Tuesday, February 28, 2006
It Deserves A Post All To Itself...
I thought this photo was so great that it deserves a post of its own. This is him in his crib. I put a soother into his mouth to see if I could fool him into thinking that he was getting fed, and he actually reached up and kind of grabbed it. Check it out:
Random Cute Photos
Before I put up the photos, has anyone noticed how I'm trying to be more consistent with my caps in the titles of the posts? Anyone? No? Okay.
Yet a couple more photos that really defy classification. The first one is a random shot of Theo all wrapped up in his blankets.
Next, we have a nice one of him in his car seat. The cool thing about this one is what he's doing. Yes, that is his blanket in his mouth. When we put him in, he was a little bit fussy. But since we didn't have a soother, we had to improvise. I like it.
What else do I have here that fits in the uncategorized files? Oh, hey, here's one of him just kind of staring off into space as I'm holding him.
Yet a couple more photos that really defy classification. The first one is a random shot of Theo all wrapped up in his blankets.
Next, we have a nice one of him in his car seat. The cool thing about this one is what he's doing. Yes, that is his blanket in his mouth. When we put him in, he was a little bit fussy. But since we didn't have a soother, we had to improvise. I like it.
What else do I have here that fits in the uncategorized files? Oh, hey, here's one of him just kind of staring off into space as I'm holding him.
Little Toes
If there's one thing that's really undeniably cute, it's baby's feet. Check this little one out:
One of the proud legacies of the Carroll family is webbed toes. Yes, you heard me right, many Carrolls have webbing between their second and third toes on their left foot. I don't (must have skipped me), but my dad and two of his three brothers do. When we found out that the webbed toes are also on Steph's side of the family, we knew Theo was doomed.
Pretty cute, still, you have to admit. And better for swimming as well.
One of the proud legacies of the Carroll family is webbed toes. Yes, you heard me right, many Carrolls have webbing between their second and third toes on their left foot. I don't (must have skipped me), but my dad and two of his three brothers do. When we found out that the webbed toes are also on Steph's side of the family, we knew Theo was doomed.
Pretty cute, still, you have to admit. And better for swimming as well.
Monday, February 27, 2006
Here I am again
Well hello, everyone. Nice to see you all again, even if it is virtually. I'm sitting here on the couch again (what that means is there will be no pictures on this post: see previous discussion regarding wireless internet and inability to upload photos) watching CSI Miami and having a good laugh. What a show. Stellar acting, total believability. Great stuff. What a steaming pile of meh.
Wow, tangent. Let's get back on track, shall we? Here's the latest news. We went to the doctor's today to get the ol' checkup done. (*CSI Miami side note: Okay, why would that guy, as a suspect, bring a knife into police HQ when being questioned regarding a murder? Anyone know what I'm talking about? Like I said, excellent show*). Here's the Theo-related news: in the past week, he's gained 10 oz and now weighs in at 8 lbs, 8 oz. Nice. What a guy. He's very healthy all-told, and the doctor's given him a clean bill of health. We're feeling really good about that, let me tell you. Now we don't have to go back to the doctor's for three weeks. Imagine, three whole weeks without having to go to the doctor's office. That hasn't happened in about four months. It's going to be like a vacation.
Okay, I couldn't resist another witty TV-related side-note. I think I'm going to start another blog where I just comment on what I see on TV. For example, did you know that Maria Sharapova is now the spokes(wo)man for Lady Speed Stick? I could take that so many places that I honestly don't know where to start. Could you imagine making a living off a blog like that? Wow, getting paid to sit on the couch, watch TV, and be witty. Oh man, that's my dream job.
Hey, speaking of jobs, here's a little bit of shameless self-promotion, or maybe it's something else. No matter what it's called, the best adjective to describe it is definitely "shameless." Anyway, many of you know that I'm currently "between jobs" at this moment in time (that's a nice way of saying that I'm unemployed). Steph is getting EI payments, which cover our mortgage, and we're lucky enough to have parents who really want to help us through this time, but it's time for me to get a job. Ideally, of course, I'm looking for work as a pastor, but at this point I just need something to hold me over until I can finish my degree. So, anyone got any leads for me? If you know of anything (and I'm not talking about "Hey Mark, I hear McDonald's is hiring), leave a comment here and I'll get back to you. Thanks kindly.
Okay, that's enough of that, I suppose. Nice talking to you all again. We've got a whackload of pictures to upload, so look for them in the next couple of days. Thanks for your patronage--see you again soon.
Wow, tangent. Let's get back on track, shall we? Here's the latest news. We went to the doctor's today to get the ol' checkup done. (*CSI Miami side note: Okay, why would that guy, as a suspect, bring a knife into police HQ when being questioned regarding a murder? Anyone know what I'm talking about? Like I said, excellent show*). Here's the Theo-related news: in the past week, he's gained 10 oz and now weighs in at 8 lbs, 8 oz. Nice. What a guy. He's very healthy all-told, and the doctor's given him a clean bill of health. We're feeling really good about that, let me tell you. Now we don't have to go back to the doctor's for three weeks. Imagine, three whole weeks without having to go to the doctor's office. That hasn't happened in about four months. It's going to be like a vacation.
Okay, I couldn't resist another witty TV-related side-note. I think I'm going to start another blog where I just comment on what I see on TV. For example, did you know that Maria Sharapova is now the spokes(wo)man for Lady Speed Stick? I could take that so many places that I honestly don't know where to start. Could you imagine making a living off a blog like that? Wow, getting paid to sit on the couch, watch TV, and be witty. Oh man, that's my dream job.
Hey, speaking of jobs, here's a little bit of shameless self-promotion, or maybe it's something else. No matter what it's called, the best adjective to describe it is definitely "shameless." Anyway, many of you know that I'm currently "between jobs" at this moment in time (that's a nice way of saying that I'm unemployed). Steph is getting EI payments, which cover our mortgage, and we're lucky enough to have parents who really want to help us through this time, but it's time for me to get a job. Ideally, of course, I'm looking for work as a pastor, but at this point I just need something to hold me over until I can finish my degree. So, anyone got any leads for me? If you know of anything (and I'm not talking about "Hey Mark, I hear McDonald's is hiring), leave a comment here and I'll get back to you. Thanks kindly.
Okay, that's enough of that, I suppose. Nice talking to you all again. We've got a whackload of pictures to upload, so look for them in the next couple of days. Thanks for your patronage--see you again soon.
Friday, February 24, 2006
Photo Shoot With Mommy
Here are a couple of really excellent Theo and Mommy shots we took today. Enjoy.
Extreme Close-Up
Does this remind you of that scene in Wayne's World with the extreme close-up? Probably not, but it's pretty funny nonetheless. This is what happens when dad is holding Theo and trying to take a picture at the same time. A classic.
It's Never Too Early
I just realized that I'm being horribly inconsistent with my titles. Some of them have caps starting every word, some only the first word. Alas, being married to an editor has made me acutely aware of such things.
Anyway, I wanted to get this one up on here for your viewing pleasure. It's never too early to start learning about technology, that's what I say. Here's Daddy and Theo blogging:
Anyway, I wanted to get this one up on here for your viewing pleasure. It's never too early to start learning about technology, that's what I say. Here's Daddy and Theo blogging:
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Hanging out with mommy
Good morning, everyone. This is the most extensive update to the blog I've done to date, so I hope that your appetite for Theo photos has been somewhat satiated. Just so you're all aware without having to examine the whole thing, this is the seventh posting tonight (that's Tuesday, Feb. 21), so make sure you look below this post for all the new content.
I'm going to close off my evening of posting tonight with a couple shots of mommy's favourite time with Theo. Please keep sending me comments on these posts--we love to read 'em. Ciao.
I'm going to close off my evening of posting tonight with a couple shots of mommy's favourite time with Theo. Please keep sending me comments on these posts--we love to read 'em. Ciao.
Hanging out with daddy
Like I mentioned before, we quite often have some tummy time with our little guy at various points throughout the day. These times are by far my favourite, especially when he's so alert and trying to take in everything that's all around him. Imagine being an infant and seeing everything in the world for the very first time. How fascinating. Anyway, here's what tummy time looks like when Theo's awake. This one's an action shot; notice, if you will, how he is in the process of bringing his head back down onto my chest while simultaneously trying to crawl upwards:
And here is quite possibly the funniest shot we've ever taken of him. I'll let you take a look at it first, and then I'll make a comment:
Now, before you all start to think of tactful ways to tell us that we got a child whose head is on backwards (I can only imagine the opening line of that email: "Dear Mark and Stephanie, we loved the photos of your son, however, we couldn't help but notice that he is anatomically challenged in the head area."), please note that he is tummy-down on my chest. Even so, it looks like a Mr. Potato Head gone horribly wrong.
