~Vinny~
I can speak for both of us and start by trying to explain something that we can't explain- in no way were we prepared for the endless amount of love that we have for this little miracle... it is so amazing, and I do not know of any words to describe it. We instantly fell in love with Vinny from the very second we saw him, and the very second he emerged into our big world. He is perfectly lovely, and absolutely perfect.
I've waited nine months for Luke to finally get to meet his son, and have anxiously awaited witnessing their introduction- and I will quote the assisting nurse in our delivery room, whom after tearing up at his birth said afterwards, "I've seen many great 'Dad' moments in the delivery room, but this one definitely takes the cake." Luke was the best partner I could have ever asked for- nothing less- and he was completely my coach and partner through it all- He was as helpful- if not more, than the midwife and assisting nurse. When it came time for the last push that brought Vincent into our world, Luke was beside me (he doesn't even remember his reaction at all) hopping up and down, with both hands flapping, as if broken.. much, much more excited than the most excited person I have even seen in my lifetime. Jabbering about our baby, with tears in his eyes- "Look at him- our son- he's beautiful.. look baby!! Our baby, our Vincent Dale!!" and poking at him with excitement- He was so beyond excited- it was incredible- I can't even begin to tell you what it was like for me, to see him in such a state- that may have been as extraordinary as little Vinny being born. To make a short story of it- we were admitted to labor and delivery at 3am Monday morning-and they broke my water at around 9am (to try and speed things up)... but, after a long, hard day in the 'office' - Vinny made his first appearance at 8:07pm- weighing in 7 lbs. 13 oz. and 21.5 inches long- and absolutely gorgeous. When the midwife dropped him on my chest, the first thing I thought when I put my hands on him was 'He is a big baby!' (bigger than I had expected). Another one of my first thoughts, once seeing Vincent for the first time, was all the times during my pregnancy that I have heard Luke say (in his most Italian gangster voice "Vinny!", dragging his name out- hilarious! We hit it off right away of course- and he took to nursing like a charm- thank God, making our introduction a little easier. Thank goodness for good fathers in this world, and thank goodness Vinny has one- Luke took to him like lovestruck teenager- and tended to both of us very easily. I didn't even change a diaper for the first time (EVER IN MY LIFE) until the next morning- with an attentive Daddy helping to make sure I did it right. Our stay at the hospital was very nice, we had a great staff helping us- hand and foot. We were released Wednesday morning just before 8am- and by the time we packed up and left it was about 11am. So out to the parking lot we go, our little bug strapped in his car seat.
We get him loaded, after about 5 or 10 minutes of double-checking, and questioning his safety... and then we are faced with instant paranoia. We leave the hospital, and sure enough- our paranoia is confirmed within a mile.. a minivan backing out of a driveway nearly backs right into us!! Luke was so mad- he wanted to go back and smack the driver.
The fun has begun. After almost a week of adjusting, we've finally found our way a little bit. Enough that Luke went out to play in the local skins game this morning, and Vinny and I have spent a quiet morning together- him being perfect, our lovely little bug... and I've been catching up- laundry, this post, and all that jazz. So insane that a week has almost past- we're sucking up all these precious moments as best as we can.
~
He loves his changing table in his nursery.
In fact he loves his nursery- there are so many colorful things at which to stare.
Our big news since Vinny's arrival isn't so great, but here's the scoop: when we were released from the hospital, we were told to have Vincent seen by our pediatrician within 2-3 days.. so we took him in on Friday morning (our first field trip outside the house)... We haven't heard the final word from his doc yet, but here's what we know: we went for his first check up on Friday morning- the pediatrician on staff at the hospital requested a 2-3 day post-release appointment instead of the usual 2 week check up- we didn't ask why, they didn't say (hence our suspicion, now).. anyhow- so we go see his pediatrician was a tad curious as to why we had made such an early appointment as well- but she did a check up - head to toe, and instantly upon feeling his collar bones (standard procedure) says "Oh, his right collar bone is fractured".. as you can imagine, we're thinking, WHAT?! HOW?! It was terrible- so she sent us on our way to the hospital for x-rays, and before we left there she also gave us a little figure-8 shaped sling for him to wear (it wears like a backpack) for two weeks, under his clothes, and then the fracture should heal on it's own within 6. The sling basically places his posture in a position of attention, chest out, shoulders back.
He actually wears this under his clothing.. this was a fitting at the Doc's.
Other than a sling, another common way to fix it (for smaller babies that don't fit the sling) is to have baby wear a tight fitting long sleeved shirt, and pin his arm at a 90 degree angle against the center of his shirt, forming a make-shift sling... She says it's a normal birth injury, and can range in severity from a completely shattered collarbone, or maybe just one fracture- we are awaiting the final answer from her review of his xrays- hopefully Monday we'll have some news. But, Luke did get to see the xrays, and can verify based on what he saw- the left one is fine- intact, and there is one fracture in the right collarbone- so little Vinny is in a sling, which he doesn't seem to mind at all- he also seems to be in no pain whatsoever- and is a happy little bug. :) We're being extra watchful and careful, and are hoping that the doc has good news. She did say that it is a minor fracture (no matter the severity) and will heal normally, and we should expect no further issues with it once healed. Also advised that a lot of times this injury goes unnoticed- so- we feel a bit better about it- but are heartbroken none the less- it's amazing. Beth was right in telling us that you've never loved someone so much, and hurt so much for them at the same time (in moments such as this)... Nuts, huh?
Now here is his latest pic from his morning nap today...
