**October 07 DDC Birth Announcements** - Page 5

[wildgarden]

Reposted for Sarabravo:
x-posted in im pregnant born in an ambulance

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

i have a 13 month old dd and i now have a 5 day old ds. his birth story is so strange.
i went into my midwifes for my 40 week visit friday to find out that i was already 3-4 cm. i had some contractions that morning but nothing i was paying too much attention to. so they put me on the monator then had me go get some lunch and walk around wal mart. we came back 2 hrs after i was 1st checked and i was 6 cm. so that was around 1 or 1 30. by 5 i was 9 cm. the pain of the contractions was very managable. my dh got to the birth center around 6 30 abot 30 - 45 mins after i started to push in the water. something was stopping the baby from coming down so they had me get out of the tub and try some different positions. that is when the pain really set in. they wanted me to stop pushing because i wasnt making any progress. i couldn't handel the pain any more. the midwife gave me some kind of flower to help with my pain. it did a little bit. it helped me relax enough to get through more contractions without pushing and wearing myself out. i must have jinxed myself when i said that this labor was going too smoothly and was too managable. because nothing was helping. we tried on my knees, in the shower, on my back, on my side. nothing seemed to be making any difference. my pain we less in the shower and on my knees. the only thing was that i couldn't push in the shower. so after the shower in went back on the bed and got on my hands and knees using the birthing ball to prop me up. at that point i started passing out. i passed out like a total of 3 different times. all were right after i pushed. i think i just passed out because i was so exhausted from the pain and pushing so much. (i have a history of passing out due to too much stress. i hadn't in years and i didn't during my 1st delivery. so i never said anthing to my midwives about it.) so at the 3rd time i passed out they called the ambulance. i was so out of it that i didn't know why they were taking me. i didn't want to go i heard the words c-section and vaccum and i started pushing so hard but they still werent doing any good the baby was still at the same spot. the ambulance got there at around 10 something. something must have happened with all the moving and bumping when they were taking me to ambulance because when we were in the ambulance my urge to push was much stronger and the midwife said that i was making a lot of progress. i think i only had like 5 contractions in the ambulance. i started pushing on the 3rd and he was born on the 5th. we weren't even to the hosptial yet. we almost got hit on the way there. the midwife had to yell at the driver to slow down so she could catch him. he was born with a broken arm. it's broke right in between his shoulder and his elbow. a very very odd place for an arm to be broken. so they think that he must have had his arm up by his head or caught on my hip bone or something that was causing him not to come down any more.
so my little guy is one in a million because he was born on his due date, in an ambulance with a broken arm on 10-19 at 10:19!
so either way i would have had to go to the hospital because of his arm and because of my bleeding (they had to give my pitocin which they dont' have at the birthing center).

[wildgarden]

Reposted for Usuallycurious:

Our sweet boy is here....

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks for all the good labor vibes, ladies.

The short and quick of it is that my water 'broke' at 7am and I had a couple of mild contrax between 7 & 8am. I started timing about 8am and the babe arrived at 11:18 - about 45 minutes after the MW rushed in the door, breathless and in a near panic that she had missed it. My 17yod and my dh were fantastic helpers and dh was supposed to catch the babe but the cord was wrapped around his neck THREE times!!! The best part of having a MW w/experience (672 births) is that she knew just what 'trick' to use and she somersaulted him right out w/out trouble. I had a little too much bleeding afterwards and I'm anemic so she watched me really close for an extra while.

My wonderful in-laws brought over dinner and my MIL is in the kitchen cleaning up and making soup w/the leftover bones right now. Everyone else is at my 10yos baseball game so the house is quiet and baby is sleeping.

We haven't decided on a name yet and man, is that frustrating for some people! Everybody wants to know his name!

He was 8.4lbs, 21" long. He's nursed A LOT.

My 21mos is sooooo sweet and keeps holding out his arms to hold him!

[wildgarden]

Reposted for Smudge:

Margaret Rose is Here!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi everyone, this the first time I have had a chance to post since coming home from the hospital. Baby Maggie was born last Friday at 1:15pm via a blessedly boring, uncomplicated c/s. She is doing great, and we are all settling in just fine. We are keeping a close eye on 2yo DD1, she wants to just love the baby all the time and isn't always gentle.
Recovery is a little more difficult this time around, but DH is here for the next 5wks and is doing a great job at taking care of all of us!

Birth story later....

[jedpalau]

Welcome Che Love!!! Born October 24th at 7:23am...
I woke up at 4am having contractions about 10 minutes apart. Decided to stay in bed as long as I could. When I went to the potty at 4:30, the contractions were about 8 minutes apart and my DH woke up in a panic because I wasn't in bed. I told him to go back to sleep and I'd let him know when things progressed. Went downstairs to mess around on the computer and post some prego pics on my usual thread. At 5:30, the contractions were about 5 minutes apart for an hour so I woke DH up. I still felt great, contractions were not hurting so much and inbetween I felt fine, so I called the midwife to just give her a heads-up since she lives 45 minutes away. As soon as I hung up, They went to 3 minutes, then 2 minutes and I wanted desperately to get into the tub. DH called the MW back to say we needed her NOW. I was in the tub and ready to push by 7am. MW and team still hadn't arrived and DH was a little panicky, so I held out until they arrived at 7:23am and had him immediately. MW even let me pull him out myself which was really cool! He weighed 6 lbs. and is 20 1/4 inches.
My kids slept through the whole thing and woke up a little after 8am with a new baby brother! It tooks us until day 3 to name him, but now his name is perfect!!!! DD (3) is a baby hog and only wants to sit and hold him all day long. DS (23 months) thinks he's cute and doesn't really seem too bothered.

[wildgarden]

Reposted for Mrsready2bmama:

Cece Lu is here!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Our little girl, Cecelia Louise, arrived on Saturday 10/13 at 10:32 pm. I am still in awe of her being here and can't stop looking at her...

This little one was full of surprises and certainly wanted to come on her terms. She was stubborn to be conceived (IVF) and insisted on a c-section due to her breech presentation. We were scheduled for the c/s on October 19th, but evidently she was ready a week early and my water broke on the 13th! I was just standing in my kitchen and pop, there it went. We drove to the hospital and I did get to experience active labor for about 5 hours before we got an OR and a doctor to perform the surgery.

