Baby New Year

 Christian Joseph Hill

7 lb. 8 oz. 

19 in.

 Born 1-1-13

7:47 pm

First baby of the year at El Camino Hospital, Los Gatos!

We were not expecting to be welcoming sweet baby Christian until at least tomorrow (Saturday 1/5), but he had other time tables on his mind...namely getting to be the "new year baby" at our hospital! Thank goodness, because it was such a relief to have Nate already home with us and not have to worry about trying to reach him during a meeting. There were so many little miracles and blessings about this baby's arrival. I wish I had time to document them all here...but we can at least start with a summary...

- I knew Christian was coming around noon on new years day, right after cooking about 4 dozen waffles (you know, the primal nesting & stocking up!) Thankfully we were given enough 'notice' that baby was on his way to give us time to putter around and do things like finish washing the baby's clothes & put them away, clean bathrooms, make bread, etc. All things that help me feel a little less stressed about leaving the nest.

- When Nate told the kids that the baby would probably be born that day, it was like fireworks went off in the house! Natalie especially went jumping around with glee. She went straight to pack her bag since we planned for her to attend the birth. The kids got to finish watching "Miracle of Life" (very well done...but I'd still like to find a video that does more than just give a scientific perspective on how life is created...we just filled in the big picture details ourselves)

- We called my brother & sister in law who were able to finish an important project on their end before coming to watch the kids. Charles already had work off and Mara was able to take Natalie to the hospital with us, which was our backup plan since Mom was coming on Friday.

-Contractions started around 2 pm and got serious around 5 pm. During dinner I decided it was time to go in. Nate used my iphone to time contractions and they were about 4-5 min apart, 1 min long when we got to the hospital (Los gatos El Camino) around 7. We were glad to find my midwife Lin was already there...and so was Bethany, one of the previous midwives in the practice who as now working as a L&D nurse. I was so excited to have both of them helping!

- They asked me how I was doing and I told them that surprisingly,  the contractions felt good to me. I had tried to just completely relax and let my body do it's work through each one, almost like watching it as an outside observer. So in that sense it felt good to be letting my body do exactly what it was supposed to be doing and knowing that it was working.

- I didnt watch the clock during any of this...but Lin checked me right after I was robed up and I was already at a 6/7 - wow!! That was such gratifying, great news. I spent some time in the bathroom where I had some of the more serious contractions. Strangely enough, it was kind of nice being alone to quietly breathe and pray through those while I half-listened to the chatter in the room outside. Instead of feeling overwhelmed by all the people there, I felt greatly loved and supported. Sort of like how Christian might have been experiencing it inside the womb, alone but still able to hear his cheering squad outside!

- When I went back we talked about laboring positions, I said I liked kneeling in cat stretch position, and they suggested I try kneeling on the bed where my knees would be more comfortable. I did one or two contractions like that, with Nate massaging my lower back, while they tried to get my IV in (I was GBS positive), but it kept rolling out, and contractions were getting harder. I told them felt like pushing already and Lin said she wanted to just check me to see if it was time to have a baby. Sure enough, I was fully dialated! All of this was about 10 minutes.

- At around 7:30 or so I started pushing - it was the part I feared the most because with every previous birth I had already been so winded that I ran out of steam and it took forever to push. But this time I still felt like I had steam. I had my eyes closed and was 'in the zone'. Lin asked me to make eye contact with her briefly while she told me what to do...the mental imagery she used was immensely helpful. I let myself just let go of trying to control the process and tried to just let my body do exactly what she said. It was incredible. 3 pushes, and I was holding my precious little boy in my arms, at 7:47 pm. It was a record labor for me! (45 min from arriving at the hospital).

- The rest was so joyful - a little painful still of course - but meeting little Christian and having Natalie there to see it all was so beautiful. I truly feel like the reason it all went so fast and so smoothly was a tender mercy for her. I really was hoping and praying that it would be a positive, happy experience for her. She later expressed that she was worried she would have to cover her ears if mommy got too loud, but never had to. Phew :)

- The last two days in the hospital were wonderful. Los Gatos El Camino is truly a hidden gem. I would highly highly recommend it to anyone in the area. It is very small and family-like, all the staff are very attentive and competent, not intrusive at all. I felt like all of us were very pampered and well looked after, and the extra family was all very welcome too.

- More coming soon as I have time to write...I wanted to explain more about the name we chose, and some other catching up to do from Christmas time. Here's some picture highlights!

The proud papa!

The perfect size!

All cleaned up and beautiful

Natalie was a wonderful presence in the room. She brought me a lot of peace and focus.

My incredible birthing team - midwife Lin Lee, Natalie, Nate the Great, Bethany (nurse and midwife), and sis-in-law Mara

Me and my precious boy

It was so beautiful having Natalie at the birth!

getting settled in the maternity room

The next day everyone came to visit. Elijah was so sweet with his new baby brother!

Eager for hugs

Lucas was very excited about mom's robotic bed

And now there are six!!

Natalie is a great little Mama

Uncle Charles with yet another fellow red-head boy in the family

Martha was so sweet with Christian. She will be a great little mentor for him.

"I'm so happy to be here, Mom!"

leaving the hospital with the huge gift basket they gave us for being the "new year baby"!