Little Boyd is Here!!

 Brian, Wally and I welcomed out new addition, Autumn Alyssa Boyd, on October 12, 2010, at 4:56pm -- just in time for happy hour, right? She weighed 7 pounds 10 ounces and was 20 3/4 inches long. Her name was one we had both liked from the beginning, but we didn't make the commitment until about an hour after her birth. I was still in a bit of a fog from 22 hours of labor and some drugs that were starting to wear off. So, in other words, I was in a very agreeable state when someone asked Brian if we had a name yet. He looked at me and asked, "Autumn?", to which I happily replied, "Sure!"

The actual labor and delivery experience was a lot less miserable and gruesome than either of us imagined. I chose to be induced due to my own impulsivity and impatience. In similar fashion to agreeing to her name, I happily replied "Sure!" when my doctor offered to get this baby out whenever we wanted (after 39 weeks).  We went in at 7pm on the 11th, got started on some drugs, watched some football, waited for magic toi happen, watched a movie or two, tried to sleep, waited some more...and then it was morning. Things were progressing somewhat, and continued to throughout the day. Around noon my prince charming entered the room, in the form of a handsome young African American man wielding an epidural kit. He changed my life in the span of 30 minutes, and I made sure to let him know. To be fair, however, Brian was quite a lifesaver as well -- he just didn't have the power of anesthesia on his side.

When it (finally) came time to push the little bugger out, I was feeling really good. Brian and I had some fun conversations with the nurse and my doctor, and at some point another doctor barged in to commentate on the "race" that I was in with his patient next door. I didn't realize this, but apparently this was a pretty intense race that had been taking place since 8am. I won, she didn't stand a chance.

Uncle Dave brought cigars!

Autumn's pre-bath portrait

Within about 45 minutes, Autumn had made her entrance. To our surprise she had a full head of hair! It was love at first sight, despite her being pretty gross and slimy until getting her bath. What an amazing moment to finally meet the little person I'd been sharing my body with for the past nine months. I'm pretty sure she was worth it :)