Chocolate Overdose

Ty got dressed this morning and decided to get into the Halloween Candy. He ODed, but thankfully he is doing well! :-)

Just Kidding about the OD, but the picture says it all. Click to see a larger view! Hopefully later today we will get a smile from him while he is in his outfit. But Lori and I could not wait to post this one of him!

Going Away, Photographer, Faces, Playtime & Tummy Time

Last Saturday Night Lori and I went away for a few hours and left Ty with the baby sitter for the first time. It turned out to be a good evening for Lori's Aunt Tracey who came to the house and took care of Ty. We were gone for about 4 hours and Lori called once an hour to check up and see how our boy was doing. I was impressed that it wasn't more often because Lori was kinda nervous leaving Ty with someone else other then me! Tracey took care of him and he was soundly sleeping when we arrived home around 10:15. Tracey said he was a little fussy at times but overall was a good boy.

Ty is changing everyday and since changing his formula about 2 weeks ago we can see a big difference in him. He does not have the amount of gas as he did before and is sleeping great at night. We have been trying to put him in his bassinet around 9:30 after his last bottle and he has been sleeping till 3 or 3:30 AM before waking for another bottle and diaper change. He does fuss quite a bit in the evening but that is because he does not like taking long naps during the day and likes to fight sleep. But once he is asleep, he is out for quite a while!

I have to say, Lori is becoming quite the photographer. I have a pretty nice digital camera and she never wanted to touch it before we had Ty. One evening a few weeks back, I gave her a quick overview and since then she is turning into an artist. :-) It seems like everyday day I come home and have to look at the camera to see the photos she has taken! She is getting the "eye" and is becoming pretty good. She has taken the top four photos on the right column of our blog and three of the photos in this post.

Ty is starting to show us signs of his personality and show faces. His frown is something to giggle at...

And his smile... well you just have to see it! :-) Lori was able to catch a smile yesterday while Ty was playing in the clothes basket! He was laughing and cooing the whole time.

Ty has also been enjoying his activity gym. At this point, 20 minutes is about the extent of his play time but we have been able to get a few coos and smiles out of him while he looks at the different toys dangling around him.

And then there is tummy time... although it is only for a few minutes, Ty seems to enjoy his tummy time. Lori decided to give him some tummy time since he has been trying to pick his head up more often when we are trying to burp him. So far, it is working out quite well.


Tomorrow is Halloween and that bring Trick and Treaters to our front door. Hopefully, Ty is a good boy and cooperates with mommy and daddy and allows us to take a few photos of him in his cute little outfit. We did not get costume this year since he is so little, but he will be dressed for the occasion! Will post photos sometime over the weekend! :-) Till then...

One Month Old, Checkup & Other News

Yesterday was Ty's one month birthday! It is hard to believe that a month has gone by so fast, but it has. He has come a long way in a month. He now occasionally gives mom and dad a smile or a coo and is beginning to show some personality. I am trying to catch a smile with the camera but I seem to miss every time! I am sure I will get one sooner or later!

Last week we decided to switch Ty from Similac Advanced to Parents Choice (Wal-Mart brand) Gentle Formula. The big difference between the two is that the proteins in the Gentle formula are broken down into smaller amounts so that it is easier for Ty to digest. We decided to make the change after Ty was experiencing a lot of gas and tummy aches. After eating you could just hear his stomach rolling around trying to digest the formula which led to fussiness. Since we have changed last Saturday, Ty seems to be more content after feedings and is not having the tummy aches.

Last Saturday I decided to give my second try of baby sitting without Lori being around. She went to a birthday party for her little cousin while I stayed home and baby sat. And I thought the first time was hard?!?! Let's just say I cried "mercy" and called mommy to come home after one hour and 45 minutes of straight crying. No matter what I did, Ty just would not calm down. Within 20 minutes of Lori walking in the door, Ty was calm, cool and collected. Guess he just needed mommy! :-( Oh well, I am not about to give up! I will give another shot soon!



Today was Ty's one month checkup. He weighed in at a healthy 9 pounds 15 ounces and is still 21 inches long. Since our last visit 24 days ago, Ty has gained about 47 ounces, almost 2 ounces a day. Dr. Colli was impressed with Ty's weight gain and said that he is obviously getting the nutrition he needs and appears to be a happy baby. That is because Ty was a very good boy today during his visit, with the exception of peeing all over the nurse while she was weighing him in and taking his temperature!! Dr. Colli gave Ty a clean bill of health and also approved of our switch to a different formula.

As for Lori and I ...

Lori is healing well and is making strides in her recovery each day. She is doing laundry on a routine basis and even did a bit of lite cleaning around the house. In two weeks she visits the doctor for her six week postpartum appointment. At that point the doc should pretty much release her and allow her to get back to a normal life. *wink* House work! *wink* She is doing an excellent job as a new mom. She has had her moments too and does get a little anxious and teary eyed when Ty will not relax, but for the most part, she is doing excellent. I enjoy hearing her sing to Ty and coo with him and giggle when he does something funny.

