Anna's Birth Story

On August 31st, at 7:11pm, we welcomed our sweet Anna Jean into our family. She is currently snuggled up on my chest, nursing happily, and everybody is already completely and totally in love with her! While I have a moment I want to share her birth story, while the details are still fresh :) This was the strangest and most difficult (both mentally and physically!) of all of my labors. Empowering, but in a very different way than my other births have been.

My due date was Tuesday the 29th. I woke up tired from being awake a lot of the night with some cramping. My mom and I had talked about spending the morning at Longwood Gardens, walking around, but it was chilly and pouring rain. I still wanted to get out of the house and do some walking, so we drove out to the mall instead. We met my sister-in-law and nephews there and the kids had fun playing in the play area. We walked around, had lunch, and played some more before heading home and all the while I was having some pretty serious cramping. Nothing that was coming or go, and no tightening, just the cramping. I really felt like the baby would be coming soon, but also wondered if I thought that just because I was so tired and ready to be done being pregnant!

On Wednesday the 30th I had an appointment at the birth center for a checkup. I told my midwife about all of the cramping I'd been having and asked to be checked. She offered to sweep my membranes and I said yes. I really felt like I was in pre-labor and wanted to move things along. I was 3cm, very soft, and she was easily able to do the sweep. I went home from my appointment feeling encouraged. I was going to be holding my baby soon. I could feel it. I had a very strong need for everything in the house to be very clean and in order so I scrubbed bathrooms and the kitchen, vacuumed, did laundry, dusted, and generally just de-cluttered everything. I wasn't feeling any contractions, just some cramping. I was exhausted by the end of the day and my patience with my super hyper children was stretched pretty thin. I went to bed praying for contractions. I needed to be finished with the pregnancy part of this story. And I think my family was about ready too ;)

Around 11:30 I woke up crampy, went to the bathroom, and was surprised by my bloody show. For me, this means labor, but I'm usually already contracting fairly regularly when I see it. I hadn't felt any contractions at this point. I went to lay back down. I felt anxious and my adrenaline was going, but I knew labor was about to get going, if it wasn't really already, and rest would be important. I used some breathing exercises from Hypnobirthing to calm myself down and sleep at least a little. Around 12:30 or so I started having some contractions that required my attention, so I started timing them. They weren't particularly regular, but on average were coming every 10-12 minutes. I chose to stay in bed rather than get up to walk and encourage them to get closer. At one point I was up with Kate, and at another point I was up with Henry. I wasn't going back to sleep when I was in bed, but I was making an effort to relax my body and keep my eyes closed as much as I could. When James' alarm went off for work, a little after 4am, I told him I thought labor was starting and that I needed him to stay home. I also told him to go back to sleep and that I was going to go downstairs to watch tv because I was too anxious to stay in bed. Henry woke up again not long after I went downstairs, but I got him back to sleep and then I ended up falling asleep for a while myself on the couch and my contractions took a bit of a break. When I woke up the sun was starting to come up and I knew the kids would be waking up soon. I waited until I knew my mom was probably awake and texted her to let her know I thought today would be the day, and then went upstairs to wait for the kids. Sam and Kate came in our room at 7 like always and we told them Daddy would be staying home today because we thought the baby might come later. They were excited, but we tried to really stress the MAYBE of the whole situation, since my contractions were still very irregular.

We spent the morning as normally as possible. Breakfast, playing, some cleaning up. My contractions weren't following any sort of pattern. After Henry nursed when he woke up, they got a little closer, maybe 7 or 8 minutes apart for a little while, but then spaced back out to about 15 minutes or so apart. Then some were even further, more like 30 minutes. When I was having contractions they were fairly strong, but they just weren't making any sort of a pattern and I was getting frustrated. We went outside so the kids could run around and so I could walk around. It was more of the same, labor-wise, out there. No rhyme or reason as to when contractions would come, but strong with a lot of pressure when they did.

Kate wanted to walk around the yard with me. She was so sweet to me the whole day :)

What's going on baby? Are we going to meet you today or not?!