Finally, a bit of a blurry one, but a gooder nonetheless. This is me laying back on the couch and propping him up against my knees.
And here is quite possibly the funniest shot we've ever taken of him. I'll let you take a look at it first, and then I'll make a comment:
Now, before you all start to think of tactful ways to tell us that we got a child whose head is on backwards (I can only imagine the opening line of that email: "Dear Mark and Stephanie, we loved the photos of your son, however, we couldn't help but notice that he is anatomically challenged in the head area."), please note that he is tummy-down on my chest. Even so, it looks like a Mr. Potato Head gone horribly wrong.
Finally, a bit of a blurry one, but a gooder nonetheless. This is me laying back on the couch and propping him up against my knees.
Some random photos
Here are a couple of photos that defied categorization. By that I mean that there's no entertaining back-story that will compel you to read through an entire post just to "get" the photos. Well, I guess I should probably rephrase that: some of you actually read the posts. Others (like you, Adam, even though you probably won't read this) admittedly just look at the pictures. Oh well, at least the pics are great.
So much for not having enough for a back-story.
Here's a great one of Theo with my dad.
And yet another one of him sleeping, just for added cuteness factor. Please note that his arms continue to look like a bodybuilder's, and I am now booking him for various infant arm-wrestling contests across the country.
So much for not having enough for a back-story.
Here's a great one of Theo with my dad.
And yet another one of him sleeping, just for added cuteness factor. Please note that his arms continue to look like a bodybuilder's, and I am now booking him for various infant arm-wrestling contests across the country.
A family portrait
As you can likely tell, I've completely resolved my laziness problem, gotten up from the TV, and posted mad photos tonight. This is my third photo post in one evening. Oh yeah, I'm on a roll. And there's still more to come! That's right folks, stay tuned!
For now, we actually managed to get a photo of all three of us together. This is in our family room.
For now, we actually managed to get a photo of all three of us together. This is in our family room.
Outings will never be the same again
Things I'm learning as a parent #1352: there is no such thing as a "quick outing" anymore. On Saturday, Steph and I wanted to try our hand at getting out of the house, since Steph hasn't really left, save to go to the hospital, since Theo was born. Add to that the weeks of bedrest before, and you have one gnarly case of cabin fever.
Okay, wait, stop. Is "gnarly" the coolest 90's word ever? Could be. I'm going to work on bringing it back with a vengeance. Everyone, join me in my crusade to resurrect catch phrases of my youth!
Ahem. Where were we? Oh yes, gnarly cabin fever. So it being February, it's a tad bit cold outside, so we figured we'd have to bundle the little guy up. Lucky for us we have a little bunting bag for him (a term I never knew existed until I became a dad--along with "perineum", "D-Vi-Sol", and "hospital food"). "That should do it," thought we as we intrepidly stuffed him into the bag which at this point is roughly 10 sizes too large for him. The results? Well, you can see for yourselves.
Average elapsed time from deciding we want to go out until actually going out (pre-Theo): 5-10 minutes, depending on the state of hair and makeup readiness.
Average elapsed time from deciding we want to go out until actually going out (post-Theo, including time it takes to bundle him, pack his diaper bag (just in case) and get the stroller ready for launch): 20-30 minutes. Oh boy. At least he's cute.
Okay, wait, stop. Is "gnarly" the coolest 90's word ever? Could be. I'm going to work on bringing it back with a vengeance. Everyone, join me in my crusade to resurrect catch phrases of my youth!
Ahem. Where were we? Oh yes, gnarly cabin fever. So it being February, it's a tad bit cold outside, so we figured we'd have to bundle the little guy up. Lucky for us we have a little bunting bag for him (a term I never knew existed until I became a dad--along with "perineum", "D-Vi-Sol", and "hospital food"). "That should do it," thought we as we intrepidly stuffed him into the bag which at this point is roughly 10 sizes too large for him. The results? Well, you can see for yourselves.
Average elapsed time from deciding we want to go out until actually going out (pre-Theo): 5-10 minutes, depending on the state of hair and makeup readiness.
Average elapsed time from deciding we want to go out until actually going out (post-Theo, including time it takes to bundle him, pack his diaper bag (just in case) and get the stroller ready for launch): 20-30 minutes. Oh boy. At least he's cute.
The other team member
Team Carroll has definitely benefitted from the help of our amazing doctor, Dr. Mason. She was so excellent in the lead-up and whole birth process, and continues to be awesome in this new phase. Here's a photo of her with the boy (did I mention she's also very photogenic?).
Dr. Mason's husband, Mike, is an author you may have heard of ("The Mystery Of Marriage" and others). I think you all should go out and buy at least one of his books just to support these two amazing people. Totally loving, compassionate, and Christ-centred folks. We're so very lucky to have her as our doctor.
Dr. Mason's husband, Mike, is an author you may have heard of ("The Mystery Of Marriage" and others). I think you all should go out and buy at least one of his books just to support these two amazing people. Totally loving, compassionate, and Christ-centred folks. We're so very lucky to have her as our doctor.
A story for you
Well, I've got several new photos to upload here, but I'm having some technical difficulties, so you're going to have to be satisfied with a story for now.
Okay, I guess that "technical difficulties" is really just another term for "laziness", but hey, let's not play semantics here. What's happening is that I can't seem to upload photos from my laptop downstairs because the connection keeps timing out. So in order to upload the photos, I have to be upstairs at the desktop, which apparently works better for these things. The real problem lies in my wireless networking--not that it's bad, just that it has trouble finding the pictures on the desktop and then uploading them on the internet before the connection times out. But if I go upstairs, I can't watch TV. Oh, woe is me.
Right, bored yet? Moving on....
Here's the aforementioned funny story. This kid must be a Carroll man, because man, can he ever eat. He has this thing where he'll wake up and eat, squirm around in his crib for about an hour, eat again, and repeat for about four or five hours. This happens in the morning and then again in the evening. It's so funny to watch him because he opens his eyes, squirms out of his swaddling, and throws his arms up in the air. I wish this was an audio blog of some kind and you all could hear the noises he makes.
The cool part of all this is twofold. First, when he starts to wake up one of us will usually grab him and try to convince him that he's really not hungry and that he should go back to sleep. What we do usually is put him down on our chests tummy-down (known as "tummy time" to those who aren't as pediatrically-inclined as I am) and just hang out for a bit. This is evidently good for the kid because he can build up his neck muscles and stuff.
The problem is that this kid already has the strongest neck muscles I've ever seen in an infant (and having done extensive studies in the tensile strength of infant neck muscles, I should know). He can actually raise his head off my chest and look me in the eye. It's so absolutely amazing when he lifts up his neck and stares at me. Wow. This is the reason that people have kids, isn't it? So amazing. Today he even started to figure out how to move himself up my chest toward my neck. Unbelievable.
Second cool part about this whole business is the natural instinct that infants are built with. Even though he can't talk yet (I'm working on it, though--check back next week), he still manages to let us know when he's hungry by making little sucky faces. He also tends to mistake, well, pretty much everything around him for a nipple and tries to latch onto it, often with hilarious results.
Here's one example of the hilarity. Yesterday he looked out and saw his hand passing by. Thinking to himself, "Hey, this looks good," he latched firmly onto his forearm and started to suck. Usually he figures out that he's not getting any food and gives up. But not this time. No, he latched on and stayed there. There was no getting him off. We ended up having to actually pry his mouth away from his arm, much to his chagrin. He finally figured out where the actual food was, but man that was a funny thing to watch. Yum, arm. Delicious.
So that's about all I've got to put up here for now. Like I said, I'm going to post some new pictures soon, but I'll have to wait until I'm done watching TV. Also, I'm trying to convince Steph to start posting on here as well so that you all can get (a) the mommy's perspective, and (b) a break from my writing voice.
See you all soon.
Okay, I guess that "technical difficulties" is really just another term for "laziness", but hey, let's not play semantics here. What's happening is that I can't seem to upload photos from my laptop downstairs because the connection keeps timing out. So in order to upload the photos, I have to be upstairs at the desktop, which apparently works better for these things. The real problem lies in my wireless networking--not that it's bad, just that it has trouble finding the pictures on the desktop and then uploading them on the internet before the connection times out. But if I go upstairs, I can't watch TV. Oh, woe is me.
Right, bored yet? Moving on....
