Camer's Entry into this World

Well, we now have time to sit down and share details about Cameron's entry into this crazy world.
Thursday morning we met the birthmother at the hospial, got checked in, went with her to labor and delivery, and then when they took her to the operating room, we went to the waiting room. An hour or so later, the doctor came in to get us to show us to where our baby boy had been taken, the NICU (Neo Natal Intensive Care Unit). As she takes us there, she explains to us that during the delivery, he chose to take a gulp of amniotic fluid and had fluid in his lungs, so they took him to the NICU as a precaution, thinking he might get out by the end of the day. Well, Thursday night rolled around and he was having some problems eating. He wasn't keeping enough formula down and digesting it well, so they decided to keep him overnight.
Friday rolled around and I was up at 6am wondering how he was doing. Since we did not get a hospital room at the hospital, we were at the hotel, so I called the NICU to check on him. That night they had decided to put in a feeding tube so they could get the formula to his stomach to make sure he was getting the nutrition he needed. They also had started an IV on him to make sure he didn't get dehydrated. We were in tears that morning! It's so hard to see your baby hooked up to all those machines and have a feeding tube going in through his nose. They were having to pull the mucos out of his stomach by inserting a tube down his throat and pulling it out with a syringe. Not an easy thing to watch!
As Friday afternoon/evening rolled around, he started to eat better with the bottle, but was not able to finish his bottles, so they would give him the rest with the feeding tube. Which leads us to Saturday (today).
Today he is taking more by bottle, but they are rotating his feedings by bottle and by tube, every other time. We are here each time for the bottle feedings, but not for the tube feedings since we have to let him lie in his bassenett for those feedings. He's able to keep all of his feedings down now and not spit up as much, if at all. they are slowly increasing his feeding amount as he's able to digest and not spit up. Needless to say, this has been rough on us, but it's good to see him making the progress that he is. We're hoping to be out of the hospital later this week.
The birthmother left the hospital today, so now it's just Jeff and I sharing time with our son. It was bittersweet to see her leave, but she left with a smile on her face. She is very comfortable with her decision.
We are now headed in to tell our sweet boy good night until morning time. Please keep your fingers crossed for a good night and continued growth for our little man. He's doing very well and is very healthy...he just needs to eat more! :) He will continue to stay in the NICU until he is discharged from the hosptial, so this is where we have to visit each time we come.
Thank you all for all your support during our adoption! We'll keep you updated as we have time and continue to post pictures for you to see.

Things I've learned about L.A. so far...

Thought I'd post a nice, light-hearted entry today...nothing related to the adoption or little Cameron. Simply some observations about our time in L.A. so far (which has been a blast):

1. Traffic -- it's not that people really drive any different here, than say, Kansas City or some other metro. It's simply that there's a TON more of them on the road. Dang, there's a lot of people here! And they are all of course in a hurry...at all times. And having about three to four more cars turn left after the arrow has changed to red, is not uncommon. Hey, who has time to wait? Gotta get to the beach!

2. Matt Damon has HUGE feet. -- No, we didn't bump into him at the local Del Taco. We saw his foot print on the Hollywood walk of fame. Those are some huge kicks, Matt.

3. How can a beach in CA be ugly? -- Even though I was blown away by the beach in Santa Monica, no locals seem to think that was the best place for me to see my first ocean. "Ooohh, you went there?" (With a disgusted look on their face) What, I didn't see any floating garage or anything. But I guess those waters aren't the cleanest. We'll take in Malibu next week I guess, so I can see what a real beach looks like.

4. Fast food -- OK, fast food options here are WAY better. In-and-Out Burger, Del Taco, California Pizza Kitchen, all kinds of cool asian and hawaiian joints, etc. Heck, even their Taco Bells have special menu items not available in Kansas! I'm talking a corn tortilla, with shredded pork, fresh cilantro, onions and a lime wedge; 2 for $2.79! Had 'em already, and I'm sold.

5. A clean car is a happy car, right? -- If people aren't at work, they seem to be washing their cars. Everywhere you turn, someone is washing a car. I've never seen so many people with shiny clean cars. But, I guess you have to look good out here at all times. Afterall, it is L.A.

Well, that's all for now. I'll keep posting my L.A. observations as they come.

See ya, folks...gotta go wash the Altima!