The kids ate lunch, I ate some cereal, and we got ready for nap/quiet time. A whole HOUR passed without a single contraction. I was so frustrated, I just felt like crying. I was nursing Henry down for his nap and for a long time I still didn't have a single contraction. And here I had been banking on his nursing bringing them back. Just as he was drifting off to sleep though, an incredibly strong contraction came. I had to quickly unlatch Henry in order to try and maintain some semblance of focus to get through this very strong, very long contraction. Poor guy was so sleepy and so confused. I couldn't even get him his binky to make up for so quickly unlatching him because I couldn't bend down to get it. Once the contraction passed I finished getting Henry to sleep, and then had another contraction after leaving his room. I was still feeling discouraged and upset. I told James I just wanted to take a nap. Thankfully I was able to sleep for about an hour and a half. I had only 2 contractions during that time, but both were very strong. I was starting to feel uneasy. It didn't feel like I was in active labor, but the intensity of my contractions made me feel like my labor was going to eventually take a very sudden turn. I told James how I was feeling and he said he was feeling the same way. I decided to call the birth center and see what the on call midwife had to say. She said, since we don't live too far from the birth center, that it wouldn't hurt to drive by at least for a check. So we started to pack up the car. I kept stressing to the kids that we MIGHT stay at the birth center to have a baby when we got there, but we also might just turn around and go home. I must have told them 50 times that we'd be leaving all of our bags in the car when we got there. At that point I had a string of strong contractions about 12 minutes apart, after they had spaced 20-40 minutes apart for a while, so I felt slightly encouraged, but then I had not a single contraction while packing up the car and driving to the birth center. When we got there I felt certain we'd be turning right around to go home. The kids started playing with the toys there and I went with the on call midwife, Sarah, into the little triage room for a quick check. I reminded her that I had been 3cm the day before, so 4 or 5cm right now wouldn't be much of a big deal. She said if I was a 4 she'd probably send me home since I didn't look to be in active labor at all and hadn't had any contractions spaced closer than 12 minutes in hours. I tried to read her face while she was checking me, but she just looked confused. She didn't say anything for a long time. I said, "So a 4?" She looked at me for a minute and said, "You're not going home." But still didn't say anything else. She was still checking. I asked, "Oh! A 6?" She sat back, "How are you so calm right now? You're a 9. 9cm. Actually more like 9.5. The only thing holding your cervix in place at all is your bag of waters." I was in shock, "Wait. What? But I don't feel like I'm in active labor. 9?" She assured me that that's why she was checking for so long, because she didn't believe it either and wanted to be really sure, "You're definitely almost complete. I could break your water right now and you would be holding your baby very soon. I'm sure of it. In fact we can do that if you want." I said I did, but that we'd need to wait for my mom and dad to get there to have help with the kids. She told me to go ahead and get a hold of my parents and then get settled in the room I'd picked. With my mom and dad on their way, the kids and I hung out in the room while James brought our things in. My contractions started to get slightly closer now, but I wasn't timing them anymore. Just trying to find my focus through my shock. At this point it was a little after 5pm.

Goodbye belly!

"Strong Like Mom" shirts seemed the most appropriate ;)

Once my parents got to the birth center, James got the kids and my dad situated out in the waiting area with toys, snacks, and movies. Sarah and I had been chatting while we waited for everybody. I expressed my concern with water slowing down my contractions even more, and also the fact that my babies have a history of 'sticky' shoulders. She was in agreement and suggested that we just keep the tub empty and plan for a land based birth. I felt most comfortable with that. With my mom and James in the room, Sarah went ahead and broke my water and felt for baby's position. She said baby was most definitely posterior, which would explain my funky labor pattern (or lack thereof). Only a small amount of fluid came out when she broke my water. Clearly baby's position was not ideal at that time. So we put the big ball up on the bed so I could kneel and drape my body over it, in hopes we'd get the baby to turn. It was close to 6pm by now. Leaning over the ball my contractions started coming much closer, and when I suddenly got very sweaty I knew I was in transition. I had a minute or two to gather myself together for what I knew was coming. I was struggling with focus. I'm used to having hours of labor prior to transition to really go inside myself to find a super calm, focused place. My contractions started piggy backing each other and, thankfully, after the first 1 or 2, I found that calm, focused place. Because of baby's position, my contractions were mostly felt in my back and my hips. Leaning over the ball did help a lot, as did James pushing my hips together during a few contractions. After a blur of these contractions I suddenly felt incredibly calm and relaxed, the contractions backed off, I picked my chest up off of the ball and asked Sarah to check me. "Transition is over. I know I'm complete." She checked and told me I was right. I love how in tune with my body I feel when I'm in labor!