I am doing well too. I am learning something new everyday, or at least it seems that way. I have learned to cope with the crying and fussiness, with the exception of last Saturday, and I think I am making strides as a new dad. I try to help as much as I can around the house and with Ty in the evenings just to try and take some load off of Lori and allow her to relax. But there are times, I can not do what mommy can and just have to sit back and let her take charge. The best thing about being a new dad is just coming home, being able to give Lori a hug and kiss and seeing that adorable boy of mine. That is special....

Busy Autumn Weekend

Before all the Saturday morning chores began, Ty got his first tub bath. I think it was more exciting for Lori and I then it was for Ty. He cried a little, enjoyed the sound of the running water and then cried even more when he was being dried off. As I said to Lori, it will be rough for a while... then there will be the day we won't be able to get him out of the tub.

Following the tub bath I went out to finish cleaning up flower beds and to mow the lawn. I then went to the local hardware store to pick up a few fall mums and a couple of pumpkins to decorate the front porch.

Once all the chores were complete, it was time to get cleaned up and try to get a few family photos outside. One of those photos made the cut and is now on the right side of the screen. We managed to get those in before Ty began to fuss at us for taking his binky away every time a photo was about to be snapped.

We then hopped into the car and stopped by the candy store in Chambersburg to surprise Nan Smith. After leaving the store we went to visit with Pap Smith. Pap enjoyed the company for a few hours, even the occasional crying and fussiness from Ty. Shortly after Nan got home we packed up, picked up dinner at Subway and made our way home to relax.

Following dinner, Ty and I sat down to relax and watch the NASCAR race and the Penn State game. Even though Ty feel asleep on my chest, I greatly enjoyed the bonding time.

Sunday marked the first day Lori was allowed to drive again since having her c-section and giving birth to Ty. She took advantage of it by letting me baby sit, while she went to the mall to get her nails done and do a little shopping.

As mentioned in a previous post, this was something that I was very worried about since I have no alone experience with children much less a newborn. Of course Lori reassured me that I would be fine and that Ty would most likely nap most of the time anyways, so I had nothing to worry about. I think she was setting me up!

Here was my first 3 hours alone with my newborn son....

As soon as the garage door was down and Lori was out of the driveway, Ty woke up from his cat nap and began fussing. I changed him, fed him, burped him and he was still crying. I walked him, patted him, bounced him... still fussing. This little guy has some gas. Ok, let's try Milicon (gas relief for babies). No... did not work.

Went outside and walked around for a while... ahhh, silence. Yes, he is sleeping.... Awesome!

Walked back into the house and closed the door... darn it, it woke him up and he is fussing again. Sat down at the computer and Googled something like "water running sound." Found a good sound that lasted for about a minute and could be repeated. Listened to that for about 15 minutes until it appeared he had fallen asleep. "Yes, I succeeded. This isn't so bad," I said to myself with a big smile on my face.

10 minutes later he began fussing again! Geez, what am I doing wrong?!? So I changed him again, fed him some more and burped him again. Walked him around inside and out and still fussing. Sat down on my Lay-Z-Boy chair and cuddled him up against my chest and patted his butt for what seemed like an eternity. Ahhh, silence. He finally fell asleep. Must have been tired from all the crying. OK, I can get back to watching the Redskins embarrass themselves against the winless Rams.

Then mommy came home... and for the most part, the rest of the evening went pretty well. For Lori, it was good to get out and get some fresh air on her own time without Ty or me hanging around. I believe it helped her quite a bit and I was glad I could help her rejuvenate while I was pulling my hair out.

On the other hand, I guess the good Lord above was testing me. In the end, I am glad he did... because I think I handled my first test pretty well. But all my frustration did not come without a price. This morning I noticed I have a few more gray hairs on my head. I am sure they won't be the last ones Ty gives me! :-) Hope everyone enjoyed the weekend!

Learning Curve...

I am told that as a parent your learning curve begins before birth and continues to grow for the rest of your life. Well Lori and I are two and a half weeks into that curve and I think we are doing pretty well.

Ty is becoming a pretty good little boy and Lori and I are doing pretty well as new parents. Since our first night home when Ty had a rough night, we have dramatically improved. We are learning that what makes Ty happy also makes us happy. We are also learning he is our new boss and we follow his schedule, not our own. For me that has been the hardest thing because I am such a stickler on time and schedules.

Here are a few things we have learned over the past 2 1/2 weeks:

He loves to be held close and his butt patted. He loves to be changed after eating rather than before. He loves to fall asleep when he is just about done his bottle. He loves to cuddle his head underneath our neck. He loves to have his hands up near his face, even when he is being swaddled.

Oh and one other thing... Lori and I are in love with our son, Ty. I think we are going to keep him! :-)

Ty is doing very well. He is sleeping pretty well through the night in his bassinet next to our bed, only usually awaking twice to feed. We are trying to start somewhat of a schedule with him at night and so far it seems to be working out pretty well. He is eating well and often. He is also making lots of dirty diapers!

