Sam is Here!

Samuel Emerson Holt arrived Tuesday morning at 8:32. He clocked in at 8 pounds 6 ounces and 20 inches. He entered the world with the Klingon war cry and fists held tightly in defiance. He scored highly on his Apgar tests - studying always pays off.

He had to go to the NICU for observation to make sure the LM did not interfere with respiration. We were able to see him about an hour later. Joni was able to feed him a little, although the NICU staff had already given him some formula.

We were moved down to our maternity floor shortly after the NICU visit. We had the coincidence of having the same nurse assigned to us as we had when we arrived with Henry almost 2 and half years earlier. The coincidence level increases - Marie-Eve had left Beth Israel in 2006 and just happened to be picking up some shifts while visiting her family in Boston this week!

Right after that, the crew from Childrens showed up to let us know they had already examined Samuel and found him to be a perfectly healthy baby and there was no reason for the wussies from B-I to keep him in the NICU any longer.

We then got a nice bonus when the corner suite next to our room opened up and we moved into the same palatial room we had last time, just one floor higher, before we even had a chance to settle into the initial room.

Enough chatter, here are the photos:

Before the big show


The catcher in the OR







Out of the OR, in Recovery, and still looking like a million bucks


In the NICU













Arriving in our maternity room






First visitors arrive








Auspicious day - the Hood blimp is circling, no doubt filled with paparazzi











These were all from the first day. I will post the following days soon.

It looks like Joni and Sam will be coming home on Saturday.

It also looks like I am going to have to change the name of the blog!

Augustus

August is upon us - the month of celebrations! Birthdays for cousin Wesley, mom, dad-in-law, baby to-be-named-later, and me. Also mom and dad anniversary and David and Laurie anniversary.

We have had a busy couple of weeks:

Ashland is sold, the closing was last week.

Joni's grandmother has passed, the funeral was last week.

I got my first [temporary] crown, also last week.

Brian came for a visit and we saw the Moody Blues in concert on Monday night.

We had a wrap-up meeting with contractors regarding the kitchen Wednesday night.

We are starting house preparations for the new baby. Joni and Jim picked up the Combi double stroller, a new car seat, 2 car seat bases, and a frame thingy that is a light-weight stroller meant to carry the baby seat.

Double Stroller

Frame Thingy

This weekend we continue baby prep. The bassinet will be re-assembled, the crib will be re-assembled, the diaper station will return, and the car seat bases will be installed.

I am sure we have some shopping to do too. I know we need some small baby bottles. And a new breast pump.

Heavy Duty Breast Pump

The Moody Blues concert was awesome. Brian and I agreed that of the 6 or 8 we have seen, this was the best. The venue is very nice (formerly the Harbor Lights Pavilion, now called the Mega-Bank-Conglomerate Pavilion). The set list was great, with a few surprises. Here is a good review of the concert.

The highlight was Graeme Edge's energetic "Higher and Higher" with multi-media images of NASA control rooms, Saturn 5 rockets, and psychedelic flower patterns on the giant screen. They also featured a lot of old band photos, since this is their 40th anniversary tour, showing the long hair, grand side burns, and Carnaby Street fashions of the late 60's.

Speaking of late 60's, that seemed to be the median age of the crowd!



Ray Thomas has retired from the band and the replacement was a woman who played flute better than Ray. And acoustic guitar. They used this new strength to feature some of their more melodic songs that emphasize flute.