Dalton's First Christmas (Part 1)

'Twas the Day and Night Before Christmas...

Our poor little Dalton developed a goopy eye over the past day or two so Jenn and I (being Hypochondriac parents we are) decided to call the Doctor's office just to see if there was anything we could do to alleviate the greenish yellow discharge. The nurse who we spoke to said the eye goop can sometimes be an early warning sign of an ear infections and we should bring the little man in for an evaluation. There was an opening in their schedule in 45 mins so Jenn and I grabbed the diaper bag, got Dalton all bundled up and were promptly on our way.

Jenn, Dalton and I waiting to be examined by the doctor at Kids First Pediatrics.

He has a virtually insatiable appetite and it really showed on the scale! When the nurse weighed Dalton, Jenn and I were both taken back by his increase. Our little chunk was now tipping the scales at 9lb 5oz!! That's an increase of over 10% in less than 3 weeks and 11oz in the past week and a half! I gave Jenn a high 5 for a job well done! Our baby loves milk!

More good news was delivered when Dr. Peach determined that the cause of the eye gunk was likely due to a blocked tear duct (very common in new born children) and there was nothing to worry about. Simply massage the corner of his eye socket near his nose and wipe away the goop with a warm, damp wash cloth.

Happy that Dalton was just fine and a bit proud of the progress he made in the weight department, Jenn and I headed home to relax a bit, feed Dalton and get ready for Christmas Eve dinner at Jenn's aunt and uncle's house.

Beef Caaaake!!! Dalton with his first dumbbell (rattle)! Notice the sock on the hand! LOL, his little mittens were in the wash and he likes to grab his face!

Jenn and Dalton with his "cookie monster" outfit! It's a size 3M-6M but at the rate he is growing he'll be in it soon! (Thanks Auntie Sarah and Uncle Derrick!)

Showing off his pecs! (And cheeks!) So beautiful!

Yes, he really is this cute!!! Like the faux-hawk? If he hasn't stolen your heart yet you must not have one!

All bundled up and ready to go!!

Mommy and Daddy

After a long, but fun, night of eating way too much (Jenn and I, Dalton was still hungry!), visiting and playing Pictionary it was time to head back home and put our baby to sleep.

It wouldn't be Christmas Eve without a reading of the pop-up version of `The Night Before Christmas.`

Which one is Dalton's?

Home at last!

As of today, December 20, 2009, Jennifer, Dalton and I have been home for 14 days. 2 weeks of adjusting and joy. I'm hard-pressed to point to a single aspect which has remained untouched by the presents of our new son. Our routines have had a serious face-lift and the time to begin our new lives and our new family had, after 41 weeks had arrived the instant Dalton came out of the womb and into the world. Dalton is now the center of our universes and what a feeling it is!

Only 2 weeks have past and already Jenn and I find ourselves asking, "remember when...?" Remember when the heavy accented nurse (in a kind way) chastised Daddy about his diapering skills the 2nd day we were in the hospital? I guess the poo poo ISN'T supposed to leak out! Heck, I knew that... just hadn't had much experience yet.

Remember when Daddy cut Dalton's finger nails for the first time? Remember how scary that was for Daddy? Those perfect little fingers that wouldn't stop moving...






Remember the first book Jenn and I read to Dalton? The Very Hungry Caterpillar...



Remember our first doctor's visit? When Dalton was born he weighed 8lb, 5oz. His first Dr visit was on December 8, 2009. He had lost 4oz, which is common. The doctors like to see them back to their birth weight by the next appointment (7 days away).










By the next doctor's appointment (December 14) our little Dalton had grown a full inch and now weighed 8lbs, 10oz! He was back to his birth weight and then some!! Where does he put it?








This is where he puts it... His cheeks! He's part chipmunk!











Remember our first night at home with our little booger? I know Jenn and I will not soon for get that! Neither of us got more than an hour or 2 of sleep. Partly from a fussy baby; partly from not wanting to close our eyes. Honestly, how could I stop looking at this beauty?








