It's a Girl!

I'm back, kids. And I have a new niece. Born May 11, 10:16 am, 7 lbs 8.6 oz., 20 3/4 inches. She's beautiful.

My sister headed to the hospital on Thursday morning, when her water broke during breakfast. Of course, it was the busiest day of the month at work, so I didn't leave the office until 8:30 that night. I stopped at home, changed clothes, and headed to the hospital...to find my sister propped up in bed watching Will and Grace. Labor was not progressing, much to her dismay. The hospital staff kept promising that they would induce labor, but the times kept changing. Midnight. 3 am. 4 am. Sis was not amused. (After being in labor for something like 37 hours with her first child, I don't blame her.)

Mom and Dad were already there, as well as her husband. (I really must come up with pseudonyms for my family members. Umm...let's call my sister Sandy and her husband Danny, since she really likes Grease. Not as much as her best friend - that's freakin' obsession, but that's also another story. And, um, first daughter will be...Mary. I don't know. This is why I asked people to come up with their own names.) Anyway....

We waited. And waited. And waited. Things failed to progress. Mom and Dad and I moved to the waiting room to watch Late Night with David Letterman so Sandy and Danny could get some sleep. We all attempted to get some sleep as well, but the waiting rooms at the hospital were apparently designed by some sadistic decorator, because the chairs were uncomfortable enough when you were sitting in them. Sleeping? You must be joking. I think I got an hour or two of sleep - total. I'd drift off, get about twenty minutes in, and my back would start screaming in pain. I'd get up, stretch, watch a little more TV, read a few more pages of my book, then attempt to find a comfortable way to take a nap. Lather, rinse, repeat.

I finally gave up on the sleep thing around 6 am, and decided to wander back to Sandy's room to see if there had been any progress. I managed to get the door open about 5 inches before Danny slammed it in my face. I took this to mean that some sort of medical personnel was doing some sort of procedure that would go better without interruption, and twiddled my thumbs out in the hallway. (Turns out they were administering the epidural. Labor had been induced around 3:30 am.)

From that point things progressed smoothly, and the baby (we'll call her Cathy) was born with nary a problem. The party was moved from the Labor and Delivery Unit to the Mother and Baby Unit, and Danny left to go pick up Mary so she could meet her new baby sister.

Aw man. You want to talk the cutest Kodak moment in the entire world? "Mary, this is your new sister. This is baby Cathy." I don't think Mary grasped the idea of sister, but she sure was fascinated by her. (Cathy couldn't have cared less and slept through the entire thing.)

I finally left the hospital around 4:30, completely exhausted, hopped up on caffeine, and on the biggest neonatal rush allowed by law.

I feel extremely priveleged to have been present at the birth of both of my nieces, to be there when they took that first breath of air and let loose with that unmistakable newborn cry. It's truly an amazing event, and wouldn't have missed it for the world. It was worth every second of lost sleep, every last sore muscle in my back and neck. And I really shouldn't be complaining being tired and in pain. It's not like I was the one giving birth.

So now I have two nieces to spoil rotten, and the heat is off in the "When are you going to get married and start having babies?" department for a while. I have someone new to play in the living room floor with, a new reason to shop for cute outfits. I have a new child to watch Sesame Street with, someone new to read to, a new Hokey Pokey dance partner.

I get to watch the world get discovered for the first time again. Lucky me.