This was hanging in my bathroom. Very appropriate for this particular labor!

I had a welcome break at this point. I drank water and we talked about positions to try pushing in to keep encouraging the baby to turn. When I started to feel 'pushy' contractions beginning, probably between 6:30 and 6:40,  I asked to stay on my hands and knees since I was still feeling a lot in my back. I started breathing down through contractions and could feel the baby moving down, but not enough, and still so much pressure and discomfort in my back. I moved to semi reclining now and put a little more power behind each contraction, rather than breathing through. I still felt like baby hadn't turned. We tried a stool to help me squat. This was SO intense. I was starting to feel a little panicky and scared by how intense pushing on the stool felt. I was crying, "I want my baby." in between contractions. Sarah asked me after one if I wanted to move back to the bed because she could tell I'd made a lot of progress. I told her I'd do one more on the stool and then went deep inside myself and gave myself a pep talk. "You CAN do this. You are STRONG. You are CAPABLE." and from that moment on that was my mantra inside my head for each and every contraction. Sometimes just, "You are STRONG." over and over and sometimes the whole string of affirmations. Once I got back up on the bed I felt more productive. I knew the baby had turned while I was on the stool and wasn't posterior anymore. I had thought I had felt it, but once I felt how much more productive I felt pushing back up on the bed, I knew for sure. I asked Sarah to tell me as soon as she could see even a little of the baby's head because I needed to feel it with my hand. Shortly thereafter she told me to feel and once I did and knew how very close my baby was, I prayed for just a little more strength, and told myself I was having this baby right then. James was talking in my ear this whole time, assuring me that I was so close, that I was doing everything exactly how I was supposed to. With the next contraction, baby's head was born and then, with a little extra effort, shoulders, and finally I was pulling my baby onto my chest, "Oh I did it. Oh you're finally out!" Sarah reminded James to take a peek to find out if we had a boy or a girl, but he had caught a glimpse on the way up to my chest, "It's a little girl!" I started crying then and said, "It's Anna! This is our Anna! Hi Anna!" And, in that minute, our family grew.

I looked up at James and said, "That was hard. That was really hard." and we both remarked over how big Anna looked! The yummiest rolls on her arms and thighs! While I delivered the placenta and Sarah checked me out (I just needed one small stitch), James went out to tell the kids that they had a sister. I asked my mom to go out and capture their reactions on camera because they had been so sure it was a girl and so excited at the prospect of another sister. I knew their reactions would be so sweet, and I was not disappointed ;)

A few minutes later Anna had very easily latched on (I was very grateful to notice absolutely no tongue tie after struggling with both Kate and Henry's tongue ties!) and the kids came in to get in bed with me. Such a wonderful feeling, having all four of my babies there in bed with me. 

Comparing his thumb size to hers

The kids went back out to be with Grandpa and my mom went to start heating up food for all of us while the nurse took vitals from me and Anna and then left us to relax. This is one of my favorite parts of a birth center birth. The absolute peace of being left alone for a couple hours after your baby is born. Anna nursed, James and I talked over the strange whirlwind her labor and delivery ended up being, my mom brought us food, it was cozy and quiet and wonderful.

After a couple of hours Anna had her checkup and was weighed and measured. She was 9lbs 4oz and 20 3/4in! Our heaviest baby by a lot! I couldn't believe she had been in my belly and that I had pushed her out!

My mom and dad got the big kids into their jammies at this point and took them home to go to bed. I took a shower and our nurse went over our discharge paperwork with us before we packed up and went home ourselves, about 4 hours after Anna was born. 

