Birth
Week 1
Week 2
Visiting Lee & Nancy /
Week 3-ish
Week 4
Week 5 & 6
Week
7 -- Grandparents Visit
Week 8
Week 9 -- Grandparents Visit Again!
Two Months Old
Three Months Old #1
Three Months Old #2
Four Months Old
Five Months Old
Six Months Old
Seven Months Old
Eight Months Old
Nine Months Old
Ten Months Old
Eleven Months Old
Twelve Months Old
One Year Old
Fourteen Months Old
Fifteen Months Old
Sixteen Months Old
Seventeen Months Old
Eighteen Months Old
Nineteen Months Old*New!*
Grandparents Visit *New!*
Presque Isle vacation *New!*
(if you want to print out pictures, contact me and I can get you high-res versions of these photos. Just give me the image name (which is in the address bar when you're looking at the picture)
I know it has been less than 3 weeks, but a lot has happened! The links below will all open up in the same window, so you might want to resize stuff so that you can have both on the screen at once.
19 months: I seem to have entered the terrible twos. Mom is feeding me in the bathtub because that is the ONLY way I would a) calm down and b) eat. I was happy, and a good time was had by all, even though I never sat down! My climbing skills are improving by the minute, and I love looking out windows. Daddy took this adorable picture and sent it to Mommy while she was away at a conference, so that she could eat breakfast with us. Daddy is so thoughtful -- it made Mommy very happy. Later in the month, we went to the Monroe (MI) County Fair where my cousins and Uncle Jeff were participating in the 4-H exhibits and horse show. Here is Ross in the ring with everyone else looking on intently. Daddy took some great pictures throughout the day: me just hanging out; me sharing my goldfish with Margo; Ross inspecting his ribbon; the family out to explore the fair; Margo napping -- what does blackmail mean?; Ross and I trying out a 4 wheeler; my cousin Leah is a cutie!
Grammy and Grampy Andy's visit: We did so many fun things together. They brought me a bulldozer which was great in the sandbox. Grampy really likes playing with me in my sandbox. Grammy is a real pal too -- playing Pat-a-cake. Sometimes Kacey and I play ball or just hang out together. Guess what I saw up in the sky?! Another really fun time is when Daddy bounces me on the trampoline! He's the BEST Daddy! Grammy, Grampy, Kacey and I also take walks in the park. Sometimes I walk the stroller, or Grampy or Kacey and sometimes I just head out on my own. Grampy keeps the special things I find. You find the best sticks along the path! The park also has a great play area, with lots of riding toys, swings and a slide! At home, Grampy and I have fun playing trucks. You can tell I'm really concentrating when my tongue sticks out! Sometimes Kacey and I hang out in my reading room. Grampy and I read together, share what we learn, and talk philosophy. Sometimes we laugh together just for the fun of it. We also do active stuff like ride on the tractor.
Our Presque Isle vacation (Aug. 2008): First, you have to understand that Mommy loves the water, and I don't! Other things I don't like include this shifty sand! However, the rocks were FASCINATING! I kept myself busy carrying and dumping water. Did anyone tell you that I'm a tough guy (even though Mom keeps calling me her cutie pie!) There were many interesting things to see and do, including these summer homes that were floating in a neighborhood! Speaking of neighborhoods, here is our campsite. The neighbors were pretty close by, but happily they were very nice and quiet. Some of them seemed semi-permanent (note the shed!) We even saw some that had refrigerators and deep freezers on their deck! In another part of the campground across the road, people had their tents right on the beach! Here we are having breakfast. Ok back to the important stuff (says my Mom) -- the beach! I must admit that being near the water is ok, as long as there are shovels, buckets and toys! See how happy Mommy is, in spite of me calling out to Daddy for help! One of our activities was to walk on the beach to see the Presque Isle lighthouse. It was really windy! One of my favorite things to do was be chauffeured on the surrey we rented. The brake was fascinating (and tasty) and so was Mommy's steering wheel -- it just didn't seem to work! Sometimes I zoned, watching the pavement go by. Here are the obligatory flora pictures -- one for Grandma Nancy and one Mommy found unusual and pretty. They had lots of fun bikes to play with. I didn't want to leave! Daddy took lots of sunset pictures -- they are so good, they look fake! One morning, we went to the Erie Children's museum. They had a very fun water exhibit that you could float a boat or a ducky down, and a fascinating vibrating pan. There was a box I didn't quite get the point of and a slide! Stairways are always fun, and they had a rocking horse! Did I mention that I wasn't thrilled about the water even though the water on the bay side is very calm? Toys and sand are fun though! Especially other kids' toys! More sunset pictures! Mommy and I are sitting in a big hole that someone dug -- it helped to be out of the wind, when you have drool dripping and rocks to balance I will walk/climb through that shifty sand if I have enough incentive -- a stick, of course! Here's one, and another and one that looks like a postcard. Our last day, we parked the RV at one of our favorite beaches (#10), so we could feel the breeze, hear the waves and see the lake from the RV. That was important while Daddy and I took our naps! That gave Mommy a chance to play in the awesome waves! And our last sunset. What a wonderful vacation!
