Henry's arrival

Henry Franklin Newby was born on Tuesday morning June 15, 2010 at 3:48 AM. But it took lots of hard work to bring him into the world.

His due date was calculated to be Saturday June 12. Kara's mom, Louene, had arrived the day before to stay for 10 days. On Saturday afternoon, we all went to the theatre to see the movie Babies. A very fitting movie for Henry's due date, indeed. Henry was very active inside Kara's tummy during the entire movie.

On Sunday, we went to the Franklin Park Conservatory. Then we had lunch at Panera. And then we went to see the new Karate Kid movie. After the movie, Kara started to make strawberry jam and cherry cobbler. I took Stinky (our dog) on his evening walk. When I returned, Kara told me that she thought her water had broken, but she wasn't sure. It was a very small amount.

• Around 8:00 PM: Kara called Catie, our doula. Catie arrived with a test that verified Kara's water had broken. However, Kara was not having any major or time-able contractions. So Catie recommended that we simply go to bed and try to get some sleep. We would need it.
• I got about 5 hours of good sleep. However Kara did not sleep much at all. She was too anxious, not to mention she was having mild contractions.
• In the morning, we took a long walk. We then prepared to go to the hospital. Catie recommended we go to the hospital after 12 hours after the water broke regardless of the progression. We decided to go to a chiropractor before we went to the hospital. Catie informed us that it helps some women who are not progressing in labor. A friend of Catie could see us right away. Kara's insurance covers it, so we figured what could it hurt? The chiropractor did some aligning on Kara's neck and back. The idea is that this allows the necessary signals between the brain and the muscles involved in labor to communicate most efficiently.
• Monday around 11:30 AM: We arrived at the hospital. A resident assessed Kara. Despite the fact that her water had broken nearly 14 hours earlier, she was dilated only 1 cm. She was admitted, and we were taken to the labor and delivery room.
• She was immediately put on pitocin (artificial form of oxytocin, the hormone that progresses labor). The reason she was induced is that there is high risk of infection for the baby when the water has been broken for so long. They started at 2 ml/hr. We asked they increase the dose every hour instead of every half hour, which they were glad to do.
• The pitocin resulted in more intense contractions. Kara coped with the contractions beautifully just like we practiced.
• Around 6:00 PM: Pitocin level was now at 64 ml/hr. Kara's contractions were incredibly intense. She was getting exhausted.
• Around 8:00 PM: The baby's heart rate was getting higher than normal.
• Kara was assessed again. She was now only 3 cm dilated.
• With the Catie's recommendation, Kara and I made the decision for her to get an epidural. She was exhausted and needed some rest. The baby was getting stressed and also needed some rest. It was Catie's opinion that it was the only way to salvage a vaginal birth.
• Kara and baby got some rest.
• At about 1:00 AM Tuesday, Kara was ready to start pushing. The nurse, Melissa, called to see if the OB/GYN on call, Dr. Iseli, was available. She wasn't. She was in the middle of a C-section operation. She would be at least hour. She told the nurse to have Kara refrain from pushing. We didn't oblige. Kara started pushing.
• After what seemed like forever, the baby's head finally started emerging. These were the most exhausting hours. It was hard for me (Adam) to watch Kara struggling so much. I kept wondering why it was taking so long. Obviously, it was extremely exhausting for Kara. I don't know where she got the strength to push like she did for as long as she did. God did some amazing handiwork when he made human body.
• 3:48 AM Henry was born.

So he is here. He is now a month old. I hope this becomes a way for our friends and family to follow our family adventures.