Briley Ann Howell

Well the time had come to contact our families with the statistics.  Briley was 7lb 2oz, 19in long, and born at 8:12am.  Her head was 13in waist was 13in and hips were 13in.  We had a square little baby with a little fringe of blond hairs dappled across her head.  People were pretty excited to hear the news.  I did however leave short enticing massages to those who didn’t answer the phone.  I also made mention of gender differences to throw them off.  The excitement in people’s voices was wonderful and of course the congratulations made us feel great.  Wow it feels amazing to be able to bring a child into this world. 

My parents arrived and brought Adelin in to meet Briley which was a grand event.  Adelin was a bit skittish and was confused at why Carrie was sitting in the bed with a new baby.  She gazed as Briley whimpered and squirmed in Carrie’s arms.  Though there introduction was short they will become great friends over time or the realization that they will be stuck as family forever.  We had a great visit with my family and the flashes of the camera was blinding as every precious moment was captured.  Carrie’s family arrived soon after to ooh and aha over Briley.  The rest of the evening was filled with conversation and camera flashes what more could you ask for.

I had obviously offended the nurse that took me to the recovery room so she was in no mood to enjoy my humor.  After a short time our happy little OR nurse came back to help.  O finally some one to converse with that would appreciate good conversation.  We joked around and I expressed my concern about the lack of Briley’s anus.  With concern she quickly pulled down the diaper and made a quick inspection.  The little one she has will do just fine and only the special children get to have 2.  That was too funny.  Briley did well in recovery soiling every diaper that they fitted her with.  After 2 hours of humorous conversation and multiple diaper changes we were led to our room. 

Room 372 which was decently sized had a great view of the concrete building next door.  The sun was bright and made the imperfections of the building stand out which was nice for its age.  I guess there was no way out of the room except through the entrance which was good.  After the nurse spouted out her instructions she left the room.  This was the first time that we were able to enjoy each other’s company as a family.  Well except for Adelin which was hanging with the GP’s.   We took some time to each hold her and feel her warmth.  It was so nice to be face to face with the cause of the bulge that came between Carrie and me.  Well not really between us more like in the middle you know it was more of a radial issue than a conflict.

The jolly nurse came back for me just in time.  I almost bought and cook anything omelet maker thing.  O the things I would only dream of cooking in that device.  Still dazed and tired I followed her back to the prep room where Carrie was waiting for me with a smile.  We clasped hands once again and began discussing our time apart.  One thing was common with each of our stories is we didn’t want to be apart.  As we sat we began to pray for the safe extraction of our child and the safety of Carrie as she goes through this surgery. 

During our prayer the sound of squeaky shoes kept getting closer to our room so we quickly ended our prayer just in time for the curtain to open.  It was the vampire lady from the lab.  She was there to take blood because someone caught her before she got into the elevator to return the blood to the lab.  Her lack of interest in taking blood was quickly redirected as I noticed she was wearing some infomercial rocker shoes that I was enticed by earlier that morning.  The rocker shoe was being worn to help this gal get in shape as she walked around the hospital.  She hurried through her task and quickly and closed the conversation to return to the lab.  As she trailed past the curtain remnants of her task began falling to the floor.  Aggravated I quickly picked up the trash and disposed of it in the closest container.  As conversation dwindled of this ladies carelessness we noticed a TV sitting on the counter.  Since I was excited to see the rest of the cooking products show I dashed to the TV to find the channel.  Sadly the advert was over so I settled for silly video footage on animal planet.

A rustling sound was heard behind us and we waited for our greeting.  After a few moments none was offered so we greeted our unknown neighbor and as the curtains parted we saw our OR nurse.  She was full of smiles and morning humor.  She gave us insight as to the future of our morning and the operating procedures.  She was quite funny not like a comedian but like a British dentist gloating about the superb dental care that he had provided over the years.  After some time had passed we were moved out into the hallway towards two double doors with the initials OR1 and OR2.  I guess the addition of an OR3 would have been confusing so they only had 2. 

The nurse aimed the rolling bed towards OR1 where our hearing impaired Doctor greeted us.  I always wondered why he never answered questions in the office.  Thinking I was in rout to the main event I was quickly stopped and told to gear up in the blue Smurf outfit and wait behind the red line.  Other than wishing that I had a white beard I gladly waited to for my turn to enter OR1.  As I waited one of the Doctors assistant’s approached me and asked if this was my first child.  She must have noticed that I was nervous.  I responded that this will be our thirteenth child and we had been working towards a baker’s dozen.  Sadly she didn’t see the humor in my statement and she headed into OR1.  Finally it was my turn to enter OR1 I did so at a steady pace because my nerves were getting to me.  As I entered the room all eyes were on Carrie’s bulge.  The drug doctor was laying down the comedy and setting the tone for the surgery.

