Why Halas?

I am happy to report that Halas has been screaming less this week...as long as he stays fed. It seems like he eats all day long. Actually, he eats about every 2- 3 hours. Sometimes he eats closer to an hour and a half apart in the evenings. No real complaints here though. He is a very healthy boy who is growing well.

Here is a picture of Halas at 4 weeks old.

We have had a lot of people ask where we got the name Halas Daniel. His middle name, Daniel, is Steve's paternal grandfather's name.

Halas is from George Halas. Many people who follow football know George Halas as the founder and eventual owner of the Chicago Bears and a huge participant in the formation of the NFL.

For those of you not familiar with George Halas, here are some quick facts:

- Like Steve, Halas earned an Engineering degree from the University of Illinois
- He served the Navy in both World War I and World War II
- His athletic ability was diverse. He played baseball for the New York Yankees. He played football for the Bears (while also coaching the team). He also played baseball, football, and basketball for the University of Illinois.
- He started the Decatur Staleys football team and later moved the team to Chicago to become the Chicago Bears (they took the name Bears as a tribute to the Chicago Cubs, who permitted the Bears to play their games at Wrigley Field).
- His career ledger reads as follows: 63 years as an owner, 40 as a coach, 324 wins, and 8 NFL titles as a coach or owner
- To this day, the jerseys of the Chicago Bears bear the initials "GSH" on their left sleeves in tribute to Halas
- “Nobody who ever gave his best regretted it.” - George Halas

Colic?

Well…Halas isn’t quite the calm baby he was for the first two weeks. Around 5:00 – 11:00 each night, he starts screaming. He only stops to eat or take quick nap to get ready for the next round of screaming. We are really hoping this is just a phase…a very quick phase.

I have to hand it to Sydney, she is coping really well. She wants to play with Steve and me when ever she can, but if Halas is throwing a fit she is very patient and will play by herself her a while.

Halas is growing fast. I try to put him in outfits that have footies to keep him warm. However, at 3 weeks old he is already getting too long for his 0 - 3 month clothes (they only go to 24 inches). This picture of him is from a week ago. I guess I will have to switch to onesies and pants with socks. That just seems like more work when I change his diaper.

Not much more going on here. Here are some more pictures. The picture of me is the day before Halas was born.

2 weeks old

I just got back from Halas' 2 week check up. He is a healthy baby. In 2 weeks he has grown 3 more inches for a grand total of 23 inches and is now at 9 pounds 6 ounces. They said they typically would like to see babies back up to their birth weight at this point, so Halas is growing beyond expectations. His size is currently in the 99th percentile for babies his age.

Sydney is back to school this week and is doing really well adjusting and getting back into routine. She has been a great big sister and will be happy to tell you that she loves her brother soooo much!

I want to send a huge Thank You for all of the help we got from our family. Gene, Linda and Lori helped out with Sydney in the week before Halas was born and for the days that we were in the hospital. I know that Sydney appreciated the attention. My mom and dad were here when we got home from the hospital and were a great help in letting me get rest, watching Halas, and entertaining Sydney. Sydney even got to go on a treasure hunt with Papa B.

Steve is back to work. I am doing pretty well. I am just a bit tired and achy. Halas has been a great baby though. He rarely cries unless he really wants something. He goes about 2 - 3 hours between feedings and about every other night has went long stretches between feedings so that I can catch up on sleep. I don't know if I am just more relaxed this time around or if it is his personality but I don't remember Sydney being like this at all!

I hear him waking up so I better get going. I will try to post more pictures later.

Ang

Ready or not…here I come!

We are home with Halas Daniel Wise! He came a few days after his due date but when he decided it was time, he wasn’t joking around. Long story short, at 3:40 p.m. I sent a message saying that we were driving to the hospital with strong contractions. At 4:16 p.m. Halas was born (with a 20 minute drive between the text and arriving at the hospital). Let’s just say that we were cutting it close.

Now the long story…

I had been hoping that I wouldn’t have to be induced but I was scheduled for an induction on December 29th at 4:00. Since the little guy still wasn’t here, we headed to the hospital and they hooked up everything to start monitoring the baby and me before they started the induction. It turns out that I was already having contractions about 6 minutes apart, they just didn’t hurt so I didn’t know that’s what they were. I thought it was just the baby moving around. Since I was already starting the labor process, we decided to come home and let the little guy come when he was ready.

12 hours later, at 4:00 in the morning, the contractions were about 4 - 5 minutes apart and lasting for about a minute each. I knew that Sydney came fast when I was in labor for her so we went back to the hospital just in case. When we got there, the nurse said that my dilatation hadn’t changed any and the contractions still didn’t hurt. They gave me the option of going home until my water broke/contractions hurt or to wait 4 hours for the doctor to get in and break my water. I opted to go back home.

So Steve and I went back home, slept in, went out to lunch, and waited. Finally the contractions started to come on stronger to the point that I needed to start doing breathing exercises. At 3:30 p.m., Steve made the call that we should probably head back to the hospital. The contractions were still about 4- 5 minutes apart. After we got in the car, I sent a message via twitter to my family that we were on the way back to the hospital.

As we pulled up to the drop off area at the hospital at about 4:00 p.m., I was waiting for a contraction to end before I got out of the car. Before I had a chance to get out of the car, my water broke. Steve got a wheel chair for me, left the car in the drop off area, and rushed me up to the maternity floor. When we got up there they had me fill out paperwork and told us to wait for a nurse to take us back to a delivery room. We waited in the lobby for about 5 minutes where I was having contractions right on top of each other. Then I told Steve that I needed to PUSH. Luckily, a nurse walking by heard me and grabbed my chair and took me back to a delivery room. She gathered the available nurses to help get me ready.

As soon as we got in the room I told them that I really needed to push. They checked me and Halas was on his way. A nurse held his head in while another nurse found the nearest doctor (he was on his way to a C-section). As soon as the doctor came in, he gave me the go ahead to push and Halas was here (4:16 p.m.).

Halas Daniel was born at 8 pounds, 10 ounces, and 20 inches long.

Here are some pictures!