Here Comes Baby Boy! - The Birth Story

Almost 2 months after my baby boy was born, I'm finally writing his birth story. And now scrambling to find my birth notes that my doula gave me... (in reality, I'm calling my husband to find them for me cause I have a baby sleeping on my chest, in the Moby Wrap (which I will write about in more detail later).

Found it!

So if you are only interested in the general picture of my birth, read the short version, which I have here first. If, however, you are interested in the details and specifics, read my novel (aka, the long version), which follows the short version. :)

Short version:
March 14, my due date, I woke up at 4:00am to find my water had broken. 4:30ish I felt my first contraction. I labored at our apartment until 9:00am and arrived at the hospital around 9:50. (Only a 15 minute drive, but it took a while to get down the stairs and out to the car). The nurses were shocked to find I was already completely dilated, and after forcing my feet into stirrups and repeatedly trying (and failing) to get an IV into me, my son was born at 10:31am. The nurses, having forgotten that I had not received an epidural, jabbed me in the leg with a needle to give me pitocin (without my permission), and my doctor then informed me that she was stitching me up from the episiotomy she'd given me (again without my permission and without me even knowing what she was doing). Then another nurse dumped cold water all over me "down there" - to which I shouted "ahh" to. (She then asked, "what?!" to which I told her it was cold and she then said she'd forgotten I hadn't had an epidural). My boy crawled to the breast and began nursing on his own within the hour. Because my husband was deployed, my mom flew out and arrived around 6:00pm.

Read on for the long version...

Colostrum: The Original Liquid Gold

Colostrum, or "first milk" or "foremilk" is a milky substance that female mammals (not just humans!) begin producing toward the end of the pregnancy. Some women will begin to notice it in the second trimester, others not til the third, and some mothers will not notice the colostrum until after they give birth. I do not "leak" colostrum as some women do (at least, I haven't yet) but I began noticing it early in the third trimester.

Colostrum is the original liquid gold - the first "milk" your baby gets that is yellowish in color with a myriad of beneficial properties.

It is usually a clear/translucent yellow to orange color and is thicker than breast milk and a little sticky. Small but mighty - it is low in volume but rich in protein, fat-soluble vitamins, antibodies, immune factors, enzymes, and it also has laxative properties which help your newborn expel meconium, their first poop. If you deliver prematurely, your colostrum will contain even more proteins and different fats that are important to premature babies. Colostrum even "seals" baby's intestines, protecting them from bacterial invasion.