Going Home

So we got discharged on Saturday, November 15, 2008. Luckily, we had a very helpful at the beginning of her shift when we were being discharged which made for a very drama-free afternoon. Our stay in Prentice was great that is until I had to pay 100 something dollars to get my car out of the valet (it had been there for four nights).

I must say being Shalamar parents has been smooth sailing thus far.


Here our the pictures.



Check out Baby X in his bouncing baby boy blues!




I'm just gonna chill right here. When ya'll ready let me know.



Look how good Mommy looks! (Baby X: I love my mommy)



I am not opening my eyes.



Like I said, I'm not opening my eyes.




I'm ready to go - I wear my hat low, or my hat it too big for my little head.

One Family, Two Brothers, One Baby

So it's been awhile since I last updated the blog. Everyone is doing well and thanks to everyone for their well wishes and congratulations.

During the time I, Mommy and Xavier were still in the hospital, Robyn and I both had moments of deja vu. Now granted we delivered in the same hospital, but the hospital moved locations and completely remodeled their recovery suites. We were constantly harassed by the persistent nurses that seemed to time their visits to get vitals on the baby just when you finally have him settled down. Yet still that wasn't it. Then it struck us both. Xavier looks just like Quincy when he was in the hospital. Which then prompted this post. Can you tell the brothers apart?



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On the road to recovery

I am now on my second all nighter and feeling pretty good. Luckily, I am truly a night owl and can easily stay up all night every night. Robyn looks wonderful for all that she's been through and is moving around on her own albeit slowly and Xavier is getting used to life outside of the womb. We've had several visitors so far at the hospital which has been wonderful. We should be able to go home on Saturday.

I have gotten Xavier to opened his eyes for me ever so slightly to give a look of "who are you and do you have any milk?" Otherwise, he is very content in his mother's arms.



Everybody gets their time to hold the baby (some longer than others)



Our first family photo op!!! (via the self timer)

What's In A Name

Quincy James Martin
Xavier Davis Martin

The Martins maintain a few basic rules when it comes to names. Here they are in no particular order:

1. I don't not believe in the narcissism of naming my child after me. God bless those of you who do, but for me I believe in allowing my children the opportunity to have their own name and make their mark in this world with that name.
   
2. We don't believe in naming our child one thing but then insist that everyone in the world call him or her by a completely different name that is not a nickname. For example naming William Xavier Martin but then insisting that everyone call him Xavier.
   
3. The name should not lend itself to an immediate nickname to the general population, thereby leaving the child with the lifelong task of either reminding everyone what your given name is or accepting the name change thrust upon you by the world. For example, naming him William to only have everyone automatically assume his name is Bill and having the child either defend his given name or adopt the new name.
   
4. Boys names have to be strong sounding names and preferably not names likely to be converted or already converted to a girl's name.
   
5. The names have to have some level of originality. For example, we would prefer our child to have a high probability not to share the same name as even one other child while he is in school.
   
6. The name must pass the résumé test, it must be straightforward to pronounce and spell.
7. We wanted the name to have either a family tie and/or a biblical tie.

James is Quincy's grandfather's middle name and his great grandfather's first name.
Davis is Xavier's great grandmother's maiden name.

Here they are together for the first time. The Martin boys.

The Scheduled Cesarian

This was the scene at 5 a.m. November 12, 2008. We were up at 3:30 and arrived at Prentice promptly at 5. Three hours of prep work later, including consultations with the obstetrician and anesthesiologist, and we were ready.



This is a picture of Xavier freshly cut out of his mother.
I don't know how many of you have been inside any operating room witnessing an operation but it was intense. I kept my cool and chatted up Robyn on my side of the curtain. It took some time but Xavier came out with no complications. To my surprise cameras are allowed in the operating room and encouraged so we have some great shots here when Xavier is minutes into this new world.





The Operating Room Nurse even hooked us up with a nice little photo op. Please note that everyone is on the correct side of the curtain. Mommy is literally getting sewn back up on the other side of the curtain. Not cute (trust me I peeked).




Since Mommy wasn't necessarily ready to receive her newborn, Daddy made sure that Xavier got his first meal.

Tale of Two Births

Let's go back five years to 2003, when Quincy was born. Robyn's water broke sometime in the early morning so when we woke up instead of commuting to work from Hyde Park we commuted to Prentice Hospital in downtown Chicago. I got into a minor fender bender racing a Benz on Lakeshore Drive going north where the drive goes from four lanes to three at McCormick Place.

We arrive at Prentice only to be greeted with the news that Quincy was presenting face first with the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck. So with each contraction Quincy was being choked. In addition, as he tried to ascend down the birth canal he was being choked. This systematic chocking continued through the day until Robyn's obstetrician decided to do an emergency cesarean at 6:30 in the evening. Robyn's epidural did not work quickly enough to numb her for surgery so she was placed under general anesthesia. Robyn did not arise out from the anesthesia well and, as a result, was incoherent for the first 36 hours of Quincy's life. Quincy having gone through a traumatic birth was agitated and hungry which lead to a very tough experience for dad. We are all better for the experience and we could not be happier with the result.



Fast forward to this birth, we weren't taking any chances. We had a scheduled procedure to bring Xavier into the world. So on November 12, 2008 at 9:09am Xavier was born in a very predictable, cerebral and calm procedure. Here he is world. Xavier Davis Martin...