I know what you're thinking. We're horrible parents. Its been nine months since we've updated this site. Dominic has doubled in age again! Since we're so poor at updating, we've decided to let Dominic tell his own story. The links below will all open up in the same window, so you might want to resize stuff so that you can have both on the screen at once.
9 months: Check out my fancy hairdo... I have curls and waves everywhere!... and the knot on my forehead! See me, happy when I dump out my toy basket
10 months: Crawling and getting into everything possible! And an SCCA member. I was too sick to dress up and go to school, but here I am in my Halloween outfit - my parents thought Tigger was appropriate since I LOVE to jump!! check out my tail. I love to read with Mommy. Playing in my toy basket is as much fun as playing with the toys! Mommys make the best beds and the best breezes when they exercise! I love it when Grammy Andy comes to visit - she is so funny! (Grandma taught me "uh-oh" when I "drop" my sippy cup) Grampy is pretty funny too, and I love that Gator! Yea! I got the block in the hole!! Grammy also introduced me to snow. I got to eat Thanksgiving dinner with the big kids.
11 months: Mommy still makes a great bed - and I'm the most adorable thing you've ever seen! - sleeping, crawling or lying on the floor playing with my linking letters and did I mention sleeping? After jumping, of course! Check out my forehead, again!! This time it was Daddy who dropped me... Off their bed! And did I mention that I like to sleep? One of my favorite games is playing horsy on Mommy's legs - upright or inverted! Mommy's getting ready for my first Christmas! And to get ready for the special occasion, my first haircut!! for which I always sat calmly and cooperatively . Hey check out all that stuff on the floor! Ulp! Head-lock! Wait a sec, I think you missed a bit over my left ear. Yep, I'm a cutie alright! To go with the haircut, I'm also getting teeth! Here, check 'em out. What did I say about loving to jump - here's proof. My first Christmas. Wow! Check out this horse my Grandpa Cook made for me! Hey this is fun - rings to eat! And a truck ! Move out of the way, roadblock! Thanks Grammy and Grampy, I'll be walking in no time! Grammy and Grampy like my toys as much as I do.
12 months: This twelfth month was pretty exciting. Mommy tried to sling me while she vaccuumed (not too successfully) and then took me swimming! Hey this stuff attacked me! But I'm learning to like it! Daddy, where'd you go!? Look, my cousins are here too. Too much fun can wear a boy out. That's what happens when you've learned to walk! Mommy and I like to read. But sometimes I like to be in my house or tucked beside the sofa. Now about this fancy truck. You can walk with it, sit backwards on it or even flop across it! Ok so you can face forward too, where there's a cool horn! Have you met my pal Kacey? She likes me! Sometimes we play ball. Grampy and I have some fun times reading magazines.
One year old!! I had a great birthday party, with the Thomas', Grammy, Grampy and Kacey and our neighbors. It was fun! But my toy basket is still one of my favorites! And did I mention that I wear myself out? My birthday cake was the first real sugar and dessert I've had. You can see that Daddy and Grammy were trying to show me proper behavior. The alligator Grammy and Grampy gave me has many uses: it follows on command and is tasty! Check out the fun quilt my Aunt Jane made me - I was fascinated! Since my birthday is in January, there was white stuff on the ground. I'm not quite sure what to do with it. Check out the silly hat from my Aunt Jane. I love to sit in my private corridor and read! I'm a happy boy - who cares about a little drool!
14 months: Did I mention that I'm an adorable angel when I sleep? I am my Grandpa Lee's boy - my first dose of whipped cream! My first Easter! Mommy and I colored Easter eggs, then I found them all over the house! I got an animal puzzle, a perennial favorite. Yup, still a cutie! and I still love reading with Grampy. High five, Grampy! Sometimes I get a little too much love from Kacey. Just on general principles, noise is good! The kitchen is a fascinating place. Have my parents told you about my piano performances? Thank you, thank you!
