Turner is home!

Today was check-out day at the hospital and there was a lot to do. I woke up early to pick-up a 'Thank You' card and small gift for the nurses who've been beyond helpful with Turner and Tori.  We took the advice of our friend Kathy and picked up breakfast pastries for the nurses from Panera Bread.  We also got them a 'Thank You' card to express our appreciation for everything.

While Tori and Turner were getting cleared by the doctors to head home, I was picking-up our cousin Ondrea from the airport.  We arrived at the hospital and Ondrea got to hold her new nephew for the first time.  They got along great from the start.  Ondrea kept Turner busy while Tori and I packed up the items in our room.

We placed Turner in our Chicco Keyfit 30 infant carrier and we were on our way.  It was cold out but we didn't want to bundle Turner up too much.  The last thing you want is to overheat him.  One of the nurses escorted us out and I pulled up the car to the entrance while everyone waited.  Luckily it didn't take long to get from the parking lot to the main entrance.  In retrospect, I should have driven around first and then called up and told them to come down stairs.

Turner is now home and has been getting accustomed to his new surroundings.  The dogs are curious, cautious and eager to play with Turner.

Turner Alexander Moore is here!

Today is a great day.  After several hours of labor, my wife and I were blessed to welcome out first child into the world; Turner Alexander Moore.  Turner was born at 3:17pm and weighed in at 6lbs and 14oz.  He is 20inches tall.  Both Turner and his mom are doing fine.  I am beyond excited and still amazed by it all. 

Here are a few photos from the day.  Fair warning, I will be one of those fathers who takes  a lot of pictures and videos of my son.

New Poll - Guess the arrival date!

The count-down has officially started.  The due date we were working towards was December 30th but you can never tell.  Turner might decide to make an early appearance OR he may opt to stay in the warm cozy belly of his mom.  When do you think he'll arrive?  Start voting!

The Nursery is done!

We might have started out slow but we really picked-up steam and got the nursery prepared for Turner.  With just under 12 days left until his expected arrival, I think we did a pretty good job.  I don’t have much to say about it.  I’ll just let the pictures speak for themselves. 



A closet full of clothing!! I think he has more clothing than I do.



Wait a minute, I just did the math.  Enjoy that room son, apparently it wasn’t cheap.

My Office 'Man-shower'

On Wednesday, my coworkers threw me a mantastic man-shower.  I was treated to a nice lunch, had some jokes made at my expense, got some great gifts and saw some old friends.  Overall, it was a great day.   Kathy took some great photos and put together a nice video of the event.  Thank you to all who attended and to those who were not able to attend but contributed towards the gifts. 

The friendship demonstrated that day and contributions to my growing family are truly appreciated.  It’s always been one thing to work with great people but to have those same people become close friends is another.  I’m grateful.  We are officially counting down to Turner’s arrival!!

A Saturday trip to Target and Babies-R-Us

Over the past few days, Tori and I have been kicking this baby preparation into full drive.  We’ve order several items from Amazon.com including decorations, a dresser and a changing table.   We also used some of our gift cards to purchase a few items that were only available online.  Feeling pretty good about ourselves and pumped up, we ventured out to Babies-R-Us and Target to pick-up a few more items that we were missing.   We spent about 4 hours between the two stores, stopping to eat and sitting in holiday traffic.   This is what we managed to fit into my car and drive home with.  Thank goodness I don’t have a larger car or else who knows what we might have purchased that day. 

Note, this is the majority of items we purchased with gift cards.  I left some items out of the photo.  The other items from Amazon hadn't arrived yet.  Thank you everyone who provided us with gift cards!  As you can see, they have been put to use along with several couponsJ.

Tori at 36 weeks

This is the most recent and probably the last picture we’ll take before Turner is born.  Tori is at about 36 weeks.   As you can see, Tori hasn’t gained much weight, it’s pretty much all Turner there. 

As an FYI, both Tori and I were in the high 8lbs / low 9lbs.  I think Jr. will be keeping that tradition going.

Aunt Suron has gone above and beyond

I am lucky to work with some great people.  I am twice as lucky to have developed great friendships with some of my coworkers.   This post is about a friend and coworker named Suron.  Suron has two sons; Jacob who is now 3 and Zack who is 2.  Almost every morning, Suron comes into work with funny, slightly scary, weird, and occasionally gross stories about the things children do and new experiences she and her husband have with her boys.  When I told Suron that Tori and I were expecting our first child, she was excited because I’d finally be ‘joining the club’.  When she found out that we were also having a boy I think she became very excited because now I’d be able to show up to work with my own amazing stories.

