Aaron Patriot is FINALLY here!

[littlebb]

I'm so thrilled to say Aaron is finally here! I think I might've been the last one out of the July club at 42w1d : ) He finally arrived in a home water birth at 7:16 p.m. last night after 16 hours of labor, 3.5 hours of pushing (because he was so big!) and an additional two hours for placenta delivery. Everything was perfect, though! He's 9 lbs. 11 o.z., 21" long and has a 14" head (which is a little cone shaped from delivery).

Can't wait to post our birth story! Such a relief to have the waiting over with!

[moobiegirl]

congrats!

[Mama_Michelle]

: Congratulations, mama! That is a lot of pushing! Welcome, baby Aaron! Glad the wait is over.

[tracymom1]

Welcome Baby! Congrats, Mama!:

[bajamergrrl]

Hurray! Congratulations, mama!

[ATruck]

Hooray! From the first mama (I think) to possibly the last!

Enjoy! And rest!:

[moonygoony]

Congratulations! But you are not the last. I'm still ticking along (grrr...) and thinking I may have another week left in me.

[littlebb]

Originally Posted by moonygoony

Congratulations! But you are not the last. I'm still ticking along (grrr...) and thinking I may have another week left in me.

Hang in there Mama! I know how hard that is. I was getting really scared that this just wasn't going to happen naturally. I tried the Blue Cohosh quite aggressively Thursday and nothing came of it. I realized I hadn't been out of the house much except to go to midwife visits and to the chiropractor, so DH and I spent Thursday night running errands and having a casual dinner out. And lo and behold, I was awoken at 2:30 a.m. with contractions, which caught me way off guard.

Let us know when your little one arrives!!

[leighann79]

Congats!

[moonygoony]

Originally Posted by littlebb

Hang in there Mama! I know how hard that is. I was getting really scared that this just wasn't going to happen naturally. I tried the Blue Cohosh quite aggressively Thursday and nothing came of it. I realized I hadn't been out of the house much except to go to midwife visits and to the chiropractor, so DH and I spent Thursday night running errands and having a casual dinner out. And lo and behold, I was awoken at 2:30 a.m. with contractions, which caught me way off guard.

Let us know when your little one arrives!!

I'm used to going over 42 weeks and haven't hit that point yet so I'm feeling pretty good so far. Just anxious to see whether this is a boy or a girl!

[GoldmanBaby09]

Congrats on your home water birth and your little boy!!

[femalephish]

Congrats! What a beautiful name. Please post a picture after you have gotten some rest. Take care of your little one.

[DoulaJulian]

have been checking everyday to see if you had joined the New Momma Club yet! Hooray! I cannot wait to hear your story...way to be a warrior woman and birth that big baby boy! You are proof that our bodies are designed just perfectly for birthing our babies

Enjoy your Babymoon...stay in bed and nurse, nurse, nurse...falling in love with your new little one is the best feeling on earth....don't miss a moment of it!

So happy for you Justine

[gossamerwindweb]

Congrats! Welcome earthside little one

[littlebb]

Originally Posted by DoulaJulian

have been checking everyday to see if you had joined the New Momma Club yet! Hooray! I cannot wait to hear your story...way to be a warrior woman and birth that big baby boy! You are proof that our bodies are designed just perfectly for birthing our babies

Enjoy your Babymoon...stay in bed and nurse, nurse, nurse...falling in love with your new little one is the best feeling on earth....don't miss a moment of it!

So happy for you Justine

I cannot thank you enough! Ironically, I had planned on emailing you Friday, and instead spent the day delivering : ) We actually used the birthing pool as you suggested before the birth - only got in three or four tries with it, but it was WONDERFUL and provided good last-minute bonding time for DH and I. My DH is a beer homebrewer and rigged up a bunch of his equipment to make the system a lot easier for emptying and filling, which was wonderful.

My midwife started me on the Blue Cohosh Thursday and I got some mild contractions, but nothing really go started. I was a little apprehensive about it because of my blood pressure - we were using logic that it would likely either elevate my BP or just stay the same. But much to my surprise and delight, it actually lowered my BP - by a lot! That final week of PG I was starting to see numbers like 150/102 or so, even on medication. But with the Blue Cohosh (taken every 30 min. in increased doses), I saw numbers like 121/85 all day long. We ended up using the Blue Cohosh every hour throughout my labor to help keep my BP down. I think the highest number we saw was 163/107 once or twice and that's when I was pushing and contractions were pretty close together.

Have you known Blue Cohosh to have such an effect?

Thank you again for your well wishes. I'm working on the birth story (which has many funny moments actually) and will post some photos soon. I sure do appreciate your support and encouragement. And thanks for checking on me!!

I forgot to add that staying in bed and falling in love has not been a problem! I see why new parents don't get anything done - how do you stop staring at that face long enough?!