Our little one arrived on Wednesday, January 12th at 8:43pm. As planned, we had him right here in our home "au naturale" and it was a wonderful thing! Welcome Gideon Robert, weighing in at 7 lbs. 3 oz.; 20.25 in. long.
Our new addition only a few hours old
Caleb is totally enamored with his baby brother at this point. He seeks Gideon out and constantly points saying "baby, baby." He gently (good thing we worked on "gentle touch") touches Gideon's head and voluntarily gives him kisses. I'm guessing this brotherly love won't last forever but it's super-cute right now.
So far, so good with being a mom of two. Matt had two weeks worth of paternity leave so I had the chance to ease into being the one fully responsible for both babies (phew!).
Anywho, our birth story goes something like this:
8:15am -I'm giving Caleb breakfast when I feel leakage and realize that my water has broken. Luckily Matt has not yet left for work so we debate as to whether or not he should go or stay since I haven't had any contractions yet.
9:30am-I call the midwife and let her know that my water has broken but that I have not yet gone into labor. I tell her I have a chiropractor appointment at 11:30am and ask if I should keep it. She says I should and that I should request the chiropractor do something that might jump start labor if possible. Midwife also recommends acupuncture to get things moving along (for those unfamiliar with baby-birthing, the longer one goes with ruptured membranes and no labor, the higher the chance of infection). At this point, it's decided that Matt should definitely stay home since I'm hoping to be in labor before too long.
10:30am-I call the midwife again to let her know that amniotic fluid now has a pinkish tinge and I've passed some blood. She lets me know that this most likely means I'm having contractions. I tell her if I can have painless contractions, I'll take them.
11:00am- I call my parents who live two hours away and let them know my water has broken and I have started to contract some. I ask them to come to keep an eye on Caleb while the big event unfolds.
11:30am-Arrive at chiropractor and begin to feel some mild contractions. Matt and Caleb are accompanying me of course and Caleb is very unhappy! Turns out the poor kid needed a diaper change very badly (if you get my drift) and we hadn't smelled it to realize this sooner. He has a pretty red bottom and screams at the top of his lungs as we try to quickly change him on the chiropractor's roller table. Thankfully he's much happier after the diaper change. Phew! The chiropractor tells me there's no "magic button" for her to encourage labor. She adjusts me, we head out.
1:00pm- Arrive at the acupuncturist's apartment (she has two small children and no childcare so we can't meet at her office). She puts needles in me (no, it doesn't really hurt...well, a little bit of pain as the needles first went in, but nothing after that). I continue to have mild contractions. She finishes up and contractions begin to intensify some. Here's where the day almost falls apart. We go to leave and realize we can't find the car keys. Figuring they're locked in the car (after checking pockets, diaper bag, etc), Matt calls the lockout service. We're forced to knock on the acupuncturist's door and beg to come back inside (it's cold outside, there's snow on the ground, I'm in labor, and Caleb probably could turn into an icicle if we stay outside). She gracefully lets us back in and we sit and chat with her as we begin our wait of "50 minutes or less." I'm completely embarrassed and feeling even more so realizing that Caleb has yet to have lunch and I may actually need this woman to feed my child. I hope that Caleb forgets he's hungry. I head to the bathroom about 15 minutes later and as I exit, Matt presents to me his car keys which turn out to be in the front compartment of the diaper bag. I guess I didn't check that thoroughly after all (cut me some slack, I'm in labor here!).
2:30pm-Arrive back at home, Caleb eats and takes a nap. I eat some lunch and decide what things need to be done around the house.
3:00pm- My parents arrive. Yay! They made it in time (feared they may not having to travel so far) and yay again that this is happening during the day and not in the middle of the night! I make a coffee cake. Contractions are definitely coming stronger and closer together.
3:30pm- I do some vacuuming and swiffering and Matt and I sort some laundry. Contractions are strong enough at this point that I'm having to stop what I'm doing to focus solely on them.
