Daddy's Back!

Well, I returned from my week-long mission trip to New York with presents for Angie and Owen, and a need for sleep that I'm probably not going to see filled.

It's so great to be home with my family. We're already getting excited about Owen's baptism, which is almost a week away!! Some people send out invitations and stuff, but we're just gonna ask you here. Consider yourself invited to Owen's baptism and after-party. Details:

What: Owen Rimbo's Baptism
When: Sunday, August 10th - 10:30 am
Where: Trinity Lutheran Church, Long Lake, MN
Why: It's gonna be AWESOME!

And then . . . party at the Rimbo house! Until a time undetermined! Food! Drink! Rock Band! Owen!

If you need more details, comment or email me and I'll hook you up! We hope you can make it!

Sleeping / Doctor Visit

Just a brief update:

Owen is doing terrifically -- he's already sleeping much better, and more regularly. Last night he only woke up four times! I can tell that he's sleeping better, because when he gets up and I change his diaper, he doesn't cry. He must be in a better mood.

Yesterday was Owen's first doctor's appointment, and he's perfect. He's in the 90th percentile for height and weight, and everything looks kosher. Especially his circumcision. BA DUM BUM!!

I (dad) am headed out of town tomorrow for a week-long mission trip to NYC, so Angie and Owen will be on their own for a while. I'm looking forward to getting more sleep (weird) and seeing my parents, but that's about it. It's really hard to be away for so long! In other news, unless Angie learns to blog, you won't hear much from this end until next week. Bye!

One Week Old: Visitors, First Bath, and Outings!

. . . by Owen Rimbo

Man, it has been a LONG week. All sorts of stuff has been happening. I'll fill you in -- don't worry.

My Grandma came to visit this week. I'd never met her before, but she seems pretty cool. Apparently, there's a Grandpa out there (read: Iowa) too, but I'm not convinced.

Grandma liked to snuggle with me and give me attention while my mom and dad caught up on sleep. She also cleaned and cooked and stuff, but I didn't get to eat any of the food. I'm still on milk. And that's fine with me.

On Wednesday I had my first bath, and it was pretty cool. You'd think that, since I cry whenever my diaper comes off, I wouldn't like being naked, but it was great! The water was nice and warm, and it was good to get rid of all of that neck cheese.








I've also been trying out my buzzy-seat. It's this bouncy seat thing, but there's a switch on it that makes it vibrate. Whenever it's on, I zone out. Here's the face I make when my buzzy-seat is turned on:




I also got out of the house a little bit this week. I'm only a week old, and I've already been to Wal-Mart and Target! I like Target better, but that's because I'm not a big fan of Wal-Mart's tendency to threaten small businesses and communities. I do really well when I'm in my car seat in a shopping cart. The moving around pretty much knocks me out.

I also went out for a walk with my mom and dad, but it was so humid that the walk only lasted for about ten minutes. Still, it's nice to get outside. And my stroller works! On Friday, we all went up to St. Cloud to help Mommy move to a new classroom. There were a LOT of teachers there that wanted to meet me. I didn't learn much. I think I'll wait five years or so.


On Saturday, my friend Elijah and his parents came over to bring us lunch and good tidings.

Elijah and his parents.

At first, Elijah and I weren't very interested in each other. But when we switched sides . . .

Whoa! Look at that guy! He's like some sort of giant!

In this picture, Elijah is telling me a story about his Grandparents' farm.



But then he punched me in the face! Badooshhhh!!!

Daddy tried to eat my face, but Elijah fought him off.

Finally, we had a dance party. My feet are almost as big as Elijah's!

On Friday night, Grandma watched me and my parents went to see the new Batman movie in between feedings. By the end of the movie (which was nearly three hours long), they were itching to come back and see me. Can't blame 'em.

"I Like To Sleep"

By Owen.

I really like to sleep.

At the hospital . . .

In my car seat on the way home . . .

In my crib . . .


In my crib AGAIN . . .

With Daddy . . .
But sometimes I wake up and cuddle with my mom . . .
And Daddy takes pictures of me . . .
And then we snuggle . . . back at the hospital?

Mondays

. . . by Owen Rimbo.

Today was my first Monday, and in case you haven't ever had a "case of the Mondays," here's what they're like (as far as I know):

On Mondays, you feel gassy and fussy. If you're Daddy, you get peed on in the middle of the night when he checks a diaper. I can see why Garfield and people who work in cubicles hate them so much. But then when you wake up, Grandma holds you for like, three hours, and you fart a lot. Then you feel WAY better.

