Labor Day!

Evan Vincent Tarsi made his entrance into this world on Thursday, September 11, 2008!  Evan weighed in at 8lbs, 0.5 oz and measured 20.4 in.

Kelly began our day at 0430 on Thursday with a gentle nudge to call the doctor.  We had time to eat breakfast and make our way to the hospital in Annapolis by 0730.  After a brief discussion with the nurses and doctor they decided to let us stay.  By 0830 the contractions had begun...although they were hardly indicative of the contractions on the way.

We quickly settled into our labor room as the contractions progressed.  We started pitocin (drug that helps labor evolve) at 1130 and then the fun really began.  By 1600 Kelly had enough of the process au naturale so we moved into the stadol (narcotic) phase.  Kelly's not much for drugs so this hour was pretty entertaining.  Kelly "felt like a frog" with webbed hands and bug eyes...even though the resting moments were comedic, the pain during the contractions remained.  Since narcotics were not particular effective we moved on to the epidural.  While injecting a tube millimeters from your spine sounds pretty rough, it made a world of difference in the pain department.  Kelly's pain dramatically reduced and life moved along easily until the final pushing stage.

At about 9pm Kelly began the final push toward birth.  She was fantastic!  By 9:39 our baby boy was born.  

However, our plans for a few calm moments alone as a new family quickly vanished.  Evan had his umbilical cord wrapped around his neck for the passage through the birth canal.  When he emerged he was very pale and blue.  Instantly they cut the cord and whisked him away to an examination table across the room.  Five or so nurses and the boss of the NICU came in to get him breathing right and make sure his heart was okay.  I think that Kelly's general health and the nine months of good clean living and preparation made a big difference.  If she had to push for a long time to get him out he might have had even more trouble.

In the end, it all worked out great.  Little Evan is a poop machine so we're spending our early time as parents feeding, cleaning, and changing!

We can't wait to watch him grow but love him just how he is!