Here's the aforementioned funny story. This kid must be a Carroll man, because man, can he ever eat. He has this thing where he'll wake up and eat, squirm around in his crib for about an hour, eat again, and repeat for about four or five hours. This happens in the morning and then again in the evening. It's so funny to watch him because he opens his eyes, squirms out of his swaddling, and throws his arms up in the air. I wish this was an audio blog of some kind and you all could hear the noises he makes.
The cool part of all this is twofold. First, when he starts to wake up one of us will usually grab him and try to convince him that he's really not hungry and that he should go back to sleep. What we do usually is put him down on our chests tummy-down (known as "tummy time" to those who aren't as pediatrically-inclined as I am) and just hang out for a bit. This is evidently good for the kid because he can build up his neck muscles and stuff.
The problem is that this kid already has the strongest neck muscles I've ever seen in an infant (and having done extensive studies in the tensile strength of infant neck muscles, I should know). He can actually raise his head off my chest and look me in the eye. It's so absolutely amazing when he lifts up his neck and stares at me. Wow. This is the reason that people have kids, isn't it? So amazing. Today he even started to figure out how to move himself up my chest toward my neck. Unbelievable.
Second cool part about this whole business is the natural instinct that infants are built with. Even though he can't talk yet (I'm working on it, though--check back next week), he still manages to let us know when he's hungry by making little sucky faces. He also tends to mistake, well, pretty much everything around him for a nipple and tries to latch onto it, often with hilarious results.
Here's one example of the hilarity. Yesterday he looked out and saw his hand passing by. Thinking to himself, "Hey, this looks good," he latched firmly onto his forearm and started to suck. Usually he figures out that he's not getting any food and gives up. But not this time. No, he latched on and stayed there. There was no getting him off. We ended up having to actually pry his mouth away from his arm, much to his chagrin. He finally figured out where the actual food was, but man that was a funny thing to watch. Yum, arm. Delicious.
So that's about all I've got to put up here for now. Like I said, I'm going to post some new pictures soon, but I'll have to wait until I'm done watching TV. Also, I'm trying to convince Steph to start posting on here as well so that you all can get (a) the mommy's perspective, and (b) a break from my writing voice.
See you all soon.
Saturday, February 18, 2006
The fans are restless!
Hey again everyone,
I didn't realize how rabid Theo's fans are about seeing some more pictures of him. Okay, okay, I give up. Here are some more.
Oh, wait, I have a pithy anecdote to tell. My dad called yesterday and asked, "So how many thousands of pictures have you taken?" You'd expect that by this time we'd have taken a picture every minute. But you know what? We haven't.
Here's the logic behind it: a newborn baby does three things--eat, sleep, and poo. That's it. After you get a couple of shots of him eating and a couple sleeping (sorry, no poo shots), you've pretty much exhausted all photographic possibilities. So I could take lots of photos, but I'm afraid they'd all be of the same thing. "Oh look, here's one of him sleeping, oh, and another one, and another one...."
Just wait until he starts smiling, laughing, and showing us his personality. Then the photos will pick up, that's for sure.
Anyway, just to keep you satisfied, here are a couple pictures of him, well, eating and sleeping.
You know how I said I don't have one of him pooping? How about one of him burping? It's pretty close. And by the way, no, I am not strangling him a la Homer Simpson.
See you again soon.
I didn't realize how rabid Theo's fans are about seeing some more pictures of him. Okay, okay, I give up. Here are some more.
Oh, wait, I have a pithy anecdote to tell. My dad called yesterday and asked, "So how many thousands of pictures have you taken?" You'd expect that by this time we'd have taken a picture every minute. But you know what? We haven't.
Here's the logic behind it: a newborn baby does three things--eat, sleep, and poo. That's it. After you get a couple of shots of him eating and a couple sleeping (sorry, no poo shots), you've pretty much exhausted all photographic possibilities. So I could take lots of photos, but I'm afraid they'd all be of the same thing. "Oh look, here's one of him sleeping, oh, and another one, and another one...."
Just wait until he starts smiling, laughing, and showing us his personality. Then the photos will pick up, that's for sure.
Anyway, just to keep you satisfied, here are a couple pictures of him, well, eating and sleeping.
You know how I said I don't have one of him pooping? How about one of him burping? It's pretty close. And by the way, no, I am not strangling him a la Homer Simpson.
See you again soon.
Thursday, February 16, 2006
The story of the homecoming (with photos)
Now that I've got a little bit more time (okay, you're right, I should be working on my school work) I can post the adventure of bringing Theo home from the hospital for your reading enjoyment.
Tuesday was quite an intense day. A previous post captured the details of the story (talking the pediatrician into allowing us to keep Theo in a private room overnight to see how he did), but the behind-the-scenes stuff was far more intense than I thought it would be. As Steph described it, it was like every final exam we've ever written all folded into one night at the hospital. It was do-or-die time--would Theo come through? Stay tuned for the most dramatic rose ceremony yet!
But as you all know, he did gain weight and the pediatrician sent him home yesterday. Of course, it's one thing to say he can go home and quite another to figure that whole thing out. Let me explain.
Theo's car seat/stroller contraption is quite remarkable. Unfortunately, one needs an advanced degree in calculus and quantum physics to understand how to operate the stupid thing. We got him into the seat, and then realized that we'd have to make some adjustments to the height of the shoulder strap. Easier said than done, I tell you. Once we finally figured that out (it took 10 minutes of trying, a trip to the nurses' station, and 10 more minutes of actual doing), we finally figured out how to get Theo in.
Next came the hat (I love those little hats. Notice also the footwork):
Finally, the coup de grace, the blanket:
After that, all that was left was to get checked to make sure he was strapped in properly, and then it was time to come home! Or was it... (*cue suspense music*)
Background: after a baby is born he is tagged with two ID bracelets (wrist and ankle), and matching ID bands are given to both parents. They all have the same ID number on them, so that everyone knows who's who. Before you leave, the bracelets are checked to make sure they match. The problem was that Theo had kicked off both of his ID bracelets. So instead of putting them back on, the nurse just got him new bracelets.
Unfortunately for us, she forgot to change our bracelets, nor did she make a note of the change anywhere. So after waiting for 10 days to bring him home, we stumbled over the last hurdle: his ID bracelets didn't match ours. To add insult to injury, none of the nurses on staff knew us--it was the only shift in 10 days where nobody was working who had seen us before.
We were obviously devastated. But, much to our delight, there was in fact one nurse there who knew us (she was, in fact, the nurse who had assisted with the delivery, lo those many days ago). Where was she? Dinner break. Crap.
Anyway, they had to go find her, bring her back from her break, and ask her to verify that this was, in fact, our son. Then they let us go.
No wonder we were so tired last night. Anyway, more stories and pictures a little bit later. For now, I really do have to get some Greek done.
Tuesday was quite an intense day. A previous post captured the details of the story (talking the pediatrician into allowing us to keep Theo in a private room overnight to see how he did), but the behind-the-scenes stuff was far more intense than I thought it would be. As Steph described it, it was like every final exam we've ever written all folded into one night at the hospital. It was do-or-die time--would Theo come through? Stay tuned for the most dramatic rose ceremony yet!
But as you all know, he did gain weight and the pediatrician sent him home yesterday. Of course, it's one thing to say he can go home and quite another to figure that whole thing out. Let me explain.
Theo's car seat/stroller contraption is quite remarkable. Unfortunately, one needs an advanced degree in calculus and quantum physics to understand how to operate the stupid thing. We got him into the seat, and then realized that we'd have to make some adjustments to the height of the shoulder strap. Easier said than done, I tell you. Once we finally figured that out (it took 10 minutes of trying, a trip to the nurses' station, and 10 more minutes of actual doing), we finally figured out how to get Theo in.
Next came the hat (I love those little hats. Notice also the footwork):
Finally, the coup de grace, the blanket:
After that, all that was left was to get checked to make sure he was strapped in properly, and then it was time to come home! Or was it... (*cue suspense music*)
Background: after a baby is born he is tagged with two ID bracelets (wrist and ankle), and matching ID bands are given to both parents. They all have the same ID number on them, so that everyone knows who's who. Before you leave, the bracelets are checked to make sure they match. The problem was that Theo had kicked off both of his ID bracelets. So instead of putting them back on, the nurse just got him new bracelets.
Unfortunately for us, she forgot to change our bracelets, nor did she make a note of the change anywhere. So after waiting for 10 days to bring him home, we stumbled over the last hurdle: his ID bracelets didn't match ours. To add insult to injury, none of the nurses on staff knew us--it was the only shift in 10 days where nobody was working who had seen us before.
