Henry's Birth Story

This time we were ready.  When we were expecting our first baby, Calvin, our hearts were ready, our birth supplies were ready, but so many other things were not! I thought I still had 4 more weeks to unpack the baby shower gifts, wash the baby clothes and receiving blankets, set up and organize the changing table, etc. etc… So this time, we got everything ready early. We had it all done by 36 weeks: newborn clothes and blankets washed and organized, changing table stocked with tiny diapers, bassinet made up with a clean sheet, freezer stocked with casseroles, fridge stocked with coconut water, birth supplies gathered and organized, and the apartment sparkling clean. Our hearts, heads, and home were ready for our second son.

Homebirth supplies ready and waiting!

But at the same time we didn’t want him to be born early – at least not too early. During week 35 and 36 James and my mom (who had come from Atlanta to stay with us) did everything around the house so that I could take it easy in the hopes of avoiding pre-term labor. Well, those weeks passed by, we had our birth team meeting during week 36, and we made it to week 37: that magical milestone of being “full-term.”

Once I had made it that far I was thinking, “Ok, baby! We did it! Feel free to be born now!” I started trying to be more active, to get out of the house more and find excuses to walk around in the hopes of getting labor to start. But week 37 also passed by… and week 38… and week 39… I had never been that pregnant before and I hadn’t experienced the anticipation of knowing that the baby could come any day and wishing he would!

This was taken on our sixth wedding anniversary, July 7th. I was 39 weeks pregnant!

My due date, July 11, came and went. The next day, I had made plans to take Calvin to the zoo with some of my friends and their babies. It did cross my mind that a day of walking around the zoo might help get labor started. It also wasn't a coincidence that I requested spicy Hunan Chinese food for dinner that night.

Maybe our zoo tour did the trick because even before I had a bite of hot smoked ham, my water broke! It was 7:30 in the evening. I called our midwife Michelle and she said labor would likely start within 24 hours and she asked us to call her as soon as I started having strong contractions. I was already feeling contractions, but they were mild. James and I made up the bed for labor: clean sheets first, then a waterproof liner over them, then another fitted sheet on top… that way when cleaning up after the birth, the midwives can just pull the top sheet and liner off and the bed is already made to tuck in the cleaned-up mama and baby! Then we put Calvin to sleep in his crib and ate our spicy Hunan dinner with my mom. We even watched a movie: Sunset Boulevard. Kind of a weird choice, I know! James and I were starting to make our way through IMDB’s list of top 250 films and Sunset Boulevard was one of the films we hadn’t seen yet.

By 9:30pm I could tell the contractions were getting stronger and more regular so James texted Michelle, but I didn’t think she should come just yet. We finished the movie and went to bed. But since we knew labor was starting, my mom took Calvin to sleep upstairs with her. I didn’t want Calvin present during labor or the birth. I felt that it would be scary for him.

James and I didn’t really sleep during the next few hours, but we laid in bed and rested and when the surges came, I would move around trying to find a more comfortable position and James would help me by bringing me things like the stability ball or water, or by rubbing my back, or just being with me.

By 3am the contractions were coming 5 minutes apart so James contacted Michelle again and she headed over along with Sue, our other midwife who would assist Michelle during the birth. When they arrived Michelle did a quick check of all my vitals: temperature, blood pressure, and heart rate. She also checked the baby’s heartbeat with the fetal doppler. Henry and I were both doing well.

We all mostly slept through the next few hours. Although my contractions had been strong and close at 3am, they became less intense and more spaced out. I was able to nap in-between, and I tried to let James get some rest. The midwives slept on our living room couches, although I don’t think Michelle really slept – she was listening to me from there to monitor my contractions and every time I went out to use the bathroom (which was often!) she would stop me to take my temperature and check the baby’s heartbeat with her fetal doppler.

Around 7:30 in the morning, the contractions got stronger again and more frequent. By about 8am I was in active labor. I asked James to get my mom so that she could be with us for the birth. She left Calvin in the care of our cousin Hartley upstairs. I was struggling to find a position that made the painful contractions more bearable. Michelle and Sue were suggesting that I get on my hands and knees, but it just didn’t feel better. Michelle even suggested putting the stability ball on the bed and this ended up working for me. I knelt on the bed and leaned forward with my head and shoulders on the ball. James stayed with me. At times he would hold me, or talk to me, or just sit with me. My mom sat in the room with us in a chair by the bed. And the midwives, as far as I could tell, came in and out setting up supplies, checking on me, and offering help if I wanted it.

