City on Fire

Some of the fires are rather close to us, though we're not endangered personally. There are many families, however, just a few miles across town who've evacuated their homes. The smoke yesterday made our neighborhood smell like a campfire, so Arianna and Liam spent the night with her folks, who are staying about 45 minutes north of us. We figured fresh air might be a plus for Liam.

Smoke from the fires north of us being blown southward by the strong winds.

Sun trying to peak through the thick smoke.

Belly Buttons and Projectile Poop

We were all smiles before the projectile poop incident.

Well, it has been a big day for little Liam. His umbilical cord finally fell off and he has a cute, inny belly button. Another item worthy of note-he can poop with amazing force. Andy was changing him and cleaning his tush when Liam surprised us with some mustard splattered not only over his changing pad, but over the bed on which it lays, the carpet, and the wall about 3 feet away. Andy also got a bit of the love on his shorts. Somehow, no one mentioned that this happens with babies. It took us by surprise!

"Playing" with Liam

Roland and Liam... watch out LaNae, he's going to want another one!
(Kailyn, Cade, and Claire-hopefully you can hold him soon too!)

Another Day in Liam Land

Cute family picture

Whoops-all three ladies with their eyes closed, yet still smiling!

Outing to old town in Pasadena

Liam with Family and Friends

Nanie with Liam

Pops with Liam

Grandma and Grandpa with Liam

Grandma with Liam

Grandpa with Liam

Uncle Sean with Liam

Jerod Gilcher and Jessica Hoch meeting Liam
Jerod upon seeing Liam just kept saying "Oh, man! Oh, man!" and rubbing his hands together. A pretty typical response upon meeting such a handsome little boy.

Liam's First Outing to Vasquez Rocks

We No Longer Take Pictures of the Cat

Yes, we have found a better subject to photograph. And we are doing it a bit much.

Pictures of Liam

Liam Live

This video was taken just minutes after Liam was born. It is a little distorted, so we'll try to fix that for future videos.

Introducing Liam Joshua Tobin

Liam was born on October 7th at 7:24 pm. He weighed 8 lb and 12 oz and was 19 inches long. We didn't post for such a long time because we just got released from the hospital last night at about 8:30 pm due to some concern about a possible heart problem. We are thankful to say that everything checked out fine and the doctor says he is very healthy. We feel very blessed from the Lord to have such a beautiful boy.


Here's the saga of Liam's birth...

At the beginning of the long, long hospital stay...


We were told to arrive at the hospital at 7:30 pm on October 5th to be induced because Liam was about a week late. The plan was to have a cervix softener placed overnight, then start Pitocin to really get the contractions going at 7:30 am. They did place the cervix softener, but then the plan fell apart. Apparently the doctor on call was running all over town delivering babies, so she told the nurse that she didn't want to deliver us that day. She ordered to keep the cervix softener in for an extra 12 hours (24 hours total), and then take it out, wait until early am of the 7th, then start the Pitocin so most likely we would deliver after she was off call.

This was obviously a bit frustrating for several reasons. We could have stayed home an extra day. I had to stay in bed the entire time because the baby needed to be continuously monitored with the cervix softener as it can cause complications. The nurses all felt bad that I had to stay in the delivery bed because it was very uncomfortable. Also my skin started have an allergic reaction to the tape and gel they put on my skin to monitor the baby.

Unknown to us, the discomfort I had been feeling the past several weeks actually was mild contractions. The cervix softener had helped the contractions increase in strength and frequency, so by the time the Pitocin was started my contractions were well on the way, although still not awful.

