T is for Tobias

Prepare yourself, this has the possibility to be a rather lengthy post.

This past weekend was not without fun and excitement. Saturday there was a baby shower for us at my in-laws house. It was great hanging out with everyone and talking about Baby Cartwright. The more I talked to people about him, the more anxious for his arrival I became.

Sunday morning came with Mandy having sporadic contractions. After eating breakfast, Mandy's dad asked what he should fix for lunch to which Mandy looked at me and said, "we need to get back to Lawrence". The two hours back home, Mandy was timing her contractions and they were quickly getting closer to 5 minutes apart. Once we got home I went into panic father-to-be mode trying to get the apartment ready for a baby to come home. As Mandy was having contractions, I'm yelling at her from the kitchen, "is that one over now?" as I then set the timer on the microwave while washing dishes. Finally Mandy says we need to go to the hospital. My response being, "are you sure it can't wait a little longer? I still have dishes to wash and an apartment to straighten up."

We get to the hospital a little after 3pm and discover that Mandy's at 6cm. After a 40 minute soak in a bathtub, she's at 9cm. By 6:17pm little Tobias entered our lives. I've always told Mandy I love her, but seeing the amount of strength, determination, and pain she under went during labor rose the word "love" to an entirely new level. Just watching her I was in awe of her and fighting back tears of joy at the sheer inner strength that was embodied in her. Only half a dose of IV drug prevented her from delivering naturally and the reason why she wanted it wasn't helped by the medication. And after he was born, if it was me delivering would've been exhausted and want to sleep, but it was as if delivering was no work for her.

I was enjoying our moments together as a new family with just the three of us, but after about 45 minutes Mandy finally pushed me out to let our families in the waiting room know that he was born and all the details.

It was hard to sleep that night, because I just stood looking over our little Toby as he slept and thought to myself, he is probably the best gift I've ever received.

Warming up under the heat lamp.

Snuggle time with mom.

The new family