Our baby boy is here!

Parker James Oyakawa

September 12th 2010

3:16am

9lbs 12 ozs

22.5 inches long

too tired and elated simultaneously to write birth story, so details to follow, but I'll leave with you with a few bullets...

• Wonderful homebirth with no complications, heart rate stayed in the 150's the whole time (I was never so lucky with pitocin contractions), blood pressure was great, no tears, no stitches, no abnormal bleeding, and I never begged to go to the hospital. I did beg (literally) for someone to just pull the baby out already.
• I had a crying fit Saturday afternoon, I was fearing I'd never go into labor naturally after many days of praying to trust God and nature's timing.


• Labor started at 10:20 that night. We didn't really believe it until 11:45, by midnight things were really picking up.


• Meg and Nana made it over by 1 am, midwives by 2 am. Parker by 3:16 am :)


• Labor was 1 million trillion cagillion times better at home than the hospital. The delivery just plain hurt but was still better than the hospital. Now I am a woman who has never had a truly 'successful' epidural so you can believe me or not but waterbirth was WAY better to me than a hospital bed and epidural.


• My contractions significantly picked up intensity but throughout the labor never picked up in time like we expected. Even in late labor I had good long breaks at points where I completely floated like a lilly pad in the birth pool.


• The only intervention I can think of is the midwife did break my water when I asked nicely (read, begged and pleaded) because I was at an 8 and there for a while. I was pushing with the second contraction after water breaking.


• Before she did that I got up and out of the pool in transition to go use the bathroom. I consider it one of the hardest things I did in labor.


• I sabotaged all picture and video quality by how dark I wanted the whole place. I am happy with my decision, the dim light made me feel safe.


• Benjamin, Ella, and Maiya made it down and were awake in time for the delivery. I think with the dim lights and presence of Nana and Aunt Meg no one was overwhelmed. I also think them being there for the birth has tremendously enhanced their bonding with Parker. Cora later was the first sibling to hold him and she claimed him for her own. "NO, MINE!"


• The Bradley class was worth our time and money and Kyle was the best coach a woman could ever want. At the hospital I felt like we were both along for the ride. At home, he and I were truly a team. The midwives were like the paramedics at the end of the field during the football game. Kyle and I were in the game. And we did an amazing job if I do say so myself. I feel closer and more in love with him than I thought possible.


• Now I have to go love on his new baby some more.


• He is nursing like a champ.


• You guys might laugh at us but we really thought he looked small when he was born and we were all guessing around 8 lbs. before he got weighed. HA... looking at the pictures he does look like a chunk but he's still a teeny newborn to me.