This last month is full of new updates for the Clayton, Afton, and Carter family. We moved into our new home in the neighboring city of San Jose. The house is located about 8 blocks from eBay
headquarters where I work. My commute is literally 5-8 minutes! I
love it. I like to avoid Bay Area traffic whenever and however I can.

Afton and I have been busy making the home our own by painting and
moving in all the stuff that we have been able to accumulate over the past 4-5 years. We are just about settled in now even though there are hundreds of things we would eventually like to do to this place. We are getting a large amount of boysenberries and I took Mom up on her recommendation to make boysenberry freezer jam. It's pretty good --especially on ice cream. Our cat, Spartacus, has already gotten in a cat fight with a neighboring cat in our back yard. I hate to inform everyone that he lost the battle and got a nice scratch (or hole) on his back. We had to take him to the vet and they did an operation on him. He has now been wearing a coned collar and consistently runs into doors, walls, couches, and everything else in his way. It's a little
sad but it is also provides many hours of entertainment.

On a professional note, Afton just went back to work yesterday and we've found a good day care solution with a Peruvian
family. They only speak Spanish in their house, which we like. We
think it will expose Carter to some different cultures and customs.

I've been busy working with eBay. We've been launching some new
interesting features to eBay's website (right on the homepage) and I've been one of the chief architects on the solutions, which has been giving me some good exposure. If you're interested in the details give me a call. As for my spare time, I'm still doing some side work for a Bay Area start-up. It's a new website (content aggregator) for business execs. We're planning on going live with our Beta site in about a month.

Afton and I are also continuing to adapt as new parents. We find ourselves talking about new subjects such as: 'How many poops did Carter have today?' and 'What color and texture was it?' I'm also starting to believe in Karma because Carter has been going on a throw up rampage and I've favorite his target. If all the
stories that Mom and Dad have told of me throwing up are true then we definitely know where Carter got this habit from.

New pics posted in the gallery of our boy - check it out!

A few shout outs:

Congrats to Jared for his graduation!
Happy Birthday to Rick!
We're looking forward to seeing Dad & Kelli this weekend
Go Celtics (bring back the legacy)

Love,
Clayton, Afton, and Carter

So... one of our new nicknames for Baby Carter is the "Keebler Elf." Maybe it has something to do with his ears sticking slightly out and his bald head, but we like to joke that he looks like one of the little tree folk that make fudge striped cookies and crackers all day. :)

The other newly-acquired nickname is the "Cottage Cheese Factory" but that's a little less 'cute' or perhaps the less glamorous side of Carter and of parenthood. (I know you're thinking... was there EVER a 'glamorous' side??)

Right now we're busier than ever. Clayton is still working full time with eBay/Accenture - which is really more than full time because of the crazy weekday AND weekend hours. He's also working with a startup part time - averaging around 10-20 hrs a week. I'm home with Carter for another 6 weeks or so on maternity leave and trying to do my part to take care of Baby Carter while running the house and keeping it clean for showings and open houses. I'm also working hard at researching and interviewing nannies and day care options. I've had 4 interviews already and have another 5 scheduled this week. It's such a hard decision to even contemplate leaving Baby Carter at all (well... maybe not AS hard when he's screaming at 3am) but also to try to decide which care option will be the best for him and for us. So many big things happening and so much change all at once.

NOTE TO SELF: Having a baby, having a husband working 2 jobs, trying to workout your work and child care situation, buying a house, trying to sell a condo, and moving all at once is NOT... I repeat NOT for the faint of heart!!

I keep saying that I feel like the mole who's just coming out of the hole and beginning to see the light of day again! Baby Carter is 4 weeks old today and I'm just starting to get out and about and feel like I'm finally figuring some of this mothering "stuff" out. Nursing is coming easier, sleeping through the night is still hit and miss but does happen from time to time, and I'm figuring out little tricks every day to help the baby sleep better and more on a schedule. I'm also getting used to the idea that I'm no longer an individual, but part of a pair and I love my little man more and more each day!

Of course, I use the word "little" very lightly. He's 4 weeks old today but has already outgrown all of his newborn sized clothes and is in size "3 months." He weighs over 11 pounds and still eats like a horse. He is so expressive and cracks me up all of the time. One of my favorites is the grumpy face - which I call the "Winston Churchill."

