Announcing Vivienne Nicole Hanson

It is my great pleasure to introduce you to our darling little girl, Vivienne! She arrived this morning and both she and Maren are doing great!

Here are the vital stats from the board in our hospital room.

She was due Monday 7/30. So, she's a bit late. We can't decide if she's late because she's stubborn or shy. The last few days, I was convinced that she was stubborn and refusing to come out. Now that she's here, and so sweet and calm, I'm starting to wonder if she was really just being a bit shy.

I have been amazed by what a very different experience this pregnancy and delivery were from our first. Bridgette arrived right on time. Maren went into labor on her due date and the labor process seemed to be very methodical and followed all of the steps outlined in the baby books.

Vivienne, by contrast,  gave us a scare and sent us to the hospital 3 weeks early and then showed no signs of labor as her due date came and went. Maren had a check-up yesterday and her amniotic fluid levels were low again (same scare as before), so the doctor sent us to the hospital and said it was time to induce.

Well, most guys I've talked to seem to have the same perception of induction that I do; namely that they give you drugs and the baby pops out in short order. Apparently, most guys have the wrong perception. We spent all afternoon waiting for the drugs to work their chemical magic. Nothing happened until about 10:00am this morning and even then, I didn't think the third type of drug they were going to use would have any affect. However, after what seemed like just a few minutes, that last pill kicked in with a vengence. Once the labor started it was a track meet. I mean a Usain Bolt track meet. The nurses scrambled to get ready and once Maren started pushing, Vivienne was here in less than 10 minutes. Bridgette took a full hour of pushing.

 Things started so fast that Maren had a very painful 30 minutes waiting to have her epidural administered. As you might expect, all was smooth sailing from that point forward. I kept thinking of the Bill Cosby shtick about how his wife "announced to the entire delivery room that [his] parents were never married." I was worried that Maren was going to let fly with a few choice words about me, but she was a trooper.

Maren after receiving an epidural.

Enough color commentary already! Here are some pictures...

One's goals should be realistic, don't you agree?

I would be remiss if I failed to comment on the other fun part of this birth: Bridgette becoming a big sister. I think she's been experiencing both excitement and fear about Vivienne's arrival. However, she was so excited to come to the hospital and meet her sister today. It was really sweet to see them together and watch the wonder in Bridgette's eyes.

One of the nurses allowed Bridgette to help give Vivienne her first bath. She said it was the first time in her 20 year career that a sibling so young had helped with a bath. B continues to break new ground! I got a great video and will post soon...

WELCOME VIVIENNE!