Movin' and Shakin'

So a lot of things are happening around my neck of the woods right now... Life is buzzin' for sure thanks to the arrival of Jane of course... and I am almost 30 and excited about that... and the three hundred other things that Jen and I have managed to walk from unscathed this past year rolled up with some laughs and consistent reminders of who we are and what we are capable of as people.

(If sentiments make you sick, then just skip the next paragraph as the following paragraph basically just talks about going to the gym and taking Jane to her first UFC fight)

So today was the first time I really saw my parents' jobs from a different angle, due to becoming a parent myself of course. They did a wonderful job with me, seriously... a good job - I can't think of any complaints I have on anything they did as parents except for holding back on some of their funniest stories because I was 7... Today I had my "first as a parent" somewhat heartfelt chat with my mom about just life (and all the madness of the past few months) and the year for her... especially since her mother/my grandmother passed away before Jane's birth... and I realized for the first time in 29 years that the conversation she just had with me was the best part of her day (as it was mine) and the #1 priority on her list is me... (yes Linda, my wonderful sister, you and I share that same spot) ;) I always "knew" that in the past but I never "understood" it til Jane...

But now I know how it feels to be on the other end of that... I have realized being back at work that if Jen sends me a text and says "Jane's bottom just blew out again and she shit on her nipples" that for that moment that's the best shit that has ever occurred in my life; it doesn't matter that it's about shit, it's that it's Jane and that's a helluva feeling... and my goodness does she love to shit ;)

With that, we are all doing well. Jane's been home for about 11 days and she is doing great and sleeping a bit better at night. She keeps us entertained when she is awake and she is developing just like every other baby... by as much as she wants and makes effort to talk (I wonder where that came from) - it looks like she will say her first word in the next few days or so; we will keep you and the Guinness book of World Records posted... Jen and I are hoping for "burrito" but will settle on anything that's understandable, or English, or Spanish since I can speak it like a 2ND grader... or pig Latin.

What if the first thing she said was burrito? Who knows... I'd probably be too hungry to notice... ;)

Ryan, Jen, and Jane.

Jane in the NICU - Still Smiling!

Here's a quick video of Jane doing what she does... listen to the nurses in the background... we love it!

"Tug"

“TUG”
So I started this blog in order to really get a handle on my thoughts and feeling about the process of growing into a father and being able to share them with those that know our family, and even some that don’t. The process of actually having a child has been a really powerful thing... It's fun and exciting and challenging and I love the “unknowns”... what will she look like, what will her voice sound like, and is she gonna put us in a home, or maybe attempt to take care of us while I’m relishing in being an old man that can’t control his temper let alone his bowels... ;)

So for the parents that read the above statement, I’m sure every one of you can relate with what it's like becoming a parent and yet, our experience is completely unnatural and completely different then a “normal” birth that most go through... but the fundamental aspect of what it feels like and means to be a parent is still the same. I just think that’s pretty cool and that it's something I feel a lot of people lose sight of as life starts getting in the way. Anywho enough rambling on that...

Jane had her first surgery on November 6th. The procedure that was done was called a Damus Kaye Stansel, or as we called it: ”Plumbing” They basically did some things to the heart to allow her to grow and eat and progress until the next surgery sometime next spring...

She did great, man she is tough... tougher than Jen and I that’s for sure! The recovery is going great, we had a little hiccup on Sunday that really wore on Jen and I, but Jane has bounced back heavily from that also (like she seems to do with everything). I guess due to the heart surgery, there was a little bit of blood in her brain that caused her to have some mild seizures where she would basically hold her breath and not stop holding her breath... The docs said that there is no worry of any long time effects so that’s good.

Jane is still everyone in the NICU’s favorite baby, she has quite a fan club from nurses and doctors... it doesn’t hurt that she smiles at everyone she makes eye contact with! She is recovering well and we should have her home again soon which will be awesome!