Since bringing Anna home we've just been soaking her in. Everybody is just so in love with her and is always asking for a turn holding her. She's a champion little nurser and a pretty good sleeper. I think we're all enjoying a very quiet, very low key postpartum. Pajamas, movies, snacks, snuggles, naps. I've been feeling wonderful! I'm actually surprised because of how tough the actual delivery was. The only thing that's sore is my upper back and chest. I feel like I've been doing a lot of push ups actually. Probably from all of the time I spent on my hands and knees, trying to get little miss to turn. Between how much Anna has been nursing, and also nursing Henry a few times a day, I've been very very hungry. Thankfully, James is home until Tuesday and is keeping me well fed ;)

I feel so incredibly blessed to be Mama to these 4, wonderful, healthy, beautiful children and am so looking forward to settling into a routine at a family of 6! 

Henry's Birth Story!

This past Wednesday, October 7th, we officially became a family of 5 when we welcomed our third baby, Henry Philip, to the world! 

My official 'due date' was 10/4 and in the week leading up to that day I was SURE that I was about to go into labor at any moment. I was feeling a lot of pressure and the strength and frequency of the braxton hicks contractions I had been feeling all throughout pregnancy started to pick up a little bit. I went out on lots of long walks with the kids, and tried my best to stay patient, despite starting to feel a little antsy. Despite all my 'feelings' though, my 'due date' came and went. 

I had an appointment at the birth center on Tuesday the 6th. At the appointment we talked about my 'post dates' plan. I made an appointment for an ultrasound to check fluid levels and a non stress test to check on baby for the following Monday. Even though I knew I had almost a full week before those appointments and that a LOT could happen in that amount of time, I couldn't help feeling a little discouraged. Particularly because my midwife said the baby felt a little posterior with his or her (because at that point we didn't know!) back listing towards my back. The logical part of my brain knew that there were plenty of things I could do to encourage baby's back to turn more to my front, and that baby could even turn all on their own even during labor. The hormonal part of my brain though was going through all the what-ifs of a posterior baby. Head not engaging, very difficult back labor, very long pushing phase. I started to have panicky feelings that the reason I was having all these contractions that didn't turn into anything was because baby was posterior and I started to feel fearful of going all the way to 42 weeks and being unable to deliver at the birth center. I spent the whole rest of the day crawling around on my hands and knees and sitting on my big exercise ball to encourage baby to turn.

When I went to bed that night I wasn't having any contractions, but was feeling a lot of pressure. What I was mostly feeling though was anxiety. I knew that feeling anxious and panicky could actually keep my body from going into labor. Not to mention it could keep me from getting some sleep. So I went to bed and sat reading through the positive affirmation cards I had written for labor and delivery while working on deep breathing. Going through them already made me feel calmer. When I was finished with them I turned out the light and laid down to go to sleep. As I was falling asleep I thought of all the fears and anxieties I had surrounding going into labor, avoiding an induction, and baby being posterior. I acknowledged them and then started praying. I prayed for my fears to be calmed. I prayed for patience. For wisdom. For peace. For strength. For clarity of mind. For TRUST. Trust in God's timing and trust in my body's ability to bring my baby at exactly the right time. I prayed myself calm and fell asleep.

I woke up once or twice early in the night to pee and noticed I was having a somewhat painful contraction each time I woke up. Then, shortly before 2am, I woke up and actually laid in bed through maybe 2 strong contractions or so before thinking, "Oh! Those feel real!" I opened a contraction timer app on my phone and went to the bathroom. I noticed I had had my bloody show and my app was showing my contractions coming every 7 minutes. I had to stop what I was doing for each one so I knew they were 'real' and decided to give the midwife a call. Since this was my third baby and since we live about a half an hour from the birth center I was told not to wait too long before going in. I had no strong need to labor at home like with the other kids since the birth center was just like home and there would be nobody pressuring me into interventions. The midwife on call only needed to hear "3rd baby" "7 minutes apart" and "bloody show". She said she would gather up her stuff and head right over to the birth center and told me to do the same. 

This was happening!

I went upstairs and woke up James, "We need to go to the birth center." Confused and half asleep he asked, "Why? Are you in labor or something?" which made me laugh a little. "Well yeah. It's 2am..." So he got up and started getting dressed while I called my mom (she and my dad started getting their things together to meet us at the birth center) and started gathering things for the kids. My bags were already packed, but I hadn't put anything together for the kids since I didn't know what exactly they'd need without knowing what time we'd be heading in. I pulled together food, clothes, and books for them. I knew they'd probably end up watching movies most of the day and I had put together big brother and big sister goodie bags for them with a few new little toys, coloring books, and treats. As I moved around the house getting things together I was still having contractions and they even got closer together the move active I was. Once everything was together we woke up the kids (both of them were very excited!) and loaded up the van to go! By now it was 3am so we were looking at arriving at the birth center around 3:30.

