She's Here!!!

Late night Thursday, Aubrey was awakened by strong contractions - definitely not Braxton-Hicks anymore. In fact, I was pretty freaked out by her excruciating pain during the contractions, every 1-2 minutes, and they had only just begun. We made it to Hartford Hospital by 1:30 a.m. with my mom and got checked into the maternity ward. Aubrey was debating whether or not to get an epidural, but when she was wheeled into the labor & delivery suite, and the nurse told her to expect the contractions to get more intense, she opted for the juice (you lika da juice, huh?).

Once pushing started, it took her about 40 minutes to get out Baby Girl O out of the oven. I was so psyched to be able to deliver her. My four week OB/Gyn rotation in medical school finally paid off. Dr. Cohen coached me through pulling Penelope's head and body through the birth canal while he cut the cord. Penelope was born on Friday, May 23rd, 2008 at 7:42 a.m. It was an awesome experience! She weighed 7 pounds 12 ounces and was 19.5 inches long. We had our music playing in the background, and Aubrey and I both remember that she came into this world to Tea Leaf Green's "Papa's In the Backroom."

Here are a few of the first pictures of our baby girl...Penelope Alma.

Happy Family :)

As our friend Marisa said, Penelope's in the baby display case.

Daddy's Little Girl

Grandma Chari holds her first granddaughter.

Fluffhead

"Can't wait to meet you all!"