Then, after lunch, your friends come over! Graham, and Haley, and Gail, and Derek and Elijah all come over. Elijah is interested in you, because you're sort of the same size. But then he sleeps in your pack n' play. Freeloader. I guess I can share.

You try to impress Haley by filling your diaper, but she's not impressed, no matter how much you poop. Then all the girls and babies stand in one room and talk about boobs (which is where milk comes from) and the guys go in the basement for guy time and play Rock Band. Unless you're a baby, and your hands are too small to hold the controllers.

But then Mommy gets really happy, because Mrs. Gail shows her nursing tips, and they're great! When Mommy tried them, I latched on right away! And now I'm less gassy when I eat.

Soon your friends have to go home, but you don't care, because you're sleeping. Grownups eat the food they brought for dinner while you take a nap in your crib. Then Daddy goes to Target for alone time and shopping while you sleep. When you wake up, you pee on Grandma. And on the wall. Awesome.

While Daddy's at Target, he realizes how tired he is, because he feels like a zombie. He's so tired that he drinks a Frappucino, comes home, and sleeps for two hours. Sorry, Daddy.

Then, at bedtime, you have some colostrum, and snuggle with Daddy while he watches TV. Then you fall asleep. That's pretty much it.

(Yawn)

It's a weird kind of tired -- I'm totally exhausted, but I could function for a while knowing my boy is around.

Poor Owen didn't get much sleep last night, and that means Mommy and Daddy Rimbo didn't, either. He's still learning how to latch on to milk(colostrum)-central, and we think he's getting way too much air, because he is GASSY. Of course, that could just be his genetic makeup, since I'm gassy, too, but we're looking for a practical solution instead.

The worst part is, he doesn't get it. He thinks he's hungry. So he'll cry, and we'll try to feed him, and he eats for a while, and then falls asleep, but when we put him back down, he gets uptight and the gases take over, and he cries again, wakes up and thinks he's hungry. Poor fella.

Grandma Larson is holding him now, and working out the gas - he's been farting non-stop. He's sleeping, so he's either feeling better or comforted to the point of ignorance.

Mommy and Daddy are going to let Grandma take care of him and catch up on naps. Later, the Petersons and Derek are coming up to visit.

Oh, and I love the children's albums from They Might Be Giants. Especially "One Everything" off of "Here Come The 123s".

Homeward Bound

Well, it's been a long day, but I get the feelings the days will become much more trying than this one.

Last night Owen was really good about letting the night-nurses know he was lonely every three hours or so, so I would be sleeping hard, and then wake up halfway through a conversation with Angie and the nurses. I've never been so confused waking up as I am here -- where am I? Who's talking? Why am I sleeping on a cot-chair thing? Am I really a dad, or was that a dream? Then I'd see my little man, and have this weird rush of emotion. Then he'd eat, we'd sleep for what seemed like ten minutes, and he'd be back again.

We're glad he's a good eater -- he's also great at pooping, but we're still waiting for another pee. What's the matter? Too much information for you?

Today was a rough day for Owen -- he didn't even want to blog. When he woke up he had a checkup with his pediatrician. The doctor drew some blood from his poor little foot. Then later the nurse did a bath-demonstration for Angie and I, and he does NOT like baths. It's not so much the water as the being naked.

That's right, our child is a snuggler. He LOVES LOVES LOVES being wrapped up, especially if he gets to cuddle with Mommy or Daddy. When you take his blanket off to change him or wash him, he starts crying.

Then Owen's day took a turn for the even worse -- CIRCUMCISION! DUM DUM DUMMMMM!

Actually, it wasn't that bad -- only in theory. Apparently he slept through it, and it wore him out so much that he's been sleeping pretty much since then. About 6 hours or so. We've had a heck of a time waking him up for feedings. He inherited Angie's ability to sleep.

This afternoon we decided it was time to come home. I wish Owen was more excited to see his room and stuff, but he couldn't care less. Just sleeping. It'll probably be more exciting once he can see more than a foot in front of his face.

We took a few pictures of him in his carseat today, and he likes it a lot. I think it's the snug little straps that make him feel secure. We've received requests from blog-aficionados that we take some more pictures with his eyes open, so we'll have to do a photo shoot once he wakes up. Which will be . . . next week.

