Kelley finally arrived at 2:53 am kind of blue and not moving very much, until they unwrapped the umbilical cord from around her neck and put her in a warming cart, at which point she started flailing all limbs and making some minor sounds. All's well! We have a new daughter!

Shelley changed her mind about an epidural about 1:30 and when asked why, she merely mumbled "the incredible amount of pain." Baby came not long after, but as luck would have it, the delivery doctor had to perform an emergency cesarian on someone else just as he arrived at the hospital, so Shelley had to consciously hold back from her final pushes for about half an hour. All the prior work to get Kelley out, then all the work to keep her in. That was a bit frustrating for all concerned.

At the moment baby is down in the nursery awaiting a bath and blood drawing for state-mandated tests. She weighs in at 6 pounds, 12 ounces with a length of 20.25 inches. Bright blue eyes and a fondness for holding hands (tightly) already (thus "iron grip"). Sounds like a future knock-out to me.

Shelley and Kelley are in room 1417 of St. Joseph's in Burbank for two days, assuming all goes well with recovery.

I'm off to check the dogs at home in a few minutes, post these two entries and a few photos, then hit the sack before returning here later in the day.






An exhausted mom and baby.





Our new bundle of joy, only a few minutes old.