Remember when we were changing Dalton and he would NOT stop farting? I wish I could have had that on camera! Jenn and I were practically reduced to tears from the intense laughter. We still laugh at those memories and are certain to for the rest of our days. This is what Jenn and I have to look forward to every couple of hours! Like Sarah said, all liquid diet and very short intestines!


With a small pang at our heartstrings we have accepted that time will not stand still. Experiences will be had; "firsts" will come and go. As new parents, and ones who don't want to miss a single moment, this acceptance has been a little scary. But accept it we have done and honestly, I believe we are beginning to welcome it. Sure, those precious moments have past and they can not be replaced. Jenn and I will not forget them either. Just so they remain "remember whens" we're ok. It's if they become "I can't remember whens" that it will be sad. Everyday is new for all three of us and there are always new first to be had.

Soon it will be... "Remember his first step... His first fall... His first boo-boo... His first word..." Looking forward to the next new memory fills me with joy and anticipation.






Remember his first smile?

Still in the Hospital

The 3 of us were in the hospital from Thursday night, when Jenn went into labor, until Sunday morning when they finally said we could go home. Beautiful baby Dalton's first days, I'm sure, were a mixture of ups and downs. I know the love he felt from me and Jenn, Grandma and Grandpa Gordy, G. Grandpa Roybal, Auntie and Uncle Muller was immense. The love from the nursing staff was a bit of a different story. Don't get me wrong, they were amazing. They simply had a job to do. Temperature taking every few hours, cold stethoscopes, heal pokes to take blood samples and the circumcision! He did not like that one bit! Poor little fella!

That was our first "rough" night. He was given local anesthesia and baby Tylenol. All the pain relief wore off around midnight and the poor guy let us know. Jenn and I felt helpless. That he was in pain was obvious. Jenn and I decided to call the nurse. We really wanted to keep the little booger in the room with us all night and not let him out of our sight but, upon the nurses recommendation, we let her take our son to the nursery. We felt horrible for not being able to fix the situation ourselves but we knew no amount of holding and loving could make his pain go away. The nursing staff could. And with that we found some comfort.

The next 2 days felt like a whirl wind. Most, if not all of our time was spent simply being there. We held Dalton almost constantly, changed the occasional diaper and tried to get into an every 2 - 4 hour feeding schedule... it seemed like we never stopped doing something even though there was little that we actually did. I think that was mainly due to our minds never resting and never ceasing to poor forth love. Jenn and I had created a new life. One who is capable of anything. Yet, at this very moment, can do almost nothing. It is the responsibility that all new parents face and Jenn and I are living it now and will be for the rest of our lives. It is an amazing thing.

Adoring mother...

I love him so much!

My 2 angels...

Love that only a mother can know.

Love that only a father can know.

As much fun as we had in the hospital, it was time to go home. Yes, Sunday had come and it was time to leave the safety and security of having 24 hr assistance and head into what would become our reality. An entire new set of firsts for Dalton lay just ahead. An entire new set of first for Mom and Dad lay just ahead also. It was rather daunting to think about everything that we must learn, and learn on the fly! Obviously, we would look to past experiences, help and advice from our loved ones and common sense. While believing we were capable of rapidly adapting provided some comfort, the most solace was found in knowing we are a team. The 3 Musketeers... Athos, Porthos and Aramis! Jake, Jenn and Dalton!

I can't believe Jenn and I created something this beautiful. Truly, he is a miracle.

Our little bear is dressed and ready for his first car ride! We are going home!

The Hospital Stay

Wow! What a night and morning! I became a Dad, Jenn became a Mom and most significantly, the responsibility of a new life was (literally and figuratively) in the palms of our hands. Little Dalton had become our world and we were thrilled! It was now about 6:00 am and the adrenaline and endorphins have all but left our bodies and fatigue was really setting in. Dr. Chillara finished with Jenn, the nurses had Dalton cleaned, I trimmed the umbilical cord to the nurses specifications and it was time to head to the post-labor room and nursery area. Upon the nurses advice we let Dalton stay in the nursery and Jenn and I tried to get some sleep. Dalton's first bath was scheduled for 7:30 am (12/4) and I wasn't going to miss that for anything! I told the nurse to come wake me so I could attend.