15 months: It was a busy month. Mommy and I are buds - she lets me play with her pans! I may be messy, but I can feed myself. Shoes are endlessly fascinating (and notice the stool that my Great-Grandpa VW made for his Mom when he was a boy.) This is how I look when I'm…uh, busy! Mommy was teaching me about hot and no-no! Woo hoo, bath time! I'm also a very helpful little boy. Here we are in Maine. Grampy is teaching me about astronomy! Notice the doggy that was my Daddy's toy. Sometimes both doggies follow me! They had this fascinating bench that you could ride and it had a slot you could put things in! Here I am, helping out again. So many fun things to do in Maine - see the sculptures Grampy made? He's talented! So is Grammy - she showed me how to play her pans! They had this perfectly-sized cupboard... and a piano so I could get in some hard-core practicing! Downtown Blue Hill had an excellent playground with swings, a slide, a play house and a twisty slide. Here you can see me telling Grampy about this neat steering wheel at the top of the slide. Daddy and I are buds, too. Of course, Mommy liked the scenery best and so wanted a family picture. I wasn't too thrilled about the idea but soon they let me have some real fun! And did I mention we were in Maine? Since Mommy likes the scenery, we went to Acadia National Park and to the top of Cadillac Mountain. Windy! Mommy didn't want me to play with this toy though. Everyone wants their picture taken with me! I'm fearless and having a blast! A windy walk after lunch in Bar Harbor. Then on to Thunder Hole. Time to move ‘em on out, and I'm a helpful kind of guy.
16 months: Daddy and I got Mommy a redbud tree for Mother's Day - she was very excited. This is my yard and my porch! More than three months later, and Mommy's congratulations balloon was still floating! I'm still adorable! My pal Kacey has a black spot on her tongue! Such fun things to do around our house - tractors with Grampy and a trampoline with Mommy and Daddy. My bedtime bottle when I put Daddy to sleep is another special time around our house. But nothing beats watching Grampy for entertainment! He's also great to climb on and read with. Can you believe it is time for a haircut again? This time Mommy held me and it worked much better.
17 months: Did I mention all the fun things to play with around our house? Puddles and hoses and trailers and ladders! The Thomas' gave me a sandbox!! We also had a visit from Grandma Nancy, a rare pleasure. Did I mention that I like playing with shoes - and moving them from here to there? Do I look like my Grandpa Lee or what?! We joined our local Y - they have a very fun pool, just for kids! I take swim lessons there!! The new skill on the home front is brushing my teeth - I'd do it 5 times a day if Mommy and Daddy would let me! I use the stool my Great-Grandpa made to reach the sink. Sometimes Mommy and I dance. Grammy and Grampy made me the coolest blocks! The adults play with them, too. Grammy and I are very into my Giraffe numbers book! One of my favorite games is Trot, Trot to Boston!
18 months: Now that I'm getting to be a big boy, I climb on my horse all by myself! I can sit at the table or sit in my box, a favorite place to eat gaga (crackers).
I know what you're thinking. We're horrible parents. Its been four months since we've updated this site. Dominic has now doubled in age.
In our defense, I'd like to point out that nobody told us about "baby years". See, we knew all about Dog Years, where time goes faster for dogs, so you take their actual age and multiply by three or seven or 5.89 or whatever it is. But it turns out that there's a similar thing for Baby years. In subjective time, I figure Dominic is about eight now. :-)
Certainly a lot has happened since we last updated the site! Dominic is crawling quite well now. He's also standing up while holding on to things. He's been swimming. He's even learned to read. Ok, ok, he really just likes to eat the book.
I'd also like to point out that no babies were hurt in the making of this picture.
In a further defensive statement, Laura would like to point out that she has since gone back to work. She's having to learn whole new lessons, like how to balance the guilt that she's leaving her child in the hands of people she does't really know with the guilt that she's not ready for class and not getting grading done. Her job was full time and then some even before she lost all control over and use of her evenings and weekends for getting things done. But when Dominic greets her with a big smile and even bigger kiss* it all becomes worthwhile. (*kiss = wide open mouth being ground against cheek and jaw while using hair to pull her head even closer -- and did we mention that Dominic is very strong!?)
