Surprise. Surprise.
The King is here.
Holy anticlimactic!
I let 12 days go by after his birth without so much as posting a picture.
Sorry. I’m easily distracted. I’ve had non-stop company and I’ve been nursing a newborn around the clock, which for a novice such as myself, requires both hands.
So yes. I’ve neglected to update my favorite corner of the web.
But what about Henry, you ask.
I’m sure it’s why most of you have pulled up this site repeatedly over the last couple weeks.
The newborn I birthed! Where is he? How did it go? Did the birth center live up to its expectations? Would I recommend natural childbirth? (More on that later…)
I know some of you grew impatient and decided to find my Facebook profile. As cringe-worthy as FB can be sometimes, it’s much less time-consuming than writing a real blog post. For someone whose friends and family are scattered all over the world Facebook is a requisite social networking tool. My profile has been a hub of activity since Henry’s birth.
In this space, however, I like to take my time.
Just like Henry.
Who, by the way, was born at 1:05 p.m., Sunday, June 5 at Breath of Life Birth Center.
He weighed 8 lbs., 12 oz. and measured 21 inches long.
“Ooo! It’s about time we got a trucker,” said my midwife, who sized me up with a disconcerting GRIN as I waddled painfully into the birth center in the throes of active labor. “We’ve had a lot of pipsqueaks lately.”
The most coherent thing I said that morning: “A TRUCKER?! I don’t want a trucker!”
But I got a trucker, who one hour after being born attempted to crawl. No kidding.
I had a post in the can prepared for the day I went into labor. I wrote it two weeks before the Trucker King’s due date with the thought that I might go into labor EARLY.
Bah!
I wrote it thinking I’d have a SLOW and steady labor. That I’d have time to open my laptop, sign onto my blog and publish a saved post.
Bah!
Labor is supposed to creep up on first-timers, or at least that’s what they told us in our natural childbirth classes.
Most first-timers labor at home, grab small bites to eat, walk around the block, breathe slow and steady and allow their husbands to rub their backs.
This first-timer downloaded Iron & Wine’s best-of double disc in anticipation of the ebb and flow of mild contractions.
Mild my ass.
I woke up at 6 a.m. with medium contractions that by 8 a.m. had become sharp and unforgiving.
I tried to eat a bowl of Special K Red Berries, but there was no time for that. It sat on the kitchen table, milk-less and uneaten until my father dumped it back into the box after my husband, my mother and me sped off to the birth center at 8:30 a.m.
After pulling a no-show for five days, the King was ready to assume his thrown in a manner aptly described by my midwife as “rapid-fire.”
Or, as I like to describe it, FAST and FURIOUS.
Seven hours of total labor.
Almost four hours of PUSHING.
NO DRUGS.
NO HOSPITAL.
Just me in a jacuzzi tub, my mother covering my head and neck in ice-cold wash cloths, my husband gritting his teeth as I drained the blood from his hands with each push.
It was grueling.
The hardest f#@%ing thing I’ve ever done.
But it’s done.
And now I feel like I can do anything.
ANYTHING.
Had I been in a hospital, would they have let me push for nearly four hours?
Probably not.
One of my friends was over the other day to see Henry. She’s a nurse at a nearby hospital. I asked her if they would have let me push for four hours. She shook her head no. Probably not.
I might have ended up with a C-section.
Or other unfavorable interventions would have been used.
Three things were in my favor that day:
1. Henry’s heart rate was strong and consistent. He was in the birth canal for a long time, but he was never in distress. My water didn’t break until five minutes before he was born, thus there wasn’t a scary sense of urgency to get him out ASAP.
2. My physicality. Remember all that running? All the insistence on training for something I knew would be insanely difficult? It paid off, people. Nothing prepared me better for natural childbirth than the stamina, strength and endurance I built up by running, biking and swimming pre-pregnancy and during pregnancy. Nothing. Not even yoga. You can’t downward-dog your way through a four-hour pushing phase, but you can sweat, scream and endure. I know it ain’t pretty and that some of you might think I’m crazy, but 12 days later, I’m proud, relieved and grateful that I was able to do it my way.
3. My midwife. She was amazing. She never let me think I couldn’t do it on my own. She never told me I was doing anything wrong. She saw me through the most taxing physical experience of my life with the calm, cool composure of a woman who has delivered hundreds of babies. Two hours into pushing, I turned to her and asked, “Is something wrong?” And she said to me, “Everything is fine. You’re doing great. The baby is fine. You’re almost there.” It was exactly what I needed to hear, even if I wasn’t almost there.