This went on for about two hours and I was starting to get worried about how long this labor was going to last. It is said that the “transition” phase of labor is when women often begin to doubt themselves and feel exhausted and frustrated. I remember experiencing that during my labor with Calvin and I remember realizing later that I was actually really close to the end. This time I wasn’t quite as close, but once again during transition I found myself saying “I can’t… I can’t…” which really meant I’m tired… I don’t want to do this anymore. Honestly, I think transition is the hardest part of labor. It is the last part of active labor and thankfully it doesn’t last very long, but for me it was the most intense and painful part of the experience of childbirth both times.

At last I was ready to push and again I struggled a bit with finding a position that felt right. Mostly I wanted to hang on to James for dear life. The midwives had me kneel on the bed and James sat with me so I could lean on him. James and my mom both say that what they remember most vividly about the birth was me screaming as I was pushing! It wasn’t really screaming, though. Not screaming in pain, but more like crying out in effort. More like yelling. It wasn’t because of pain or fear. It felt good to yell out. It felt like it gave me more strength to push. But I even surprised myself with how loud I was! I wonder if our neighbors heard me!

The pushing stage lasted about half an hour. For the last few minutes, I remember that I just wanted it to be over so I could rest and hold my baby but Michelle and Sue encouraged me to slow down and not push too hard. When Henry started coming out, the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck (called a nuchal cord), but it was not compressed and Michelle has lots of experience delivering babies with a nuchal cord. She repositioned him as he came out to prevent the cord from being pulled tight and it was no problem. She immediately passed the baby to me and I lay down to rest with Henry in my arms at last!

Henry gave us a bit of a scare in his first few moments… He wasn’t breathing right away, so Michelle and Sue rubbed him down and cleaned him up to stimulate him and he started breathing on his own. He was soon able to latch and breastfeed. His poor little forehead was bruised from the delivery and it took about a week for the bruising to fully disappear. Within that first hour, Henry also had a slightly low temperature, sweating, and rapid breathing. These symptoms are associated with hypoglycemia in newborns so usually the cure is to get them fed quickly. Since my colostrum was just coming in, we decided to ask our friend Rachel to bring over some of her breastmilk for Henry so that we could help him get a full tummy of food. And that is how Rachel, along with her husband, Ben and son, Sagan, ended up being invited over on the day Henry was born! In the meantime, I nursed him, we put him under a heating pad to bring up his temp, and we wiped away his little drops of sweat. He showed improvement immediately, but it was a few hours before those symptoms completely resolved.

After more than an hour of snuggling with Henry and letting him nurse, Michelle clamped the cord and James cut it. Michelle took Henry to do the newborn exam and Sue helped me get myself cleaned up. 

Newborn exam

Then, tucked into our clean bed with the new baby, we were ready to invite Calvin down to meet his brother. My mom brought Calvin down from upstairs just after Rachel, Ben, and Sagan had arrived so the bedroom was getting quite crowded. Calvin was definitely curious about tiny Henry, but he was also distracted by the fact that his buddy Sagan was there! We got some nice first photos of our family of four.

When Calvin met Henry

"Kiss the baby!"

Then we spent some time just hanging out and enjoying new baby Henry. We fed him a few mLs of Rachel’s milk with a spoon. Our friends didn’t stay too long. Michelle stayed until all Henry’s vitals normalized and remained stable: normal temp, normal breathing rate, and no more sweating.

Michelle, Sagan, Rachel, Henry, Calvin, and Ben

Ben, Sagan, Henry, and Me

Michelle, James, Henry, and Sue

Calvin and Granny Anne

In the evening, my aunt, Mila came to see us along with my cousin, Pam. Hartley also came down at that time. They were surprised at how clean and well I looked and I said, “Well, I took a shower…” and they were like “WHAT?! You took a SHOWER?!” Apparently there is a Filipino superstition tradition that a new mother is not supposed to shower right after having the baby! Haha. Oops!