It felt like as soon as my head hit the pillow the nurse was knocking at the door to announce that bath time had arrived. I felt like I had been awakened from a dream. Had the last 12 hours really taken place? They most certainly had! As I followed the nurse down the hallway, camera in hand, I wondered how the little bugger's first few hours on the outside had been. Was he scarred, happy, did he miss the warmth and tender words of his mom? Did he even know what those emotions were? My guess is probably yes. Expressing them was the challenge he would face.

As I walked into the nursery, anticipation sky-high, I couldn't wait to see my son. The nurse led me to the far wall where the mini-baths were located. There he was. Dressed only in a diaper, laying on a warming table, my son was squirming like an inch word. Not crying, just making the cutest little grunts. My eyes welled up. I'm sure the lack of sleep had something to do with the my near uncontrollable emotions I tried to fight back when I saw my little man laying there. He was OK and I was relieved. Sorry for the poor quality on some of the pictures...

Little Dalton getting wiped down by a nursing student...

Waiting for the bath water

Laying in the warm water probably brought back good memories of Mommy's belly.

So cute!!! Look at this little guy! Just got done with his bath and getting dried off.

First bath. Check. One of many firsts he will experience. Hard to imagine as I was standing there watching that practically EVERYTHING this little life is experiencing will the a first. I know he wont remember his first diaper change, his first hunger pang, his first fever, his first car ride, his first view of the sky, his first "I love you." There isn't much we can do about that but be assured he will get an over load of I love yous. Not a day will go by that he won't feel the love of his parents. Just like a day doesn't go by where I don't feel the love of mine.

Very clean and very tired baby resting with mother.

Mommy admiring our little miracle.

Just look at those eyes, that nose, those lips, that chin, THOSE CHEEKS!

A big embrace...

He's awake!!! Must be hungry... or angry about the baby "straight jackets" he was provided with by the hospital.








Sleeping angel!













Cutest kid ever.





















Jenn and I didn't waste too much time getting him out of hospital issue and into the cutest little outfits ever!















My little Tyrannosaur has some CHUBBY cheeks!

The Stork is here!!!

I left off at about 2:30 am on December the 4th. Dr. Chillara was called to deliver our package and we were going through the pushing efforts with the nurse and waiting for the doctor to arrive. The contractions were becoming increasingly more painful and more frequent. And the baby was getting increasingly closer! Around 3 am, as I was holding Jenn's leg by the knee and ankle stirrup style (yes, I had "court-side"seats!), the nurse said, "Dad, look here. You can see his head!" As I looked down in amazement I could see what appeared to be hair. Where was that Doctor??!!

Shortly after seeing the little man's hair, Dr. Chillara finally arrived (around 3:20 am) and was ready for action. Promptly she suited up and hopped down between Jenn's legs, grabbed random medical instruments... forceps, etc, attached a large, plastic-lined sack at the base of Jenn's bed directly below where where the baby would be emerging and began directing traffic.

Chillara, like the nurse, instructed Jenn to push. And push Jenn did! With in 3 or 4 contractions, the head emerged! I gotta admit, it was a little odd seeing my son's head poking out of Jenn's nether-regions! "One more big push and he's out" Chillara announced. With Jenn pushing and the doctor pulling the head, Jenn let out the only scream of the night and at 3:39 am our son was pulled, yanked and pushed into the world.

I couldn't believe what I was looking at. This little human, crying, covered in amniotic fluid, meconium and blood, being held by the scruff of the neck and leg, opened his eyes and looked at me. Just for a second. But I know he looked at me. I was in total awe, becoming overwhelmed with emotion and relief. All the parts were there! Arms, legs, mouth, nose, ears, eyes... all looked good. No, they looked perfect. Even covered in all that icky stuff he was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.

