Birth Story. Welcome, Henry George!

Henry George was born February 16th at 10:35am, weighing 8lbs 5oz and was 20.5" long.

Here is the story of how he got here.

My c-section was scheduled for 9:00am, which meant we had to be at the hospital two hours prior. We left the house at 6:15 to be sure we were early and not caught in traffic. Being President's Day, the roads were smooth sailing! Before we left, A took one last belly picture for me.

The Last Belly Picture!

We arrived by around 6:45am and were taken back quickly. We were in pre-op room #2, and our nurse started prepping me right away. I had blood draws, a nasty IV insertion that took a few tries, and lots and lots of fluids. Mostly though, we waited. 

Last picture as a family of two! 

My doctor came to see me and talk to me about the surgery to come. The anesthesiologist came and explained the spinal and how it would work. We were so close! The clock hit 8:45 and we were told "any minute now" to get the surgery started.

While we were waiting for the go-ahead to enter the operating room, we started to hear a lot of activity on the other side of the door. Pre-op rooms are attached to the ORs, so that patients can walk quickly from one area to the next. At first, A and I thought that the noise was final preparations for me.

And then the noise got more frantic. Loud voices, clinking, so much activity for a routine c-section. And then our nurse came in and told us that we'd been bumped for an emergency. So THAT explained all the sounds coming through the door. Waiting longer was nerve wracking, but it meant my mom had time to come see me in the pre-op room. A went out to get her and bring her back. While he did, I got to hear the emergency take a turn for the better - I heard the first cry of the other woman's baby. It was such a relief to hear it, and I was grateful that whoever was in there had a healthy little one despite the struggle. 

Around 10:15, it was finally my turn. I had to take a long walk around to operating room #1 (as my original room was not ready for another surgery yet after the emergency). I went in and hugged a pillow while the spinal was administered. This was the scariest part because A wasn't with me. Dads aren't allowed in the OR until the spinal is administered and mom is lying back on the table - I assume too many fainting episodes when dads see that loooooong needle! Within seconds my body started to go numb and it was truly the strangest feeling I've ever had. Your brain fires signals your body can't answer. 

In the OR, Spinal administered, waiting to start.

A came in and sat by my head, though he could see over the curtain. Originally he'd said he didn't want to look, but in the end he did. I think I would have too. As he said later, "I watched your INNARDS become your OUTARDS!" A thought both hilarious and also terrifying. 

The hardest part of the surgery itself was the fact that I couldn't feel my lungs working. You take for granted that you FEEL yourself breathe. I felt like I was unable to breathe, though monitors showed I was okay. The anxiety of that (and probably the cocktail of drugs) made me nauseous too. A few minutes in I turned to A and said, "did they start yet?" and he said they had . . . and it turns out that we were moments away from meeting Henry! 

And then, at 10:35am, just minutes after they began, Henry George entered the world with a cry. Alex caught the moment on film, and I'll share it here. I promise it's not too graphic. 

The moment of birth

Moments after birth. One of Henry's first pictures.

Henry was immediately whisked to the corner where they checked on him, making sure all was okay. They also cleaned him up some. This was a hard moment for me, as my surgery was not over yet. Now began the process of closing me up. They had briefly shown him to me, but being so short I didn't get a good look over the curtain. A was also asked to go over with the baby to take pictures, so I was left alone on the table for a few minutes. It seemed like much longer than it was. But soon, the baby was in A's arms and they were both by my head so I could look at him. 
Quickly, the surgery was over. All told it took something like twenty minutes start to finish. I was wheeled in to recovery and finally able to hold my little guy.

Family.

Brand new.

In recovery the feeling slowly came back to my torso and legs. Nausea hit as well, and I was throwing up intermittently for hours after the surgery. But everything was perfect - Henry and I both were the picture of health! 

Henry looked JUST like his 3D ultrasound.

That first day, Henry got to meet his Grandpa (A's dad) and my family - grandparents, Great PopPop, and Aunt Kel. 

It was a long, tiring, and emotional day. But we all came through it and I fell in love immediately.

We were in the hospital for four days. Finally on Thursday morning, since my recovery had gone so well, we were allowed to go home. After days in a small room, A sleeping next to a freezing window (it snowed and hit 5 degrees while we were there), we were so ready to go home and start being "normal."

