Wyatt's First Christmas

Matt and I were thrilled to have a little one to share Christmas with. We actually didn't go too crazy in buying gifts for him. We got him a few small toys and a DVD about baby sign language. He had fun and thought the wrapping paper was interesting and the stocking was fun to eat!
He is over 4 months here.

"Wy Wy" meets "Y"

Wyatt gets to meet Yvonne. She is so fun and came bearing gifts of Christmas outfits (in which she promptly dressed Wyatt). Its about time she came and visited!! We have missed her. She is busy being a student in the PA program at the U of U. Wyatt got a kick out of her and showed off for her by blowing bubbles at her. Yvonne is one of those special people that brings a smile out of everyone she meets.....Wyatt included!

We're finally back!!

Hello to everyone,

We are finally back after a few weeks of computer issues. We are so sorry for the delay in new pictures. So here we are with some new ones. This is Wyatt with Grandpa Gleed at the Gleed Family Christmas Party. Wyatt had a lot of fun as some of his cousins spent a lot of time entertaining him and trying to make him smile. He tolerated the day trip to Bear Lake a lot better this time. He is NOT a fan of the car seat!

Where did the time go?

Hello to everyone checking our site,

Yesterday Wyatt turned 3 months. Wow! The past 3 months flew by. I'm going back to work next week and I'm not anywhere close to being ready. I've enjoyed my time with Wyatt so much. He is so much more alert now and spends a lot of his day smiling at me and having these wonderful little converstations with me. It is so precious.

He's growing like a weed. We have been dealing with some dairy and soy allergy issues which has changed my diet dramatically. If things don't improve soon, I might have to quit breast feeding much to both of our dismay!! We both love it.

Well thanks for all your love and support and for checking in on us.

Lisa

Happy Halloween!

Hello to everyone:

As you can see, Matt and Wyatt got into the spirit of Halloween. Ebay has its yearly Halloween parade for the employees to show off their kids. Matt was pretty excited to show off Wyatt. Wyatt thought the holiday was just okay as the costume was very hot. I had to keep taking it off and letting him cool off. He's just happy to stay at home with mom and play and nurse and sleep all day. He doesn't like to have his routine interrupted!

We caught some cute pictures of Wyatt earlier in the week smiling. He is getting so alert and is such a happy baby. We are so lucky anyway but to have a good baby.....well you know what we mean. Hope Grandpa Gleed enjoys these pictures.

Lisa

Hi everyone,

My friend, Julie, just moved back to Salt Lake from Italy. She had her little boy, Aaron James, in June and has some stories to tell about Italian medicine. We got Wyatt and Aaron together the other day. It was quite funny. I'm not sure that either one noticed each other. Wyatt, soon after they showed up, became fussy and ate and went to sleep. So much for the little dudes bonding. Oh well, there is plenty of time for that. Have a good day.

Lisa

Hello all,

Over the weekend our wonderful neighbors, Sue and Craig Jones, had an open house to welcome Wyatt to the neighborhood. It was so fun and there was a great turnout. It was good to get to know the other parents in the neighborhood since we have been completely clueless in this department. Wyatt was a good little baby and took the 3 hour party like a champ. Thanks to all our wonderful neighbors.

As you can see, Wyatt is getting more and more alert and is showing his cute personality including lots of smiling. It is so fun to see his personality. He is growing up so fast. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Lisa

Finally we're back!

Hello everyone,

Sorry it has been a while since we posted. Matt went back to work last week and I have been trying to figure out how to take care of a young baby and take care of all of my other responsibilities. Hopefully, it will all fall into place.

Yesterday was Wyatt's 8 week birthday. We celebrated by going to the pediatrician. He had his 2 month check. He weighed 11 pounds and has grown to 22.5 inches. He's growing like a weed. Last time we weighed him he was 7 pounds 2 ounces. To be honest, the thing we have noticed the most with the growing is his length. But with all 2 month appointments comes the first of many vaccinations. He had 5 vaccinations yesterday. 4 shots in his thighs and 1 orally. We both were devastated by the awful cry that came out of our little son as the needles hit. We hadn't heard that cry before. But that wasn't the worst part. Despite round the clock anti-fever meds and nursing from mom, he still felt like ___! The top picture to the right shows his sick eyes. We took it last night before he started in with the vomiting and diarrhea all night. Poor little guy.