Grandma Larson also showed up today, and was pretty excited to meet her grandson. We've decided that he looks a little like his Uncle Aaron, with blond hair. But he definitely has the patented Rimbo-nose and head, so I know he's mine. That's pretty cool.

Owen's First Day

. . . By Owen Rimbo.

Today was my first day, and it was long. I was born very early this morning, and after that everything was all aflutter. I tried feeding with Mommy, and then they took me away to get checked out or processed or whatever. I could have told you that I was healthy, but the doctor confirmed it.

Then it was eating, sleeping, pooping, repeat. I pooped FOUR TIMES today! I'm not sure if you're interested in this information, but I'm the center of attention, it seems, so I can do what I want. I'm also really tired. Daddy thinks I'm having nightmares about certain birth canals. I also dream about roller coasters, like some of my friends do.

The cycle was broken up with my first bath, which I did NOT enjoy. Too cold!!! I like being warm and wrapped up. I don't cry often, but I'll let you know if I'm too cold. It helps keep Mommy and Daddy moving quickly with the diaper changes.

The doctor checked me out again, and he said my body temp is too low. See? What did I tell you? So they're keeping me wrapped up with a funky hat on. I make the look work.

Daddy left to take a shower at home, and on the way he talked with my Unkie Chad. They worked out a dowry for me and Natalie to get married. July 23, 2031. Save the date!

When Daddy came back, some girls came to visit me. It was my friends Rachel and Theresa! They were my first visitors. Rachel is one of my godmothers, and Theresa is my god-Methodist. They brought my Mom ice cream. They brought my dad coffee. They brought me presents, and gave me lots of attention, and took lots of pictures. It took me HOURS to figure out how to upload them. It's not the problem of using my hands, it's just that I'm not used to working with iPhoto. I still can't figure out how to rotate them in Blogger. What do you expect? I'm a newborn!















Auntie Rachel liked to hold me, but Aunt Theresa got confused by a balloon.









She eventually figured it out.














Then she got confused again.












Then the balloon took a picture of Auntie Rachel and me.



Now I'm sleeping (try wrapping your grown-up mind around THAT ONE) and Mommy and Daddy are getting ready for bed. All in all, a pretty eventful day. I'm not sure if coming out was a good decision, but a lot of other people sure think is was. Later.

- Owen.

Meet Owen Robert!

Hey, here's a baby. Baby Rimbo. You may not have known this, but in the past, whenever we referred to "Baby Rimbo," we meant Owen. Apparently.

So Angie won the battle -- she was still only about 2 cm dilated, but they gave her an epidural, and she LOVED IT. They were able to steadily increase the Pitocin, but Angie felt nothing, so we slept. After about four hours we woke up to our nurse turning on the baby warmer. Say what?

The nurse checked, and Angie was TOTALLY DILATED. That's 8 cm in four hours. That peanut was READY.

Angie pushed for about an hour-and-a-half, while Justin held her leg and counted to ten. So, y'know, it was rough for him, too. Angie was AMAZING -- kept the pushes coming and moved that little head along at a steady pace.

Out he came! Gross! Daddy got to cut the umbilical cord, and he went straight to Mommy. This guy is HUGE -- check out the pictures below to confirm. We noticed that he had male genitalia, so we decided to name him Owen Robert.

Owen: After the character Owen Meany in John Irving's A Prayer for Owen Meany, Justin's favorite book. "I know that I am God's instrument."

Robert. After Justin's dad Robert "Once-and-future-bishop" Rimbo. My dad has always been a hero to me, and I'm proud to be his kid (and someday Owen will be proud to be his first grandkid).

And now, 6,000 words.

Owen Robert Rimbo, in all his groggy glory. Fresh outta the oven.

Mommy and Owen, with some immediate bonding time. Check out the massive conehead/bruise on his noggin. Poor guy. All that Rimbo head smushed through a tiny passage.


"Man, Natalie was right. It's COLD out here!"


Mommy and Owen rest up after a harrowing ordeal.


Yes, that scale is correct, folks. 9 lbs., 10.7 oz. No one will question my wife's predictions ever again. How do you know you can trust this scale? Because it is an Olympic Smart Scale. Owen chose to be weighed on this one in honor of the 2008 Olympics. He's hoping to compete in the 200 Meter Squirm.
That's a big guy. 21 inches long! His feet barely fit on the little stamp-card.

