A little more about Karis and her journey to us...

Karis is Greek for grace. And that's exactly what we received from God as she was delivered with her umbilical cord around her neck. Heijah was Lena's mother's name. Karis is very healthy... Mom is great, too. 'Twas only 3-1/2 hours of labor, and only 4 pushes until she joined us. =)

The day started at a regular doctor appt. on Wed when Karis' heart rate seemed slow. Doc hooked Lena up to heart monitor to be safe. Karis' heart was decelerating during/after contractions (down in the 60-80 range when 140 is healthy) so we were ordered to hospital immediately and told to prepare for a C-section as Dr anticipated the cord was being compromised. Karis' demeanor changed at hospital (for the good) so we ended up waiting around to have a normal delivery. Doctor was bewildered until the actual delivery where she saw cord around her neck. By God's grace she is fine. =)

Lena shot from 5 cm to 10 cm in less than two hours. We (including me) could see Karis' head waiting to come out. We had to call the doctor and ask her to rush as we were waiting on her. She did get an epidural but they didn't check her dialation before hand. So she got it 20 minutes before the baby dropped into position. Eh, at least it helped for the delivery.

Visitors were great. Multiple interruptions from nurses and other staff (photo greeting card service, cleaning crew) made it tough for Mom and baby to get good sleep beyond Karis' own efforts.

I'm a pro at changing diapers... it surprises even me. I was a champ during delivery - meaning I didn't pass out. =)

That's all for now.