The c/s itself was surreal, being awake and alert and knowing what was about to happen. This baby's final surprise was showing up a girl! The whole pregnancy every friend, relative, and stranger on the street was convinced I was having a boy. I didn't believe my husband when he announced that it was in fact Cecelia who had joined our family!!

I feel like I was lucky in that my baby girl got to choose her birthday, despite the planned c/s. I honestly don't feel at all like the way she was born has taken anything away from me and my experience... she is just sweetness and light and love incarnate, and I cannot get enough of her. I'm in bliss and enjoying this babymoon!!

Looking forward to seeing all of you on the parenting boards as I master breastfeeding, baby wearing, and cloth diapering ... . So far I've only been able to master the first of those three -- but there is plenty of time for them all

Congratulations to all the wonderful mamas on their beautiful babies and magical births. I can't have imagined how incredible having this little one in our lives could be ...

Love,
Gina

[wildgarden]

Reposted for Victoria:

Markus Edward is Here! Birth Story included

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Our Birthing Story

Markus Edward - borth 12:01 AM 10/26/07 7 pounds 11 ounces 20 Inches long

Wow! That’s all I can say! For what we thought early on may end up being an early induction of a big baby due to my gestational diabetes turned out to be an induction a week late to give birth to a cute little guy. I didn’t have a single contraction the entire pregnancy and to be honest, by the end I really didn’t think he would ever come and I’d just be pregnant forever. I think the hormones were just so crazy because I didn’t even think I was pregnant half the time because I was unable to concentrate on much of anything.

I am very happy to have had an OB supportive of natural childbirth but also proceeded with caution looking out for both me and Markus. He said he’d let me go 41 ½ weeks before an induction but when I was there for my 41 week visit he thought the best thing to do was to induce. He gave me a day to think about it and said I could change my mind at anytime. We decided it was just best to get it over with. The doctor was on call the following day and thought it would be best to get it over with then since he would be there anyway. I’m really grateful for that. Being in Indy only a month he is the only other person I even know so it was nice to have a familiar face there. I never thought it was truly out of convenience to him, there would be someone there to deliver the baby at any time but who knows who? I thought I was going to cervadil followed by pitocin but it turns out I was very easily induced with cytotec in the doctor’s office. He inserted it in the afternoon and told me to call to check in before the end of their office hours that day. It was 2 ½ hours later. He said I’d feel pressure and then I’d come in, have my water broken and then nature should take over from there. Well, when I talked to them at 4 pm nothing was happening so I was told to walk and call at 7 if nothing was happening by then. A minute later I stepped outside the door to go walking by myself and there it was, labor!

I wasn’t sure at first. My labor with Lukas was so much different and I was waiting to feel the same way. My uterus began contracting like a big balloon being blown up and deflating. They were coming really fast but were not at all uncomfortable. They were only lasting 35-40 seconds but coming regularly at 2 minute intervals while I walked. I thought my water was about to break with the next contraction but thought, nah, that can’t be it, I probably just have to pee. I went back home for dinner and was getting ready to walk again when I went to the bathroom first. I didn’t know if I was peeing my pants or my membranes had ruptured. I called Peter to let him know I was in labor. We had originally thought I’d be waiting around with cervadil to work so he could work longer but then I called me to tell him the time frame and he was hurrying, then I called him at 4 after talking to the doctor to say he had 3 more hours. Well, I took the dog and Lukas for a walk and we waited for Peter to come home. My water was leaking all over the place. Luckily I had some very large serenity pads! We finished walking the boys and then Peter and I went for a little walk too. We finished packing and realized this was really it. I called the OB around 6 and told him I was amazed how fast it started!!!! He kinda laughed just knowing. I told him I thought my water had broken so he wanted me in the hospital after that. He had said earlier it should probably be a low interference birth but I was concerned with the water being broken I’d have to go on monitors.

We got to the hospital before the doctor had even called! We literally live 5 miles away. I was escorted to triage where it was confirmed my water had broken. The monitors showed a strong heartbeat, those contractions 2 minutes apart and pretty good movement. Markus had been quite a sleeper in-utero so he remained so for the most part. I was admitted and shown to a really nice suite! It took a while to do all the admittance paperwork and get an IV started. The doctor said I could walk and only had to stay on the monitors 20 minutes of every hour. I was only 2 ½ cm dialted when I was admitted, I knew that because the contractions weren’t that strong. They were going to let it all go and check with the doctor at 10 PM with my progression. I only had to have my sugar checked once and it was fine so we didn’t have to worry about that the rest of the time. We walked and the contractions came right on que as we walked the corridors. At 10 I’d only progressed to 3 ½ cm. The l/d nurse asked me how I felt about pitocin and I said whatever the doctor thinks is best because I knew my options were limited due to my water already breaking. I was pretty tired in general so I really didn’t mind just sitting for a while. The doctor came back with pitocin but only authorized it up to level 8. He also prescribed an IV narcotic if I wanted it which I could request up to 8 cm. I’m not sure what that means but she said with women who want a natural labor and delivery the pitocin drip can go up to 20 women with epidurals can go up to 80? (oy!) We only made it to 4. At first it seemed like nothing was happening but we went to 6 cm pretty fast. My back was really hurting like it was with Lukas only it was much, much worse with Lukas and lasted forever. I learned that particular pain usually due to the position of the baby. We moved around a bit but I decided to try a different angle. I’ve been reading a lot about the law of attraction and the Teachings of Abraham with Jerry and Esther Hicks. They say that to get what we want we have to align with the energy. I didn’t know if I should align with what I wanted or what was best for Markus so I decided to simply align with the energy. It really worked!!!! I started studying Reiki at the beginning of my pregnancy but didn’t get very far because I was so fuzzy brained most of the time. I had asked some of my online friends to send Reiki to help me during labor and at that moment they were really there! I found moments of absolute peace. It’s like Joyce and Raven were actually there doing reiki in the moment. The contractions were really strong! It turns out in 12 minutes, I had 4 contractions and went from 6 cm to complete! Markus had completely changed to a comfortable position and we were ready to push!

I experienced a lot in that hour or so! I felt horrible, totally out of control. I was just shaking uncontrollably. I had that during my labor with Lukas too. I was freezing, wearing a fleece in July on the way to deliver Lukas. At some point I was given oxygen to put over my face myself because Markus’s heartbeat was dropping during contractions. I just didn’t feel right at all. At some point the nurse asked that a table be prepared for Dr. Brillhart. I didn’t know that what that meant was each doctor wanted different things on his table at a bedside delivery. I was scared that they may have been preparing for a c-section because of Markus’s heartbeat. Well, luckily this only lasted about 15 minutes.

