"Thursday we spent the day taking it slow (after a full week of playing hard we were both tired), we did our laundry, Sara cleaned the apartment (it's so small that took about 15 minutes while I was folding clothes), we had a nice long chat over lunch. That evening we met up with Zach to go out to dinner near Time Square. Sara found a restaurant that prepare tempura veggies that sounded so good to her so off we went. We ate til we were stuffed then we walked over to Bryant Park near a gorgeous and large public library with lion statues in front of it. The park had very tall mature trees all around with a big open lawn with a movie screen on the end opposite the library. There were lots of little black metal tables and chairs, many people were enjoying the user friendly area-ping pong, chess playing, lighted hula hoops, eating of dinners, people lying on the grass and such, it was a peaceful scene. I was talking to your dad on the phone and was noticing Sara's belly going from round to baby shaped about three times, I asked her, "are you having contractions?" then said, "you are having contractions, how many have you had?" She didn't know, so we started timing them. The contractions did not stop as we made our way back to their apartment. Sara showered, we got ready for bed and continued to time contractions 5 - 8 minutes a part. We turned out the lights-fat chance any sleeping was going to happen. Sure enough the contractions did not stop, so we timed them some more. Five minutes-ish apart, so doctor was called, cab was called, and off we went. She checked into the hospital about 3:30 a.m. and was then hooked up to all kind of things - i.v., blood pressure cuff, Anna's heart rate monitor, catheter (so she didn't have to get out of bed to pee), and a needle in her back for the epidural. We watched the sun rise over Central Park with it's mature and beautiful trees. Contractions were doing their job and getting painful. The Epidural got started and she was no longer in pain and was in good spirits, so we spent the day in the hospital watching the Food Network while Sara was dilating and effacing so she could push Anna out.
She was dilated to a 10 by around 2:30 p.m. The doctor was called in. He tried to have her push but the epidural did too good of a job so she had to wait til she could gain some control of her lower body to push Anna out. He came back after an hour and tried again, he came back after another hour and tried again, another 1/2 hr then yet one more 1/2 hour. Then she was ready. The doctor had Sara put one foot on his leg and one foot on Zach's leg to support her while she pushed through the contractions - such painful and hard work that lasted just over an hour. Then what a flurry of activity, like 6 people in the room as Anna's hairy head popped out, then the rest of her body, then the placenta. Zach got to cut the umbilical cord then a nurse whisked her over to be cleaned and weighed and given to Sara. The doctor continued to work on Sara. Every person that came into the room independently commented (very sincerely) on what a beautiful baby Anna is, a couple of the nurses looked over to see who had the baby and commented "What a beautiful mom." Even the doctor said she was really beautiful and that he sees a lot of new baby's! A nurse placed Anna on Sara for their first bonding time together. They placed i.d. bands on Anna, Sara and Zach and even a security tag on Anna's ankle so no one could take her out of the hospital. After everything was taken care of and cleaned up the doctor and all the others eventually left. Zach got to hold Anna briefly then they whisked her away to the nursery for testing and who knows what all.
I finally got to hold her for a few brief moments. It was after 10:00 p.m. and after all of us being up for two full days Zach and I reluctantly and wearily left Sara and Anna at the hospital to go back to their apt and get some sleep. We both ate a bowl of cereal and went to bed. Up again this morning we went to the hospital to spend the day with Sara and Anna. Sara went to a class for breast feeding so I took a break and enjoyed a different part of Central Park with ponds and a beautiful forest area, I sat and did some scripture study and enjoyed the beautiful park til it started to rain. It was hard to get Zach to share Anna - I guess to be fair he also needs a chance to bond with Anna, He is going to be a great dad. Sara is trying to teach Anna how to breast feed, she is already a wonderful patient mother. I am so proud of Sara and loving every chance I get to enjoy Anna. She is so perfectly proportioned, has LONG fingers and good sized feet. She is very alert. Her eyes were open right away and she was looking all around. I'm so grateful Sara and Zach allowed me to be here during the special time and that Zach even gives me a chance to hold her, at least a little bit."
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