Sophia is born (not for the squeamish)

Well the big moment finally arrived, but not at all as we expected it!

Baby Sophia Liana Soo was born at 4:54am on Saturday morning.  It started off innocently enough, with a series of contractions at 4:00am but Hue was used to contractions happening over the last 3-4 weeks.  Well, this time they were for real, and when the intensity ramped up and Hue realized it was time to call the doctor, she was in the throes of labor.  

The doctor on call told us to get to the hospital "as soon as possible!" , but I could only help Hue stagger from the toilet to the door of the bathroom in 5 minutes.  She was starting to bleed heavily and could only take a few steps before the next contraction hit.  The urge to push was overwhelming for Hue.  Our hearts were palpitating, as we both knew there was no way we would make it.  Well, we made it to the second step of our carpeted stairwell before Sophia could not wait any longer and literally FELL out of Hue into my hands.  Hue was screaming, everyone was drenched in blood and our stairwell looked like the aftermath of a rubout scene from the Godfather series.

Fortunately the paramedics arrived soon after our 911 call and did a fabulous job clamping and letting me cut the umbilical cord, then tranporting a woozy Hue, baby, and myself to the closest hospital, St. Jude.   Sophia was born at 19 inches long an a healthy 6 lbs 11 ounces.  Mother and baby are doing great, and doctors are amazed at how healthy Sophia is.  In a world where doctors usually tell you when to push, how to push, and monitor the fetus' every vital stat during labor, I guess nature works best after all.

More later!