Hospital protocols say that you basically call the doctor when the mother gets to 8 cm. I had skipped though all the middle stuff and was just ready to push!! Luckily they just turned the pitocin off and the contractions lessened in intensity so I could just breathe through them without pushing. I had a room with a great view and the nurses were looking out the window wondering how far away the doctor lived and what kind of car he drove. (we thought he looked like a jag kind of a guy) They would look from the window to me to make sure the baby just did slip out on his own! We were taking bets to see if Markus would be born on the 25th or 26th. The doctor got there, I gave 3 ½ good pushes and out came Markus! They put him right up on my belly which was WONDERFUL! I didn’t have that with Lukas. Lukas had the cord around his neck and was rather blue so they had to cut his chord right away and take care of him. This sopping wet little baby was just amazing! He looks so much like his grandpa Meyer. (He really did when he was born all wrinkly.) The placenta was delivered right away with no problems. What I didn’t realize is they actually give you a whole lot of pitocin after the birth so your uterus contracts to avoid complications. The doctor thought Markus would be around 7 pounds 6 ounces. He wasn’t far off considering he was a week late at 7 pounds 11 ounces. He is long and lean like his dad with the same red hair Lukas had when he was born. I only had first degree tears that required a stitch or two and that was it! Markus took to the breast right away. He stayed on for almost an hour taking to each breast twice. The nurses waited until he was done and put himself to sleep before doing anything else.

It was a great night. The nurse was great. It was fun talking with her while she took care of everything. Peter was out like a light when his head hit the pillow. It was nice having a birthing suite with a sleep sofa for dad. I managed to get a few hours of sleep too. It was a busy day when all the day people came into work. Lukas and Grandma came to check out the new baby brother. Lukas has taken to being a big brother very well. He is still a bit rambunctious but adjusting. It’s a good thing grandma is here taking care of him. I think she’s probably ready to go sometimes though. That is until she holds the baby.

I was impressed as to how well trained the nurses in the hospital are. 99% of them are mothers with a vast knowledge of breast feeding and they really, really advocate it on every level. I learned so much in 24 hours. I had 2 visits from lactation consultants. The one that came on Saturday was great. We got Markus set up to supplement him at the breast which made me feel so much better. He was so cranky and hungry. It’s amazing what ¼ an ounce of formula can do. She said she had set up 4 other new mom’s with the same system that morning and she got calls regulary from nurses helping other moms and need extra help while she was helping me. It didn’t interfere with her helping me but it was so great to know that they were so committed to it! It turns out one of the pediatricians in our new practice is on the breast feeding committee at the hospital so they are really dedicated. Contrary to what I had heard from many about having a hospital birthing experience I found that this hospital was very much open and dedicated to things being as natural as possible. They fully support the mother’s wishes in every way possible. Markus stayed with us as much as we wanted him there and it was really nice to know that we could send him to the nursery when they were assessing him to get some sleep. The only thing they didn’t allow was sleeping with the baby. The bed I was in was really too small for that but Peter did fall asleep with him in the recliner and luckily the nurses always knock before coming in the room so he woke up and we didn’t get in trouble. Peter had been waiting for that for soooooo long. This particular maternity wing was just totally re-vamped and opened 5 months ago. They are so busy they are where they forcasted they would be 18 months from now. The nurses are really working hard and they all had students helping them as well. Every shift seemed to have students. There are several nice hospitals in Indy and it’s such a child friendly place it all just works together.

We’ve been home for 24 hours now. Markus is doing well. We supplemented him last night because he just wasn’t taking to the tubes and breast at all. It looks like my milk is just coming in now. Amazing how these things happen. I’m trying to be optimistic and realistic after not being able to breast feed Lukas but I think my ultimate goal is to be able to breast feed Markus at least part time so wish us luck! He is having no problems with formula which is a relief is up to yellow poop so we are right on schedule

[wildgarden]

Reposted for Lukas'smama:

15 days late, Gabriella arrives

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

At the very edge of my remaining sanity, my midwife called on Saturday to say she was on her way by my house and did I want to try some IV homeopathics to get labor moving? I vigerously agreed and she was at my house in 15 minutes. She checked me and told me I was a very stretchy 2, almost 3. I told her that I was contracting pretty well while she was in there. She offered me the option of breaking my bag instead of the IV and I thought that was a better idea, it would likely cause a slower, more manageable labor. HA!
Within 20 minutes my contractions were really serious, she checked me and told me I was 7, instantly I felt like pushing, midwives are calling down the hall from the bedroom for DH and Lukas to come, I pushed for 10 minutes and after about a 40 minute overall labor, our beautiful girl was here. I was blown away. I had no time to work into labor, I barely had time to get my pants off and huff, puff and pant through some huge contractions. I was trying very hard not to push too hard and tear myself. It was successful and my parts are all intact. Gabriella weighed 8 pounds, 4 ounces and doesn't seem any worse for the wear after her very exciting birth. I'm so thankful that my midwife was at the house and helped start labor, she'd have never made it in that amount of time. She'd have probably gotten a call saying labor is starting and then another saying that we have a baby. Her assistant midwife caught the whole thing on video and I'm very glad I have it, it's hard to remember everything that happened so quickly.
Lukas was amazing. He sat on the edge of the bed, between my legs basically and told me "good job mom, good pushing" and when her head was visible, he told me and wanted to touch it. As soon as she was born, he sang her "you are my sunshine" from start to finish and then "cuddled" me. It was incredibly sweet. He didn't seem to be worried at all.
She's a great sleeper, during the day, and nursing is going very well. If we can just move the sleeping to nighttime, we'll be all set.

[wildgarden]

Reposted for Newctmama:

Henry Thomas has arrived!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello everyone-

Just wanted to quickly post the news - our sweet baby boy arrived on Sunday, October 21 at 1:14 p.m. We stared out in the birth center at 9:00 p.m. Saturday and (very) long story short, ended up with a c/s the next afternoon. Though things didn't go as planned, we are all healthy and very happy! I'll write more when I can

[wildgarden]

Reposted for Levismom:

It's a......

