1 week later Updated: Jan 5th, 2008 (RSS) As of today, Kaylee is exactly a week old... and what a rollercoaster of a week it has been. I figured I should probably start this update filling in all the gaps I left out in the last one. So, I'll start with last Friday. The day started off like any other... I got up, took Tenchi to doggie daycare and went to work. Piergalline and I had lunch and towards the end of the day I started getting ready for the weekend. MeLisa got online and mentioned she was having contractions that were about 5 minutes apart and asked if I could pick up the dog on my way home. Uh... contractions that are 5 minutes apart? I think that is called "labor". I left work fairly confident that a baby was in our immediate future. Sure enough, after I got home the contractions started getting stronger and closer together. After talking to the doctor (who wanted us to wait another few hours before going to the hospital), MeLisa called her mom (who lives in Delaware) and told her she might want to pack up and head down our way. We all went to the hospital shortly after MeLisa's mom arrived. We made it to the hospital around 10:00 or so and had to go through a few tests before finally being admitted (much to the joy of MeLisa who was terrified about being sent home to wait more). We were led back to the labor and delivery room (which was incredibly large) where we ended up spending the rest of the night. MeLisa got her epidural before having her water broken. She started out 2cm dialated and by 3:00am MeLisa was still only 5cm (and extremely frustrated). We had long ago sent everyone home and told them we would give them a call when MeLisa was 7 or 8cm dialated. MeLisa and I tried to get some sleep and were woken up at 7:00am for another exam... only this time, MeLisa was fully dialated! "Start pushing" was all the doctor said. Suddenly the room was abuzz... nurses started wheeling in various carts of medical tools and supplies. I grabbed my cellphone and called everyone I could think of to get them back to the hospital ASAP. Before I knew it, MeLisa started her breathing techniques and the nurse had her pushing the baby out. I had no intention of being at the "business end" of things, but the nurse grabbed me and had me holding MeLisa's legs up while she pushed. Stephanie arrived about 30 minutes after she got the call and was brought into the delivery room. On TV these delivery scenes always play out as a chaotic blur of people and screaming and crying. In reality (at least for us) it was much more calm and controlled. There were only a small handful of people in the room (MeLisa, Stephanie, the nurse and me) and everything moved at a very focused pace. When MeLisa had a contraction, Stephanie and I would raise her legs up so she could push the baby two or three times before resting... wash, rinse and repeat until the baby pops out. It wasn't long before we could see the top of Kaylee's hairy little head. In my mind (from the little bit of her head I could see), Kaylee's head was about the size of tennis ball. A few minutes later when Kaylee's grapefruit-sized noggin finally sprung out I quickly realized how wrong I was. And just like that... Kayle was born. The doctor made quick work of pulling her the rest of the way out, the umbilical cord was cut and Kaylee was rushed over to the examination table where she was poked and prodded. So there you go: Kaylee Adeline Folsom was born at 8:36am on December 29th... a healthy 7.4lbs and 20" long. MeLisa and I spent a couple of days at GBMC recovering and visiting with family before being released on Monday afternoon. Throughout the whole process, GBMC was amazing. The nurses and staff were extremely helpful and kind... the facilities were top notch, and even the food was good. We were really lucky to have gone to such a great hospital. So what kind of observations do I have a week later? Kaylee is amazing. Granted, I am extremely biased... but she's beautiful, healthy and already showing a fair bit of personality. I get a huge kick out of seeing her look at things and move around. MeLisa and I are super lucky. I quickly realized that there is absolutely no chance of me having any kind of control over this situation and understanding that simple concept has made my life drastically less stressful. I don't worry about how much sleep I "should" be getting... I just sleep when I can. Instead of getting worked up about how different things are, I am just along for the ride and I am curious to see where this Kaylee rollercoaster is going to take me. When this kid starts walking or talking (especially talking) it is going to blow my mind. It hasn't completely sunk in that she is a person yet, but once she starts moving around on her own and talking to us it is going to be completely surreal. After watching her mannerisms for a few days I suddenly noticed how many of those instinctual movements have stuck with me into my adulthood. Nothing specific that I can point out, but I have caught myself doing things or moving certain ways that reminded me of the stuff she is learning to do right now. Hard to explain, but it is a weird realization when it happens. So far we are doing really well. MeLisa is a natural mother and already has amazed me at how well she handles situations that seem completely foreign and bizarre to me. Kaylee seems a little bit smarter and calmer every day and has really excelled beyond anything we could have expected (she is already lifting her head up on her own and clutching stuff with her hands). I think that just about sums everything up for right now, but don't be shocked to see more Kaylee-related updates in the coming weeks and years.