Hayden Alexander Hellsten was delivered at Baptist West Hospital by Dr Emily Evitt on Monday August 31. He weighed 8lb 15oz (4.1kg) and was 22.5" (57cm) long.
Although he wasn't officially due until today, I had an induction because he and I were both more than ready. After we arrived at Baptist at 6am, everything went smoothly, and I progressed very quickly. His heartbeat was great, and he never showed any distress, but eventually it was time to push. The pushing phase went on for about 2.5 hours. Unfortunately, his head was 15.5" (39cm) or a whole two inches (5cm) larger than the average head circumference at birth. His poor little head was squished into a cone, but it just wasn't going to fit through the birth canal. We went in for a Cesarean section, and little Hayden was born at exactly 6pm. He is just so precious, and I am filled with love for him and Marcus who is such an amazing husband and father.
We have been doing a sort of video journal since Marcus gave me an HD video camera for my upcoming birthday, but trying to take care of a newborn and recover from surgery has me beat so I haven't had much time for photos yet. Happily, my friend and fellow photographer Erin Browne came by the hospital to snap some pictures of Hayden, and I am so thankful that she was there to get those first photos for us. Even with the best intentions to take lots of pictures, having a newborn is overwhelming. I highly recommend arranging in advance to have someone come and do newborn photos at some point in the first week. Everything is just so chaotic, and it is impossible to have any sort of schedule. Trust me, if you don't arrange it in advance then it is just too easy to let time slip by, and you don't want to miss out on getting those very important photos when they are at their smallest.
Here are a few photographs of chubby baby Hayden that Erin took for us.
This photo below shows the security alarm that the hospital uses to keep the babies safe.
ETA: Olga, our day nurse at the hospital, took a few photos as well. You can find them on the hospital's site if you list babies born on August 31, click on my name, and then "view full detail".