Contracting in the car is AWFUL. I don't like sitting through contractions and all the little movements of the car just felt terrible. I was contracting about every 6 minutes during the drive so I didn't have TOO many, but the few I had were rough. I wasn't "in the zone" yet either which just made them that much more difficult. I felt like crying tears of joy when we pulled into the birth center parking lot. I knew I was due for another contraction very soon so I hurried out of the car to breathe through it on the sidewalk. The midwife on call, Gazelle, met us at the door with her trainee, Hannah, and we went in to get settled. Mom and Dad got there shortly after us and sat in the living room with the kids while James and I stayed in the bedroom so I could get a cervical check. I was pleasantly surprised to hear I was 4cm! I was 50% effaced so I still had a good bit of work to do in the department, but I was on my way. Gazelle and Hannah left us alone at this point and said they'd come check baby's heart rate in about a half an hour or so.

Through the rest of the dark hours of the morning I hung out in the living room while the kids watched movies (I thought they'd go back to sleep, but no luck there). My contractions weren't especially consistent. They were following a similar pattern to what I had experienced in early labor with Kate. They were coming about every 4-5 minutes, but only every other one would be especially strong. The ones in between were short and not very intense at all. My mom, James, and I (with Kate in the stroller in hopes sh'd sleep a little) went for a walk down the street around 5:15 in the morning.. Hannah was going to check me again at 5:45 to see if I was making progress and truly in active labor. Walking didn't make my contractions any more consistent, but the strong ones did get stronger so that was good!

At my check after the walk I was at 6cm and about 80% so that was good news! I was feeling tired at this point and my contractions took the hint. They spread out to every 10-12 minutes and I spent some time eating and snuggling my big kids. How awesome to be an environment where nobody was rushing me or watching the clock!

We went for another walk, but my contractions were still hanging out around every 10-12 minutes. They were definitely strengthening though and I felt a lot of pressure.After our walk my back was feeling really sore so I spent some time leaning over a counter in the living room letting my belly hang. It felt AMAZING, especially when coupled with James rolling a wooden roller along my lower back. Contractions were still quite manageable. I was using some hypnobirthing visualization techniques and deep breathing. As long as I was able to hold my focus through the entire wave I felt pretty great. There were a few where I lost focus and they were completely different contractions. Focus was obviously the key.