ANYWAY.
I’m cutting this short because I’ve stalled long enough…
Let me formally introduce you to His Royal Majesty, Henry Richard.
He’s the best thing Joe and I have ever done.
I’m sure you’ll hear more about him at a later date.
—
He is the most gorgeous little bundle. You are superwoman and let your body do what it’s designed to do.
Welcome to the King…you can tell he’s already the ruler 🙂
Thanks for the no holds bar description….. do you know how often I hear oh it wasn’t that bad…… all these other great wonderful low pain type stories……. best I’ve read……. I appreciate the honesty of the situation……. still have NO desire (if not less desire) to go through the pregnancy and birthing process. .He is handsome…… I can’t wait for all the posts to come on life with Henry
Congratulations!!! Amazing and inspiring 🙂 I wanna be like you when I grow up!
I should have pointed out that the reason I was pushing for so long was because my son was CROOKED. He was head-down, but tilted to one side. It’s called asynclitism and it’s not a favorable birth position.
http://www.spinningbabies.com/baby-positions/all-positions/asynclitism
HENRY!!!
I’m so unbelievably proud of you Heids. I knew, out of any of my friends, that you’d be the one to stick with your own plan and see it through to the end. I cannot WAIT to meet his royal highness in person. He is absolutely adorable and the perfect blend of you and Joe. CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!
Congratulations to you both. He’s adorable. He looks much older than his 12 days. Hugs to all.
There aren’t enough words to describe how amazing it was to be a part of my grandsons birth. I am so proud of how strong and determined Heidi was during the entire labor. Henry is one strong little guy too. He went through a lot to get here, yet once in Heidi & Joe’s arms he had a look of contentment. Such a beautiful boy! My heart grew larger seeing my baby girl become a mother too.
Beautiful boy!
ps. I must have perfect timing. I haven’t been here in a couple of weeks and viola look what you posted just today!
congrats Heidi and Joe, our great grandson is adorable. We can’t wait to see him and give him a big squeeze. I’m sooooo proud of you heidi you did a terrific job birthing your precious son. lots of love to the new family.
Congratulations!!! I’m so glad you posted this straight up, no frills. I definitely want to go the all-natural way (despite what everyone tries to say in discouragement) so I loved reading this. He is so handsome and has so much character already! I can’t wait to read more!
I knew you could do it!! I had the hospital horror story and I am so glad that you were able to experience the birth you wanted, on your terms. What a gift. I am so proud of you, Heidi! For persevering, for insisting on the birth experience you preferred, for achieving it. Gestating, birthing, breastfeeding – it’s amazing how your body will do what it is made to do, isn’t it?
Congratulations on your precious bundle. He’s perfect =) Enjoy him and please give him an extra snuggle or two from Charlotte and me!
Great post! Ray and I both just read it together and chuckled. Can’t wait to hear more.
Congratulations!! I was without my laptop for the past few days and just read this now. WOW! You are amazing and Henry is beautiful. I agree with above that he looks older than just a few days…and I hope to hear more about his attempt at crawling straight outta the womb.
Enjoy him, love him, snuggle him!
awwww…. Heidi – he’s BEAUTIFUL! And you, my dear, are amazing! I am beyond impressed at what you did (I did the drugs and I admire anyone who can do it au naturale). Can’t wait to hear/see more! Sweet little Henry… give him a kiss for me!
Heidi… your are truly amazing, my labor lasted 24 hours.. I gave up and took the drugs about 13 hours in….. seriously.. you rock 🙂
I don’t know you at all but saw the cute baby and proud mama and had to say congrats!! Way to go on going natural! We’re expecting our fourth in November and seeing your birth pics brought a big smile to my face. It seems so new and almost surreal every time I’m pregnant and I can hardly believe I’ll be blessed with another little wet newborn like your beautiful Henry. It sounds cheesy, but the miracle of life really is amazing…each and every time!
Congrats!!!!!! I was watching your blog for the announcement and as soon as I was unable to check it…your precious son arrived! Congrats to you and Joe! Henry Richard is perfectly beautiful!
Oh my gosh, how fun to see Henry as a newborn!