Goodbye, GBMC!

 

Foxy pair

Home. Home at last.

**Bad mom alert. This post took months in the making. Things at the time were so hectic and stressful that this blog fell by the wayside! So I'm finally catching up!**

35-39 Weeks

**Bad mom alert. This post took months in the making. Things at the time were so hectic and stressful that this blog fell by the wayside! So I'm finally catching up!**



The last four weeks of my pregnancy took me from this.....

to this...

The final weeks were psychologically brutal. I tried everything I could to get my stubborn Henry to flip into the proper position. But by 36 weeks, he was NOT budging from his breech position that he seemingly had been in since conception. So after my 36 week appointment and ultrasound, it was decided that Henry would be a c-section baby. It wasn't what I wanted, but I adjusted to the idea and started making arrangements. There was something to be said for having a date and time for baby's arrival. Henry would be here on Monday, February 16th at 39 weeks and 2 days at 4pm! I told my work. I told my long term sub. I started nesting like a madwoman to get things done. I re-packed my go-bag with more c-section friendly things. 

And then at my 37 week appointment, my doctor said, "he may have flipped. This could be his head."

WHAT?

I sobbed in her office. I had wanted him to flip for so long, and he DIDN'T, and I had made peace with the c-section. Adding this now unknown element was just too much. She scheduled another ultrasound for me the next week, but I was left in limbo. WAS Henry in position to come on his own? Or was he instead just freaking out his mother who was already getting anxious waiting for him to show up?

The ultrasound at 38 weeks took forever to come. Of course in that time my c-section date (which was not cancelled in case I still needed it) moved from Monday afternoon to Thursday morning. And then Thursday afternoon. Because why make things simple? 

Finally on Thursday February 12th I had my final ultrasound. 

My boy was there, chubby cheeked and button nosed, and still frank breech with his feet snuggled up by his face. I walked into my doctor's office and she said, "well . . . do you want to have a baby on Monday?" An opening in her schedule had freed up, and so we were rescheduled YET AGAIN for President's Day, at 9:30am. We were just three short days away from meeting our little man.

It was a roller coaster, those few weeks. I cried more during that time than I think I cried any other time in my pregnancy. But knowing, finally, when it would come to an end really made me savor those last days. Yes, I was in horrible hip pain, was sleeping poorly, and was nervous. But I paid extra special attention to the kicking that you could see if you watched my belly. I rested in his nursery more, thinking about holding him in there soon. I wore my favorite maternity clothes one last time.

And I waited for the scariest, most exciting day of my whole life. 

Henry George

We have had an exciting 24 hours! We've chosen your name, confirmed you're a boy, AND confirmed that you are a healthy little squirming baby!

Last night, your dad and I talked through our top two name choices. You were definitely going to be either Nathan James or Henry George. They were the clear favorites, but your dad and I had different preferences. After talking it through, and seeing how much your dad loved the name Henry, and imagined playing with you and loving you, it was a clear decision. Your dad talking about you was positively heart-melting, and made it VERY clear - you're our little Henry! And it's made even more special that your middle name is George, since you're the new "heir" of the family name and you're sharing a name with your dad's grandfather! We are excited to give him a call and let him know you'll help carry on his name and memory.

I made this for you today, and I think we'll hang it in your nursery (aka your captain's quarters)!

Then today we had your anatomy scan! This is a big important ultrasound where the doctor makes sure you measure healthy and on track. Everything looked perfect! Once again, you were a little wiggle worm in there are made the tech's job difficult. Your dad had to work, so Gram came and got to watch your little heart beat and you sucking your thumb and making fists. You did quite a few somersaults in there while we watched, but thankfully we got all of the information we needed. You are healthy, and the tech from a few weeks ago was right . . . you are 100% BOY!

18 weeks, 6 days

So now we really know exactly who you are. Our little Henry. And it's so very nice to see you again <3

Baby BOY!

Yes, that's right, Baby C is no longer an "it," but a "HE!"

Our appointment this morning ran longer than we anticipated, because as A said, "this baby is willfully disobedient!" When the ultrasound began, baby boy flashed the goods and the tech immediately knew we had a little man on our hands, but after that brief moment, he got really difficult.

