Photo TR: Connor Giove's "on-growing" adventures.

pete4winds · March 26, 2008

I haven't been on TPR much lately, and my son's arrival yesterday is the major reason why. Those of you who remember what happened to my daughter Ceilidh (do a search for the thread - I can't get the stupid link to work) will understand why I've been really quiet about this new pregnancy. Call it being cautiously optimistic. Anyway, now that he's here and doing well, I felt my second family at TPR needed to know about their newest coaster geek. Now before everyone gets on my case about leaving my wife and son at the hospital, we do have several four-legged furry children that also need to be looked after, so while I was home this morning I decided to post this TR.

Connor Nathan Giove arrived by C-section at 1:04 PM yesterday afternoon, and he tipped the scales at a whopping 9 lbs. 2.2 oz. Not JUST a future fat-boy coaster geek, but a full-on ACEr-in-training. Oh, and he was 20-and-one-half inches. He was born at Charlton Memorial Hospital, for those of you familiar with Fall River, MA. Now, it's fairly normal for babies born by c-section to retain a little fluid in the lungs for several hours or more, so Connor had a tough night. His tough night made for a tough night all around, because when baby can't sleep, mom and dad can't sleep either. The first night together is by far the worst night to have this particular difficulty sleeping. This morning, however, his pediatrician gave him a clean bill of health, and when Jen called me a few minutes ago she said he was sleeping very comfortably.

Yesterday his arrival was attended by both of my parents (mom Janet and dad, also Pete - for those of you who follow Native American Folk Music, you'd know him as Peter Searching Owl, the name he goes by on his CDs), my mother's next older sister Claire, a labor and delivery nurse herself, my wife's birth coach and sister-in-spirit Laura (since it was a c-section, her coaching services weren't needed, but the support from her was awesome anyway), and Jen's father John and brother, also John.

On a side note, obviously I was in the surgical suite with Jen. All those medical shows on Discovery Channel don't even TOUCH this experience. Never in my life did I think I'd ever witness a surgery in person, but if I MUST be present for one, I'm glad it was this one. It was pretty gruesome, but not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Sorry, no photos of the surgery for this TR.

But, I digress. On to the photos! Stay tuned for part 2, his arrival home this weekend!

"Nana" (my mom) meets her grandson.

OK, dad, give others a chance to meet him.

Dad thought it was funny when I asked if Dudu was the word for GrandMOTHER on Father's side. My mother didn't.

My dad meets Connor. He's "Duda," which is the Mohawk word for "Grandfather on Father's side."

Jen's brother John.

Grand-dad on Jen's side. He wants to be "Gramps."

Yup! He really IS an ACEr-in-training.

Conked out on the way to the nursery for measurements.

Mother and son meet for the first time. Connor was the only one out of the three of us that WASN'T crying.

He's not really screaming. Just testing his new jaw muscles, on the way to meet mom.

Enjoy it now, kid. When you get older, you might be paying good money for all that poking and prodding!

I don't think he much cared for all the poking and prodding.

Here he is, Connor Nathan Giove (Nathan is Jen's maiden name).

See? Head to toe in freakin' blue! I don't even have hair! Why did I need a damn hair net?

"When you go with her into surgery, don't touch anything blue. Blue is sterile." "Whaddaya mean don't touch anything blue? I'm DRESSED IN BLUE!"

Jen's recovery room nurse, who also helped us get ready for the big event. Hey, it's major abdominal surgery! You'd need a little guidance, too.

And checked in.

Checking in.

Not sure exactly what the look on Jen's face is really saying..."Yay, we made it!" or "holy sh*t, what are we getting into?"

We're here!

C'mon, Jen, hurry up!

Your chariot awaits, madame.

Delaying the inevitable, or just goofing around?

Jen and Elsie are having a comforting moment before we go.

My father, Peter Searching Owl. He's just as anxious as I am.

"Auntie" Laura, just waiting to head off to the hospital.

Elsie knows something big is happening.

