Welcome to the World, Little Henry Clark

On April 17, 2017, at precisely 10:18 pm, my world was forever changed when my lovely wife Cecilia gave birth to our first son, Henry Clark Tomko.I didn’t know I could love something or someone this much!  My little man came into this world via C-Section, and gave us a bit of a scare when he was having trouble maintaining a steady heartbeat while in utero.  We decided to schedule the C-Section instead of proceeding with a natural birth, and were very glad we did when upon completing the surgery the doctor held him up to me and said, “Hey Dad – look what your son did!” and showed me the perfect knot he had tied in his umbilical cord!  When Cecilia heard the doctor say we had a boy, she immediately said, “Is that my little Henry?” and his name was set.

I was a bit taken by surprise when the nurse called me over to cut his umbilical cord – I didn’t think they allowed that anymore!  It was the strangest feeling…almost like cutting through calamari…and all the while I was shaking, praying that I would do it right and I wouldn’t hurt this brand new baby that I was suddenly responsible for.

Mom had to rest after surgery which meant that Henry and Dad got to spend the first moments of life chest-to-chest back in our hospital room – a bonding moment I am exceptionally honored to have had. (I still feel a pang of guilt however, knowing that Cecilia didn’t get to do this first.)  She did get to hold him soon though, as immediately upon being wheeled back into our room Henry was placed on her chest for her first cuddles.

We spent a few nights in the hospital for observation, where we got basically no sleep at all while we watched over Henry and scrambled at each little squeak and whimper he made.  And of course I was there documenting every little move, every outfit change, and every visit from loved ones with my camera.  Some of my favourite photos from the first few days of his life can be found here.  Stay tuned to this website as well as my Flickr page, for the hundreds of other photos of Henry that I will be soon be posting.