I finally reached Carrie’s hand and grasped it tightly.  Our eyes met and I felt comfort knowing that we would go through the next few minutes together as one.  Well one that got cut up and one with a supportive hand.  I really didn’t want to miss the action but the doctor insisted that I sit during the surgery.  I knew that they could keep the SIFI like action from me so my mind wandered back to the first birth when I saw it all.  I was brought up from my seat by the drug doc just in time to see my precious Briley being pulled from the depths of Carries bowels.  O the joy of this first mile stone had been conquered the baby was brought into this world by the graceful hands of a seasoned doctor.  The emotions that filled my sole were of great joy so much so that I was at a loss for words.  I couldn’t do anything but gaze upon my sweet little Briley.  I carefully inspected her appendages and orifices to verify authenticity and sure enough it was a baby girl.  Carrie took notice to my inspection and she inquired about Briley’s condition.  I replied other than the extra finger and toe she was perfect.  My humor was once again not appreciated and a contradicting voice came from the doctor saying that there were only ten fingers and toes.  I agreed and said that he was correct as I was escorted to the recovery room with Briley.

The clock strikes 3:30 and a voice woke me up, it was Carrie standing in the dark.  She said its time…  Time for what the baby or time to wake up a little confused and still dozy as I noticed the familiar flashing of repetitive lights seeping through the blinds.  I quickly get to my feet and stumble to the window.  An ambulance was sitting in front of the house in full glory with lights a blazing.  I thought O no not now the appointment at the hospital was for 5:30.  Thoughts began running through my head of ambulance bills and an ER visit O boy this is going to cost.  Just then the sound of water began to pelt the shower floor and as I look out the window the ambulance pulled forward 2 houses.  Though relieved that it was not my misfortune I felt sorrow for the people a few doors down.  Hopefully they didn’t die or something worse.

We took turns taking showers due to the space constraints, having the additional girth of a child in womb and prepared for our visit to the hospital.  Collecting our bags we headed for the door knowing that this would be the last moments spent without Briley in our arms.  I opened the door into a dark cold winter morning, with a light wind blowing slowly across my face.  I pushed on towards the car knowing that I should have worn a heaver coat but who cares I planned on being inside for the rest of the day.  We began driving towards the hospital a little scared yet excited for what was to come.  As I entered the highway I felt the yearning to speed.  Why not Carrie was about to have a baby and I may get away with it.  I restrained my yearning and carefully made my way across town to the parking garage.  Oddly enough there was no friendly gate keeper to greet us with a parking ticket so we just drove into the garage and parked the car.

We left our possessions behind as we made our way past the doors and to the elevator.  As we began to raise the music and the dinging of the floor bells was a reminder that there are some things that you have to go through to get to where you want to be.  The final ding came and we exited the elevator and faced the doors of labor and delivery.  Hands clasped we walked down the poorly lit hallway and mashed the automatic door opener button.  The door did not respond so I repeated my actions and the doors swung open as if to announce our arrival.  As we approached the nurse station a jolly little gal greeted us with and announced that we were right on schedule.  The nurse placed a bracelet on each of our arms and quickly banished me to the dreaded waiting room.  As I surfed through the morning infomercials Carrie was taken to the OR prep room and exchanged her clothes for a super trendy gown.

Wow who would have thought we would be here so quickly.  Well I guess the people who did the math after they found out we were pregnant.  Let’s get down to the story of baby B or Briley Ann Howell.

The preparation for Briley began Sunday afternoon with a thorough cleaning of the house laundry and dishes.  The floors were swept and mopped to a shine all for the grand home coming.  We left for a Spurs basketball game at 5 which was our last hurrah before the main event.  Though the game was exciting but our minds were distracted with thoughts of the next day.  Or we could have been distracted by sitting on the edge of the nose bleed section looking at the game below wondering if we would die if the concrete below us gave way.  We returned home grateful for our lives and finished some cleaning and climbed into bed.

Hi World! I was born today! I’m 7 lbs, 2 0unces, I’m 19 inches long, and I’m a perfect square! 13 inch head, 13 inch shoulders, 13 inch hips. Talk to you later!