Update on our lives

Hey everyone,

Having Hudson is a great excuse to spend some time on this blog. I have to remind myself not to focus too much on Hudson. One of the pieces of advice I picked up before Nicole deliverd was for the parents to take time for themselves, and for each other, because it is really easy to focus all your time and energy on your new child and forget about yourself.

So...putting that into practice, I will be writing about my and our life in this entry. Yes...more boring text for those who like pictures. However, this blog actually has been somewhat of a journal for me, and its entertaining to go back and read my previous entries. I'm quite proud that it started back in 2005!

Life has been really good. Nicole and I are doing quite well, and really lucky that our parents have been so involved and helpful. Nicole's mom and aunt were here before Hudson's birth and first week of life, and then my mom came for the next 3 weeks and took the night shift - which helped Nicole and I SLEEP! Hudson is now on a formula that agrees with his GI system, so he doesn't fuss or cry much. He does have reflux, but we have added a tiny bit of rice cereal to his bottle, so now he seems less refluxy and more satisfied. He now eats and sleeps predicatably, which is the best thing a newborn can be - predictable!

Nicole and I are now relearning life and trying to fit in the time to take care of ourselves. After 6 weeks, Nicole is cleared for normal exercise again, so she can return to running, swimming, and working out. She's scheduled for a triathalon in October! I haven't touched a weight in months, and I've gained a little weight (never thought that would happen to me), so I need to get back in shape myself. We're going to try and do some 'date nights' and keep the sparks going (hee hee), and we have a wonderful nanny who I hope will babysit for us.

As far as work, my tenure as chief resident is going well so far. I really enjoy the job I have, where I can place a big responsibility on teaching. I love teaching - it forces me to prepare and study medicine topics, and I feel like I have a pretty good ability to explain things to others and have them buy into it. Teaching sessions for residents and students seem to have gone well so far - topics such as diagnostic calculations in evidence based medicine, urines and smears, hyponatremia, and acid/base/electrolyte disorders are examples. I've had the chance to attend in resident's clinic, which I find challenging since clinic medicine is probably my weakest field. I've also had the chance to "moonlight" as an inpatient doctor, admitting and taking care of patients in the hospital, which gives me the chance to get back to direct patient care - which is why I went into this field in the first place! The administrative part of the job, running the day to day concerns of the residency, is ok. Not the most glamourous - a lot of emails and meetings - but in doing so we take care of the residents and make sure they're on the right track, which is rewarding in the grand scheme.

Our next major life event will be our upcoming move to Atlanta! I have matched for a spot at Emory for cardiology, and really excited about this. It will be hard to leave this area - the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area has an awesome quality of life. Traffic is easy, living is cheap, the airport is nearby and not big but still international, people are nice, weather is great, and its nice and green here, and Nicole has a wonderful boss that she works with and we have some close friends we'll miss. We'll miss being a part of UNC - which I love, and I'll even encourage Hudson to come to college here! Emory was great, but UNC has this sense of camaraderie and school spirit, along with really great academics for a state school, that you can't really go wrong. Anyways, we'll be leaving all this behind, and going back to Atlanta for an equally wonderful, though totally different, experience. In Atlanta, we have some wonderful friends and family, a vibrant city with lots of flair, cuisine, arts and culture, and a medicine and cardiology training program that is among the top in the country. But, the traffic is daunting, the airport is far and crazy big, and houses are more expensive. But, for the next stage of our lives, our top 2 choices would have been Georgia or North Carolina. I don't know where we'll end up after all the training is finally over (4+ years from now). My guess is Georgia, NC, or back to Florida.

It's interesting to think about what I thought I would be doing at certain points...
Undergrad: premed vs meteorology
Medical school: primary care doctor and pole vault coach
Residency: gastroenterologist, then cardiology, possibly private practice
Chief Residency: cardiologist, probably academic cardiology in a University system, where I could be on faculty, teach, and see neat stuff, and hopefully have international opportunities to volunteer, then maybe retire to be a high school teacher and pole vault coach

Other updates on things going on:
- Nicole will be starting work in 2 weeks, working 1/2 time in the clinic, 1/2 time at home for another 6 weeks
- Amy is enjoying her internship with Air Products in Allentown, PA. She will be graduating from U of Florida with mechanical engineering, and right now weighing going to work vs going to grad school.
- Jenny, Tyler and Kaelyn are about to take Amtrak for the first time, to come up and visit for a long weekend!
- Ben Yin is on the hunt for a ridiculously cheap, luxuriously loaded house in intown Atlanta..right Ben?
- Amy and Nate just had their new baby, Sidney Montgomery York! Congratulations!
- Sarah and Alex are next! Along with Jason and Amy, who are pregnant with another!
- Dave's doing research this year, and he and Karen are moving to Tampa where he'll be an allergy/immunology fellow at USF next year
- Andy's bachelor party is August 15 in DC - I for one must control myself, as I will be taking my internal medicine boards 2 days later. Andy and Missy are getting married late September!

Everyone else who is reading this - fill me in!

Ok, need to feed Hudson...talk to you soon!

more pictures

Everybody likes pictures. Here's a link to 40 more pictures of the daily happenings of Hudson!

