Baby Does Make Three... Catching up!

Ok, ok, ok... I should start with a mea culpa: I promised to keep up with this blog, and I obviously have very much slacked in doing so, BUT - I have a good excuse!

Somebody has been keeping me very busy.

As you all know by now, Charlie joined us on January 6, in the wee hours of the morning (12:58 AM). This is my official blog announcement. Yes, almost 5 months late. Oops! Forgive me? I have a lot to make up for here, now that Charlie is almost 5 months old, so I might as well start at the beginning.

Our Birth Story

I was recently asked by Joe's Uncle Bob if I really carried through on my birth plan of all natural, drug-free, labor and delivery. I am happy and proud to report that I did! I believe the next question was, knowing what I know now, would I do it again? My answer, of course is emphatically yes! I am hoping to even do it at home next time. 

It was an arduous two-day-long labor, with a three-to-four hour pushing phase that brought Charlie into the world. I woke up to fairly steady contractions on January 4, (Charlie's due date), around 2 AM, thinking, "This can't be it - no one actually goes into labor on their due date, right??" How wrong I was about that! Sometimes, people do in fact go into labor on their due date. Sometimes, people also stay in labor for the next two days! I should modify that statement, lest anyone be frightened off of pursuing natural (normal) birth by explaining that my body DID give me a break midway through, when the contractions slowed/stopped for a few hours and I was even able to sleep. I wasn't in active labor for that entire time, most of it was the prodomal phase, or first stage/early labor. Sort of like a warm up followed by a rest before the big event, (though I did even manage to sleep in between contractions during active labor in the birthing tub at the birth center - crazy, right?). My personal prodomal phase just happened to be longer than some.

Most of my early labor was spent at home, hanging out on the birth ball, eating, drinking fluids and resting up. Around midnight on the 5th, things picked up again and I continued to labor at home. I called my midwife, Jessica, around 3 AM when it seemed things were picking up, and she urged me to come in to be checked in a few hours and to call again if anything changed. I headed in to get checked around 11 AM on the 5th. I was at 4 centimeters by then, and things were progressing normally. Jessica advised that I should go walk around and see if things picked up more, so off we went. We ended up stopping for lunch, and I am sure it was quite a vision for the other restaurant patrons when I waddled in and sat down, gripping the table with contractions. After we ate, I decided I would rather go home than be in labor in public, (it was just a little much for me), but once we got on the highway it quickly occurred to me that I didn't think I could handle heading all the way back home. Fort Lee was 45 minutes away. After a brief stop in a parking lot where I called my doula and debated what to do, I decided to head back toward the birth center. My body was telling me it was time to head to the place where I would give birth, so that is exactly what we did.

In that time (about an hour and a half or so), I had progressed to 6 centimeters, and we were admitted to the birth center. Active labor overtook me, and I went into what some call "labor land" - which means that a lot of the events that followed have all become a blur to me. It's pretty funny, hearing how things went from there according to Joe and my Mom are totally different from what I can recall. They include a lot that I was not aware of/do not even remember! I can say this though: late stages of labor vs. the early stuff are *quite* different, and birthing tubs are wonderful inventions!

After a prolonged pushing phase, Charlie joined us rather dramatically in one or two big pushes. He might have been born sooner, but his head was slightly tilted to the side and he had to straighten out a bit first. There was a scare upon his arrival, as he had aspirated meconium on the way out. I will always be grateful to my providers for their competence and quick action. He was suctioned and cleared very quickly and then placed in my arms to bond and nurse. He was perfect! Nursed like a champ, APGAR of 9, ten very long fingers (like his Mama!), ten tiny (adorable) toes, and a LOT of hair. He weighed in at 7 lbs, 10 oz, 19 inches long, and looked like a carbon copy of his Dad.  4 or 5 hours later, Joe, my mom, me and Charlie all packed up and got into the car to go home.

Finally here.

Bundled up and ready to go!

The human body is an amazing thing, and even more incredible is the human mind. All of my preparation for labor helped me to persevere, and the knowledge that my body was designed to give birth, (and to do so naturally I might add), helped me get through even the most difficult parts. Were there moments in labor that I questioned my sanity? Absolutely. Was it all worth it? More than I could ever put into words. Labor wasn't suffering, even though yes, it was painful. Maybe intense is a better word for it, though. And no, it is nothing like what you see on TV or in the movies. When I think about labor, it isn't pain that I tend to think about, but rather the intensity of it all, and of course, the incredible result. I wasn't sick, or hurt, or wounded. Labor was simply a natural process that I had to go through to bring my baby into my arms.

I must give credit where credit is due, however, because I certainly didn't do it alone. I was also blessed to have an incredible team of supportive people at my side. Joe was an amazing labor coach. He was patient, kind, loving and gently coaxed me through each contraction. He hardly left my side the entire time. My mother was also incredible, wonderfully supportive, and there through it all to hold my hand and lend encouragement. I couldn't have done it without them. Additionally, I had a certified nurse-midwife, Jessica Jordan; my M.D., Dr. Jeanette Carpenter; my doula, Ashley Larsen; a nurse, and an intern all helping me through. I was their only patient all evening. Complete Care Birth Center is where it's at. I am so grateful to have not had to deliver in a hospital for a number of reasons - primarily though, I would never received such a high standard of individualized care. Having all of those qualified providers, who view normal birth as a natural process, all there for just me, should be the rule rather than the exception. I wish every city could have a free standing birth center for women who want a natural birth experience but aren't quite comfortable giving birth at home (believe me, there are rapidly growing numbers of us who aren't interested in the hospital/medical model of technological/high intervention birth).

So much time has passed since we first brought home our tiny, sweet (occasionally terrifying!) bundle, but it feels like he was born just yesterday. I blinked and time flew right on by me. There is so much to catch up on - which I will try my best to fit it in here in the next few posts that I will put up, hopefully today and this weekend. I am thinking of it as sort of a back log of our first 5 months.

Thanks for your patience!