During the work day I usually try to check in with Lori at least once to see how her day is going and to see how Ty is doing. The other day I called and she says "Honey, I'm kinda worried... he has not pooped all day and that is unusual for him." My reply, "Oh I am sure he is fine, he is just waiting for daddy to walk through the door." Well, believe it or not, as I pull into the driveway Ty dirties his diaper just in time for daddy to change. He dirtied three other diapers that evening... all for daddy! :-)

Overall the household is doing very well, although it needs cleaned pretty bad and that is on my Friday evening agenda.

Lori is recuperating quicker then I thought she would. She not only is doing a great job with Ty but is beginning to do light chores around the house such as laundry and cooking dinner. She is even getting up at night to feed Ty so I can sleep, which I greatly appreciate. She is getting back to her old self, but I believe she is getting a bit of cabin fever and needs some time out of the house. This weekend she will be able to drive again and I believe she is looking forward to that.

I am doing well too. I am trying to adjust to a new routine in the evenings. I used to come home, eat dinner, get things ready for the next day, maybe do a few chores and then retreat to my Man Cave in the basement for the rest of the evening. Now I try to come home from work and get settled quickly so I can take Ty off Lori's hands for a few hours while she showers and relaxes a bit without the little one in her arms. It has been an adjustment but one that has come with ease and understanding.

We are hoping for a nice weekend weather wise to get out of the house for a while. Take a ride with Ty, visit some family and enjoy a nice fall day. We are also hoping to take a few new photos of Ty, possibly outside and even try to snap a few family portraits. If we do, I am sure we will be posting some on here for everyone to see. For now, take a look on the right side of the page for a few new pics. Hope this finds everyone doing well!

Gaining Weight and Eating Good

Our doctor's visit was a good one this morning, well besides being thrown off feeding schedule. Our visit was at 10:20 and that coincided with Ty's bottle time. Well needless to say he was a little fussy till we got done the appointment.


The good part, Ty gained 6 ounces in about 48 hours! On Saturday he was 6 lbs 10 oz and this morning he weighed in at 7 lbs even. Doctor Colli and his nurse were very happy with the progress.


Ty has become a totally different baby since getting used to the formula. In fact this evening he drank his 1.5 ounces and then we gave him about another 3/4 of an ounce to satisfy him. I think we will be increasing his amount to 2 ounces and see how he does with that. Maybe he is going to be a big eater like his daddy?!?


I took a few more pics of him today and caught a few good ones. Below is another cute pic of our beautiful boy!

Rough Start But We Are Learning... And Getting Better

Ty's arrival at home came on Thursday with tears of joy and happiness. Ty was sleeping when made his first appearance in the house and continued to sleep on his dad's lap while mom got her first good shower since Sunday.

The happiness was short lived when it came time to nurse him. Ty just would not latch on to Lori. He had extreme gas and was extremely fussy. Lori and I only got about 3 hours sleep our first night home and needless to say it was a long one.

Finally I talked Lori into giving him just a little bit of formula during our 4 am feeding and he seemed to be satisfied. After phone calls, tears and discussions throughout Friday and Saturday, Lori has come to the the decision to stop nursing on her own. A special thanks to our friend Mary for giving her advice and support to Lori during this time. It always helps to have someone there that just went through the same thing a few months ago.

The decision was hard for Lori but after visiting the Pediatrition on Saturday morning we found out that Ty was down 2 more ounces from his hospital discharge weight of 6 lbs 12 oz. Lori decided that it was best for us to begin giving Ty formula full time for him to gain his weight back. We go back to the Pediatrtion's office on Monday morning to weigh him again to see if he has gained weight. Hopefully he has and we expect that he has.

We did get some good news at our office visit. Ty's billirubin levels in his blood, which cause jaundice, have come down and should continue to go down day by day.

Since we have had a steady feeding of formula, Ty has become calm, cool and collected. He only fusses when he is hungry, has a dirty diaper or when changing him and slept for almost 4 straight hours last night. This has helped both Lori and I relax as new parents and take in and enjoy all the things we are experiencing with our son.

Believe it or not, I have changed many dirty diapers... pee pee or poo poo, I have been good and taken that in stride. Although the last one I changed this afternoon did have a bit of a stench! But I was successful and am getting quicker at changing. Lori is too getting quicker.

Yesterday just after feeding Ty, we were able to get a few photos of the little guy. Isn't he so cute? How can you not love that face?!? Keep checking back for updates!

Going Home

We Gave In....

Since we are sharing a room with another couple for the last 24 hours
of our stay we gave into our own binky rule. Ty seems to like it!

Ty's First 24 Hours In The World

Ty, Lori and I wanted to thank all the family and friends who have taken time to visit, call, send flowers and give gifts of love during this special time. We are soooo happy that Ty has finally arrived and has instintly become the new love of in our lives.

Below is a link to view photos from Ty's first 24 hours of his life. I chose to uploads photos to Wal Mart so folks can purchase pictures and get them in just over an hour for that instant gratification feeling! ;-)

http://photos.walmart.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=33995108/a=9963549/t_=9963549

Thanks Again to everyone, Ty just LOVES the attention!