By 1 pm on the 7th, I was ready for an epidural. I've got to say that I highly recommend them! Labor started progressing quickly from that point on. Coming into the hospital, the stats were 1 cm dilated and 70-80% effaced. Just 36 hours after admission, the stats were 2 cm dilated and 80% effaced (all I've got to say is that I don't think much of that cervix softening medication). By 1 pm on the 7th, it was 5 cm dilated and 80% effaced. I got the epidural at 2 pm and everything progressed rapidly. By 3:30 pm, it was 7-8 cm dilated and 80%. The doctor (a different one is on call now) decided to break the amniotic sac and by 6:15 we were ready to deliver. The doctor made it back to the hospital by 6:40 and the baby was out at 7:24-almost exactly 48 hours after admission!

The epidural made it so I couldn't really feel anything. The nurse and Andy had to hold my feet up because they were flopping all over the place. Andy was very encouraging throughout the whole process and was the perfect coach. The doctor decided to assist me with the pushing with a vacuum. He started with a "mini vacuum" then had to advance to the regular vacuum. When Liam's head came out, the doctor was saying how surprised he was that the baby was so big. All the doctors had said they thought he'd be about 7 lbs. Little did they know :)

Soon we were transferred to our post partum room and two days later we finally made it home! We're thankful to be in our own place and getting used to life with Liam. It has been great to have the support of family, neighbors, and friends.


Proud Papa

Tired Mama

30 Second Progress Report

Not Yet! Long story. Andy's just swinging by the apartment for a shower and shave. They just started the Pitocin early this morning, so it has been a long, uneventful stay. Arianna is doing well overall - a little bored, sore from lying in an uncomfortable bed for over a day now, and a little discouraged. Thanks for your prayers and encouragement. If the Lord wills, we will see our son today, which means you probably won't hear from us for another day or so. Off to the hospital I go with much joy and anticipation . . . again.

Off to the Hospital We Go!

Lord willing, this will be our last blog entry as a twosome. We're headed to the hospital for a 7:30 PM scheduled induction. Our hearts are filled with joyful anticipation and our stomachs with butterflies. Your prayers are a great encouragement to us. We'll try to get some pictures posted as soon as we can.

Joyful (non-baby) News!

God's grace is certainly multifaceted. As we approach the end of seminary (December 14), not only do we anxiously await the birth of our firstborn son, but we also eagerly anticipate the opportunity to serve what will soon be our new church body. After months of prayer and conversation, Andy received the call this week to join the staff of Harvest Bible Chapel of Rockford. We are so incredibly thankful to the Lord for His orchestation of this exciting new opportunity. For you Spokanites, it won't take but a little browsing of the above link to figure out how we got connected to this precious group of saints.

Velkommen til Solvang

Since there was no sign of baby coming yesterday, we took a trip to Solvang, the Danish capital of the U.S. (so we're told). The journey was just over two hours from our place. Arianna was convinced that if baby started to come, we would have plenty of time to get back. We had a great time with Arianna's folks visiting the many shops, snackin' on some tasty fudge, and sippin' on a "Dan(ger)ish" americano (Andy).

Another Baby (that hasn't arrived) Update

A quick update on our progress, or lack thereof. I did get my membranes stripped on Monday and nothing much happened. Today, Jessica Hoch gave me a very enjoyable pedicure and manicure (I have heard pedicures might help). As well, we went to Studio City's Caioto's Pizza Cafe and got "The Salad," which is supposed to help induce labor. I guess it is pretty famous and they ship their salad dressing to desperate pregnant women all over the country. Nothing has happened for us yet though. Swimming and long walks haven't done the trick either. So continue to pray for patience for us as we wait. Thanks as well for so many of your encouraging phone calls and notes!

Baby Update

Well friends, here's the news. The baby's head is fully engaged! Here's the problem, our doctor is leaving for vacation on Saturday the 29th. We're due on the 26th. So the plan is to have an appointment on the 24th where our doctor will do our first internal exam. If the cervix is dilated, we can make the decision to have him "strip the membranes" to hurry along the process, most likely ensuring that the baby will be born before Saturday. If the cervix isn't dilated at all, we don't know what the plan is. Please pray for us to make a wise decision on the 24th!

By Popular Demand . . .

Here is Momma Arianna about 15 days from blast off.