And... Another month. Supposedly a routine starts, but I'm not entirely convinced people are telling us the truth... :-)
The big news this month is that Dominic is eating real food! Well, where "real" is defined as "puried to an inch of its life then mixed with rice cereal & breast milk". Still, I'm counting it as real food because it sure as heck is making his poop more real too. I've _got_ to remember to ask the doctor if we can just feed him milk only until he's potty trained! :-)
We got visits this month from all the grandparents, which was super. Grandma Nancy stopped by on her way from Toledo back to SC (it appears Youngstown, OH is on the way for _lots_ of travels these days!), and Grammy and Grampy Andy stopped by to go to the US Open. I think it was the first time Nancy had been to our house for quite a while, so we had fun showing off some house improvements as well as Dominic.
Dominic is now well able to hold his head up, move around, etc. No crawling yet, but he has discovered that he can rollover. At the beginning of the month, I put together his exer-saucer thingy, which he seems to like when he's not too tired.
And last but not least in the news department, we've started going to autox events this season. Being there with a very young child is certainly not a recipe for boredom, but we're slowly figuring out the things to do and not do. Dominic seems to be taking it easily as well as his parents, perhaps even better! :-)
Ok, about a month has gone by again and my parents are threatening to drive to Ohio and update the web site for me, if I don't get on the stick!
Looking over the past month of pictures, lots of stuff has happened. Dominic's Great Aunt Jane and Great Uncle Chip came by for a visit. Here's a shot of Dominic wondering just exactly what that noise was... :-) It was really nice to see Aunt Jane and Chip!
And, of course, the Grandparents Andy stopped by for a visit. The excuse.. um... "occasion" this time was a trip to the N.A.M.E.S. (North American Model Engineering Society) expo in Toledo. Here's a shot of the guys at the show. There are a ton more pictures of the show itself here, if you're interested.
Dominic has been getting steadily bigger of course, so we're now well out of all the clothes he originally wore. I've tried point out to him that I've got jeans I still wear that I bought about ten years ago, but it just doesn't seem to be sinking in. In addition, the weather is changing so we're trying out different summer outfits and hats and such. This picture is a neat one of Dominic in his new role as "Dominic Jones and the Temple of Boob".
In addition to getting bigger, Dominic has discovered he has hands! He's still not much on how to actually use the things, but he's getting better at it steadily. We put together his exercise saucer thingy (it says four months & up... So I cheated by a couple weeks!), and he often likes to sit in there a while and bat at his toys. He can get frustrated pretty quickly in there though, since he's not so great on the balancing.
Finally, this update wouldn't possibly be complete without mentioning Steggy the Stegosaurus. Steggy is Dominic's favorite stuffed animal, though you wouldn't know it by the number of times he's tried to eat him. Here's a shot of Dominic and Steggy taking a break after a long day at the office.
More pictures again. Its been almost exactly a month since the last update and Dominic has been doing well. No unplanned trips to the doctor or emergency room!
He did have his two month checkup... Everything was great. He was just over the top of the curve for weight and just under the top of the curve for height. So it looks like he's gonna be a pretty big boy... Perhaps more linebacker than jockey!
Speaking of weight, I put him on the scale last night and got.... 16.46 lbs. Yeesh! What a little fatty... :-)
This past month the Grandparents Andy visited not once, but twice! They were on their way from Maine to Florida to spend time with Aunt Earlene and Uncle Paul. Apparently with the birth of Dominic, Eastern Ohio is now "on the way" to Florida... :-) It was a fun couple of visits. They hadn't seen Dominic in person since he was born, so there were a number of changes. Plus Laura and I had our first official "night out" since Dominic was born, leaving Grammy Andy babysitting at home. We even paid her! (Yes Mom, that $20 you found in your purse later on was from us... :-)
Speaking of Dominic growing, we're well past the infant stages of outfits and are up to size #2 diapers... I'm not sure how the numbers on those work exactly. Diaper duty still isn't too bad... I guess when he gets older they'll start to be a bit more nasty but right now its not really the end of the world. Grampy Andy still isn't having anything to do with them though, which I figure is a tactical error. Eventually he's going to be worn down and will change a diaper, so to me it seems like it'd be better to do it now while they're not that bad, get credit for it, and then not have to do it later when they supposedly reek...
Oh! Here's my new favorite picture...
