Our projected due date for Louise was Friday, July 11, 2025, but on Tuesday the 8th beginning at 3:50AM, Haocheng beginning feeling contractions.
Since our goal was to minimize unnecessary time in the hospital before and after birth, we waited until our doula, Pam Sauls, was able to arrive at the house, so that we could make a better determination of when to go to the hospital.
Pam parked her vehicle at 3:24:54PM.
The rest of the story unfolds below...
3:34:30PM. Pam starts assisting Haocheng to the vehicle to drive to the hospital.
Half way to the vehicle, Pam advises us to turn around and go back inside because she believes we will not make it to the hospital before Louise is born.
Pam is correct. Louise is born at 3:37PM in the living room.
We drive to the hospital, and are met at the ER entrance.
By not wimping out and calling 911, we saved thousands of dollars Clark Howard style.
Labor and Delivery room
Louise Jane
The 2-way radios ended up being a very practical solution for efficient communication throughout the hospital. For the ham radio folks, we used VHF Motorola XTS5000 Model III's on P25 in the 2m amateur band. Low Power (2 watts) worked well throughout Labor and Delivery, but we probably should have used high power (5 watts) when talking from the underground parking deck to prevent dropouts.
All of the fun features are on digital, but I am still a big fan of old school analog FM, my (F)avorite (M)ode.
Our nurse giving us our discharge papers. We were happy to be in the hospital for just under 24 hours. It was great to quickly return home.
Home
It's tradition for the dogs to sniff on the baby immediately after returning with a newborn. It's important. Full immersion.
Carol Ann meeting her new sister
Carol Ann with the bunnies