A Star is Born…

Checking into the hospital at 2:00AM Eastern, Christine and I found our accomodations suitable to bring a baby into the world.

It took until about 5:00AM to get her first dose of medicine, Servodone (I think that is the way it is spelt). Up to this point she was only dialated to a 4 and 70% effaced, an increased change of 20% from the day before when it was a 2cm dialation.

By 8:30AM, she moved to a 5cm dialation and effacement was increasing as well, although the doctor didn’t say how much at this point. She was really surprised. She expressed this in saying we might deliver by early afternoon rather than that night as expected during the check-up appointment the day before. Christine was experiencing a little more contractions than previous to the application of the medicine and they were getting stronger. The labor had begun at this point for me because up to this point, she hadn’t had much pain at all and then it started for her and she let me know it. When the doctor made this prognosis, I decided to go pick up Christine’s father at his hotel and bring him to the hospital.

Hitting traffic at every occasion, I received multiple calls from Christine asking me how long until I arrived. I didn’t want her to go through with the epidural until I got back. I hoped that by asking this of her, it would help the labor progress much further than she would have allowed before the epidural, because she was waiting on me.

Shawn, her father, and I arrived around 10AM and then just about the same instant, in came the chattiest doctor I have ever seen. He was to administer the epidural. He asked, upon barging through the door, “Who needs and epidural?” I had to reply, without hesitation, “I do, I do,” while raising my hand jokingly.

The doctor said that this was the best epidural he had administered in all of his 30 years and he pulled me around to see his work. I must say, it was rather clean. Christine was a champ and held her own. She jumped for a second or two, but I think it was because of the pain that she still suffers daily in her back from a car accident from 1999 or so.

Once the epidural set in, she started to become numb, but in a good way. She didn’t seem to be drugged out at all and was a real trooper because she was on potocin (this stuff is potent and is supposed to bring on the most severe of contractions) since about 10:30AM and didn’t reveal any pain following the epidural.

While waiting, I also jokingly asked her to go over the script of what she could and couldn’t say while pushing and she chuckled a bit and rolled her eyes at me. I think because of things like this, in how I handle a situation like this, it is the reason why she married me. But I will probably never know, because she most likely won’t admit it.

Around 3:00PM she was told to start pushing. She, according to the Midwife, Karen King, who ended up delivering our baby, said she was one of the best “pushers” she has seen in a first-time labor. Maybe, this was her karma coming back from how much she had to endure during her pregnancy.

In all, it took about 1 hour and 12 minutes for us to meet Ainsleigh after she began pushing. Christine never shouted any obscenities, but only once when I said “push through the bottom and not through your face,” she snapped and yelled, “I’m trying.”

After that, Karen took over in calling for the pushes and Christine handled everything so much better than I had ever anticipated. I am really proud of her and I helped her through the contractions by holding her legs back and saying encouraging things.

At 4:12PM Eastern we had the most fortunate of opportunities to meet our daughter, Ainsleigh Madelynn.

I got to cut the umbilical cord. I must say to those men reading, this is one of the happiest experiences of my life, although thinking back, those scissors got really close to my fingers. It happened in an instant, but fellas, make the time and take the second to impress this memory into your head, because… it will be with you when your child walks down the aisle, leaves for college, heads off to their first day of Kindergarten. Need I say more about this event?

Ainsleigh then went to the warmer and Christine said, “go, I got to be with her all this time and now you can spend time with her.” This is the point when I just absolutely broke down and every time I think about it, I almost tear up again. I looked at her and then back to Christine and my lip quivered. I smiled and I ran over to Christine and just cried and kissed her and thanked her for being my wife and said, “You did it, we have a baby girl.” This was, I think the most beautiful moment of my life up to this point. I can’t see anything topping it. Although, watching Christine walk down the aisle comes pretty close or even ties it. Wow (taking a breathe here).

Now this thought goes contrary to what I thought when we heard the news that it was going to be a girl. I thought then, when I heard the words, “Congratulations, it’s a girl.” some months ago probably the most inappropriate thought, but it was my first thought and I am admitting it here because it probably happens to most guys. My honest response was, “damn weddings!” But yesterday, that all changed. strongI hope Ainsleigh has the biggest and best wedding and everything she could want./strong But that isn’t for some time, however. Until then, I am going to hope she dresses like a boy until at least… 18 years old. We don’t need any perverted boys showing up and trying to date my daughter (gentlemen, you know what I’m talking about).

From there we took some pictures and a short video of her getting her measurements. Now you can hear her and see her in action. Click on any photo to see the larger version. Thank you to everyone for your support and cheers from the sidelines. Christine and I couldn’t have done this without you, knowing the love you have for us in this happy time in our lives.

/objectbr /Baby Ainsleigh Madelynn Hullbr /getting measured for the first time.

“br /The Mother in Labor

“br /The Grandfather in Waitingbr /Shawn McMenomy

“br /She just went through labor for 14 hoursbr /and what a smile, thank you Mrs. Hull

“br /The Father Staring Contest

“br /The Close Upbr /Ainsleigh Madelynn Hull

We’ll post more pictures later,br /but for the ones that are loaded so far, please go tobr /a title=”View our photos on flickr.com” href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/21358387@N02/” target=”_blank”http://www.flickr.com/photos/21358387@N02/>.

a title=”View our online birth annoucement, click here” href=”http://firstannouncement.com/announcement.php?a=f0789eb144584190388″ target=”_blank”View our online birth annoucement, click here/a.