That's about it for now, I'm sure there's lots I'm forgetting to write down. So far being parents isn't all that different from what I think we were expecting... We don't have much time to do anything other than sleep, eat, work, and take care of Dominic so when other stuff needs to be done (can you say "Race Season Is Coming... And The Garage Still Isn't Done"?), it leads to even more stress. But, most folks seem to have the exact same experience with that, so we'll just suck it up and get through it. I think we're both looking forward to when Dominic starts going to bed at 9pm, sleeps through the night, and Laura isn't pumping. Then we'll be able to have a 'normal' sleep schedule at least, even if everything else is still busy. Our first autocross event is on the 28th of this month. We're planning on having the whole family there and a car that works... Hopefully that can happen!
Some more pictures... Dominic is getting a little older and a little fatter... He's also started smiling a bit and sometimes he doesn't even 'stinker' (as my nephew Ross would say) right afterwards!
Btw, this is my favorite picture so far I think.
We haven't travelled a single time since our last update. Dominic has now been "at home" more in his life than he's been "not at home"... We couldn't say that a few weeks ago!
In the milestone front, he's on to size "1" diapers from the newborn ones, and has also outgrown some of the newborn clothes. The 'pants section' on the ones without feet now crawl up his legs and make him look like some kinda backwoods lumberjack from Sweeden that doesn't have much of a clothes budget.
(ok, maybe he only looks like that to me)
Anyway, we're definitely doing the milestone thing. Smiling, pouting (adorable "birdie perch"!), outgrowing clothes, into double digits on the weight front (12.1 lbs at the last weigh in), eating more and more (currently record is 7oz in one feeding before he settles down!). Soon he'll be wanting a car.
Grammy and Grampy Andy are coming this weekend... would you believe they were happy to be called on to babysit? Laura needs to be at school for several days. They haven't seen Dominic in person since he was born. It'll be interesting to see what they think of the changes. We've been so involved with him that we wonder sometimes if we're already forgetting what he was like before.
Laura got a taste of going back to work. It took 2.5 hrs to get us both ready and out the door! But it was wonderful to see my colleagues and think about something besides breast milk and diapers. I can understand why there are so many groups for stay-at-home Moms -- it can be a lonely, mind-numbing endeavor, even with the adorable smiles and wonderful snuggles. I wasn't good at doing without sleep even as a college student. I never could pull an all-nighter, but I'm getting closer :-/ We also finally gave up on trying to get the house in order and hired some folks to come in and clean. Well worth it even though we had to spend quite a few hours "cleaning" to get the house ready for them to clean it!
(Yes, you read that last sentence right. No, I don't understand it either. Its something like how you're supposed to clean when your friends come over I guess. The things you learn when you live with a girl!)
Been awhile since there's been an update here...
Lots of things have happened in the meantime. We visited Lee & Nancy in South Carolina Feb. 9th through Feb 16th. Laura's dad is dying and they can't travel, so we took Dominic to him. Dominic is an awesome traveler and Lee was able to meet, see, and hold his latest grandson. Nancy didn't mind seeing him either... :-) Laura's aunt Dana was also there, so she got to meet Dominic as well. This was the trip where we'd been planning to leave on 2/5, but the dehydration scare below changed that a little bit... We brought Dominic home on Wed., made sure Thurs. went well, then got checked out at the doctor's Fri. The doctor gave his seal of approval, so it was into the truck for the trip down.
Mark'd been planning on working from home that week, so instead of that he took vacation days. But what it did mean was that there was no "ease into dad not being at home" period and on Monday, two days after we got home late on the 16th, Mark was back to working in downtown Pittsburgh. The first week of that is over now and we're slowly getting used to it. Mark is getting enough sleep (mostly) to not fall asleep driving to and from work, but Laura has had a bit rougher time with sleep coming in dribs and drabs and some attempts to get Dominic back to nursing off the breast vs. getting feed from the bottle. At this point, we're going back to where we were after the dehydration episode... Laura is pumping, and we feed Dominic breast milk from the bottle. If there's not enough breast milk and he's still hungry, we supplement with formula. Dominic just doesn't seem very good at latching on to a boob and eating (even after a few days of trying diligently), so pumping and dealing with bottles & such is actually less time consuming than nursing.
Anyway, we got the call from Grammy and Grampy Andy last night that there was a distinct lack of updated pictures of their grandson, so we figured we'd better get this site updated! This organization should stay around for a while, with the latest comments on top, with pictures at the top of the page.
