Day 1 - Welcoming Baby!

10:51pm

My wife pushed for about 45 minutes. They actually turned off the epidural because they needed her to get the baby out quickly, and the epidural tends to slow down the process. The complications with preeclampsia cause the health risks to be higher, so the sooner she is out the better. 

She did great throughout the whole labor. I was able to be a part of it by holding one of her legs and keeping close to her side. I now have an incredible amount of respect for any mother after witnessing what they go through. 

Our beautiful baby girl was born at 12:46pm yesterday (Sept 15, 2013). She was 8lbs 10oz, and 19.5 inches long. My wife is recovering very quickly and the baby is doing great. 

This journey has been such an experience and I wouldn't have it any other way. Other dads always tell me that there is no other love like the love you will have for your children and I can already see what they mean. 

The best part is that the real journey has just begun. And I am really looking forward to every day from here on out. 

Introducing Brynlee Rose....

And check out the amount of hair on this girl's head! (Coming out of the back of her little hat!)

Week 39 Day 7 - Water Broke, Here We Go!

9:59pm

She's here! And she is adorable! She looks just like her momma!

Her water broke at 5am this morning. We were both half awake already because she was having painful period-like cramping every 15 minutes or so. Possibly contractions? But when it broke she knew right away. She felt the "pop". She turned to me and said "Kevin, my water just broke". I responded with a quick, "Alright, let's go!"

We called the doctor and he said we have some time to shower and get everything situated. So we both took a shower, and got all of our stuff put together (bags were already packed but not ready in the car). I had to talk my wife out of doing her makeup. There's no time for that!

Her contractions started after she showered and were progressively worse during the 20 minute car ride to the hospital. By the time we arrived she was asking for an epidural, though it was still too early for that. She actually stayed pretty calm throughout the whole labor. 

We moved from the triage room to a delivery suite. She came in dilated at 4cm and a -2 head position. (Dilated to 10cm is when you start pushing, and they want the head to a +2 or +3 from what I can remember them saying. Correct me if I'm wrong). About an hour after we were put into the delivery suite, she was already at 7cm. Not long after, 9.5cm. They determined that she had preeclampsia so they ran some magnesium stearate through her IV to help with preventing seizures. High blood pressure, the main problem with preeclampsia, can cause seizures. 

12:00pm and it's time to push!

The IV's in her hand

 

Her epidural situation...

Holding hands, ready to push!

To be continued.....