One month old (tomorrow)

Hudson's first real bath

We've been told he looks like a glowworm. A vintage 1982 glowworm was subsequently purchased by Barbara on eBay, from Canada!

Somebody is cool...

Natalie tending to baby

Avery visiting for a playdate

New developments in the life of Hudson:

- He tracks people and objects - his favorites are Mr. Thing and Rockin' Robin

- We think he weighs 10.5 or 11 lbs. Will weigh him tomorrow, his one month birthday!

- Mommy and daddy have figured out his poopy face - its the "o" face

- Hudson had his first playdate with Avery

- Hudson met the Great Greganti!

Hudson, smiling big for the camera!

Hope everyone is doing well. Hudson is a month old tomorrow. He sure is growing fast! My mom is about to leave on Saturday. Barbara, then Jenny and the kids will be visiting, but other than that we're on our own! No more sleep for us...

Soon I'll post another Picasa album so there are more pictures available.

Love, Nicole, Alan, Hudson, and Sofie.

Hudson's growing!

"Ly see" or lucky money, often given by parents to kids or other young ones. Hudson got quite a stash from Grammy and Grandpa - he needs his own bank account now.

Tyler and Kaelyn, Jenny and Jeff's 2 cute kids!

Hudson weighs 9 lb, 9 oz today! He's doing great, except for some mild problems with reflux, but overall no big problems.

He's starting to drink more, and track objects and toys a little bit. He definitely likes to be held (ie snugglebunny). My dad was just in town to see him over this past weekend. This weekend, Hudson had his first outings (not counting pediatrician visits). We went out three times! One to a new neighbor's July 4th party (who turns out to be a friend of mine from med school!), one to Mark and Andi's July 4th party, and then to Dave and Karen's house for dinner. He's such a socialite!

Hope everyone had a great July 4th weekend!

10 days old

Nicole - before and after!

Dave and Karen visiting in the hospital.

Mark holding their son Avery- we'll be nanny sharing with Mark and Andi.

Our other nanny at home - Sofie!

Hudson is 10 days old today! Woohoo!

- Barbara left today to go back to Dallas. This is a huge accomplishment for her, and we're looking forward to her feeling well, being back at full strength.

- My mom is now here, and is really helpful in taking care of us!

- I go back to work Monday...aaahhhhh!

- Hudson is doing well - gaining weight, eating every 3 hours or so. He has now mastered the art of peeing while we're changing him...in fact he even hit his own face once!

comparisons

My dad as a kid.

Me! I'm not called "Chunky" for nothing...

Pictures here and elsewhere

Hey everyone,

I'll still be putting pictures and updates on the blog. Also, we're going to keep more pictures on Picasa, a photo sharing website.

I'll post links to the various photo albums, and hopefully this will get more advanced and presentable. In the meantime, here are two albums:

Hudson, album 1

Hudson, album 2

from Danielle, Mike, and Addison

...one of our most loyal blog readers! A gift from her daughter, Addison!

Hey everyone, you may notice that I'm going to start typing less, but still try to keep pictures up. It takes longer to type, and man we are tired from getting up every 2-3 hours to feed and change and comfort him. Having said that, he is a little angel.

- He is starting to get the hang of breast feeding, though still neither he or we are experts.

- Robert (Nicole's dad) is in town for the weekend. He's the professional photographer of the family!

- Father's Day is tomorrow, how cool is that!

- Had our first "I peed on you while you were changing my diaper!"

- Jeannie and Barbara (Nicole's aunt and mom) are conspiring to live here permanently..."We won't take up much room, we promise!"

- Sofie is a gracious big sister, and whenever Hudson cries she is around to console him.

- We appreciate all the support that is coming our way!

- First pediatrician visit today - Hudson is doing great! 75th percentile in weight, 90th in height, at birth...

In other news...

- Natalie Hejko just got married! Nicole's longtime friend from childhood...best wishes! (I learned you don't say congratulations to a new bride, but instead best wishes)

- Sarah and Alex, and Amy and Nate are expecting soon!

- Barbara had her oncology follow up, and the plan is to "watch and wait" - we hope the surgeon got all of the kidney cancer and that she is cured. She'll follow up here at UNC over the next year for surveillance.

- Jeff (my bro in law) had Usher roll up into the Reeves motorcars showroom! Met him in person!

- Mom and dad to visit end of June, and Jenny to come visit toward mid-end July.

- We will be moving to Atlanta in a year. It is exciting! But also bittersweet, because we have grown to love it here too...

We're home!

Its so great to be home and introduce Hudson to his new home! And to his sister Sofie, who promptly licked his feet and then went for his face! Hudson is currently sitting in his swing, and Sofie keeps walking by and looking at her curiously. Everything has gone really well. We had a great experience at Durham Regional Hospital. I think the only issue that will be a big challenge is the whole breastfeeding thing. Hudson is great at sucking on a pacifier, and even on a slow-flow bottle, but he just hasn't got the hang of the real thing yet. I think that once Nicole's milk starts flowing, he'll latch on better. The lactation consultant thinks that Hudson was sucking on his lower lip in utero, and got so used to it that he does it when he's trying to latch, making it harder. Hudson also has newborn rash, which apparently doesn't cause any problems and goes away in a few days.


Anyways, we're all doing well and thanks for keeping up with us!