He has finally arrived! Caleb James Gawthroupe, born November 9th, 2007 at 4:15 pm. He weighed in at 7 pounds, 9 ounces, and was 21 inches long. Healthy in ever way and as beautiful as can be.
I had endured 19 hours of false labour earlier in the week, each time our hopes raised that "this is it". However, I decided to make it "mind over matter", and when I awoke on Friday (the 9th) I told myself, "okay, today's the day." It was strange - each day over the two weeks before I'd been hoping and anticipating the birth. But that Friday, it was different. It wasn't about the excitement or the wish that the pregnancy would just be over. I just knew Caleb was ready to come.
Contractions began exactly one hour after this realization, at about 8am. They were intense, but not at all regular, ranging between 12 and 20 minutes apart. Then around 12:30, they suddenly jumped to 5 minutes apart and everything went forward from there. We got to the hospital around 1pm and was immediately in the throes of labour. There was just time for an epidural, which worked on the left side of my body. (An improvement over last time - with Colin it didn't work at all!). Then at 4:15 Caleb was born.
We stayed in the hospital until Sunday evening, which was wonderful for James and I. We really got to bond with Caleb over those first two days. Colin's grandparents were down and watching him, so we were able to focus exclusively on Caleb.
We're home now, and starting to get back to things. I can't believe how much better I feel. I'm still recovering from the birth, but all my pregnancy woes are gone. I can breathe much better, and have more energy. The dizzy spells are gone and even though Caleb is feeding every two hours, the sleep I do get is deep enough to rejeuvinate me.
The strangest feeling I have right now is the realization that each day Caleb is getting another day older. I know this feeling is something that doesn't normally kick in until your kids are hitting milestones like first day of school and the like, but I just watch this beautiful baby and cherish each moment I have with him while he's this new.
I had endured 19 hours of false labour earlier in the week, each time our hopes raised that "this is it". However, I decided to make it "mind over matter", and when I awoke on Friday (the 9th) I told myself, "okay, today's the day." It was strange - each day over the two weeks before I'd been hoping and anticipating the birth. But that Friday, it was different. It wasn't about the excitement or the wish that the pregnancy would just be over. I just knew Caleb was ready to come.
Contractions began exactly one hour after this realization, at about 8am. They were intense, but not at all regular, ranging between 12 and 20 minutes apart. Then around 12:30, they suddenly jumped to 5 minutes apart and everything went forward from there. We got to the hospital around 1pm and was immediately in the throes of labour. There was just time for an epidural, which worked on the left side of my body. (An improvement over last time - with Colin it didn't work at all!). Then at 4:15 Caleb was born.
We stayed in the hospital until Sunday evening, which was wonderful for James and I. We really got to bond with Caleb over those first two days. Colin's grandparents were down and watching him, so we were able to focus exclusively on Caleb.
We're home now, and starting to get back to things. I can't believe how much better I feel. I'm still recovering from the birth, but all my pregnancy woes are gone. I can breathe much better, and have more energy. The dizzy spells are gone and even though Caleb is feeding every two hours, the sleep I do get is deep enough to rejeuvinate me.
The strangest feeling I have right now is the realization that each day Caleb is getting another day older. I know this feeling is something that doesn't normally kick in until your kids are hitting milestones like first day of school and the like, but I just watch this beautiful baby and cherish each moment I have with him while he's this new.
1 comment:
Congratulations to your lovely family! Glad to hear that everyone is safe and sound.
Take care,
Bonnie
www.belowatime.wordpress.com
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