Halle Jo!

Let me preface this post by saying that you all get a guest blogger today (a first time blogger, I might add), while Andrea is resting up in the hospital for a couple of days...I hope I can do this post the justice that it deserves!

Let me get the answers to the most common questions out of the way first...Halle Jo was born on Monday the 17th at 9:08 am. She weighed in at a hefty 4 lbs 13 oz and measured a respectable 17.5" long. Similar to what you see on most basketball rosters, I think the nurse may have been a little generous on both her height and weight (a little exaggeration never hurt anyone right?). I guess if you count the length of her hair in her height she would probably measure out to nearly 19" inches. She is doing fantastic after a couple of minor complications that keep her in the nursery a little longer than we had hoped for. But, luckily, despite her small size, she has overcome those issues and is handling things very well. She is doing fantastic!

Now about Andrea....I feel like I can't accurately tell you how she is doing without providing some background information. Having gone early with all of our other kids, Andrea and I both expected Halle to follow suit and come sometime this week, which would put her between 37 and 38 weeks. So, early Monday morning (around 4:30), Andrea got up with one of the other kids (bless her heart...dad just sleeps right through everything!) and noticed that the baby wasn't moving. She ate something in hopes of getting Halle to move, but nothing happened. So after talking to her doctor, they decided to have her come in and check things out (around 6:30 am). After hooking her up to the fetal monitors for a bit, the doctor noticed that Halle's heart rate was dropping and that the placenta (I hate that word) had stopped doing its job, but Andrea's labor, or lack thereof, wasn't progressing. Much to Andrea's dismay, he ordered up a C-section to be performed as soon as they could numb her up. I got a call from her that said "I need you here now" followed by a phone call 2 seconds later from her doctor telling me what "I need you here now" meant. I walked in the OR just in time for them to start the c-section...about 2 minutes later, Halle was born! So, there's the background...

So how is Andrea you ask? I hesitate to comment on how Andrea is doing because there is really no possible way for me to understand how and what she feels. My first reaction to that question, is that she is doing quite well. But, having never been sliced open like that before, I'm 100% sure that I would grossly underestimate the pain and "discomfort" (to say the least) that she is feeling. But, at the risk of being silently mocked by all of the women who read this that have had a c-section before, I am going to take a stab at it. From my own personal observation, she appears to be doing fairly well. Since she hasn't had a C-seciton before, she is trying to get used to not being able to move around and do everything for herself like she has done in the past. Not being able to have Halle in her room until today took a toll on her as well. But, once she got to hold Halle last night for the first time, it seemed like everything was just perfect! There is nothing more genuine than seeing a smile from ear to ear on your wife as she holds her baby for the first time. I'll be honest, I was a little worried about Andrea....until I saw that smile. From that point on, despite the pain, I knew that she would be just fine. Anyway....Enjoy the pictures!