Four Months

Four months ago today Henry Harrison Light entered our lives. I can't believe it's been four months already. On the other hand, I can barely remember what life was like before he came into it. It's been such a joy getting to know him and sharing our lives with him.

What I can believe is that we let this blog go un-updated for the same four months. So many times I wanted to update it, but we've been pretty busy. I know, I know, it's pretty lame. Today I'm reviving this blog. A good place to start is by describing the day that Henry came into our lives: May 12, 2010.

After about two weeks past Henry's guess date, my doctor was no longer willing to let me wait for things to kick in naturally. For almost 2 weeks I was 4cm dilated and 80% effaced, but Henry was pretty comfy in there and did not want to come out. We scheduled the induction, and on that Wednesday morning we arrived at the hospital at 6am. Despite my best efforts, I was a bit frightened and disappointed that I'd be receiving pitocin. But I was determined to remain as relaxed as possible, aided in part by the Hypnobabies training, and of course by Ryan. As they were hooking me up to the mobile IV, Phyllis, our doula, showed up as well as our doctor. I was glad to see them both. Our doctor had to go across town for some appointments he had there, but said he'd be back to check up on me later in the afternoon. He stopped by the hospital only to see me and to wish us well - and this is why I love him so.

When I was all hooked up, I moved to a birthing ball that was positioned next to the bed. A few hours went by, but I had yet to feel any kind of significant pressure wave (Hypnobabies speak for contraction) activity. I felt only mild cramping. The room was very dark and quiet, and the Hypnobabies scripts played in the background. We spent that time chatting and laughing, and I even got a few texts out, one of which I sent to my sister:


After a couple of hours, a doctor came in - not my doctor, mind you - to tell us that things were not happening fast enough. My doctor had earlier said that this might happen, and that they may need to break my water. This doctor - let's call him Dr. Stinkypants - was here to tell me, in a very arrogant manner that he must break my water. I did not like him because he did not want to give us the few minutes it was going to take to allow me to use the hypnosis tools for dealing with the water-breaking process. "Do you actually believe in this hypnosis stuff?" he said to Ryan as Phyllis helped me to get into the relaxation mode. What a jerk.

At this point, they took me off of the pitocin. Yay! And sure enough, the water breaking kicked things into full gear. I spent the next 6 or so hours in full-on birthing time. The pressure waves kicked up in intensity, and I managed to deal with them by using my relaxation tools and rhythmic breathing. Most of the time I sat on the birth ball, but for a little while I got up and walked around, and even went into the jacuzzi tub and let hot water run down my back. Ryan and Phyllis were so supportive, rubbing my back and feet and softly repeating words of encouragement. It did not feel like 6 hours, it felt like much less, but around then I was ready to start pushing.

At around this point, my doctor showed back up. I requested that a birthing bar be set up at the end of the bed, as I did not want to "labor" on my back. I tried lying on my side for short time, but this was not comfortable. Once the bar was set up, I began to push with the pressure waves, squatting hanging on the birthing bar at each interval. The room was still quite dim and quiet, very peaceful. At one point, I looked over at my doctor, who was sitting in a chair still in his street clothes. He was asleep. Yes, here I was in full-on pushing mode, and my doctor was sleeping. That's how peaceful it was in the room.

After an hour or so of pushing, I knew that the time was drawing near. My doctor had woken up and changed into his scrubs. And shortly thereafter, Henry was here!

But all was not OK. Henry was bluish-green, and totally lifeless. Immediately, my doctor cut the cord and handed him off to a team of doctors who had been standing by behind me (and who I never saw). Back when the water was broken, a significant amount of meconium (baby poo) had been found in the water. I didn't know it at the time, but this means that there is a risk that the baby could swallow the poo, and this is something that can cause all kinds of problems. The doctors were standing by because they needed to suction out the poo before Henry took his first breath. Ryan followed the doctors into the triage room connected to the birth suite. I heard activity, but I was in complete shock and was very confused as to what was going on. I kept asking my doctor, who was trying to get me to focus on delivering the placenta, "Where's my baby? What's wrong?" and he replied that we'd surely hear the baby cry soon. As Henry's heart rate fell while the doctors suctioned his lungs, Ryan held his little hand. Soon I heard a wail, and I began to cry. Within a minute, Ryan brought me Henry.

So there you have it. Henry Harrison Light, born at 5:06pm, weighing 8lbs 9oz, 21 inches of beautiful baby.