genevieve ruth brown

She's finally here! My daughter, Genevieve Ruth Brown was officially born on January 22, 2011 at 5:19 p.m. She was 8 lbs 8 oz and 21 inches in length. As many of you know, I've been waiting for this moment with great anticipation for quite some time (she was after all 10 days overdue). As though this news isn't exciting enough (and believe me when I say that I could not possibly be more elated), here's the icing on the cake for me: We have a story. Let me explain.

I feel like people always have a story to tell with the birth of their children (especially the first). It may involve where they were when something happened or what specifically happened or numerous other things that make their experience unique to them. For example, I know of a woman who had both of her children at home on her bathroom floor. I also remember hearing that a woman gave birth stuck in a big traffic mess in the middle of a snowstorm a few years back. Not all stories are this extreme, but most people at least have something to base their story on.

Once Genevieve didn't make it by her due date, I accepted the "reality" that she was going to be born on her induction date which was scheduled for tomorrow (Monday, January 24, 2011). Polly and I were looking forward to a relaxing weekend, including a final date (which I've been referring to as the "last meal") before Genevieve's arrival. So, what happened to change all that? Well, let me tell you my story:

I was quite tired when I fell asleep on Friday night. I had a dream that Polly had the baby, but it happened at our house (which was not our house, see my for my list of crazy things that make dreams weird) because we waited too long. I woke up to Polly getting out of bed at 3:15 a.m. Every time I've heard Polly stir lately, it wakes me up with the hope that it will finally be the time. As it turned out, Polly just needed to use the facilities. Moments later, when she got back into bed, I couldn't believe my ears. Polly said, "Um, I think my water just broke." I told her to call our doctor's office who connected us with the on-call doctor at our hospital. The doctor told us to come in to check. So, by 4:00 a.m., we were on our way to the hospital.

At first they didn't think Polly's water had in fact broken. I thought they were about to send us home...false alarm. But upon further inspection, they discovered it had. To make a long story short, Genevieve Ruth Brown was born a little more than 12 hours after we arrived at the hospital.

Most of you know that I have compared waiting for a baby to waiting for Christmas morning. I've mentioned a few similarities and differences. Here's a big difference: unlike Christmas morning which fades into Christmas evening when all is coming to an end, there is nothing anticlimactic about having a baby!