Siena's Zeroeth Birthday

Well, sometimes we plan life and God decides to remind us that He's in control. For example, this weekend we planned on watching our "how to have a baby" DVD, which we purchased for a fraction of the cost of an actual birthing class through Kaiser. Essentially, we did the lab before listening to the lecture. That happened today, when Siena Grace Sorbello decided to enter the world 29 days before she was due. The tale of the tape:

- Birthday: Sept. 14, 2008, 5:30 p.m.
- 35 weeks and 4 days "old" (due date = October 13)
- 18 inches long, 6 lbs. 2 oz.
- long fingers and toes
- light brown hair
- blueish-purple skin
- umbilical cord wrapped around her neck at birth
- admitted into the natal intensive care unit (NICU) for at least her first night so they can monitor her vitals and hook her up to a CPAP machine, which forces air down her nose and into her lungs so that her lungs strengthen, drain residual liquid, and stay expanded

Now, here's the story in video:

Off to the Hospital... (8:22 a.m.)



In the Triage Room... (9:06 a.m.)



In the Labor Room... (12:22 p.m.)



Four Centimeters... (12:52 p.m.)



Still in Labor Room... (3:37 p.m.)



Delivery Room... (4:40 p.m.)



First Head Sighting... (5:03 p.m.)



Hot out of the Oven... (5:33 p.m.)



Back to Mama... (5:49 p.m.)



Steak and Potatoes... (6:45 p.m.)



Sleeping Beauty... (9:01 p.m.)




Musings:

- Because Siena was born one month early, does that mean she turns "one year" 13 months from now? It only seems fair, because otherwise full-term babies who turn one year old have one extra month of development. This could be important for Siena's athletics in the future... :)

- After seeing a pregnancy and delivery, I cannot fathom how people who have witnessed these miracles believe that we are simply products of chance and time. We are most certainly creatures... and not just of habit.

- Sam is as tough as any girl I know (even Grace), and she got an epidural because her contractions hurt so badly. We have newfound amazement for the millions of mothers who have given birth without the relief of an epidural.

- Seeing your baby with IVs in her tiny wrists, a tube going down her throat, and a tube going down her nose is not fun. We want to rip them all out and run out of the hospital with Siena... but we're going to give them a few more hours with her before doing anything drastic. :) That said, we feel extremely blessed. While we'd like to have baby nursing and in Sam's arms, there are babies in the NICU with Siena who have a FAR steeper road to climb. I feel for those parents. Prayers are appreciated!