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Stefan HoffmannThis page is dedicated to the new person, Stefan Hoffmann, in our lives. We will post new pictures and stories on a regular basis. Please check back often for new updates. Click on each picture to show it bigger in a new browser window. Finding out and PregnancyReturning from our vacation in Malaysia, we did not only bring back fond memories and souvenirs, but also found out that our efforts (or should we say pleasures) at starting a family were successful. On August 31, 2004 Jana took a pregnancy test and it came back positive. In the early stages of pregnancy, Jana was quite sick with morning sickness, or morning-noon-and-night sickness, as she called it. This phase subsided with the start of the second trimester. On December 6, 2004, we went for the second ultrasound, where the gender of our baby was also established. However, we won't find out until Christmas when we open the card, where the doctor noted the gender for us as a Christmas surprise.
And it is a Boy!!!And here is the proof that our baby is a boy - Stefan Hoffmann.
Stefan has arrived - 03/22/2005On March 22, 2005, our baby boy - Stefan Hoffmann - arrived into this world. He was born at 3:51 AM Pacific Standard Time at Irvine Regional Hospital and weighed 4 pounds 10 ounces or 2110 grams and was 17 1/2 inches or 44 1/2 centimeters long. Since he was 5 1/2 weeks early, Stefan had to spend 2 weeks in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the hospital. Fortunately, everything was working - he was breathing on his own and was able to feed. But he needed to build some strength and get his inner temperature working, and the doctors therefore ordered him to stay in the unit for observation. It was very hard for us having to leave him in the hospital after Jana was discharged. We checked into a hotel across from the hospital and tried to visit him for most of his feedings. Here are some pictures of Stefan in his early days. These two here
In the HospitalSince our little guy came a little early to this world, he needed to stay in the hospital for 2 weeks. This was mostly so that his feeding would develop to a stage where the doctors felt comfortable letting him go home with us. So, we spent 2 weeks with him in NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit). A routine soon developed whereby we tried to attend most of his feedings during the day and then also spend time holding him. To establish his feeding, we were able to work with him as much as possible, but sometimes he needed an extra push and they had to insert a tube through his nose. Luckily that came out within a few days and soon after he was eating enough, so that we could take him home.
Baby Shower and Going HomeOur friends Eliza and Shannon threw Stefan and us a great baby shower. It was coed, so that Daddy and other male friends could participate in the festivities. A wonderful lunch buffet awaited us upon our arrival. Then we played some shower games that got everyone involved - even the boys had to eat baby food from jars in a contest. Some of this stuff tastes so gross, it is amazing how you can get babies to eat anything at all. The day after the shower, we were finally able to take Stefan home - actually, unfortunately, to our hotel, as our new house was still not finished.
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