I should have included this in the previous post about Gwen's delivery, but somehow I forgot to mention it.
As the baby's head descended, the doctor saw that the umbilical cord was wrapped twice around her neck. She quickly cut it in two places, unwound it, and then coaxed the rest of the baby's body out.
The doctor, the med student and the nurse were all surprised. The nurse asserted several times that she hadn't seen any signs of distress at all on the baby's monitor. Even the next day when the doctor came into my hospital room to check up on me, she again expressed surprise at the placement of the cord and the apparent lack of damage it caused.
She said that because she hadn't broken my water until about two minutes before I started pushing, the sack was holding the baby up and alleviating any pressure the cord would have created around her neck.
I'm grateful my water didn't break on its own. I'm grateful the doctor finished her business at the office before coming into the hospital to tend to me. I'm grateful she didn't break my water until the last minute.
I'm grateful for little miracles.