She's here!

The story goes kinda like this...


After 41 long weeks of pregnancy, we finally had an induction date - Friday March 27th. But life being as unpredictable as it is, things did not go as planned!

That Thursday night at around 11:30, labor began. We went to the hospital, they confirmed that labor had begun and sent us home. We went to bed excited (it felt like Christmas Eve) knowing that we'd have a baby sometime within the next few hours. All was well until about 5:15 AM when Erin's water broke.

Now, for the whole pregnancy she'd been saying the one thing she didn't want to have happen was for her water to break while she was in bed. Outside, fine. In a shopping mall - so be it. But in bed? At the expense of a new mattress? No freakin' way!

So early Friday morning around 5:15, Erin feels her water breaking. She springs out of bed faster than I've ever seen her spring (pregnant or not) and zips to the bathroom where her she politely expels the waters. "At least it didn't break in bed!" she yells victoriously.

It's off to the hospital we go. Erin is in full-on labor and I'm trying not to drive like a madman. We manage to make the two minute trip in 47 seconds. After we're checked in, we're whisked off to the labor room, Erin gets hooked up to monitors and we wait. Erin's labor is progressing well at this point. Regular contractions and the baby seems fine. But a few hours later, the doctors feel while Erin's contractions are normal, the baby is under some kind of stress. Every time Erin has a contraction, the baby's heart rate dips. A sure sign of the umbilical chord wrapped around baby's neck. They decide to perform a c-section while the baby is still doing well as opposed to waiting until she's having trouble. Smart move. That's why they get paid the big bucks.

Erin's off being prepped and I'm in the recovery room waiting...waiting...waiting...trying not to be stressed. Finally, a nurse comes to collect me and I'm escorted into the operating room. This is it! The baby is really coming! I take my place at Erin's head, hold her hand and before long the doctors remove little Ava Lynn Graham from the womb. From the quick glimpse I get of her as she's passed off to the paediatrician I can tell she's a beauty. 8 lbs 13 oz of pink, pudgy gorgeousness! The doctor and nurses clean her up and ask me to follow as they put her in a plastic bassinet to roll her out of the room to the "special care" nursery. I know Erin is in the capable hands of the doctors so I go with the kid.

Ava is in the "special care" nursery because she was stressed during labor. It's tough not to hold her right away and see her go through a battery of tests but I know she's better off than some of the kids in the nursery. Luckily the nurses and doctors at the Queensway Carleton are fantastic and it's not long before they determine Ava is a picture of health and is ready to spend time with mom and dad in their hospital room.

I just wanted to mention the incredible job done by the amazing nurses we had during our stay at the hospital. They were the most caring, nurturing and positive group of people. We were very lucky to be under their care. They treated us as people not as numbers and took the time to answer all of our questions no matter how silly. There were a couple of nurses who specifically took care of us and our biggest thanks go to them. You guys are the best!

After a few days at the hospital, we've made our transition home and to our new life as a wee family. Mom and baby afre doing great and I feel like the luckiest man alive. Overjoyed to have such beautiful girls in my life. Ava's birthday was definitely one of the best days of my life.