Coaching for Pizza: Tank Ranger is Born

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Tank Ranger is Born

After months of anticipation, on Tuesday night at 10:45 p.m. in North Las Vegas, Nevada, Jenn Contreras' water broke!

We got the call about five minutes later, packed the car and were on our way to Sin City to officially become grandparents!

First, though we had to fill the car up with gas and get two large coffees and two larger doughnuts to keep us awake for the midnight run to Vegas.

While Laurie was buying the provisions, a young man named Luke walked into Foster's Donuts and asked her why she was buying two large coffees at this time of night. Not afraid to talk, Laurie explained our family's history back to when Jorge and Chuny left Havana in 1946! Luke was so impressed that he paid for the coffee and doughnuts for her and wished us a safe trip.

It was now 11:45 p.m. and we were finally on our way, "Good Times Indeed!"

Deliver Room 3, please

While all of this was going on, Andy was driving Jenn to this nearby hospital to check her in at about 11:30 p.m. to deliver our first grandchild.

Traffic was light and we were able to keep in contact with Andy as we drove. No problem really as this was Jenn's first child so we were sure that we would be there in plenty of time for Tank Ranger's arrival.

WRONG!

In keeping with their Star Wars Jedi ways, Jenn was hurtling at hyper-speed through labor. She delivered Tank Ranger Contreras, a.k.a., Kevin Gardner Contreras at 4:15 a.m. on Tuesday, August 3, 2011. Her entire labor lasted all of 5 1/2 hours . . . WOW!!!

At the MGM Grand's Sports Book on the Las Vegas Strip they have posted an over/under number of 27 1/2 minutes on Jenn's next chidbirth labor experience.

I put $500 on the under.

We pulled into Las Vegas at 4:40 a.m. where the temperature read 92˚F/33.3˚C . . . heat is Hell on fat people!

A happy Laurie and a tired Andy

We finally arrived excitedly at the hospital at 5:00 a.m.

Behind this wall is our grandson

His Birth Stats

Why 20 inches? Why not, 1 foot-8 inches tall?

7 lbs.-7 ounces is a good birth weight.

For my Euro friends, Tank Ranger was 50.8 cm and 3.37 kg.

Kevin Gardner Contreras

Let's get this straight, that is his name on the birth certificate. I just like Tank Ranger better, so it's his nickname.

A Grandmother in Awe

Maybe that's ahhhh . . .

The newest Contreras Family Portrait

Only about one hour after Tank's birth.

I love the nurse's wrap job

Kind of like being on a cruise ship.

We finally went to Andy, Jenn and Tank's home at about 8:00 a.m. to take a much needed nap.

When we returned to the hospital at about 1:00 p.m. it was a balmy 110˚F/43.3˚C!

It was a dry heat.

Fatherhood is affecting Andy's mind already

It was amazing to learn that a "Lo-Jack" type system had been attached to Tank's umbilical cord. If anybody tried to take him out of the ward, alarms would sound and the entire hospital would go on lock-down -- amazing.

It was even more amazing to receive congratulations via Facebook, texts and e-mails from friends in Italy, Sweden, Denmark, Mexico, Japan, France and Spain as well as from all over the USA.