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Here’s our new baby girl, 7 lbs, 13 ounces, 5 days old:

After feeling lousy all day, it finally occurred to me that — duh — it might be labor. It was then that I decided to head down to our local Safeway, which inexplicably has the only supply of H1N1 vaccines on the island, to get my shot. After that, the contractions started. The whole thing from that point on was very fast, and we were only at the hospital for 3 hours when she was born — gratefully, without complications, and VERY easily. (And YES I had a form of an epidural, called an intrathecal, which worked wonders for me.)

The hospital was jammed with laboring mothers and newborn babies, so we got out of there early to recover at home. I am so fortunate to have a lot of helping grandparents at home, and so far the kids are adjusting nicely. But as with her older sibs, this baby is NOT much of a sleeper, so expect a meltdown from me in a couple of weeks when the sleep deprivation really starts to add up!

Thanks all for your good wishes and support. More soon!

Aloha,

Dr. Heather
The BabyShrink

So I’m still huge, and not yet in labor. Luckily the doctor has caved and agreed to schedule an induction for 10/19, if I haven’t delivered by then. But in the meantime I’m looking for anything to take my mind off the discomforts and anxieties of imminent labor. Reader Lisa made my day with this email:

Dear Dr. Heather,

I was googling the meaning of the term “mainstream parenting” and ran across your site. I read a lot of articles on BabyShrink, including one by the name of:

The “Good-Enough Mother”: Are Breasts Required?

This particular article made me feel choked up and teary-eyed as the mother of three boys. I experienced so close to the original poster’s experience, that it was emotional for me to read about. My second son ended up in the hospital with failure to thrive because I did not know I had under-developed breasts, and the pressure to breastfeed was tremendous. It was as though if I didn’t breastfeed I was not a good mother — end of story.

Now don’t get me wrong – I think breastfeeding is the most natural and wonderful way to care for a child that there could possibly be, but I have struggled against huge odds to get people to understand that there are those of us out here who simply CANNOT breastfeed… it’s not that we chose this option.

I have since had my third son two months ago and planned right off not to fully breastfeed and just give him whatever little bit I could make, and the rest of his meals would be formula. This was the best choice I could have made. Taking the pressure off myself allowed me to make a little bit more milk, and I have totally enjoyed the breastfeeding this time around without feeling like it was forced upon me. (When I say a little.. I mean that I made about 1/3-1/2 oz of milk between both breasts, which increased to 1/2-1 full oz now.)

My close friends and I have always felt that there is no completely right way to do this job of mothering. It’s very dependent on the individual child and his or her needs as a person. Reading your site only backed us up on what we believe and I shared it with my closest friend tonight. I have nothing against the AP crowd except that there are those extremists that ruin it’s reputation. The ridicule and nastiness they can dish out is in a whole category by itself. I’m just grateful that there are those out there with credentials like you who see that there is good in several parenting approaches, and your philosophies closely resemble my own.

So this is basically a kudos to you, Dr. Heather.

—- Lisa
Utah Mother of 3

Here’s my response to Lisa:

Hi Lisa,

There are so many moms like you out there who feel this way.

I keep reminding myself that the WHOLE process of pregnancy, labor, delivery, and indeed parenting itself is an ongoing process. Trying to decide what is best for you, your child, and your family, from day to day, is what it’s all about — not following some kind of idealistic dogma about what is “best”. In that way, we model to our children that we create solutions that are best for all of us — not just based on something that someone else said was supposedly correct for everyone. We can (and should be) flexible, for the good of the kids and our families.

I am so glad you are having a nice experience this time around and trusting yourself. Enjoy and thanks again!!

Aloha,

Dr. Heather
The BabyShrink

Somehow, this pregnancy has settled into a nice routine. At 38 weeks and counting, my body seems to have adjusted to the aches, pains, and lack of sleep I’ve been griping about for months. Somehow, it seems like the “new normal”. Even my ankles would agree; instead of 2 pork chops protruding from the bottom of my capris, I’ve somehow got magically slimmed-down ankles. I’m scheduling work for the next 2 weeks (despite my co-workers’ comebacks of “Yeah, right, you’re coming to the next meeting!”) and enjoying the comments (and even the stares) of strangers about my obvious state of pregnancy. My wonderful husband has fallen into the routine of giving the kids dinner and putting them to bed, and then doing the dishes, while I put my feet up and “talk story” with him. Hey, I could get used to this!

Um, except that…Denial ain’t just a river in Egypt, is it? As much as I’m wanting to avoid this thing called “labor and delivery”, what actually FEELS like “jumping (or getting pushed) off a cliff” — deep down, I know I can’t pretend it’s not about to happen. Deep down, this control freak is really scared about the unpredictable nature of labor, and the fact that an unknown doctor in the group is likely to deliver my baby, not to mention the fact that I’m about to meet a little stranger. An interloper into what has become the lovely rhythm of our family.

I’ve spent this pregnancy in deep gratitude for the upcoming birth of this baby; grateful for the simple fact of my pregnancy at age 41, grateful that the pregnancy has progressed so well so far, and grateful for the support I have to go through this again.

But now I’m getting worried about the incredible changes we’re about to face. Yes, I know. I’ll fall in love with her the moment I meet her (or perhaps soon thereafter). My motherly instincts will kick in — they always have before — and the baby will be a wonderful addition to the family. Yadda yadda. But at this point she’s still such a mystery; such an enigma. So close, and yet so unknown. And she’s about to change everything. It’s a little scary for a control freak like me to anticipate!

I feel protective of the three kids we have, and our routine that this new baby is about to smash. As excited as the kids are about their new sister, I feel anticipatory guilt that they surely cannot know the degree to which my attention will be taken away by the baby (and the killer sleep deprivation I will endure). And I groan when I think of the messy recovery from childbirth, the weight I’ll have to lose, and the strategic clothing that needs to be worn by a lactating mother who also attends Board meetings and clinical consults.

So I think I’ll just pretend that this is “the new normal” for a little while longer.

Baby? Who’s having a baby?