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BOY! After stumping 3 people who had perfect records for baby gender predictions (and filling our changing table with pink layettes as a result!) we were surprised and shocked when our sweet baby turned out to be a boy! Though we hadn't had an ultrasound, I was utterly convinced it was a girl and just looked down a few minutes after the baby was born to confirm it, and then learned otherwise! Fortunately we hadn't given away all of Levi's hand-me-downs yet and are so thrilled that Levi will be able to grow up with a brother to have adventures with.

The birth was amazing and I feel so blessed to have the prayers and support of friends and family before, during and afterwards. I woke up at 8:50am Wednesday with a contraction and they started getting closer together by 9:15. I called dh Tim, one of my doulas, and my midwife at 9:30 to let them know things were progressing while my mom filled up the birthing pool upstairs overlooking the balcony deck and canyon views. I really didn't want to rush anyone over since I didn't know how long it would be before things really got going, but since each was a ways away, they decided to come as soon as they could, fortunately! Tim got a sub to cover his class and arrived at 10:45, Justine, my midwife and her assistant Christy rolled in at 11:00, my doula, Yvonne, came in at 10 after, and our precious son decided it was officially safe for him to enter the world at 11:25! Levi labored with Tim and I in the pool for a little while and then played with Grandma downstairs until a couple of minutes before the baby arrived, when he came up and watched it all happen with intrigue, greeting the baby with an introduction to his monster trucks. One of the highlights for me was gently pulling him out and onto my chest from the water, seeing how much he looked like Tim and Levi (in more ways than one, as it turned out!). His Auntie Kim and my other doula Regina arrived just after he did, followed by his other grandparents shortly thereafter. God totally hooked us up with great comfort and support, as well as all the roads opening up to our house the night before after the forest fires had cleared up nearby.

Here's a few stats for you:

Jack Timothy Kaleo Klein
Born on his due date (10-24), like Levi, weighing 6#8oz, like Levi, and 19 inches long, like Levi! His hair appears to be a little darker so maybe I had more to do with this than just the 9 month hotel stay, we'll see how he looks as he grows up!

Jack is named after his paternal granddad (John), who grew up as Jack (variation of John meaning "God is Gracious"), Timothy is for this hunk I know and love who is an awesome Dad and was a perfect support during my labor, and Kaleo is to honor his maternal grandpa's Hawaiian heritage and means "One Voice."

Here's a few pictures, too. I just made a little rough video for youtube, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dyB4zzOlI0

Thanks again for all your great insight and support, mamas! Jack's off to an awesome start with good nursing skills. He just dropped his cord today which is nice. Having 2 baths already seemed to have helped that along.....

Much Love and Gratitude,

Tim, JJ, Levi, and Jack

"The gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life." Matthew 7:14

[wildgarden]

Reposted for Mamabearsoblessed:

