I’ve been a mom for 16 days. I have fallen in love more quickly than I thought possible, with a beautiful girl who loves to snuggle into my neck and sleep on my chest; who watches me with the same intensity with which I study her. A girl with perfect features and sharp little nails, who is happier being held than being set down and who would prefer to sleep in between her mom and dad than two feet away in her co-sleeper. She’s already grown in weight and height, her features changing daily. She lifts and turns her head to both sides when laying on her tummy, a source of great pride in her mom! But don’t let this little angel fool you, she has plenty of spunk too. She insists on peeing as soon as the old diaper is removed from under her…whether it’s 10 seconds or a minute after opening it up. The cool air at bath time is another invitation for body functions of all sorts. At a class last night about wills, trusts and life insurance, she had gas and poops so loud that the whole class was giggling. Such a large noise for such a tiny body. She makes us laugh constantly. This morning, she was sitting in a bouncy seat handed down to us from Chris’ mom’s neighbor. The seat has a setting where music plays in response to a baby making noise. Kennedy had the hiccups and every time she hicced, the whole seat would bounce and the music would start playing. Then it would stop, and the next hiccup would come, starting the whole thing bouncing and playing music again. She looked quite surprised and slightly confused, perhaps from the seat, or perhaps because of her mom and dad laughing hysterically at the spectacle. Maybe we’re just sleep deprived!

Well, the wait is over. Here’s the story…

Saturday, 27 September 2008 - We spent most of the day working around the house. My dad and step mom, Andre and Kathleen, arrived in the afternoon to help out. My dad replaced the screens on the sliding glass doors while Lisa did laundry, hung curtains and she and Kathleen put away items in our office and hung out. I spent my time attempting to install track-lighting above the cooktop island in the center of the kitchen. At 9:15 pm, After enjoying a delicious dinner, Lisa was washing the dishes (thanks Lisa) when her water broke!

We were very calm and collected, as if it were a well-rehearsed fire drill. I called the Labor and Delivery Department at Kaiser in Antioch. They explained that since her water broke, she must come in to be evaluated. After the evaluation, they would determine if Lisa should be admitted or not. We both took a quick shower to rinse off and grabbed our bags that we had packed a month ago for this occasion and attempted to remember all of the loose ends. Lisa had a couple of “hello” contractions that were more intense than the braxton hicks she had experienced the last trimester of her pregnancy. We hit the road with the Andre and Kathleen tailing.

We arrived at the hospital around 10:15 pm. While Andre and Kathleen waited in the waiting room, Lisa was evaluated in a triage room. They hooked up monitors to see how Lisa and the baby were doing. A computer printed a continuous graph of her contractions, while a speaker played the sound of our baby’s heartbeat. The midwife that was attending to us confirmed that Lisa’s water did break and that we would be having a baby soon! Her contractions grew longer and closer together. She was admitted around 11:00 pm and moved to the labor and delivery room.

Once we got into the room, we settled in for the journey ahead. Feelings of excitement consumed our thoughts. This is where our baby was going to be born! I ran down to the car with my dad to grab our bags. On our way back to the elevator, we ran into Lisa’s parents, Mike and Sue! We returned upstairs and I showed them the way to the waiting room. The staff buzzed me in to the department and I went back to Lisa. She labored on as the pain from the contractions intensified while time slowly crawled past the midnight hour.

Sunday, 28 September 2008 - The ever-increasing pain from the contractions eventually became too much for Lisa to bear. It was distracting her from the task at hand. I recalled all of the things I learned at Childbirth Prep Class on how to be a good birth partner, but I could no longer help her to breathe through the pain to cope. She asked the nurse to check on her progress because she felt pressure and the urge to push. She was only dilated 4 to 5 centimeters. 10 centimeters was the goal. Lisa asked how long it might be yet. The nurse explained that it takes usually 1 to 2 hours per centimeter for the cervix to dilate. After a quick calculation we realized that she might be in labor for another 5 to 8 hours at a minimum! At 1:00 am. She decided, with my complete support, that an epidural was what she needed to focus on her labor and deliver our child unto this world.

The anesthesiologist entered the room with his cart around 1:15 am and explained the risks and briefly went over the procedure. Lisa signed the appropriate forms. When the doctor was ready, the nurse told me to sit down. They didn’t want me fainting or anything. (They explained later that two years ago, a father-to-be passed out while his wife was receiving the epidural injection. He fell to the floor and seriously injured his head.) The medicine kicked in almost instantly, working its way from the toes to her lower back. Lisa explained that it felt like a “blanket of numbness” had been placed on her legs.

After the epidural, Lisa’s attitude and well-being improved dramatically. Night and day. She was able to focus once again. She would sometimes pause, tell me to look at the monitor, and ask, “…was that a contraction?” Things were looking better. Lisa was looking relaxed. I needed a pick-me-up, so at around 1:45, I stepped outside for a few minutes to go find a caffeinated beverage.

When I walked by the waiting room, the expectant grandparents sprung to their feet, eagerly awaiting what I had to say. “Lisa had an….. epidural.” I went on to updated them on her progress and how I was doing. I told them about how it could be 5 to 8 more hours before Lisa was fully dilated. My dad joined me as we went downstairs to the cafeteria vending machines real quick for a soda.

After I returned back upstairs, I dropped my dad off at the waiting room, and was buzzed into the Labor and Delivery department once again, I ran into the anesthesiologist on the way back to Lisa’s room and he said, “I think your wife is ready to deliver.”

I stood there with a confused look on my face. “What?”

“Your wife is in room three right?”

“Yea….”

“Yup, I think she’s ready,” he said. I speed-walked/jogged down the hallway. It was only 2:00 am! “What happened to the 5 to 8 hours?” I thought to myself. I entered the room and she was smiling (good drugs). She was indeed pretty much ready to push. The midwife made her way into the room join join us and the nurse. There were just the four of us. The midwife explained how to push and bear down with each and every contraction. She performed beautifully. The contractions had spread to four or five minutes apart which gave us time to stare at Lisa until the next contraction begun. At 3:08 am, after about an hour of pushing, our baby daughter was born and Kennedy Rae Hockett took her first breath.

Click on the picture below for more photographs. Enjoy!

Welcome Kennedy