Zooza, Zozza, Zizza.....ZAK!

As you all know, Zak Patrick Stacy came into this world at 8 lbs and 3 oz. Unfortunately for us, we forgot to take the camera into the delivery room so I will do my best to bring you as close to the action as possible. I know that Courtney usually does these posts but she has been suffering from what they call the baby "blues" so I have been basically raising this family, and doing everything all week. Sorry that this post is so late but surely all of you mother's out there understand what I go through to raise this family: Saturday, September 22nd. 11:30 a.m. Courtney's contractions get so bad that she begs me to take her in. I tell her I need to mow the lawn first. As all you ladies know, you want a clean nest when you bring home the new one, and a lawn is no different.

Saturday, September 22nd. 1:00 p.m. With the lawn mowed, I finally determine that Courtney's pain, while tolerable for the average male, is hindering her ability to function so I take her in to the birthing center. THE LAWN:

Saturday, September 22nd. 1:30 p.m. After a quick check to see if they should admit Courtney, the nurse determines that she is dilated to a 6, and they admit her right away. This room was really cramped and there was actually only one chair in the check-in room so I only had this view:

Saturday, September 22nd. 3:00 p.m. The doctor comes in to disrupt the college football game that I am watching to check Courtney once again. Since I am off to the side, I don't have the previous "bird's eye view" but can still see that Courtney's water has broke.

Saturday, September 22nd. 4:45 p.m. The doctor comes in due to some irregularities in the baby's heart rate. After checking once again, she finds that the baby's head is pressing against the umbilical cord. I quickly speak up and say, "That means she has a pro-lapsed cord, let's call a Code Purple". The doctor agrees and half a dozen people rush into the delivery room to unhook Courtney for her ride down to the operating room. In fact, the doctor was so concerned about the cord getting pinched that she rode the bed down to the O.R., keeping the baby's head off of the cord the whole way down. The doctor quickly described what was going on and this was all I could think of to give you an idea of what the baby was going through:

Saturday, September 22nd. 5:05 p.m. It was tough to see Courtney in so much pain as they sliced her open and attempted to subdue the pain at the same time. If you have ever seen the closing scene in Braveheart, when Mel Gibson is on the "rack", then you know what sort of pain she must have been going through.

Saturday, September 22nd. 5:10 p.m. With 11 people in the O.R. with various duties all eyes were fixed on the surgeons as they announced that the baby was finally free, just 12 minutes after unhooking Courtney from the delivery room. With a baby crying in the background, the doctor exclaimed, "You have a red-head!" WTF? I quickly remember that Courtney's dad has reddish hair so I am put at ease (Remember, my best friend has red-hair). Anyways, that is how Zak came into the world. He even has a scalpel mark on his temple to remind us of how hurried the doctors were to get him out. Hopefully, we will be able to use some other people's photos for our next post but until then, I hope this will do.