Suron knows how excited I am about having a son and like my other coworkers teases me about most of the things I’ve been doing to prepare for his arrival.  Along with her teasing, she provides some valuable advice and most recently, she provided me with hand-me-downs and toys for my son.  I came into work on Tuesday and Suron told me she had a FEW items that she could give me.  I’m lucky I drove Tori’s SUV that day as I ended up filling the back of it with clothing, toys, and other baby items for a little boy. 

In short, Suron is awesome.  There, I said it.  She’s a great coworker.  She keeps those of us who sit near her laughing throughout the day.  The clothing and toys she gave us will come in very handy.  I am beyond confident that as soon as my son is able to play and do fun stuff we’ll be over to her house for play dates with her boys.  I am also confident that when we have another son, we will have plenty of clothing for him to wear thanks to his cousins Zack and Jacob. 

Thank you Suron for all that you have done.  I’m lucky to have a friend like you. Please don’t read this at work, as I don’t tolerate crying in the office.

Baby Shower Pt 2: A Thanksgiving Road trip

And we’re back.  Tori and I just returned from a Thanksgiving road trip and baby shower with our family in Jackson, MS.  We left Philadelphia on Sunday, November 21^st and drove to Norfolk, VA to visit / stay with two of our close friends; Jesse and Tan.  It was good catching-up with them.  Tan is one of Tori’s friends from college and they are both expecting.  Tan is also having her first child, McKenzie Rae Grant.  Turner and McKenzie got to ‘meet’ as Tori and Tan bumped bellies for a photo.  [Side note, McKenzie was born on Saturday, November 27^th!  Congrats Tan and Jessie!]

 Anyway, we then drove down to Atlanta and stayed with my mom for two days.  We picked up Tori’s cousin and drove down to Jackson, MS on Wednesday.  Thanksgiving was great.  Tons of family and friends and a bunch of kids whose names I do not remember.   I don’t know where to begin with describing the food.  Let’s just say I went for thirds.   On Friday, Tori, my mom and I drove around Jackson visiting some of the antique markets and giving my mom a tour of Jackson as this was her first time in the city. 

Saturday was the big day; the baby shower!  We had a great time.  Tori’s sister created a really fun game called, “Who knows the couple best?”  Our cousin, Ondrea was the winner – she calls us regularly and is clearly looking forward to Turner’s arrival.  There were several other winners for each of the other games.  We received a variety of gifts ranging from items on our registry to gift cards and personalized gifts.  My mother made artwork for Turner’s room, which everyone admired.  We’ll be hanging that up this weekend along with other artwork and Turner’s decorations. 

Thank you everyone who attended and thank you for all of the great gifts.  We are lucky to have Turner born into such a great and loving family.  Tori’s grandmother also attended the shower.  We will be flying down to Jackson, MS next year so that Turner and meet his great grandmother and help her celebrate her birthday in July.

Counting down to T-Day: The Checklist

With only 1 month (29 days) until Turner arrives, here are few of the tasks that we have to complete this month.  This is just a starting list – I’m sure we’re forgetting something.  Feel free to remind us in the comments section.

• Study up on newborn vaccines and find out what Turner needs and the schedule of visits
• Talk to our doctor about Turner’s position and our birth plan
• Pick out our baby announcements and send out the thank you notes for all the great gifts!!
• Buy a baby sling or baby carrier – DONE (Thanks Ama!)
• Get smart about Tori's contractions and learn to recognize the differences between Braxton-Hicks contractions and true labor
• Prepare for labor and delivery by trying to remember things from the preparation classes
• Wash and put away your baby's new clothes (Thank you Aunt Christine!)
• Prepare for the weeks after Tori gives birth -- taking time off from work and having family in town. 
• Relax and enjoy the last days as a couple before Turner arrives and we become a family of three --- five if you count our two dogs

Preparing Turner’s Room

Turner’s room will be decorated with a jungle / safari theme.  Before adding furniture to Turner’s room, Tori wanted me to repaint it.  We’re keeping one wall chocolate brown and the other 3 walls were painted a tan color.  Luckily I was able to get that done quickly because the crib arrived shortly after.  Tori and I were both excited about the arrival of the crib because (1) we were worried that the delivery would take several weeks [it only took 2 for our crib] and (2) we had never seen the crib in person and wanted to make sure we were happy with the color.  We selected an espresso colored crib but espresso from one manufacturer is not the same as it is for another manufacturer.  Luckily, we like the color of this crib.  