We had a nice visit this weekend from our friends Dave and Melinda Freiss and their cute daughter, Hailey. She is almost 5. Dave and Melinda have been down the same infertility road we have only to a greater extent. They have Hailey and just found out that they are finally having another little one in April. Congratulations guys. We are so excited for you.

Matt and his little pal spent Sunday evening watching football. Wyatt sat there forever and watched the TV much to Matt's excitement - especially since it was Matt's favorite team playing.

Well, I need to go tend to Wyatt. Thanks for your patience and enjoy the pictures/blog.

Lisa

Wyatt and his cousins

Wyatt got his first visit from some of his cousins today. He has 13 cousins on Lisa's side of the family. He got to meet Colby and Shelby who are 9 and 6 respectively. It is amazing that even at only 6 weeks of age, he knew they were one of him. He recognized that they weren't adults. He was very interested in them as they were of him. They were so excited to meet him but a little disappointed that he couldn't play with them a little more. Now that he is 6 weeks old, Matt and I have lifted the ban on kids being around him and possibly exposing him to something. But just so you all know, we aren't totally paranoid. This was at the suggestion of our pediatrician. Hope you enjoy the cute picture.

Lisa

Thank God for parents!!

Even at our age, parents seem to know when they are needed. On Saturday, Lisa's parents came down from Idaho and surprised us with some primo babysitting. We took the opportunity to go to lunch to celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary. Of course the whole 2 hours we were gone, our thoughts were on our darling son. This was our first time out without the little guy. Then on Sunday, Matt's parents took him so we could go to brunch for our anniversary. Of course we, being new at all this, took way too much time to get him ready and get him to their house so we ended up having lunch instead. We appreciate both of our parents and all the love and support they give. It was nice of them both to be so thoughtful since it was their wedding anniversaries as well. All 3 of us share the same wedding anniversary. Thanks Roy, Betty, Newell and Joyce. We love you.

Matt and Lisa

What's up daddio??

Howdy all,

Just thought I'd drop a line to let everyone know I haven't died from sleep deprivation.
I've decided to take another two weeks at home with Lisa and Wyatt (what can I say, you've got to love Slick Willy for that FMLA!).

Watching Wyatt grow and develop has been the amazing experience of my life. It's incredible to watch his mind slowly awaken to life and the world around him. At 4.5 weeks, he is able to recognize, Lisa and I by voice and appearance. His visual centers are rapidly developing. He focuses on contrasts in color and light quite a bit but is moving on to more subtle visual variations. He is gaining more and more control of his his head and keeps it on a swivel when he's awake.

Even more than a month down the road we continue to enjoy visits and gifts from friends, family and neighbors. It's amazing how many people understand our wait and share our joy. We really are fortunate to have so many great people around us. We are truly grateful for Wyatt and for all of you.

Since Lisa's last post we have had a few more visitors, some we got pics on, others no.
I've added a few new pics, I hope you like them.

The 1 Month Celebration

Hi everyone,

Well yesterday marked a big event. Wyatt turned 1 month old. Matt and I are amazed at how fast the time has passed. I think we are still on our high from his "birth". As any new parents would do, we celebrated his big day. Are we crazy? Maybe. But I think we are just celebrating this little one's life and how lucky we feel to have him.

Wyatt was unaware of what the big deal was and I think a little annoyed with us all day. By evening and birthday cake, he was completely annoyed with us as the pictures shows. He'd better get used to his crazy parents as he's in for a long haul with us and celebrations.

And for those of you who really know us, you won't think we're crazy. We're just making sure to enjoy each and every moment of this little one's life.

Have a great day.

Lisa

Family Ties

Wyatt had some important visitors on Sunday. His Grandma Thornton, his Great Aunt Marlene and his Great Grandma Hess came to visit. It is the first time that Grandma Josephine Hess has met her 15th great grandchild. She is almost 91. What a span of years between the generations. Fortunately, Wyatt was in a good mood and even showed off a few smiles for his Grandma T and his Aunt Marlene. Hope you enjoy the generation picture.

