September 28th: Camden's Due Today

Today is Camden's due date! When I first calculated the baby's due date (way back in January) I told Steve it was September 28th. Without any hesitation, he rattled off the fact that Ohio State was in town playing the Minnesota Golden Gophers that weekend! I told him that the baby would be taking priority and that he shouldn't plan on going to the game that weekend. All through the pregnancy, I was sure that we'd be in labor on September 29th and that all Steve's friends would be texting Steve about the game!

Well, the end of the pregnancy definately didn't go as planned, but it couldn't have been a better outcome. Especially since this football season baby accomodated his daddy so well... arriving on a Wednesday all healthy and happy. In the last three plus weeks, Steve hasn't missed a football game! Steve already has a ticket to the game tomorrow and is looking forward to joining the Buckeye Alumni Club friends and our Golden Gopher fans out watching the Buckeyes. Camden's arrival date definately works well for this family :-) Mommy and Camden will be watching the game at home as it's just a little too soon to be out tailgating in Minnesota (However, if it had been last Monday, when it was 80 degrees outside, I would seriously have considered a short tailgate outing) I miss football too!!!

Your Precious Feet

Precious feet so small and so sweet! Tiny toes all in a row....
Catch them quick before they grow
A keepsake for now so when you're big, you'll see how...
Once upon a time, they were... your precious feet so small so sweet!

Camden, You're almost three weeks old!

Camden, in just a few hours, you'll be three weeks old! There's a lot going on in your third week. We get updates from BabyCenter.com with fun little information weekly. I always look forward to reading the details of what my baby may doing. Check out your 3 Week Update!

Tonight we just finished your bath and now daddy is rocking you in your nursery. You're growing so fast, in just three weeks you've changed so much. You've gained over a pound already and have grown out of your "just born" clothes (mostly in length right now). During the day, we're working on having lots of fun. I've made up a new song for you about being in your bouncy seat, once I perfect it, I'll have to post the lyrics :-) Here's your three week picture, which happens to be in your bouncy seat!!! You certainly are getting "So Big"

You're still up a lot during the night! We are working on that one. You are not too fussy, just hungry, a dry diaper and some serious cuddle time is what you seem to want most. It's not too hard to be up with you, but I was really tired today. You generate a lot of excitement in this household! You are a morning person right now, taking tiny catnaps in the morning, if any. Your long nap, this week, has been late afternoon. While you are sleeping, I'm supposed to sleep too. It's not that easy! It seems like there are a hundred things to do and sometimes staring at you tops my list of priorities. Just when I go to lay down, you almost always wake up. Well, my little man, I need to post this before you wake up! Mommy loves you!

So Much Love

Grandma and Grandpa Nguyen departed early this past Sunday morning. It was sad to let them go. They love Camden so much and I know how hard it is for them to be so far away from him in Ohio. One thing we learned from others that have grandchildren in far away places was to schedule the next visit before they leave. We didn't exactly do that, but hope to have them back sometime in December.

We're going to try to expose Camden to more of the Vietnamese culture at a young age. As a start, we're going to refer to his paternal grandparents as Ba Noi (prounounced Bah-Noi, grandmother in Vietnamese) and Ong Noi (pronounced Om Noi, grandfather in Vietnamese). They will refer to him as Con Trai (prounounced Kong Tri, baby boy in Vietnamese).

My parents were so helpful to us. Just like Grandma and Grandpa Sindt, they were there to help us with so many meals, grocery shopping, and other various odd jobs around the house. We're so blessed to have such supportive grandparents. Our parents are such role models for us and we can't thank them enough for all they've done.

We look forward to having Ong Noi and Ba Noi visit again. For those of you reading in Ohio, we also look forward to Camden making an appearance in Ohio as soon as he's travel ready.

All Smiles

The Ohio State Buckeyes 58, Northwestern Wildcats 7. Makes for one happy little Buckeye! Go Bucks!

