17 Days old...already

Finally I am updating my blog. It has been a while, but I am sure you will forgive me. Solomon Mack Henley is already 17 days old and doing really well. He is such a good boy, but let's back this story up a bit to January 22nd... 

Castor oil day:

At 1:30pm we made our way up to Nancy to check on the progress. I had been taking primrose oil for the past week in hopes that I could avoid the dreaded castor oil! I hadn't had any contractions to speak of, so I was pleased to hear that I had dilated to 2cm. Nancy said to take castor oil today and we could have a baby before the weekend. I still didn't like the idea, but decided to give it a try.

4:30: Drank castor oil with my favorite, chocolate milk. I highly recommend taking it with chocolate milk. That part was a breeze. It was the hours in the bathroom after that weren't too great. 

Around 9:30: Minor contractions began. I was either about to go into hard labor or about to go to sleep. Decided to time them for a while and they were about 5-10 minutes apart. Called Nancy and she said to call when they became uncomfortable.

11:30: Contractions started to become painful and regular, but still not bad.

Midnight: Pop! My water broke. Adam and I heard it break and BAM... hard labor began! I quickly got up out of bed and Adam quickly called Nancy. She said we could wait a bit or come right away. By now the contractions were very hard and I decided I would rather be there. It took a while to get out the door. I could only move between contractions. Adam really wanted to leave. It was intense. The fog was thick that night, but we made it to Nancy's by about 12:45am. She checked me and I was about 4 cm dilated. There was NO comfortable position and the only thing that gave me even a little relief was pressure on my low back. The contractions hurt so bad. I sat on the floor for a while then moved to the tub for a while. That was relaxing, but only between contractions. Poor Adam felt so bad for me because I didn't even want him to touch me. There was nothing to be done. I am very glad for my Bradley classes which taught me to relax, but it was not easy relaxing through those painful contractions. 

2:45am: The water was getting cold so I wanted to get out. When Nancy checked me I was already 9cm and she said I could start pushing very soon. Within minutes I began pushing. This was such a relief. I could finally do something and it came so quickly. I was amazed and relieved. 

3:10am: Finally, the baby was here. Adam caught Solomon Mack Henley! I could hardly believe it was over. I was so glad it was over. I can't really describe the emotions I went through. I had very little tearing, not enough to stitch. Shortly after Adam cut the cord, Nancy discovered that Solomon was a miracle baby! As she tried to deliver the placenta she found that the cord was not attached properly to the placenta and she couldn't pull on it at all. The placenta came out on it's own, but as soon as it was out the cord just fell right off. This means that Solomon's chance for survival was very small. Most babies do not survive this kind of thing. Thanks to God for protecting His little miracle. The delivery was quick and the castor oil worked. We are so thankful. This is a very rare thing and not likely to happen again.

Well, there were several people in the waiting room who were so happy to meet the new little Henley. Because I was very low on fluids, thanks to the castor oil, Nancy put me on an IV. Also, my blood pressure was still high and a pretty big concern. It is only now starting to go down. 

We are all doing good now. I am recovering well and Solomon is the best baby ever. Not fussy at all and so sweet. We are so happy and blessed. We are very sappy and proud parents.