After unpacking all of the materials and getting the packaging out of the room, it was time to assembly.  My friend Thad offered to come by after work and help me but our schedules were both hectic.  Luckily, putting the crib together wasn’t challenging.  It took me about 30 to 40 minutes.  I had to adjust the height of the frame once because we felt it was too high but even with that change, the installation / setup was quick. 

 

We are going to pick-up the rest of the furniture from IKEA.  We’re getting the dresser and rocking chair there.  According to the Baby Bargins Book, IKEA furniture ranks well.  We will be getting the changing table from Amazon.  We’re also ordering the animals for decoration – a stuffed tiger, giraffe, ape, and maybe a parrot.  I wanted more but we don’t have enough room for all the animals. 

Packing Tori's hospital bag

Here are a few of the items we’ll be packing to bring to the hospital.  Are we missing anything?

• A picture or some object for Tori to focus on during contractions, a water bottle, and massager -- pretty much anything that might provide relief from pain during labor
• Our iPod dock and iPod with a ‘baby playlist’
• Our digital camera, digital SLR and Flip video camera
• Snacks, 5hr energy drinks, and Powerade for me J
• My notebook to note down contractions and time them (I also have an iPod app)
• Nightgowns with button or snap fronts will help during feeding
• Our cellphones with our list of phone numbers of friends and family that we will inform immediately after the arrival of Turner.  The hospital is also wireless so I might be able to send an email out.
• Hospital floors can be cold so we’re packing Tori’s warm socks and slippers
• A bathrobe
• Basics like toothpaste, toothbrush, soap and hand wash and other toiletries.
• Loose and comfortable clothing and two sets of newborn clothes and a blanket for Turner to wear when we are returning back home with him

Car seats and coupes

Audi is the truth in engineering.  My Audi A5 is a voluptuous and decadent four-seat grand tourer - ask MotorTrend.  Ask my coworkers and close friends and they will tell you, I love my car.  As I write this post, I’m thinking about taking my car in for detailing so that it’s ready for the winter season. I also want to impress my son with a nice ride.  I need to stay focused; this post is about car seats.   Tori did the research and while Britax really does seem like the best of the best, we went with the Chico KeyFit because it was (1) also highly rated and (2) matches my car – he too will ride in style.   

Installing a car seat in my Audi was surprisingly easy.   The latch system in my car was exposed - more exposed than most cars I’ve seen.  After reading the instructions, I was able to install the base of the car seat that my Fraternity Brother Quincy purchased for us.  It took about 15 minutes.  I wasn’t happen with the first install and removed it and tried again.  The second attempt was more secure.  Unfortunately, the car seat didn’t fit properly behind the passenger seat.  I installed it between the rear seats and it fit perfectly. 

The outcome of this adventure in car seats was realizing I don’t have to trade my car in yet.  On the bright side, when it is time to fit an infant seat and toddler seat in a car I will be doing so with my Audi A7. 

Baby Shower Pt. 1

Two of our friends, Kelly and Jennifer recently threw us a baby shower. Kelly hosted the event at her home. Some of our closest friends and family drove over to Kelly house to help us celebrate the coming of Turner.   Jennifer and Kelly organized several games for us to play which involved everyone guessing Tori’s circumference.  I was close but our friend Stephanie was exactly right.  We also played ‘Guess the baby food’.  I enjoyed most of the baby food and can see myself finishing any leftovers from my son.   The vegetables were terrible though.  He’s on his own with those.  Our guests also tried to guess the date that Turner would be born.  I won’t name names, but someone selected ‘January 16^th’ as a potential date.   Tori will not be happy with that but both my father and one of my sister’s were born in January, so that wouldn’t be too bad.  We have the calendar up on our fridge and will email everyone with the news / winner.

After some of the games, we started to open gifts and we were really amazed at the generosity of our friends.  We received many of the gifts off of our registry including the car seat and base.  There will be a separate post on installing the car seat.  To all of our friends, thank you thank you thank you for your generosity.  We really appreciate it.   There are a few pictures here but most are linked to on my Facebook profile. 

Kelly and Jennifer provided all of the guests with enough food, drinks and entertainment that everyone left happy and full.  Thank you Jennifer and Kelly for everything you did that day.  You’re great friends and we’re lucky to have you in our lives.  Turner can’t wait to meet his two aunts.