We were obviously devastated. But, much to our delight, there was in fact one nurse there who knew us (she was, in fact, the nurse who had assisted with the delivery, lo those many days ago). Where was she? Dinner break. Crap.
Anyway, they had to go find her, bring her back from her break, and ask her to verify that this was, in fact, our son. Then they let us go.
No wonder we were so tired last night. Anyway, more stories and pictures a little bit later. For now, I really do have to get some Greek done.
The post-euphoric letdown
I'm getting this feeling right now like the one I got after I went to see the last Star Wars movie. How did you know I'd slip a Star Wars reference in here? Or maybe the bigger question is why it took me so long.
Anyway, what I mean is that it sort of feels like now that Theo's home the suspense is over. Not only do we know how Darth Vader became Darth Vader, but we also know that he's Luke's father, and that the whole series of six movies is really about him. Oh wait, that's Star Wars again. Sorry. I'm getting this whole "I've been waiting for this so long and now that it's here and gone I don't know what to do with myself" kind of feeling. Maybe it's just because the initial feeling of euphoria got doused like a campfire by the blinding waters of fatigue and reality (I can only come up with stuff like that when I'm tired), but there's a real sense of "What happens next?" going on in my brain right now. And man, is that ever weird.
To quote an old cliche, today is the first day of the rest of our lives with our little man. And so we press on through midnight feedings and diaper changes knowing that like in a marriage, you can't be a parent long-term subsisting on euphoria and emotional highs alone. Now the real work begins, and it's a different kind of fun (the kind that makes you ask, "Why did I think this was fun again?" in the middle of a stinky diaper change).
For those of you who've been reading this blog to see when Theo comes home, I hope you don't think this is the end of the line. I'm not letting you off the hook that easily. In fact, now that we're home it's going to be easier to post here, so please keep checking back regularly for updates (more photos later today, by the way). I'll keep posting as long as you all keep reading.
But there's more to it than that, I suppose. We don't want you to just read the blog and comment on how adorable Theo is (although, hey, we're not complaining if you do). What we need from each of you as we embark on this journey is support, encouragement, lots and lots of prayer, and maybe the occasional free diaper change. We know you're here for us, and we sincerely appreciate it.
So thanks a lot for being here and coming along for the ride. I'm so excited about this journey, and I hope that you all can share in some of that excitement with me.
Anyway, what I mean is that it sort of feels like now that Theo's home the suspense is over. Not only do we know how Darth Vader became Darth Vader, but we also know that he's Luke's father, and that the whole series of six movies is really about him. Oh wait, that's Star Wars again. Sorry. I'm getting this whole "I've been waiting for this so long and now that it's here and gone I don't know what to do with myself" kind of feeling. Maybe it's just because the initial feeling of euphoria got doused like a campfire by the blinding waters of fatigue and reality (I can only come up with stuff like that when I'm tired), but there's a real sense of "What happens next?" going on in my brain right now. And man, is that ever weird.
To quote an old cliche, today is the first day of the rest of our lives with our little man. And so we press on through midnight feedings and diaper changes knowing that like in a marriage, you can't be a parent long-term subsisting on euphoria and emotional highs alone. Now the real work begins, and it's a different kind of fun (the kind that makes you ask, "Why did I think this was fun again?" in the middle of a stinky diaper change).
For those of you who've been reading this blog to see when Theo comes home, I hope you don't think this is the end of the line. I'm not letting you off the hook that easily. In fact, now that we're home it's going to be easier to post here, so please keep checking back regularly for updates (more photos later today, by the way). I'll keep posting as long as you all keep reading.
But there's more to it than that, I suppose. We don't want you to just read the blog and comment on how adorable Theo is (although, hey, we're not complaining if you do). What we need from each of you as we embark on this journey is support, encouragement, lots and lots of prayer, and maybe the occasional free diaper change. We know you're here for us, and we sincerely appreciate it.
So thanks a lot for being here and coming along for the ride. I'm so excited about this journey, and I hope that you all can share in some of that excitement with me.
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
It's finally happened!
Great news, everybody! Today at 2:00 mommy, daddy, and Theo all came home from the hospital! The brief story is that he fed really well last night while we were both there taking care of him, and he ended up gaining 30 grams overnight (not much overall, but about 1% of his body weight--not too shabby). Late this morning the pediatrician came to see us and gave us the all-clear to head on home. So we did!
Anyway, I have many more pictures to post and all sorts of stuff to take care of for you adoring fans. However, tonight I'm just going to enjoy being home with my son for the first time in 10 days. We're also having 3 of 5 grandparents coming over tonight, as well as Theo's aunt Laura, so it should be a party. Can't figure out the 5 grandparents thing? Come on, you know you can.
Even Pekoe (our cat, for those of you who are unaware) was happy to see him. Okay, so I'm stretching a little bit on that, but she's not hissing or being aggressive, which is about the best we could have expected. I think she's just starting to realize that (a) he's not another cat, and (b) those sounds he makes aren't aggressive toward her. She'll come around eventually.
I'll be back again tomorrow when the pictures get posted. Feel free to drop us a comment on this blog (I like reading them) or an email. Talk to you soon.
Anyway, I have many more pictures to post and all sorts of stuff to take care of for you adoring fans. However, tonight I'm just going to enjoy being home with my son for the first time in 10 days. We're also having 3 of 5 grandparents coming over tonight, as well as Theo's aunt Laura, so it should be a party. Can't figure out the 5 grandparents thing? Come on, you know you can.
Even Pekoe (our cat, for those of you who are unaware) was happy to see him. Okay, so I'm stretching a little bit on that, but she's not hissing or being aggressive, which is about the best we could have expected. I think she's just starting to realize that (a) he's not another cat, and (b) those sounds he makes aren't aggressive toward her. She'll come around eventually.
I'll be back again tomorrow when the pictures get posted. Feel free to drop us a comment on this blog (I like reading them) or an email. Talk to you soon.
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
What a week, part 2
This post is the continuation of the last one. If you haven't read that one, go do it now, and then come back here, otherwise this will make no sense.
Okay, when we last left our valiant heroes, they were just about to take matters into their own hands. On with the story.
What Steph and I lost perspective of in all of this is that Theo is still our child. At the end of the day, we still have the legal right to do whatever the heck we want with regard to his care. So no matter what the doctors say, we still have the right to check him out of the hosptial at any time. Now, this isn't always a good idea, but it has started to cross our minds, that's for sure.
But here's the dilemma, and it's one that may sound like what I talked about in an earlier post: at what point does your own common sense as a parent outweigh the demands of a doctor? We can tell from interacting with Theo (as we've basically lived at the hospital these past few days) that he eats well, is very alert, and is generally a healthy baby. In fact, he's so spunky that he's pulled his own feeding tube out on two separate occasions. The guy is, in all respects, a healthy boy. And yet, the doctor wants him to stay in the hospital until he can fulfill this ridiculous schedule that he's been set up on. Steph and I are starting to feel like we're force-feeding him because, well, he must eat every three hours, and he must finish within half an hour. But those of you who are parents likely know that babies make their own schedules. Theo's seems to be that he likes to eat more during the day and less at night. Is there anything wrong with that?
Apparently, yes. After talking it over and then consulting two other doctors about it, we decided that it was time for us to take the step of checking Theo out against doctor's recommendations. This, apparently, is not an easy thing to do, but if it must be done, it must be done.
We decided, though, that we'd give it one more go with the pediatrician, just in case we could plead our case well enough that he would be discharged. However, even Steph's powers of persuasion weren't enough to conquer the doctor's objections. But when we told him that we were just going to take him home anyway, that's when things started to go our way.
Man, where the heck is this story going? I mean, back story is interesting and all, but this is starting to feel like a French art-house film. Let's get to the action part.
The long and short of it is that we reached a compromise: we got re-admitted into the hospital and we're going to stay in one of the rooms tonight with Theo (finally out of the nursery and in our room!). Overnight, Steph will feed him basically on-demand to see how things progress. If in the morning he's gained weight, we'll probably be able to bring him home during the day tomorrow (which is good because our weekly parking pass expires tonight at midnight). However, if he doesn't gain weight, the pediatrician wants to keep him in another night.
Yes, friends, this is getting ridiculous (as is the length of this post). But we're just praying that Theo will show them all who's boss and gain weight on the schedule that we think he wants to be on. So that's what I'm going to ask you all to do as well. Please pray that he'll eat well, that he'll gain weight, and most of all that he'll find favour with the pediatrician. Steph and I don't want to "burn our bridges", but at the same time, we want this whole crazy ordeal to be over finally.