My littlest cub has been born!!!! NAK!!!!!!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My daughter was born last wed. morning, October 24th at 8:04 am. She weighed 7 lbs 1.8 oz and 19.5". Labor was induced after a routine visit with my amazing m/w (which led to a nst and u/s, followed by induction) who would never dismiss my Mama's instinct. I was 39 wks. I am so thankful I listen to my inner Mama voice and my baby. She is here and she is safe. I thank God.
I am so very, very thankful.
Our labor was intense, amazing and pain med free. It was an incredible birth.
She is an amazing nurser and so beautiful. I am so thankful she is here.


~~~ birth story to follow~~~

[wildgarden]

Reposted for Dena:

Ellen Marie is finally here!!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Our beautiful baby girl, Ellen Marie, was born October 22, 2007 at 9:17 p.m. The birth and her first week of life has been one of the most amazing, empowering, and healing experiences of my life. This is long, but I really feel the need to share it all, so here goes...

Monday morning, I saw my ob about my continued high blood pressure and the protein spilling into my urine. He recommended that we go ahead and deliver. His philosophy, and I had to agree, was that this could turn into PIH very quickly, and could cause Ellen distress very quickly and, while we know at this moment that she is ok, we should get her out before we ended up in emergency c/s land.

So, that afternoon I checked into the hospital for an induction. My midwife and doula, who were also totally on board with this decision, met us there. (final pg brain story - apparently when I paged my mw I entered dh's cell phone, so she ended up calling him back!) At 3:15 I took the cytotec. At first, labor was a piece of cake. I was on continuous monitoring for an hour, then the doc let me get up and do basically whatever I wanted. We were roaming the halls laughing and joking. The nurses thought we were wonderful, but the strange looks we got from the folks in the waiting rooms were pretty priceless. About two hours later, the doc came in and broke my water (he wanted to keep things moving with as few drugs as possible), and the contrax started to get heavier. (I remember noting with surprise that the water was warm when it came out... then thinking, well, of course it is warm, you idiot! lol!) I was at 3 cm, and we thought things would now move fast. My midwife and doula hit the cafeteria for dinner while the nurse drew me a bath. (Yep, induction, water broken, and still got a bath. In the hospital. Does my ob rock or what? ) Over the next two hours I was in and out of the bath, on the birthing ball, in and out of the bed, basically whatever was comfy. My energy healer arrived about 7:30 and added her wonderful vibes to the mix, and the doc came back at 8 to check me. He was a little surprised at the number of women in the room, but was ok with it. Then he heard my cd player and gave me an odd look. "Gregorian Chants?!" he asked disbelievingly. Ha. Hey, it was working for me.

So, got checked again. ONLY AT 4CM!! ARGH. He told me I needed to progress at least another cm to cm and a half in the next hour or he would need to start pitocin. Then he left us to it. I was a little freaked at that point, because I really did not want the intensity of pit. contrax. So I turned to my midwife and asked her if she though the tub would help. She agreed and, while she drew the bath, I continued to labor on the ball. The contrax got heavier, and I started to moan and rock. I remember the nurse coming in at one point to check me with the doppler, and I ended up leaning against her and moaning through a contrax, to be rewarded with her praise! Wow.

I then got into the tub, and the contractions really picked up. It was wicked intense. I was swearing like a sailor and demanding drugs and alcohol. Even told my midwife to shut up once. I later learned my birth team was celebrating. During this time I was also moaning pretty loudly. At the end of one contraction I overheard my nurse comment on the "wonderful" noises I was making. Bless her heart.

So after an hour of this, I could feel the head when I stuck in my finger. The nurse checked me at 9, and I was at 9 CM!! Whoo Hoo!! About three minutes later, I wanted to push. My midwife told me to just do it, not announce it, since the doc hadn't arrived yet. I tried a little, but it didn't quite feel right, so I went through another contraction or two, then saw the doc enter the room out of the corner of my eye. On the next two contrax, I pushed once each, and on the third I really got three good pushes in. I could feel Ellen crowning and reached down to feel her head bulging out of me before announcing triumphantly, "here she comes!!" I later learned that while I was starting to push, my doc was puttering around verrry carefully putting on his gown, his booties, etc., and hadn't gotten to gloves yet when I made my announcement and started pushing Ellen's head out. To his credit, he simply started guiding my pushing, but never told me to stop (yeah, like that would have happened ) and ended up catching her bare handed. I had actually wanted dh to catch her, but he didn't feel the desire to move from my side while I was pushing, so that was ok too. After just a few pushes, Ellen Marie was in the world and trying to cry even as she was laid down on the bed. I flipped over (I was pushing on my hands and knees) and baby was placed on my chest and wrapped in a blankie. She looked at my and cried a little, then nestled in. She was, and is, one of the two most beautiful creatures I have ever seen in my life. (DD1 is the other). I was instantly in love and told her so over and over. We waited for the cord to stop pulsing, then doc clamped and dh cut. It was very cool!

A few minutes later, I birthed the placenta. Amalie's placenta had fused to Ellen's and you could see the outline of her remains through the membranes. I felt like I had been given a second gift at this point, as we were not expecting to be able to see anything of Amalie. The doc offered to peel back the membranes to see if we could discern more definition, but we declined. It somehow felt right to just view her there as she was. They brought the placenta to us and I stroked her head and back and told her we loved her. Then the doctor announced to the nurse that the placenta was to be sent to pathology, but that we wanted it back for private family burial, as I had discussed with him before the birth. The nurse piped up and asked if we had to send the placenta off. The doctor said that I could refuse (my midwife was standing behind him nodding vigorously), and so I asked if we would learn anything from further examination. He basically said no. So I refused. The nurse brought a container, and we packed up the placenta to take home.

Dh and I spent a wonderful night with our new little girl, who slept in my arms all night (the nurses didn't say a word when they checked on me!) and in the morning the hospital staff began their incessant poking and prodding (my now biggest objection to a hospital birth.) In the course of this, they found that Ellen was something called Coombs (sp?) positive, meaning that dh and I have an rh incompatibility in our blood types, and some my my blood had mixed with Ellen's, who has dh's blood type, causing jaundice. We were sent home on home phototherapy, however, this didn't work as my milk didn't come in until yesterday and she would NOT drink formula and ended up dehydrated. (the light table breaks down the blood cells into a form that is elminated through waste, and baby needs extra hydration for this process) So, we ended up in the hospital again late Wednesday evening. Her billiruben levels dropped like a rock once she was hydrated, and now we are home for good - and no more light therapy!

I had no tears and am healing like gangbusters. Have almost stopped bleeding even. All in all, this was just an amazing experience. I feel like my body knew just what to do and took over for me. Unlike my first birth, where I was coached all the way, this time my support team just, well, supported me. I did the job myself. It was amazingly empowering. And the kindness of the hospital staff at two separate facilities has restored my faith in the medical system as well. I told my daughter tonight that her birth has healed me. She is an incredible gift, and I am loving every minute of being a mommy of two!

Thank you all for all your encouragement and support these last few months. You are all amazing women, and I feel very blessed to have traveled this path with you. Having been away from the boards for several days, let me just offer my congrats now to all who had their little ones this week! Happy babymoons to us all!!

[wildgarden]

Reposted for Carmalbert:

Atia Caroline is here! (late notice)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi Ladies,

