After two 'false
alarms', when Holli and Aaron went to Medical City but were turned away, and
nearly 48 hours of continuous contractions, Holli was admitted to Labor and
Delivery at 6:00 pm on August 13, 1998. Holli was nearly homicidal by that
point, having threatened to kill Aaron several times while at home and later any
driver who impeded her progress on 75 Central Expressway while driving to the
Hospital (during rush-hour traffic). Her homicidal tendencies subsided, but were
replaced by suicidal threats, exclaiming "Oh, just shoot me!" a few
times before the blessed epidural came along and significantly reduced the
amount of pain that Holli experienced.
By 8:00 pm Holli was very near completely dialated and her water broke. The
last obstacle to overcome was to wait for little Hailey to turn over and enter
the birth canal. We waited two hours and rested, until the nurse came back and
informed us that we were going to have this baby before midnight, and the
pushing began.
For almost an hour and a half, Holli
pushed and pleaded for the little girl to get out, making slow, consistent
progress until the crown of Hailey's head was showing. Then she got stuck, and
regardless of the prodding and manipulations of the nurses and doctor, she would
not move. Hailey's vital signs remained stable, so the doctor opted for a tool
called simply the "Maxi-vac". Images came to mind of a diesel engine
attached to some great sucking machine with laser sights and optional turbo
charger. Upon seeing the device, Aaron was slightly surprised to find out that
this mighty machine was simply a small hand-driven suction pump with a clear
flex hose attached. But its diminutive appearance was deceiving.
The suction cup was attached and a few strokes applied to the Maxi-vac, when
Holli was ordered to push some more. She cooperated nicely, and with the doctor
pulling on the Maxi-vac, Hailey's head popped right out. The rest was relatively
easy, but that Maxi-vac left the largest hickey that either Aaron or Holli had
ever seen.
Hailey was quickly passed to the
nurses to clean her up, and then returned for Holli to hold. Aaron and Holli
both could barely believe that the day had come, but enjoyed immensely the
experience. Hailey was peaceful and quiet once she was wrapped up and
immediately opened her eyes and stuck her tongue out at everyone. She has
beautiful pink skin, bluish eyes, sandy peach fuzz on most of her head and not
really a mark on her (besides the huge hickey). Her official statistics are, 7
pounds 11 ounces, 20.5 inches, born at 12:06 am on Friday, August 14, 1998.
Both mother and daughter are resting now, Holli will most likely leave
Medical City on Sunday, August 16 and will enjoy her maternity and family leave
time off.
