Brad got Gavin his first Star Wars toy for Christmas. Go figure, Chewbacca

Happy Family

Mommy and Gavin in their Christmas duds

Hand in hand 2...

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Hand in hand....

Fuzzy and warm = Zzzzzzzzzzzzz........

Unca Brad and Little G say what's up people!?

Grandma and Grandpa H give Gavin dinner to celebrate his first bath.

Grandma Heydinger was so great at bathing little Gavin.

Guess who got his first sponge bath!

Grandpa Smith Holds Gavin as Amanda Sells Cookies

Uncle Brad and Kara with Gavin

Home safe at last!

Mommy's little boy!

Getting ready for the first photo shoot!

Who's our sexy little man?

Geez, what do they put in that" formula"? Rumplemintz and Khalua?

Gavin right before a nap.

Who says you can't hold a newborn AND take a picture at the same time?

Gavin sleeping

Hi everyone! Gavin was released from the NICU at noon and is hanging with Mom and Dad now in our room. Amanda is doing great and we're both so much happier now that little G is with us! We should be released tomorrow but will have to wait for the doctor to clear us in the morning.

update for the day

Sorry no new pics today. Gavin's blood sugar didn't level out throughout the day so they are keeping him in NICU overnight to monitor it. They dont allow pictures down there. Luckily he had a good reading at the 5:30 feeding so they took the IV off to allow him to adjust more. We are hoping to have him up on our floor by the morning! He's going to be fine and has already stolen our hearts!

Amanda continues to recover but got to spend several hours with Gavin. She has lots of pain but got to eat a nice dinner finally this evening. We had lots of visitors including BOTH sets of grandparents, uncle Brad and Kara, Uncle Lary and Aunt Sharon, Uncle Barry and Aunt Kathleen, and cousin Zach. It was a busy day so we are winding down watching Survivor! Wish us luck and we should be going home by tuesday.

Until tomorrow!

The Story so Far

I'm sure everyone has been eagerly awaiting an update on our big event! First and foremost both Mama and baby are well and resting after a long day yesterday. Gavin spent the night in the NICU due to low blood sugar but is in good hands and should be fine. Amanda got to spend an hour with him overnight and I was with him for a little over an hour this morning. Little trooper is already a fussy eater! Hopefully his levels will even out today and they'll bring him back up.

As far as the birth went yesterday, the nurses and doctors were fantastic. The induction started just before 9am yesterday and progressed nicely throughout the morning. They broke the water around 1:45 and that's when all the fun started! At that point, the labor progressed very quickly. The contractions got so bad that we decided a epidural was necessary. Once that was completed Amanda was able to relax for awhile before the pushing started. My strong little wife pushed her hardest for 1.5 hours but little Gavin's head was just too big. The rest went so fast. Surgery prep, surgery, holy crap its a boy, clean the baby, move the baby to nursery and mom to recovery, mom to room, baby to NICU, goodnight! It was a little emotional not having a lot of time to spend with our treasure last night, but I'm just thankful that both Mom and Gavin are doing well and getting more rest! Plus, me heart goes out to all the parent I saw in the NICU this morning. I felt guilty asking about our baby's blood sugar when so many parents were just down there praying that their baby will pull through. Again, all the credit and props in the world go to all of the caring nurses and doctors here that do this every day.

I'll post an update soon and thanks for checking in!

Close up of little gavin with his fun-shaped head!

Happy mama and Gavin

Mama holding baby for the first time last night

He is here!

Little Gavin Dean Smith was born tonight at 8:00 pm. 7 lbs 8 oz, 19 3/4 inches and cute at anything

Uncle buddy going all crazy!

Amanda and princess tooty

Another 3D pic of little baby!

Baby in profile. 38 weeks today!

Guess What? The Date has been set!

Is this picture what you think it is? Heck yeah! Amanda and I had two appointments this morning. The first, at 8:00 at OSU,was with the gestational diabetes specialist where we had another ultrasound. The technician surprised us when she put this 3D picture of little Chauncey up on the screen! I can't even explain how amazing it felt to see our little baby's face for the first time. My heart was racing and my hair was standing on end! So, baby is currently about 7lbs, 6oz. and the specialist recommended that Amanda get to 38.5 weeks (middle of next week) and then delivery should be induced! Needless to say, thats why my heart was racing! We then had an appointment with Amanda's regular OB at 11:00. He checked everything out, then called the Hospital to schedule induction for next Saturday, December 18th! As expected, we are both very excited and also scared as hell, but we're so lucky to have so many wonderful friends and family around to help guide us through this. I'll be sure to keep updating this blog as things progress but don't worry, I won't take any pictires of the "gross stuff". Until next time. B

Thanks to Uncle Brad and Kara for the baby lounger (Stimpy not included)

Got the baby's room set up! Here's the bed.

Changing tables and other baby stuff.

Amanda in front of the baby's dresser and rocking chair.