Lisa

Just another day in the life of Wyatt

Hi everyone,

I'm sitting here trying to blog with a crying infant in my lap. It does present a challenge to my creative senses as well as my grammatical senses I'm sure! I'm showing a couple of pictures of Wyatt to show how alert he is getting. His most alert time of the day: 5:00am to about 10:00 am. A little earlier than I would like but he does let me get 2 three hours naps before the big event. Its funny how mom has to be part of the big event - you know to feed, hold, interact with him, etc. The lactation specialist says I'm lucky that he gives me 3 hours at a time. I think I'm just lucky!!

We got the nicest visit from Andrew (at ebay) last week with the nicest gift from some of Matt's co-workers. Thanks to you all. It is an extremely nice gift from some extremely thoughtful people. I hated to even get into the basket as the gift as a whole was beautiful.

Well I'd better feed the little guy as he has only THAT on his mind.

Talk to you soon - Lisa

Three weeks already!!

Howdy all!

It's hard to believe we're three weeks in already.
The little guy is happy and healthy. He is clearly growing and gaining weight.

Lisa reports his first "real" smile today. 3 weeks is a bit early for eye contact and recognition vs. a regular reflex smile, but she insists he did just that.

He and Lisa have a pretty good arrangement on meals. He demands it whenever he wants and she gives it to him.

I believe I'm beginning to see the lad's true nature. He has developed a serious boobie addiction. And so it goes, like father like son I guess. "You're out of your mind, off your rocker" you say. One might think so. I have proof. The accompanying photos will support my contention that my own son, at the tender age of three weeks is a certified boobie fanatic.

The "2 week check"

Good News everyone. The little guy is growing. We had our 2 week appointment with the pediatrician today and he is now weighing 7 pounds 2 ounces and has grown almost 2 inches. I actually have an outfit that he had outgrown today. He definitely didn't like the heel stick for the PKU test and protested with all his might! It must have been fairly traumatic to him as he has spent most of the afternoon sleeping. Hopefully this doesn't mean a long night for us! We are trying to help him understand the meaning of darkness. I had no idea that newborns dreamed so much. He laughs out loud in his sleep as well as cries out loud. What can they possibly have bad dreams about? Well I just wanted to give everyone an update.

Lisa

Mom finally speaks!

Hi everyone. I feel like I'm finally back among the living. Its amazing what 4 consecutive hours of sleep will do for you. I feel like a new woman. I've been enjoying this blog spot along with the rest of you but figure its time to help Matt add some new "blog". The week has gone well. My mom stayed until Wednesday to help and I'm very thankful she came. Matt's parents brought dinner on Thursday and Susan and Al Giesler brought dinner Friday night. In case any of you ebayers don't know it....Susan makes a hell of a homemade banana pudding. Thanks guys!

Wyatt has had a good week. He goes throug a lot of diapers!! Matt and I have been debating all week whether Huggies or Pampers are best. What our conversations have turned to.....!!!! We are enjoying our son so much. I don't think either one of us can get enough of him. I've had to start being careful of what I eat as it affects him. I've figured out no chocolate. What a sacrifice!

I'm very grateful that Matt has taken time off. Its so helpful to me and he is getting to know Wyatt. Wyatt is getting bigger and longer. He loves to eat. That makes him our son for sure! He still has his dark hair but it is lightening. I think he will eventually go blonde. He looks a lot like Matt. I'm enjoying the few months of being the center of his universe (well actually, its my boobs that are the center) because this little guy already has that natural affinity for his father that sons have. Pretty soon I won't exist except when he's sick! That's okay though. I'll take what I can get!

Again, thanks for all your love and support and phone calls. We have some many wonderful people in our lives.

Confession of a slacker dad.

Howdy all. Sorry about the lag in info. Everything seemed to have caught up with us recently and we've been pretty wiped. Good thing Lisa's mom has been here looking after things.

Wyatt had a doctor's check this morning. The news was all good. He has gained a whopping 8 ounces since coming home Saturday! He is now just one ounce below his birth weight. Given we thought it would take the little guy a couple of weeks to get here, we're really happy. His jaundice risk continues to be very minimal. We'll go back for a two week check soon.

We have had a few requests for some more updated photos of the little dude, so I'm posting a few.

