Today my itty bitty one is a week and two days old.
I've spent the past 9 days nursing, diapering, dressing, smooching, cooing, gazing, cuddling, caressing and generally falling in love with this new little person.
I'm soaking up his soft newness and trying desperately to ingrain it into my memory, because I know that one day very soon I'll blink and it will be gone. Tomorrow he'll be a different baby- just a little bit bigger, a day older, and his tiny little self will have to live in my memory.
I wrote the following on Rowan's birthday, just a couple of hours after he was born, while it was fresh in my mind. It's so easy to forget things- even just days after they've happened- and I didn't want to forget any of this important day.
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Sunday, February 12, 2012
I'm still trying to grasp the fact that I have a new son. He was born almost 3 hours ago, at 12:19 am and weighing 8 pounds, 9.5 ounces, measuring 20.5" long. He doesn't have a name yet, but I don't mind. He's asleep in the bassinet next to me, happily sucking on a binky. He has a head of dark hair and very puffy, red skin, which I'm sure will look different in a day or two. He is beautiful!
Today was really bizarre, and it wasn't until just a couple of hours before he was born that I was even sure he was coming today. Friday night I had lots of contractions, but when I took a shower and went to bed they dropped off. I had a few uncomfortable ones that woke me up during the night, but nothing major. Then all day Saturday I kept having some pretty painful ones but they were far apart and staying that way. Because they were so erratic I'd decided that it was just false labor.
Later in the evening I got some pretty intense contractions, but they still were far apart. I decided to try and go to bed just before 10. By 10:30 I'd had so many strong ones that I told Aaron we should probably go to the hospital. He was pretty surprised and even said, "Don't you usually labor at home more than that?" But I said the contractions were coming too fast so we got ready, got all our stuff together and left Mom home with the kids.
We arrived at the hospital at 10:50 and got into a room quickly. They hooked me up to the baby monitor then checked my progress and said I was 7 cm and fully effaced. I was hoping to be further than that, but it was way better than being told I was only at a 5 or so, especially after having such a miserable day. (I was dilated to a 3 at my last baby appointment on Thursday.)
I labored in bed for a bit while I got my IV port put in and the baby monitor going. At some point my midwife, Irene, arrived and checked me again and I was at a 9. I'm not sure when, but after that Irene and the nurse got concerned and made me start moving from side to side, then they gave me an oxygen mask and the nurse started looking for the baby's heartbeat all over the place with a Doppler. Apparently his rate had plummeted to about half what it was. After a couple of minutes he recovered and things went on as normal.
I don't know why, but when it came time to push I just wasn't getting that overwhelming urge like I have in the past. Irene kept telling me to let her know when the urge came, and often one or two contractions would pass before I felt like I could push. This made that last little while feel like an eternity. Delivery was difficult for me and, once again, turned out to be due to a face-up baby. No wonder his poor little face is so red and swollen! He was crying before they even laid him on my chest and nursed like a champ the minute I latched him on. Bless his chubby little self, he's had a hard day, too.
It's almost 4 am now so I should probably try and get some sleep. I'm so glad to finally have this baby. I was sick of being pregnant and I cannot wait for his siblings to meet him!
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My Mom flew in from Utah on Friday afternoon, and having her here on Saturday was a lifesaver. Pretty perfect timing for Rowan to make his appearance, too! Every time she comes to help after the birth of a child I'm torn between feeling grateful that I don't have to do anything, and guilty for not doing anything. I just have to remind myself that she's here to help me and I should try and take advantage of the opportunity to rest and recover. She always has things well under control, so I can just take it easy and focus on me and the baby.
Recovery has gone really well. I feel like I'm bouncing back faster than last time, which is good because I now have 2 kids that I have to get off to school on time and 2 to take care of at home while they're gone. I'm not entirely sure I'm ready, but I guess I'll just have to do my best.
Rowan is still a very sleepy boy, spending most of his time napping and cuddling with whoever wants to hold him. He's healthy and so far seems to be a pretty mellow kid. He can sleep through all the noise his older siblings can create, which I hope continues as his newborn sleepiness wears off.
Some people have asked about his name, so I thought I'd tell you a little about that. I've liked the name Rowan for a long time, but for some reason it never made my running list that I keep. It wasn't until shortly before he was born that I suggested it to Aaron, who replied that he "didn't hate it". That made it a contender. In the end it came down to Anders and Rowan as possible first names, and after much deliberation and discussion about what middle names we could pair with each, we decided that Rowan Anders was what we liked best. We also found it interesting that on one website that Aaron looked at, the name Rowan had a list of other names that "go" with it, and included on that list were Piper and Finn. Cool, huh? Anders Hakansson is a Swedish ancestor on my Dad's side. He was the father of Hakan Anderson who my oldest son is named after. This gives Rowan a family name for his middle name, just like our other children.
Okay, I suppose that's enough writing. If you read all of that, I appreciate it. If not, I understand. You're probably just here for the photos, and that's okay.
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Mom insisted we take this photo on Saturday afternoon as one last "before" shot.
Brand new baby Rowan
He got his thumb in his mouth and didn't care what the rest of his fingers were doing.
Finnley was one excited big brother!
Cuddling with Great-Grandma Anderson in the new quilt she made for him.
Getting to know Grandma Gayla.
Rare "eyes open" shots.
I've spent the past 9 days nursing, diapering, dressing, smooching, cooing, gazing, cuddling, caressing and generally falling in love with this new little person.
