"Dawn" of a New Year!

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!

Ketchup

Oh the simple joys in life, like homophones and mondegreens. Don't fret, there is much more where that came from. I am a simple man with simple pleasures. Back on point... Yes, as the title indicated, this is a blog posting dedicated to getting all of our faithful followers, all three of you, 'caught up' on our life. Many exciting and noteworthy things have happened in the past 3 months, 2 weeks, 3 days, and approximately 21 hours... Which, of course, was the last time we updated our blog. We hope you have not held your breath. Several of those noteworthy occurrences should probably have elicited their very own post, but I have been too busy and/or too lazy. Although they will never achieve their optimal glory, I will honor them individually with their very own mini-title with a brief summary. Let us ketchup...

Boneyard

Back in the day, there was a beloved Seattle Mariner named Jay Buhner. He was the man. That man could hit the ball a country mile. He was also a perennial contender for most strikeout in a season by a hitter, but we loved him. He had it made in Seattle. He had his own section in the stadium called the "Boneyard" because he was bad to the bone. He even had his own promotional night titled "Buhner Buzznight" On that night, everybody who came to the stadium without a lick of hair on their head, got in free. Yes, Buhner was bald. If you look up Jay Buhner in the fictional Seattle Mariners Dictionary you would read: Buhner - The bald bad boy of baseball who bashed and whiffed his way into belovedness in baseball. -end definition- Just don't look up belovedness in a real dictionary... As a lad, every season when Buhner Buzznight came along I longed to make it to the game. I never did. I would have shaved my head in a heartbeat to make it into a Mariners game free, that was never the problem. Getting a ride there on the other hand... Although Jay Buhner has long since retired along with his buzznight, I have always wondered what it would be like to have no hair on my head. I no longer wonder...

Reverse Sampson

It was a miracle. I shaved my head and instantly got better at sports. Or maybe it was because I played easier sports. Being aerodynamic can only take you so far... This past semester I played on a competitive ultimate frisbee team and two intramural slow pitched softball teams. I learned two things playing competitive ultimate frisbee: 1) I did not know such a seemingly simple game could become rocket science and 2) I am out of shape. I learned two more things playing softball: 1) A bigger ball thrown at a much slower speed is much, much easier to hit and 2) That extra weight that was slowing me down at frisbee helped me hit the ball farther. All in all, it was an enlightening experience. I was able to walk away with two championships (both softball), one league defensive player of the year (frisbee), and a career high for a season of HR (5).

THANKS for the GIVING

For Thanksgiving we were able to travel down to Utah to spend some time with Becky's extended family. Although Utah is just as cold and has virtually identical terrain as Idaho, it is great getting out of the 'burg bubble' for a bit. -NOTE: I PINE FOR A PINE. I MISS THE EVERGREEN STATE- We stayed in a condo for a few days. We celebrated Thanksgiving and Becky had a baby shower. The day after we got back we got to see the season opening of The Forgotten Carols. Those five days epitomizes what this season is all about. We got fed. We got baby shower gifts. We got to hang out with family. After all that, we came home and The Forgotten Carols reminded us who gave us the ultimate gift. We are grateful for all the people who care for and help our little family. Thank you.

BLOOD, SWEAT, AND TEARS, etc

This past Saturday we spent the whole day in class. As awful as that may sound, it wasn't all that bad. It was a Lamas class (or Child Birth Education Class). It was... informative. You walk away knowing much more about what is going to happen, the mechanics and biology behind it, and the realization that you still don't know what the heck you are doing. I am a little nervous. Without being crude or too informative, that is a lot of fluids! Blood, sweat, and tears is just the beginning of the tidal wave. But that is not what scares me. My wife is heaven sent. Blink 182 said it best with their song titled, "She likes me for me." I know I march to the beat of a different drum, but she is okay with that. I am scared of pregnancy honesty. That is when she is in so much pain she no longer cares about hurting my feelings. Also, as long as I have known her, she has never raise her voice at me out of anger, but I fear those days are numbered. I am going to to hear everything she

normally holds back, at a much higher decibel level, with witnesses around...

Braxton Hicks

No, he is not the little neighbor boy down the street who put a baseball through your window and a ding in your car. Braxon Hicks is more intrusive and causes physical pain on top of the mental anguish. Braxton Hicks Contractions, if any didn't already know, are essentially pre-labor contractions. It is, in layman's terms, the body's way of preparing and practicing for the real thing. Whelp, it appears we (Becky and I) are heading down that final homestretch in the pregnancy. The prize being a brand spanking new little baby girl of our own. When we get there, we will let you know...