Henry's Birth Story

We are finally at home and I am finally have a minute to sit down and write out Henry's birth story so you all get the scoop.

It all started the weekend before his due date. I was having lots of cramping and some contractions around the clock. When the time came for my appointment on Thursday I was having contractions 10 min apart. When the doctor checked me I was 4 cm and 90% effaced at 2:30 in the afternoon. The doctor told us to go walk around and call him when the contractions were 5 min apart. So Daniel and I went to this pretty outdoor shopping center near the hospital and he had lunch and I had a snack expecting not to get to eat for a while after that. We called our parents to tell them this was it and they were so excited. My parents found a flight and were so excited that they locked themselves out of the house! Thankfully they had already gotten all of their things in the car and just asked someone who had a spare key to their house to leave it at the church for them when they got back.

Daniel and I sat outside at the shopping area as long as we could and called the doctor at 6:00 when the contractions were 4 min apart. He told us to go to the hospital and he would be right behind us. He got to the hospital at about 6:30 and broke my water. Not long after that the contractions started coming about 1 min apart and they were strong! He was so long that the contractions were keeping me from being able to breath in. I had all I could take and asked for an epidural. It was very painful (he had to do it twice) but well worth it. There is no way I could have done it without it. My advice to any pregnant moms, relax as much as you can while getting the epidural and it will be much less painful. I tensed up and caused the catheter not to go in. I wouldn't recommend it. But, after the epidural, oh my gosh, it was amazing! I could barely feeling the contractions. It was great.

At that point we just waited and at 2:00 am I started pushing. I pushed for about 45 min and then he was here! We could not believe how big he was. We had no idea. Everyone kept asking if I had a C-Section and could not believe it when I said no. But, I have to say it really wasn't that bad and my recovery has been really quick. I am sure the fact that a lot of his weight is length really helped.

Things went really well after that until Henry got jaundice. His bilirubin level was really high at 16 (single digits is normal). So they asked us to start supplementing him with formula and pumping after he ate. Basically giving him as much food as we could. He also had to wear a photo blanket that made him look like a glow worm. This was really hard for me. We were so ready to go home and I really didn't want to supplement but it was the fastest way to get his level down. After feeding over night and laying on the blanket his level had not gone down enough so he had to be put under special lights and lay on a light too. He was admitted to the pediatric unit, but thankfully we were able to stay with him. It was so hard to only be able to hold him when he was feeding. Finally his level came down and we were able to take him home on Monday.

It has been so surreal to have him home. Some times I just look at him and think "I can't believe I am your mom". In so many ways it still doesn't seem real. We are having so much fun and I can't believe how good of a baby he is. He is so sweet and sleeps and eats so well.

We love him so much and can't wait to see his little personality come out. We are just praising the Lord for our precious little boy!