The labor was harder and longer than with my first baby. Henry was bigger! It took more effort to help him out! Comparing the photos of me immediately after both births, it is clear that after Henry’s birth I was completely exhausted. My eyes are barely open. But even though it was harder, I am very thankful that Henry and I both had a safe birth and that Henry’s minor health concerns cleared up in those first few hours. I am also very thankful that I got to birth in my own home, attended by my wonderful midwives, with my husband and mom there for support.

I’ve already shared a glimpse of Henry’s first week. My parents went home to Georgia on the 24^th and since then, James and I have been figuring out how to be a family of 4 with a newborn. We are exhausted and sleep-deprived, but we are so happy to be blessed with these two boys.

Hello Henry!

Hooray for Henry! Our beautiful second son is here at last!

Henry Campbell Nishimuta
Born Saturday, July 13, 2013
8lbs. 4oz., 20 in. 

Henry is 1 week old today! 

Henry was born in our home and delivered by our two awesome midwives, Michelle Welborn and Sue Baelen. Michelle is our primary midwife. She did my prenatal care throughout the pregnancy and she is still taking care of Henry and me during these first few weeks postpartum. (Michelle and Sue were also our midwives when I was pregnant with Calvin.)

I will write Henry's birth story another time when I have more energy... for now, some photos from his first week will have to do!

Moments after Henry's birth

Michelle is doing Henry's newborn exam.

Henry and Daddy

Henry and James with our midwives Michelle and Sue

Henry meets Granny Anne! 
(He is under a heating pad because his temp was slightly low just after the birth.)

Calvin meets his baby brother!

A sweet kiss from Calvin to Henry

Henry meets Rachel, Ben, and Sagan

Henry looks so much like James' newborn picture!

Henry and "DanPa"
My dad arrived from GA two days after Henry was born.

Henry and Lola Coring

"Granny Anne" and "DanPa" with their grandsons

Henry's first "bath" with his daddy

Henry and Mama

Henry meets Jaime and Autumn (and Matt, not pictured)

Henry and Ate Pamela

Henry meets his cousins! Some of them anyway.
Dennis, Beverly & Cassie; Pamela, Ramiro, Phoebe & Abbie; Hartley, and Auntie Mila
We even Skyped with our cousin Gladys in Turkey and her 2 month old, Kamila!

Mushy face!!

Here's what our breakfast in bed looks like these days :)

We're tired, but we're happy!

And here are our two beautiful boys!
Calvin - 15 months, Henry - 1 week
Calvin was so excited about this. It was James' idea.
 I was so nervous, LOL! Henry clearly was not a fan.

Ready for Baby Brother

We did it! I have officially made it "to term" with Baby Brother! I am now 37 weeks pregnant and although my due date is July 11 (due dates are set at 40 weeks), 37 weeks is considered full term. 37-42 weeks is generally considered to be the window for a safe home birth. There is always the possibility of a hospital transfer, but so far (Thank God) I have been blessed to have a healthy, uncomplicated, low-risk pregnancy and all signs point to us actually getting to have a home birth this time around. (Calvin was born in the hospital because he was "late pre-term" at 36 weeks and there can be a big difference between 36 and 37 weeks when it comes to tiny babies.)

For me, the choice to have a home birth is about how I'd like to experience bringing this baby into the world. I want it to be safe for both of us, of course, so if there is any indication that a home birth is no longer a safe option I will not hesitate to go to the hospital just as we did the last time. But I also want the experience to be  private, intimate, and comfortable. I want to be surrounded by just a few people who know and love me and have personal interest in my well-being and the baby's well-being.

I am so fortunate to live in a place where home birth is a viable, safe, and legal option for me because there are awesome trained and experienced midwives who are legally allowed to practice in California (at least for now... but that is another story). And I am extra lucky to have Michelle Welborn as my midwife again! She is amazing.

Michelle and Calvin... just 14 months ago!

I am hoping that this baby will have an early July birthday (I'd like to get another month between him and Calvin if possible!) but the truth is he could come any day now! So here are some things we've done around our home to get ready for his arrival...