In an instant, the Dr. had the umbilical cord cut and the nurses rushed our baby over to the heating table to get him cleaned up. I started following the nurses to get a closer look at my son and remembered... Jenn was still on the table! Looking back at Jenn I saw the doctor doing some indescribable things and quickly learned what that plastic lined bag was for! The details will be spared! I decided I would let the doctor do her thing and I would continue on to check on the baby.

The nurses were cleaning him, putting salve in his eyes and sucking the meconium and fluids out of his mouth. I kinda just stood there not knowing what to do. One of the nurses, Arian, said, "You can touch him Dad." Dad... that was the first time I had been called "Dad" and actually been one. It sounded pretty good to me.

Baby's first moments outside of the womb!

He has Daddy's Feet! Big and Flat!

Daddy holding baby's hand... even just seconds out of the womb he had a great grip! Baseball player for sure!

Salve in the eyes and he STILL looks amazing!!!

No, I didn't forget about Jenn! Here is the happy, relieved and very uncomfortable mom!

Happy Mommy!!!

Smitten Daddy!

Just before baby...

Hello and welcome to Baby Dalton's Blog! Jennifer and I wanted to give our families, who can't readily see our new edition, a view into our lives and family. It's so hard not having you all "just down the road" so hopefully this blog will extend a portion of the joy Jenn and I experience with our little man to you also.

The date was December the 3rd and I was on my way home from work when I called Jenn to tell her I should be home shortly and see how she was feeling. The "big day" was quickly approaching (December 8th was her due date) and for the past few days I felt the next contraction was going to be the start of labor. She told me that she had been having fairly regular contractions that were between 3 and 5 mins apart but wasn't sure it was the sign that we needed to call or head to the hospital. When I got home we continued to time the contractions and sure enough, they were all cycling for about 60 seconds with less than a 5 minute break between. We decided to lie down.

Jenn's back was tight so I began rubbing it a bit with a tennis ball in attempt to reduce some of the pressure. As we lay there debating whether or not we should try to make it to her brother's wrestling match something happened. At 6:15 pm Jenn felt a puff of air from down below and had the urge to go potty. No, it wasn't a "number 2", her water had broken. Neither of us panicked. Outwardly at least! After calling her doctor and describing what happened and what it looked like we were advised to head to the hospital. Our little guy wasn't gonna wait till the wrestling was over! He was coming and there was nothing that was gonna stop him!

So as calmly as possible we got dressed, grabbed a few items that weren't previously packed and ready and started driving to Rose Medical Center. Keep in mind Denver was still in rush hour and Colfax was backed up as we were nearing downtown. I made a kinda risky decision to get off of the main route to the hospital and take one of the side streets which parallels Colfax. We got so lucky! Between when I got on to 14th ave heading east, to when we reached Colorado blvd to head south (about 5 miles), we only hit 1 red light! Pretty lucky.

We arrived at Rose at about 7 pm, got checked in, went up to the delivery room and waited... and waited. Guess I didn't need to take the alternate route! The nursing staff started IV's and helped Jenn through the contractions which were becoming much more intense. This was uncharted territory for the both of us and we didn't know what to expect so the words of encouragement and positive feed back that pured forth from the nurses went a long way in helping.

The pain was immense... so we opted for an epidural. I don't remember the exact time... I had a lot of other things on my mind at the moment... but I think it was around 11pm that the anesthesiologist stuck the line into Jenn's spine and started administering the regional anesthesia. It was about 1:30 am on December the 4th when Jenn felt an overwhelming desire to push. The nurse said go for it and coached us through the "deep breath... hold and push! 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10. You're doing SO great!! Deep breath... hold and push! 1, 2, 3..." While the epidural relived a lot of the pain there was still quite a bit of pain and pressure. But it wasn't long (maybe an hour) when the nurse said, "I can see his head!" It was time to get the Doctor in the room to get him outta the home he knew for 9 months.

I will pick this back up tomorrow... with our baby's day of birth! It's getting kinda late and someone want some food! Enjoy the pictures... I will post more shortly. LOVE YOU!!! Jake, Jenn and Dalton.