Our Journey Home

We made it.  It was the most nerve wracking ten hour journey, but with the help of close friends and USAir we successfully transferred our lives back from Denver to Charlotte.  Despite the fact that we shipped five boxes of books, clothes, and gifts home, we still checked six items (three pieces of luggage, Dad's skis and boots, and our car seat), four carry-ons, and our new son!

Dad spent some time yesterday reading up on the functionality of the car seat, while Mom and Toler did a dry run of the Baby Bjorn prior to our journey.

Can we go home yet?

Of course no trip home would be complete without a fancy going home outfit (courtesy of Grandma & Grandaddy Toler).

Toler in his Monkey Suit

Durring our final few moments before leaving the NICU, both Mom and Dad waited for one of our expert nurses to ensure Toler was good to go.  As Toler had already passed his car seat test, it still surprised both of us to see just how tiny he looked in the seat.

Our final NICU moments before heading home

Our good friend Jacqueline helped us transport all of our gear and Toler from the hospital to the airport.  Taking the red-eye was difficult on everyone, but really limited Toler's exposure to others.  Here is Mom and Toler as we arrived to the Denver airport.

This is an appropriate volume of luggage to travel with a newborn right?

Toler did fantastically well the entire trip with the exception of being removed from the sling on Mom to go through security, proving that Toler too has the same appreciation for TSA as the rest of us.  Lucky for us the airport was empty.

Vanilla Sky of airport travel

Once we made our way through security and grabbed a small bite to eat, Mom, Dad and Toler found a quite gate all to themselves.

Our VIP lounge

Dad let Mom get a break before the flight to feed Toler and help him doze off before we boarded.

Yes, that's Tom Izzo

Dad's feed did in fact ease Toler into sleep, which was a shame since he wasn't awake for a pre-flight beverage in first class.  As you can see below Mom did a fantastic job sheltering Toler from all the traffic and potential well wishing strangers.  We did get a few folks amazed at just how tiny our little guy is, but we were polite and kept on-lookers at bay.

Toler under his Moo Cow blanket on board the plane

As mentioned previously, Toler did fantastic the entire trip.  Toler was asleep for takeoff and Dad was able to feed him and hold him for our landing.  All things considered, we couldn't have asked for a better flight all around.  Mom and Dad would be lying if we didn't check him every five minutes to ensure he was breathing and was comfortable.  I'm sure over time we will just be happy for him to be docile.  Once landed we were able to change Toler, and it was apparent to us that he had no idea what to do with all the oxygen near sea level.

Dad, lets go for a run

Another first for Mom and Dad was having luggage waiting for us when we got to baggage claim.  Unfortunately we needed a Sherpa to haul all of gear to our good friend Steve's car for our final leg of the journey home. 

I think we confused the USAir representative with our array of checked luggage

Finally after our third sleepless night of the year (Jan 1st- water break/transfer from Vail to Denver, Jan 5th- Toler's birth, and February 15th- our journey home) Mom and Dad introduced Toler to his home.

Toler at home ready to crash

Our home was showered with several gifts, a stocked fridge, and a tower of essentials Mom and Dad will need for our little guy.  It was surreal coming home, not only because we haven't been home since December 27th, but also because our house was transitioned into a baby ready home.  As we've mentioned before, when Mom and Dad left for Colorado last year, we had only placed a deposit on Toler's crib and had nothing else purchased or ready for our son to join our home.  We cannot thank our close friends enough for all the support in helping to make our transition home as simple and seamless as possible. 

While our journey into parenthood wasn't traditional, both Mom and Dad learned a lot about caring for a newborn and know that the most challenging part is ahead of us.  Our health care at Presbyterian St. Lukes was world class and we will miss our nurses.  I'm sure they were a bit worn out from all of Dad's questions, but Dad (and Toler) couldn't be more thankful for their wisdom and guidance. 

Mom and Dad will continue to post periodic updates, as we know that not everyone can be as fortunate as us to live with Toler.  Again, it cannot be said enough how much love we felt through this entire journey and know that we have amazing family and friends.  We couldn't have done this with out each and every one of your thoughts and prayers.

Love,
Steve, Emily, and our son Toler