What weighs 6lbs, 13oz and is 20 inches long?

No, you idiots, it's my daughter.

Here is the story of how my daughter, Sydney Elizabeth Ferree came into existence. You can go here to see some pictures online (click 'sydney elizabeth' in the left hand column).

On the evening of Thursday, May 25th, we checked into St. Alphonsus Hospital. Nomi was given a drug to help her cervix dilate, and it required about 12 hours to work. The next day, she was given Pitoson (usure of spelling) a drug that starts contractions and gets labor rolling. Contractions started about 6 am, and steadily increased throughout the day. Around noon, the doctor decided to break Naomi's water to help things along. This was very painful for Nomi, so we opted to have an epidural put in to help with the pain. Around five pm, it seemed that her dilation had leveled off, and was not yet at the 10 centimeters necessary for delivery. They gave it a few more hours, and with no appreciable progress, the decision was made to do a c-section.

Naomi was wheeled away, and I was given a suit, hat, and booties to wear in the operating room. A few minutes later, I was called for, and sat on a stool near Naomi's head to comfort her. The docs had raised a sheet across her shoulders so I did not actually see how they did it. About 30 minutes later, Sydney had arrived. She was checked out for several minutes on a nearby table. I was allowed to take some pictures, but it was with a film camera, and we have not developed them yet. Shortly, they let me take Sydney in my arms and carry her to the recovery room.

Official stats are: Thursday, May 26 8:52 PM; 6 pounds 13 ounces; 20 inches long.

Sydney was very active, looking around and crying some, though not much. By all accounts, she was an extremely healthy baby. A neo-natologist came in for a brief word and remarked "That dose not look like a child of a diabetic mother." Naomi, on the other hand, suffered some complications, though not serious ones. Her blood sugar was extremely high, and her blood pressure was extremely low (at one point dropping to 80/20), aking her very tired and confused, while at the same time almost convulsing as her body burned off the andrenaline. It took a couple hours, but she came out of it fine, and was allowed to return to her room with the baby and all the family.

We stayed in the hospital all day Friday and Saturday, and left around noon on Sunday. We could have stayed another night, but Nomi and the baby had recovered remarkably and the doctors gave us the ok to go home, and we were eager to get out of the hospital. For being an institution of healing, it's amazing how little sleep ones gets while admitted.

Sydney is home now, and I'm wondering what I did to deserve such a mild baby; certainly Nomi and I were not this noce to our parents (my father in law describes Sydney's tempermant as "completely unfair." Aside: My father in law is the first male in his family to live long enough to see a grandchild in at least three generations. I think that's cool.)