Henry Luke Harris ~ Hey Cora Lee

Henry Luke Harris

January 31, 2014

11:31am

7lbs 11oz, 19in

We love this little guy so much!

Little Henry's birth was amazing! The exact opposite of Amelia's birth. Not that hers wasn't amazing-- it was!, but just completely different. Amelia took around 27 hours to arrive and Henry it was about 8...such a difference!

The wonderful thing about his birth was that I was able to spend most of it at home. I walked around for at least 2 weeks already 3 cm dilated, so I knew that this birth experience would be a little different. Henry was born at 38weeks and 3 days so I was also getting very anxious to meet him, as Amelia was born at 37weeks and 1 day. It's weird to think that it isn't even my due date yet...but I don't mind my babies arriving early, as long as they are healthy!

The night before his birth we had Chinese food with Dans parents and due to my gestational diabetes I spent a good hour afterwards walking up the stairs and doing lunges and squats while folding laundry to try and keep my blood sugar low. But as I went to bed, I felt no impending labor.

However, I did wake up a few times feeling a little crampy, but it didn't feel abnormal until about 3:30am. So maybe Henry's labor was a little longer, but I didn't really feel it! At 3:30, I had some pretty strong contractions and a bit of bloody show, so I started to get excited. But I knew that this could only be a sign of labor coming in the next few days. I tried to sleep, but I was mostly too excited. By 5am, I noticed my contractions were strong and about 10mins apart, so I decided to take a shower. I must have taken a really hot shower, because I ended up scaring Dan as I woke him up telling him I felt dizzy. I had meant to let him sleep a little longer, oops! I tried to rest a bit more, but by 6:30, I was getting anxious and a bit more uncomfortable so I went downstairs to eat some breakfast. I think it was at this point that I realized that things were finally happening.

I actually really enjoyed having a few quiet moments downstairs, eating oatmeal and an apple, timing my contractions, teaching myself to breathe through the hardest parts and emailing my school/sub. I had already planned to be gone from school that morning due to a doc appointment, so it was very convenient that Henry decided to show up when he did!

By 7:30/8, I had cancelled my doc appointment, called L&D to let them know what was going on and texted Marianne and Scott to come over and watch Amelia. My contractions were about 6-7minutes apart. At this point, Dan and Amelia were awake. It was interesting trying to concentrate through contractions with Amelia...she just laughed and smiled at me. I was also getting quite concerned because I had pretty bad back labor (again!), so I was trying all sorts of swaying to try and get him to move. Every now and then Dan had to apply some counter pressure to my low back. I remember that my contractions hurt, in fact they hurt just as bad as my first labor with Amelia when I gave in to the epidural, but this time was completely different because I wasn't exhausted and 24hrs into it. Surprisingly, it gave me reassurance knowing that the pain would only last for a minute and that I was getting closer to meeting the little dude. I'm pretty proud of how I handled the pain at home, especially for how dilated I ended up being before I made it to the hospital (spoiler: 9cm and feeling ready to push!)

Anyways... (man....birth stories are so long.....I just want to be able to remember everything.....) by the time Marianne and Scott arrived, 8:30?, I was definitely feeling more uncomfortable and needed a quiet place to concentrate, so I went upstairs to sway. Dan was with me to comfort me and apply counter pressure to my back, but he was also trying to get everything ready to leave and make sure his school business was in order. I didn't really mind because I enjoyed being alone to concentrate. Although, at this point I was also starting to get nervous about how close my contractions were getting. I was getting closer and closer to the 4-5mins apart that necessitated going to L&D. After laying down for awhile (which ironically, I think allowed Henry to flip around a bit), I started to feel a little flushed and just not well, so I finally told Dan it was time to go!

I think we headed out the door at 10am. I just remember trying to say bye to Amelia but having a contraction and walking into the bathroom to lean on the wall. I was definitely starting to not feel well at this point. Getting in the car and having contractions while sitting was absolutely terrible. I must have had 3-4 back to back contractions. Ugh! Dan drove fast, but well. I just remember thinking, I better be ready to deliver this kid when we get there, because if I have 10 more hours of this pain or it gets worse....I'm done. Dan quickly dropped me off and I waited for him to park. It was here that I suddenly realized that I was probably in transition... I felt faint, weak and was starting to shake a bit. And oh.....why does Kaiser have such a long hallway?!? It's terrible. I had to stop like 3 times, all the while Dan kept offering to get a wheelchair but I didn't want to wait or for him to leave me, I just needed to get there! By the time we made it down the hall and he phoned for them to open the doors, I had to squat down or I wasn't going to make it. I also very surprisingly felt the need to push! This was a scary but awesome feeling because I knew I was almost done! Hahahaha! Little did I know that the worst pain was ahead of me....

The nurse that opened the door looked at me skeptically, like every women that arrives claims to be ready to push, but agreed to let me use a wheelchair to go into triage. Everyone did work quickly though and we found out I was 9cm and my water was about to burst, so I was swiftly moved into a room. Yay! I was so happy that I was this far along, but I totally couldn't express it, as at this point I had to just close my eyes and block everything out. I got asked a billion questions, and I dont think I answered that many of them. The midwife did ask if she should break my water and I agreed as it would speed things up...yes, please! Although I wasn't quite 10cm, I felt a huge urge to push, so the midwife said I could, that I should do whatever felt best or most comfortable. So I started to push and it just felt awkward at first. Eventually, they got out the squat bar and I had more success with that....which was great, but oh so bad it hurt! They thankfully gave up on trying to keep the monitors on, but honestly, I hardly noticed as I was trying so hard to concentrate. It took my whole body strength to effectively push. While I was happy that I was did this drug free, I was simultaneously cursing myself for not getting an epidural. This was easily the hardest thing I have ever done, physically, mentally, emotionally, it was hard! I also vividly remember thinking, I will NEVER do this again...HAHA! But despite all this talk of pain, I already have forgotten some of it (some...).

After just about 45 minutes, the little dude finally made it out! He was placed on my tummy, well more like my hips, as he ended up having a super short umbilical cord. I just remember the midwife saying, oh! shortie cord, he's got a shortie cord!

Right away Dan and I realized how perfectly beautiful he was. I felt so much relief that he was here and healthy. I'm not a crier during birth, but I nearly cried, I was so happy. He had the perfect little face and he happily got to cuddle and nurse with me for the next two hours. I'm really thankful that Kaiser allows those first few hours for us. There is nothing like looking down at a brand new babe resting on your chest.

My midwife and nurses were calm, encouraging and wonderful. I felt totally safe. They were great at communicating with us and my midwife even said that this would have been a fantastic home birth. She included Dan in letting him know about what we should expect for my recovery and I knew he appreciated bring included. Sometimes I feel like the dad gets forgotten, so that was nice.