Deliverance
A recounting of the delivery of our third child, Arwen Cassandra Choate.
Thanks to all the well-wishers out there. Mom and baby are doing great! Photos are here for those interested (nothing graphic, I promise).
April 22, 2004. 3:15 AM
Georgia wakes me up, letting me know that her water has broken. We call the doctor's office to ask if they want her to come in. They do.
We call our friends to come babysit for us.
3:33 AM
While waiting for the babysitter, I hurriedly post to my blog.
4:00 AM
We arrive at the hospital and check in. The parking lot is quite empty at 4 AM.
4:30 AM
We're sent to a private birthing room. The hospital has a wireless access point, but it is encrypted and not available to the patients.
5:07 AM
I try to get some sleep.
5:30 AM
The doctor arrives to check Georgia. She's 2 cm dilated. Not very encouraging since she has been at 2 cm for 2 weeks now.
7:00 AM
They start an IV of fluids in preparation for an epidural when she's further into labor. I spend a little time writing some of this down.
8:30 AM
Georgia is doing well and having some contractions, but is still not close to delivery. She assures me I can leave to get some breakfast. McDonald's is pretty close by. I also take the opportunity to call my office and my parents to let them know things are underway.
9:15 AM
I'm back at the hospital. They started the pitocin artificial hormone while I was away. This helps bring on labor. She was having some contractions on her own, but they were not regular enough by themselves.
10:20 AM
The doctor arrives for another checkup. 3 cm dilated now.
10:35 AM
Contractions are increasingly stronger, due to the pitocin mostly.
10:55 AM
Georgia is ready for her epidural. And lets everyone in the room know that.
11:00 AM
The doctor is present in the room and is monitoring the baby's heart rate. He is reluctant to do the epidural until the heart rate stabilizes. The baby is fine, really... this was just a precaution on his part.
11:15 AM
Another checkup. She is now 6 cm dilated. At this point it is obvious that she is having this baby. Right now. Which means there is no time for an epidural.
11:29 AM
Fully dilated now. Georgia pushes with everything she has. A baby is born.
And the stats:
- Weight: 9 pounds, 1 ounce (a record for us!)
- Length: 20 inches
Wow! 6cm and she delivered! Yeeowch.
Many congrats, you have created both a child and a middle child now :-)
Pictures are great. Saw the photogallery but when I tried to post a comment there it said that I have left a field blank when I hadn't? Oh well, web stuff another day, today: tiny baby!
May her life be filled with joy and happiness, and good friends around her for those days that are and aren't.
Yay, today's my birthday too! Congratulations, Brad!
Wow! Now that was some great play-by-play Brad! I felt like I was there. Congrats to you all, and I look forward to keeping up with the Choate Family Adventures on your site. -Mark
congratulations brad! i bet you're the proudest man in the world now. all the best to you, georgia,and your TRHEE kids.
What a day! And what a beautiful threesome of grandchildren!
(Your humor is just too cute! You and Georgia are doing a good job of keeping a "diary" for the kids. That will be a treasure to them one day.)
Welcome, Arweyn! We share the same birthday! What a beautiful presentation of your arrival.
Congrats Georgia. I am expecting twins and I am afraid as well :-(
WOW, you made my morning! She is georgeous! I am so happy for all of you. Hugs to mom,dad, big sister and brother. God is Good!
Congratulations! Hope you all get lots of sleep.
Congrats to all five of you and well done!!
Congratulations to you and your wife. Of course, she had to do the the hard part... ;)
What a beautiful family. You have every right to be proud.
Congratulations! A beautiful little girl, with an especially beautiful name!
I just love reading about births. You know, to Arwen, that was like a death -- leaving everything she knows, her whole world, for the absolute unknown. And look how wonderful the unknown is -- a beautiful, loving family, lots of yummy food and soft clothes, the funny hat... :) Births remind me that the unknown, no matter how crazy and scary it may feel, is usually a beautiful new stage of growth.
Congratulations again, to your whole family!
What a beautiful family. Little girls are wonderful even though I only have experience with three boys. Bryan and Carrie's little girl, Karis, is nine months old now and the joy of our life. Thank you for sharing the good news with us.
AWEsome... Congratulations. :)