blind insight

Introducing . . .

The baby formerly known as Crusher! Milo Felix Cohen Freiburger entered the world at 7:19 p.m. on August 27, 2007. He weighed 6lbs, 13 oz, and measured 20 inches long. He is absolutely gorgeous (according to his completely unbiased parents and grandparents), and has spent his first few days eating like a champion and sleeping reasonably competently.

A full birth story is forthcoming, but suffice to say that labor and delivery were intense, exhilarating, and one of the most incredible experiences of my entire life. Steve coached me through four hours of strong, Pitocin-induced contractions, massaging my painful hips and back, keeping me focused, and reassuring me that I could keep going, even when I thought I was ready to demand an epidural. He then supported me, both physically and emotionally, through an hour of hard-core pushing. Just when I thought I couldn't keep going, Milo emerged into the world and landed in his daddy's waiting hands.

Much credit is also due to an amazing medical team, particularly nurse Karen, who was a constant supportive and helpful presence, better than any doula I could possibly have hired. Thanks to the OB and nurse Karen, I had only a couple of tiny internal tears, which are mostly healed already. We arrived home yesterday afternoon and are all settled in. We've even gotten a little sleep, thanks to my mother's extraordinary overnight support. Milo, mom, and I went for a long walk today, and I feel fantastic. He's sleeping contentedly in a Peanut Shell now, giving me a chance to bring you up to date.

Here is a first look at our sweet boy. A full set of shots from his first few days is available here.

Putting the "E" in EDD.

That's Estimated Due Date, for those of you who don't spend your time obsessively reading about all things pregnancy- and baby-related. Estimated, because the majority of babies decline to emerge on the magic, appointed day. In my family, the tendency has been to show up early, and somehow I never fully accepted that the 40-week point would arrive with a baby still safely ensconced in my belly. Crusher, however, is clearly his or her father's child, and is in no hurry to vacate its comfy quarters.

And, why, yes, we have tried _______ (insert your favorite natural labor-induction method here). Any and all of which have triggered sporadic, relatively painless contractions, but no meaningful uterine activity.

Today, instead of having a baby, we slept late, went for a nice long walk, trekked out to a bike shop in furtherance of Steve's goal of demoing every possible high-end frame and component set-up available in the Metro area, and bought an iPod speaker docking thingie for the labor room. I ate eggplant and pineapple, and drank raspberry leaf tea. Nope, still pregnant.

Tomorrow, on the other hand, is August 27. For years, a widely believed hoax has been circulating about that magical date, on which Mars supposedly will be extra-close to the Earth.  My mother-in-law called me today to announce that tomorrow would be the day, courtesy of the double phenomenon of the impending full moon and the (alleged) Mars Spectacular. The full moon does have reputed labor-inducing powers, though, so perhaps she is right. I certainly wouldn't complain.

For now, I'm lazing about, feeling tired and cranky and increasingly anxious to get this baby out of me already. Here's what it looks like:

UPDATE: Still Estimated, but awfully close. My water broke at 10:30 p.m. last night! Now we're just waiting for the contractions to ramp up, and trying to get some sleep. Not doing a very good job of the latter, at least on my part, as this update reveals. But, wow - we're having an actual baby, and soon!