It's all over but the healing....

Well, not really. It won't ever be all over.

S was a champ through the whole thing. We went to the doctor for a test at 1 pm Monday afternoon. By 3:30 we were at the hospital. We didn't leave the hospital until 6:30 pm Wednesday.

The antenatal test was at the Kaiser hospital in Anaheim. Susan, the adoptive mother met us there. They did the first part of the test and found out that S's fluid was low. A nurse/midwife came in and checked S. They wanted to put her in the hospital right then. S had already expressed her desire to deliver at Irvine (where we had toured). They asked how important it was. S turned to me for help and I told them that I thought it was fairly important, that it really was a comfort level thing since she had already been to that hospital and toured it.

They called Irvine and found out that they had a bed open and could take her right away, so we got in the truck and drove to Irvine (with a stop at home for our stuff). No one ever came right out and said that they were concerned, but it seemed to me that they must be because they wanted her in the hospital right away.

We arrived at Irvine and went into Admitting. They asked if we were coming from Kaiser and sent us directly to the second floor. At the second floor, we gave them S's name and they took us directly to a room. Wow...what service.

Warning: things might get graphic after this. I don't know where I'm going or how I'm going to get there...so strap in or get out...

They started S on a IV right away. Some time later a doctor came in and did an exam and they started her on Pitocin, to start the contractions. At some point Donna, S's birth coach, arrived.

It kind of starts to all run together at that point. Susan and I spent Monday night with S in her room. Donna left sometime late that evening to sleep at home. I got the roll away bed, affectionately named "the canoe", and Susan pushed two recliners (neither of which reclined) together to sleep. S was up quite a few times during the night to go to the restroom, or just to get comfortable. Every time S moved, the monitors that were around her tummy got messed up and the nurse would come in and readjust them. I was up with her each time.

About 5:30 am Tuesday morning, the doctor (Doctor "Sausage Fingers", with his "bed hair") came in again and checked S. She was still at 2 cm. Doctor decided to break the water, and did. Ewww. He also put a fetal monitor in. No more belly band monitors after that. Not too long after that, the contractions started in earnest. S handled it like a trooper. Ok, she was a little cranky from time to time, but who wouldn't be?

As I said, things started to run together at some point. Donna came back somewhere along the way. Epidural got started sometime in there, and S was much happier after that. Early afternoon, the new doctor (Doctor "Shorty", a little Asian female doc)checked and S was only at about 3 cm, so she ordered more Pitocin. We talked Susan into going home to rest a little. Reluctantly, she did, with orders that I call if anything happened.

An hour or so later, the doctor checked again and S was at 8 cm. Now things really started to happen. I called Susan and she came back immediately. At some time, the doctor came back in and said we were going to have a baby.

Things started getting moved about the room. Carts and nurses came in. A big light was wheeled in. Part of S's bed was taken off and her little feet were put in the stirrups. Donna was on one side and I was on the other side. We helped her breathe and held her legs up while she pushed. She breathed and pushed, and breathed and pushed...rested and breathed and pushed some more.

All of the sudden, S breathed and pushed one last time and then there was this little miracle in the room. I was so damn proud of my baby girl I couldn't stand it. S was crying, Donna was crying, and I was crying. It was awesome. It was an experience that I had been denied up until this point, and I'm honored that my baby girl let me be a part of it...standing right there holding her hand through it all.

S was awesome through the whole thing. I couldn't have been more proud of her. Through this whole nine months, she did everything right. She read up on the internet on every stage of the pregnancy and knew what was going on all along. She made all the right decisions, especially the big, difficult decision about the adoption.

Faith Danielle Kennedy (so much for the anonymity that I've been protecting for nine months...I'm so proud of Sarah and Faith that I no longer care who knows) was born at 4:59 pm on Tuesday 7-17-07, at a weight of 8 lbs, 4 ozs and a length of 20 3/4 inches. She's an awesome (I know I keep using that word, but I can't come up with another word that describes it better) little girl and so is my little girl Sarah.

More later...