Atia arrived October 4th, 6 days before her due date. I know it is late notice, but you understand I'm sure! We just picked her name finally! Give me your feedback on it. I would love to hear what you think.

She was born at home after only 4 hours of active labor. My water broke in the middle of the night and I didn't go into active labor until noon the next day. She was born at 4:21. My husband almost delivered her. The midwife arrived and she was born 12 minutes later. What a whirlwind birth! It was amazing, though. I loved having her at home (my DD1 was born in the hospital with midwife). I was so relaxed and ready. She was 8 lbs. 8 oz. What a beauty!

Congratulations to everyone else who brought a little angel into the world and who is due to any day now!

[wildgarden]

Reposted for Moonfroggy:

he is here and perfect and i need to recover more before i can post the story but he is amazing and big 8 pounds 6 ounces my midwifes where impressed because i am pretty small 4'10 and i tore kinds bad

i willpost details when i have energy

[EviesMom]

Jasper Morey's Birth Story

It's been delayed by our sudden hospital stay last week, but now here's Jazz's birth story from 10/15!

Patrick: DH
Evie: DD 3 years old
Ali: Friend/doula/recently certified midwife
Cara: Midwife
Laura: Best friend, Evie’s caregiver during birth
Tim and Lucy: Laura’s dh and dd, Evie’s best friend

I’d been having bh contractions that kept me awake for an hour or two in the early morning hours for about 3 weeks. About 6:30 am on Sunday, Oct. 14th (3 days before Jazz’s due date), I awoke urgently needing to pee and having mild contractions. I did, went back to bed, needed to pee again, did, then tossed and turned and decided to just go ahead and get up for the day. Jazz was really kicking and squirming. So I sat up, felt a little gush of something, went to the bathroom yet again, more gushing. I thought “I think that’s my water…” But I wanted to be sure b/c of the weeks of off and on contractions. I went to the computer to MDC’s due date board, posted to a thread started by another “I think this is it” mom, and when I stood up from the computer, another gush and… a stronger contraction.

I woke up Patrick and told him I was pretty sure that finally, this was it. We were both so excited and happy. We called Cara and gave her the news. She said to call her when contractions got really started. We timed a few contractions, which seemed to be about 15 minutes apart and 45 seconds long, debated for a while and decided to both take Evie to gymnastics class via taxi. We called Laura and arranged to meet her, Tim, Lucy, and Henry after Evie’s gymastics class and see how things were progressing. We talked to Ali and let her know that it would be soon, but that we weren’t in need of help yet. Evie woke up and nursed, which made contractions stronger, but not unmanageable or closer together. Then off we all went in a flower power taxi to Chelsea Piers.

During her class, I continued to leak water every so often, and timed the contractions periodically with Patrick’s iPod. She had a blast, as she always does there. They were mild and still 10 minutes apart, 45 seconds long, through class and while we met Tim, Laura, and Lucy at the playground. They took Evie back to Brooklyn with them to play and Patrick and I picked up sandwiches at Grey Dog Coffee and went back to our apartment. I ate and tried to rest a little, but was unable to, so we called Ali and she came over. I got Evie’s big sister doll unhooked from her box and wrapped and ready to go.

The three of us happily played Scrabble and I did pretty well, tying Patrick in the end with 190 points each. After talking to Cara, We decided to go for a walk around the neighborhood to try and get labor moving. We took Dayna with us, and it did indeed move it up a level, because I had to physically stop every few blocks to get through a more intense contraction. That was at about 7:30pm.

When we got home, we pulled out a quiche for dinner. I sat down to eat though, and couldn’t take a bite. Couldn’t eat more than 2 bites of my turkey sandwich either. Evie and Laura were on their way back, and we figured that would slow down labor, so we planned to put her to bed, then fill the tub. So we called Cara to update her and I was sitting backwards on the couch. Patrick and Ali also talked to Cara, and she apparently told them both we were probably looking at a long night. She didn’t say that to me, but I got the sense from the fact that she wasn’t coming over for a couple of hours. I remember thinking at that point, “I don’t want to do this all night. I’m already tired. I think I’m farther along than that, but I’m not letting it show in my voice. And I’m not letting it do it’s job either.” So I decided to make more noise, something like an om, and direct it toward opening.

Sure enough, that worked FAST. By the time Evie arrived, I was in the shower, needing to move to hands and knees for contractions, needing to make noise for them. I told Patrick and Ali that Laura couldn’t leave, and that they HAD to start filling the tub. They called Cara and told her we needed her now. I was able to talk to Evie briefly and to direct Laura to the activities for Evie. I remember Ali telling me that everything was ready, I’d prepped wel, and to let it go and trust everyone else to do what needed to be done for Evie, the tub, and so on. By the time Cara arrived, I think it was about 9:30. Contractions were intense. Before she even checked me, I said “Please can I get in the tub?” and she said yes with a very brief check. I immediately asked Patrick to get in too, so he stripped and did so.

I thought it would slow down then for a bit, but it didn’t feel to me that it did. (Ali and Cara said it did though). I bent over the side of the tub, hung on Patrick, just moved a lot. Evie and Laura were playing upstairs most of that time I think. I remember saying “I need a break.” A lot around that time. Sometime here, Ali cast circle for me. I just kept saying “Oh” very long, melodically, and loudly. It felt like singing. It felt right to me and helped me be calmer.

Another thought came to me very clearly: “The only way out is through.” That was my interior refrain from then on. At that moment. I heard Cara say “That was a little bit of a push at the end of that contraction.” The next thing I remember was Laura sitting on the couch holding Evie. I asked Evie if she wanted to stay, or if she wanted to watch TV or do something else. Laura said “Don’t worry, Evie and I have been talking, and she’d really like to stay.”

I could feel downward pressure then. It was intense. I tried to just let my body do its work and stay out of its way. Although I let everyone know I could feel Thor moving down. I was leaning back on Patrick, who held me up. When a contraction hit, I would press my feel against the side of the tub or put my ankles over the side and press back against Patrick. At one point, I felt like people weren’t listening to me because everyone was just watching me intently (I thought they should be able to see him by then, and I was afraid that we were somehow still looking at a morning birth. I knew I couldn’t go on that long and needed someone to say I was close.)

So I reached down and felt Thor’s head about an inch inside. My eyes must have gotten big and Cara said “yes, that’s him.It’s not long now!” Soon they could all see his scalp too. Evie crooned “oh Mama! He’s so cute!” and everyone laughed. Ali took pics and I wanted to see the pics, but I did NOT want a mirror. I wanted to see =the progress I made when pushing, and not how much showed between contractions. A bit later, I had started asking fir reassurance that it would not go on all night or even another hour, since I knew pushing could take a few hours since it was new to me,. Cara said a few more pushes. Evie said “One more push Mama, and I’ll be able to see his eyes!” which somehow reassured me more than any professional midwife comment. And indeed, with Cara supporting my perineum, it was two more pushes until he was born. (An hour total of pushing.) He was born on Monday, October 15th at 12:35 am.

As Cara put him on my chest, beautiful, and looking to me quite pink, eyes open, the most gorgeous thing on earth, Patrick said softly into my ear “His name is Jasper.” We had been debating between Ezra and Jasper and in the end I told Patrick I wanted him to make that final decision when the baby was born. It’s funny, the way he said it very soft and sure, it was just right and perfect to me: Jasper Morey

[TeaLeaf]

our story in a nutshell

My water broke at 29 weeks. I was lucky that my body allowed me to hang on to my pregnancy until week 34; I spent 5 weeks in the hospital on bedrest to every one's surprise -- most women with ruptured membranes deliver within 72 hours. The induction lasted 51 hours; the delivery was a far cry from the waterbirth we wanted, but the important thing is that everybody is well. Our son was in the NICU for a week; he did much better then the anticipated four weeks.

