Baby Berto

The last 72 92 hours 8 days have been amazing. That seems to be the only fitting word to describe the 92 hours of my life since Kylah was born. It’s been 92 hours 8 days since I looked into Kelci’s eyes and told her “Just one more push, I can see her head!”

Or as it probably sounded between sobs: “Come thoan Kel… Ohhhh I can theee herrrrr head!!!”

Right before Kylah made her grand entrance. I hope Kelci doesn't mind me reposting this one

I’m not sure where to begin, continue or end this post. I’ll start with a brief update. Kelci and I made the harrowing journey across two towns to bring Kelci and Kylah home. Well, not exactly harrowing. We drove about 3 miles and pulled into our driveway.

The first few days at home have been a blur of family, feeding, sleeping, doctors and friends. At some point, somebody asked how old she was.

I’ll admit, I had to choke back some tears when I proudly answered “Almost three days.”

I mentioned doctors above. Nothing to be alarmed by, just a quick checkup to make sure her weight loss has slowed down (it has) and that all the parts are in the right place (they are). She weighed in at 7 lbs, 10 oz yesterday, so I’m thinking about editing my earlier post about having  a big baby… By her second doctor’s appointment, she had already put back on another 5 ounces. Definitely her daddy’s girl.

This has been such an amazing adventure. It’s hard to put into words. I’m sure I’ll be speechless for a while.

We made a baby. A beautiful, happy, noisy, amazing baby. She’s absolutely gorgeous. I can’t stop staring at her. OR my amazing, beautiful, gorgeous wife. Both of them are so strong and such an inspiration.

I just wanted to quickly say thank you to so many people who have sent tweets, facebook messages, texts and phone calls with such amazing positivity and kindness. I was sharing them with Kelci as best as I could.

They meant the world to us. So, I bet you want to see photos, don’t you? Good thing I took some. The full set is Kathy click here.

Resting up before the baby arrives.

Yes, I took a picture while she was pushing. She did amazing.

A little attention from the NICU nurses. Nurses rock.

Just seconds after mommy got to hold her for the first time. Kylah needed a little extra cleaning up before Kelci could hold her.

Mommy and Kylah share a special time.

Relaxing. I had a long journey, but the world is now mine. I can't wait to see it all.

I’ll get into the birth process later. I’m hoping Kelci will share her experiences soon as well. For now, I’ll just say they both did amazing. Her water broke at about 6:30 am and by shortly after 8 pm we had Kylah in our arms.

Amazing.

If you’re reading this, we’ve hit the hospital. Chances are, we’re not too far off from welcoming miss Kylah Makana into our lives.

My wife has been brave. I have been nervous as all hell. It seems to work ok. I’ll have plenty more to share as we progress through this. Chances are it will be on Twitter, so follow me there. You can come back here to see photos on Flickr as well.

For now, know that we’re getting through this, thanks mostly to your positive thoughts and support. I can’t wait to share Kylah with you all.

It’s not common to have an ultrasound at 39 weeks, 5 days. But that’s what we did this morning. As you can imagine, I am pretty capable of making a big baby.

I was 10 lbs, 21 inches

Kelci was 8 lbs 8 oz

All three of my sisters were 10 days late and bigger babies.

And now let me introduce you to Kylah, who as of this morning’s ultrasound is approximately 9 lbs.

Meet Kylah. Sorry for the glare, but it's a picture of a picture. It's what I could do.

The doctor isn’t worried. She wants us to carry on and wait for a natural labor to start. All of the pieces are there and all of her systems are working wonderfully. Oh, and she’s definitely still a she.

We won’t get beyond 41 weeks, though, so by the end of next week, we’ll be welcoming Baby Berto into this world and out of her comfortable home.

Also, we’re not the only ones waiting for our baby to arrive. Our friends Josh and Annie are patiently waiting for Ali to get here too. Annie posted this hilarious list on why it’s time for Ali to come. I’d like to add #11 to the list: Play dates!