Mitchell Devon King

Mitchell has arrived!!! He was born at 1208 am on January 4 2008, weighed 7 lbs - 13 oz., and is 20.5 inches long. He and Niki are doing well.

The excitement started when Niki called me at 6:15 am to tell me she thought her water had broken. I was at work finishing a night shift. By 7:30 am we were on our way to the hospital. When we arrived an ultrasound confirmed that her water had indeed broken and we were officially in labor.

Despite being placed on Pitocin ( a hormone that speeds up the laboring process ) Niki did not progress as quickly as we would have liked. By 7pm she was 8 cm dilated and fully effaced...still not good enough to start pushing. Finally, by 9 pm her cervix was completely dilated and she started pushing. Niki is a natural mom. She pushed like a champ!

And then it got scary for a little while. Niki developed a fever and Mitchell's heart rate went up to a fairly concerning level which means that over the coure of her very long labor Niki's amniotic sac got infected and required some IV antibiotics.

At 1200 am Mitchell showed his head which was so exciting and bitter sweat because his head was covered in meconium (meconium is the babies first bowel movement, which is dangerous if it is in his mouth when he takes his first breath.) At 1208 he was delivered! He was suctioned as well as possible before he took his first breath but once he started breathing it looked like he may have gotten some of the meconium in his lungs because he had moderate - severe respiratory distress that required him to go to the ICU. Luckily, he responded to treatment very well and was discharged from the ICU to our room in the mother baby unit by 4am.

With the fever and the respiratory distress we needed Niki and Mitchell to stay in the hospital for 48 hours of antibiotics and observation to make sure neither of them developed any infections. As of today they are both without fever and doing fantastic. In fact, Mitchell passed his hearing exam today. We are schedule to leave the hospital and go home tomorrow!

I wanted to thank everyone for their phone calls of support and concern. I apologize for not getting back to you as quickly as I would have liked. In the midst of it all I could only focus on Niki and Mitchell. We love you all.

Niki's addendum: I'm looking for a semi-truck that hit me night before last, any one seen it? I didn't get the plate number but it was in the vacinity of University Hospital Labor and Delivery department.

Rich's account of Mitchell's deliver is short only in one detail and that is of how Niki was so delirious from exhaustion during the pushing phase of delivery that she completely relied on Rich to remind her of what needed to be done. This is what it was like: Niki says, "A contraction is coming." She looks helplessly at Rich as if to say, "What am I suppose to be doing now?" Rich looks at her and says, "Take a deep breath and push for 10...1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10. Again. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10. Again. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10," followed by "good job, now relax." One minute later the cycle repeats with the same helpless look and the same supportive directions. Repeat times 50 until Mitchell finally appears. Rich is an awesome daddy!

Rich and I are getting to know Mitchell one quirk at a time and we can't wait to introduce him to you all. So far we know he likes to cuddle, he can do an imitation of Popeye with the one eye open and the other tightly squinted shut, and he burps like a champ(Grandma Jane helped us figure out that one). He also appears to be a precocious chap as he is already attempting to lift his head on his own, no easy task to accomplish with such a big melon. Yes I said it, my child has a big head...I would know.

Again thank you all and much love.