We're A Family of Four!!

Jacob Rheault Hazel and Molly Rheault Hazel arrived on June 26, 2007 at 8:55pm. Kate and the kids are all doing well. I'll post photos tomorrow - I'm just home to catch a few winks and I left the camera with Kate at the hospital.

We went into the hospital at 4am after Kate's contractions got strong and regular. Her cervix dilated slowly throughout the day and we thought we were on the verge of a vaginal delivery, but the last centimeter proved to be a stubborn one, so ultimately we switched to c-section.

Molly came out first and weighed in at 5lb 6 oz and appears very healthy. When stuck with needles or otherwise provoked, she manages to turn bright red and express her outrage. She has two club feet, which we've known about since early in the pregnancy. We'll begin treatment in the coming weeks and and expect that she'll be "corrected" before she would be walking anyway. Mia Hamm and Troy Aikman are amongst the famous athletes who had this birth defect.

Jacob weighed 4lb 3oz, considerably less than his sister and less than the ultrasounds had predicted. He's actually longer than Molly, but he's all skinny limbs. They're keeping a closer eye on him because he is smaller, but he doesn't seem to have any problems at all.

Both kids are in cozy incubators, recovering from their tumultuous journeys.

Kate managed the long day really well. The epidural kept her discomfort to a minimum during the labour process. She is now recovering from the c-section and is feeling pretty groggy. She was a complete trooper all day and handled everything with remarkable good cheer and courage.

I feel like one of those inarticulate Stanley Cup winners who says "It really hasn't sunk in yet. I don't know what to say." I do know that the feeling of sitting by Kate's head, holding her hand and then peering over the curtain to see the two, slimy little guys getting pulled out, and then hearing them scream their plaintive first cries completely blew me away. Reaching into the incubators and holding their grasping hands and stroking their tiny faces is remarkable.

Photos tomorrow. Promise.