Our Little Wii

Camden spent the better part of the day doing what he does best, which is sleep. We did, however, get some good awake time with the boy. We had a nice dinner with Jennifer Dugan who stopped over for a visit tonight. Jennifer has been such a great friend to us over the past few months while Kim has been on bedrest. Our meager spare rib dinner was the least we could do to thank her.

We also had my coworker Mike Farmer and his wife Susan over for dinner last night. In all the excitement we somehow forgot to snap a picture with them. In any case, we were happy to have them over to visit with Camden. They, like my parents, have grandchildren that are hundreds of miles away so they could relate with my parents. Farmer also got a chance to reminisce about 'Nam with my dad. Not the war, but from his days with Cargill Animal Nutrition and his trips to Vietnam :)

To wind down after a long day, my parents requested that we Wii. My mom played the boxing game while Camden watched in horror.


Grandma Nguyen Wii Boxing


"What is that evil machine?!"

Daddy Returns to Work

I returned to work today for the first time since Camden entered our lives. It was tough leaving Camden this morning, but it wasn't as hard to be at work as I thought it might be. I knew that I would be coming home at lunch and could visit with him then.

When I arrived at work this morning, I was greeted by five gift bags from my co-workers. Quite unbelievable. Well, not really if you know the people I work with. My team at Cargill has to be some of the most caring people I know. What more would you expect from a group of touchy-feely, HR, learning and development people :) The gifts are more than we would ever expect, but very much appreciated. Kim is excited for when Camden is big enough to fit into some of the outfits and I look forward to when he can begin to comprehend the children's books.

Not sure Camden knew I was gone today or not, but when I got home for lunch he was wide awake and full of smiles. It definitely made his Daddy happy to see him alert and see him having happy times. We've also learned to recognize what Kim and I affectionately call his "poo" face (pictured). It's the face he makes when he's....well, the name speaks for itself. We haven't been able to decipher if the "poo" face means he's doing #1 or #2 yet.

I went back to work after lunch and went about my day. It wasn't as bad being back at work as I thought. Not that my work is all that bad, but I thought being away from Camden maybe harder than it was. It was nice to get back into the swing of things again and resume what Kim and I refer to as our "new normal" lives.

Kim is doing great and seems to be recovering nicely. Having my parents around has been a huge help. My mom made a great dinner tonight for us and our friends Megan and Vinh (pictured left). Megan is an avid reader and will have to call her co-workers into her office to show them she made the blog.

Obviously as first time parents we take lots of pictures. The digital age makes snapping pictures so easy doesn't it?! As my co-worker Fernanda says, "Your camera won't be able to keep up with the cute". Well, we're doing our best and remember that you can always view more Camden photos by clicking "Camden's Photo Gallery" link on the left side of the page. In the meantime, here are some more pictures of the star of this site...


Camden practicing his O-H-I-O.


Momma's boy.


Camden doing what he does best. Sleeping.


Camden doing what he does 2nd best. "Pooing."

Grandma and Grandpa Nguyen

Grandma and Grandpa Nguyen made it into town without incident. Well, except for a lost piece of luggage that was brought out to the house later that day. As expected and as you can see below, they're loving they're time with Camden.

They arrived on a football Saturday so we're all decked out in our Ohio State gear. Camden finally grew into the outfits that his Auntie Paige bought for him. The Buckeyes prevailed once again with a 33-14 victory of the Washington Huskies. Camden was certainly happy, but wishes the Buckeyes could show more consistency on offense.

In more shocking news, the other side of our family's fanaticism, Iowa State shocked the Iowa Hawkeyes 15-12 in their annual rivalry game. The final field goal, of ISU's 5 on the day, happened as the final seconds ticked off the clock. Grandpa Sindt must think Camden is the Cyclone's lucky charm.

On to the pictures...








GO BUCKEYES! (and Cyclones!)

But somethings don't change...

Steve still manages to squeeze in some time to play Madden 08 on his PS3.

Oh how times have changed...

