If there’ one thing we’ve learned about Henry during the last two months it’s that he likes to be on time or even early as the case was on October 12th a week before his due date. Promptly at 5am that morning my water broke and I woke Robert to tell him his son had finally chosen his birthday. After a quick call to our midwife (fellow YSN grad Barbara Sellars), we rode in a cab to the birthing center at the hospital for a quick checkup. Afterward, we were sent home for a few hours so we took the subway back to our old neighborhood for breakfast at a favorite diner. Mid-morning we returned to the birthing center for another checkup. By then the contractions were getting stronger but I decided I wanted to walk a little more…perhaps it was optimism or denial. Needless to say, I only made it two blocks in about 40 minutes leaning on Robert with every contraction. (It’s amazing what you can get away with on a crowded New York street!) We returned to the birthing center around noon and I was admitted. That’s when the work of labor started (after all it’s called labor for a reason, right?) Robert and I labored on the floor, on the birthing ball and finally in the tub. After about three hours, Barbara could tell I was having back labor (Henry was turned around and facing the wrong direction, still head down but with the back of his head against my tailbone). After much discussion and some necessary and gentle urging from Robert, I decided to receive a dose of pain medication through my IV. Three restful hours later the pushing started. An hour later at 7:17pm Henry arrived with his left fist next to his temple . (We’re not sure if he was trying to raise his hand to signal he was ready to be born or if he was just trying to say “Go Mom!”…Nine weeks later he still holds his fist there when he sleeps.)
From the moment Barbara placed him on my belly I was reassured he was a healthy weight. However, we were all surprised when he tipped the scales at 9lbs 11oz. Our first decision as a family was what we would call this new son of ours. After he voiced no objection to Henry Alejandro, the phone calls to family and friends started. The following afternoon we returned home in a cab to start our new life together. Now many sleepless nights later, I can say it’s been a wonderful journey so far that has taught us to experience a new depth of love for each other, a love so strong nothing could have prepared us for it! We look forward to the adventure that lies ahead and hope to share the better parts of it with you our dear family and friends.