Also the NICU has been great, Jen managed to get into a little scuffle with a nurse that I think was Grateful Dead’s tour nurse because her skin looked like something that would hang between moccasins and leather purses, her hair looked like Dumbledore’s, and she smelled like she slept with the Marlboro man. Jen took care of it very professionally with a “Do you want to feed her or are you going to let me feed my child?!” It was very warranted on Jen’s part and any of us would have done the same... of course they waited to exchange words while I was washing my hands, but they gave us a new nurse so that was great.

Well all in all she is doing well, we appreciate the love and support and I will update everyone when she comes home!

PS – We call her “Tug” because every time we walk up she smiles and Jen said it “tugs” on her heart...

-The Mulligans.

Surgery 1 - Accomplished

So today Jane had her first surgery, and everything went as planned! This is short as we are exhausted, and enjoy the video of Jane at home in her elements!

-Ryan, Jen, and Jane

19 Days

Wow.

What a great/crazy/stressful/love filled/crazy/great/stressful 19 days...

So Jane is here thank goodness and she is absolutely adorable and yes, I am biased. This update might be a bit long since I am going to bring everyone up to speed with Lil Jane and all her doings...

So the birth was great, it was super interesting for me and definitely a once in a lifetime experience... For those of you new to the whole C-section experience, it's pretty wild and happens really really fast... When they took Jen to put the spinal in and prep her, they put me in the longest hospital hallway/corridor I've ever seen. I'm not sure what separates a hallway from a corridor, but if a corridor is a 100+foot hallway with one chair in the middle of it and only doors on each end then I was in a corridor. So I sat in this corridor for about 15 minutes or 3 days... I realized that my sense of pre-birth timing is way off, but either way the 4ft 6in nurse came and got me and actually asked, "Excuse me sir, are you the father?" Considering she put me in this hallway with no one else I was thrown back by the question but went with her anyway. The whole process of Jen being strapped to a cross and Jane being pulled out of her was a fast one, but odd... They really did have Jen on a cross-like table with her hands straight out to the sides and one bright light illuminating her belly area, or the workbench as I called it... So moral of this story: with the light illuminating the birth and Jen being strapped to a cross just proves the point that Jen birthed the Lord...

Thank goodness Lil Jane had some fluid in their lungs that made the doctors want to check her out further. All her pre/post birth vitals were perfect and if they would not have recommended a trip to the NICU to see if there were fluids in her lungs or not, we would have gone home with a baby that seemed perfectly normal... So they took her to the NICU to run some tests and called us down about 11pm that night to get Jane so we could take her back to the room... again thinking all was good. But when we got down there to get her she sat up and her face turned a bit dusky blue (I love blue but after seeing dusky blue not so much a fan) then the PA decided to keep her overnight and ordered a chest x-ray which led to an echocardiogram to see the happenings with her heart... The next morning this is what we found out:

Jane's heart (a list of what is wrong, not all of them need to be fixed as Jane built her heart to make up for a lot of the issues, I'll list the surgeries after the issues)

1. Tricuspid Atresia
2. Dextrocardia
3. Mod to non restrictive VSD
4. Transposition of Great Arteries
5. Right Aortic Arch
6. Left Juxtaposed Atrial Appendages
7. Hypoplatic RV
8. Small PDA, PFO, and Left Superior Vena Cava.

Surgeries...

1. - Bidirectinal Glenn Superior Vena Cava to Pulmonary Artery
(to be done between 3 and 6 months of age, 2 week recovery time)

2. - Fontan
(to be done at 3 years of age, 3 week recovery time.

Day to Day:

We are to just monitor Jane consistently and fatten her up, all the while we need to watch to see if her vitals dip or her color changes to wonderful dusky blue... but other than that we are getting the routine down and enjoying out time with her.

As for Jane, for those that have yet to meet her... she is adorable... extremely independent, stubborn as can be and extremely happy she smiles and laughs like crazy...

Mom and I are doing really well, it's been great to go through all this with Jen as she is unbelievable... we are both very future focused in this situation and just want our little girl to get better. Jen and I are maintaining the positivity that has gotten us where we are today, and we can definitely tell that Jane has it as well.