We just got home from the hospital with Dominic today, have been in since Monday. We got his teeth out on Friday, and enjoyed getting to know our new baby, since his behavior changed so much once he wasn't in pain all the time. Over the weekend, we started to get concerned about how much he was sleeping. At first we felt really lucky that he'd sleep 4, 5 and 6 hours at a time, but then started to realize that this is not a good thing for a newborn. Also once we stopped putting ointment on his circumcision (sp?) we realized that he wasn't having as many pee-diapers (TMI, I'm sure!) as he ought to. The use of the ointment previously had made it difficult to impossible to know if he'd peed. We also noticed a pinkish-red tinge to the pee. So we started paying real attention to how much and how often he was eating, his output etc and tried to wake him to eat more regularly. That was difficult sometimes. He'd suck just a bit, then fall asleep again. So into the doctor's office on Monday, to be told to go the ER immediately. Our doc didn't want to wait until the next day to get lab results. So we got there around 1 on Monday afternoon, they took a blood sample and found his electrolytes out of whack, particularly his sodium too high. Not in the panic range, but definitely time to do something about it NOW. So they admitted us that evening.
Over the course of the past two days, they actually didn't do anything there we couldn't have done at home. We fed him regularly, supplemented pumped breast milk with formula, kept very close track on input and output. Turns out my milk supply is nowhere near sufficient, perhaps related to the pain of feeding and nursing in the first week. They also monitored his electrolyte levels with blood tests about every 6 hours. I hate it when they have to stick my baby! On the other hand, it was great to find out that, as we fed him, all his levels were heading in the right direction. We both feel that they were monitoring us as parents as well as keeping an eye on Dominic, though they also told us this could have happened even if we'd been bottle feeding, that it was likely the concatenation of events.
Oh my lord, he's already been to the dentist! LeeAnn had noticed a couple days ago that he had what looked like a tooth coming in... This is _highly_ unusual... Enough so that the doctor's office didn't really believe us. So we took him up and sure enough... Two teeth. That might explain the fussing he's been doing when nursing, as well as the soreness on Laura's part. So today we went to the pediatric dentist (who was a bit of a jerk really, though he handled Dominic just fine). He felt them and they were loose enough that he didn't even bother with an x-ray (which we were glad for!). Some numbing gel and a few minutes work with what are probably _very_ expensive needlenose pliers later and the teeth were no more. We saved them though... I'm not sure if that makes us good parents or creepy ones... :-) LeeAnn's kids (LeeAnn is Laura's sister) were quite concerned that the tooth fairy visit Dominic!
Dominic was a trooper through the whole thing. He wasn't too happy about the fingers in his mouth, but after the teeth were out and while the doctor was holding some gauze on his gum to soak up a small amount of blood, he fell asleep. We think the teeth were causing him a good bit of discomfort, and getting rid of them was a relief!
In between some baby crying... :-)
Dominic Joseph Andy was born 1/26/2007 at 8:23pm by C-section (at St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Youngstown, OH). He was 22" long, 8 lbs 9 oz. Mom and baby are great.
I've been away from internet access at the hospital with Laura and Dominic for the past three days, so sorry for the late responding.
We'd actually had a scheduled appointment for a c-section on Saturday morning (since that would be 41 weeks, 1 week past due), but Dominic had other ideas and Laura went into labor early Friday morning. We'd had some other false alarms labor-wise, but this labor was different with a bunch more pain. So we got to the hospital about 8:30am Friday and maybe an hour later Laura measured 4cm dilated. Labor seemed to start off ok, with Laura going to 7cm by the late afternoon or so. Things stalled after that though, only getting to 8cm by 7:45pm or so. The doctor had told us ahead of time that he'd like the birth to go naturally, but with the size of the baby, Laura's age, that he wasn't engaged (head stuck down in the pelvis), and that this was Laura's first child he'd already told us that if the labor stalled for long at all, he'd do a c-section. At the end of labor, you're supposed to dilate 1cm every hour, and that wasn't happening.
Anyway, c-section went fine. I got to tell Laura we had a boy and hold him with her beside me while she was getting sewed back up. Cutting this short (baby is crying... :-) we just got home today after three days learning about taking care of Dominic, some things that might work when he's fussing, a lot that don't (:-), changing diapers, swaddling, how much today sucks because he's pretty hungry but Laura's breast milk hasn't come in (I'd insert a smiley, but we've been a little wigged by the whole thing), etc. Oh, and doing it all on 2 hours catnaps here and there.
I'll have pictures and such up sometime. Dominic is certainly a little cutie and is about the coolest thing I've ever seen, but I imagine he looks like a regular baby to everyone else. :-)
