Aaron's Birth Story

Monday, July 27, 2009
7:00pm - Walking around the neighborhood
9:00 - Sitting in our bedroom, watching The West Wing, eating Trader Joe's cookies with cookie dough ice cream
9:14 - "Wait, didn't I just have a contraction?"
9:21 - "Uh, Josh, I think something's going on over here."
9:36 - "Christina? I think something's going on over here."
9:50 - Christina picks up Noah, who's very excited that he's going to "See Daniel-Wesley?" In God's providence, Christina had a babysitter and was on her way home from book group, so she could get Noah even with Dave out-of-town. Meanwhile, we packed last-minute items, put clean sheets on the guest bed, and finished the dishes.
10:14-32 – Get in the van; Call out-of-town family: "We're on our way!!" (between contractions, about 7min apart and getting painful)
11:00 - Arrive in L&D room; Dr. Rush is on-call (hurray!); 4cm and 80% effaced

Tuesday, July 28, 2009
12:12am – Water breaks as they're doing the epidural and spinal anaesthia; There's meconium in the amniotic fluid but they're not worried
12:30-2:15 – Ate a cherry popsicle, rested, shivered (cold IV fluid); dilated to 10cm
2:15-30 - Pressure building
2:30-45 – Waiting eagerly for Dr. Rush
2:45-55 – Pushing

2:55 – He arrives!! Why isn't he crying? Ah, there's a good wail. He's big! Is that red hair? What a precious, quivering bottom lip. Even the nurses say that's how he'll get what he wants.
2:56-3:30 - Josh cuts the cord; NICU cleans him up; perfect Apgars (9,9)
3:30-4:00 - Name him; Aaron nurses for the first time
5:00 - Move to post-L&D room where we stay until Thursday at 2pm, talking on the phone, sleeping (Josh on the pull-out chair), nursing, eating Bricktops take-out, playing "Rifflets" on the TV, drinking cranberry juice cocktail...

and enjoying visits from family and friends...

It just doesn't get any better than this.