Sydney Valentine Corell
Sydney Valentine Corell took her first breath around 12:31pm,
December 9th, 2004.
Born to Wendy Catherine White and Robert Kennedy Corell, she weighed 7 pounds,
9 ounces and measured about 20 inches.
How did labor and delivery go?
(Rob) Very, very fast. Three and a half hours by the time we got to the
birth center at 9am. For most of it, the midwife and I watched it happen while
Wen turned into Earth Yoga Mother Goddess and calmly breathed up to transition
and then ferally moaned on into delivery.
She did tear, and required a few stitches, but is healing nicely. We were home
by 8pm with our brand new daughter.
I am related to you and must know much more. Could you relate every gory
detail, no matter how miniscule or inappropriate?
(Rob) Sure. Late Wednesday, December 8th, I came home around 10:30,
after a late night of climbing at the gym. Wen met me as I pulled into the
garage and told me she had what she thought was "bloody show" (an imprecise
indicator of oncoming labor). Since she wasn't "due" till the 17th, nine days
away, and I had heard that first-time mothers are usually a week or so late, I
dismissed this portent as unimportant. I put her to bed, tossed down a drink,
and played Xbox games until late.
As I'm coming to bed at around 2:30am (I live on California time), Wen wakes up
from contractions that feel "different" from the usual gazillion contractions
she's had. About an hour and a half later, she's sure. I took an unwanted
picture of her, and in under 30 minutes, her water broke, drenching the bed in
a little Lake Wendy.
Our midwives had told us to contact them when the contractions were n minutes
apart and lasted for m minutes, where n and m are some
numbers we didn't remember. Luckily, they also had a stronger recommendation:
call them when Wen was unable to talk through a contraction.
She was handling the contractions too well, so we decided to time them. After
three contractions of 60-90 seconds with a pause of 60-90 seconds, I chucked
the pad of paper and called the birth center.
We arrived around 9am, just ahead of the other two births that day, so we got
the room we wanted (the "Country Room", decorated like a West Texas B&B).
Everything happened blindingly fast. Within three and a half hours, little Six
had poked her head out...between contractions. Due to her huge epicanthic
folds, chubby head and ashen complexion, she looked like a black Akebono for
few seconds. Our wonderful midwife, Sandra, suctioned Syx's mouth and our
little baby pinked right up. She casually glanced about as I frantically tried
to explain to Wendy that she had a human head sticking out of her.
The next contraction got Syx's shoulders out, and then Wen pulled the rest of
her out and onto her chest. I don't remember this next part very well--I was
exhausted, delirious, and drizzling our newborn with tears--but I cut the cord
and then Wen started losing a lot of blood. The midwives, assistants, and the
overseeing nurse practioner swarmed Wendy, giving her shots, manually sealing
her uterus (ouch!), getting an IV in, and--allegedly--delivering the placenta,
although Wen and I never saw it.
Eventually, things got under control. They cleaned the place right up and we
were left safe and sound to love on our beautiful new baby.
How is Wendy doing?
(Rob) She's doing fine, recovering well. She's confined to our upstairs
bedroom for a week, but it's hard to imagine her spirits being much higher.
Why "Sydney Valentine Corell" instead of any other name?
(Rob) We don't know.
Well, the "Corell" part, although contentious, can't be that much of a
surprise. But because of it, we made a deal: I got the last name and Wen could
pick the other two. We both love names that have male nicknames (i.e. "Syd"),
we both loved our time in Sydney for the new millenium, and we both loved the
name "Sydney". So there's the first name.
Since we conceived Sydney via IVF, we have a picture
of her as an embryo. There were two implanted, one with six cells, the
other, nine. We thought the 6-cell one looked better (and it did, indeed, get a
higher grade from our embryologist), so we called our little unborn baby "Six".
I wanted to use this as her middle name, but Wen didn't like the alliteration.
We both enjoyed the sound of "Valentine" as a second name. It seemed feminine,
yet strong to us (no doubt influenced by the character of Ender's sister in Ender's
Game).
We thought we would have time to explore our other thoughts for her name.
"Emily Six" was in the running, in no small part because I like the concept of
having a monogram with a number in it ("S6C" looks cool, admit it). Also, I
think she actually looks like an "Elizabeth" for no apparent reason. But
everything happened so fast that we first really discussed it after the nurse
tried to fill out the birth certificate. And so, we went with our long-standing
first choice of "Valentine".
A good friend of ours, Dudley Fox, referred to her as "Syx" in a congratulatory
email, and I really liked it. It's like a stepping stone from "Six" to
"Sydney". I think of her as Syx now.
Wen in labor at 4am, literally minutes before her water broke.
Our first and second family photos. I like to think that Syx knew she was
supposed to look at the camera, instead of her just being ticked off at the
flash.
Syx's first meal: colostrum.
Wen and Syx.
Syx having her pulse checked.
Syx packed up for home. The blanket was knitted by my Rob's grandmother (his
mom's mom) on her deathbed; though she died years ago, I guess she knew Syx was
going to be a girl.
Not flattering, but I think this picture tells a story,
Wen and Syx, 32 hours after birth.
I figure she won't outgrow this ruler.