Our son and first child was born on the 7th at 34w2d, 4lb 10oz

[wildgarden]

Reposted for Vivianstcloud:

Maya Roanhorse has arrived!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After 30 hrs of labor, Maya joined us at 12:12 pm Sunday, October 28th.

She is 7lb 4oz and a perfect beautiful baby girl.

Hers was a natural childbirth (using Hypnobabies) at a very supportive hospital with the help of a midwife.

Thank you OCT DDC for all your support and humor and love. You really helped this first time mama through a beautiful pregnancy and birth!

Maya Roanhorse
Baby girl
7 lb 4oz
19 3/4 IN
Born Oct 28th, 2007

[wildgarden]

Reposted for Wildecat:

Autumn Jane has Arrived!!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Date of Birth:10/26/2007 @ 12:30 a.m
Original Due Date October 31st, 2007
Height & Weight:20 inches, 7lbs, 2 oz

Autumn Jane's Birth Story
All Natural

On Tuesday October 23rd I began having more regular contractions and losing my mucous plug. Wednesday my mucous turned to a bloody discharge and I knew we would be meeting our little Autumn very soon. Thursday the 25th, I woke up feeling energized despite getting little sleep the night before. My husband Bradley and I decided to go out and finish errands, get groceries, clean the house and prepare the birth tub. During the afternoon, my contractions were a consistent 8 minutes apart with 30 sec. duration. I came home and sat on my birthing ball for a couple of hours and timed my contractions. They quickly intensified, coming every 5-6 minutes with 1 min. duration. By 9pm, I was beginning to have to really breathe through them so I had Bradley call Lucy and Joy, my Midwife and her assistant. While waiting for them to arrive, I went into my bedroom and labored alone. I took a hot shower and tried out multiple labor positions during my 2-3 minute frequency contractions. I began to feel very shaky and nauseous and had to focus on my breathing and use positive mental imagery of what my cervix was doing through contractions, in order to remain focused. Lucy and Joy finally arrived at 10:45 pm. Lucy entered the room where I was squatting on the floor, my favorite labor position. I asked her if it was normal for me to be so shaky and nauseous this early on in labor and asked for an internal exam. To our surprise she checked and rechecked and told us that I was at 8 or 9 centimeters and well into transition. Bradley and I immediately got into the birth tub and I felt instantly rejuvenated. I went through the rest of transition in the tub, relaxing during contractions while Bradley performed phenomenal acupressure on my lumbar region. I remained in a squatting position during contractions and laid over the edge of the tub to rest between them. Bradley and I remained alone in the dimly lit birthing room until about 11:45 when I could feel Autumn descending my vaginal canal. Initially I tried to breath through the pushing contractions but found it more effective hold a full breath and use to help push. I paced my self with 4 or 5 shorter pushes during each contraction. After several pushing contractions, Bradley could feel the bag of waters bulging out of me. Lucy suggested that breaking the bag would shorten the labor so she snagged the sac and Autumn’s head was immediately delivered into Bradley’s hands. Because her head was delivered so quickly, I involuntarily stood up in pain. Bradley moved quickly to hold me up and with the next contraction Autumn’s body was delivered into Lucy’s arms. I was able to sit in the tub with Autumn on my chest and admire our beautiful daughter. With a strong rooting instinct, she latched on without hesitation.

We are both so in love with her and amazed at the beautiful person that we created. We are in absolute awe of every little noise and facial expression that she makes. This was truly the most life-altering experience for us and has given us a new perspective.

[wildgarden]

Reposted for Justthatgirl:

He's here! I have a fresh new baby! * pics & story on post 7

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thomas Clark C- was born at 10:53 AM (central) today, November 1, 2007. He was born unassisted into mommy's hands with LOTS of support from daddy on the bathroom floor mat. He weighed 9lb 3oz and has HAIR. Unlike big brother & big sister who were bald as cue balls till they were considerably older.

Pics:
http://s63.photobucket.com/albums/h1...homas%20Clark/

Some details of the birth:

I woke at 6:20 or so with contractions. I tried to sleep again. My mom called at 6:37 and I was still contracting (of course). It went on like that till around 10:40 when I needed to push. It was such a fast labor. I didn't expect it.

The pains when it was time to push were overwhelming and I ended up panicking. Yelling, "I can't do this!" even though logic was telling me, "What the heck are you gonna do? Go to the hospital like this? The baby is coming out NOW and no medic would make it in time. Besides, what are they gonna do??" In retrospect it's rather amusing but in the moment I was very scared. The pain was constant, I wasn't getting a break and I wasn't expecting that.

I went to the toilet to clean up a little (bodily functions) and realized I needed to get OFF the toilet, otherwise he'd have been born in the toilet. Not the place for a baby! lol!

Then for awhile afterward the after pains (after the placenta had come out, about 20 min or so) were freaking me out again and I was in shock again! So I took some homeopathic remedies for shock, bruising & swelling, and nerve pain throughout the afternoon. It helped. Of course, I still feel bruised from pushing a bowling ball out of myself. I'm feeling much better than I was, though, both physically and mentally.

Tim (dh) was OUTSTANDING throughout the labor and birth. I couldn't have asked for a better partner. He was excited and happy and calm and peaceful and just awesome. He'd help me focus and he was just great, especially when I was freaking out.

[wildgarden]

Reposted for Moonfroggy:

dmitry robins birth story (Really long and rambly)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ok it is really long. i need to rewrite it but i doubt i will get around to doing that anytime soon. it is written stream of thought because thats how i write stuff like this.

i feel ready to try and write out the birth story. this will be a bit of a rough draft i suppose but i need to at least write out the rough draft. it is going to be long because the story has a beginning way back before he was ever conceived.

because of events that happened to me in childhood i had always felt my body was a bit broken and that maybe i would never be able to have a baby. i always wanted to be a mom even when i was 4 or 5 i knew i wanted to be a mom someday and when i was that young i would sometimes secretly pretend to be having a baby while going to the bathroom. i never told anyone about that little secret until i got pregnant with dmitry. it turns out my body is pretty good at the whole getting pregnant and making a baby thing but the childhood suff did break it a little. in order for me to be able to do the deed to get pregnant the traditional way i had to do biofeedback therapy for vaginismus. i was with rob for 6 years before we where ever able to have that type of sex. if you count that type of sex as loosing ones virginity then i went a really long time before loosing mine. in high school i realized that my family was messed up and had messed me up and in order to break that cycle of toxicity i would need a lot of therapy so when i got my first job i found a therapist and started spending almost my entire income on therapy a little before that time rob and i started dating. between rob helping me lots of talk therapy and lots of work i did on my own i managed to grow and overcome so many things and i think i have gone from being a survivor of abuse to being a thriver. the pregnancy and giving birth where that last healing thing to push me over from the survivor to thriver line. i will always have my past and i suspect always have some issues and some ptsd type dialog in my head but now when that happens i know exactly what is happening why and what to do about it. it took rob a really long time to feel ready to be a father and i am so glad it did because by the time he was ready i was able to have sex and have it be about love. previously it had been a fun thing but i could not connect the emotion of love to the act of making love. it was the week dmitry was conceived i was finally able to make that connection and it makes me so happy that i was able to conceive him in an act of love that i am shaking and crying with happiness right now. i got pregnant really easily and right away which was shocking i had felt so broken for so long i didn't think i could