K-Dog's Moving Experience

This is K-dog's movement face. This was at our dining out experience.

Dining Out

Dining out will never be the same...
Tonight was the 2nd dining out we did with Keltan. The first was at PJoes with Uncle Craig and Uncle Sgt Curt this past weekend. There, he slept the entire time. Tonight, a different story.
We went to the Yellow Rose Cafe here in town (which, by the way, is HIGHLY recommended). Keltan started off the evening in his car seat, just looking around, having a blast. Wouldn't you know, as soon as our food arrived, he wanted some eats. So, Inga took him, I made him a bottle, and we all commenced to eating our respective meals. After a minute or so, what else would he do but let loose with an odiferous movement of his bowelic materials. The odor overwhelmed Inga's meal (but fortunately did not come in conflict or contact with my chicken fried steak sandwich). At about that time our waitress was at our table. As she turned to leave, Keltan ripped a good sounding motorboat toot that would make many men proud! It was so loud, I was wondering if maybe, perhaps, Inga or the waitress had cut loose, but it was my boy! You know, after that movement, he had such a peaceful look on his face. Inga took him to the Jeep and changed him (no changing table in the restaurant).
Dining Out will never be the same...

I miss my baby! It seems like 2 days at home on the weekend is never enough! When I have to go in on Monday mornings and tell him good-bye, it stinks (no, not the diaper - the situation). But, it is sure great to return home to him and my baby-momma!

Yesterday, Sarah, Katie, and Zach (cousins) stopped by while en route to Shreveport from Zach's basketball tourney in Fort Worth. (Congrats on almost making it Zach! You'll get the midgets next time!). And, yes, Joan, I'm afraid Keltan I cuter than even your little giant Zach was as a baby!

With Uncle Craig gone, last night I actually got to hold K-dog! I guess I have to be careful what I say - I told Craig I wanted Keltan to know his uncle and he took that literally! Heh heh. Looks like he gets to be here 2 weekends in a row - he, Kim, and J-bird are coming down Friday, crossing paths with Inga's parents, who will be here Wednesday - Friday. Busy time, but good to have family around!

Here is the link to my Picasa web albums:

http://picasaweb.google.com/jeffrey.n.dickson



One more thing:

Some may know of Luke Chisholm. He is the infant son of the pastor at our church. He was born with heart/lung defects, and has been in NICU since birth (about 10 weeks). Check out his blogsite, which is to the side on this page (praying for Luke). I urge you all to pray for this baby. He is at an important crossroads right now. Depending on the next 2 weeks' developments, he may have to have a trach and a feeding tube put in. None of us want that, of course. We want Luke to come home with no tubes or wires attached, and we're praying for that. Please remember him in your prayers, and check out the website for him.





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Link to Picasa albums

http://picasaweb.google.com/m/albumList?uname=jeffrey.n.dickson&start=0&fgl=true&pli=1
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Uncle Craig is spoiling Keltan!

Uncle Craig arrived Friday night, via our tax dollars, AKA, Air National Guard - he rode down with Curt, who is at his monthly "playing soldier" meeting. This has really cut into my "daddy time" with Keltan. The man just can't seem to leave him alone! The good thing is, I haven't had to change too many diapers with him around! :-) He bought a wi-fi sd card for my camera, which automatically uploads photos to Picasa Web Albums. So, if you care to see the latest and greatest photos immediately, go to Picasa.com and find my album. I don't know the link, but if you would like to be added to receive alerts for the updates, let me know and I will add you - either text message alerts or email alerts - your choice!

Uncle Sgt Curt came out after his GI Joe time today. We all went to eat at PJoe's Cajun here in Terrell - Curt approved! Now, as you can see in the picture, Keltan is grinning while Uncle Sgt Curt is holding him. Uncle Craig pinched him or something and made him start crying. As soon as Uncle Sgt Curt got him, he hushed and started grinning. Either he is a funny looking man, or....hmm, Yeah, I think that is it. Anyway, Uncle Sgt Curt seemed to approve of the little man.
This doesn't have much to do with Keltan, but....

If you have never burned bamboo, I recommend doing so! But, you may want to be prepared for the judge to show up wondering what the gunfire is all about. Craig and I burned some bamboo I cut down in my yard, and as each little segment gets hot, it explodes and makes an incredible sound like a .22. AWESOME! I highly recommend it!

Back to Keltan...

He had his 2 week check up on Thursday. He got a clean bill of health! We are very thankful and count ourselves as very blessed. Inga is continuing to heal on schedule - again YAY! Keltan was up to 7# 9oz at his Thursday weigh-in, putting him 5 ounces over his birth weight.