BeemerBoy · March 26, 2008

Congratulations, Pete! You know, I had actually been wondering about this a month or so ago, but was sort of afraid to ask for obvious reasons. I'm really relieved and happy for the two of you that it all went well!

pete4winds · March 26, 2008

^ As we are, too! Thanks! I can only describe it as (paraphrased from Armageddon) "99% scary and 1% exciting, or maybe it's 1% scary and 99% exciting..."

I'm just happy he's ok.

SharkTums · March 26, 2008

Call it mothers intuition, but I totally saw this coming and figured that's why you hadn't been posting much!

Congrats! Now make sure Jen gets a lot of rest and doesn't pick up that giant baby too much! (Major abdominal surgery needs major rest and recovery!)

ginzo · March 26, 2008

Congrats. Glad this worked out for you.

ebl · March 26, 2008

Glad to hear everything's fine. You have many years of joy ahead of you.

Eric

Bucket · March 27, 2008

What a beautiful son you have! Congratulations!

crazyrider06 · March 27, 2008

Congratulations pete, connor is adorable!

Jayjay719 · March 27, 2008

Congrats Jen and Pete! I knew about this pregnancy! But he's adorable and definately a coaster geek in training. Keep in touch so we know how he's doing.

FLIPDUDE · March 27, 2008

Oh my goodness! Congratulations!!!

I am so happy for you! Especially after what you've been through!

May he grow up to be a very happy and healthy individual!

Cyber.Fiber · March 28, 2008

Congratulations! You and your wife must be very happy!

rbpia · March 28, 2008

Congrats Pete! He is adorable.

Glad to hear everything's fine. You have many years of joy ahead of you.

Eric

And many years of restraining yourself from choking the crap out of them!

Ron "Father of a teenager" Patton

Primogen18 · April 1, 2008

Congratulations to both of you guys (with comp issues i just got the opportunity to check this out tonight lol), im hoping to make it up there sometime this summer, it would be great to see you guys again and meet Connor

pete4winds · April 2, 2008

^ You're going to love him. He's a little cutie!

Anyway, Connor came home Saturday, and he's doing GREAT! The first couple of nights were a little tough, and getting him to bed at night was, well, let's just call it a challenge. He's starting to settle into a routine, though. I haven't been able to hold him in two days, since I got blasted with a 102.6 fever yesterday, but my mom's been a big help, often giving Jen a chance to take a break.

On to the photos!

Dad and Connor are engaged in a heated staring contest.

Nana and Connor have a Zen moment together.

Yup, we're cheesy parents. We even went out and got the baby-view mirror.

Buckled in, ready to go. C'mon dad, take the damn picture and close the door...it's windy out there!

The patient pick-up zone looks like a tram stop straight out of Yesterland.

He might be a big kid, but he still almost gets lost in his carrier.

Connor's stylin' new ride. "Low ri...duh drives a little slower."

Christine communes with Connor. She gets bonus points for the dragonflies on her smock.

Some last minute advice from Christine, the very hot nurse.

OK, doc. Hand him over. You'll get to see him again this week.

Jen's OB Dr. Lee says hi to Connor.

Nah, we don't look alike.

So patient, he's almost unconscious.

Dad and Connor are waiting patiently to go home. Well, Connor's waiting patiently...dad, not so much.

sfotkid · April 2, 2008

Babys are awesome. Nice to see you bring him home.

Jayjay719 · April 8, 2008

Aww Pete! He's adorable! Congrats to you guys. I hope to meet up with you guys sometime soon. Enjoy parenthood.

funkybadger · April 15, 2008

Congratulations to you both Pete! This is wonderful news. It was nice to see you in chat again too. Don't be a stranger, but be sure you get sleep when you can!

pete4winds · April 15, 2008

^ Heh, I wish...the whole "sleep when the baby sleeps" thing? UTTER CRAP I tell ya!

Nah, I kinda like having him around. He'll be three weeks tomorrow, so hopefully soon things will start to fall into some semblance of a routine. I'll say this, though...I never dreamed I'd be so happy to catch a whole two consecutive hours of sleep...there was once a time when I was a nine-hour kinda guy!