I've waited nine months for Luke to finally get to meet his son, and have anxiously awaited witnessing their introduction- and I will quote the assisting nurse in our delivery room, whom after tearing up at his birth said afterwards, "I've seen many great 'Dad' moments in the delivery room, but this one definitely takes the cake." Luke was the best partner I could have ever asked for- nothing less- and he was completely my coach and partner through it all- He was as helpful- if not more, than the midwife and assisting nurse. When it came time for the last push that brought Vincent into our world, Luke was beside me (he doesn't even remember his reaction at all) hopping up and down, with both hands flapping, as if broken.. much, much more excited than the most excited person I have even seen in my lifetime. Jabbering about our baby, with tears in his eyes- "Look at him- our son- he's beautiful.. look baby!! Our baby, our Vincent Dale!!" and poking at him with excitement- He was so beyond excited- it was incredible- I can't even begin to tell you what it was like for me, to see him in such a state- that may have been as extraordinary as little Vinny being born. To make a short story of it- we were admitted to labor and delivery at 3am Monday morning-and they broke my water at around 9am (to try and speed things up)... but, after a long, hard day in the 'office' - Vinny made his first appearance at 8:07pm- weighing in 7 lbs. 13 oz. and 21.5 inches long- and absolutely gorgeous. When the midwife dropped him on my chest, the first thing I thought when I put my hands on him was 'He is a big baby!' (bigger than I had expected). Another one of my first thoughts, once seeing Vincent for the first time, was all the times during my pregnancy that I have heard Luke say (in his most Italian gangster voice "Vinny!", dragging his name out- hilarious! We hit it off right away of course- and he took to nursing like a charm- thank God, making our introduction a little easier. Thank goodness for good fathers in this world, and thank goodness Vinny has one- Luke took to him like lovestruck teenager- and tended to both of us very easily. I didn't even change a diaper for the first time (EVER IN MY LIFE) until the next morning- with an attentive Daddy helping to make sure I did it right. Our stay at the hospital was very nice, we had a great staff helping us- hand and foot. We were released Wednesday morning just before 8am- and by the time we packed up and left it was about 11am. So out to the parking lot we go, our little bug strapped in his car seat.
We get him loaded, after about 5 or 10 minutes of double-checking, and questioning his safety... and then we are faced with instant paranoia. We leave the hospital, and sure enough- our paranoia is confirmed within a mile.. a minivan backing out of a driveway nearly backs right into us!! Luke was so mad- he wanted to go back and smack the driver.
The fun has begun. After almost a week of adjusting, we've finally found our way a little bit. Enough that Luke went out to play in the local skins game this morning, and Vinny and I have spent a quiet morning together- him being perfect, our lovely little bug... and I've been catching up- laundry, this post, and all that jazz. So insane that a week has almost past- we're sucking up all these precious moments as best as we can.
~
He loves his changing table in his nursery.
In fact he loves his nursery- there are so many colorful things at which to stare.
Our big news since Vinny's arrival isn't so great, but here's the scoop: when we were released from the hospital, we were told to have Vincent seen by our pediatrician within 2-3 days.. so we took him in on Friday morning (our first field trip outside the house)... We haven't heard the final word from his doc yet, but here's what we know: we went for his first check up on Friday morning- the pediatrician on staff at the hospital requested a 2-3 day post-release appointment instead of the usual 2 week check up- we didn't ask why, they didn't say (hence our suspicion, now).. anyhow- so we go see his pediatrician was a tad curious as to why we had made such an early appointment as well- but she did a check up - head to toe, and instantly upon feeling his collar bones (standard procedure) says "Oh, his right collar bone is fractured".. as you can imagine, we're thinking, WHAT?! HOW?! It was terrible- so she sent us on our way to the hospital for x-rays, and before we left there she also gave us a little figure-8 shaped sling for him to wear (it wears like a backpack) for two weeks, under his clothes, and then the fracture should heal on it's own within 6. The sling basically places his posture in a position of attention, chest out, shoulders back.
He actually wears this under his clothing.. this was a fitting at the Doc's.
Other than a sling, another common way to fix it (for smaller babies that don't fit the sling) is to have baby wear a tight fitting long sleeved shirt, and pin his arm at a 90 degree angle against the center of his shirt, forming a make-shift sling... She says it's a normal birth injury, and can range in severity from a completely shattered collarbone, or maybe just one fracture- we are awaiting the final answer from her review of his xrays- hopefully Monday we'll have some news. But, Luke did get to see the xrays, and can verify based on what he saw- the left one is fine- intact, and there is one fracture in the right collarbone- so little Vinny is in a sling, which he doesn't seem to mind at all- he also seems to be in no pain whatsoever- and is a happy little bug. :) We're being extra watchful and careful, and are hoping that the doc has good news. She did say that it is a minor fracture (no matter the severity) and will heal normally, and we should expect no further issues with it once healed. Also advised that a lot of times this injury goes unnoticed- so- we feel a bit better about it- but are heartbroken none the less- it's amazing. Beth was right in telling us that you've never loved someone so much, and hurt so much for them at the same time (in moments such as this)... Nuts, huh?
Now here is his latest pic from his morning nap today...
LOVE how excited luke was when vinny was born & LOVE these pix! that's heartbreaking news about his collarbone :( i LOVE your blog because U go into such detail & U don't have to write it a zillion times, we can just check here. I'm glad his collarbone is already on its way to being healed; since he was JUST BORN he has no idea this happened to him. it'll be a story he can tell his grandkids: the lil' vinegars! thanx for making the time to blog when you've got tons to do! love, auntie kris
ReplyDeleteWow...funny, I'm the one that doesn't want kids, but reading this made me cry...how precious of Luke! I agree w/ Kris, you do a wonderful job of telling the story, almost to the point it makes me feel as though I was there! Vincent is absolutely ADORABLE!! I'm super excited to meet him (and hoping for VERY, very soon!!) I love his little chin! Congratulations to the both of you on such a wonderful "lil bean"!
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