One of my favorite sites I go to is Slickdeals.net. I used to go there in search of hot tech deals. Now I take more notice of things like this:

Babies 'R Us 15% off printable coupon

I figured other parents out there might find it useful. The site only let's you print it off once, so make sure you print off as many as you need or be prepared to make some photocopies of it later.

Camden's arrival: A three day process

I have been wanting to write about Camden's arrival for quite some time. We had quite a few challenging weeks with my maternity complications. My blood pressure just wouldn't settle down...luckily bed rest worked and we managed to get within a week of having a full term baby. Camden was 36 2/7 weeks when I was induced. Just under 4 weeks early.

Those same complications however made for a pretty long labor and delivery process. We were checked into Methodist Hospital on Sunday, September 2nd, for 24 hour monitoring of my blood pressure and watching for extra protein. We made it 12 hours and at 2:00 in the morning the resident and attending doctor decided to induce. A little surprising. Steve had gone home to sleep, since we thought we were just being monitored and we thought we would be checked out Monday afternoon.

Before we knew it, I was hooked up to anti-seizure medication and the induction process begun. Neither mommy or baby were ready for this, so it took quite awhile for the medication they use to soften the cervix to take effect. Finally by late Monday I had dilated a whole centimeter.

Monday night was more of the same... hurry up and wait. Finally, Tuesday morning, everyone was ready to get the show on the road. And I got my first shot of pitocin. The contractions finally started to occur consistently and I spent a couple hours laboring through them.

Since I was confined to the bed, laying on my left side, I had a lot of discomfort laboring through contractions. (I hadn't been out of the bed since monday afternoon). I also had only been allowed to eat a small meal Monday morning and another small lunch Tuesday before the Pitocin was administred.

I hadn't planned on an epidural but after lengthy discussions with the medical team, we decided it would be for the best. Once that was administered, things continued to move onward (or should I say downward). By 10:00 or so, all was ready to go and the pushing began. The epidural was turned down and I pushed hard through each contraction. For FOUR HOURS. Baby just wouldn't crown.

The doctor stopped in and mentioned that maybe we get the vacuum to assist the delivery and after a few more pushes, the baby crowned. I'm not sure why they didn't mention the vacuum earlier, apparently that was all the incentive I needed.

Camden arrived and Steve cut his cord and he was ushered over to the NICU nurses to get checked out. We heard his little cries and my heart just melted. At this point my bed was positioned so I was head down and I had a huge dose of fluids being administed by IV.


Finally, Camden was brought over to me and I got to see him for the first time. It was so amazing, no words can describe it. Just a few quick kisses from Mommy was all I got before he and his daddy headed up to the Level 2 nursery to check him out in more detail. Because he was four weeks early and because of the meds I was on, he needed a little extra boost from the neonatel nurses.

He was given some glucose in an IV to increase his blood sugar level and they monitored his breathing to ensure he would do fine on his own. Thankfully the small IV was all he needed and he was sent back down me. It wasn't long before Daddy ushered baby back to my room to
begin our family bonding time. A little delayed, maybe, but it was certainly quite precious all the same. Once in the post partum room, we started making all our calls.

First Grandma and Grandpa Nguyen we're notified, then Grandma and Grandpa Sindt. We then called Aunt Paige and Uncle Tony and Aunt Lisa. It was with such joy that we announced his birth!

Mommy's week in review

I love being a Mommy! We brought our son home a week ago and it's been a true whilwind. There's been so much to process with being new parents and we are so lucky to go through everything with such supporting friends and family. Everybody has been absolutely amazing. I think we're doing pretty well on the learning curve. Camden complains very little, so we'll take that as a good sign.

Since Camden's homecoming last Friday, there's been a lot of laughter and joy in this house. Steve found my attempts at pumping absolutely hilarious, which made us both break out in fits of laughter. Breastfeeding has been going really well, thanks mostly to Camden since he latches so well and is a good eater. After less than a week home, he's already surpassed his birth weight and had a great well baby visit at the pediatrician.

