January 22, 2009: The Birth of Lyric

Hey everyone, here are some pics and videos from our daughter Lyric's birth. Lyric Alexis O'Connor was born on January 22, 2009, at 1:31 am. 7 pounds, 3.8 ounces. 19" inches long. We're all wicked exhausted. The labor wasn't as long as Logan's, but no less intense. It lasted "only " 5 hours. Rach was initially allowed to use the water tub, but later had to forfeit the option of a water birth because of a meconium issue. The only drug she used for pain was a little Nubain (though we were scheduled for an interthecal; Lyric descended before it could be issued). Much kudos to Rach for her bravery.

Lyric is generally healthy. There are one or two outstanding issues that have us worried. She has trouble breathing (some of this is due to the meconium. She came out so fast that the normal process of being squeezed through the birth canal didn't have much effect on clearing the bronchial and nasal passages). After an X-ray and several blood tests, the initial diagnosis was a possible hole in her lung. But further X-rays were inconclusive. Her blood oxygen and gas levels got better, which further obscured the cause of the problem (as it seemed she was getting enough O2). She did not cry after birth; she did not cry when prodded by nurses; she did not cry when poked by needles; she did not cry after a bath. Finally, this evening, when she did cry, it sounded as though she couldn't get enough breath; in fact, it sounded like her throat was collapsing. The pediatrician in the unit examined her and determined that her windpipe is "soft." Basically, we were right in our interpretation of the noise--her windpipe partially collapses when she breathes in too heavily, as with crying. He believes the problem will resolve itself in a few months. We will follow up with our normal doctor this week.

Rach is scheduled to go home tomorrow. Thanks to all the family--Nancy and Kasey, Adam, Jody, and baby Kyle, Gramma Pretzel, and Lucy--for all your help. We will try to give you the latest on Lyric soon!