Jeff

Doing well

Cameron is doing well. We're kind of in a hurry to get to the hospital since we told the birthmother we'd be there at 8:00am this morning, but we wanted to get some pictures to all of you. We will have more time later this evening to give you full details of his entry into this world, which wasn't the smoothest, but we're all doing much better now. He does have a feeding tube because he didn't have the best sucking reflex when he was born, but that's what we're working on. Nothing serious! We'll hopefully be released from t he hospital Sunday or Monday, but we'll see how he eats.
Enjoy the pictures of our new bundle of joy!

Cameron's arrival

Cameron Nicholas was born this morning at 9:40 AM. He can into the world at 6 lbs, 15 oz. and 20 inches long. We're all doing well.

More to come tomorrow after all paperwork is done and adoption is official.

Jeff and Jill

Almost time to meet our son!

The excitement and anticiptaion is building!
By the time many of you read this, it will be Thursday morning and Jeff and I will be at the hospital anxiously awaiting the birth of our newborn son. We had dinner this evening with the birthmother and her son, and we had a great time. She was very excited about the upcoming adoption as were we.
We then went to the beach again and just sat and enjoyed our time before we become parents for the second time. We enjoyed a glass of wine on the beach and just enjoyed the fresh air and sound of the waves crashing into the shore with just the two of us. It will be the last time we can go to the beach for a few days.
We will be meeting the birthmother at the hospital at 6:30am West Coast Time. We will post information about the birth as soon as we get settled into our hospital room and get our computer up and running (assuming the hospital has WIFI). We can't wait to share everything with all of you! Please keep us in mind and wish for a healthy delivery!
Good Night for now! Off for some much needed rest.

Day in Hollywood

Well, today was spent in Hollywood. Jeff and I drove down to Hollywood Blvd. to experience it. And quite an experience it was! There are so many people here in California! We had fun walking along the star walk and seeing the Chinese Theater area with all the stars hand and foot prints. We then had lunch at Pink's Hot Dog Stand, but failed to see any celebrities there today. After lunch, we headed back to Hollywood Blvd. to get a private tour of the Jimmy Kimmel Live set. Jeff met a K-State alum who works on the set and she got us on the list to get in. We got to see the set of the show, as well as the green room, production room, etc. We couldn't take any pictures inside the studio, but we did get one of the outside.

We are now back in our hotel room getting ready for dinner with Jayna and her son before meeting her at the hospital at 6:30 in the morning! We're very excited to meet our new addition in the morning. We wont' be posting any pictures of our new arrival until papers are signed, which should be some time on Friday morning, but we will update to let you know that he has been born and is doing well.

Thanks for all your support! We've had a great time so far here in California, and plan to have more fun once we're out of the hospital on Saturday or Sunday!

Jeff's first walk in the ocean was amazing. It was so fun to watch him! He was absolutely mesmerized. All he kept saying was, "Wow. This is amazing." I'm so glad I was there to witness his first look and steps in the ocean!

Sunset on the beach in Santa Monica

That's how I closed out my first day in California...and it was incredible. I know, I know. It's just the ocean. Big deal. Well, I'll be 36 in a few weeks and I'd, until today, never seen an ocean.

Jill is posting pics in a few minutes, but I just wanted to share what an amazing experience it was. I stood there for the longest time, just taking it all in. The sound of the waves crashing...the smell of water...the sand between my toes. Very cool. A fantastic experience. And I couldn't have had a better person to be there with. Thanks, Jill, for sharing in that moment with me!

I'll see you all at the beach!

Jeff

We're Here!

Well, I'll have to make this short. We just checked into the hotel and Jeff already has his board shorts on ready to go to the beach! He's very excited since he's 35 years old (for a few more days) and has never seen an ocean! There will be pictures of his first step in the ocean soon!
Anyway...we stayed in Vegas last night and had a great time. We both agree that it's not the place for us since we aren't gamblers, but we had a great time experiencing it. We walked around the strip for the afternoon and did some gambling at Ceasars Palace before eating dinner at the Mesa Grill (Bobby Flay's restaurant). It was a wonderful dinner! We then watched the fountains at the Belliago and the volcano at the Mirage before walking along the strip more and then heading to bed. Yes, we slept in the city that never sleeps! We got up this morning and walked around some more before heading off to California.