It's still hard to believe this beautiful little baby boy is really ours. He's so cuddly, so expressive and so easy to stare at all day (and all night, since he's up) long.

(Odd Numbered) Batteries Not Included

Here's some random commentary on something I've noticed with having a child. Several items we have in our house that we use as soothing mechanisms require batteries. Nothing too out of the ordinary there. What I do find odd is the number of batteries required to operate them.

The bouncy chair (pictured to the left) requires 3 AAA batteries. Three? The pack and play that has music and nature sounds takes 3 AA batteries. Don't the people that manufacture this stuff know that batteries come in even numbered packs? Couldn't you engineer the thing to take ONE more battery and power for that much longer? Even if you can't, humor me and make room for the 4th battery just so I can store it there.

Gracco Bermuda Pack and Play

Not only do these devices take odd numbered batteries, the battery covers themselves are impossible to open. In the non-baby world, most battery covers either slide on and off, or they have a little tab release mechanism. But in the baby furniture world, battery covers are screwed on with miniature phillips head screws.

Now, Camden's daddy isn't exactly Ty Pennington (or Bob Vila for the older set). I don't have 32 phillips screwdriver heads to pull out of my toolbox to see which one fits. I have one. And if that ONE doesn't work, Camden doesn't get a vibrating bouncy chair with MIDI music.

I can't believe that this is a safety feature either. Even if the battery cover was a tab release or a slider, There's no way Camden has the dexterity at this age to get underneath his bouncy and pull open a battery cover.

Husky 40pc Screwdriver Set

Future parents, beware. Arm yourselves with an odd number of batteries and get a nice set of screwdrivers.

Whew! I'm glad that's off my chest. Maybe I'm just grumpy and sleep deprived. We'll return to regularly scheduled Camden blogging shortly.

And speaking of batteries...
Q: How many batteries does it take to shock a Michigan Wolverine?
A: One AA. (See, they're messed up also because they take an odd number of batteries, too.)

COMING SOON!......Exclusive video of daddy changing Camden's diaper...Camden's "pooh" face...and pictures of some of Camden's visitors.

A Touch of Sadness...

We've been so lucky to have Grandma and Grandpa Sindt in town for the past 6 days. They've made our transition home with Camden much easier. When we needed groceries, they went and got them. When we needed a meal, they cooked it. When we needed a gutter replaced, they replaced it. And best of all, when we needed some loving arms in the middle of the night to help with Camden, their arms were open.

Oliver may miss them the most since they walked him everyday and made sure that he got as much attention as Camden did.

Their departure was sad. Kim (and I) took it pretty hard and had a tough time saying goodbye and letting them go. Tears were shed (even by Grandpa!). We look forward to their return in mid-October and they know they are welcome back anytime they have a free weekend.

Our sadness will soon turn to happiness as we welcome Grandma and Grandpa Nguyen this weekend for their one week stay. They're anxious to meet Camden and we're positive that we'll get the same royal Grandparent treatment from them.

Beautiful Flowers

Thank you to those that have sent us beautiful flowers. We wanted loyal Camden blog readers to share in their beauty. Camden has enjoyed having the color in the house.


Courtesy of Grandma and Grandpa Nguyen


Courtesy of Steve's Work, Cargill Learning and Development.


Courtesy of Kim's Team at Carlson Marketing Group.


Courtesy of Aunt Linda, Aunt Dianne, and Uncle Pat.

Eyes Wide Open

Camden was wide awake early this morning at about 230am. Since it was the first time he'd had his eyes open, and I was also wide awake, I figured I'd take this opportunity to have a little photoshoot. Enjoy!

Grandma and Grandpa Sindt Come to Visit

Grandma and Grandpa Sindt have been in town since Friday and we couldn't thank them enough. It's been great to have their help around the house and with Camden. As you can see, they're both enjoying their time with Camden.