4:30pm- I talk my mom into cleaning the bathroom for me (score!) and I spend some time with Caleb. I chat with my dad and disappear into the kitchen to deal with contractions. Matt assists with hip squeezes (they really do work! woohoo for counter-pressure). I breathe through the contractions and wonder aloud if this baby will be coming tonight or if he'll wait until after midnight. Matt and I vote that it won't be until the following day, my mom and dad disagree and tell us they believe the baby will be here before midnight for sure.
6:00pm- Contractions are getting to the point where I can no longer disguise the pain and I decide Matt and I should probably head upstairs so that I'm not putting on a show for my parents.
6:30pm- Contractions are intense, lasting at least a minute, and seem as if they're on top of one another. Matt tells me that if this pattern continues, he'll call the midwife in an hour. The rule of thumb is to wait for "4-1-1." This means contractions are happening at least every 4 minutes, lasting at least 1 minute, and that the pattern has been like this for 1 hour. My first labor didn't follow the book and this one doesn't either. Both times my contractions were pretty sporadic and seemed to intensify much more quickly than any book claims. When in labor with Caleb, Matt relied on my emotions to know when it was time to head to the hospital. This time, Matt attempts to do the same but doesn't factor in that this time, it's not just us experiencing this together. This time, my toddler and my parents are present, so I'm not exactly as free with my emotions as I had been the first time around.
7:00pm- I begin to ask Matt repeatedly if we should go ahead and call the midwife. He tells me he plans to wait until 7:30. Hip squeezes no longer ease the pain of the contractions.
7:20pm- I tell Matt that he needs to call the midwife NOW! He does so. She informs him that she is leaving a home visit and that she should arrive "soon." The birth assistant shouldn't be far behind her.
8:00pm- I ask Matt to call the midwife again and get an ETA. I'm feeling "pushy!" She assures Matt that she is on the highway near our exit and that she should arrive in 6-8 minutes. I sit down on the bed and breathe through contractions. The counter-pressure from the bed helps me not to push.
8:15pm- The midwife arrives, my parents send her upstairs. Matt heads down to bring in the midwife's large case of supplies.
8:20pm- My temperature is taken, baby is listened to (heartbeat sounds great), midwife checks me. She says, "you've done some good work, you're 9 and half to 10 cm!". I ask if I can begin pushing and she gives me the go-ahead. She rushes around the bedroom and asks me to give her a "little time to set up." I attempt to push while on my hands and knees. About two tries of that with no result. I exclaim, "I have no pushing power!" and in my head fear that maybe I'm not strong enough this time around to push out a baby (I knew I should have done more kegels).
8:30pm- The midwife suggests I squat at the foot of my bed and hold on to the footboard. I do so. THIS is pushing power! I push once and feel my little guy move very far down, I push again and know that he's coming out. The midwife (still not completely set up) comes over, requests that I breathe through this instead of pushing and actually pushes the baby back up inside me. I attempt to breathe through the next contraction but I'm not able to, my body takes over. I yell, "I can't breathe through this, he's coming out!".
8:43pm- Baby boy arrives (more like skyrockets out of my body). Matt catches him with one hand as does the midwife (catches him with her one gloved hand since she didn't have time to put on the other glove). He's bright red and screaming loudly! He's immediately placed on my chest and we begin to bond.
8:50pm- Birth assistant arrives. Better late than never I suppose. Baby begins to nurse.
9:10pm- I deliver the placenta (SO much easier than delivering a baby) and I'm stitched up (only a first degree tear).
10:00pm- The midwife and birth assistant head downstairs to give Matt and me time to bond with our new baby.
10:45pm- I invite my parents up to come meet their new grandson.
11:00pm- The baby is weighed and measured. We finally officially name him. Midwife and birth assistant provides me with a bunch of info. about how to take care of myself and baby.
Midnight: Midwife does her last check on baby and me and she and the birth assistant leave. How nice to not be in a hospital and to curl up in my own bed with my baby and hubby.