SharkTums · April 15, 2008

^Ha! Routine?!?! What's that!?!?

KT is 13 months old and still does not have a routine. Every once in a while I think she's getting into a pattern and then she totally changes it up! Realistically it's better this way because our lives are NOT routine and we'd be in trouble if she had certain times she HAD to nap.

As for the sleep...I hear you there! I used to also be one of those people who needed a good 9-10 hours of sleep a night. I haven't gotten that in a long time now (between baby and pregnancy) but somehow your body does it!

Good luck and keep the pictures coming! When's his first park visit?

pete4winds · April 19, 2008

When's his first park visit?

We're undecided on that, but we did take a walk to the Heritage State Park down the street today to try his first carousel ride (sadly, it won't be open until Monday, so we'll try again then). Some people might remember the carousel from past PTRs as Old PTC #54, the last operating remnant of Lincoln Park here in Massachusetts.

Anyway, on to the photos of today's "park visit" and other antics from earlier this week, presented in two parts!

He makes some of his funniest faces when he's asleep. Here he does a fairly passable Edward G. Robinson impression.

Nah, it's just Nana (my mom) on the other end.

Dad, Connor's agent, is cutting some deals with those Gerber people.

I said I'm done playing. Put me the eff down for a nap, please!

OK, mom, I've had enough fun.

Effin' paparazzi...get the camera outta my face.

Elsie hams it up for Connor...she WAS our dog until he arrived. Now she's HIS dog. OK, Connor, if that's how it's gonna be, YOU walk her.

Connor's first real interaction with Elsie. Interestingly, she's an Ibizan Hound, and the name Connor is the Gaelic word for "Lover of Hounds."

Our middle brother, Uncle Corey (he's 12), was a little nervous about holding his nephew.

Connor, Uncle Forest. Uncle Forest, Connor.

My youngest brother Forest (he's 9) meets his nephew for the first time, with his sister-in-law's help.

On this episode of "Scared Straight," the new scourge of youth...breast milk hangover.

Even when he's not making funny faces, he's still pretty damn cute.

"Step away from the baby, human, before I bite your @$$."

Elsie the ever-present protecto-dog, watching over her charge.

Connor the charlatan likes to sucker us into paying for psychic readings. "I see...donkeys."

pete4winds · April 19, 2008

Part 2: Connor's first "park trip."

One last view from the top of the hill. This view is only two blocks from our house.

Crap! Not open until Monday. That's OK. It's only a five minute walk. We'll be back.

Mom and Connor rush to see, dad struggles to keep up and take photos at the same time.

C'mon. We still gotta see if the carousel is open!

A 1916 photo of the Durfee Mills, now home to some outlet shops, a 99 Restaurant, and, ready for this? The local DMV. A (ahem) fine tribute to the history of our fair city.

Connor checks out a mural of Fall River's early waterfront. OK, dad was checking it out...Connor was, as usual, sleeping through it.

I'm still looking for a Dale Earnhardt scale-model decal set to deck-out Connor's stroller like The Intimidator's Monte Carlo.

Dad, there's the carousel. Let's go see if it's open! In a few minutes, Connor. Let's enjoy the air conditioning first.

Connor's still not all that interested. He'd rather inspect the eyelids. I think I'll be doing the same when we go home.

The rarely-open Heritage State Park building is...holy crap, it's OPEN! And AIR CONDITIONED!!! We're totally there!

Taking a quick break from our walk.

Mom and dad's view of Battleship Cove. Connor was too asleep to be very interested.

What a life. The kid's not even a month old, and already he has his own convertible WITH driver.

pete4winds · April 21, 2008

4/21/08: Connor finally got to go on his first carousel ride today!!! Make that his first TWO, lucky little guy!

While it's not exactly a full-on park visit, it's a pretty good start for one day shy of four weeks old. Jen's aunt Evy came down from New Hampshire to visit for the day, and she joined us on this momentous occasion.

He was asleep the whole time, but whatever...it still counts, right?