far....)

We also got a visit from Stella Chan (no relation), the owner of Chopsticks Chinese restaurant here in Vancouver. Stella and her family became fast friends here, and helped Ruby find the best local Cantonese resources.

So, I mentioned that we invited folks from the church? Well, after a long afternoon of visitation, Our Lady of Grunge decided that it was just about time for some ablutions, and preparations commenced for her first postpartum bath. Naturally I was called on to assist, and well, suffice it to say, that in only my caregiving uniform, some pants had to be found fast when the next visitors came a knocking.
"Guitar Dave" Schenck heard the fumbling belt buckle, and cracked- "Gees Man, you're supposed to wait at least until you get 'er home!" Thus is the lighthearted nature found in your average Catholic choral ensemble. If you haven't attended church lately, just think of what you've been missing!

So, we jumped back into social mode, and had a great time with Dave's wife Gloria, our star soprano, Joan and Scott Rustay, our leader and sound man, respectively.

Saturday Night Fever

Or rather, a lack thereof.
Ruby had spiked a temp and had high blood pressure during delivery, so the nursing staff was concerned about the possibility of infection, and this caused some concern when little Ruthie's temp dropped come Saturday evening. (I hope that the nurse who scolded me for turning the incubator back on during that afternoon takes note!)
So, we made a visit to the neonatal intensive care unit. This newly-renovated facility really was a thing to behold. Instead of a sanitized laboratory with tiny infants spread about in their oversized petri dishes, this special nursery had private rooms for each infant, where the exhausted parents could stay 24 hours, complete with a sleeping couch and a dedicated, fully-stocked NICU parents' lounge with fast internet access. But, as nice as all that sounds, we were relieved when some time in the tanning bed and a couple of clear blood tests was all that was required to get us back into the general population...

A sleepy Saturday afternoon..

Ruby, Ruthie, and yes, even Yours Truly were all rather exhausted by our overnight exertions, so we snoozed away the Saturday of her birth.

Meet Ruthie Mei Kei Donnaway!

Ruby soldiered on through a good sixteen hours, and was finally delivered from this trial at 10:07 AM on Saturday, July 22, 2006. Yes, that was the exact due date.
Ruthie was yelling practically before she hit the table, but quieted down immediately upon being placed on mom's belly, and she showed her gratitude by depositing a healthy load.
After a little more cleanup, here is Miss Ruthie, not ten minutes old..

Will it ever happen?

I've been having a grand time with this pregnancy, but for some reason, Ruby would rather be through with it, and has been hoping for a somewhat early arrival. I've bet on late, snce I was two weeks tardy, but wouldn't mind if Ruthie decided to arrive on my birthday, July 19th, which is only three days before the due date. SO, imagine my excitement at two am on the 19th when Ruby declares that she's feeling contractions. By four, I was ready to crank the car, but the squeezing subsided, and by six I got the all-clear to go to work.. Gee, thanks!

So, another Friday at the obstetrician's, and his impatience with the process was also apparent, as he declared insufficient progress was being made, and scheduled an induction for the following Friday, not even a week past her due date. We planned our protest, but adopted a wait-and-see attitude.

Well we didn't have to wait long. Some cramping began @ 5 pm Friday, and The Last Supper was never completed...

We made it to the hospital @ 8pm, and were oficially admitted at 8:40 pm on Friday, July 21, 2006. Southwest Washington Medical Center is a great facility, with private suites where labor, delivery, and postpartum care all stay in the same room, and baby is NEVER removed from the room unless special care is required. The room also had a whirlpool tub, which was greatly appreciated by mom.

A brief detour..

So, in every major production, there are bound to be unexpected problems. Ours was not entirely unexpected. You see, I mentioned the car got a clean bill of health. Why did the car need a clean bill of health? Well, Ruby's 1992 Civic is a well-used vehicle. It's racked up somewhere around 250,000 miles and bears several scars, the most notable of which is a deep furrow across the roofline where the car bounced against an overlying beam during it's cross-country trip from Georgia to Washington in a moving van.. The settlement from that one made it all worthwhile, and rather than fixing the car, Ruby decided that the furrow only added character. "Bee Jai (Little Boy) is getting to be an old man now, and don't most old men have wrinkley foreheads?" Well, obviously his wrinkled brow was not the problem, but his tarry insides were of some concern. Bee Jai had suffered low oil several times, and then blew a radiator hose on I-5 last month on our way to a conference of mine, a sign of significant overheating. I had a bottle of emergency water and some repair tape, so we made it to the next exit, where a blast from the past- a sho' nuff Service Station was sitting in the absolute middle of nowhere, complete with a well-stocked wall of radiator hoses. I fussed at Firestone for not replacing the original hoses when they replaced the water pump less than 5000 miles ago, and asked them to check the oil pressure, since I had been getting an intermittent light ever since the overheat. Their word was that the pressure was good, we just had a failing sender, so drive on home. I didn't completely trust that diagnosis, so added an extra quart to provide some splash lubrication until the sender came in. Sure enough, Ruby drove to work the next morning, and on the way home, not ten miles post-Firestone, the engine threw a scrap metal fit, and though it still runs, it sounds about like a Cummins turbodiesel that swallowed a coffee can full of mixed nuts and bolts... Pretty impressive for a 1.5 liter Honda, eh? Well, we went through 24 hours of soul-searching and used car reviews, and decided to just repower the Civic rather than getting into anything else. I found an excellent engine at Foster Auto Parts (200+ psi compression on all four), and a highly-recommended mechanic to put it in. To avoid a pricey tow, I went to Craigslist and found an RV'er who was parting with his Blue Ox towbar that used to drag a Civic "dinghy" around the country. This towbar is the beefiest made, and paid for itself on the first tow. I can also buy attachments to tow the Ghias, which will be a bit nicer and more reliable for the Karmann Eclectric than a standard cheapo VW towbar...

So, Bee Jai is far away getting a heart transplant, and where does that leave us? Without a vehicle that can seat more than two persons, a baby due any day, and the in-laws arriving on Friday. I started shopping rentals, but one of Ruby's fellow veterinarians intervened, and insisted that we use his Buick. It's a '94, but with the tuck-and-roll velour bench seating, square chrome air vents, wide rectangular analog speedometer, and cushy ride (not unlike a soggy diaper), this grandpamobile was just the ticket to pick up my father in law. His reaction was "Wow, such good shape for a twenty year old car...".
So, now we're cruising in style while waiting for the baby eclectic...

two weeks and counting..

Well, not much news, things have been thankfully uneventful for Ruby and Ruthie lately. More update entries are on the way as we get photos from her baby showers, etc., but now we're mainly in countdown mode. Everything is right on track for a delivery @ July 22, in-laws are en-route, all supplies are in place, even the car has received a bill of health.
-Jay