We left late this morning to come to California and just got settled into our hotel for the next 2 nights before heading to the hospital. The drive into California was crazy! The traffic here is NUTS! But we made it safely, which is the important part. On our way here, we stopped for lunch in Yermo, California at Peggy Sue's Diner on Route 66. It is a "famous" diner opened by Peggy Sue in 1954 and has been featured on Food Network. The walls are adorned with pictures of celebrities that have eaten there. It was good fun and a neat place to experience.

We then got into California and went to the hospital to meet with the social worker and iron things out for Thursday morning. We think we know what we're supposed to do when we get there at 6:30am on Thursday! :)

We then found a hotel and are getting ready to hit the beach, which is only about 14 miles from us. I've included some pictures of our adventures in Vegas. And remember...what happened in Vegas, stays in Vegas!!!

3 States in 12 hours

What a long day it's been! We left Manhattan at 7:00am sharp and we've made it to Green River, Utah this evening. (That's 836 miles, in case anyone's keeping track) It's quite a town, let me tell you! It's the last stop in the desert oasis before you hit Las Vegas.

We had a beautiful drive today through the entire state of Colorado. We have added some pictures for your enjoyment of the scenery we saw today. We had quite the experience driving through Colorado today. A few of the things that we've already experienced include (but are not limited to):

1. The "check engine soon" light came on right as we got into Denver. Jeff very calmly told me this and asked me to get out the owner's manual. I did as asked and read about this light coming on. It ended up not being much. It just told us to check the gas cap and that the emissions were not right (probably due to the higher altitude). However, as we pulled into Utah this evening, the light still had not gone off. We'll see what happens in the morning.

2. As I was driving through the mountains, which I might add is no easy task to begin with, it starts to rain a bit. As we continue the rain turns into a downpour. Now, I might let you know that we were in the middle of the mountains and apparently these roads are not made for rain. They were practically flooding! I couldn't see where I was going and all the huge trucks were throwing rain on the windshield as well as the downpour. However, it was short lived and we made it through that.

3. Love the speed limit of 75mph! This actually means that you can go 80-85mph in my book! We made great time, traveling 100 more miles than planned today. Just that much closer to Vegas!

Well, we can't think of anything else at the moment, so we'll end here for the night. Very tired! We need to get rested up for our night in Vegas tomorrow!

Thank you again for all the well wishes as we travel. We look forward to Friday, when papers are signed and we can share the good news and pictures with all of you!

Good Night for now!

The California Road Trip Soundtrack

The CA roadtrip mix is complete...pretty predictable.

California Girls - Beach Boys

Walk Don't Run - The Ventures

California Dreamin - Mamas & The Papas

Goin to California - Led Zep

Hotel California - Eagles

California Sun - Ramones

California - Phantom Planet

California Love - 2Pac

Santa Monica - Everclear

Californication - RHCP

It Was A Good Day - Ice Cube

Come to California - Matthew Sweet

California - Lenny Kravitz

Regulate - Warren G

I Remember California - REM

The Golden State - John Doe

Beverly Hills - Weezer

Let Me Ride - Dr. Dre

California Stars - WILCO

Los Angeles - Counting Crows

The Beach is Free - Billy Bragg

There were MANY more, and much deeper CA-related cuts that could have been on here...but none to could be so weird that Jill would look at me funny, and then roll her eyes, which is what normally happens when I choose songs to "out there".

Jeff

Bags are Packed

Well, suitcases are packed and sitting in our room at the moment, car seat is installed, and we're ready to go! We have one day left in Kansas before we hit the road. We are very excited to travel west, but are having a horrible time dealing with the fact that we have to leave Cooper for an extended amount of time. That will be very hard for both of us. I'm sure once we get on the road and make it to Las Vegas, we'll have a great time. We plan to leave early Sunday morning and drive as far as we can hoping to make it to Grand Junction, Colorado. We'll stay there Sunday night, get up Monday morning and drive into Las Vegas, Nevada. Neither of us have ever been there, so we'll spend 2 nights in Vegas before driving into Los Angeles Wednesday morning. Our plan is to call the birthmother when we get to LA and take her for dinner before meeting her at the hospital Thursday morning. She has an authentic mexican restaurant picked out for us to enjoy Wednesday evening. We have to eat before 6:30pm, as her doctor told her not to eat after this time due to the c-section the next morning.
We also spoke with the attorney in California today and it sounds like all is in order for us to go. The birthmother said she wants to get paperwork done as soon as possible, so the attorney is coming to the hospital Friday morning to see if she's ready to sign. If so, it will be taken care of and we can begin the process Friday afternoon instead of waiting until Monday to file it in the state of California. This will make the whole process that much quicker!
We will continue to keep up the blog with pictures throughout our journey west! We want to thank everyone for their support throughout this process!