Say Hello to Alakai!

As you know, I recently attended my younger sister Wendy’s baby shower in Orlando, FL.  It was a great time.  I have great news.  My sister had her son, Alakai Alexander Anthony Simeina on November 11^th around 6:30pm – she texted me around 7pm to tell me.   Baby Alakai and his mom are doing fine.  I can’t be down there to meet him in person but Wendy sends me pictures from time to time.  I’m hoping the two boys can link up soon.  I’m sure they’re grow up being close friends. 

Capturing the memories with Flip HD or a cell phone with HD recording?

One of the most important things for me is capturing the memories as my family expands.  I want to have a video of my son’s first steps, first words and first time he takes some electronic device apart.  I have fond memories of taking a TV and a radio apart at a young age.  Tori teases me about taking a lot of pictures when we take vacations now and I think it will be the same or worse once Turner is here.

Tori has a digital SLR camera and I have a point and shoot.  We have cell phones that can take video but I really want something fast and easy to use.  I also want something that takes HD video.  The first option is a Flip HD.  It records at 720p resolution and can record about 2hrs worth of footage. The iPod Touch and iPhone 4 both do HD at 720p and the 16gb versions can record about 4hrs.  Cost is big factor but I think ease of use is important. 

So should we get a Flip HD or an iPod Touch / iPhone 4?

Babies Registries are created!

While I was down in Orlando, FL celebrating at my sister Wendy’s baby shower, Tori was busy here in PA finalizing items for our registry. Let this be a lesson to the other soon to be parents; it is a little difficult to find all of the best baby products and deals in one location.  This is why Tori and I had to create three registries.  You can search on each vendor’s website under our names or click on the links below:

Our registries were built with some input from close friends.  They told us about items they received that they didn’t like or use.  They also told us about items they wished they had purchased.  The biggest piece of advice was to not to get carried away with registering for items – think about how much space your home has now.  We also relied heavily on existing lists and vetted those with some experienced mothers. 



For those looking to purchase an item for us or Turner, thank you in advance and we’ll be posting pictures and information about the gifts we receive as they arrive and pictures from the baby shower.

We’ve decided on a crib!!

Not only did we (read: Tori) decide on a crib but we also ordered it.  As you might recall, Tori and I couldn’t agree on a crib.  The two cribs were considering – four if we count the two others Tori likes are all great.  They mostly look alike so for me it came down to price.  Rather than debate on which crib is better and fight for the one I really like, I’m going to let Tori drive the selection of the crib for Turner’s room.  With that said, we’re going with the Munire Deco crib.  According to reviews, it is good quality furniture item (received an A- rating).  The Deco also fits our requirement of converting into both a toddler bed and full-size bed for an older child. 

We went down to a store in DE to take a look at the crib in person but they didn’t have one on the floor.  We ordered the crib today.  I’ll finish painting Turner’s room, adding his name to the wall and adding in some furniture  As mentioned in earlier posts, we’ll be getting our dresser and rocking chair from IKEA. With furniture decisions complete, I’ll focus my energies on decorating it based on the theme that we (read: I) decided on.

My sister Wendy is also having a baby

My younger sister Wendy (formerly known as my little sister) will be having her first child, a boy in early November.  She lives down in Orlando, FL with her boyfriend.  I flew down to help celebrate the coming of my nephew by attending one of her two baby showers.  The whole weekend was great. I haven’t seen some of my family in a little under a year.  It was also an opportunity for me to meet Wendy’s new family too.

The night before the baby shower, the family was taking care of final details. I helped make a diaper cake and some appetizers. Wendy’s baby shower was fun.  She decorated the room beautifully.  We played several games and had some delicious food (I had seconds).  Wendy’s friends gave her some very nice gifts.  However, my brother Sammy and I stole the show with our gifts.  We tend to steal the show no matter where we are so it was inevitable.

It is kind of cool to know that my sister and I are both having boys and that they will be so close in age.   If we lived closer to each other, I’m sure they’d have tons of play dates on the weekends and after school.   I kept a close eye on the gifts she received at her shower – just in case Wendy tries to re-gift some to me.

Prepared Childbirth Education Pt.1

Game on. Tori and I started our childbirth education classes at Lankenau Hospital.  We arrived at the hospital early to have dinner in the cafeteria.  Good news, I think our family and friends will be OK with the food options offered.  It's not the healthiest selection but it gets the job done.  We were under the impression the classes started at 6:30pm.  When no one else was there, we started to think we were in the wrong location.  I then realized that I told Tori 6:30pm so that she'd be on time - then I forgot.   My Bad..  So classes actually start at 7:00pm and go until 9:30pm.  We saw several couples arriving and noticed they all had pillows.  DOH, another detail I forgot - we're supposed to bring pillows.  Luckily we didn't need them for day 1.  

