Ella Mae Ice

Ella Mae Ice
07.25.2005
8 lbs 5 oz
21 inches




Ella was born at 1.33 pm after a brief but at times difficult delivery. She was face up instead of face down, had a little odd seat-belt effect with the umbilical cord, and was a full pound heavier than Darby was, making for an awkward (understatement) process. We went in for the induction at 6:30 am and things progressed nicely, epidural included. By 12.45 or so Laura pushed a good three or four series of pushes and things speeded up quickly. By 1 pm the process was in full swing; at one point we came pretty close to an emergency c-section. Between Laura's pushing and the Dr.'s pulling we avoided the c-section. Mac was of course utterly intrigued by the whole process, recalling his sometime leaning towards a vocation in medicine. Laura did extremely well!

At any rate, we are so grateful that things went as smoothly as they did, that we didn't have to rush into surgery, and that most importantly, both Mom and baby are doing fine. Nashville was, by the way, the hottest its been in some time; heat index was over 100. Laura doesn't know how the human race survived when childbirthing was done in log cabins, open fields and who knows where else. We enjoyed an air-conditioned suite surrounded by more technology than launched man to the moon, an array of fine medication, and a small army of well-trained and competent professionals.

Maybe in a future post I'll try to wrestle with the theology of the day's events; right now I'm just enjoying the grace and peace of the moment.