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Uncle Craig rode down with Curt this weekend.
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Keltan after a bath and Daddy tusseling his head

Here is a link to Keltan's 2 week old pictures in black/white and sepia. Be patient - the website takes a while to load up. I will be posting a link to the color photos shortly. We will be getting a CD with all these photos on it, and I will upload several to the CVS website. I think you may also be able to buy prints from the link. ENJOY!!!!! (we did)

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=9r0h5wvv.a5798xob&x=0&y=-gnw65v&localeid=en_US&cm_mmc=site_email-_-site_share-_-core-_-view_photos_button

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This evening (Tuesday) I gave Keltan a bottle of formula (he eats like crazy!). This is the aftermath - an awesome baby content on his daddy's lap. THIS is what life is all about and just another really good reason to want to come home at night (like I needed yet another reason.)
Keltan is such an awesome baby! I took him over to the neighbor's house last night to show him off and made the women ooh and aah over him. The fellas over there tried to be all "macho" and keep their distance, but I know they were dying to hold him - who wouldn't!?!?!
Yep - his daddy is crazy proud of him, and I know his grand daddy would have been, too.
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It has been an incredible 13 days! Keltan has been a huge blessing in our lives. The little monkey is growing now, probably back to his birth weight of 7#4 oz - we should find out tomorrow at his 2 week well-baby checkup. With his jaundice being pretty much cleared up, he is awake and active much more than previously, which is really fun to watch. He is very active; looking around all wide-eyed, picking his head up and moving it around (looking like a snapping turtle when he is on his tummy), and moving his little bird legs and monkey arms like crazy.

Tuesday, we had the photographers come out and do a little photography session with Keltan, Mommy, and Daddy. Those photos should make an appearance in the next couple weeks - keep your eyes peeled! Aside from pictures on Tuesday, as Inga was getting him dressed for his session, his umbilical cord fell off! Now we can see where the Indian shot him.

Since he no longer has an umbilical cord hanging around, we gave him his first bathtub bath tonight. He was not a happy little feller about that at all! But, we got it done, and he is much fresher now :)

Grandma was down and spent some good time with Keltan. I'm not sure, but I think she may be a tad bit fond of him. ;-)

Inga is recovering very well. She is sure enjoying being home with the little floppy monkey. Judging from how hard it was for me to leave and go to work, I am not sure how much she is going to like doing that.

Keep us all in your prayers.

WOOHOO! FREE AT LAST!

Oh yeah! Jaundice levels came back at 11.8, which is definitely on the decline (from 19). Doctor said we don't have to struggle with Keltan's nemesis the light bed! Not he gets to sleep on his little mattress in his jammies. That makes Keltan a very happy little man! Everything else with him still looks good, and his 2 week well-baby check up is on Friday.

Ok - time for some bragging now.

He has been accepted to LSU as a star linebacker. No, not yet - that will be a couple more years. But, he is doing really good about holding his head up in "tummy time." The pediatrician was somewhat amazed, but me ? Shoot, I expected that. This is MY boy we're talking about here! And, last night, he rolled over. Yep, that's right - 9 days old and went from his tummy to his back all by his lonesome. THAT'S MY BOY! Ok - he had a little help with the rolling. I was leaning on the bed and Grandma was sitting on it, so it was sloping a bit to that side, but hey - a rollover is a rollover, right?

The little guy is a lot of fun. He makes some of the funniest facial expressions, and loves to watch stuff in the room - lights, fans, dogs, daddy.... What a blast we're having with him!

Oh, and he is up to 6 pounds 11 ounces. He is on his way to growing up - bummer. I kinda like him little like this.

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It took a while tonight, but my patience finally won over his reluctance to fall asleep on his lightbox. The poor little fella hates this thing so much. We are praying that the test results will come back tomorrow with news that he can quit using this. He is looking so much better now - his skin is a healthy color and he is not as lethargic.
What an awesome kid!

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1 WEEK OLD!!!

Keltan turned 1 week at 18:11:39! We had a huge celebration. Yes, indeed we did! He slept on my lap as I also slept and Inga looked up something on the internet. Party animals! I talked to Inga about renting a bounce house, but we couldn't come to agreement on that or her suggestion of a big ball pool. So, we slept.

Keltan continues to fight with Jaundice. He has been sleeping (haha) on a billilight, and not digging it. Inga and Aunt Greta took him to the pediatrician today, and his levels had fallen from 19 to 14.8, so we are making progress! His skin does look better.

Aunt Glo, Uncle Ed, Aunt Doris, and Sharla (Sha-Sha) came over yesterday. You know, if I had known that, in order to have Aunt Glo and Aunt Doris do my dishes, all I had to do was have a baby, I might have done that a few years ago! Uncle Ed had cooked some chicken, Aunt Glo brought purple hull peas (mmmmmmm), made cornbread and tater salad, and Aunt Doris bought a cake from the freezer section at Wal-Mart (coincidently, it is the same section that Aunt Glo purchases her pie crusts). We had dinner and passed the baby around - quite the fun little gathering! Aunt Glo brought a quilt that she finished for Keltan. Turns out, Mom started it after Inga and I were engaged in anticipation of having a grandchild. She knew she couldn't finish it, so she had Aunt Glo keep it and finish it for us. It has become the morning-in-the-recliner blanket. It is nice to have something for him that my mom made.

