So Far...

1. Breastfeeding is way harder than labor. I'd go through labor once a month if it meant I didn't have to go through the difficulties of learning how to breastfeed. But, I'm committed, and I hope the difficulties pass as we both learn what we're doing.

2. HP is a Milk Monster. He growls, and thrashes, and basically acts like a little feral creature while eating.

3. Baby Talk. It happens. I may not have done it with any other kid before, but now I'm perfectly fluent.

4. He's cute. Waaay cute. I could go on and on. : ) But... He's way more cute in the daytime. There's something about 3am that really puts a dampener on the cuteness.

5. I already knew that newborns went through a lot of wardrobe changes. I didn't know that new moms have just about as many. Probably more if I actually bothered to change every time I got a wet mess all over me.

6. It's a lot easier to dress him than I thought it would be.

7. We go through way more diapers than I thought. Those two-at-a-time changes really add up.

8. I love my new little boy, and I love Paul (he's a great new dad) and every morning I am thankful we survived another day. 

Whew! He made it.

40 weeks, 3 days, 1 labor and delivery, and he survived it all. : )

My contractions started at 7:30am, Thursday, February 3rd. I discovered that singing my ABC's lasted just long enough to get me through a contraction. So, I sang my ABC's. A lot. Sometimes it was a little creepy sounding, I'm told. Probably because I was in pain, ha. Paul says it sounded like the soundtrack to an "evil child" horror movie.

The contractions seemed closer together than I expected, and when I timed them around 12:30, they were about a minute long and three minutes apart. Hm... that's not what the book says early labor is supposed to be like... Even though the contractions were a lot closer than five minutes apart, I didn't feel like I was going to pop the babe out anytime soon so Carrie and I just sat tight at the house. She made brownies. These turned out to be very useful later, when Carrie and Paul needed nourishment that evening at the hospital.

A couple hours later, things were creeping into the "under two minutes apart" range, and I started to get a little worried, ha. So we called the doc's office and they said I'd better head to the hospital. I said, "You really think so? I still feel pretty okay." Yes, they really thought so.

We got there around 4:30, and they told me I was at a 5/6, and that we were there for the night. Big relief! I didn't want to be one of those first time moms that they have to send home. I progressed steadily. The time flew by as I (thanks to Ina May Gaskin's guidance and Carrie's constant support) continued to sing my ABC's, and chanted "looooose", "loooow", and "oooooopen", blew raspberry horse lips and even moo-ed a couple times just for laughs. The nurses probably thought I was nuts, ha, but it got the job done without medication! By 9pm I was at a ten, and Henry was born at 10:30. I feel fortunate that I was able to give birth naturally.

Henry Price Ferguson

9lbs 5.2oz, 20in

 Look at  that New Dad smile!

Red hair just like his momma, she's quite proud.

HP Ferguson

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