If you haven't heard the story - 3:30 Thursday morning, Francesca wakes to contractions about 5min apart, just shy of a minute long. There was not a consistent pattern to them however and when we called the midwife she said to call back in an hour with an update. She lived about 40+ minutes away from the birth center and she needed to start getting ready. Francesca was in the warm bath tub, reducing the pain from the contractions when she felt a lot of activity from the baby and then she started experiencing back labor. She thought the baby had just reoriented to face forward, which can cause back labor - boy were we wrong!

A little after 6 o'clock we left for the center. We arrived around 6:45, with contractions about 2 to 3 minutes apart, 30 seconds to a minute and a half long. She was handling everything a little too well, since we feel we gave the midwife who was there to greet us a false impression that she wasn't as far along as we thought she was - boy were they wrong!

"This is a very weird exam...", were the words that came right before Francesca's midwife informed us that our baby was breech. Err, whatchyousay!!?? 9cm plus dilated and our baby's bee-hind was presenting. If you don't know what presenting means, think crowning. If you don't know what crowning is, have a baby - we highly recommend it! As the midwife was on the phone with 911 giving them all the details, I helped calm Francesca while her mother, step-father, sister and brother all helped get things packed back up. Her grandmother and birth mother [long story ;-) ] were on their way, as well as my parents. While Francesca was in the back being stabilized, I rode up front of the ambulance and made a call to my parents' cell phone - no answer - left a message - hold it together Mike, just hold it together... We were gonna be okay.

We arrived at Mary Birch Hospital for Women in about 6 minutes. Code 10 (lights and sirens), but going the speed limit. Gives you a different perspective on pulling over for emergency vehicles, i.e. - PULL OVER, NOW DAMN IT!! ;-) Francesca was in the OR around eightish and at 8:17 pacific daylight time, Rebekah Sharon Antonina Williams was pulled out of my wife's belly via emergency C-section. 7lbs, 2.8oz and 19 inches long. I was in the OR with them. I'm sparing you all the great photos I got in the OR - If you're just dying to see them you're gonna need to wait for the website update.

She is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Ever.

Mother and baby are doing great. Both are taking a mid-day nap as I write this. All the nurses ooed at Rebekah during our 3-night stay at the hospital, while they were awed by Francesca's remarkably quick recovery and lack of a need for pain medication. We believe the former was helped by the later.

Dad? I'm doing just fine. I have come to a realization. People grow up for one reason or another. It is my opinion that most do so from lack of sleep.

---