Thanks for keeping with us through all this. To those of you who have taken the time to send emails, we're sorry that we haven't been able to respond. When Theo finally does come home, we're going to tackle that stack and get back to each of you individually. If anyone else wants to send an email, it's. Check in tomorrow at some point for another update.
Okay, when we last left our valiant heroes, they were just about to take matters into their own hands. On with the story.
What Steph and I lost perspective of in all of this is that Theo is still our child. At the end of the day, we still have the legal right to do whatever the heck we want with regard to his care. So no matter what the doctors say, we still have the right to check him out of the hosptial at any time. Now, this isn't always a good idea, but it has started to cross our minds, that's for sure.
But here's the dilemma, and it's one that may sound like what I talked about in an earlier post: at what point does your own common sense as a parent outweigh the demands of a doctor? We can tell from interacting with Theo (as we've basically lived at the hospital these past few days) that he eats well, is very alert, and is generally a healthy baby. In fact, he's so spunky that he's pulled his own feeding tube out on two separate occasions. The guy is, in all respects, a healthy boy. And yet, the doctor wants him to stay in the hospital until he can fulfill this ridiculous schedule that he's been set up on. Steph and I are starting to feel like we're force-feeding him because, well, he must eat every three hours, and he must finish within half an hour. But those of you who are parents likely know that babies make their own schedules. Theo's seems to be that he likes to eat more during the day and less at night. Is there anything wrong with that?
Apparently, yes. After talking it over and then consulting two other doctors about it, we decided that it was time for us to take the step of checking Theo out against doctor's recommendations. This, apparently, is not an easy thing to do, but if it must be done, it must be done.
We decided, though, that we'd give it one more go with the pediatrician, just in case we could plead our case well enough that he would be discharged. However, even Steph's powers of persuasion weren't enough to conquer the doctor's objections. But when we told him that we were just going to take him home anyway, that's when things started to go our way.
Man, where the heck is this story going? I mean, back story is interesting and all, but this is starting to feel like a French art-house film. Let's get to the action part.
The long and short of it is that we reached a compromise: we got re-admitted into the hospital and we're going to stay in one of the rooms tonight with Theo (finally out of the nursery and in our room!). Overnight, Steph will feed him basically on-demand to see how things progress. If in the morning he's gained weight, we'll probably be able to bring him home during the day tomorrow (which is good because our weekly parking pass expires tonight at midnight). However, if he doesn't gain weight, the pediatrician wants to keep him in another night.
Yes, friends, this is getting ridiculous (as is the length of this post). But we're just praying that Theo will show them all who's boss and gain weight on the schedule that we think he wants to be on. So that's what I'm going to ask you all to do as well. Please pray that he'll eat well, that he'll gain weight, and most of all that he'll find favour with the pediatrician. Steph and I don't want to "burn our bridges", but at the same time, we want this whole crazy ordeal to be over finally.
Thanks for keeping with us through all this. To those of you who have taken the time to send emails, we're sorry that we haven't been able to respond. When Theo finally does come home, we're going to tackle that stack and get back to each of you individually. If anyone else wants to send an email, it's
What a week...
I think I can safely say that this has been the most exhausting week of our lives. That might even qualify as an understatement. But since I haven't posted in a day-and-a-half, I'm starting to get blog withdrawl. It's not pretty. So in order to feed my habit and yours, let's do an update.
So much has happened in the past two days, and yet it seems like we're no closer to actually having Theo home with us. He's done so well on all his feeds, taking whole bottles and even now starting to breastfeed reliably. It all looks good, really. Oh, wait, except for the one feeding.
Let me tell you about the one feeding. Theo's on a Q-3 feeding schedule (like my medical terminology?), which means that he feeds every three hours. He must feed, must get a certain amount, and must get it within half-an-hour. If you recall a while back, I said that in order to come home he needs to be taking 100% of his feeds via bottle or breast for two days straight and have weight gain in order to be sent home. All this has been fine and good, except that every day on a very consistent basis he's just too tired to take his 4:00am feed (can you blame him?). For a day and a half we've managed to get away with feeding him less (the nurses are very sypathetic to our cause; that and they want their nursery to be less full than it is), but this morning the nurse insisted on putting his feeding tube back in his nose for the sake of 20 mL. So all of that progress is now completely shot, just because he had less than one tablespoon left in his bottle.
Obviously, Steph and I are pretty upset about this. He was so close. That's when we decided enough was enough, and it was time to take matters into our own hands (*shocking/scary music inserted here*). I'll have that story in the next update I give (I'm trying to keep these postings short). See you then...
So much has happened in the past two days, and yet it seems like we're no closer to actually having Theo home with us. He's done so well on all his feeds, taking whole bottles and even now starting to breastfeed reliably. It all looks good, really. Oh, wait, except for the one feeding.
Let me tell you about the one feeding. Theo's on a Q-3 feeding schedule (like my medical terminology?), which means that he feeds every three hours. He must feed, must get a certain amount, and must get it within half-an-hour. If you recall a while back, I said that in order to come home he needs to be taking 100% of his feeds via bottle or breast for two days straight and have weight gain in order to be sent home. All this has been fine and good, except that every day on a very consistent basis he's just too tired to take his 4:00am feed (can you blame him?). For a day and a half we've managed to get away with feeding him less (the nurses are very sypathetic to our cause; that and they want their nursery to be less full than it is), but this morning the nurse insisted on putting his feeding tube back in his nose for the sake of 20 mL. So all of that progress is now completely shot, just because he had less than one tablespoon left in his bottle.
Obviously, Steph and I are pretty upset about this. He was so close. That's when we decided enough was enough, and it was time to take matters into our own hands (*shocking/scary music inserted here*). I'll have that story in the next update I give (I'm trying to keep these postings short). See you then...
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Obligatory end-of-weekend update
I'm so nice to all of you who will go to work on Monday morning and eagerly pounce on the blog as your first way to waste time during the week. Well, I appreciate your patronage anyway.
So good news: he didn't need his feeding tube all day today! That's excellent. We're praying that he'll get through the night okay and then we'll just have to do tomorrow and we're home free.
It's funny, but we almost don't want to even say that out loud because we're afraid that it'll somehow jinx the whole process. It's a silly thought, but after a week now of this whole back-and-forth to the hospital business we're almost used to it as a regular way of life. But we'd much prefer getting used to him being home as the regular way of life.
Anyway, Steph stayed at the hospital for the whole day and monitored the feeding process. The nursery at LMH has a little "Care By Parent" room off to the side where the kids in the nursery are, well, cared for by their parents. Right. Anyway, it was really nice to be able to wheel his cot in there and just hang out with him all day. It was away from the other babies and the nurses (and the soft rock music they insist on playing in there--if Theo comes home a Celine Dion fan there's going to be a lawsuit involved) and it was just really cool. We're pretty pumped, but like I said we don't want to get too high, just in case.
Funny story: Steph went in really briefly tonight to replenish his food supply and talked to the nurses who are caring for him. Apparently he had a little sneezing fit and sneezed his whole feeding tube right out of his nose. That's right, the whole tube that goes through his nose into his stomach. He sneezed it right out. Completely. I tell you, they should introduce an infant class at the Olympics. My kid would be coming home with medals. Not sure what sport, but there has to be something that uses a talent like that.
Okay, that's all for tonight. Sorry, no pictures because I'm just too tired to wait for the interminable amount of time it takes for this site to upload them. Maybe some more tomorrow. Talk to you soon.
So good news: he didn't need his feeding tube all day today! That's excellent. We're praying that he'll get through the night okay and then we'll just have to do tomorrow and we're home free.
It's funny, but we almost don't want to even say that out loud because we're afraid that it'll somehow jinx the whole process. It's a silly thought, but after a week now of this whole back-and-forth to the hospital business we're almost used to it as a regular way of life. But we'd much prefer getting used to him being home as the regular way of life.
Anyway, Steph stayed at the hospital for the whole day and monitored the feeding process. The nursery at LMH has a little "Care By Parent" room off to the side where the kids in the nursery are, well, cared for by their parents. Right. Anyway, it was really nice to be able to wheel his cot in there and just hang out with him all day. It was away from the other babies and the nurses (and the soft rock music they insist on playing in there--if Theo comes home a Celine Dion fan there's going to be a lawsuit involved) and it was just really cool. We're pretty pumped, but like I said we don't want to get too high, just in case.