Thanks to everyone, I cannot even list the people that have helped, loved, and supported us through this. Eset (my work) has been phenomenal... the entire Grandparent Gang has been unbelievable as well - all 7 of them helping out in every way they can... Our friends have been unbelievable and I do need to give a special shout out to Karina for being so awesome during all this and really taking care of Jen and I.

Other than that I am back to weekly updates on the blog... I love doing it, and I love sharing Jane's life with everyone and thank you all again.

Talk to you next week.

:)

Jane Eve

Jane Eve

So for those that know me (which is probably the majority of you reading this blog): I love music. Music is one of the few things that the majority of people on this earth have in common. Sometimes music can just say it better, sometimes music can just show it better, and sometimes it can just help us take a step back for a minute and help us change our perspective… You are probably wondering what this has to do with Jane - well it’s important for me to translate my and Jen’s love of music to her, I mean music has been more a part of who Jen and I are than almost anything and it’s important for us to make sure Jane has music around her.

So, one thing our parents didn’t have in the delivery room was the ability to bring in a cassette tape player - or I’m sure I would have been born to Smokey Mountain Rain or Tennessee River, but I wasn’t. I was just born to silence and odd noises. I love that with technology where it is today we can bring an iPod into the delivery room and have our own personal soundtracks.

Below is a copy of the playlist that we will be playing for Jane’s arrival… Now I do have to say that not all of the songs are directly related to Jane only; they are a combination of songs that have changed my life, Jen’s life, and our lives together. So feel free to check out the list, and even check out the songs if you have never heard of them… there are some good ones on here! ☺

I’ve always said my music collection is slower than most… it’s evident below….
About 24 hours to go, and we are excited!
-Ryan

Jane’s Delivery Room Playlist
1. One Day Like This – Elbow
2. Thank You Too – My Morning Jacket
3. As – Stevie Wonder
4. Save Room – John Legend
5. Make You Feel My Love – Adele
6. And I Love Her – The Beatles
7. Weather to Fly – Elbow
8. Why was I Born? - Billie Holiday
9. First Day of My Life – Bright Eyes
10. The Bones of You – Elbow
11. Sometime Around Midnight – The Airborne Toxic Event
12. You Are the Best Thing – Ray Lamontagne
13. The Very Thought of You – Frank Sinatra
14. Extraordinary Machine – Fiona Apple
15. Mykonos – Fleet Foxes
16. She’s Got A Way - Billy Joel
17. You are My Face – Wilco
18. Hallelujah – Jeff Buckley
19. I Can Hold You In My Arms Tonight
20. The Blower’s Daughter – Damien Rice
21. Something You Got – Harry Connick, Jr.
22. Silver Lining – Rilo Kiley
23. Wonderwall – Ryan Adams
24. I’m Amazed - My Morning Jacket
25. Evergreen – Ryan Adams & The Cardinals
26. Run – Snow Patrol
27. Family Tree – TV on the Radio
28. What Light – Wilco

48 Hours...WOW!!

Now we are really close!(Phew) We are both getting excited of course, and all the family is starting to arrive which is great! Jen's mother made the trip from across the pond on Saturday and it's nice to have her in town for sure! Jen is ready for the baby to be out and a margarita (me too). So, Thursday at 4:30 is when Jane is expected to arrive and I will definitely be making sure that everyone is in the loop as soon as she shows up. I attached a picture taken a week ago of Jen in the final stretch...man she looks great!

I showed up to work yesterday, you know to plan my week and get things ready like I do every work week, and when I arrived at work and opened my Outlook calendar to see what I had going on, I realized that this work week is a bit different...On Thursday instead of the usual conference call and the gathering by the coffee maker, my calendar says that at 4:30 it will be Jane's arrival. Well as soon as I read that I did what ever other expecting father should do and closed my calendar...took a deep breath...and completely mentally checked out of work.

If you need me, Ill be the guy at my desk crouched in front of my computer screen reading news sites and looking over my shoulder for another warranted distraction..

-Ryan.