5 – The number of days we were overdue, on the day that we went in for the induction.

3:00 AM – The time we needed to get up to be sure to be at the hospital on time.

5:00 AM – Our check-in time for the induction.

32° F – The temperature at which water freezes… in order to create the freezing rain that was forecast for the early hours of that very morning. Yikes.

Zero – The number of problems we had getting to the hospital. Thanks, Lord.

323 & 415 – Our room numbers in the LVH Center for Mother & Baby Care, where the delivery and recovery took place, respectively.

4 – The number of attempts to introduce an IV into Anna’s arm before someone finally succeeded. Ouch.

6 – The number of delicious snow cones our awesome Labor Nurse brought for Anna. (I had some too, but don’t tell.)

4 cm – The cervical dilation at which Anna seemed to stay for a looooooong time.

2:39 PM – The time at which the doctor said: “Okay Anna, time to push.”

2:41 PM – The time when Coltrane Parker Routly entered the world.

2:41:01 PM – The time when I was allowed to start crying, and did.

Zip – The amount of pain Anna felt during those two minutes. That was one effective epidural.

~8 hours – The approximate amount of time after Cole’s birth before Anna had enough feeling in her legs to stand under her own power.

7 lbs 7 oz – Cole’s birth weight.

20 ½“ – Cole’s birth length.

10/10 – Cole’s APGAR score. That’s my boy!

1/19 – Cole’s birthday.

1/20 – Cole’s mother’s birthday.

1/21 – Cole’s grandmother’s birthday.

~25 – The approximate number of times Anna or I have accidentally referred to Cole as “Tuck/Tucker” so far.

Zilch – The exact number of times Tucker has accidentally referred to Cole as “Tuck/Tucker” so far.

6″ – The depth of new snowfall covering our van and the ground around it on the day we were discharged, that needed to be scraped away with an old cardboard box because I forgot the ice scraper/broom. Also forgotten: my gloves. Oops.

3 hours, 8 minutes – The amount of time between my final mid-contractions Facebook/Twitter update, and the one announcing Cole’s birth. Sorry, we had some calls to make.

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(With apologies and thanks to my friend Trevor for this fun way to record the story of Coltrane’s birth!)