Brand New

I was in labor from noon on Christmas Day until Henry was born at 11:27 that night.  The contractions weren't so bad for the first few hours, but by three or four I was ready for an epidural.  I was glad that I asked for it when I did, because it took about an hour for it to fully knock out the pain.  Colin was really sweet and I could tell he really hated to see me in pain.  Shots and needles don't really bother me, so getting the epidural wasn't that big of a deal for me.  The hardest part of it was having to sit up on the side of the bed and try to curve my back.  Colin and our nurse held me in place and really helped me stay still while the doctor did his magic.

I tried to rest from then until I was fully dilated, but I wasn't sleepy.  I was excited!  My sisters, my mom and my niece Mary Katherine took turns coming in to keep me company.  They brought Colin food and were really comforting to have with me.  My dad was sick with the World's Worst Cold, so he was home in bed feeling crummy.  I know he hated to miss everything.

I think that I started pushing around 9:30pm.  I was fully dilated, but Henry was still pretty high up in the birth canal.  Pushing is really hard work, even with an epidural.  Nothing can really prepare you for that part of it.  After what felt like a really long time, the doctor on call came in and coached me through the last hour or so of pushing. He was a really good coach and I feel like having him there helped give me my second wind to keep going.  Then, before I knew it, they said "his head is out!" and then he was whisked over to the NICU people who were on call in our room.  He had meconium in the amniotic fluid and everyone was super concerned that he would inhale it on his first breath.  So I didn't hear him cry right away and I didn't get to hold him immediately.  I just kept saying "is he all right? is he all right?"  As soon as they assured me that he was in fact perfect (despite being a little blue!), I burst into tears.

Henry's apgar scores were 7 and 8 because of his color and the meconium, but everyone quickly assured me that he was a very healthy boy at 9 pounds 2 ounces.  Colin got to hold him first and brought him over to me in bed.  It was amazing and surreal to see my husband holding our baby for the first time.

I hadn't eaten anything since 7:00 that morning (besides IV fluid and ice chips), but I was so worn out that nothing really sounded good.  I ended up settling on a Coke, some Jello and some dry Cheerios.  The rest is kind of a blur of getting moved into a new room, getting myself un-numb and cleaned up, and answering tons of questions from nurses. 

It just keeps getting better every day.