Holly Jolly Christmas

We had a Family Home Evening with the boys about Priesthood Blessings, which ended with everyone getting a blessing from Jared (me). An hour or two after we were done, Suzie announced that she thought tonight was the night she'd deliver. Suzie had a friend from our church drive her to the hospital on base, while I arranged for someone to come stay with the boys. At 3:00 am, 22 Dec, Suzie was dilated to a 5, at 4:00 she was lobbying hard for an epidural, after which she felt a WHOLE lot better...

Around 5:15 am Suzie started getting beat up pretty bad again, despite the epidural, so the anesthesiologist came packing a huge syringe full of something that made everything all right again. Suzie pushed five times, and out squirted Holly Ann Cooper at about 5:40 am. This picture was taken at 0542, as soon as I was relieved from thigh-holding, chord-cutting duty.
Holly's Stats (if I can remember right)
Holly Ann Cooper
Born 22 Dec 2008, 0540
6 lbs, 12 oz, 19"

Enjoy watching an enlisted medical technician suck the cheesy-discharge and mucus off my little girl! The cackling in the background is Suzie's close friend Ashley, who drove her to the hospital and stayed up talking with her all night until after Suzie and the baby were comfortable. Thank you Ashley!

She is without a doubt the most beautiful baby ever, the pinnacle of a heritage of uber-cute babies. Already she is much more cuddly and less punchy-kicky-elbowy than her older brothers. If you hold her close, she instantly mellows out and purrs like a kitten.

Unfortunately, DOD Guidelines for a Healthy Pregnancy (I'm not making this up) stipulate that the mother and baby must remain inpatient for a minimum of 24 hour after delivery, or 48 hours if emergency aftercare might be difficult (e.g. during the holidays). So Suzie and Holly wont make it home until Christmas Eve. So I'm a single father of two boys, while Suzie is an abandoned mother with a new baby in a military hospital.

Can't wait until Christmas!