We look forward to Grandma and Grandpa Nguyen arriving this coming weekend.

What's in a Name?

Many have asked how we came up with Camden's name. I wish I could say that we chose his name because it has some profound meaning or symbolism in our life, but that's not really the case. We fall into the "We just liked the sound of it" camp.

There were, however, a set of criteria that we used to come to the decision we did:

1. "Don't make me spell it!" We know from experience that Camden will have to spell his last name enough in his life that we didn't want him to have to spell his first name for people all the time, too. That said, there have been a couple of people already that have asked how to spell his name. Most people have been able to spell out just by sounding it out. I suppose you could spell his name with a 'K', but we think his name pretty much spells itself.


2. "Multiple Pronunciations" Kim and I also know that if you're not familiar with our last name it can be construed with many different pronunciations. I've heard them all including Noo-jen, Nah-guy-en, N-guy-en, Nuh-gee-en, and even Noo-jent. So we wanted a first name that was compatible with whatever pronunciation someone might choose for our last name, including the correct pronunciation, "Win".
   


3. "You talkin' to me?" We all know that some names are more common than others. There's nothing wrong with those names, but we wanted a name that wasn't too unusual, but wasn't going to cause him to have to turn his head everytime someone was calling for another child with the same name. So we consulted the Social Security website to see what the most common names were. In the last 10 years, it has steadily become more popular moving from 603rd in 1997 to 221st this year. The fact that no one was able to guess his name before he was born was also somewhat reassuring that it wasn't too popular.
   


4. "Sound Check" One article we read on how to choose a name suggested that we go to a park and call out the name. We went to our local park and tried it out. There weren't any kids around at the time, but rule #3 above seemed to feel right and we liked how it sounded when we said his name.
   
   
5. "Good Initials" While not the most important, we wanted him to have nice looking and nice sounding initials. Ideally, he would have a first and middle name condusive to a nickname like JJ, or CJ, or KG, etc. But we also didn't want him to have initials that would cause him to be made fun of in the school yard like Christopher Anthony Nguyen (CAN), or Theodore Oscar Nguyen (TON). NOTE: None of those names were actually in the running.
   

So we took time on one of our many roadtrips to brainstorm some possible names. At the time, we didn't know the sex so we came up with girl and boy names. Of the boy names, I REALLY wanted Eric. I wanted to be able to just call him "E" and I really liked the name Eric. I call my good friend Eric, "E", all the time. Kim, however, had some childhood classmates named Eric that made it diffucult for her to disassociate them from our son.

Kim and I both really like Ethan alot. Unfortunately, so do a lot of other people. It did not fit rule #3 above. For those with children named Ethan, we think it is a great name. We would have been happy to name our son Ethan, but we do have rules to follow.

Somehow, somewhere I pulled out the name Camden. Many who know of my baseball stadium escapades may think that Camden Yards in Baltimore was my favorite stadium and that's where the name came from. If we named him after my favorite baseball stadium I've been to, we would have named him "AT&T Park Nguyen". That didn't pass rule #4, the Sound Check. Kim liked the name Camden almost right away. After testing it over a few weeks by talking to her belly, we were convinced that it was right.

We had a little more trouble with his middle name. This was where rule #5 began to come into play. Kim came up with Kyle and that seemed to sound good. We kept repeating it over and over, "Camden Kyle Nguyen, Camden Kyle..." It seemed to flow nicely. It met rules #1, 2, 3, 4, and (kinda) 5.

So what do you think? I doubt anyone will have the heart to tell us they don't like the name, but it's okay if you don't like it. We know we can't please everyone. Kim and I love Camden and we love his name.

Coming Home

Steve and I had our Methodist Hospital umbilical cord cut today. It's somewhat bittersweet because we've had such GREAT care at the hospital, but we're also anxious to go home. We must now give up the comfort of the nurse's call light and go it alone.

Steve told Camden today that the nurse's here may KNOW the most about how to take care of him, but we WILL take the best care of him.