A la Clayton's blog entry, here are some quick facts:

Weight : over 11 pounds
Age : 4 weeks today
Clothing size he's currently wearing : 3 months
Percentiles (as of pediatrician appt): 100% for height, 71% for weight, 55% for head
Nicknames : Prince Cartier, Great White Shark, Haus, Mommy's little burrito (when he's swaddled - be sure to roll the R's when pronouncing)
Clayton's plans for his son : Basketball Power Forward

Click picture to see more pictures

There have been so many things happening with us in the last couple weeks that it’s hard to collect all of my thoughts. I’m writing this entry on my porch while our carpet installers put in new carpet to our existing condo that we are going to put on the market this week. So if you see any typos in this entry it’s because the carpet installer guy is pounding his hammer right next to my ears.

By far the most exciting thing that has happened was the birth of our first son, Carter Michael Bolz. He was born with blue eyes, blonde hair, and not to mention a big head. We love having him around. For the past six days he has been lighting up our lives, while at the same time keeping us up at night. We still can’t believe that we’re parents of such a beautiful little boy. He loves to eat constantly, which is most likely a trait of mine. He wakes up in the middle of the night with hunger pains - just like me! If he keeps that up we’re going to be spending a lot of time together watching Conan O’Brian while eating leftovers at 1:00 AM in the upcoming years. Afton has already nick named him her ‘Little Great White Shark’ because he eats so much. I’m starting to give Afton the nick name of the ‘The Human Dairy Farm’ because every time I see her now she’s breast feeding Baby Carter. I hope everyone gets to see the pictures we posted on our website in the gallery, especially the ones of him wearing the BYU gear -- those are my favorite.

It all started on March 13th at 4:30AM when my sleep was disrupted by Afton standing in the doorway saying, ‘Clayton!! Clayton!!... I think my water just broke.’ These words pumped me with a sudden burst of adrenaline. I popped up and saw that her sweat pants were completely covered in liquid. We were both very excited that this could finally be the time (we had been expecting Baby Carter to come anytime for the past two weeks).

I called the hospital and they said that we could wait for two hours before coming into the hospital if Afton wasn’t having contractions. At the time Afton wasn’t having contractions and feeling just fine so we decided to go into the hospital around 6:30 AM. In my mind I was hoping that we could sleep for a couple of hours and then go into the hospital because I was up until 1AM the night before working so I didn’t get much sleep. However, my sleeping plans didn’t materialize – we all stayed up for the next two hours. Afton and Karen (her mom who was visiting) were far too excited to go back to sleep and I had to pack the hospital bags.

At 6:30AM I drove Afton to the hospital in our 2002 Champagne Toyota Camry, while Karen drove the Hyundai Elantra. I used one of the hospital’s, ‘women in labor’ parking spots that I’ve always wanted to use and slowly walked Afton up to the Labor and Delivery unit. By this time Afton was feeling some decent sized contractions. When we got to the Labor and Delivery Unit there was another couple in front of us, so we had to wait until she was admitted into the hospital first so we all had to wait, including Afton, in the waiting room for 5-10 minutes. Once we got our room the previous nurse’s shift had just ended so we had to wait 15 minutes before the new nurse got back on the floor. Then we finally met the nurse that would help us through the delivery – her name was Kathleen. She was a larger woman in her 40s that had several children of her own. She coached Afton through several contractions but it became pretty clear that Afton would need an epidural to get through the increasingly painful contractions that were getting much worse.

The epidural guys came in after an hour or so of contractions. They made me sit down on the opposite side of the room while they put it in. They said that there were too many husbands fainting during the injection so they now make sure that the husband is sitting down and can’t even see the actual injection. It reminded me of days in High School when my choir instructor kept pounding us to not lock our knees during performances so that we wouldn’t faint. I always thought that was stupid. No one ever fainted. However, I didn’t want to argue with them so I complied.

