Our Birth Story

Everett Solomon Hakooz Cary

The Cary Family

It has been an amazing journey. The pregnancy feels so long ago now that we have Everett in our arms. He was due on 9/30 and everyone, including us, was convinced he would be early.

At some point during the pregnancy we looked into the Bradley Method classes. The Bradley Method was developed by Dr.Bradley and is a method of natural childbirth. Teachers of the method believe with the support of a coach (husband/spouse), education and adequate preparation, women can give birth naturally and without drugs.

We signed up for the 12 week class and felt we made the right decision for our family. Our instructor was very informative and always gave us the pros and cons of anything and everything that could happen. It was great to obtain the knowledge of all of our options. We live in a culture that is more accepting of the drug method that most people could not believe I was planning on giving birth without drugs. We knew that a medical/drug intervention may be necessary, we just didn't want to automatically make that choice.

My labor started on Monday evening with mild pre-labor contractions. They continued to the next day and started to be consistent. We were very hopeful that active labor would start that evening. That Tuesday, Everett was 5 days overdue and we had an appointment with our midwife. I was still 1cm dilated, same as the week before. We had an ultrasound that day as well, and the water level was good and our baby was healthy. We left the office hoping things would continue to progress.

Since our goal was to have him naturally we also tried natural methods of induction. One of them was acupuncture which may have been what helped get things moving along. The contractions started to taper off Tuesday afternoon, but we knew that might happen from the acupuncture. The contractions started again Wednesday morning around 3am. I started tracking them when they were getting more intense and consistent around 5:30am. The contractions quickly progressed from 8-10 minutes apart to 3-4 minutes apart for about a 20 minute duration, around 9:30am. We called Annette, our doula, and she said to see what happens in the next 30 minutes. We started to get ready as if we were leaving for the hospital just in case. About five minutes after getting off the phone with Annette, my water broke. We immediately called our midwife and headed out the door for the hospital.

Once we arrived at the hospital I was checked and sure enough my water had broken. I was placed on the fetal monitor and my labor room was being prepared. Annette arrived shortly after I was placed in my room. At this time the contractions were steadily in the range of 3-4 minutes apart. Once I reached 5 cm I was allowed to go into the tub. I had wanted to labor in the water and hoped for a water birth. I labored all day and around 8:00 pm I was 8 cm dilated. When I was checked, he had still not moved down into my pelvis. Based on how far along I was in dilation his head should have been facing my back, instead of my hip. We worked with Annette to labor in positions that would help move his head in order to get him in the proper position. About an hour later, I was at 9 cm but his head had not moved and his heart rate was decreasing too low with each contraction. We made the decision to do a C-Section for Everett's safety. I was quickly moved into the OR room for an epidural and surgery.

We are so delighted to have this beautiful baby boy, and he has already filled our lives with such joy and amazement. I am so lucky to have such an amazing husband, who stood by my side through 12 hours of hard labor and surgery to get our baby into the world safely.

Here is a link to photos of Everett's birthday and first couple of days at home.

Love,
Natasha, Josh and Everett

The Final Weeks

Well, not much longer now. This week our baby will be 37 weeks and we are getting really excited about meeting him soon. The room is painted, furniture is in, clothes are washed and organized. A few things left to purchase and some items to hang on the walls.

It seems the last few weeks feel like 9 months all on their own. With the anticipation of his arrival time seems to travel very slowly. We are ready to embark on our new adventure and start our family.

Thank you to everyone who have been so supportive and assisting us getting ready for our little guy. Here is a link to some photos we took to document our baby belly.

Our next post will be with the three of us!

The Stretch

We are 7 weeks away from the official 40 week mark. The nursery is painted and the crib is ready to go. Dad is working on refurbishing an old dresser and changing table. Mom is looking forward to setting up all the adorable baby clothes and picking out which outfit to bring him home from the hospital. Mom is feeling great. Just getting bigger and trying to get get comfortable to sleep. Other than that everything is going well and Baby Cary is doing well.

It's a...

...BOY!!!

We visited the doctor on Thursday. It is was very exciting knowing that we would get to see our baby on the screen. Our little guy is still very active and would hardly sit still. We had an opportunity to see his heart, kidneys and his ding a ling.

Cravings

It seems the popular question these days is: "what are you craving?"

So far I have not craved any particular item or items. There have been no weird, strange or odd combination of food either. There is an old wives' tale my mother told me about a long time ago. The tale says, should a pregnant woman scratch any part of her body while craving a particular food, the baby will have a birth mark that may resemble the food she was craving at the time.

I must say, I have to believe somewhat in this tall tale. My mother had a particular craving when she was pregnant with me that I carry with me today. Apparently she couldn't get very good falafel in Maryland. And one day, while craving them, she scratched an itch just under her arm.
I have a birth mark in the perfect shape and size of a falafel under my right arm.

What I have experienced is smelling something even though it is not around. And once I have inhaled the scent of whatever it may be, a philly cheesesteak sandwich, buffalo wings, or popcorn, I must satisfy my sudden urge.

It can also be something that I see in a magazine; like the picture at the top. The Southern Style Mac & Cheese Recipe was calling my name and I ended up making it for dinner that night. Don't worry, I made a salad as well to offset all the fatty goodness.

Bon Appetit!

Those Old Wives

15 weeks, 3 days old

There are many old wives' tales that will assist in gender prediction. Some will tell you it is a girl if you are not looking so good, since a girl steals her mothers good looks. Another one tells you it is a boy if you are craving salty food over sweets. Then there is the one that tells you to hold a ring on a thread over your belly. If the ring moves back and forth you are having a boy. And if the ring moves in circles, then it is a girl.

We tried the last test out and the ring moved back and forth. So according to the old wives, we are having a boy. On May 6th, if our little bean is cooperative, we shall see if the old wives are telling the truth or if they are just fibbing.

Baby Cary is a Jumping Bean

Photo at 12 weeks

After a long journey, we find ourselves embarking on an adventure. We have a bun in the oven and the timer should go off sometime around September 30th. We are so thrilled to share our little miracle with you and look forward to the new chapter of our lives.

We have created this blog as a way for us to update everyone near and far on Baby Cary's progress. At our last appointment, our little one was kicking away, and flipping around on the screen. If he/she keeps it up we will have an active baby for sure.

On May 6th we will be at 19 weeks, and have an ultrasound appointment. We have decided to find out the sex of the baby on that day.What do you think it will be? Take the poll on the upper right of this page and let us know what you think.


Love,
Mama and Papa to be