Circumcision

Last Friday we got Declan circumcised. Admittedly, as I'm sure with any new parent of a boy, we were pretty nervous. But rather than getting it done at the hospital, Rachel's midwife Jennifer recommended a Mohel that is very experienced. We did some research and were surprised about how circumcisions are generally done.

If you're unaware, hospital circumcisions are usually a 20- to 30-minute procedure that you are not allowed to be there for. The baby boy is strapped down on a mini plastic board to restrain him and then his foreskin is essentially cotterized. 

Not what we wanted to suffer through, let alone have Declan suffer through either. We were told that Rabbi Rovinsky was great and had a lot of experience. He has performed over 8,000 circumcisions over the last 20 plus years. Not only that, but by Jewish law, it is suppose to be as quick and painless as possible for the little boy. 20 seconds. 20 seconds! That was it! He explained everything ahead of time and answered all our questions before beginning. When actually doing the procedure, he even offered to have me perform the actual circumcision myself. I declined (didn't wanna screw up and end up with another daughter, no matter how much I love Annalyn), but I did get to be there and hold him while the rabbi did it. 

Yes, Declan still cried a little, but no where near what my preconceived notions were. Rabbi Rovinsky gave us our instructions for caring for him for the next few days while it heals and really put us at ease as to the whole process.

Even as I'm writing this, Declan is right beside me, sound asleep. He's a tough little guy. After going through with it, any question of whether or not we should do it was cleared up: I'm glad we decided to get it done. I feel a new bond with my son - closer to him than ever before. I think the next most traumatizing thing to worry about next after facing this though is Annalyn dating. Luckily, that's still at least 30 years away.

Declan Matthew Peck

We have a new member in our family! Declan was born October 17th, 2013 at 12:51 pm. At 8 lbs. 7 oz. and 22" long, he was a healthy happy baby.

At first, Rachel didn't think she was going into labor, since her due date wasn't until October 29th. We had originally calculated it to be on the 15th, but apparently neither of us were right...it was the 17th! So Rachel's contractions started at about 3:30 in the morning and they were regular and strong enough that she wasn't able to go back to sleep. Once I woke up at the usual time for work we started timing her contractions. Turns out, despite Rachel thinking they weren't regular enough, they warranted a call to Jennifer, her midwife, who came out to check. 

I took off for work, knowing there was nothing immediate that was going to happen that I'd miss by leaving right then. Shortly after I started loading drivers, I got a call saying that the baby was definitely coming today! The challenge was in me now getting back home; my assistant Floyd was on vacation that week and so I had to stay - no one else could watch the place. In despiration, I called Floyd to see if he would be willing to come in during his vacation to cover while I left to be with Rachel during the delivery.

An hour later he was there, and I was on my way home. Once I arrived, my first assignment was to leave - to take Annalyn over to Britney Lewis, one of Rachel's friends. Understandably, we needed her away so as to not be a possible distraction when Rachel needs to focus.

She progressed very well during labor. It was only an hour after transition started that he arrived, and pushing was only 20 minutes of that! He was making his first sounds right away, and surprised the midwives with how healthy and responsive he was.  It was a beautiful experience; I would not have missed it for anything. Rachel loved having him at home! So much so, that she wants the rest of out kids born at home. She really liked being able to look around and see familiar things, especially photos of family.

Mom and baby are still doing great. Everyone's healthy and happy, and Declan continues to put on weight. And now, we just need to adjust to living off very little sleep...

Annalyn's Dentist Visit

A couple weeks ago Annalyn went to the dentist. We thought she had chipped her tooth when she was playing with a friend, that she was just her usual tough self and didn't really cry about the pain. Turns out, she had two tiny cavities on her two front teeth.

The initial visit with the pediatric dentist was pretty traumatizing for her and she clearly was distraught for the rest of the day. So knowing that the actual fillings would be much worse, I arranged to leave work to go help Rachel with holding her down.

She did fine in the lobby, since she saw other kids there coming out of the dentist's happy and excited. It wasn't until we went back and she saw the chair that she remembered the place. She clung to mommy as if she knew she would never come back, at least as the same person. It took Rachel holding her knees to keep her legs down, me holding her wrists and hips together, and an assistant holding her head to keep her still enough for the dentist and another assistant to do the actual work of filling the cavities. Poor thing!

But he was a patient, fantastic dentist, and the whole thing was done in under 20 minutes - though to Annalyn I'm sure it felt more like several hours. Near the end they had to set a clamp in her mouth just  wide enough to keep her from biting his fingers over and over again. It made it hard to hear what it was she then started trying to say, but I had my guess. Turns out I was right. When everything was done and the clamp came out, she was saying, "Up! Up!" She wanted out of the chair so badly! And when I held her in my arms afterward she was clinging so tightly, I never felt so needed by her.

It was a simple procedure, two tiny cavities was all, but if course for a two-year-old, she thought she was going to her grave. She got a couple of free toys out of it though, one from the dentist and one from us, and then we topped it all off with her favorite fries from Arby's. By the end of lunch, she was giggling again!

