Autumn Dawn Lynch has arrived! She was born January 1, 2010 at 1:32pm. She was the second baby born in Madison County... no free frisbee for us. The measurements: 7lbs 13oz, 20 inches from head-to-toe. She has a thirteen inch head and chest. Instead of boring you with my inane rhetoric I will let the facts and photos do most of the talking. Here is how it went down...
Becky woke up at 2:45am with contractions. Not wanting to be one of those girls who rush to the hospital too early just to be sent home, she waited. She woke me up at 3:30 and informed me she was having contractions. I promptly went back to sleep. To my defense, the night before she had experienced some painless contractions... I just assumed... Anywho, since we'd had the foresight to have everything ready, we arrived at Madison Memorial Hospital in plenty of time.
Once we had arrived and checked in, we were brought to a back room by a grumpy old lady. I don't think she liked 4am, doing her job, or pregnant women. I think she personally blamed me for all three. We soon found out that Becky was dilated 2cm. We were then informed that epidurals are not given until at least 4cm. Soon after we were transferred to the room where Becky would give birth. Becky spent the next hour and a half writhing...
Becky was given her epidural around 6:10. By about 6:30 she liked me again :o) After the epidural was given I was even allowed to touch her. Texts, calls, and pictures began. She was a 5-6cm by 7:45, 7cm by 8:25, 8cm by 9:44, 9cm around 11:00, and started pushing at 12:30. At about 1:25 it was determined that Autumn would need a little help. Her pulse would consistently race over 180bpm during contractions and than plummet to under 100bpm after pushing. Because this was happening, and to avoid more serious complications, it was determined that she needed help in the form of a vacuum. At 1:32 she made her grand entrance with a big ol' hickey on her head.
There was another lady there who had come in earlier than us, who was also in labor. The doctor had informed us that the race was on for the first baby born in the county. She had a lead of several hours, but we caught up with her at about 7cm. Unfortunately for us, this was her third child, so she pulled away late. We were beaten by over an hour, but it was a valiant effort. For the second place prize we got to keep the baby...
Now she is home with us. She is a healthy and beautiful girl. It has been a life changing experience in ways I never imagined. I knew there was going to be a lot more noise and a lot less sleep. What I didn't know is how happy I would be for those things. I have never been so happy to be sleep deprived. It is a hard thing to put into words, bringing a baby into the world. The range of emotions that come with the charge of being a parent exceed my vocabulary. It feels like the world pre-baby was black and white, not in the sense of right and wrong, but emotional separation. In this old world, the tides of emotions ebbed and flowed in an almost monotonous, predictable way. The new world is a tsunami of feeling that overwhelms and encompasses. There are few experiences in my life that have come remotely close to the feelings of joy and fear and determination that I have felt since her birth. I am sure that as this journey continues those feelings will be realized. I just pray that when those moments come I can accept them for what they are, and become a better person because of them. Enjoy the pictures... we have enjoyed taking them!