Funny story: Steph went in really briefly tonight to replenish his food supply and talked to the nurses who are caring for him. Apparently he had a little sneezing fit and sneezed his whole feeding tube right out of his nose. That's right, the whole tube that goes through his nose into his stomach. He sneezed it right out. Completely. I tell you, they should introduce an infant class at the Olympics. My kid would be coming home with medals. Not sure what sport, but there has to be something that uses a talent like that.
Okay, that's all for tonight. Sorry, no pictures because I'm just too tired to wait for the interminable amount of time it takes for this site to upload them. Maybe some more tomorrow. Talk to you soon.
Saturday, February 11, 2006
The best photos yet
It occurred to me that I'm running out of witty things to say before I put photos up, so I'm not going to try. Better to quit while you're ahead, that's what I say. Here are some photos we took today when he finally had his eyes open long enough to get a photo taken.
I think this one's the best. He's studying his own reflection in the plastic of his cot intensely, but it looks like he's looking straight into the camera. If it weren't for the medical apparatuses (apparati?) in his nose and the background, I'd consider this to be one of the greatest photos ever taken of a baby in the history of taking photos of babies:
This one's kind of a sideways glancing, "get out of my face" kind of shot. It's the expression I expect him to use when confronted with hoardes of paprazzi:
Finally, one more for you, this one slightly blurry but still stinkin' cute:
Oh, to understand what he's thinking right now.
I think this one's the best. He's studying his own reflection in the plastic of his cot intensely, but it looks like he's looking straight into the camera. If it weren't for the medical apparatuses (apparati?) in his nose and the background, I'd consider this to be one of the greatest photos ever taken of a baby in the history of taking photos of babies:
This one's kind of a sideways glancing, "get out of my face" kind of shot. It's the expression I expect him to use when confronted with hoardes of paprazzi:
Finally, one more for you, this one slightly blurry but still stinkin' cute:
Oh, to understand what he's thinking right now.
Saturday's Update
Man, do I ever love the Olympics. The Canadian women's hockey team is currently just destroying the Italians (they just scored their fifth goal--Italy: none). Who knew Italy had a women's hockey team, anyway? Add to that the gold medal we just won this morning in women's moguls, and it's been a good day to be a Canadian. And may I add that the women are just taking the men to school. These hockey announcers stink, though. It almost makes me want to listen to Bob Cole and Harry Neale. Almost.
Oh right, this blog's about Theo. On with it then.
Steph went to the hospital this morning to check out his 9:30 feeding. His jaundice seems to have abated significantly, and he's much more alert today than he has been all week. In fact, the nurse called us from the hospital before last night's feeding to tell us that he had woken up to look for food just before his scheduled feeding. Nice work, little guy. Same thing again this morning: when Steph went in, he was already awake and searching for some food. He took probably half his bottle in about 5 minutes, but then got pretty tired. We were resigned to having to tube him the last bit, but after about 10 minutes of cuddle time (so super-cute) he took the rest. It was a new record for him.
*Side note* Olympics again. Anyone else watching this game? Canada is just absolutely dominating the Italians, and yet whenever the Italians even touch the puck and make a pass the crowd goes nuts. The Canucks would kill for a crowd like this. *End of side note*
So after all that stuff with Theo happened (sorry for the whiplash topic changes--must be my Dutch genes coming through), the pediatrician came in for his daily rounds. Steph talked to him for a bit and found out that not only has he been consistently gaining weight (Theo, not the pediatrician), the alertness level is a great sign. Today we're going to switch to having two bottles followed by one tube feeding. Then tomorrow, we're going to switch to on-demand feeding.
The story there is that he has never actually woken up and cried for his food. So tomorrow, Steph's going to basically live at the hospital. She'll wait for Theo to ask for food and then give a shot at breast feeding him. Essentially it's a warm-up for what's going to happen at home when he eventually gets here. If he manages to wake up, feed well, and continue to gain weight, he could be coming home on Tuesday or maybe even Monday! Wouldn't that be great?!
So that's all that's happening today. We're both going to head over there for his 1:00 feeding this afternoon. Should be great fun.
Oh right, this blog's about Theo. On with it then.
Steph went to the hospital this morning to check out his 9:30 feeding. His jaundice seems to have abated significantly, and he's much more alert today than he has been all week. In fact, the nurse called us from the hospital before last night's feeding to tell us that he had woken up to look for food just before his scheduled feeding. Nice work, little guy. Same thing again this morning: when Steph went in, he was already awake and searching for some food. He took probably half his bottle in about 5 minutes, but then got pretty tired. We were resigned to having to tube him the last bit, but after about 10 minutes of cuddle time (so super-cute) he took the rest. It was a new record for him.
*Side note* Olympics again. Anyone else watching this game? Canada is just absolutely dominating the Italians, and yet whenever the Italians even touch the puck and make a pass the crowd goes nuts. The Canucks would kill for a crowd like this. *End of side note*
So after all that stuff with Theo happened (sorry for the whiplash topic changes--must be my Dutch genes coming through), the pediatrician came in for his daily rounds. Steph talked to him for a bit and found out that not only has he been consistently gaining weight (Theo, not the pediatrician), the alertness level is a great sign. Today we're going to switch to having two bottles followed by one tube feeding. Then tomorrow, we're going to switch to on-demand feeding.
The story there is that he has never actually woken up and cried for his food. So tomorrow, Steph's going to basically live at the hospital. She'll wait for Theo to ask for food and then give a shot at breast feeding him. Essentially it's a warm-up for what's going to happen at home when he eventually gets here. If he manages to wake up, feed well, and continue to gain weight, he could be coming home on Tuesday or maybe even Monday! Wouldn't that be great?!
So that's all that's happening today. We're both going to head over there for his 1:00 feeding this afternoon. Should be great fun.
Friday, February 10, 2006
Background info about the name
Steph and I were sitting here talking on the couch, accompanied by the rhythmic sound of the breast pump (TMI, I know - please refer to my earlier comment regarding pregnancy destroying any dignity/inhibitions you previously had) and we realized that there is some background information missing in this whole blog. So here is where I will answer the nagging question on everyone's mind (or at least on the minds of those of you who don't know) - how did we get the name Theo Jonathan in the first place?
Okay, it's not like we named him Sputnik or anything (props to Chris and Christine Tang--that's their joke, not mine), but the name "Theo" still isn't all that common. Coincidentally, that was one of the reasons we picked it. Here's a little bit of our philosophy of naming for your reading pleasure.
When we found out we were pregnant, it was really important to us that we had some element of namesaking involved. However, looking down the lines of both of our families, there are several shady characters that we quite frankly wanted to avoid namesaking. Add to that the usual naming dilemmas that parents face ("I knew a guy in grade 1 whose name was Billy Bob and he was the kid who never wiped his nose") and my extreme pickiness when it comes to names, and you've got a bit of a problem. Fortunately for us, that problem was short-lived.
If there are two people who have made huge impacts on both of our lives it's been our respective maternal grandfathers. Steph's grandpa Roy was truly the full measure of a gentleman. Even though I never got a chance to meet him, the amount of sheer respect and esteem that he is held in to this day throughout her family is amazing. Dashingly handsome, quiet but strong, and a great husband and father--what else could anyone ask for? That, friends, is what it truly means to be a man. But we didn't want to name him Roy, so we went with the middle name: Theo. Add to that the uniqueness and character in that name (it's from the Greek meaning "divine gift"), and we had a winner. In fact, we both liked the name so much that right from the start there was never any doubt about it. That was going to be his name.
That only left his middle name. I mentioned above that the other person who has made an impact on me was my grandpa. Here's where I start treading into some potentially dangerous ground. Without getting into too much sordid family history, it can be noted that my grandpa wasn't exactly the greatest father in the world to my mom and her brothers, nor the greatest husband to my grandma. However, for all of his shortcomings (and who doesn't have those?), he was the best grandpa a kid could ever ask for, at least in my mind (which was all that mattered to me when I was little). Yes, he had a rough side, but it wasn't one that I knew except from a distance. My grandpa had a huge impact on my life, and it was important to me that we namesaked him. My grandpa's name was John; lengthen that and you get Theo's middle name.
As a point of order and perhaps one of those "circle of life" things (oh no, now I've got you all singing, don't I?), my grandpa died last year on February 2. A year and three days later, our little Theo Jonathan was born. So every year we'll take the time to be sad about losing grandpa, but we'll also rejoice in the miracle of life that Theo represents. Very fitting, I have to say.
See you all again soon.