Aunt Greta came down to help Inga today. Momma was able to get a little bit of sleep as a result. YAY! Meanwhile, I got to spend lunch with my son - I was working in Terrell today (a rare treat). I ate lunch at home and spent time with Keltan and Inga. Again, YAY!

And another YAY! Grandma is coming down Sunday evening. This will be a big help because Keltan has another pediatrician appointment at 8:20 Monday morning, and Inga has a neurologist appointment at 10:45. We had been trying to figure out how this was going to be accomplished. Plus, we have been wanting Karen to be able to spend some time with Kelt.

Alright, that is enough idle chat I guess. Keep us all in your prayers.

Oh, and to right a wrong - Aunt Doris hand-made the cake. No boxed mix even! And supposedly Aunt Glo does not use frozen pie crusts - I'm watching to catch her slip up and get busted. :-)

5 Days Old!

Keltan is 5 days old. 5 days of the most fulfilling days of my life to this point. Keltan is truly a blessing for Inga and me.
We took him again to the pediatrician today. They are watching his Billirubin count, and today it had gone from a 10 to a 19 from Monday. 20 is the serious level. We have the little BilliBed - a light box they lay on that does whatever these lights do. He needs to stay in it as much as possible, which is kind of hard when Mommy and Daddy want to hold him all the time!
Tomorrow (Thursday) I return to work. I am dreading that. Tonight I took Raleigh and Asher for a 20 minute walk, and just being away that short amount of time was bad - I am not looking forward to 10 hours!
Greta bought us an audio/video monitor to watch him while he is in the crib. The portable viewing unit has an output on it, and last night I plugged it into the 25" TV in our room. That was pretty fun! We watched him squirm and wiggle until we finally fell asleep. How in the world did our parents raise us without the aid of technology?
I got a comical voice mail from Brandon (my cousin) last night. He and I play an old board game called Stock Market. We have developed a way to play this over the phone (we have to trust each other a lot!). He left a message wondering where his Stock Market partner went. Well, Brandon, that partner is busy trying to catch 1 1/2 hour naps! Check back in, oh, 2 years?
We are digging this parenthood thing (at least until the teen years). Can't believe Joan didn't try to talk me into it earlier! (hehe)
Keep his jaundice situation in your prayers, and if you can sneak Inga and me in there as well, we would appreciate it.

Living the Dream...

We brought Keltan home Sunday afternoon. It was much later than I desired - I wanted to leave by 11:00, Inga was apprehensive to leave, and the hospital staff was in no hurry for us to leave. Finally, at 3, we got out of there! It was time to begin our life at home with our new blessing.

For months, I have dreamed of the day I could lay in my own bed, in my own house, with my dear wife, and my own son on my chest. I did that Sunday evening. As soon as we got home, I took Keltan to the bedroom, laid on the bed with Inga, and put him on my chest. My words were "I'm living the dream right now."

This is a crazy emotional time for us. Dad looked forward to his grandson, and I looked forward to my son having a crazy granddaddy. He isn't here now, and that makes me incredibly sad. Yet, through all the sadness, there is extreme joy and blessings. My son is healthy, my wife is healthy, and we have a very supportive family. And Dad left a legacy...

I think every man in the world wants to leave a legacy to his children. The question is - what kind of legacy will we leave? In a church bulletin recently, there was a quotation about what we leave our children, and the best thing we can leave is a good name. Dad left us that good name, and now my son can carry on that name with no shame. He can proudly say to people that knew Dad "My name is Stanley Keltan Blaine Dickson, grandson of Stanley Elbert Dickson" and never have to hang his head or want to hide. Thank you, Dad, for that legacy for Keltan. It is truly the best gift any grandparent can give.

Dad also left another legacy, perhaps without realizing what he was doing at the time. Inga and I were so deeply in debt that it was affecting our marriage. He introduced us to the The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey, and our world changed. We can now say we have changed our family tree. We paid off our debts and put our marriage back on track. Now we have a beautiful result. God truly does reward those that follow His will. We can now pass this way of living down to Keltan, and hopefully one day he will pass it down to his children. May he nor any of his descendants be plagued by the curse of crushing debt! Again, thank you Dad.

Inga and I are so blessed. We thank Jesus for our beautiful boy, and we pray that we will be good parents to him, and teach him to continue the legacy of Stanley Dickson.

