At the hospital
Britene had an appointment with Dr. Booth on Tuesday morning at 9:30am. About 1 hour after getting back home, her contractions began. From the first, each contraction was intense. Within a couple of hours, they began being very regular. By 4:00pm, she was at the hospital meeting with the nursing staff there. While they didn't tell her right away that "this was it", she began to suspect it about 30 minutes into it. She called me in California about 4:30pm. I left the office within the next 20 minutes, headed to the rental car company to return their car and get on the road. In the meantime, they were telling her to walk around the hospital to try and expedite her dilation. I guess they were successful since twenty-three hours later, Raven arrived (2:48pm). Shown below are the first few pictures I took when I arrived at 3:20pm and couple more from the next day.
Statistics: 5 lbs 4 oz, 18" long and drop dead gorgeous - just like her mother.
Please note that the date is wrong on my camera during the initial pictures - the date is actually 10.20.2004
First picture I took when I got to the hospital. She is tired, sore and waiting to hold her daughter. But you can still see she is a happy Mom. See how calmly she is waiting to hold Raven? The first picture of Raven, taken 40 minutes after birth. They placed her on oxygen within a few minutes of removing her from her Mom. Over the course of the next 9 hours, they added a lot more lines, wires, leads and monitors. A nurse adds tape to the air line they attached her to. Since they did this right away, Britene didn't get to hold her for more than 9 hours after she was born. This was one of only a few times Raven cried. It lasted about 10 seconds, then she was quiet except for a squeak now and again. We heard 5 or 6 different squeaks those first few hours. Things got a little scary when they hooked her up to more wires but she was pretty calm about the whole thing. I think it was harder on us adults -- looking down on this tiny little person covered in wires, leads and air lines and feeling helpless to make it all better. At nearly midnight, they unhooked Raven from all the wires, leads and oxygen lines and let Glenn hand her to Britene. Together, these three are a new family, and I think they are each in a little awe of each other. She was calm throughout her hospital stay. She was pretty much just "rolling" with whatever Mom did with no complaints. Bet that doesn't last. =) There are not many moments when her eyes were open during the first two days, but man oh man, doesn't she look like her Mother? Of course, Glenn can not deny being her father either. Those hands, those feet, those ears and the skin sensitivity are all him. The hospital made them a steak and shrimp dinner to celebrate their new arrival. Sparkling Apple Cider served in chilled flutes was a nice touch as well. These two look so pleased with themselves, don't you think? One of the rare moments her eyes were open while at the hospital and I managed to catch it.
The Saga
As most of you know, I left California Tuesday at 5:00pm, headed for the hospital more than 875 miles away. I wasn't too worried since she had just started labor and she was three weeks early. I had hopes they would attempt to stop the labor, or at least slow it down. I was wrong. And - of course - when you are in a hurry, everything works against you. The rain storms we had in California for the previous three days had left large areas flooded. That slowed me down some. The rain continued on me for 700 of the almost 900 miles. That slowed me down some. Every time I got out to fuel up, I got soaked. When it would stop raining for a few minutes, I would stop to eat or check the tires. By the time I was finished, the rain had caught me again. It was snowing in the mountain areas of Arizona as I passed through. That slowed me down some. I encountered a fire in the pine trees only 30 miles from home that reduced visibility to about 5 feet for almost 10 miles. Needless to say, that slowed me down some. I got a call when I was in Pine (about 15 miles north of Payson) that she was going to start pushing in 30 minutes. Yippie! I was going to make it as it only takes about 20 minutes to get to Payson. I would even have time to park my RV and jump in my truck for the final 3 miles to the hospital. Except of course that there was an older gentleman in a pickup truck doing only 30 miles per hour, not the posted 55. Since it is two lane, no guard rails and a double yellow line all the way from Pine to Payson, there was no opportunity to pass. That slowed me down some. As I was pulling into my space at the park, I got another call. Raven had arrived 2o minutes ago. They didn't wait on the pushing after all, and Raven was born after only 10-15 minutes of pushing. I had missed it. By 30 minutes. I guess I don't have to tell you how disappointing that was.
She is beautiful though, and I couldn't be prouder of Britene and Glenn.
Do you have any idea how hard it was to sort through 120 pictures to find only 5 or 10 to send to all the Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles, and numerous friends that requested to be included in the mail outs? Do you have any idea how hard it was to hold the pictures down to 120? Britene and Glenn are probably pretty tired of my sticking a camera in their face pretty much every half hour. Nothing can mask the joy though - not even the fatigue that comes from a whole day and night spent in the hospital, away from the familiar. I hope you can see more than just a glimpse of what I feel privileged to have been witness to.
Raven Lynn Rogers was born on 10/20/2004 at 2:48pm in Payson, AZ. She weighed 5 lbs and 4 oz and is 18" long. She is beautiful, calm and perfect. And a little early. Being a little early, she has had to put up with a bunch of adults poking and prodding her more than is usual for newborns.
A little hiccup in her breathing was the first thing they wanted to deal with, so just after birth, they put her on oxygen -- across the room from her Mother. They spent a couple of hours taking her temperature, her blood, her foot prints and listening to every little noise she made. They rolled in a special machine and took a chest x-ray. Twenty minutes later, they rolled back in and took another one. A little later, a small issue in her heart beat required more wires, probe's and monitoring. When that set of tests indicated a little irregularity, they brought in another RN with experience in this area, and she collected a whole new set of readings via a series of small wires/leads taped to her tiny body. This was when we all discovered that she has inherited her Dad's skin sensitivity -- in a big way. Every time they put tape on her, a new spot popped up. Poor little angel looked like a bad case of hives just after the big cardiac test involving 15 new taped leads. It took several hours for the spots to dim. (You can see one on her cheek in the picture of she and Britene together for the first time.)
All this time, Britene can only watch from across the room. She can not reach out and stroke her daughter to sooth her tears and fears. Many people came in and out of their room for several hours. Each spent time with Raven while Britene watched. Through it all, Britene remained calm and pleasant, thanking each person for their individual tasks. Glenn floated back and forth between Britene's bed and the activity centered around Raven, another study in quiet maturity. After nine hours of almost constant activity, they unhook Raven and let Britene hold her. A few quiet minutes together, and then Dad gets to weigh this small bundle of joy newly come into their lives. The picture named "A new family has arrived" was taken at almost midnight and is Britene holding her for the first time, with Glenn leaning in for a closer look (and touch). You can clearly see the absolute joy radiating from them both. Even now, when I look at this picture, I can't help but tear up.
Britene made the whole process of delivering a baby look pretty easy. "Push" they said to her at 2:30pm. At 2:48pm Raven was here. By 11:00pm Britene was out of bed and walking over to Raven to touch her hands, her face, her legs. By 11:30pm Britene was standing in the shower. Throughout the remainder of the night and all the next day, Britene has gotten up and down from every chair in the room a dozen times, NOT moving like a woman who has just given birth. Glenn was amazingly supportive throughout the day and night, looking at Britene and Raven with joy brimming in his eyes.
I guess it is obvious by now that I was very impressed with them... and that I am pretty taken with my Granddaughter as well. I hope you enjoy these pictures. Check back often to the Gallery page as I will post new pictures frequently.Updated: There is a new navigation method, new site location and new linking.
