Traci called me at work with the news. It was 2:30 in the afternoon and her water had broken while she was at home. I said my goodbyes to my co-workers as I raced out the door. By the time I arrived home Traci's contractions were pretty painful and were only about three minutes apart. YIKES!
We loaded up the car and immediately headed to the hospital. We had heard that the wife feels every pothole on the way to the hospital, and Traci confirmed that it was true. On the way we said a prayer asking God to grant Traci a quick and relatively easy labor, and apparently he was listening. We entered the delivery room at 3:45 p.m. and Hailey arrived at 5:59 p.m. I'm not sure if that is a record, but you have to admit its pretty impressive. They say that subsequent children arrive even faster. Ever see that scene in Big Fish where the baby shoots out of the birth canal and slides down the hospital hallway as doctors and nurses jump out of the way? That's how I picture the birth of our second child.
Even more impressive was the fact that Traci succeeded in a completely natural childbirth. There was no epidural, C-section or drugs of any kind. Way to go, Traci! She is my new hero (Sorry, Green Lantern.)
Since it all happened so fast, we didn't really get to use a lot of the techniques suggested by the Bradley Method folks. We had basically skipped right past first stage labor and were quickly entering the transition phase when we arrived at the hospital. Traci's cervix went from 3 to 9 centimeters in roughly an hour. As Traci pushed and grunted, I couldn't help but think of Pink's song, "I'm coming out."
"I'm coming out, so ya better get this party started...."
By the way, that will be the last time I mention Pink in my blog. My apologies to anyone with an ounce of taste.
The doctor we had chosen for the delivery wasn't on-call that day, but the back-up, Dr. Butler, did a great job. He and the nurse were wonderful cheerleaders, enthusiastically encouraging Traci to push when the time came. I was supposed to be the coach, but my voice was drowned out by theirs. Not that I am complaining. They were doing great and have a lot more experience at birthing babies than I.
There was some meconium in Traci's uterus, which the doctors were concerned about. For those of you that don't know, meconium is the baby's first poop, and it can happen while still inside the mother. When this happens, it can lead to problems -- one of the rare times I don't find poop funny -- but the baby later checked out fine.
Even though I hate blood, needles and hospitals in general, I have to admit that it was a magical experience. When Hailey came out, covered in gunk, she was still incredibly beautiful.
Our new baby weighed six pounds, 14 ounces and was 20 inches long. She passed all of her tests at the hospital (already an honor student!) and we finally came home this afternoon. Traci mentioned that it all seemed surreal, and she was right. We were actually driving home with a baby -- not a fidgety Australian Shepherd -- in the back seat. Life will never be the same again.
More images are available here.