get pregnant even though i had never had any medical reason to doubt my fertility. pregnancy was not to hard on me the one hard thing was nausea but i think overall it may have been easier for me than most women partly because i didn't need to work and was able to rest or do whatever my body said it needed. we are a lucky family in that rob has an awesome job with great benefits that allow me to be able to not work. i found the third trimester the easiest and up until a few days before he was born was walking several miles a day. the last 2 weeks of pregnancy did however become extremely stresful. i was positive about the edd and he was coming late and my midwifes where not comfortable with me going much past 42 weeks. i have had a lot of bad hospital experiences so the thought of having him in one was terrifying to me and i think the terror i felt may have delayed him coming even more. so on october 26th when i was 42 weeks exactly we went to an acupuncturist and she saw how agitated i was so she decided to focus on helping me to relax and the next day would try and induce labor. it was my first time really experiencing acupuncture and it helped me to feel safer and more relaxed than i had ever felt in my entire life and when it was over she sent us to get pizza and sleep. after having the best pizza i have ever had we went home and i tried to sleep but i kept having digestive issues and contractions. i did get some sleep but not much. when i realized it was real labor and not the stop and go labor i had been having for weeks i became so happy i could not stop laughing and crying and smiling. rob woke up worried because i had just been moaning a lot before that point and he had gotten used to the moaning. i knew my body desperately needed some rest and sleep to have the stamina for labor so i layed in bed trying to sleep and tried to remember how the acupuncture had made me feel and as my body relaxed it felt like spirits where int he room with me and i felt a very real hand gently touch my right foot and at that moment my entire body relaxed and i fell asleep. maybe i was already asleep and it was a dream but whatever it was it felt like an amazingly spiritual event. i had been telling rob for months i wanted to wait as long as possible to call the midwifes so when i told him to call he kept asking me if i was sure and i guess when he called it was around 6:30. from that point on i started to get really animal like i guess it was the reptile brain i read about? i went in the birthing tub for a bit then my eyes landed on the futon in the living room and i went there between contractions my entire body went limp and i almost slept while having contractions i was wild. i knew it was important to vocalize and to make sure i peed enough and there was no way i was making it to the bathroom and back so i peed on the blanket i was on and made the loudest most wild sounds i have ever heard. i had no idea i was capable of sounding like that. i was extremely active. when the midwife finally got here she checked me said i was very open and i guess said something to rob about me not needing to do anything different that i was listening to my body so she went around the house preparing things. i am glad i was left alone anyone talking to me would start to get me out of that reptile brain place and i really needed to be in that place. at some point i almost ran to the birthing tub where i went limp during breaks but was practically doing flips during contractions. at some point i had a brief thought of damn i want drugs and it is to late to get any. i think the pain of the contractions had lost it's initial charm at that point i tried to keep my sense of humor when i did talk i tried to say funny things mostly i focussed inward and just did what i needed to do. at some point the water broke and it was clear and i was so relieved and then at some point i felt a mushy hairy thing and i had no idea their heads feel so mushy coming through so i took quiet a while before telling anyone his head was coming. the midwife had rob get in the tub with me so he could tell her how much head and the other midwife showed up. i guess they felt for a water birth it was taking a little to long to get him out so they told me i needed to get on a birthing stool. i don't know how i got on the stool but i did and they told me to make grunting sounds instead of moaning sounds and i had to sort of think about how to do that for a moment but then i was able to and he came out pretty fast and all of the sudden i had this perfect little person in my lap. there was some concern about blood loss and i got a shot in the leg and something about a placenta it was all a blur and i was in bed and i guess part of the bag didn't want to come out but it did eventually i was pretty oblivious to what the midwifes where doing and just starring at my son. i checked to see if he was a son so i would know what name to call him. i said it's dmitry and no one had seen me check so the midwifes where surprised i knew. i was in bed with him and rob and i think in total shock. at some point they had me sit on the birthing stool to pee but instead of peeing i started to faint. there was yelling for me to open my eyes and talk to them so i did and back in bed i went. the midwifes did various other things for a while and i spent that time with dmitry in shock and bliss and at some point they said i should try and pee in the shower but when they got me standing up i started to faint again so back to bed i went and got a catheter. i told them since i had never had one i wasn't afraid. it was unpleasant but i was so high still it was ok. i kept telling dmitry how rob and i made him out of love and how he was perfect and no matter how he had come out he would be perfect and how much we loved him. the midwifes where concerned about my inability to sit or stand up without almost fainting and i think where pondering if i needed to go to the hospital. the midwifes felt i had not lost so much blood for how my body was reacting and we sort of decided it was related to sever lack of sleep that i was having so much trouble. at some point i was shown my tear and given a choice of stitches or not. dmitry took a small chunk of me with him on his way out and my tear is long and straight and just where an episiotomy would be but it is only skin deep does not go into muscle or anything else at all. i was told if i did not get stitches i would need to stay in bed with my legs closed for 2 weeks if i did get stitches then i might get out of bed a week sooner. i chose to forgo the stitches since i wanted to baby moon anyways. before the midwifes left they set up the room so i could pee next to the bed without having to even stand up since they where worried i would faint if i tried and set up a bunch of other stuff and told rob how to care for me and that he had to care for me so i could care for dmitry. before dmitry was born rob had never held a baby. not a toddler not a baby of any age at all! i had held very few babies. poor dmitry has had to deal with us fumbling parents learning everything as we go. i think we are learning fast though and dmitry seems to be mostly happy and very strong and healthy. i am healing really well and fast my midwifes gave me the ok to leave the house on monday to see my chiropractor (my back keeps spasming). last night i got out and hand mirror and looked at myself and my midwifes say when they look at me i could pass as a women who has never had a child and they seem so impressed but i think it was kind of traumatic for me to see how different everything looks (had some old ptsd type feelings come up when i saw everything). i am extremely sore and if rob had to be working right now i would be lost. i really can't do much but in a way i think that is mother natures way of ensuring i spend this time bonding with my son. i feel like i learned so much about what my body is capable of and trusting my instincts and my body and i feel so proud of myself and like my son is so perfect.

dmitry robin he came at 42 weeks 1 day he was 8 pounds 6 ounces and a little over 22 inches long (my midwifes are impressed by this since he is my first and i am 4 foot 10 inches tall)

i will post some photos later.

[wildgarden]

Reposted for Mamalara:

Gabriel Adnan is here!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gabriel Adnan was born on Oct. 30. He is awesome, and a nursing champion. What a relief to be a non-pregnant person again...although I miss feeling him kick and move around inside my belly. He is a complete joy already, and I'm so excited to welcome him to our family, and to share our lives with him! His big brother Noah is adjusting very well. I know it isn't easy to grasp for him. He is enjoying holding the baby, and instructing me to nurse on specific sides.

I hear Gabriel freaking out- husband is not quite holding down the fort upstairs. I'll write more later!