He's Here!

He's here. Sleeping on my chest. His little nose making little puffs each second while his hands explore my chest. I cannot describe how incredible it is to feel all of these little movements on the outside of my body, rather than the inside. The most wondrous thing is how normal it already feels. We have been talking about and dreaming of little Sig for years, and it just feels right that we get to hold him and tell him we love him.

I am told that I should write everything down, as these next few weeks, months and years will fly by. I am in the hospital for day three of little Sig's life, and I can already see how time flies. Alex has gone home to feed our dogs while Sig and I listen to YoYo Ma and reminisce over the adventure of the last few days and wait for Starbucks :)

Wednesday evening, July 11th, Alex and I shared a wonderful meal with GrandBob and Grandma Marilee on the waterfront in Des Moines, followed by some boat and sea life viewing at the marina. I had gone to sleep around 10:30 while Alex watched a show next to me. I woke at 11:59pm to use the restroom, which was not uncommon this late in pregnancy. Very quickly, I was writhing with back pain on the floor while Alex looked at me like I was a crazy person. When the pain subsided, I determined that I was not tired anymore, and began doing laundry and cleaning. Another wave of back pain (which I described as menstrual cramps set on fire) sent me crawling around in search of a comfortable position. Anyway who has been through this may have been able to recognize these signs of early labor, but I was convinced that I was being a huge baby, and this was not a big deal, merely an inconvenience. I told Alex that I had two fears, "one, that I have really low pain tolerance and this is what late pregnancy is supposed to feel like, or two, that I have really high pain tolerance and we should be at the hospital right now." With our handy contraction timer app in hand, and our book from one of our classes outlining the signs of labor, Alex called our midwife, letting her know that I was feeling pain every 4 minutes for about 45 seconds. She told us to come in after talking me through a contraction. I was hesitant to go, and kept telling Alex that I wanted to stay home. I was still not convinced that this 1am trip to Ballard was necessary as I sang along to "I'll Be" on the radio and called Sarah to give her a heads up where we were, but that we would probably be sent back home, so we would keep her updated, as this was probably nothing. She wisely said that she would meet us at the hospital, ad she was not going to be able to sleep any longer. I was quite crabby, as they put me in a wheelchair and brought me to the birthing center. Apparently, I do not like being a patient. The midwife came and let me know that I was dilated to 9, and that the baby would be coming soon.

The whole birth is a blur, and just like little Sig's eyes open and close, scenes from those few painful hours go dark and light. My memory, just like my consciousness, fades in and out. Scenes from Sig's birth:
-a flurry of people and activity around the bed
-Sarah gently stroking my hand as I faced her and fixated on her beautiful brown eyes
-Alex's strong hand on the small of my back
-a dimly lit room
-changing positions every few minutes
-exhaustion like I have never known
-whispering to Sarah, "is it bad that I want to take a nap more than I want this baby out?"
-my mom in the corner of the room saying "I'm pushing for you, Marie!"
-listening for Alex's voice above all others
-before the last push, turning to Sarah on my right and pleading "you do it, Sarah..."
-thinking everyone was being so quiet between contractions
-being conscious enough to snap at Alex and Sarah "I need to hear your voice...stop rubbing...less pressure..I need to see your face..."
-bearing down and thinking "I sound like a bear"
-saying to Alex, "Babe, I'm going to get you your baby" before the final push
-relief and joy as they placed that slimy, crying newborn on my chest

Sig's birth by the numbers:
7 lbs 3 oz-birth weight
19 inches - birth length
6 hours, 3 minutes: active labor
14 - visitors in the first 14 hours of life
22 - visitors while at the hospital
60 - hours in the hospital