Supplies for a home birth

When I was learning about home birthing and midwifery I was surprised at how much medical stuff midwives are actually able to do in homes! To prepare for the birth it was our job as the parents to order/gather some of the supplies and have them organized and accessible. The supplies include things like sterile gloves, "Chux" pads (waterproof pads and sheets, just like in the hospital), sterile gauze, a blood-typing kit, towels, sheets, receiving blankets, a heating pad, garbage bags, and a bunch of other stuff. In addition, Michelle will bring her usual med supplies like her fetoscope, fetal doppler, thermometer, and blood pressure monitor; plus more medical supplies for the birth including IV kits, IV bags with fluids and antibiotics, medications to help stop bleeding after the birth (the same ones used in hospitals), newborn medications (again, same as in the hospital), a suture kit, a kit to do the newborn blood screen, a scale to weigh the baby, and so on and so on.

I also stocked up on coconut water to keep myself hydrated during labor!

Speaking of stocking up... the freezer in the garage is now stocked with food for the week or two following the birth. I figure we'll all be busy and I'll probably be in bed with the baby most of the time so it will be helpful to have meals (and take-out menus!) on hand. A couple of weeks ago I started doubling my recipes and saving half so now we've got some soups and casseroles ready and waiting.

We've got the bassinet set up again in the bedroom, and the changing table is now stocked with newborn diapers in addition to Calvin's supply.

This bassinet has been in my family for over 50 years. My mom likes to recall all the babies (including myself and herself) who have slept in this bassinet!

Look how teeny the newborn diapers are! Of course, they will both be able to use our adjustable Bumgenius diapers, but we like to keep disposable diapers on hand too. 

The newborn and 0-3 month clothes are unpacked and washed, and I made space for them in the changing table cabinet. Calvin has his new big boy convertible car seat so our infant seat is free for the new baby.

I realize that Calvin is tiny for a big brother, but still! He's come a long way from those little newborn onesies... and he even started out in preemie onesies!

Aaaah! I can't believe we'll have another tiny, mushy baby boy here soon! I'm so excited for him to arrive, but I am still hoping for July! I wish I could fast forward a couple of weeks! 

Calvin's Birth Story

Our little man is 6 months old! Woo hoo! To honor his first half-birthday, I'd like to share his birth story.

We take Calvin's picture in the laundry basket every month .
Here's his 6 month pic! He is getting so big!

I looked like the great pumpkin. Or, at least my big 9-month-pregnant belly did. It was bigger than a basketball, for sure. Maybe like the setting sun. Or a harvest moon. But it wasn’t fall, it was the day before Easter and we were finally getting around to taking some nice maternity photos. I had wanted to do this photo shoot during month 7 or at least month 8 while I was still cute-pregnant instead of great-pumpkin-pregnant, but oh well.

I was 36 weeks pregnant. We were all set to have a home birth, although we knew all along that we would transfer to the hospital in a heartbeat if necessary. All our home birth supplies were organized in Trader Joe’s bags lined up on the kitchen table. The rest of the baby stuff wasn’t ready yet. I figured I had at least a couple more weeks of maternity leave to wash the baby clothes, organize the baby’s dresser, move the bassinet into the bedroom, and install the car seat.

We had just had our “birth team meeting” with the people we expected to be at the birth: our two wonderful midwives, my mom (via Skype, as she was still across the country where she lives), James and myself, and my 90-year-old Filipino grandmother who lives upstairs. I was so excited! I was excited about being a mom, about meeting the tiny boy who was relentlessly kicking my belly, excited to see James become a dad... I was even excited about labor. We had taken an amazing home birth preparation class series that truly made me feel a sense of empowerment and a desire to do the work of labor. Emotionally we were ready. The house... the baby clothes... the car seat... we figured we still had time to get that stuff ready.

Calvin had other plans!

After the photo shoot, I was tired (of course) and hungry (duh) so we went to dinner. We were at a random restaurant we had never been to before, and as we dug into our desserts around 9:00 that evening something very very surprising happened.

My water broke.

My water broke! In a restaurant! I mean, that only happens in movies, right?! Um, no. It happened to us. My water broke at the restaurant. And our frazzled waitress kept trying to get us to take our apple crisp and crème brulee to go!

To say that we were shocked would be an understatement. I mean, I wasn’t even having contractions! I was only at 36 weeks! How could my water have broken?!

I called our primary midwife, Michelle, from the car. It was kind of a tricky situation; things were not exactly going as planned. 36 weeks is technically outside the window of a safe home birth. My midwives’ guideline is 37-42 weeks. Also, the fact that my water had broken early left the baby at risk for infection, and my GBS test results weren’t back from the lab so we couldn’t know exactly how big a risk of infection. To further complicate matters, Michelle had another client in labor at that exact same time!

