Liam's Birthday

Hello, my name is Liam Cochran. Yesterday was my birthday (I was born about 24 hrs ago). I came into this world weighing 7 lbs and standing (or maybe lying) 20 in. tall.

Here is a picture of me (kind of a funny look on my face, but one of the few pictures with my eyes open):


Speaking of the birth(day/night), it was definitely more excitement than Mom or Dad wanted (and that that goes double for both of my grandmas). It started out as a calm day; Mom and Dad (and Jacob) even got to go to lunch (Thai food - Mom, Dad, and Jacob's favorite) before finally getting the call to come to the hospital.

After they hooked Mom up to all of the wires and tubes (to keep Mom hydrated, to help me come sooner, and to monitor both of us), it looked like it was smooth sailing. Here is a picture of Mom at that time:



Anyhow, after about five - six hours (and not much progress, which was strange compared to my older brothers' and sister's birthdays), the doctor "broke the water," which seems like a strange thing to break, but oh well.

Pretty soon things got a little dicey. My mom would have the regular "contractions" like the previous six hours, but each time it would make it more and more difficult for me to keep my heart rate up.

The nurses kept moving Mom back and forth and evening filling my little "pool" (inside of Mommy) back up with more water, in an effort to keep my heart rate up, but it kept getting worse. Then it got much worse, and in kind of a hurry. So my dad quickly put on a white marshmallow looking suit, and then he along with the gang of doctors and nurses (and maybe some other random people on the fifth floor of the UVRMC) quickly whisked my mom down the hall (past some crying grandmothers - love you Abby and Nana) to the operating room.

After that, things got a little fuzzy (or maybe a little blue as my dad and the nurses later described me). The fast acting doctors quickly (by means of something called an emergency "C-Section" - not an A or a B - Section, but a C-section) brought me into the light. The nice respiratory folks that came over from the NICU helped me get my breathing figured out, and then I was able to finally see Mom face to face (see the picture below).



Now after all of that, I am doing great and resting well (in spite of, or perhaps helped by, the many ominous prayers of my five year-old brother Jacob - he keeps saying in his prayers this week to ..."please bless that the baby doesn't die")! Here is a picture of our newly enlarged family together: