"Callista pushed through the contractions like a champ for almost 18 hours without pain medicines(!), making great use of a wonderful yellow-with-red-polka-dots exercise ball, a hot tub, and a 10-hour music mix ranging from Rachmaninoff to Akon which we danced (that is, bounced) and sang along to. At at one point, she was even heard saying that she was having "fun." But little Aviva didn't want to come out the normal way. So the doctor called it off."
A couple hours later, Aviva was born by C-section, emerging into the world with a good strong cry:
She weighed in at 7lbs, 3.5 oz (3.2 kg on the scale below) and was 20 inches long:
The pediatrician took a picture of the proud new dad in front of the clock to mark the time.
Then we got to show her to Mom:
Aviva quickly relaxed in the warmth of the incubator (must have reminded her of the womb):
We finally got to the maternity ward where Mom got a better look:
And Aviva took a minute to consider if this new place was as bad as it seemed when she first came out:
On Days 2 and 3, there was some time for eating (something tells me that Aviva was going to enjoy her meal more than Callista):
Sleeping:
Post-bath bliss:
The arrival of some thrilled-as-could-be grandparents (Ama holding and Agong watching here):
And daddy/daughter time, enhanced to perfection by a bagel and the NYT (the former a mediocre version available from a local bakery chain, the latter courtesy of Callista's parents and aunt):
Day 4 was (finally) time to go home. Aviva got into the same outfit which her cousin Seamus wore home from the hospital just over 9 months ago. It is also, rumor has it, the same outfit that both Peter and Uncle Jeff were taken home from the hospital in.
We then had to officially sign Aviva out of the nursery where something must have annoyed Mommy enough to force her to put on the "Not without my daughter"-determined-face as we aimed towards the door:
Agong got the honor of carrying Aviva "over the threshold" to the real world:
To be continued...
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