Henry is one week old and is a very content, happy baby, so far. He sleeps and eats well. Dare I say, but I think I am getting a little more sleep now than in my final insomnia-hazed weeks of pregnancy.
I want to share Henry's birth story to document it on this blog and to share the tale with those who have not heard it.
I woke up around 3 a.m. on Dec. 1 with what I thought was either Braxton Hicks or gas. I had been having BR contractions for a few weeks. I got up and walked around, thinking they would go away. When they didn't, I woke up Dave.
As the contractions got stronger, I realized quickly that it was go time. But what about Sam....
My dad was set to arrive on that Wednesday afternoon to help with Sam. We had it all planned out -- he would arrive more than a week before I was due to help me out and be there to care for Sam when I went into labor. We were counting down the days to his arrival, for with it would bring peace of mind on what we'd do with Sam while at the hospital. My dad set out driving from Wisconsin on that Tuesday and was at a hotel in Ohio when Henry decided to make his arrival.
Thankfully, we had a back-up plan. Our downstairs neighbor and landlord helped us out. Her mom, who visits for several months in the winter from Croatia, was willing to watch Sam in our apartment.
Dave woke them up sometime around 4:30 a.m. and explained the situation. It was hard to leave Sam, but then again, I was in pain, so I just wanted to get to the hospital.
We called a car service, which arrived promptly. We arrived at the hospital around 5 a.m. Henry was born at 7:20 a.m. It was a natural delivery with no epidural.
(There was a moment there during the delivery when Dave had to sit down, drink some juice and rest a little. He was feeling faint. I don't think it was because of the actual delivery. He was just hungry and very tired. He doesn't get home from work until midnight and I woke him up around 3:30 a.m....)
During this time, my dad was driving through snow, wind and rain to get to our apartment. I had called him right before we left for the hospital, and he decided to get up and start the final leg of the trip.
After Henry and I were situated in our hospital room, Dave left the hospital late morning to relieve our sitter and wait for my dad. My dad finally arrived at 1:30 p.m. after a delay getting across the Verrazano-Narrows bridge. The wind was so bad that day that trucks weren't being allowed to cross, creating a traffic jam of trucks attempting to turn around.
After the long and stressful drive, he made it and Dave came back to the hospital.
As I think back on it now, it makes me smile. Henry was a surprise for us from the beginning and so was his arrival.
We received about 24 inches of snow here in Brooklyn on Dec. 26 and Dec. 27. It was a mess. Our street wasn't plowed until 5 p.m. Tuesday - about 36 hours after the snow stopped falling. Cars, plows, UPS trucks, emergency vehicles - they were all stuck in the snow in our neighborhood, causing chaos and frustration for many. 