Prepping the Yard for Autumn

Autumn is my favorite season. To get the yard ready for it, I ended up doing more than I expected I would ever have to do. The lawn is still struggling to flourish, but it is doing better. I was initially hoping to take care of everything in one day, but I eventually just wore myself out in the front yard. I would've had the time to do it, but I just ran out of steam. Hopefully you will understand why as I go down the list...

To start off, I raked up the leaves. We have a giant oak in the front and it's just starting to drop it leaves. So every week we have plenty of leaves to rake (and acorns.....wow, so many acorns). Follow the raking with mowing. I use a manual reel mower which I find great satisfaction in using, but it is a little more work. After mowing came the dethatching. It's a simple task and doesn't take a ton of effort (having the right tool helps), but it's slow going to do it right, so it does end up being pretty exhausting. After that was the aerating. I used a cane-shaped two-holed aerator that you step on the punch holes with. Slightly awkward each time, so multiply that out by several hundred holes for the entire yard. I had to stop a few times to sit and catch my breath. After that I was finally able to overseed the lawn and seed the bare spots, followed by fertilizing, followed by a limestone treatment. Phew!

By noon I was spent. I was done. I was...not looking forward to doing the same thing to the back yard. So I'm taking that one in steps. I'm up to having about 2/3 of the aerating completed. I'll have to still mow again, and the leaves keep coming down faster and faster, so that will continue as well. Luckily, I'll only have to do about half of all this - again - in the spring.

The Anxiety is Over

I figured it would be a good idea to get back to blogging since I have some free time again, now that the exam is over.

Ah, the relief of saying that: it's over! I finally took the Probability exam. This was my third attempt at passing it. I'll have to wait for eight weeks before I get my results back, but I have to say, I feel like this was the most comprehendable exam of the three. 

I felt I was as prepared as I possibly could be for it. After all, I have spent almost every night of the past year studying for it for several hours at a time. If I pass, I'll finally be able to start working on the next exam (financial mathematics) as well as start looking for open entry-level positions as an actuary. If not, I don't know if I can take studying this material again for another few months, knowing that I still can't begin a career yet as an actuary. I may have to look for another avenue.

Despite that though, I really have enjoyed studying; the subject matter of risk analysis and probability is still very fascinating. If it's of any interest as well for anyone reading this, I highly recommend the book, "Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk." It's an amazing book that explains the development of the concept of risk - how it began, up to how it effects us in our world today. Very interesting stuff.

So Rambunctious

Annalyn will be turning 3 come January. As anyone that has kids will know, that's an age that's incredibly full of energy and spunk. We've had fun with her as fall has started to set in as she explores fallen leaves, pumpkin patches and crisp air. 

Annalyn has been able to talk more which is great! She's answering questions, asking questions, letting us know what she needs, and pointing out any bug she finds. Whenever we're out working in the yard, she inevitably gets into the dirt and becomes a filthy mess. No amount of, "Annalyn, stay out of the dirt" or, "Annalyn, play on the grass" will stop her from discovering the wonders of dirt.

She continues to be more and more of a handful, especially for Rachel, as she's nearing the end of her pregnancy with Declan. It's kind of hard to tell if it's just her age, or if she really knows that she's pushing our buttons...

Went to the Hospital

There was an Egyptian exhibit at the Science Museum this summer, and before it left for good we finally decided to go see it. The weather was still decent and not terribly hot. It had been a while since we saw the museum and thought that by now most people had seen it already (can you tell we like avoiding crowds?).

We got off to a little bit of a late start in the morning so we knew that parking wasn't quite going to be a day at the park - even though we were going to the park... Anyway, after taking the long way through, which was very scenic and enjoyable since I have never seen that part of Forest Park, we reached the Science Museum on the far side. I dropped off Rachel and Annalyn at the door and went to find a parking spot. The way I took ended up taking me out of Forest Park and into Barnes-Jewish Hospital (hence I went to the hospital) and had to fight through absurd traffic just to turn around.

Finally I got back to the science center and found an excellent spot. Met up with the family and had lunch before we headed over to the Egyptian exhibit. Once we got there we realized something. The exhibit seemed a little familiar, like we had been there before. And then it hit us: we had been to the exact same exhibit when we lived in Texas! The EXACT same! Same mummy, same reader boards, same children activities, same overpriced exhibit. The funny thing was when we took pictures on the camel, we realized Rachel was just as far along with Annalyn the first time we went as she is now with Declan! The following pictures prove it. Here is Rachel in Texas pregnant with Annalyn:

And here she is pregnant with Declan just recently, also at 7 1/2 months along:

Uncanny, right? However entertaining this epiphany was, we are not about to hunt down this ridiculous camel for everyone additional pregnancy we have.

After laughing it all off, we let Annalyn play around for a while, seeing how she didn't get to see it the first time. And then we called it a day.