A Baby Chiasmus

Matthew 19:30- "[the] first shall be last; and the last shall be first"

This is my first attempt at the blog, and if you're familiar with the literary term of chiasmus you can guess how often I plan on doing it. I'm not likely to get anyone laughing like KT's Diet Coke story (see below, and for the record-I wasn't one laughing), but I don't think anyone will care as long as I have pictures.

K was born at 8:43 a.m. She was 8lbs 4.5 oz and 20" long. No idea on the head, but between all the family genes, I'm sure it's big.

KT is certain this is our last, and to me she looks just like our first. If you've ever seen a picture of Maddie as a baby, you know. We can't decide which one of her sisters she looks like more. Either I really am the father of these 4 look-alike kids or the milkman followed us to our new address.

KT started the morning at 5:30 ish with contractions that wouldn't let her go back to sleep. By the time she showered, thinking they may go away, they had progressed to every 4-mins. She woke me up at 6:30 and told me to not rush, but that we would be headed in. Being the morning person that I am [not], I showered, woke M up, was planning to eat breakfast, and came downstairs leisurely. I was met with a calm directive to "pick it up". Contractions had heated up, and we were in the car not more than 5-mins later.

I was given directions to drive "aggressively", which thankfully was not too necessary with good traffic. Jerrie(KT's Mom) was working at IMC today and met us outside as soon as we pulled up and took the kids home with her. This was about 7:50. We were quickly checked in and given a room. The first check by the nurse had KT nearly fully effaced and 6-7 dilated. I informed the nurse of how quickly KT has gone in the past (~3-4 hours), which has made past nurses have to scramble to setup. Thankfully, she listened.

As usual, the epidural was offered and we were met with surprise at the denial. This nurse was much more supportive of this than we've had in the past. We usually get the "well, if you change your mind just let us know and we can bring it in..." Although she usually doubts herself at some point in the process, KT is one tough cookie, and to see her in labor is akin to watching a Tibetan Monk meditate. My only job is to keep people out, keep it quiet, and occasionally "correct" her breathing. I could likely be replaced by a monkey that was trained to quietly hold hands.

Dr. L came in and broke her water and decided he better not go too far. He was sitting at the front desk and quickly came in as one of the contractions dropped K's heart beat fairly dramatically. At that point it was time to push. 3-rounds of contractions and pushes later, K came out healthy as can be.

In case you missed the time stamps, that was an arrival at 7:50, and delivery at 8:43. It was a good thing I skipped my cheerios!

IMC was extremely busy due to ~20 baby discharges today and many new ones coming in. We stayed in the delivery room until at least 2:00 until they could get us a room. Once we got upstairs the kids got to help with the bath. This is so neat to have it in the room! KThas never seen me give the first bath, and the kid's were so excited to be able to participate.

Although everyone had originally hoped for a boy (especially S), there was no doubt in anyone that K was meant for our family. Even B, who had been insisting for weeks that the baby was to be named Ely or Eli, quickly accepted "K".

To me, today was full of firsts and lasts. Our first baby to be born at the new IMC, is also likely our last. I can say definitively that this is not the first time I've been impressed with KTs toughness, strength, and love, nor will it be the last. This is my first post, and if for no other reason than the fact I am so annoyingly verbose, this will definitely be my last.

P.S. As a secondary story, I would be negligent to not recognize how truly grateful I am for the wonder of life! Throughout the day my mind was taken to my friend and business partner who's wife just had an orange-sized tumor removed from her brain in the very same hospital. It is so easy to take the lives of those around us for granted. Seeing a friend struggle to hold on to life, makes me more fully appreciate the perfect gift that was given to us today.