For our friends who are currently pregnant and scheduled to deliver at Methodist, have no fear. Some of the finest medical care is available and you will be in great hands.

Special thanks to the following doctors and nurses that took care of us during our stay:

Doctors:

• Dr. Robert Junilla (Primary OB)
  
• Dr. Roger Rhodes (OB)
  
• Dr. Keesh (OB)
  
• Dr. Ott (OB)
  
• Dr. Quast (OB)
  
• Dr. Rubin (Pediatrician)

Nurses:

• Lisa
• Angie
• Vicki
• Nicole
• Amy
• Lisa
• Joann
• Arlene
• Jean

Camden Kyle Nguyen: Day 2

Day 2 of life for Camden has brought many new ups and downs. Kim was finally taken off all of the IVs they had her hooked up to and that really boosted her spirits and allowed her to get up out of bed. Her blood pressure remains a bit of a concern, but her body is still adjusting to her not being pregnant anymore. The doctor said that it's not uncommon for her blood pressure to remain high and may take some time for it to go down.

Kim got to shower for the first time in days which Camden and I were both thankful for. Kim was probably most thankful though. Camden has taken really well to breastfeeding and so has his mother. Both are adjusting remarkably well.

Camden had a little more challenging day. He got circumsized this morning, but came back to us no worse for the wear. He was in some pain, as one might expect, but calmed down pretty quickly for his feeding. He also had some blood drawn and barely even flinched from the prick of the needle. The kid is a trooper.

The pediatrician diagnosed him with the onset of jaundice. This is very common in new borns and even more so in babies with Asian genes like Camden. Luckily we were staying in the hospital longer and they could detect and treat it. So Camden's been sleeping in his own little suntan bed. It's not really a suntan bed because it's not emitting UV light. It's just blue light. They're able to bring the machine into our room so that he doesn't have to be out of our sight. Camden is enjoying his own little spa day. Not sure how long he'll have to be on it. It doesn't hurt him much, but it just means we get less time to hold him.

We've also had some visitors stop by the hospital, which has been very nice. Our neighbors Kelly and Jana Reger, some colleagues of mine Jill and Kim, Megan Chung, and Bryan and Suzanne Anderson (pictured). Camden has enjoyed meeting our friends and Camden is such a charmer. Kim's parents are scheduled to arrive sometime tomorrow, so it'll be nice to have their help once we are discharged.

We haven't officially been told that we're going to be discharged tomorrow, but we're anticipating so. A lot of it depends on how concerned the doctors are with Kim's blood pressure. I think Camden is good to go home at any time. If he could drive, he'd be outie. Many have been asking to see pictures of Camden with his eyes open. The camera finally caught him wide awake!

Happy Birthday and Welcome Camden Kyle Nguyen!

Steve and Kimberly Nguyen are proud to announce the arrival of Camden Kyle Nguyen. Camden arrived on September 5th, 2007 at 2:25am. He weighed in at 6 lbs. and 1 oz. He is a lanky 20 inches long. Despite arriving 3 weeks ahead of his expected due date, Camden is doing fantastic. He's breathing fabulously and by all accounts from the wonderful staff at Methodist Hospital he's a healthy baby. We couldn't be happier and thank God for this wonderful blessing.

Kim is recovering well, but is still limited to bedrest for the time being. She's in great spirits and wants to thank everyone for their continued love and support. We haven't been given a discharge date from the hospital, but we're anxious for Camden to be at home and in his natural surroundings (click to view pictures of Camden's room).

Keep checking back or add this site to your favorites or your RSS feeds. We'll be updating it regularly with more pictures, our own baby story, and other general updates on Camden's growth. In the meantime, enjoy some of our first pictures Camden Kyle Nguyen!


Mommy's first loving embrace.


Our first family photo.


"Whew! That was a wild ride! I'll be napping if you need me."


Kim looks great despite 4 hours of pushing a human.


Camden Kyle Nguyen