Post-date, Not Overdue

The Vitals:
Isabella Cash was born yesterday, April 18th, at 4:42pm. She weighed 7 lbs. 10oz. and measured 21 inches long.


The Name:
Isabella means "beautiful one" in Italian and Spanish. But it is also related to the name Elizabeth, which has Hebrew roots, and means "my God is an oath" or more simply, "God's promise." We will call her Bella, but you all can call her whatever you'd like. The namesake for Isabella's middle name is Johnny Cash. I don't know how that strikes you, but Tami and I are very proud to give our daughter that name; there is just something about Johnny Cash. It's hard to articulate, but for us it has something to do with authenticity, passion, rawness and strength. I am especially happy to give a name with such connotations to a girl.

The Story:
Early labor- the mild part that can last forever- started around 3am on Saturday, but didn't even keep Tami up much. Things picked up gradually starting around 9am, but were still relatively mild until around 2pm. At 3pm things were moving toward active labor- the crazy intense contractions- and our doula (birth coach) arrived just before 4pm. 10 minutes after the doula walked in the door, we were on our way out to the hospital- contractions were really intense and one right after another. During labor at home Nana (my mom) was here taking great care of Asher. We got to the hospital and Tami's water broke while we were checking in- it was 4:27. A somewhat important detail: amidst all the intensity of active labor at home we somehow forgot to call our doctor- oops!- so when we got to the hospital and they gave her a call, she was half an hour away. After checking in- man, those nurses took their time- Tami was quickly assessed and, as both the doula and I already knew, she was fully dilated. Quickly, they moved Tami into a delivery room and got her set-up to push. One push later Isabella was born- seriously one push! The head literally popped out and no one was there! Our doctor hadn't even arrived yet! Thankfully there was a resident there and he and I caught her- it was an amazing, amazing thing. In case you didn't put the whole thing together: Tami's water broke at 4:27 and Isabella was born at 4:42!

I will spare you the detail from there, but we were able to come home last night, about four and a half hours after we got to the hospital. It is much more comfortable here and my mom is helping a lot. Plus Asher can get to know his baby sister- he's only hit her in the head with a toy once so far! Our doctor will come by later on today for some follow-up.

Tami is doing great. She is still in a bit of shock from such a rapid delivery, such a quick turn-around and from feeling, well, so good compared to last time. She feels like she can walk almost normal! Still, of course, she is tired and going through the joys and pains of starting breast feeding again.