Third times a charm

 

Ready or not...here he comes! Baby Henry is on his way! I've only cried 3 or 4 times from excitement and I'm anticipating a few more times before the day is over! Hooked up and the doctor is going to break my water shortly... (this was my first attempt to announce the birth of Henry)

Baby Henry is here!!!! As you may have guessed, Henry is here!! He is the coolest little dude and I’m obsessed (as you may have also guessed). Where to start?

L&D-I went into labor after a quick 10 minute check up where the doctor “cleared my membranes”…don’t ask me what that means exactly because I’m still not quite sure. All that I know is that when I left I immediately felt an abnormal amount of fluid (sorry tmi) in my pants, called the doctor, stopped back into the doctor’s office and was given instructions to go to the hospital. HE’S COMING!!! I checked into the hospital at 2pm, they put me on petosin and I labored for 4 hours (no pain yet), the doctor broke my water at 6pm (and instantly the contractions kicked up to HOLY HELL OUCH). After they broke my water they left us alone for about an hour. LONGEST HOUR OF MY LIFE!! Apparently my body was contracting hard on it’s on, AND they left the petosin ON…so I was having VERY INTENSE contractions VERY CLOSE together…just as one contraction ended another would be starting…not normal. When the nurse came back in she noticed how frequently I was contracting and turned the petosin off…at which point I requested the anesthesiologist for my epidural. It was another hour and a half until he was in my room, had me prepped, and the “good stuff” turned on and working…sooo longest two and a half hours of my life!

After that it was smooth sailing! JCH ran home to let out Teddy (our dog), meet the UPS driver to get our new camera, and grab a few things that I had forgotten. I played on facebook and pinterest and even started updating my blog (sadly never finished). The nurse came in and checked me at 10pm and said I was ready to go (dilated 10cm, fully effaced, -3 position, etc.), when the doctor came in-she said she’d like to give me another hour (well dang...all that excitement and another hour wait). Around 11ish the doctor came back in and started getting us all prepped to push. They went over “leg holding” instructions with JCH and taught me how I would breathe and push through each contraction. Shortly after 11:30pm I started pushing. It was nothing how I had imagined. Well I always imagined you just push and push and push until the baby comes out…but you actually get nice little breaks in between pushing. As soon as you start contracting you take a deep breath and push (and don’t breathe) for as long as you can, then do that again until the contraction has let up. I did this for probably 8-10 contractions and that lasted about 20-30 minutes. Henry John Hoffman made his entry into the world at 11:59pm…he was determined to come THAT day. At one point I got nervous because the doctor said she was noticing his head was protruding back after each push. She told me that if that kept happening, than they would have to do something “quick and drastic” (I thought that meant a c-section, JCH said it meant they were going to stand on a stool and push really hard on my stomach…thank god that didn’t happen). Both JCH and I were amazed at how smoothly everything ended up going. JCH kept saying that he always imagined pure chaos, lots of equipment and lights and people running around frantically…but it was nothing like that. The doctor sat calmly at the edge of my bed while she talked us quietly through it. There was only one nurse assisting while the baby nurse waited quietly in the corner for Henry’s arrival. It really was the best possible birthing experience ever. I always said that because my pregnancy was a little bumpy I deserved a good labor...or perhaps a perfect baby...well I got them both!!

No family made it for the actual delivery. My sister tried, but that afternoon her flight out of North Dakota was so delayed that there was NO WAY she was going to make it in time so she made the executive decision to wait and come in a week after my in-laws (who were already en route via car from Texas) had left (that way she could have Henry and me to herself)...my wonderful inlaws were there the next day and such amazing help in that first week! (this was my second-unpublished-attempt at announcing Henry's birth)

 

6 months later...Yep, he's here alright! Evidence of it is the enormous smile that never leaves my face, the double bags under my eyes, and the fact that I am no longer working in marketing at the credit union. Two things I've found to be very true..."no matter what anyone says they can never truly prepare you for the sleep deprivation in the first few weeks", and understatement of the century, "the most rewarding and amazing feeling to be a parent"...THE BEST!!!! I am honestly loving every moment (even the sleep deprivation which comes on and off with sickness and travel).
(yay...third and final attempt at the announcement...and I've finally published for all of my readers!)

I've decided I'm going to keep writing. It's been a roller coaster and lets be honest, I've got a lot to say...and amazing things to share! I love being able to look back on our "Getting Knocked Up" journey and now we're starting a new chapter, with that I could come up with countless titles..."Where Did This Baby Come From?", "What Have We Got Ourselves Into?", and in all seriousness, "You are My Sunshine"...because I've truly never felt so alive and life has never seemed so bright!

So, now to start you off with a few favorite memories of mine from the past 6 months...

• Henry sleeping on my chest (still one of my favorite things)
• Henry enjoying bath time so much that he would kick all of the water out of the tub
• JCH putting a diaper on Henry backwards (seems to me that would be much more difficult)
• JCH puking all over the nursery while changing his first poopy diaper (this man can gut a fish and dress a deer, but poopy diapers gross him out...hmmmm)
• Henry playing and interacting with his friends (I've got 3 girlfriends who had babies within the same month, 2 within the same week, as Henry was born)
• When we gave Henry his first bath he was on the kitchen counter and screaming and Teddy (our dog) was frantically running around the house trying to find him ("must find/help little brother")
• Henry's first laugh, while he was sleeping

SO MUCH MORE... but you get the point!

Without further ado...Henry John Hoffman