Wyatt is beginning to open his eyes much more frequently and is trying to focus on objects very near him. He vigorously kicks his hands and feet and arches his back. When I'm holding him I have to pay attention as he has a tendency to toss his head which throws off the balance.

Lisa and I had a funny experience the other night. I decided to get the baby changed and ready for Lisa. No sooner than I had removed his diaper than I began hearing "rumbling from below". As I quickly covered him back, he began to spit up. Lisa jumped in at that point to wipe and suction his mouth. As Lisa and I were busily managing output at each end of the kid, Wyatt saw his chance and promptly sprayed us, and himself down with pee pee.. doh! forgot about the water cannon. Lisa and I laughed until we cried. That kid hit us with everything he had!!

Everything continues to go well. The kid is eating like a pig, and evidently Lisa is producing some top notch stuff as his weight gain is remarkable. We're looking forward to some visitors this week. Please feel free to call or drop us a line if you'd like to stop by.

Homeward Bound - Free at last!

Howdy everyone. Well, everything looks really good. Dr. Lloyd (Randall's pop) dropped by this morning to give Lisa the final green light and remove her staples. Lisa is healing incredibly well but is still having a lot of pain.

Dr. Clayton stopped in this morning and cleared Wyatt to go home. We'll be dropping in on Dr. Clayton Tuesday for a weigh in. Since Lisa's milk arrived yesterday Wyatt has stopped losing weight and has stabilized at 5 pounds 15 ounces. He sure is a tiny little dude. We expect him to be up to around 7 pounds in a few weeks.

After a little car seat wrangling and a brief delay in the pharmacy parking lot to feed Wyatt, we were homeward bound at last.

It was great to get home. Lilly (our parrot) is very interested in Wyatt but is not showing any signs of jealousy, which is a good thing. If there are any parrot owners out there you know having an unhappy bird can be truly hellacious. Tess (our German Shepherd) is still staying at my parent's home and has yet to meet the little man. I have been sending used baby blankets home with my mom to get Tess used to Wyatt's smell.

Now that Wyatt has been on breast milk for a solid day, the diaper thing has taken a more serious turn. He goes a lot more and more often.. it smells a bit nasty too. Worse still, he seems to have urine to spare as he happily sprays himself and the parent fortunate enough to draw the duty each time he is changed. A little consumer report on "pee pee tepees".. they don't work! Wyatt blew his aside easily and drench his third outfit for the day. It's actually pretty funny and a sign of great health.

I took a few pics today but have yet to upload them. Lisa and I are exhausted as we have not been asleep at the same time for over four days.

We were really happy when our great neighbors brought us a fantastic homemade chicken noodle soup.

My parents, my sister Lisa and her husband Jim stopped in and helped us get things under control. We're looking forward to the arrival of Lisa's mother Betty tomorrow. Grumpa G will be coming as well and is excited to meet his 15Th grandchild.

Thanks to everyone for their kind comments. I hope the blog is enjoyable and useful to you.

Day Three - The Milk Mom Commeth..

Great news this morning. Lisa's milk came in early. Wyatt is certainly not complaining, eating very well and resting much better now.

Dr. Clayton (our pediatrician) gave Wyatt a great report this morning. His hearing tests were great and his risk of jaundice is very minimal. Dr. Clayton's practice is relatively new. He is right in Draper which makes it nice. He has fantastic training, a wonderful bed side manner and fantastic perspective. We recommend him to anyone currently searching for a pediatrician.

We had a lot of great visitors today. A great crew from the ER, a lot of family and even some eBay folks!

Dr. Froerer, Lisa's OB will come in tomorrow to remove the staples from her incision. After that, a green light from Dr. Clayton is all we'll need and we're outta here!
We both can't wait to get Wyatt home. It'll be great to reduce all the interruptions we get from the medical staff. While we appreciate all they do, we're pretty tired. I have placed a general schedule below, so you have an idea of our day.