I'm soaking up his soft newness and trying desperately to ingrain it into my memory, because I know that one day very soon I'll blink and it will be gone. Tomorrow he'll be a different baby- just a little bit bigger, a day older, and his tiny little self will have to live in my memory.
I wrote the following on Rowan's birthday, just a couple of hours after he was born, while it was fresh in my mind. It's so easy to forget things- even just days after they've happened- and I didn't want to forget any of this important day.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday, February 12, 2012
I'm still trying to grasp the fact that I have a new son. He was born almost 3 hours ago, at 12:19 am and weighing 8 pounds, 9.5 ounces, measuring 20.5" long. He doesn't have a name yet, but I don't mind. He's asleep in the bassinet next to me, happily sucking on a binky. He has a head of dark hair and very puffy, red skin, which I'm sure will look different in a day or two. He is beautiful!
Today was really bizarre, and it wasn't until just a couple of hours before he was born that I was even sure he was coming today. Friday night I had lots of contractions, but when I took a shower and went to bed they dropped off. I had a few uncomfortable ones that woke me up during the night, but nothing major. Then all day Saturday I kept having some pretty painful ones but they were far apart and staying that way. Because they were so erratic I'd decided that it was just false labor.
Later in the evening I got some pretty intense contractions, but they still were far apart. I decided to try and go to bed just before 10. By 10:30 I'd had so many strong ones that I told Aaron we should probably go to the hospital. He was pretty surprised and even said, "Don't you usually labor at home more than that?" But I said the contractions were coming too fast so we got ready, got all our stuff together and left Mom home with the kids.
We arrived at the hospital at 10:50 and got into a room quickly. They hooked me up to the baby monitor then checked my progress and said I was 7 cm and fully effaced. I was hoping to be further than that, but it was way better than being told I was only at a 5 or so, especially after having such a miserable day. (I was dilated to a 3 at my last baby appointment on Thursday.)
I labored in bed for a bit while I got my IV port put in and the baby monitor going. At some point my midwife, Irene, arrived and checked me again and I was at a 9. I'm not sure when, but after that Irene and the nurse got concerned and made me start moving from side to side, then they gave me an oxygen mask and the nurse started looking for the baby's heartbeat all over the place with a Doppler. Apparently his rate had plummeted to about half what it was. After a couple of minutes he recovered and things went on as normal.
I don't know why, but when it came time to push I just wasn't getting that overwhelming urge like I have in the past. Irene kept telling me to let her know when the urge came, and often one or two contractions would pass before I felt like I could push. This made that last little while feel like an eternity. Delivery was difficult for me and, once again, turned out to be due to a face-up baby. No wonder his poor little face is so red and swollen! He was crying before they even laid him on my chest and nursed like a champ the minute I latched him on. Bless his chubby little self, he's had a hard day, too.
It's almost 4 am now so I should probably try and get some sleep. I'm so glad to finally have this baby. I was sick of being pregnant and I cannot wait for his siblings to meet him!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My Mom flew in from Utah on Friday afternoon, and having her here on Saturday was a lifesaver. Pretty perfect timing for Rowan to make his appearance, too! Every time she comes to help after the birth of a child I'm torn between feeling grateful that I don't have to do anything, and guilty for not doing anything. I just have to remind myself that she's here to help me and I should try and take advantage of the opportunity to rest and recover. She always has things well under control, so I can just take it easy and focus on me and the baby.
Recovery has gone really well. I feel like I'm bouncing back faster than last time, which is good because I now have 2 kids that I have to get off to school on time and 2 to take care of at home while they're gone. I'm not entirely sure I'm ready, but I guess I'll just have to do my best.
Rowan is still a very sleepy boy, spending most of his time napping and cuddling with whoever wants to hold him. He's healthy and so far seems to be a pretty mellow kid. He can sleep through all the noise his older siblings can create, which I hope continues as his newborn sleepiness wears off.
Some people have asked about his name, so I thought I'd tell you a little about that. I've liked the name Rowan for a long time, but for some reason it never made my running list that I keep. It wasn't until shortly before he was born that I suggested it to Aaron, who replied that he "didn't hate it". That made it a contender. In the end it came down to Anders and Rowan as possible first names, and after much deliberation and discussion about what middle names we could pair with each, we decided that Rowan Anders was what we liked best. We also found it interesting that on one website that Aaron looked at, the name Rowan had a list of other names that "go" with it, and included on that list were Piper and Finn. Cool, huh? Anders Hakansson is a Swedish ancestor on my Dad's side. He was the father of Hakan Anderson who my oldest son is named after. This gives Rowan a family name for his middle name, just like our other children.
Okay, I suppose that's enough writing. If you read all of that, I appreciate it. If not, I understand. You're probably just here for the photos, and that's okay.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Mom insisted we take this photo on Saturday afternoon as one last "before" shot.
Brand new baby Rowan
He got his thumb in his mouth and didn't care what the rest of his fingers were doing.
Finnley was one excited big brother!
Cuddling with Great-Grandma Anderson in the new quilt she made for him.
Getting to know Grandma Gayla.
Rare "eyes open" shots.
5 comments:
Congrats, Sarah! What a cutie!
love it all :) congrats on your newest cutie!
He is so adorable! And you look fabulous!
He's beautiful Sarah. Just like his mama.
I'm so glad you posted the whole story. I love hearing birth stories. I'm glad it seemed to go pretty well and quickly, until the end. You made it sound too easy:) Rowan looks just like his brothers and is super cute. I like the one where he is poking himself in the eye. I also enjoyed hearing about his name. Thanks for sharing and good luck with it all!
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