News From the Front, Pt. II

Nidya means "Tornado." Abrecan means "Storm." Why do we care? Because right now Angie's contractions are 2-3 minutes apart, and the hospital is under a tornado warning. It's seriously right on top of us.

Fortunately, the delivery room is deep in the hospital, away from windows. We should be ok, but I'm glad we recently updated our homeowners' insurance. All the other poor little newbies had to evacuate their rooms into the hallway.

Flashback.

Angie was contracting a little at a time at first, so I let her get some sleep and I caught up on reading East of Eden, which I would use for name-inspiration if all the characters weren't bastards. When she woke up, we watched Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, which was most excellent. Then we finished watching the Project Runway marathon on Bravo while her contractions really picked up.

Our doctor came in and broke her water and then the party REALLY got started. I can't speak to Angie's experience, but there has been some serious hand-grabbing during contractions. Once it picked up, Angie was really feeling her herniated disc, so we convinced them to give her some drugs, which is making her sleep in between contractions. Every once in a while she'll wake up and grab my hand, and I'll stop typing to encourage her. Like just now.

Once we're 4-5 cm, we'll get an epidural, but I'm sure it seems miles away for Angie. Here are a few pictures from our stay so far:

The good ol' days.

The most beautiful pregnant lady in the whole wide world.


Future parents!!


It's good to have goals. Even if you have to make them yourself.

More later!

News From the Front

Well, I've figured out how to use the hospital's WiFi.

We came in last night around 7, had the Servadil insert (Which is supposed to soften up the cervix and maybe get contractions going), and waited all night. Angie got up to pee every half-hour, nurses kept coming in to check the monitor, and I think I got two hours of sleep. Guess I'd better get used to it.

So our doctor checked us this morning, and . . . NOTHING! Not dilated at all!! Angie says she has an "over-competent cervix."

But then Angie started having contractions, and we got a new insert, and an hour later, she was 1 cm dilated. If it keeps going, we'll get on Pitocin, and if it doesn't, Angie is in favor of getting opened up to get that baby out of there.

That's where we're at now. There, and watching the Project Runway marathon on Bravo. Fabulous.

The Baby Cometh

After ten months of waiting, we're going in after this baby.

Today at 7:00 we're checking in to Buffalo Hospital, and we aren't leaving until we're parents . . . or until I need to run to Target.

Angie gets something called Servadil, or whatever, and it might make her start the labor process on her own, so we have to stay there overnight (I have a book, card games, and I just bought both Bill & Ted movies for $5 on one DVD).

Tomorrow morning, either the baby's on its way, or Angie gets Pitocin, or both, and that's supposed to do the trick. So the baby's probably coming tomorrow, in which case my kid will always get free Slurpees on his/her birthday, or maybe the 12th, in which case . . . it'll be the 12th.

We'll bring this here computer along, so I'm planning on blogging once we have pictures post-viscera. Prayers are appreciated -- see you on the other side.

So Very Close

Babu and Bibi Rimbo (Grandma and Grandpa) were with us for the past week. We're sure they were hoping for a grandkid while they were here, but our peanut wouldn't deliver. We walked, and ate spicy food, and bounced on the exercise ball, and baby Rimbo was still feeling shy.

We're close, though! Angie's been having pretty constant, painless practice contractions ("compractions"), and even a few painful ones. There are a lot of pre-labor signs, and for a while we thought Wednesday was going to be the day. No such luck.

Then last night we had another close call. We thought Angie's water might have broken, so we called the birth center, and they said, "Yeah, you'd better come in to be sure." This was around 10:45, so we headed in, and Angie got strapped to the baby monitor, and there was all sorts of experiments and whatnot.

Long story short, . . . nope. This would have been a very different blog post. HOWEVER, the nurse said the monitor says the baby is doing GREAT, and BIG, and every time Angie drank something cold or I talked to her tummy, the heartbeat went up. Plus, we're a little bit dilated. The nurse also gave us a bit of affirmation, and said we were right to come in. So we didn't feel dumb.

So we got home at around 2 am (there was a lot of waiting), and slept until 7 am, said goodbye to Justin's parents, and then went back to sleep.

And now it's back to the waiting game. We're going in on Thursday night to start the induction process, and unless the baby comes out on its own before then, we'll have a baby on Friday. We'll go walking again today, and maybe do some heavy lifting. Hopefully the next blog post will be the real deal!