At this point Gazelle and Hannah had gone home as their on call shifts had ended and Sheila came in. I was so excited to see her. I had just seen her the day before at my prenatal appointment. The one where we made that 'post dates plan'. It was nice seeing her while in labor less than 24 hours later! Plus she just has a personality that really clicks with mine. She wanted to check me again at 9:45 since my contractions weren't getting any closer together and hadn't gotten any stronger. I was still at 6cm so we chatted a bit about some options to move things along. She said that my water bag was bulging and she'd break it if I wanted, but that would possibly take my dilation back a centimeter or even 2. That's exactly what happened during Sam's labor and I definitely didn't want that. Sheila was trying to be diplomatic and just lay out my options without influencing my decision, but I could see in her eyes that she didn't think breaking my water was a good idea. She said we could also try a little nipple stimulation, that hopefully 15 minutes on a breast pump would maybe get things moving along a little more. This was exactly what I had done with Kate and it had worked great so it was definitely an option I felt comfortable with. She also said I could absolutely just keep doing what I was doing and see what happened. No rush. I loved that. I loved how comfortable and not rushed I felt the entire time I was there. Sheila left the room then to let James and I talk about what we wanted to do. He and I both agreed that nipple stim worked in the past, so why not give it a try again. My contractions were already starting to regulate a little more just sitting in the bedroom. I told James I thought I needed some time away from the kids. That maybe relaxing a little, just him and I in the bedroom, would help things move along. I felt a little weepy at the thought of not hanging out with the kids, I had been feeling really clingy to them, but it really did seem like some time away would be a good idea. This was only reinforced when Sheila came back in and suggested some time away before even asking how we had decided to move forward. So we all agreed on taking some time away from everybody out in the living room, and trying some nipple stim. Sheila recommended I eat some more too. James went and got me some pretzels and filled up my water bottle. He came back in with Emily, our nurse who left us with the pump. At 10:29 I started on the pump, planning 15 minutes on, 15 minutes off, and then 15 minutes on again if it seemed like I needed a little more. About 2 minutes into pumping I felt a contraction starting. James rubbed my back and shoulders as I went through it, like he had been with a lot of the other ones, but this one was different. It was super strong and there was a lot of pressure. It lasted a long time and I started to lose control a little. When it ended I was immediately shaky and covered in sweat. James got in my face and said, "That was very intense. Are you ok?" I said, "I feel like I'm in transition, but that can't be right. I'm 6 centimeters. How many minutes have I been on the pump? I don't know if I can do another contraction on the pump if it's like that." Just as James was telling me I had been on it for about 5 minutes another contraction hit me, "Hit me" is really the only way to describe it. "Turn it off turn it off turn it off!" was all I could say to James. He turned off the pump and I threw the flanges and bottles onto the floor, standing up and grabbing onto a windowsill. I felt even more pressure and vocalized through the contraction for the first time. I was struggling to hold my focus. James asked if he should call Sheila in and I told him if I had another like that then yes. I was feeling that panicky, shaky, transition feeling, but not fully believing that's what was happening since I was still thinking I was 6cm. I told James I had to pee and he insisted on coming with me. I got halfway down onto the toilet and said, "I can't sit down." Another contraction came and I grabbed the wall, "Call Sheila now." but James was already getting her. She came into the bathroom and asked how I was doing. I told her my body was pushing and another huge wave came over me. She helped me walk back to the bed and she and her assistant started getting things ready quickly. Emily, our nurse, had gone upstairs to the offices and they were trying to get her back down there. My mom said she saw the nurse come running down the stairs and through the living room and that's when they knew something was happening. James went and got her right then so she could take pictures for us. Sheila was trying to get me onto the bed, but I couldn't do it. I went onto all 4s without even thinking about it and Sheila told me to stay there if I was comfortable. The crazy waves that had been crashing over me this whole time were easing off and I was feeling intense pressure. That's when it actually hit me that this was it! We were about to meet our third baby!

When the crazy waves were calming down I was able to regain my focus and use some hypnobirthing techniques again. I started to feel really calm and let my body do it's thing. I could feel the baby moving down without me doing anything but deep "birth breathing". Somebody brought James a cool cloth for my head just as I was opening my mouth to ask for one. Contractions started again, this time with a very distinct purpose. I was still just letting my body do what it wanted to do, not actively pushing, just breathing baby down. I did this for maybe 2 or 3 contractions, sipping water that James brought over to me in between each one. Then I wanted to push into the pressure a little. For the first time I was feeling 100% in control of the pushing phase. With both other kids this part felt totally out of control. This time was no less intense, but the amount of control I felt was so amazing! I was able to rest in between contractions which was wonderful. I'd keep my eyes closed, take deep breaths, sip water, and repeat positive affirmations to myself in my head. "This is it. My body is doing exactly what it's supposed to. Trust in that. I will be holding my baby so soon." Then when I'd feel the next contraction starting I'd say out loud, "Ok." and dig down deep.  I continued to breathe the baby down, just with a little more intensity now. Sheila broke my water then after asking if that's what I wanted. When she broke it I felt the most immense relief! I did hear somebody say, "Meconium." And I laughed a little and said, "Well we're 3 for 3. All our babies pooped." And then promptly forgot about it. I had already asked about the birth center's policies as far as babies born having already pooped. In the hospital that meant I couldn't have immediate skin to skin because they wanted the baby to be suctioned first. At the birth center though, they just keep an eye on the baby in those first couple minutes before determining whether or not they need suction. Knowing and trusting this, I was able to focus on getting the baby out and not worry about the meconium. The next contraction I felt baby's head coming out. I tried to breathe the head out slowly as best I could. That contraction faded just as Sheila told me, "Great job Sarah. You can reach down and feel your baby's head. The hardest part is over." That pause between contractions, knowing baby's head was out and being able to reach down and feel it, was sort of surreal. I felt really suspended between two worlds almost. I've never had a pause like that after my baby's head had been birthed. It was a very calming feeling somehow. With the next contraction, everybody helped me flip onto my back so that Sheila could assist the shoulders a bit. This was the one moment I felt any anxiety. My baby's have not always gotten their shoulders out very easily and I know that has the potential to be dangerous. I barely had time to dwell on that though because Sheila was saying, "Sarah. Reach down and catch your baby."

