TSN
Sportsmail - April 18, 1998
TSN
Sportsmail - April 18, 1998 
od
Brind'Amour, Flyers left winger and Canadian Olympic hockey team
member, and wife Kelle recently had their first child.
Rod Brind'Amour and his wife, Kelle, elebrated the birth of their first child on January 18 at 9:51 p.m. But before Briley came into the world, the Brind'Amours had to plan out when and where her father would be at the time of the delivery and whether or not he would end his iron-man streak of 366 games, the second-longest active streak in the NHL. Rod and Kelle talk to TSN correspondent Chuck Gormley about all that went into the birth process.
Rod: I was supposed to go the Olympic meetings in Vancouver during the All-Star break, but Kelle was already four days late, so I decided to stay home. It's a good thing. That Sunday morning she said she felt strange, but I didn't think much of it, and I went to see a friend of mine. When I came home, she said her contractions were two minutes apart.
Kelle: We had decided that if I went into labor on a night he had a home game, he could play one shift, come out of the game and drive me to the hospital. But we didn't have to worry about that since the team was off.
Rod: That really didn't matter to me. A game is a game. Life is a whole different thing. When there's something important that involves your family, it's really no decision. I'd let the streak end.
Kelle: We got to the hospital around 8 o'clock that night and we were only there a few minutes when they told us the baby's heart rate declined every time I had a contraction. They decided I'd need an emergency C-section.
Rod: Everything happened so fast. I had to quick get changed in the operating room. I was trying to get film in the camera. I didn't know what I was doing. I had to give the camera to one of the nurses.
Kelle: I told Rod that if anything happened to me, I wanted him to spend the first 20 minutes bonding with her. When I woke up, I asked the nurses what happened, and they told me Rod held her real close to him and looked right at her, talking to her.
Rod: She was 5 pounds, 14 ounces, and I remember just staring at her and thinking how it really is a miracle. You take the classes and you read all the books. You think you're ready. But when it finally happens . . . you can't even describe the feeling. Kelle really wanted a girl. I had a name picked out, but after I saw what happened (in the delivery room) I told her she could have anything she wants. It was incredible. When we got home from the hospital you wouldn't believe the gifts we got from fans. I was amazed at how generous people were. Clothes, toys, everything. And there were personal things, too. Sweaters that people hand-knit. I'll never forget that.
Kelle: Rod's really a good father. He's been awesome. He helps out with the housework. When I haven't gotten much sleep, he'll take her out for a couple hours so I can rest.
Rod: The hard part is going on the road and missing her grow. When I came home from Japan after the Olympics, I couldn't believe how much she'd changed. It still amazes me how much babies grow in the first few months.
Kelle: He though somebody switched babies with us.
Rod: Right now, there's not a whole lot of quality time to enjoy us as a family. But in the summer we'll be able to relax a little and enjoy it.