More Pictures

Tobias in sepia

 

 Tobias sleeping next to daddy

 

 Tobias and mommy

 

 Tobias and daddy "sleeping" on the couch

 

Tobias and daddy playing video games

Tobias Is Coming Home?

Happy Family

 

Today is my last day of work before my vacation, I will be returning to work next Friday.  Ashley is doing really well and is feeling much better.  Tobias is doing great and might have some special news.  The doctors said that if he continues to progress like he has been, he will be coming home with us on Sunday.  Ashley will be released from the hospital tomorrow and leave for a few hours.  She will then go back Saturday night and stay at the NICU before bringing Tobias home on Sunday.

Please keep us in your prayers, we really want to see Tobias get healthy quick!

 

Daddy and Tobias holding hands

 

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

Caesarean section?

Ashley at 36 weeks 5 days

I know that I have been trying to post a picture of Ashley every week, but this one takes the cake for me.  Look at that big baby bump and those skinny little legs.  Throughout Ashley's pregnancy she has still only gained 2 pounds.  I swear she is the luckiest woman in the world!

Ashley had her appointment with the OB/GYN today.  When they measured her belly it measured at 41 weeks! The doctor couldn't stop commenting that we have a huge baby on our hands!  Then the doctor said that it is really looking like Ashley will require a Caesarean section and they would like to do it soon.  Ashley has another appointment on Tuesday April 17th for a sonogram and afterwards we will be scheduling the C-Section.

With only 22 days left (technically) I already knew that the pregnancy was coming to an end and I couldn't be more excited!  Now they are talking about Tobias being born next week?  I'll take it, I'm okay with that!  I just can't wait to hold my son in my arms for the first time and feel the moment that ever father never forgets.  It is an amazing feeling to know that I will be a father soon, but I'm sure this feeling won't hold a candle to how I feel when I hold him in my arms.

I Saw My Son

Tobias Edward at 35 weeks 6 days

 I saw my son yesterday and I couldn't have been happier!  He is getting big, the doctors are approximating his weight at 6 lbs. 15 oz!  His head is bigger than most babies, but he gets that from me.  The picture is above, unfortunately the sonogram technician we had this time was less focused on 4D and more focused on measurements.  That is okay, because that is what we were there for.  We have another sonogram scheduled in 2 weeks at 7 AM so I can still go and see him, that is if he isn't born by then.

 Ashley at 36 weeks

Above is a picture of Ashley at this stage in the pregnancy.  Not much has changed since last week, but she is eating a lot healthier.  I have been trying to feed her as many nutrients and proteins as I can.  She doesn't mind the attention, don't let her fool you.  We have been so excited, it seems like Tobias is all we ever talk about.  She has the same patience I do and she just wants to meet our son

I hope you all enjoy the pictures and I would love to hear from you in the comments section below.

Ashley at 35 Weeks and 2 Days

Ashley at 35 weeks 2 days

Great Weekend!

I have a new post over on Daddy Weight Loss today called Bad Weekend, but if I had a bad weekend how did I also have a great weekend?  On that blog I had a bad weekend because of my lack of diet and exercise.  This blog is a little different and I will tell you why I had a great weekend. 

I got to spend a lot of time with Ashley.  We watched romantic comedies and cooked meals together.  We fought over the temperature of these house and we cuddled to keep warm.  All in all it was great to be able to spend time with each other without having to be on a schedule.

I played a lot of video games over the weekend.  This is usually an activity that it reserved for late nights on the weekend.  Not this weekend, I got to play during the day and actually went to bed at a decent hour.  It was also a Double XP weekend on Modern Warfare 3 so there was quite a lot of activity on Xbox this weekend.

Before the weekend, Ashley being the best fiancee ever, cleaned the house.  Now when I say she cleaned the house, I mean SHE CLEANED THE HOUSE. It is immaculate, I was really surprised when I saw how clean it was.

Overall, it was a great weekend and I wouldn't trade it for the world.  I know Tobias will be here soon and everything will be completely different.  It was nice to have one last good relaxing weekend!

Routine Baby Appointment

We got a good laugh out of this picture...

Ashley had a routine baby appointment today to check her vitals and measurements.  The doctors are keeping a close eye on the size of Tobias because he seems to be growing pretty rapidly.  Don't quote me, but I believe they said that he is the size of a 36 week old baby rather than the 34 that he should be.

April 3rd we will have an appointment with the doctor to check his progress.  They will do a sonogram at that point and decide how big he is then.  They said that if he is 9 pounds they would take him out the same day as long as he is healthy.  

We are closing on the house on Thursday and getting everything straightened up.  I am so thankful that we are getting everything done this week in case he does happen to come early.  I can barely contain my excitement when I tell people all about Ashley's pregnancy.  Thank god I have this blog or I would probably lose my mind!

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

Another ER Trip!

 We made another trip to the ER for some concerns that we had about Ashley.  We called her OB and they arranged for us to go to the women's hospital.  They did the standard testing and everything came out okay.  I was exhausted before we went, but I was completely burned out after we left.

I don't like to leave you guys with cliffhangers (because I don't write on the weekends), but Ashley is back at the doctor again this morning for some other complications.  At this point we aren't getting worked up, but we would like answers as to what is going on.

See you all on Monday with more stories from the journey of a Daddy To Be!

Counting Down the Days

I know I shouldn't be counting down the days until Tobias comes, but I can't help myself.  I know that it makes time seem slower.  I am just so excited to see my son and see the looks on everyone's faces the first time they see him.

Ashley is starting to feel a little bit better, so hopefully the infection is starting to clear up.  I feel bad for her that she is sick because it is already hard enough being pregnant and tired all the time.  She still pushes through and manages to keep up the house and still have fun.