Having a baby born into my own hands, and being the one to pull this new little creature onto my chest was one of the most amazing experiences of my life so far. I cannot put into words the feelings I was having right then, but pictures almost capture it.

There was no crying from baby for a little while, but I didn't feel even a second of worry. Because I could feel everything. I could feel the baby's moving, I could see the baby looking up at me (oh what a precious, quiet moment!), and I knew that everything was absolutely fine. After a few minutes baby did cry, but only a little, and that's when I said, "Oh! Wait! Is it a boy or a girl?" Sort of really cool to hold our baby for several minutes before even knowing this important bit of information! James, who was sitting right next to me took a peak and called out (with obvious emotion), "Oh! It's a boy!" And I just kept repeating, "Henry! Hi Henry! Hi baby boy!" And just like that our family grew.

We waited for the cord to stop pulsating before James cut it, and around then Henry started rooting so I got him latched on while birthing the placenta. I had a small tear that required a stitch or two and once that was taken care of everybody helped move me up on the bed propped up on pillows. Henry stayed latched and nursing the whole time. Once I was situated my mom went to get my dad, brother, and kids. Sam and Kate climbed right up in bed with me and started loving on their brother. I couldn't believe I was sitting their with all *3* of my babies. Sam especially had such a sweet reaction. I was a little worried because he had been SO sure my whole pregnancy that he was getting a sister, but he accepted a brother with so much love. We counted all of his fingers and toes together and Sam exclaimed over how, "Tiny and cute!" they were. After a few minutes my parents and Tommy took the kids back out to get their Big Brother and Big Sister bags of goodies. 

Sheila was a little concerned at this point about the amount I was still bleeding an hour after birth, so I handed Henry off to James for some skin to skin while Sheila checked me out. Henry slept peacefully on Daddy's chest for an hour while we got my bleeding under control (thankfully it was never overly alarming, my uterus was just being a little on the lazy side which is apparently common once you've had more than 1 or 2 kids). Everything was perfectly fine and behaving the way it was supposed to fairly quickly.

After an hour sleeping with Daddy we got Henry's official stats (8 lbs even and 20.5in, our smallest baby!) and James gave him a sponge bath. Henry got to go to meet his Nana, Grandpa Bob, and Uncle Tommy for a little bit then while I ate. My mom had made my 'birth meal' (french toast, eggs, sausage, and fruit per my request!) while Henry was being weighed and bathed. Best french toast I've ever eaten! I showered after that and then everybody except James and I headed home. My mom took Sam and Kate back to our house. Henry had his official newborn checkup now and did great. Barely even fussed. He latched on again after that and James, our sweet baby, and I dozed off in the bed for a while. It was so peaceful. 

We woke up to get our discharge info. Just a couple sheets to keep track of Henry's and my vitals for the next couple days (nothing major, just temp and respirations/pulse) and clarifying the day and time for our home nurse visit to do Henry's hearing test and have him weighed again. After that we were cleared to go! So about 6 hours after our boy made his appearance, we were loading up in the car and heading back to our big kids in time for dinner and bedtime. So wonderful to be able to sleep in our own bed that very night!

I am so grateful to have been able to have a birth center birth. The entire experience was so relaxing. There was never a moment were I felt rushed or pressured. I truly felt that the experience was 100% MINE. There were no negotiations, no compromises, just complete trust in my body from everybody in attendance. I love that our family was able to stay together. I love that Sam and Kate met their brother when he was only minutes old, and that we were all able to snuggle in bed together. And I just love how calm the entire thing was. Such a beautiful way to grow from a family of 4 to a family of 5. We are truly, truly blessed.