IT'S A GIRL!!!

(Baby-O's 1st Picture)

As of 8:01pm on 9.10.7, Madelyn Grace Olmsted is breathing her own air. She was 7lbs. 12oz. and 21in. long with more hair than I had when I was 3years old (slight exaggeration). She is absolutely beautiful and is passing all of her tests with flying colors... 100% healthy!


the gist of labor...
Kim started having pretty heavy/painful contractions on Sunday around 1pm. We continued to do a lot of walking to keep the contractions coming, and they stayed a very consistent 4-8 minutes apart for a couple hours. By 10:30pm we decided to head in to the hospital but we were given "the walk of shame". They sent us home to keep working on the contractions since we were in the very early stages of labor.

At about 2:30am, Kim's contractions were reaching near intolerance due to the pain. We raced back to the hospital and were admitted nearly straight away. The grandparents got their calls at around 3:30am and were at the hospital by 5 or 5:30 ready to welcome Baby-O into the world.

peaceful babies sometimes enter into a world of chaos...
Once Kim got the epidural, it was a waiting game until she needed to push -- nearly 12hours. At 3:15pm, Kim started pushing and was absoLUTEly amazing!! She powered through pain and frustration for over 4hours before the doctors finally made the decision to move to a C-section.

One of the biggest complications for Kim was that her body wasn't responding to the epidural. The pain would subside for about 30minutes, then surge back relentlessly. Because of this, the doctor tried a 'spinal tap' for the surgery, but it didn't take either. This is where I fell apart.

They put Kim under with general anesthesia and I wasn't allowed to be in there with her. Not only was I freaking out about not being with Kim through this life changing event, but we were both going to miss it altogether. After many tears and some prayer with my mom and mother-in-law, I went back to my chair outside the OR and listened ever so intently. I even video taped the door as I heard Baby-O cry for the first time. The word "helpless" comes to mind.

Eventually, the door to the OR opened and out came a nurse with the question I was waiting to ask her, "Boy or Girl?" Going off of Kim's instinct, I replied, "Boy?" She quickly responded with joy, "It's a GIRL!!" I -- being the emotional, exhausted, sappy wreck of my former manly self -- burst into tears, of course, and was taken to the N-ICU where Madelyn was bawling away... I followed in suit while I video taped and took some photos.

Anyway, I could go on for pages more. This is a beautiful thing, life.

about visitors...
Kim said she's totally game for visitors, but she wanted to be sure everyone knew that she's still a bit loopy from the post-op meds. If you would like to come by and meet Madelyn Grace, please call my cell first to see how Kim's doing and to let us know you're coming.

Thank you all for your prayers and thoughts. I can't wait for you to see our beautiful little girl.

~Kurt