We finally have a closing date on the house, next Thursday 3/22/12!  I am just so excited for this ordeal to finally be over.  We have been working on buying the house since October 2011 and we were supposed to close on December 29th, 2011.  It has been a long winding road getting to hear, but the end of the tunnel is near!

Another Birthday and Another Hospital Visit

Ashley at 33 weeks

So as of Monday (March 12th) I am a year older, clocking in at 26 years old.  I had a great birthday this year, which I really needed.  I got out of work early, Ashley made a fantastic dinner (Steak and Potatoes), and I got presents of course!

I took the day off of blogging for my birthday and then locked out my Google account yesterday, so sorry for not posting.  I am back up and hitting the ground running today. 

Ashley had to pay a visit the emergency room yesterday.  She got a little cold and it led to a nasty ear infection.  The doctor prescribed ear drops and an antibiotic.  She is feeling a little better today, but isn't up to much.

We also got news last night that we will finally be closing on our house next week.  We have been living in the new house since December waiting for the closing.  That will be one less thing to stress about and we will be all settled down for Tobias.

Sometimes you can't be too sure....

Yes, she took three...

 

Ashley was told that due to a thyroid condition she would probably never be able to have kids.  We still tried to conceive for well over a year since she stopped taking birth control.  Well, we started to notice that all of the side effects of her condition were going away.  Her hair stopped falling out, she gained a lot of color in her skin, and she had more energy throughout the day.  Then she started to go to the bathroom a lot and I jokingly said, "Well you must be pregnant".  She took a pregnancy test that she had from a previous scare and ran to the bathroom.  A few minutes later I heard, "Um, Ryan, Come here!" and I ran in to see her looking at something on the sink with a huge smile on her face.  We hugged, kissed, and laughed.  For the following 2 days she took the other tests and finally got it confirmed by a doctor.

That's the story of how we find out that Ashley was pregnant, I hope you all enjoyed!

It's Friday!

Don't worry I won't be playing any Rebecca Black for my readers, I'm not that cruel.  Friday is by far my favorite day of the week, it means that I will have 2 days to spend with my friends and family.  Weekends are huge for Ashley and I, because we can't spend a whole lot of time together during the week.  Ashley has been busy organizing the house and getting everything set and I would like to be able to help her with that.  My birthday is Monday and we will probably celebrate it this weekend.

This wait is killing me though, 54 more days (assuming he comes on his due date) and I don't feel like I could wait 1 more day.  Everyday I wonder what he is going to look like, how he is going to act, and if he is going to love me from the start.  I'm nervous, excited, and impatient all at the same time.  My weight loss is motivated by him (http://wedding-weightloss.blogspot.com) and I want him to meet me when I am in shape.  I know he won't remember, but I will.

It Finally Hit Me

I thought all along that it had hit me that we were having a baby.  While the baby shower was going on I listened to this song because I had heard it on Glee before.  Yes, I know this song wasn't written for the show but it is something Ashley and I watch together.  I don't know what it was about the song, but I started tearing up and had to stop and think.  I really was excited about Tobias before, but now it feels completely different.  Last night while celebrating Ashley's birthday someone mentioned how nice Ashley looked and that it seems like she's lost weight.  She told the person that she was actually 8 months pregnant and the person was kind of embarrassed, but we all got a good laugh out of it.  Ashley's grandma mentioned that there was only 4 weeks to go, and Ashley corrected her and said that it was longer than that.  For a mere second I believed that we only had 4 weeks and I was ecstatic.

Listen to the song if you have the time, I thought it was a pretty good song.

Ashley's Birthday!

Today is Ashley's 21st birthday and Tobias is 32 weeks!  Her mom and grandma took her to the casino today to celebrate.  Ashley ended up winning a decent amount of money and cashed out, so she is very happy.  I will be taking her to our favorite restaurant (El Canelo's) tonight after I get out of work.

As far as her appointment from yesterday is concerned, everything is okay as far as we know.  The doctor wants her back in 2 weeks for a check up, which is standard procedure for how far along she is.  Thank you to everyone that prayed for and is praying for us now.

Ashley received a few gifts already of money this year, which is very nice seeing as she can't work.  She has had problems her whole pregnancy eating enough and lately she has been eating healthy because she has extra spending money.  I am very happy about this, because it is very hard to get her to eat 3 square meals a day.

Overall, everything is going pretty well for us and we have really enjoyed unpacking and organizing all of the baby shower presents.  I will try to get some pictures up from the baby shower within the next few days.

Pray for us

Ashley had a routine doctor's appointment today for the pregnancy and they found that she had high blood pressure.  They performed a non stress test and found that Tobias' heart rate was a little low.  They did clear Ashley and let her go home, so everything should be ok, but prayers can't hurt so if you could include us in your prayers today we would appreciate it.  Her pregnancy hasn't had a whole lot of problems, so this has her pretty worked up.  I will be going home to spend time with her and try to calm her down.

25 Week Sonogram

Daddy's little guy...

18 Week Sonogram - Sucking Thumb

Tobias sucking his thumb...

Related Videos

So some videos were shared with me and I thought I would share them with all of you.  The first one was shared by Ashley it is a song by Rodney Atkins with lyrics and I thought it was pretty cool.

The other video was shared by one of my readers, DoceanMotion, and it makes me really think about what I am doing with my blog.  It is called DearSophie by Google Chrome and it is about a father emailing his daughter while she is growing up to show her later in life.  I can only hope that I will be able to do the same with Tobias.

I'm sure that someday, whether I want to imagine it or not, that Tobias will find out that he is becoming a father.  I want him to be able to read this blog and understand how I felt during this process.  I want him to know that I am excited to be his father and want to play a huge role in his life.