Okay, it's not like we named him Sputnik or anything (props to Chris and Christine Tang--that's their joke, not mine), but the name "Theo" still isn't all that common. Coincidentally, that was one of the reasons we picked it. Here's a little bit of our philosophy of naming for your reading pleasure.
When we found out we were pregnant, it was really important to us that we had some element of namesaking involved. However, looking down the lines of both of our families, there are several shady characters that we quite frankly wanted to avoid namesaking. Add to that the usual naming dilemmas that parents face ("I knew a guy in grade 1 whose name was Billy Bob and he was the kid who never wiped his nose") and my extreme pickiness when it comes to names, and you've got a bit of a problem. Fortunately for us, that problem was short-lived.
If there are two people who have made huge impacts on both of our lives it's been our respective maternal grandfathers. Steph's grandpa Roy was truly the full measure of a gentleman. Even though I never got a chance to meet him, the amount of sheer respect and esteem that he is held in to this day throughout her family is amazing. Dashingly handsome, quiet but strong, and a great husband and father--what else could anyone ask for? That, friends, is what it truly means to be a man. But we didn't want to name him Roy, so we went with the middle name: Theo. Add to that the uniqueness and character in that name (it's from the Greek meaning "divine gift"), and we had a winner. In fact, we both liked the name so much that right from the start there was never any doubt about it. That was going to be his name.
That only left his middle name. I mentioned above that the other person who has made an impact on me was my grandpa. Here's where I start treading into some potentially dangerous ground. Without getting into too much sordid family history, it can be noted that my grandpa wasn't exactly the greatest father in the world to my mom and her brothers, nor the greatest husband to my grandma. However, for all of his shortcomings (and who doesn't have those?), he was the best grandpa a kid could ever ask for, at least in my mind (which was all that mattered to me when I was little). Yes, he had a rough side, but it wasn't one that I knew except from a distance. My grandpa had a huge impact on my life, and it was important to me that we namesaked him. My grandpa's name was John; lengthen that and you get Theo's middle name.
As a point of order and perhaps one of those "circle of life" things (oh no, now I've got you all singing, don't I?), my grandpa died last year on February 2. A year and three days later, our little Theo Jonathan was born. So every year we'll take the time to be sad about losing grandpa, but we'll also rejoice in the miracle of life that Theo represents. Very fitting, I have to say.
See you all again soon.
Maybe I spoke too soon...
Here's today's update for Friday, February something-or-other. I can't believe that five days have passed since our precious little Theo was born. It seems like this whole week has been just a haze of hospital visits. You know, I hear that you lose a lot of sleep when you have a newborn at home, but at this point I'm looking forward to it, because at least I'll be not sleeping well with him here as opposed to not sleeping well with him at the hospital. It's almost a Jeremy Bentham-esque utilitarian equation: all other things being equal, you must choose the pleasure greatest intensity.
Notice how in that one paragraph I not only expressed my opinion, but also added an allusion to a philosopher just to show how smart I am. Wow. I know, you're all in awe.
So pick yourselves up off the floor and read on, if you dare stand my wit. Um, okay. Yesterday's streak of three straight bottle feedings ended abruptly in the afternoon when he was just too tired to take the 4:00 feeding pretty much at all. So we're back to tube feeding again. Ah, but now we have a plan.
"A plan?" you ask. Yes, a plan! (*cue appropriate "I have a plan" music score*). I went in this morning to drop off some breast milk for him (isn't that just more than you needed to know about Steph? One thing about having a baby--you have no dignity or inhibitions left at the end of the thing) and I fed him his 9:30 feeding, which he took entirely by bottle! Yay, Theo! So anyway, in talking to the nurses we've decided that we're going to start alternating him--one complete bottle feed, one complete tube feed. As much as we may personally want him to take all his bottle feeds, there is a danger there that we will end up actually setting him back if we push too hard, which I think we've been doing. In our heart of hearts (what does that expression mean, anyway?) we just want him to come home, but herein lies the first dilemma of parenting: do we push him because we want him to come home so badly, or do we just accept the fact that it's going to take some time? The choice is an obvious, but not easy, one. As Dr. House said on this week's episode, "The choice isn't easy, but it is simple."
Wow, in one post I've not only alluded to a philosopher, but also made a pop culture reference. There's something on this blog for everyone, really.
Anyway, that's what's happening today. I'm going to post a medical update on Steph in a bit, and I'll also have what the fans really want--pictures. But I have to warn you, these pictures are even cuter than the last ones, so make sure you take adequate precautionary measures before viewing them. Talk to you all soon.
Notice how in that one paragraph I not only expressed my opinion, but also added an allusion to a philosopher just to show how smart I am. Wow. I know, you're all in awe.
So pick yourselves up off the floor and read on, if you dare stand my wit. Um, okay. Yesterday's streak of three straight bottle feedings ended abruptly in the afternoon when he was just too tired to take the 4:00 feeding pretty much at all. So we're back to tube feeding again. Ah, but now we have a plan.
"A plan?" you ask. Yes, a plan! (*cue appropriate "I have a plan" music score*). I went in this morning to drop off some breast milk for him (isn't that just more than you needed to know about Steph? One thing about having a baby--you have no dignity or inhibitions left at the end of the thing) and I fed him his 9:30 feeding, which he took entirely by bottle! Yay, Theo! So anyway, in talking to the nurses we've decided that we're going to start alternating him--one complete bottle feed, one complete tube feed. As much as we may personally want him to take all his bottle feeds, there is a danger there that we will end up actually setting him back if we push too hard, which I think we've been doing. In our heart of hearts (what does that expression mean, anyway?) we just want him to come home, but herein lies the first dilemma of parenting: do we push him because we want him to come home so badly, or do we just accept the fact that it's going to take some time? The choice is an obvious, but not easy, one. As Dr. House said on this week's episode, "The choice isn't easy, but it is simple."
Wow, in one post I've not only alluded to a philosopher, but also made a pop culture reference. There's something on this blog for everyone, really.
Anyway, that's what's happening today. I'm going to post a medical update on Steph in a bit, and I'll also have what the fans really want--pictures. But I have to warn you, these pictures are even cuter than the last ones, so make sure you take adequate precautionary measures before viewing them. Talk to you all soon.
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Thursday's Update
Hi again everyone,
This is going to have to be quick (read: no photos today) because I'm really frantic trying to get things together for school and my worship leading responsibilities for this coming Sunday. *Plug* Richmond Baptist Church is celebrating its 50th anniversary this weekend with several events, one of which is a big celebration service on Sunday morning. Dr. D. A. Carson is the guest speaker, and it should be a really excellent time. So for those of you who maybe have a week free from your own church obligations (or just want to come and have some fun with us), the invitation has been officially extended to you. I hope to see you there. *End of plug*
Right, how's Theo? In a word, good. We got to the hospital today (well, Steph did--I had class) and found out that he took his entire two morning feeds completely by bottle! Yay, Theo! Then, while we were there, he took another one completely by bottle. Remember, the pediatrician needs to see two full days of him drinking entirely from his bottle (no tube feeding) before he can go home. If he's turned the corner, we're looking at him possibly coming home on Saturday! I don't want to get my hopes up, but that was about the best news a new dad could get.
Keep up the prayers, everyone! God is listening to us and is pleased to answer. Thanks for your encouragement, thoughts, and prayers.
Love you all.
This is going to have to be quick (read: no photos today) because I'm really frantic trying to get things together for school and my worship leading responsibilities for this coming Sunday. *Plug* Richmond Baptist Church is celebrating its 50th anniversary this weekend with several events, one of which is a big celebration service on Sunday morning. Dr. D. A. Carson is the guest speaker, and it should be a really excellent time. So for those of you who maybe have a week free from your own church obligations (or just want to come and have some fun with us), the invitation has been officially extended to you. I hope to see you there. *End of plug*
Right, how's Theo? In a word, good. We got to the hospital today (well, Steph did--I had class) and found out that he took his entire two morning feeds completely by bottle! Yay, Theo! Then, while we were there, he took another one completely by bottle. Remember, the pediatrician needs to see two full days of him drinking entirely from his bottle (no tube feeding) before he can go home. If he's turned the corner, we're looking at him possibly coming home on Saturday! I don't want to get my hopes up, but that was about the best news a new dad could get.
Keep up the prayers, everyone! God is listening to us and is pleased to answer. Thanks for your encouragement, thoughts, and prayers.
Love you all.
Clarifying the deleted comment
Okay, enough people have asked me about this that I just have to set the record straight. The comment that I deleted on one of the posts (says something like, "This comment has been deleted by the administrator") wasn't anything sketchy or what have you. It was just a comment that got posted twice, so I figured I'd just take the second one off. I've learned my lesson though.
