The changes in just one year are simply amazing...besides walking and talking and signing, he eats, he plays, he giggles, he knows what he shouldn't be doing (and grins while shaking his head about it), he boogies to the music, and while frustrating in his lack of sleep and abundance of whine, he amazes us every day.
Happy birthday L. We love you so much.
For those of you who never read his birth story...here it is:
A little brother has joined our family! Born Wednesday night, at home in the tub, caught by daddy!
He was born at 41 weeks, after about 45 minutes of actual labor (I'd been having contrax for about an hour before that, every 12-15 min, but didn't really think much of them...). My water had broken early on Tuesday morning, 41 hours before labor kicked in! I'm sure that's partly why my contrax became so intense...I've never before labored with broken water.
Funny part to the birth story...one hour before I had him, I was sitting at the dinner table eating - of all things - BEEF STEW!! Not exactly your light pre-baby meal LOL
When contrax really set in, I got in the tub - they were one on top of another, with no break between. When I tried to get up to use the toilet, I almost had to fall back into the tub for any relief...
D was putting the girls to bed (it was about 7 p.m.) - then he came out and heard my vocalizations, got in the tub with me, and starting applying pressure to my lower back. Not long after this, he asked if he should call S to come. I agreed, so he made the call, and she arrived quickly.
I suddenly had an overwhelming urge to bear down, and checked to feel head - I was so surprised that it was already time! The feeling of his head moving down, pressing on my perineum, and emerging was so intense...I hadn't ever felt so connected to the actual birth of my other two. I helped ease the head, feeling the perineum stretch - I was sure it wouldn't fit, and was going to burst! Once his head was born, I just paused and felt his silky hair in the water, while waiting for another pushing urge. Again, I was so aware of the emerging shoulders and then body - unlike before. My dh caught him, and as I'd been on all fours, I stood and we passed the baby up to me.
Our girls came in and were watching me labor once it was obvious the baby was immenent - the elder (age 5) was drawing me pictures that said "I love you mom" on them
And in between pushes, I could smile back and talk to them...it was the first time that I actually enjoyed pushing during labor, because it was the first time in this labor I was getting a break between contrax!When the baby was born, the girls stripped and hopped into the tub with us, meeting their new brother. After a few minutes, I moved to our bed to birth the placenta (all of 5-10 minutes later) and rest.
There's the quick version...I have yet to write out the whole story.
If you haven't seen the pictures and would like to (warning, nudity!! but nothing too graphic), please click here. I hope you enjoy them. I love sharing these pictures of what birth can be...not scary, not medical, just part of family life.
6 comments:
Happy birthday little one!
Reading the birth story and seeing the pictures was almost as exciting as it was one year ago. I remember checking your blog 3-4 times a day, just waiting for news.
Happy Birthday Little L.
Happy Birthday little LAMB! What a cutie! Went over and saw your birth pics for the first time! Awesome!!! Thanks for sharing and you really need to write the "whole story" before you forget any of the important details. :-)
Happy birthday, little guy. I took another look at your birthing pics and am amazed again at how incredibly beautiful you, Jen, are, most especially in birth.
PS I finally added an entry to my blog.
Watching your birth video at Rixa's was truly one of the more enlightening experiences of my life. Congratulations, and Happy Birthday little Liam.
Happy birthday Beautiful Boy!!!
(and yes, your birth slideshow is my all-time fave. hope it's still up!)
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