Ultimately, it was decided that it would be safest for me to go to the hospital. Michelle expected the other mother’s labor to go faster than mine since I wasn’t having contractions yet, so our other midwife, Sue, would meet us at the hospital and Michelle would come as soon as she could after the other birth.

There sat all our home birth supplies, ready to go and totally not needed. In a rush, we packed a hospital bag, installed the car seat, and a booked a red-eye flight for my mom. And then we sat and waited for the baby clothes to finish washing and drying. We got to the hospital around 12:30. Sue arrived shortly after we did. She helped us settle into our room and encouraged me to try to sleep. She left after an hour or so to go help Michelle with the other birth.

The doctor on call said that if my contractions didn’t become regular by noon the next day, they would recommend inducing labor with pitocin. It turned out that was not necessary because by noon the next day, Calvin had already made his entrance!

By about 4 am my contractions were regular, but still more than 10 minutes apart. My biggest complaint about laboring in the hospital rather than at home is that the monitors they made me wear were really uncomfortable and kept falling off. I was also hooked up to an IV of antibiotics because of the GBS thing (that would have been the case even if I’d been at home). Still, although I know I would have been more comfortable in my own apartment, that totally wasn’t on my mind at the time. I was so excited to actually be in labor that I didn’t care at all that we’d had to go to the hospital! I used a stability ball and a yoga mat (and James) to help me stretch and rest in between contractions and I was able to get some sleep.

Around 7 am, the nurses said they had to move us to a different room because they needed the room we were in for another delivery. They weren’t expecting me to deliver for several more hours so they put us in an admitting room rather than a delivery room. I was able to eat some breakfast and I kept going to sleep in between contractions... so it was actually kind of a shock to me when the contractions that were waking me up suddenly became really intense! I have to admit that I started to doubt my ability to endure the contractions without help... the word “epidural” started taunting me from the back of my mind and I was having this struggle with myself for doubting my own strength.

One of my sisters-in-law had told me that when the pain feels so strong that you think you can’t take any more, you are probably very close to giving birth... and she was so right! That was about 9:30 am. The next 20 minutes were a total frenzy: Even though my contractions were really intense, they were still 8 minutes apart – not close enough to call the midwives about, and not close enough to get the nurses’ attention. What did get the nurses’ attention were the animalistic moans that I was making no effort to hold back.

A flock of nurses descended upon us with a flurry of questions. Why are you trying to push? I don’t know! I can’t stop it! Has she been checked?  No! Is she fully dilated? A doctor came in and discovered to everyone's surprise that yes, I was indeed fully dilated! Push! Push! I AM!

But we weren’t in a delivery room! I implored the nurses not to make me move, but they wouldn’t relent. They sped me down the hall in a wheelchair in between contractions. I barely had time to make it to the bed in the new room before Calvin was crowning! Three pushes later, James was helping the doctor “catch” our tiny boy and not long after that, they were putting him into my arms. He was born at 9:53 am on Easter Sunday.

First family photo!

James had texted the midwives when the doctor said I was fully dilated, and Sue was on her way, but it had all happened so quickly that she arrived just after Calvin was born. My mom and one of my cousins came shortly after. Michelle wasn't able to make it to us until the next day because the other mom ended up giving birth several hours after I had. 

Calvin with his Granny Anne

Brown hair, brown eyes, and rosy skin that would later turn out to be an olive complexion. Mom's nose and Dad's mouth. Mushy, chubby cheeks and one adorable dimple! The nurses couldn't stop cooing over his cuteness. 6 lbs, 2 oz. No trouble breathing. Cried right away and peed on the doctor! How like a boy! I still cannot get over how deliciously cute he is, both in these first pictures and now! He sure surprised all of us! He was in a very big hurry to meet the world! 

Getting home from the hospital and beginning our adventure as parents to this tiny boy is a whole 'nother story. Calvin had lots more surprises in store for us, and I'm sure he still does! His birth felt like a whirlwind of excitement and joy; not easy, but completely amazing. It left us in shock and awe. I am still new at this, but I'm thinking that was a pretty good sneak preview of the experience of parenting.