Baby was really hopping in there, and loved sitting ankles crossed while his feet trapped the umbilical cord RIGHT over his pelvis. Of course. No matter how he moved (and oh, did he MOVE) the cord wouldn't budge. The tech was positive he was a boy, but wanted to be sure we left with the "money shot" as proof. After an hour of poking and pushing, she finally had me lie on my side, and that's when he finally cooperated, and we got a VERY clear shot:

Little Man's butt, two extended legs, and *cough* junk in the middle. PROOF.

We are so thrilled to know this is our boy. We would have been excited to have a little girl, but having a boy is pretty special for us since A is the last male of his family name. We know that his family is really happy to see the line carry on through our son!

As for me, I'm really looking forward to the mother-son relationship. My sister's bond with her oldest, a boy, is incredibly strong, and my SIL loves her little guy SO much. I think it will be really special. Plus now the really exciting stuff starts - naming and nursery planning!

Names will be harder on us for a boy than a girl would be. Girl names we loved were a pretty short list. I love SO MANY boy names, so narrowing it down could be hard. But now we get to do it, and I am so ready!

Pinterest awaits :)

16 Weeks - Our Boy

Hi, Mom and Dad!

Yesterday we had our Nuchal Translucency scan which is used to check on baby's progress and look for early markers of genetic issues. While we are low risk for these things, we wanted the scan anyway since it's totally non-invasive (an ultrasound and a blood test for me), informative, AND gave us an extra look at baby as we head into second trimester this FRIDAY!

Baby is right on track, if not ahead a few days. And s/he is NOT cooperative. First baby was napping upside down, which wouldn't let the tech get the measurements she needed. So I had to use the bathroom, walk around, and cough a bunch to wake that kid up. Then when s/he DID wake up, they were less than pleased at being disturbed! S/he wiggled around and looked pretty agitated, and still was a little bugger avoiding the right measurement positions. It was so funny to watch, and it was hard not to laugh. Our kid is already stubborn. Uh oh! It did give us about a half hour to watch and enjoy the ultrasound, though, so I can't complain.

Finally, baby cooperated and they saw what they needed to see. All measurements were perfect and show no genetic issues. Baby has two arms, two legs, a nasal bone, a stomach, a bladder, a BRAIN and a million other things the tech pointed out to us during our appointment. We still have to wait until Friday or Monday for the bloodwork results, but I am pretty confident that those should come back with no issue. Of course you never know, but I'm not as nervous about the bloodwork as I was about seeing the baby had grown and had a good heartbeat (177). As long as our bloodwork comes back okay, we'll be going fully public about the pregnancy since I'll be in second trimester with an awesome report! I am so excited to not hide this from people anymore.

And without further ado . . .

12w4d - Look at that actual BABY profile!

Baby C's First Pictures!

We just got back from my ultrasound, and it was AMAZING!

First of all, Baby C is right on track, maybe even measuring a day EARLY size wise. S/He has a heartbeat of 181 beats per minute, on the strong side of normal (155-195 are considered good), and is MOVING like crazy!

We watched our little parasite wiggle around and even roll over. The kid is doing flips!

My favorite part of the whole experience, besides the relief of hearing "everything looks great," was hearing the heartbeat. It sounded like a train chugging along. We MADE that. It is so crazy. The tech knew I was really nervous and on the verge of tears (hormones, what can ya do?) so the very first thing she did was play us the heartbeat. I felt tears well up even more, and I laughed and clapped my hands.

I am so grateful things are okay.

Here S/He is . . . Baby C!

Baby! 9 Weeks 2 Days

Now in 3D! S/He looks like a gummy bear!

First Appointment!

Well, our first appointment has come and gone. It was actually pretty anti-climactic.

The ultrasound machine was down, so we have to go back in Monday afternoon to see our little parasite and make sure it's doing okay. I'm still nervous for this, but I DO feel better after my exam. My doctor said my uterus is the right size and in the right location for where I should be, and everything is "textbook" according to her. I could have gone for an u/s tomorrow morning, but then A couldn't go. Neither of us want him to miss this, so we decided waiting a few days would be worth it.

Tomorrow I go to a lab for bloodwork, so really there isn't much to update on.

Monday can't get here soon enough, now! Hopefully I'll be posting baby's first pictures!