Aimee and The Aftermath

Where to start?! (Translation: This is going to be a really long post. But it will have lots of pictures. 17, to be precise. So, there ya go.)

Robyn went natural with Toby. No induction, no drugs, no nothing. She wanted to do it again with Aimee. Except Aimee was being stubborn. She refused to be born. Sunday was the 42-week mark of pregnancy, meaning a full 2 weeks overdue. Medical people don't let babies stay in there more than 42 weeks, for a variety of reasons (one of which is fear of being sued), so Sunday was it.

The induction was scheduled for 3pm. We prayed and prayed for weeks (and had lots of other people praying and praying) that labor would kick in on it's own so that Robyn could have her natural birth, but no dice.

We left The Tobe with my parents. It was a last minute change of plans... for mobility reasons, he was scheduled to be with Robyn's parents, but Robyn's youngest sister became an emergency and decided to be appedicized Sunday morning. As if things weren't crazy enough already. We arrived at Good Sam a half hour early.

I could go into great detail about the whole induction process, and I just might if you catch me in the right mood, but here is not the place. (However, if you catch me in the right mood, I assure you it will be an entertaining conversation. Ask me about the stuff I thought was some sort of hardware bracket from Home Depot :-O )

By about 4pm, they were getting ready to induce... and... umm... I'm going to leave out lots of details... Robyn went into labor without the planned induction. The midwife then... umm... I'm going to leave out lots of details... broke Robyn's water, and it was ON.

We had a beautiful big room with an awesome view of Clifton and the hills. Old brick buildings, trees, eventually a gorgeous sunset, fantastic nurses... it was good. Robyn labored very well. We tried to calculate the distance of the loop that we walked while she labored. It was something like 311 sandal lengths. (It would mean a lot more if I measured the sandal.)
Early in the process, I busted out the Zune and the headphones (or the speakers for when we were in the room) and we jammed to the "Labor of Fun" mix. Lots of random music, including the official song of Toby's delivery, "Gold Digger". You know, since Robyn ain't dealin' with no broke, broke...

By about 8pm, the music was shelved in favor of DVD entertainment. Natch, it was time for The Muppet Show Season Three, while Robyn labored in a fancy Swedish bathtub. We didn't even make it through one episode (Gilda Radner hosted, of course) before she was getting pretty uncomfortable.
She got out of the tub, pushed for less than 15 minutes, and now we're a family of four. Robyn was so unbelievably impressive. Honestly, to me, she's proven herself to be so amazing so frequently over the past 10 years that I almost expected her to do this well. Of course, in no way am I trying to diminish what she accomplished. Quite the opposite! She's a freaking champion.

This picture was taken less than 5 minutes after the birth. Mommy and baby. The goodness!
By midnight, we were moved to the recovery room, where we remained for the next 34 hours. There, our beloved one received her first bath and did much cuddling with her mama.Grambee was the first non-parent or non-medical-staff to hold her.
There's no woman in this world more beautiful than my wife. No make-up, no fancy clothes... And yet... I continue to be stunned by her beauty. I think it's the Taser, but I'm unsure. (I knew I had seen this pic before... deja vu from December 2005.)
Toby hitched a ride with Robyn's parents on Monday morning. He was really excited to see his sister... and then he kinda/sorta freaked out and went completely bonkers for about an hour. There was some cause for concern. The poor kid can be an emotional wreck at times. I don't know why, it's not like either of his parents are emotive people who are prone to frequent emotional breakdowns.
The sudden onslaught of family visitors was impressive. One moment, it was just Robyn, Aimee, and me. A moment later, add Toby, GG, Grandpa Bob, Aunt Brenyn (sans appendix), Aunt Meme, Meme's Bob, and baby cousin Marley. Marley is 13 days older than Aimee.
The only way to capture such intensity in such a small room is by taking an artistic shot in the round mirror from overhead. (Awesome Photo Credit: Meme, mother of Marley)
Robyn, GG, The Tobe, and Aimee. Freaking beautiful people, I say.
I absolutely could not remember what it was like to hold a baby. I don't get a whole lot of practice... most of my kid cuddling involves Toby, who resembles a linebacker more than a toddler.

I think I've already held Aimee more through a few days than I did with Tobe his first week. It's so good. She's a little warm sweetheart, and is quite the sleeper so far. This is the best father-daughter pic I could come up with. Apologies for the bloodshot eyes and lack of shower.
Apparently, vegetarians only eat salad. Robyn mentioned that she doesn't eat meat, and this is what they brought her for lunch. 1 salad? Sure. 2 salads? A little much. 3 salads all at one time for one meal? Unacceptable!
Great Grandpa stopped by. I'm so glad he decided to hold her. It's just... right. He's an amazing man. Maybe it should be my prayer that Aimee will marry someone like him someday.
Ok, really, let's go home. No sleep happens in hospitals. (Note the Price Hill roses that were graciously cut and brought to the hospital by the greatest roommate who has ever existed.)
It didn't take long for Robyn to do just as the medical people suggested: rest. We were home less than 2 hours at the time of this shot. My girls. Sleeping peacefully.
Toby really is adjusting well. I had my concerns that he was going to be a little hellion from the get-go. He's been nothing short of awesome through all of this. It's gotta be crazy stressful for a 2-year-old's world to get rocked like this. He's always been the only one, and he's always had his Mommy full-time. Now, he has to share. And so far, he's doing great.
There will most certainly be more. But first, there must certainly be some sleep. In the immortal words of the great philosopher, Brooke Trisler... "goodnight for now... yeah for now."