The difference in Afton after the epidural was like the difference between night and day. Her face perked up and she was conversational again. The nurse said that the contractions would continue for a while. We wanted an ETA but they said that it’s always a guessing game. However, she said if she had to guess she would say later that same day, or 8-10 hours. Karen and I figured then that we had lots of time to go get some lunch, since it was already around noon. I left first and got some food over at the Jack in the Box across the street from the Kaiser Permanente Hospital building. When I got back Karen and our nurse Kathleen also left to get some food. Poor Afton could only eat ice chips during labor. After 10 minutes Afton mentioned that she started to feel some real strong pressure. It was so bad that she felt like she needed to start pushing, which she couldn’t do until the nurse checked that she was fully dilated. Worried that the baby might just pop out while no one was there, I called the nurse on her lunch break and told her she needed to get back to the room. When she came back she checked Afton’s cervix and found that it was dilated to a 9 ½. She frantically started to set up the room for the delivery and called the doctors over to help. Karen wasn’t in the room so I started calling her to tell her that she had better get here quick or she might miss something that she would regret later. All my attempts to call her failed. I later found out that she had her new cell phone on vibrate in her purse.

After another 10 minutes everything was setup. The doctors came in and Karen showed up with some food from the outside farmer’s market. At that point Afton started pushing. From then on the epidural didn’t seem to work at all. Afton was in an enormous amount of pain for the next hour and a half. I stood right by her side brushing her hair back and telling her that she was doing great, and even holding her leg while she pushed. It broke my heart to see her there in so much pain and not being able to do anything about it. However I knew it would all be worth it in the long run. Afton probably wouldn’t have agreed with me at that time but after seeing Baby Carter she definitely does now. My favorite quotes during labor were, “GET THIS BABY OUT OF ME!!!!,” “I CAN’T DO IT,” “MAKE IT STOP”. This was the worst of it.

Finally after the hour and a half of pushing, Baby Carter finally greeted us with his presence. The first thing the doctors did was put baby Carter on Afton’s stomach. Afton was the first person he saw. I was the second. I then cut the umbilical cord and baby Carter was officially born. It was an emotional experience that I won’t ever forget.

They ran a number of different tests on him, which he passed with flying colors. He was officially weighed at 9 lb and 2 oz. When she measured his length the nurse marked him at 21 ¾ inches long but I saw the same measurement and he easily was 22 inches easily from my view. Carter seemed content while they were running the tests. He didn’t even cry. The official birth time was 2:21PM. The hospital workers mentioned several times that they were surprised by how quickly the labor went. Women are normally in labor much longer with their first child.

We eventually moved to another room in the hospital in the Mother and Baby Unit, Room #33. It was there that we spent the next 2 days. Between Baby Carter not sleeping consistently and the hospital staff waking us up every 15 minutes with new tests or checking Afton’s vitals we got absolutely no sleep. We were very excited when we finally left and were able to take Baby Carter to his home. Unfortunately, it’s a bit of a mess right now as we are currently moving things and getting it ready to sell.

-Clayton

Quick Facts:

Where:
Kaiser Permanente (new building), Santa Clara, California
Labor and Deliver Room 1
Mother and Baby Room 33

Time:
Day: March 13, 2008 at 2:21PM
Arrived at Hospital: 6:30AM
Left Hospital: March 15th 2:15PM (March 15th was the original due date)

People Present:
Afton, Clayton, Karen, Hospital Staff (Nurse Kathleen, 1 Doctor, 2 other nurses )



Leave us a comment!!! We'd love to hear from you..

Hello everyone -

So - I did B&B during my first trimester, and an original musical revue called, STOPTIME! during my second trimester. Luckily - no shows during the third trimester as I'm certainly quite large now and barely waddling about. I'm feeling like I have so much to learn about what the heck to do with a child so we've been taking any class we can get our hands on! So far we've taken Birth Prep, Newborn care, and Breastfeeding. Next up are Infant care (an expanded version of Newborn care) and Infant CPR. I'm 37 weeks now and certainly feeling like it. It's crazy to think the baby can come anytime he wants to now!

I had a crazy thought the other day... if I wasn't having the baby, there are a few exciting international trips for work that I'd likely be going on (think Europe, Asia, Latin America). But instead of being a little bummed, I happened upon a quote:

"People travel to wonder at the height of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars; and they pass by themselves without wondering." - St. Augustine

I couldn't help but think that perhaps the greatest wonder of all the world is inside me right now and I couldn't help but be excited to meet our baby and embark on this new adventure - the GREATEST adventure.

(Clayton said I should write all of this down so that after the baby is born - on days where I want to pull my hair out - I can remember feeling this way!!)