She Missed Her Dad on His First Day Back at Work

Rub a Dub Dub

Mackenzie got her first bath yesterday, and overall it was a successful venture. The bathing itself went swimmingly (pardon the pun) but as you'll see we got a little upset when the drying off stage arrived. This being our first baby, we don't really know if she's a messy one or not, but it seems to us that she'll need about three baths a day at the rate she's going.

Showing Off Her Multitude of Sleeping Positions

Mackenzie's First Crack at "Tummy Time"

Six Day Old Infant Suspected in Vicious Pooping Incident

ATLANTA, GA - A Woodstock man was brutally pooped on late Thursday afternoon in what authorities say was the city's most gruesome bowel-related crime. The perpetrator - a 6 day old infant, and the daughter of the victim. Lt. Wilson James of the Woodstock Sheriff's Department said "I haven't seen anything like it in my seventeen years of service."

The victim was quoted the day after the event. "I knew it would happen some time, I just didn't think it would be in the first week of her life."

Reports indicate that the perpetrator had JUST been changed and was being carried naked by her father when, according to him, "she pooped all over my arm." Information is still being gathered in the case.

While the suspect's name cannot be released due to her status as a minor, her street name is said to be "little sweetie" as indicated by the shirt she is wearing in this picture.

I Don't Mean to Brag . . .

But these pictures provide an example of one of the most perfect human beings alive. I'm thinking of submitting them to the Smithsonian.

Our First Day at Home

Day One was both a challenge and a relief. After our 2.5 day hospital stay, sleep has become an invaluable commodity. We each got about 6 hours over a 72 hour period in the hospital, so we were ready to catch some winks with our first night at home. I was able to get at least ten hours (with a couple of interruptions) but Shelby could only piece together 5 or 6 hours.

Breastfeeding has presented a significant challenge, but we're all learning here. We'll postpone more discussion of that topic until we can get some practice. Mackenzie has adjusted to her surroundings quite nicely, which is very easy to do when you're totally oblivious to your surroundings in the first place. She lives in a land of sleep and baby formula. The only environmental factor affecting her mood is the cold air from a diaper change.

The vocal chords she displayed in the first minute of her life are still there, and she's more than happy to show those pipes any time things don't go her way. A couple of pictures from the first day at home follow. I'm not strangling her in the first picture - that's her favorite way to be burped. Also, in case you're wondering, that's her crib she's sleeping in and it's a normal size crib. It looks like she's sleeping in polka-dot hell, but it's just a crib mattress.

A Grand Entrance

Mackenzie Faith Sheehan entered the world on July 19th at 3:28 pm. She weighed 7 lbs, 1 oz and measured 20.5 inches long. The labor & delivery experience was certainly unforgettable, and I hope it's okay for me to speak for Shelby and say that we now know why it's call "labor."

The process began at about 2:00 am on Saturday morning, and we hung out at home as long as we could. We got to the hospital at around 8:00 am, and that's when the real fun began. Contractions that were six minutes apart at home reverted to 10 minutes apart in the hospital bed, much to the chagrin of the mother-to-be. A couple of rounds of pitocin and about six more hours took us all the way to 2-3 minute intervals. Without going into the boring details, the midwife went to check Shelby's level of dilation at around 3:00 pm and instead of a cervix, she felt the top of our little one's head. After 13 hours of labor, the delivery took a whole 28 minutes.

Mackenzie came into the world screaming like a banshee. There was no doubt in our minds that she was okay when we heard the shriek of a creature much larger than our 7lb baby girl. She spent the first hour of her life wide awake, eyes searching the room as if to say "is this all there is?" The process of delivery was one of the most miraculous events I've witnessed. Future first-time dads need not fear the experience - it's something everyone should have to witness in their lifetime.

Some pictures of Mackenzie Faith Sheehan's hospital experience . . .

The Road to "Labor Day"

We'll begin with a little slideshow of Shelby's journey to July 23rd (which turned out to be the 19th). The more astute observer might notice that Week 9 is absent from the slideshow. Science and astronomy fans might remember that the week of January 7 brought significant solar flare activity - the kind that can cause interference with all kinds of electronic devices, apparently even digital cameras. I went to upload the picture for Week 9 a few days after taking it and found the memory card wiped completely clean, presumably by the heightened solar activity from just a few days before. Just kidding. I have no idea where Week 9 went.

Our Mission Statement

We here at The Sheehan Show decided to begin publishing this blog to commemorate, chronologize, catalogue, and celebrate the birth of our daughter and the months (years?) following her birth. We hope that this will serve to give our family and friends a frequently-updated and entertaining look into the life and times of little miss whatever-we-end-up-naming-her. Here's hoping we stick with it . . .