We've named him Russell Ethan. This page gives a rough story of his first two days of life.
Here's Steve after prepping to enter the O.R. (as an observer, mind).
Luckily they had a hair net big enough to cover his unruly 'doo.
After delivery by C-section, the little guy had to be in the nursery for about 3 hours to monitor the oxygen saturation of his blood because of the possibility of meconium in his lungs. They put an infrared device on his left foot to monitor the blood oxygen levels. Dad hung out with him during most of this time while Mom was recovering. Happily, the little dude passed with flying colors.
The neonatal nurses have an odd sense of humor and often give the tykes
crazy coiffures. Ours got a mowhawk. The golden heart
next to his navel is a thermosensor that regulated his own personal space heater,
keeping him at a comfy 37 degrees Celsius (which actually feels quite sweltering
to you and me).
The nurse then cleaned him up. He didn't like this part initially but ultimately
was much happier being clean. (No, they didn't do this in a dark room.
It was just a darker corner of the room and I didn't want to annoy him with a flash).
Here's a close-up shot of the barrel-chested tot in the nursery. The color is way off
in the picture. His skin wasn't really that red, but it was quite pink. This picture
hints at
the reddishness of his faint eyebrows. The hair on his head is light brown, but there
is a hint of red when the light catches it a certain way.
Before leaving the nursery, he had to sign the release form the only way he knew how. (Note the
molding
on the top back of his head. The distortion was much reduced by day two.
Think of it as a mark of courage for undergoing a 52-hour labor.)
Here's the completed form. (No, he isn't missing a toe on his left foot. The nurse just
missed putting the chemical ink on his littlest piggy. Chemistry note-of-interest: This process
didn't leave any color on his feet. The chemical applied to the foot is invisible
and reacts with another chemical on the paper.)
Out of the nursery, Steve brought him over to Kimberly where he chilled peacefully.
He also enjoyed hanging out with Dad.
And of course we spent a good bit of time speading the news to family and friends.
The Palm Pilot was always close at hand. (This shot could be worth good
advertising money to Palm!)
For the genetically inclined, check out the baby's karyotype.