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
Wired for something...
Here's what he looked like hooked up to the monitors. They've taken the wires off now, so he looks a little bit more human and less, well, je ne sais quoi.
More Photos (what a surprise)
Warning: extreme cuteness ahead! All visitors will proceed at their own risk! Managment of this blog is not responsible for any cuteness-induced mishaps. You have been warned.
Status update
Here's a little bit of an update for everyone.
It's Wednesday today, and Theo's still being tube-fed most of his food. He's not really getting the hang of this whole "I have to eat for myself" idea. But that's okay. It could be much worse, that's for certain. At least he's (mostly) keeping it down.
Steph and I are both confident that very soon he'll catch on. The doctor needs to see two straight days of him taking all his food by bottle (or breast, which we're going to be trying for the first time this afternoon) before he can be discharged. Hopefully that will happen by the end of the week.
For those of you who've called or emailed about visits, here's what the protocol is going to be. At this stage of the game we're going to be going back and forth to the hospital so much (and I have school work to do which unfortunately doesn't stop) that it's probably just not going to happen, except for immediate family. Once Theo gets home it should be better, but our doctor's warned us about his fragile health, so we might not even be able to have people over then. At the very latest he'll be available for public consumption by early March. We'd really like to have you over (especially if you bring food), but we want to make sure that he does well--that's our first and foremost concern. I'll keep you posted as time goes on.
That's pretty much all for now. More photos later today when I get back from the hospital myself.
It's Wednesday today, and Theo's still being tube-fed most of his food. He's not really getting the hang of this whole "I have to eat for myself" idea. But that's okay. It could be much worse, that's for certain. At least he's (mostly) keeping it down.
Steph and I are both confident that very soon he'll catch on. The doctor needs to see two straight days of him taking all his food by bottle (or breast, which we're going to be trying for the first time this afternoon) before he can be discharged. Hopefully that will happen by the end of the week.
For those of you who've called or emailed about visits, here's what the protocol is going to be. At this stage of the game we're going to be going back and forth to the hospital so much (and I have school work to do which unfortunately doesn't stop) that it's probably just not going to happen, except for immediate family. Once Theo gets home it should be better, but our doctor's warned us about his fragile health, so we might not even be able to have people over then. At the very latest he'll be available for public consumption by early March. We'd really like to have you over (especially if you bring food), but we want to make sure that he does well--that's our first and foremost concern. I'll keep you posted as time goes on.
That's pretty much all for now. More photos later today when I get back from the hospital myself.
Photos
Okay, here are some photos from when we got to hold him for the first time on Monday. Please excuse the feeding tube in his nose (although I hear it's going to be the hottest new trend this spring).
Okay, what else can I put up here? Here are a couple more for good measure.
Okay, what else can I put up here? Here are a couple more for good measure.
The Story Of His Birth
And now it's time for the story of Theo's birth. Some of you who are looking at this page have heard all this before, but it's a good story so feel free to read it again.
First, some background. This hasn't been the world's easiest pregnancy for Steph. But the last five weeks were especially hard. On January 11, we were rushed to Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster because Steph started showing signs of early labour. At this point she was only 33 weeks, and the doctors were very concerned about the baby coming. Fortunately, he decided that it was best to stay in for a little while longer, and we were discharged from the hospital after four days. However, things had started moving along, and that's when what they call "latent" labour started for her (latent labour is when the cervix is between 1 and 4 cm dilated--she was 1 cm on January 11). Ever since then it's been a constant stream of contractions and pain.
On Saturday morning (Feb. 4), we ended up actually going to the hospital because Steph noticed a little bit of bleeding. The baby was checked out and everything seemed fine. After we left we decided to hit Tim Horton's for lunch (mmm...donuts), and while we were on our way there, the contractions started full-throttle. When we got home we timed them and they were coming about 8 minutes apart. Then at about midnight they were 6 minutes apart. Finally, the next morning, Steph woke me up at around 6:30 when her contractions were 3 minutes apart. Back we went to the hospital.
After assessing us and determining that Steph actually was in labour for real this time, it was time to get admitted. Things stayed roughly the same until about 3:30 when the doctor decided it was time to rupture membranes and get this show on the road. *Side note*--yes, you read that right, it was 3:30 pm on Superbowl Sunday when she went into labour. It's obvious that our doctor is not a football fan. Needless to say, I ended up missing the game. But I'm okay with that because (1) the obvious reason--we had a baby, and (2) I hear it wasn't much of a game anyway. *End of side note.*
After about 2.5 hours, Steph was fully dilated and started to push, and after about an hour of pushing, we had our little boy. And for those of you who think that's fast, let's just remember the almost five weeks of latent labour that preceded it. Here's what he looked like:
Unfortunately, Theo had a little bit of trouble breathing right off the bat, and the nurses ended up having to "bag" him (use a mask-type thing to help him breathe) for a few minutes. After I cut the cord (what a cool experience that was!) and he was weighed (did I mention he was 7 lbs 10 oz at a month premature?), he got to go see his mom very briefly before he had to go into the nursery. He was immediately placed in an isolette and put on supplemental oxygen to stabilize him. Guess what? I've got pictures of that too!
Later that night, after things had calmed down and Steph was able to walk again (she had to have some stitches after the birth) we went to check out his awesomeness in the nursery. Let me tell you, this kid is cute. I know, not exactly an objective opinion, but come on, he really is cute, isn't he? Feel free to post comments regarding his dashing good looks. I like to refer to him as "devestatingly handsome." It's only a matter of time before the ladies start calling!
Anyway, that's the whole story of our day on Sunday. I still have more to post about what's been happening since, but that'll be a different post. For now, I'll leave you with my favourite picture of the whole day. See you soon!
First, some background. This hasn't been the world's easiest pregnancy for Steph. But the last five weeks were especially hard. On January 11, we were rushed to Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster because Steph started showing signs of early labour. At this point she was only 33 weeks, and the doctors were very concerned about the baby coming. Fortunately, he decided that it was best to stay in for a little while longer, and we were discharged from the hospital after four days. However, things had started moving along, and that's when what they call "latent" labour started for her (latent labour is when the cervix is between 1 and 4 cm dilated--she was 1 cm on January 11). Ever since then it's been a constant stream of contractions and pain.
On Saturday morning (Feb. 4), we ended up actually going to the hospital because Steph noticed a little bit of bleeding. The baby was checked out and everything seemed fine. After we left we decided to hit Tim Horton's for lunch (mmm...donuts), and while we were on our way there, the contractions started full-throttle. When we got home we timed them and they were coming about 8 minutes apart. Then at about midnight they were 6 minutes apart. Finally, the next morning, Steph woke me up at around 6:30 when her contractions were 3 minutes apart. Back we went to the hospital.
After assessing us and determining that Steph actually was in labour for real this time, it was time to get admitted. Things stayed roughly the same until about 3:30 when the doctor decided it was time to rupture membranes and get this show on the road. *Side note*--yes, you read that right, it was 3:30 pm on Superbowl Sunday when she went into labour. It's obvious that our doctor is not a football fan. Needless to say, I ended up missing the game. But I'm okay with that because (1) the obvious reason--we had a baby, and (2) I hear it wasn't much of a game anyway. *End of side note.*
After about 2.5 hours, Steph was fully dilated and started to push, and after about an hour of pushing, we had our little boy. And for those of you who think that's fast, let's just remember the almost five weeks of latent labour that preceded it. Here's what he looked like:
Unfortunately, Theo had a little bit of trouble breathing right off the bat, and the nurses ended up having to "bag" him (use a mask-type thing to help him breathe) for a few minutes. After I cut the cord (what a cool experience that was!) and he was weighed (did I mention he was 7 lbs 10 oz at a month premature?), he got to go see his mom very briefly before he had to go into the nursery. He was immediately placed in an isolette and put on supplemental oxygen to stabilize him. Guess what? I've got pictures of that too!
Later that night, after things had calmed down and Steph was able to walk again (she had to have some stitches after the birth) we went to check out his awesomeness in the nursery. Let me tell you, this kid is cute. I know, not exactly an objective opinion, but come on, he really is cute, isn't he? Feel free to post comments regarding his dashing good looks. I like to refer to him as "devestatingly handsome." It's only a matter of time before the ladies start calling!
Anyway, that's the whole story of our day on Sunday. I still have more to post about what's been happening since, but that'll be a different post. For now, I'll leave you with my favourite picture of the whole day. See you soon!
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