Welcome Tobias Edward Thornton

Tobias Edward at birth

Tobias Edward Thornton was born yesterday (April 11th, 2012) at 4:44 PM at Hamot Women's Hospital.  He weighed in at 7lbs 4oz.  He was born via C Section.  I was later told that the number 444 indicates the presence of angels, which is very fitting with his religious name.

Tobias wrapped up in the NICU

During the C Section some complications were encountered and Tobias' lungs filled up with amniotic fluid.  He was admitted to the NICU for monitoring because he was straining to breathe.  After 4 hours they admitted him and will monitor him closely for at least 48 hours.  Due to the complications with the surgery Ashley was not able to see or hold him after the C Section.

Ashley holding Tobias for the first time

 

 Mommy and baby again

 

A few hours after giving birth, we were able to get Ashley stable and wheeled down to the NICU.  The tension in the air was so thick you could cut it with a knife, nobody was quite sure how mommy would react.  As the nurses rolled Ashley's bed up next to Tobias, you could feel how happy Ashley was and we didn't think she could be any happier.  She was forewarned that she would not be able to hold Tobias and was only allowed to ask once.  If the NICU staff said no, she wasn't to complain or ask again.  Before mommy had a chance to even ask, Lisa the NICU nurse at the time, offered to let Ashley hold Tobias.  Ashley cried tears of joy and was the happiest person that she has ever been.  Even though he was hooked up to the monitors and they had to hold oxygen to his face, she didn't notice anything other than how amazing he is.

Around 3 AM last night, the NICU staff took Tobias off of oxygen and he was maintaining good oxygen levels on his own.  First thing this morning at 9:30 AM the nurses took Ashley down to the NICU and she has been down there ever since.  Around noon the staff put Tobias into a "big boy bed".  I stopped in on lunch break and got to hold him for awhile.  As I was leaving Ashley started to breastfeed Tobias for the first time.

 

A special thank you goes out to everyone that visited Ashley at the hospital, those that brought gifts, and everyone that offered to help in anyone.  A friend of ours, Katie, even stopped by our house and started cleaning it for us and taking care of Gizmo.

I will keep you all updated as things progress, below are some videos of our experiences.

Tobias Edward Thornton Enters the World

 

Ashley Hold Tobias for the Very First Time - Part 1

Ashley Hold Tobias for the Very First Time - Part 2

Nesting Is Upon Us and I'm Not Talking About Birds!

Just as an update, Ashley's ER visit on Friday was nothing serious.  It was just some issues that showed up from the previous night's exam.  Other than her ear infection, everything is okay.

Ashley's "Nesting Instinct" has kicked in and she wants all of the household chores done and everything cleaned.  We had some friends over on Saturday and they brought their daughter.  We watched as she tore through the house, showing us everything that wasn't "baby proof."  After they left, Ashley started talking about how she wanted to spend Sunday getting everything straightened out.  My friend Matt offered to come over and help us tackle some projects.

Projector finally mounted on the ceiling

The picture above is our projector in the living room that has been a big point of interest for Ashley.  Previously it was sitting on a table in the middle of our living room with cables run across the floor to it.  Every time someone would walk in the living room the picture would move and lose signal.  I ordered a mount from Monoprice.com  (My favorite website) and Matt went through the process of mounting it securely to the ceiling.  We then adjusted it and made new cables to run through the basement and then up the walls to the projector.  As you can see in the pictures the wires are still just draped, but we will be getting conduit next weekend.  Matt also took it upon himself to mount up all of our surround sound speakers which is something I never got around to.

Projector "screen" with Ashley for reference

After Matt left Ashley started to organize the cupboards and pantry in the kitchen while doing laundry.  We aren't done yet, but we are certainly getting there!  We will get the inside of the house cleaned up throughout the week and then we plan on cleaning the exterior of the house next weekend.

 Gizmo is loving the weather

Ashley and Gizmo

 Ashley at 30 weeks

Ashley was 30 weeks pregnant yesterday, it really seems like the time is flying by.  Now that we only have 10 weeks left it seems like time is just slowing down.  I am so excited to meet my little guy and he is all I can ever think about now.  Ashley is feeling good other than the occasional headache or some heartburn.

Gizmo licking his sore paw

Gizmo is healing up well, he is still pretty sore but he is getting back to being his normal self.  Yesterday he had his last dose of kitty painkillers and it is just so funny to see the way he acts after taking them.  I hope that he doesn't have a whole lot of pain now since there is nothing left that we can give him.  He is so cute when he shows us his paw, like look guys see what you did to me!  He has been cuddling with us and sleeping in our bed a lot more than he used to.

I can honestly say that I am the happiest man in the world and I know I will be even happier once Tobias is here stirring up trouble with his dad.

Bye George!

Yesterday we had to return George to his previous owner.  There are a few reasons for this, the main one being that his previous owner wanted him back.  He also was very depressed and anxious at our house, and damaged quite a bit of our new home due in part to this.  He wouldn't eat and didn't like to go out to go to the bathroom.  Gizmo (our cat) was also very uncomfortable with him in the house, and being that Gizmo is our first pet we wouldn't want him to feel uncomfortable.  George is now back home and happy, and Gizmo is back to his old self.

Baby Preparations Part 1

Ashley at 28 weeks and 5 days

 We have been preparing everything for the baby to arrive lately.  Ashley and some friends painted and cleaned the nursery, she chose tan to match all of his furniture and bedding.  She has decided on a jungle theme which I think Tobias will love.  

Gizmo

Gizmo (our orange tabby) went to the vet yesterday to be neutered and De-clawed.  I set up a cage in the basement for George (our German Shepherd/Blood Hound) for days when he is too hyper.

George

Our next preparations will be to secure our projector so that it can't be knocked over.  Also, we have some other rooms that need to be cleaned up and painted.  We just can't wait to meet our little guy!

Mommy and Daddy