Baby Boy Is Here...And He Came Facing Up

Hi friends,

Daddy Rainmaker is waiting in the car with our bundle of joy while I type a quick post here at the library. Ha, Ha. I have to laugh at that because I didn't know how else to do it without bringing in the baby or we can't keep him at home while I write because I'm breastfeeding...

Anyway...All went well. After I typed my last post Wednesday night, the contractions started becoming more intense and regular around 11:00 p.m. Then, when I couldn't stand it anymore, we went to the hospital around midnight.

By the time I got there I was dilated to five and fully effaced. I decided to take some fetanol (I'm not sure I have the spelling right) which takes the edge off the contractions. I started with half a dose and then took the other half as things got more intense. I'm glad I did because I noticed that I was having some back labor, too, which is indicative of a baby facing the wrong way (sunny side up).

Well, I usually start pushing when I hit eight centimeters. And if baby is facing the right way, the pushing is the easy part. Well, the pushing was not easy. She kept telling me to push harder and harder and she said it with a certain urgency. So, I did the best I could, but I looked at her face and realized that this baby may not be facing the right way. So, into my second round of pushing when the next contraction came...she said push twice as hard as the last one...and then they put the oxygen mask on me because the baby's heart rate had dropped. But I pushed again and he came out. Altogether I pushed a total of five minutes to get a sunny side up baby out, which to me is quite miraculous. Baby #4 took 90 minutes to push out because of him facing the wrong way.

I can only imagine that the reason the pushing part went so smoothly, all things considered, was because he wasn't as big as the other babies, I had some pain medication along the way, and perhaps because I'm in shape. After the birth, one of the gals who attended the labor said something about me pushing like a rock star? Ha, I think that was a compliment.

Our son weighed 6 pounds 4.4 ounces at birth and is 20 1/2 inches long. He weighs about a pound less on average than our other babies. I asked the doctor if he weighs less because I gained less weight in this pregnancy and they said they didn't think so.

We had an appointment this morning, and already he weighs 6 pounds 6.8 ounces. So, he's gaining weight. And he eats all the time.

Other than being a slender little guy, he is in perfect health, thank God! He's beautiful. His face didn't get bruised at all from coming out the wrong way, which will sometimes happen.

I have been taking pictures and expect to have my home computer issues resolved by the end of this week if not sooner so that I can post some pictures of the baby.

But I wanted to thank you for keeping an eye on me and the baby and I appreciate all of your words of encouragement.

Everything is going well at home with the new baby. It feels a little strange to not be pregnant after being pregnant for so long. My body is still recovering, and I nap often to try and keep up on my sleep.

I'm not sure if I'll be able to post again until my I get my computer at home up and working. But hopefully that will be by Friday.

Oh, so he was born on Thursday, November 4 at 2:50 a.m.

Sincerely,
Sunshine Mama