4 a.m. - Feed Wyatt.
5 a.m. - To the nursery for lab tests.
6 a.m. - Feed/change Wyatt before doctor's rounds.
7 a.m. - To the nursery for pediatrician exam
7:15 a.m. - OB rounds - examination for Lisa
7:30 a.m. - dietary brings Lisa's breakfast
7:45 a.m. - nurses rounds to examine Lisa
8:30 a.m. - pediatrician visits the room to give exam results
9:15 a.m. - Wyatt returns from the nursery - change
9:30 a.m. - Lisa's breastfeeding class / fill out birth certificate application (you would not believe what they ask on that thing!)
10:00 a.m. - Lisa back from breastfeeding class to feed Wyatt.
10:30 a.m. - First visitors of the day.

From there, the day consists of a lot of visits from our favorite people and multiple visits from the nursing staff to evaluate Lisa and Wyatt. I usually bolt at around 11 to go home check on the house, pets and grab a nap. I'm usually back to the hospital around 5 to sit with my kiddo.
We get several evening visitors. From here Lisa feeds Wyatt q. 3 hours, I generally burp and change - this goes on until 3 a.m. with naps here and there. So we're looking very forward to getting home.

We both know it has been a long road to get to this point. There have been a few bumps. We are incredibly fortunate to have access to professionals who can assist us in our goal to have a child. We are equally fortunate to have people in our lives who provided so much support to our quest. Superiors and peers in the workplace; friends and family members. We would have never made it without you. Every time I look at the cute little bugger I know it was all worth it.

Day Two

Thanks to everyone for the visits, phone calls, flowers and gifts. It's really fantastic to know how many great people wish us well.

Someone once told me "to be a parent is to worry". Just one day into parenthood, so many things I have heard over the years ring true.

Wyatt is eating regularly. He and Lisa are getting things worked out and seem to be finding a groove. Last night he spit up quite a bit, one episode occluded his airway and he turned a little blue. Yikes!

As is normal, he has lost some of his birthweight already. We hope continued and regular nursing combined with a reduced regurgitation will curb that trend.


Lisa is feeling more of he pain from her C-section today. She is up and out of bed and eating solid foods. Although she's happy to be free of her IV and catheter, she is not quit ready to go home.

Voila!

Well everyone, the deed is finally done.
Lisa and I are incredibly pleased to announce the birth of our son, Wyatt M Thornton.
8/15/07 at 8:15 a.m. Vigorous and healthy baby boy - 6 pounds 7 ounces, 19.5 inches..

Did I mention that is quite loud? He began feeding shortly after birth. While I enjoyed giving him his first bath, he did not. All systems are good and I'm proud to say I've conducted my first diaper change.

The procedure was interesting to watch. I took a lot of pictures, but when my son emerged I became transfixed. Fortunately the anesthesiologist is a friend of Lisa's. He said "dude, you're in shock and you're going to miss all the best pictures. At that point, he commandeered the camera and took many great shots. I believe I have attached the most illustrative and least gory to the blog today.

Thanks again to everyone for their support and friendship. Enjoy the pictures!

Best

Matt

A Little Warm Up

Well everyone, the big day is finally here and I'm worse than a kid on Christmas Eve. This page is intended to commemorate the birth and life of Wyatt Mathew Thornton, Son of Mathew L Thornton and Lisa Gleed-Thornton of Draper Utah. This little man is our dream come true.
I don't think everyone has had the opportunity to see these pictures of my beautiful, blushing and very gravid bride. Enjoy.

Thanks To Everyone

Lisa and I want to make sure everyone who gave their support, friendship, understanding, humor and expertise toward our attainment of this wonderful goal.

Dr. Guy Ringler, without your brilliance this would have never been possible.
Dr. Bronte Stone, the best damn embryologist on the planet (and a decent rider).
Dr. Phillip Werthman, for your patience and prudence.
The entire staff at CALFERT, truly a world class organization.

To Tom Reasor and Kevin Considine, John Little. Without your support at work, we could have never held it together and gotten through.

To all our friends who offered support and shared experiences and concern. Melinda and Dave Freiss, Jane Powers, Mansoor Emam, Gennie Mulqueen, Terry Heinrich, Kevin and Jen Considine, Al Giesler and Susan Katz, Andrew Foulger, the Maliheh Free Clinic staff, the Cottonwood ER staff and all the great people at eBay.

Finally and always the most important, thank you to our families. Without you, we would not be who we are. We are thrilled and honored to be adding a member to such a special group.

With love and sincerity,

Matt and Lisa