Henry Kelly Shaieb
December 29, 2005, about 11:40 pm
about 7 1/2 pounds, 20" long
The story:
Nine days before he was due, Henry made his very speedy entrance to the world. At 8:00 pm, I was feeling sort of crampy while Steve helped Elizabeth get ready for bed. He took Elizabeth upstairs to bed while I tried to relax in the tub. I talked to Katie (my sister-in-law) at about 9:30 for about some plans for Mom's birthday party on Saturday. The cramps continued but were weird: mild, only 20-30 seconds long, but really frequent at 2-4 minutes apart: not the way we were expecting labor to start.
The bath cooled off and I tried to get comfortable in bed, sitting, hanging over the birth ball, and in the bathroom. It was all very tolerable and I think listening to my relaxation CDs really helped me be calm while I was alone downstairs.
Despite the atypical pattern, I was starting to think *maybe* it would be that night but much later. We put in some "maybe tonight" calls to my parents and our midwife at about 10:30 when Steve finished getting Elizabeth to sleep. At 10:45ish we put in some "come NOW" calls because things suddenly became very intense and we needed someone here for Elizabeth in case she awoke and someone to help Steve support me and do all the birth stuff like filling the birth pool.
Still expecting hours and hours to go, I started to get a little worried when I felt pushy. I set up camp backwards on the toilet and things went into high gear and I couldn't stop pushing. No one had arrived yet and I could tell Steve was a little freaked out by his grunting, swearing, pushing wife. He grabbed some towels when I said it was going to be really soon. After a few minutes I got off the toilet and delivered the head while on my knees on the bathroom floor. Steve somehow got down onto the tiny floor with me and caught the rest of his son at about 11:40 - only about an hour since we were sure it was labor.
Henry was fairly limp and pale but was making little whimpers and was slowly getting pinker. We suctioned him out as well as amateurs can do, dried him off, and started to wonder where in the world everyone was. About 10 minutes later my parents arrived just in time to get Elizabeth who slept through all the yelling but was awakened by the dogs barking. About 10 minutes after that, our midwife arrived to her first missed birth in 20 years.
We wish the birth story ended here with "and they all were fine and lived happily ever after." Unfortunately, Henry's speedy arrival was probably the result of distress caused by a very strange placenta and cord. I retained part of the placenta and required an emergency transport to Providence where I stayed for about 40 hours to undergo a D&C, blood transfusion, and monitoring.
We're not sure why his placenta and cord formed the way they did but we're very happy to report that he checks out fine. He is a great nurser and a very, very sweet little baby.
I'm feeling much better but definitely need to take it slow. Ironically, Henry's crazy birth did almost no damage to the rest of my body and I feel better than after Elizabeth's.
Elizabeth is loving her little brother but is showing some typical adjustment issues.
Steve is obviously taking some time off work to take care of all of us. I hope he will share his version of the story soon.
Here are some pictures and we'll update Henry's website when we get a chance. www.babiesonline.com/babies/b/babyshaieb2
Hope everyone had a great holiday and a peaceful new year!
December 29, 2005, about 11:40 pm
about 7 1/2 pounds, 20" long
The story:
Nine days before he was due, Henry made his very speedy entrance to the world. At 8:00 pm, I was feeling sort of crampy while Steve helped Elizabeth get ready for bed. He took Elizabeth upstairs to bed while I tried to relax in the tub. I talked to Katie (my sister-in-law) at about 9:30 for about some plans for Mom's birthday party on Saturday. The cramps continued but were weird: mild, only 20-30 seconds long, but really frequent at 2-4 minutes apart: not the way we were expecting labor to start.
The bath cooled off and I tried to get comfortable in bed, sitting, hanging over the birth ball, and in the bathroom. It was all very tolerable and I think listening to my relaxation CDs really helped me be calm while I was alone downstairs.
Despite the atypical pattern, I was starting to think *maybe* it would be that night but much later. We put in some "maybe tonight" calls to my parents and our midwife at about 10:30 when Steve finished getting Elizabeth to sleep. At 10:45ish we put in some "come NOW" calls because things suddenly became very intense and we needed someone here for Elizabeth in case she awoke and someone to help Steve support me and do all the birth stuff like filling the birth pool.
Still expecting hours and hours to go, I started to get a little worried when I felt pushy. I set up camp backwards on the toilet and things went into high gear and I couldn't stop pushing. No one had arrived yet and I could tell Steve was a little freaked out by his grunting, swearing, pushing wife. He grabbed some towels when I said it was going to be really soon. After a few minutes I got off the toilet and delivered the head while on my knees on the bathroom floor. Steve somehow got down onto the tiny floor with me and caught the rest of his son at about 11:40 - only about an hour since we were sure it was labor.
Henry was fairly limp and pale but was making little whimpers and was slowly getting pinker. We suctioned him out as well as amateurs can do, dried him off, and started to wonder where in the world everyone was. About 10 minutes later my parents arrived just in time to get Elizabeth who slept through all the yelling but was awakened by the dogs barking. About 10 minutes after that, our midwife arrived to her first missed birth in 20 years.
We wish the birth story ended here with "and they all were fine and lived happily ever after." Unfortunately, Henry's speedy arrival was probably the result of distress caused by a very strange placenta and cord. I retained part of the placenta and required an emergency transport to Providence where I stayed for about 40 hours to undergo a D&C, blood transfusion, and monitoring.
We're not sure why his placenta and cord formed the way they did but we're very happy to report that he checks out fine. He is a great nurser and a very, very sweet little baby.
I'm feeling much better but definitely need to take it slow. Ironically, Henry's crazy birth did almost no damage to the rest of my body and I feel better than after Elizabeth's.
Elizabeth is loving her little brother but is showing some typical adjustment issues.
Steve is obviously taking some time off work to take care of all of us. I hope he will share his version of the story soon.
Here are some pictures and we'll update Henry's website when we get a chance. www.babiesonline.com/babies/b/babyshaieb2
Hope everyone had a great holiday and a peaceful new year!
I'm glad it all was well in the end, scary moments in between and all. HAPPY BABYMOON!!!!!!
