Katherine Bailey Ross has arrived!

A disclaimer up front: Chris is writing this post and I definitely lack the creativity and eloquence of my wife, so please bear with me.

As you may have read in our previous post, Sarah's water broke just after noon on Monday. We went to the doctor's office for an exam and we were given until the next morning to progress into labor naturally, otherwise they would induce Tuesday morning. Sleeping was difficult; it was kind of like the night before Christmas, and come Tuesday morning, Sarah had unfortunately not gone into labor. We were originally told to come into the hospital at 6:30 am for induction, but they encouraged us to call around 5:30 am to check on bed availability. Apparently everyone else wanted to have their babies on the same day, so there were no beds available until 8 o’clock. When we arrived, we were shown to our room, but our obstetrician was in surgery so the induction could not be started until 10:00 am.

The pitocin used for induction caused good, regular contractions, and fortunately they were not painful until around 2:00 p.m. At that time, Sarah had dilated to 3 cm and was 90% effaced. Her OB was very pleased with her progress and told her that she could have an epidural at any time. The contractions steadily increased in intensity and pain, and the anesthesiologist started an epidural around 3:30 pm. It turned out that the anesthesiology resident who started the epidural knew one of our friends, Jamie Burton, from undergrad at Rhodes. It’s a small world.

The epidural was a godsend. You could still see the contractions coming regularly on the monitor but they were no longer painful. In fact, Sarah was even able to get some sleep. Sarah continued to progress nicely from 4 cm at 4:00 pm to 5cm at 6:00 pm and 6 cm at 9:00. Unfortunately, the labor slowed down at that point, and Sarah was still 6 cm at 11:00 pm. Typically when labor arrests like this, most people go straight to a C-section, but because Sarah was doing so well and there were no signs of fetal distress, our OB gave Sarah one more hour to see if labor would continue to progress.

Sarah’s mom, Dottie, had flight arrangements to come on November 15, a day before Kate’s due date. When she learned that Sarah’s water had broken, she was able to change her flight to arrive Tuesday night. Our wonderful friends, Bo and Brooke Crockett, picked her up at the New Haven airport and brought her to the hospital right around 11:00 pm when we got the news of Sarah’s labor slowing. While we were hoping for a quick labor and delivery, we were excited that Dottie was able to be there for the birth of our daughter.

At midnight, Sarah was still 6 cm. An ultrasound showed that Kate was pressing more against the wall of the uterus than the cervix, which was the most likely cause for the arrested labor. Sarah was then taken to the OR for a C-section, and after they prepped her for surgery, they let me come in to be with her and hold her hand. Kudos to the anesthesiologist, because Sarah hadn’t even noticed they started the surgery until about half way through.

Katherine Bailey Ross came into the world at 12:50 am to “Brown Eyed Girl” on the radio in the OR. She was feisty and cried almost immediately, and after they cleaned her up a little they handed her off to me so we could see her. There is nothing on this earth quite like it. The pride and joy wells up in you, and though I’m not usually an emotional guy, I couldn’t hold back the tears. She was absolutely beautiful. I guess I may be a little biased, but even objectively, she has to be the most beautiful baby to ever enter this world. She has the cutest little button nose and deep, dark blue eyes (which very well may turn brown soon, because surely the guy singing on the radio couldn’t be wrong). While the doctors were finishing the procedure, I got to hold Kate sitting right next to Sarah’s head. Sarah was able to stroke her cheek and the three of us bonded as a family. The joy of that moment is indescribable.

After the procedure was over, we all went back to the recovery room. I instantly became one of those parents who takes pictures of everything trying to capture all of the little moments. Sarah recovered from the anesthesia very quickly and we were all taken up to the post-partum floor where we will be until Sunday when we’re discharged home. I went with Kate to the nursery for her to get cleaned up, weighed, and measured, while Sarah and Dottie got settled into the room.

Kate weighed in at 7 pounds 8 ounces, and measured 20 ½ inches. Kate and Sarah continue to work on breast feeding, which seems to get easier each time. Sarah is healing well and we’re told that we will most likely be discharged home on Sunday, though we may be able to go Saturday depending on Sarah’s recovery. We’re hoping to catch-up on some sleep tonight (at least more than the 45 minutes from last night). We plan to make the most of the help we have here at the hospital while we can.

My wife is the most amazing person I know. Through this whole process she has been amazingly strong, calm, and flexible. She never complained during the painful contractions, just held my hand and focused on breathing. She didn’t even flinch with the epidural. When her labor arrested and she was told she would need a c-section, she accepted it calmly and didn’t complain. I can already tell she’s an amazing mother. She is so patient and encouraging now with Kate learning to breast feed, and you can just see how Kate looks at her, as if she’s the center of Kate’s universe. Any time Kate cries, Sarah’s touch soothes her. Anytime Kate’s in the room with us, she just loves to stare at her momma.

God has blessed us with such an amazing gift in this little girl. She has already stolen our hearts and we know our lives have changed forever. We are so thankful that both mom and baby are healthy and doing well. We are also very appreciative of all the prayers and encouragement that everyone around us have offered.