On the evening of May 25th Brooke and I went to bed just like any other night. At 1:15am I was soundly asleep when Brooke yelled at me, as she flew by packing, "My water just broke, get up!" I groggily crawled out of bed and started brushing my teeth while Brooke called the hospital to see what we should do. They said we should get over there asap so I loaded the car with our things and away we went. We arrived at the hospital at around 2:15am and got checked into our delivery room around 3:25.
After we got settled in we both laid down and tried to get some rest for what we hoped would be a quick and painless labor later that day. At 4:00am the contractions started and our rest, what little we had gotten, was over.
Over the next 15.5 hours, 8 nurses, 2 doctors, rain, sun, and french toast Brooke did all she could do to get her cervix to dilate. She laid in a hot tub, bounced on a ball, and played a 3 move game of checkers (neither of us knows how to play checkers). Finally at 7:30pm it was time to start pushing.
In the beginning pushing was a relief. After hours of slow progress the end was seemingly in sight. Brooke launched into pushing with new found energy and enough effort that I thought for sure we were in the clear. Unfortunately, after 2 hours of pushing she had made no progress. She tried for another 1/2 hour but no matter how hard she tried the baby would not budge. At this time we had to make a hard decision. Up to this point Brooke had stuck to her birth plan and used no drugs but due to the length of the labor and the ineffectiveness of pushing the doctor suggested that perhaps it was best to do a cesarean delivery. She had done an absolutely amazing job and she wanted to finish what she started but ultimately we decided that it was best to go with the doctor's recommendations.
So that was how I found myself at 10:15pm standing in a hallway in XXL scrubs waiting to be allowed into the operating room. When they finally came to get me, it had been 10 minutes but it seemed like an eternity, we went right in and the surgery was already underway. I was in there no more than 5 minutes when out popped a hand and then a beautiful baby girl - Audrey Kate Newman. She was born at 10:50pm(pst)on the 26th of May. The doctor showed her briefly to Brooke and then I followed her into the adjoining room. Here they made sure she had all her parts and cleaned her up. As soon as they were done she was swaddled and given to me so I could take her back to Brooke.
While Brooke was being put back together Audrey and I went into another room and she was weighed and measured. She came in at 6lbs 13oz and 20in. That's a nice trout or baby! Audrey then got her first shot, she was psyched, and her first diaper was put on her. As this was going on Brooke rejoined us and we waited for the spinal to wear down so she wouldn't have to be constantly monitored. At 2am we left the surgery recovery room and moved into our more permanent accommodations. We all immediately fell asleep. Even little Audrey only woke up a few times that night.
We spent the next day and a half at the hospital and on Friday the 28th of May we were freed. This was no small miracle as they were generally against letting us go so soon. There's just only so much poking and prodding a mother and newborn can and should take. We headed straight home and that's where we have been since. Upon reflection, even though things didn't go entirely as planned, in the end it was a good thing that we opted for cesarean. When the doctors pulled her out they found that she was looking up instead of down, with her back towards Brooke's back, and the cord was wrapped around her neck twice. In the end we were rewarded with a beautiful, healthy, and hungry baby girl.
has had no problem being up on her feet though she is still a bit sore. The zoo animals have all been great with Audrey. Bella is of course a bit jealous and Oliver generally ignores her so it's exactly as we thought it would be. The most entertaining part of the weekend was Audrey's first bath at home. She loved it! She fell asleep in the water with a warm towel over her - not that I can blame her for that. Below are some pictures from the last few days.