We're just living the dream, baby!

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Keltan's going home!

And he is 1 day old...

So, at 6:11 PM Central time, Stanley Keltan was officially 1 day old! He has been in very good health, but is having difficulty with some choking. The nurses took him to the nursery where they cleared his lungs with some tubes, and we hope this will help him. Tonight, we will have him stay in the nursery so they can watch him in case he chokes in his sleep. The thought of this happening in our room while we are asleep has especially Momma Bear very nervous.

The audiologist came by today and ran the hearing tests on him - he scored perfect (of course!).

He is still the most beautiful baby ever born!

Keep him in your prayers that he will grow to be a very healthy little fella!

I have added a lot of photos of Keltan to the slideshow on the left, with more coming, I am sure.

Aunt Kim and Keltan

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Jessica and her new cuz

A proud grandpa

Incredible!

Yesterday was the most incredible day of my life! That was the MOST incredble experience anyone could ever imagine - watching little Keltan make his grand entrance into this world! At first, my heart stopped beating when I saw the little limp gray body - I did not realize that newborns were so un-pink when born! But, when Dr T said it was a healthy baby boy, my heart once again started beating. I was terrified that the little fella had been born dead or something what with the lack of color, but he was and is all fine and dandy!
He did get his grand-daddy's lungs. His "little" cries completed dominated the delivery room. Inga could not hear the good doctor as he was trying to give her final instructions, so we had to repeat everything to her.
We are in the recovery room now, and Keltan is doing wonderful! He is a very content little boy at this time (hope that lasts). Mostly, he just wants to sleep and cheer for the OSU Cowboys. As for Mom and Dad, we are sick of people trying to take our baby all the time! Just as we get settled in, they come and take him for some other kind of testing or other procedure. I just want to take him home where they will quit bothering me!!!!!!!
Thanks for all the prayers. Everyone is so healthy and beautiful - he is, in indisputable fact, the most beautiful baby that ever has been or will be born.

PS - I have decided that he is way too perfect to be called Little Barak any longer, so he is officially Stanley Keltan Blaine Dickson.

Video of Keltan in the nursery (Friday)

Click here to view a 1:15 minute video of Keltan in the nursery on Friday. He is on the other side of the glass from the camera, so you can't hear him.

Keltan's already a fan!

He's a grabby fellow - won't let go of the nurse's glove

He's healthy with all his toes and fingers!

7 lbs, 4 oz, born at 6:11 PM.

A proud papa!

Keltan is here!!!

Praise God!

The time is approaching...

Hopefully the next post will contain a picture of Keltan! - Uncle Craig

Shouldn't be much longer

2:15 PM. Dr T just came in for a quick check-up. Said Inga is dilated to a "9" and Baby Barak should be arriving within about 3 hours. Inga is trying to rest up for the big push.

She had to give in and take the epidural. Turns out that induced labor pains truly are much more intense than "natural" labor pains. Everything to this point is looking great with her and the baby.

And we wait....

It is now about 10:30 AM, Friday, July 3. The good doctor checked in this morning about 9:00, and said she was dilated to a 3. He expects to be back at about 12 noon, whereupon he expects to see her dilated to a 6 or 7, though Joan thinks that she will be at about 8.

Her contractions are increasing in intensity and regularity, but as of now she can still talk through the pain, so apparently they aren't as bad as they will be! WOOHOO!!!! I'm gonna be a daddy in a few short hours!

GO TIME!!!!!

It's a GO!
Today, Inga was disturbed, so she called Dr T's office. The nurse wanted her to go to the hospital for a checkup, since the 4th is coming up and Dr T is off duty. With her being on the Heparin shots, we have to make sure that she doesn't unexpectedly go into labor.
We arrived at the hospital labor and delivery department about 5:00 PM. We checked in, and went to the Triag area. Dr T arrived around 6:30 PM. He looked at Inga, did his inspection, and told her "Well, you're going to be a mom!" He decided that, since the baby was a good size, she was 38 weeks, she is dilated to a 2, and we were here - let's do this!
So, now we are in the Labor room. She is hooked up to all kinds of monitors and machines, and the IV is pumping Oxytosin into her.
We are really excited! I am finding sleep a near impossibilty. We have several different family members coming in - Joan from Shreveport (my cousin), Craig, Kim, and Jessica (my brother, wife and daughter), Grandma (Karen), Nana (Inga's mom), and unknown (Inga's dad), and Greta (Inga's sister). The only one we'll be missing, of course, is Dad, but I am sure he is grinning ear to ear right now.
Dr T expects Little Barak to arrive by no later than 3 PM Friday, July 3. We will do our best to post information here and/or on Facebook!
Keep us in your prayers - besides the usual pains and stuff with delivery, we are all dealing with a big bag of mixed emotions right now.