The instructor arrived and we walked to the auditorium.  She handed out our childbirth workbook.  I flipped through the pages looking at pictures then handed the book to Tori because I'd seen enough.  The course was long and there were a few moments when I spaced out but I'm hoping Tori stayed awake for those parts.  The big take-a-ways for me were (1) contractions hurt and (2) Tori needs to breathe - ALOT.  When Tori is in pain, I need to touch her in places to relieve the tension [Isn’t that's how we got in this situation in the first place – HELLO?!?].  Seriously, when the contractions hit, I need to start massaging the shoulders and her arms and remind her to breathe.

The tour of the hospital was very good.  I learned where to park when we arrive, where to go, what the rooms look like and where our friends and family will be waiting for us.  It's a very nice room.  There is a phone and internet access.  No, I won't be blogging from the delivery room nor will I stream the birth over the internet.  I will be sending out a message to friends and family alerting the world when my son arrives.

In the next class we will watch the 'birth video'.  I'm going to bring popcorn and candy.

Selecting a theme for Turner’s room

There are many themes to choose from when it comes to decorating a baby boy’s room. My initial idea was to decorate it with an animal theme. At first I wanted to base it on the rainforests of Guyana but we really only have a handful of cool animals to select from.  While it would have been funny for a week or two, I didn’t want to have a stuffed donkey or hoatzin in my son’s room.  So I decided on something more general; a jungle and safari theme.  This way I can have stuffed apes (with Alpha gear), tigers, toucans, giraffes, etc. in his room. They also have several bed sets that will match this theme.

Tori – my former jock of a wife wants to do a sports theme.  Tori played volleyball, ran track and played basketball in school.  She was one of those overachievers I resented as I sat on the benches with my CD player and headphones.  I bet she had a varsity jacket and walked through the hallways thinking she was cool.  Sorry, I was having flashbacks to high school.  So yeah, Tori would love Turner’s room to be decorated with a sports theme.  She also wants him to be a professional tennis player – be sure to ask her about that one. 

One day at work, a third theme crossed my mind.  I am really into cars so why not decorate his room with a car theme?  Audi makes several very nice items for children.  They even have a toddler car to match my A5.  Tori takes some great photos every year when we go to the Philadelphia and New York Auto shows – I’m sure we can turn some of those into decorations for his room.  I wonder if they make miniature driving gloves and scarves – perhaps some shades for driving on those sunny days. 

Playing Marco Polo with Turner

I came home from work one day.  I can’t tell you what day it was because they honestly just merge into one.  My co-workers know I’ve been surprisingly busy lately.  Tori can confirm that I’ve been busy at home too (see my previous posts about home renovations. Anyway, so I came home and was exhausted.  After dinner Tori told me she and Turner were playing a new game.  I looked at her with disbelief – I think you can all picture that.  The game is best described as ‘Marco Polo’.  If I didn’t see this with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it.

For those that aren’t familiar with the game, one player is chosen as "It". This player closes his or her eyes and tries to tag the other players.  In this game, Turner is it.  So this is how the game is played.  Tori will run her fingers on her stomach and Turner either kicks or punches back.  She moves to another spot on her stomach and continues to poke and Turner moves over to that spot and punches / kicks back.  They can go at this game for at least 15 minutes.  I can’t tell who’s more into it though, Tori or Turner.  I have yet to play but if Turner is this playful already, he and I will have a great time. 

Tori and Turner

A good friend and new mom (Shelby) told me that we should take pictures at various months / stages of the pregnancy.  She also said that Tori should wear the same shirt.  While we loved the idea of taking some picture to record the memories, there no way I’m going to remember which shirt Tori wears.  She’s next to me on the sofa as I write this and without looking, I couldn’t tell you what color her shirt is (shame on me). 

 Here are a few of the pictures we took.  Turner was the size of large mango in the first picture (top).   The second picture on the right is from August 12th - Tori was just starting her 21st week.   In the last picture, Turner is the size of a baby doll - weird.    I will be posting more messages with pictures of Tori and Turner this week so that everyone can see how they’ve both grown.  According to the books and growth charts Turner is around 15 inches.