Reed!

Hello, Berry family -- just thought I'd update you all on the newest of the grandchildren/cousins...
Reed Chamberlain Barnes was born on Wednesday, the ninth day of the ninth month, 2009. We planned a hospital birth this time, so he shares that with TJ (different hospitals). He shares being born on a Wednesday and a "9" with Truman (Tru is Oct 9), as well as being an 8 pounder (Truman was one ounce heavier, at 8-11 and Reed was 8-10). And he shares his eyes with the twins...


As you may or may not know, I don't really enjoy pregnancy. I can appreciate it as a miracle happening within my body, but it sure is an uncomfortable miracle!!! As the due date draws near, I tend to get especially whiney (my apologies to my household). Anyways, with Reed, I assumed I'd at least make it TO the due date (which I set at Sep 15th even though the midwife kept trying to convince me it was Sep 1st...) Sep 15th is my wonderful husband's birthday, and what better gift to give?! However, you won't hear me complaining that this guy chose to come a week early, especially since he chose a really cool date (I was a little worried that if he came early it would be on Sep 11th... kind of a sad day for a birthday).
I woke up on 09/09/09 around 6am and was getting ready to make waffles when I felt a trickle down my leg. I tried to kegel to see if I could stop it, but decided instead to get into the bathroom. I got in there and determined that it was my bag of waters leaking (not my bladder). This was exciting on the one hand, on the other hand it was a bit boring because I wasn't having any contractions. So I didn't really consider myself to be "in labor" and decided to just go about my day and let Ted go about his. He went off to work and I made some phone calls -- had to make sure the masseuse was willing to still do my 9:30am massage, even though I would possibly go into labor. She was gracious about it and I enjoyed every minute of relaxation, but still no contractions.
My doula, Renae, had arrived during the massage, with a vase of flowers and an extra wafflemaker to try to make the batch of waffles that I had given up -- something wrong with the batter. She and I decided to attempt arm-wrestling (she read that Ina May recommends this!) but still no contractions.
After a little nap around lunch time, I determined that I would just go to the midwife appointment (Danielle Demeter was the wonderful woman) as scheduled at 2:20pm and, figuring she would direct me south to the hospital, I would take all the support people, hospital bags, etc with me to the appointment. I called Ted and instructed him to meet me at the midwife.
TJ climbed in the car with Renae and I, Renae driving, and I decided to try out some nipple stimulation. It worked! Whenever I stopped, the contractions did too, and this provided an unusual element of "labor" -- I got to (had to) decide when to have a contraction. I think I chose wisely: we stopped while at the midwife's office (though we still made quite a mess while she checked my cervix).
Danielle announced that I was at a 5+ -- so something had been happening! She also noted that the bag of waters she could feel was intact, so she determined I must have a high leak. She said, "Let's get you over to the hospital, break the forebag, and I'm sure we'll have a baby quickly!" Off we went... still avoiding the nipple stimulation for the time being -- you know, I had to check in and everything!
I requested an odd numbered room (these are the only ones with tubs), did all the paperwork, and then Danielle broke the forebag as promised. That was approximately 3:40. I got in the tub, continued the nip stim, had some really effective contractions, and had to get out because Danielle was worried she would lose her job if I "accidentally" gave birth underwater. Back at the bed, I knelt, first using the birth ball to support my upper extremities, but then choosing to let Ted hold up my head and strengthen my arms. Once the pushing got started, I didn't have to do the nipple stimulation anymore -- I guess my body finally got the memo that this baby was going to be born!
During the pushing, I sure wished I could still be in the tub. I didn't remember how much it burned... and I kept thinking "For sure, that push did it -- he must be here by now! That sure felt like a baby coming through..." (Remember, I was kneeling so I couldn't see what was going on). But I didn't give up -- pushed enough to get that baby out!
TJ was looking kind of bored, according to Danielle, and so she had him come up and actually be the first to touch Reed -- yup, TJ delivered his own little brother! TJ is such a decent boy -- whenever he tells the story, he leaves out the gross parts!!! Although he was pretty proud of the blood on his shirt! And he particularly liked that Danielle didn't have him wear gloves -- so he caught the baby with his bare hands. At 4:52 pm.
So, my actual labor wasn't much more than an hour... nice! If only pregnancy went by so quickly.

Anyways, the placenta made its complete appearance but there was still some membranous tissue left in the uterus. The midwife commented that my tonsils were in good shape as she scraped out the membranes. This caused hemorrhaging, but just enough to get an IV -- no blood transfusion or anything. We were grateful... and I got to hold Reed the whole time!
The extended family got called in from the waiting room (where they had had strict instructions to hang out until I was decent). They oohed and aahed and took pictures and then it was time for them to go.
I got wheeled on a gurney up to a different room for the night, where everyone was friendly as they woke us up to make sure we were still alive.
Reed, it seemed, had been pretty uncomfortable -- until he pooped (at about 1am). At that point, he slept for about 5 hours, so Ted and I tried to, too (you know, it's hard cuz you're worried the little guy will be a victim of SIDS if you sleep while he does).
So now we're all home and happy and life continues at about the same pace as always!
Keep in touch -- Love, Regan and family