Sofia Joy to the World!

Sofia Joy Sorbello arrived today, November 17, 2010, at 7:11 a.m. here at Kaiser Roseville.  She officially frees me from having to celebrate my own birthday, which is also today.  I've never been a big birthday guy, so I'm very happy to hand over the day to Sofia.

My day started with Sam waking me up at 3:30 in the morning.  I was a little disoriented, but quickly became alert when Sam told me that she thought we needed to go to the hospital.  We had gone to bed together last night, but apparently Sam had been up all night having contractions and making some really cool looking crafts for the house (in between her contractions).  Apparently her water broke at 3:05 a.m., as she knelt over Siena to change her diaper.  Sam heard a small pop before feeling a gush of fluid.  TMI, anyone? :)

Our first birthing experience (Siena's) was fairly slow-moving (we showered, packed, stopped at the store for food, etc., before heading to hospital).  I assumed the pace for Sofia would be similar and prepared to take a shower in anticipation of a long day at the hospital.  Sam told me that there wasn't going to be time for that and started bustling around, packing a bag and readying soon-to-be-big-sister-Siena, who was WIDE awake and concerned for her contracting mama.

I called my mom a little after 4:00 a.m. and told her that we were dropping Siena off!  This was pre-arranged (thanks, Mom!).  Siena was pretty excited about the thought that Sofia was coming, but she didn't seem to fully grasp the concept.  I didn't either at that time of the morning, so I don't blame her.

Sam's contractions on our 35-minute trip to the hospital were intense.  She was pretty funny during the contractions.  I was ordered to remain silent and drive fast. :)  By the time we got to Kaiser in Roseville, Sam had reached 5.5 cm. dilated.  Things were moving quickly!  The facility in Roseville is so much nicer than the Kaiser hospital in Sacramento.  We have our own room, which is much bigger than our bedroom at home.

As the contractions continued 2-4 minutes apart, Sam waited eagerly for the anesthesiologist to find a vein, because the nurses hadn't been able to find one.  Sam tested positive for GBS (a common bacteria in pregnant women), so they wanted to give her two rounds of antibiotics (four hours apart!) before the delivery, but they couldn't give her the antibiotics until they found a vein.  The anesthesiologist finally gave up and put a needle deep into her elbow area.  It wasn't ideal, but it got the job done.  Unfortunately, they only had time to get the first dose of antibiotics into her before she was fully dilated.  They gave her a spinal anesthetic (like what they give for a C-section) instead of an epidural.  Maybe because it is faster acting?  We're not sure...

After about 10 minutes, the spinal anesthetic kicked in and it was time to go!  Sam pushed for about 30 minutes, and Sofia Joy popped out at 7:11 a.m. looking like a little alien - like all newborns, sorry. :)  She got some kangaroo care (skin-to-skin) with Sam and then got cleaned, weighed, and vaccinated against Hepatitis B.

She weighed in at 8 pounds and 5 ounces, and she is 20 inches long.  Her hair is dark and curly, and she totally looks like Siena with dark hair!  After getting all that attention, she got to nurse for the first time and clamped on for 35 minutes.

Sam and Sofia are both doing very well and resting peacefully.  Grammy, Sarah, and Bethany (and her boys) stopped by with much-appreciated food, flowers, and hellos.  They brought Siena along, who warmed up quickly to the newest Sorbello.  Sam Klasing and the Jarvi also stopped by for brief visits with Sofia.  We will probably be able to leave by about 3:00 p.m. tomorrow, depending on the results of Sofia's blood tests.  We're looking forward to heading home as a family and figuring out how we're all going to fit in our quaint (i.e. 960 sq.ft.) house! :)

That's all for now... some fun videos to come soon... maybe tomorrow.