The Wires Family: Henry's Birth Story

We've had Little Man in our lives for almost a week, so I thought I'd sit down and document how he got here. In case you never saw pictures of Evelyn's birth story, I'm warning you now: there will be breastfeeding shots and, if you're lucky, a "crowning" picture or two.

Whitney's first question when I talked to her after Henry's birth was, "Did it go just like you wanted it?" I kind of chuckled and said, "No. Not at all." It didn't go like we planned, but it did pretty much go like I expected a hospital-after-a-homebirth to go. It wasn't a negative experience - some of the changes were our decisions and some of them just happened to go with the territory of a hospital birth where there are procedures and policies.

The biggest decision we made was whether to have a natural birth or not. When we were first exploring a homebirth with Evelyn, one of my initial motivating factors was the desire for a natural birth. I honestly didn't think I'd have the guts to go through the pain if I knew all of the drugs were right there at my disposal. So we started investigating homebirth...

It turns out, I was right. We showed up at the hospital, knowing that the contractions were real (finally!) and that this was going to be the day. When we had delivered Lily, the midwife had given me a light drug that took the edge off since I only had to be dilated to 3 centimeters before she could be delivered. We were warned though, that in full-term labor, the lighter drug didn't really do anything to dull that pain. I walked into the hospital hoping for a natural birth, but not knowing what to expect...

Getting checked in. One of my "pros" was that they let me wear my own clothes throughout the entire labor and delivery process. It just felt good not to be in a hospital gown.

At this point, Steve and I were just so happy to know that we were finally doing this, we were a little bit in denial about the whole pain thing...

We labored in the hall (And I kind of love that Steve looks like he's bossing me around in the picture)

I was really thankful to be able to use water, too. The nurses kind of left us alone and let us do what we wanted.

Mel and Cathy were our support team, and they were amazing! They were our moms, paparazzi, defenders against crazy nurses, hand-holders, and comedic relief, all rolled into one.

This was one of my last contractions before I looked at Steve and said, "Okay. No really. I want the epidural. Not like, I want you to talk me out of it; I really want it." Don't you love it when husbands just say yes? I told Whitney later that I was disappointed that I got the epidural, but so thankful to have it. And I'm really okay with having both of those feelings. I know it wouldn't be honest to say that I wasn't disappointed at all, but in that moment, I was so thankful to have some pain relief and be focused on the birth. (And I felt accomplished making it to 7 centimeters! At least that's what I told myself in the moment!)

Cathy loved this picture, because it was taken right after the epidural kicked in, and it's obvious that there's a difference.

Heart rates and contractions...

I'm pretty sure I'm kissing him here just because I was so thankful that he said yes to the good drugs!

All ready for Little Man to arrive!

We did not care for our labor nurse. Since this blog is a happy place, we're just going to leave it at that, but, bless her heart, she had no business being a labor and delivery nurse.

Starting to push...

You know that moment when the baby's heart rate goes down so they have the mother wear an oxygen mask? Yeah, that sucked.

Coolest moment ever! With our other births, the baby's just kind of came shooting out (I think that was my fault), but with Henry, the nurse stopped me after his head came out, so I got to look down and watch the rest of him be born! It was so cool!

Here he is! (How Mel got these amazing shots, I'm not sure, but I love them!)

Having a baby has got to be the most amazing thing about being a woman. There is just nothing like that feeling.

The moments after birth were the biggest differences for me compared to a homebirth, and I found it hard not to have an irrational freak-out moment. There were just so many hands on him and I wanted him back in bed with me so badly!

Thankful to be done!

A hearty 8 pounds, 8 ounces. (And his head was 14 centimeters, which I'm told is large!)

A few moments alone with Daddy

Steve was amazing. I think this was the most I relied on him out of all of our births. I've always wanted him close and he's always been a huge help, but I distinctly remember wanting to hold onto him throughout most of my labor this time around.

Getting used to the world

I love this picture.

Mel getting to say hello.

He started nursing almost immediately. One of my concerns with the epidural was that it would affect the baby's ability to nurse, so I was really thankful to see him latch on right away and not have any problems!

Cathy getting her turn with Little Man. I'm so thankful for this woman! She is so incredibly selfless and such a wonderful mom when I've needed her!!!

So that's the story! I don't know if I remembered to include all of the details, but I'm sure there are enough. We are so thankful to have a healthy baby boy in our arms. He has already stolen our hearts and we are completely in awe! Thank you so much to all of our friends and family who we know covered this pregnancy and birth in prayer from the very first moments. We are truly blessed.