why ty?

we have had a lot of questions about tyrn; most of them have been about his name, but there have been a few about skin to skin contact. both topics will be addressed in this post.

our friend tyrn was one of my housemates in edmonton. josh, aaron, tyrn and i all shared a sweet little house just south of whyte ave. the four of us became and remain good friends.
josh, as well as tyrn and his beautiful wife kelsey joined us in egypt. aaron was there in spirit.

we like tyrn and we like his name. i know i just transcribed it as TIE rin in our previous post, but perhaps a more precise pronunciation would be TIE urn. tyrn's mother deb was telling me that she was looking for a spelling for the name that was in her head, and tyren and tyron just weren't right. she met with some resistance, but we agree with her that "tyrn" is an elegant way to represent what people actually say. even when the name has an extra vowel on it, familiarity and phonetic expedience would shorten it on most peoples' tongues to TIE urn. way to go deb! both tyrn and his mom seem really excited about having another tyrn around.


now on to the man. tyrn is a quality guy. he is sincere, funny, energetic, honest, friendly and fun to be around. i think he came up with the idea for the above picture.

he enjoys climbing and adventure

and drinking juice

and jumping off things

and probably most of all music. ty currently plays in a band called pre/post and being a drummer is a big part of his identity.

we love the name tyrn, and tyrn senior embodies many of the characteristics we want to see in our son, so it works out well. thanks for the name tyrn and deb!


james is to honour my grandfather, james rose, jim to his friends. i am his only grandson and was named marc james after him.
i wish he had lived long enough for me to know him in adulthood, but i got to spend a lot of time with him growing up and visiting the farm every summer. i remember a kind, generous and often understated farmer who was just a little rough around the edges. he was strong, resourceful and loyal. his cheeks were grizzled and his hands were tough and he called me "mark'n james". i hope tyrn james takes after him.

i just realized that i always sit like that.

now on to skin to skin contact. one week in i am a big proponent. it is the easiest way for ME to settle him down. infants have immature and untried physiologies. if he is in direct contact with me or kylie he can hitch a ride on our homeostatic mechanisms, thus freeing up the energy necessary to maintain a constant temperature to be used in growth or immune function. oxytocin is most likely involved in some pleasant way as well. the above pose gives the added benefit of vitamin D production and bilirubin breakdown. also, you may inadvertently burn your baby.

skin to skin contact between mom and baby immediately following delivery is another issue altogether, involving the reenforcement of maternal second messenger systems in order to clamp down the uterus and decrease bleeding and otherwise speed the body on its way to the post pregnant state. we have some pictures of kylie in this state, but in the interests of her privacy i will include another one of me instead.

ty went for his first hike a few days ago. he loves his snuggly. or at least it makes him sleepy... is that the same thing?

kylie did great as well. feeling strong and feeding on the fly. today was gorgeously sunny and we took a walk to a different beach on the fraser.

and lastly a farewell to the cherry blossoms as their season wanes. a quick thundershower with light hail knocked half of them off the tree and onto our subaru. it's now decorated like a parade float. ty thinks it's funny.

it's a boy!

on a sunny day in chilliwack, with the spring blossoms scenting the air, tyrn james g took his first breaths. (pronunciation -TIE rin jAYMz greh DAN us)
kylie started labour late tuesday, and was up all night with strong regular contractions. i included this picture of our tree out front b/c i hope i will always have the memory of lying in bed on wednesday morning in a daze, looking out the window at the delicate blossoms outlined against the blue sky and pink clouds of dawn and thinking that we would get to meet our baby on such a beautiful day.

the maternity ward in chilliwack was relatively quiet and we were ushered directly into a labour room, rather than having to share a room for the first stage (which is common). the rooms in chilliwack are pretty utilitarian, but have one wall of solid windows with beautiful mountain views.

just before sunset on the toughest day of her life, kylie pushed out a screaming baby boy. his head circumference was 36 cm and he was 54 cm long.

i was so proud of kylie. i have seen 100s of women in labour, and although the kenyan women are the toughest i have witnessed, kylie was one of the strongest canadians. seriously. she was fantastic. she gave solid pushes through the full length of every contraction, and didnt complain or scream (until the very end when the head was almost out... then there were a few involuntary howls).

here's tyrn having his first bath. as soon as he came out i was struck by his resemblance to my brand new baby pictures. my mom agreed and sent us this picture of her holding me on my first day.


once kylie had showered and rested our friends started to arrive. we had an excellent evening and following morning in the hospital, with a perfect mix of visitors and naptime, and even a decent night's sleep. i also went down to visit the emerg a few times. the nurses there are SO excited for us. someone put up a birth announcement for us, and no one could figure out how to pronounce "tyrn".



being a part of the new generation of doctors, i feel like i got as much teaching on the importance of skin to skin contact as on how to deliver a stuck shoulder, or deal with labour dystocia. with all the emphasis i had to give it a try. i cant testify to its purported physiological effects, but it sure is fun!
now the family is back at home. niko is interested and tolerant, and not yet jealous. kylie and i are tired, and tyrn just had a good feed, so it's time to try sleeping at home with our new baby. welcome home ty! it's good to have you.

c&d fun factory

carlynne and dan left snowy ottawa to visit shareen in victoria and then us in sunny chilliwack. if they had stayed a few days longer they could have enjoyed the concatenation of cherry blossoms, sunshine and snow on the mountains. japanese cherry trees line almost the entire route from the highway to our house. they only missed the blossoms though, it was gorgeously sunny and warm while they were here.

the first day we took them out to the chilliwack river at dusk to scout out some fishing spots for the next day.
niko loves this area. it is webbed with mtn bike trails and he can rip it up.
dan and i went back to this same spot the following day after borrowing some fishing gear. he spent 4 hours fishing for the elusive steelhead salmon while i alternated mountain biking with lying in the sunshine and critiquing his casting technique.

evenings were spent playing video and table games. here is carlynne learning to fly.

uno stacko makes for good photo ops.

thanks carlynne and dan, for making it out to the west coast.

finally i need to document a lovely treat provided by our friend anne. a chocolate covered cherry on an oreo, but so much more!
ps - we miss the olympics.
pps- tonight is my last full shift before i go on self imposed paternity leave. whit whoo!