Baby Room Pictures

The baby room is pretty much complete, except for a few decorations and the name! We're planning on hanging letters to spell the babies name above the crib, but the name is yet to be determined. We've had fun putting the room together since we actually had time to prepare for this birth.
We're planning to leave for California on July 25th and arrive on July 27th. We're stopping in Las Vegas on the way out since neither of us have been there before and we won't have Cooper with us. Cooper will be staying in Manhattan with the grandparents, aunts, and uncles. We are very thankful that we have family in town that can help us out!
Also forgot to share that the c-section has officially been scheduled: July 29th at 7:30am! Hopefully this won't change again. When she went to the hospital to register, they had her written down for the 29th, not the 28th like originally planned. Oh well! That just gives us an extra day to be there before the birth.
Enjoy the pictures!

Birthmother is on her way home

We had a great time the past 4 days getting to know the birthmother and her son. As I said earlier, the visit went great. She got to meet our whole family on both sides last night when we had everyone over for dinner. She was very tired at that point, but she enjoyed meeting everyone. She went upstairs to the baby room and saw that as well. Her son put the stuffed animals he had given us in the crib and she sat in the rocking chair where we will rock him each night. She loved the room and was glad she got to see it.
This morning she went to Bluestem with us to have breakfast and then we headed to the park to let the boy get rid of some energy before heading to the KC airport. We got to the airport, had lunch with her, then said our good-byes at the gate. She thanked us for letting her come and said she had a great time! We told her we'd see her in about 2 1/2 weeks out west! We're planning on having dinner the night before the babies delivery.
Needless to say, we had a great visit with her and are very fortunate that we were able to meet her and see her before the birth. We are very anxious for our son's arrival on July 29th...yes, that's right, changed again! :)
I've posted some pictures of her visit. Enjoy!

Visit is going great!

Cooper watching the plane coming in when it landed


Just wanted to let everyone know that we picked up the birthmother and her son at the KC airport last night around 11pm. Her son and Cooper have been best buds since they met and are getting along amazingly! She is a wonderful woman as well. We're getting a long great and having a good time. Today we had breakfast at the hotel in KC and then went to the Legends and took them to Cabela's. They had never seen a store like this. They loved the "aquarium" in Cabelas with all the native Kansas fish. We fed the trout at the store and looked at all the animals before heading over to T-Rex for lunch. Her son loves dinosaurs just like Cooper, so he had a blast at the restaurant. After lunch, we drove to Topeka and went to the zoo. They loved that as well and thought the zoo was great. We played at the park for a while and then headed back to Manhattan. We just got into Manhattan at 6pm and dropped them off at their hotel before coming home to unpack our luggage. We're going to pick them up in about 20 minutes to go for dinner somewhere.
This visit is making us feel more and more comfortable and sure about things. She hasn't stopped talking about the adoption and how she has made the right decision for her and the child. She's very anxious for us to come to California and be there for the birth. Her son gave us some stuffed animals for the baby that he wants to put in the babies crib. It was very sweet!
We'll continue to keep you updated on the visit and let you know how the rest of it goes! Thanks again for all your support!

Awaiting her arrival

We're here at the kc hotel getting ready to head to the airport to pick her and her son up. We are very excited and a bit nervous to see her. We're very lucky to have the opportunity to meet her before the birth. We'll keep you posted on our weekend!

Birthmother Visit

We just spoke with the birthmother this morning and we have booked her and her son's flight to Manhattan! Next Wednesday, July 7th, she and her son will fly in to Kansas City. We will pick them up and spend the night in KC before coming to Manhattan on Thursday, July 8th. Our families and siblings will all get the chance to meet her, which they are all excited about. Her son is six years old, so Cooper should have fun playing with him. We'll keep you posted on how the visit goes!

California, we're comin' a bit earlier!

The birthmother's c-section date just got moved up three days to Wednesday, July 28th. So this means we'll be heading to CA a bit earlier than planned. No biggie, right? Wait...that means we have a newborn three days earlier -- yikes!