Richard Owen's Birth Story

Richard Owen was born on Sunday, August 7, 2016 at 9:06pm. He joined us weighting 6 pounds, 10 ounces and measured 21 inches long. The photo I'm sharing above is super raw, unfiltered and I love everything about it. My heart throbs over my baby's eyes. He came out so alert. I guess that is because he was 5 days late. He was very ready to explore the world and meet us. 

It all happened Sunday morning at 4:00am when I woke up out of my sleep in labor. I had cramping all night Saturday but choked it up to Braxton Hicks contractions since I'd been having them a lot and quite frankly, I thought I'd never go into labor because he was so late.  I woke my husband up and we got ready to head to the hospital. At the front door, I noticed my husband had my packed hospital bags ... great! But he also had a towel over his shoulder. What was the towel for? He was so nervous he brought it in case we needed it on the way. I think he thought I was going to have the baby in the car or something. Hilarious. 

The funny story he likes to tell is that I made him change his outfit. He was unmatched and crazy looking because he was so nervous. I couldn't let him go to the hospital that way. Even in labor, I was making him change his outfit and was bossing him around. Ha.

On the way to the hospital, my husband got pulled over for speeding and by two cop cars, not one, TWO! As if we robbed a bank or something. The officer that came over to the car was very sweet once he saw I was in labor and of course, let us go. We cracked up over it. It was like a scene out of a movie. We were like, "No one is going to believe this!" 

17 hours of labor was not easy but I was grateful for the deep breathing and meditation techniques that yoga has taught me because without that, I would have never made it through. I tried to go as far as I could without an epidural. I made it to 7 centimeters! I'm so proud of that. I'm also super happy that the pain was not as bad during what I thought was the best part...the pushing! I mean, I felt it because at that point, they turned the epidural down but it was not as intense as it could have been without a little pain medication and the deep concentration during all that pushing was essential. My yoga skills came in handy there as well. I was able to push Richie Jr. out in 30 minutes. There were so many nurses in the room getting involved and cheering me on. The intense girl power was EVERYTHING to me. Everything!

My husband was my rock as always. He was hesitant about labor. Seeing what was going to happen down there and really just the unknown was scary to him but on game day, he was a pro! He rubbed my back and was truly saving grace during the really bad contractions. During the pushing, he was holding my leg back and cheering me on. "He is almost here. Another push!" It was amazing. I'm so happy he was so involved. What a phenomenal experience to go through together. Best day of my life.

When my baby came out into the world, he...wait for it...POOPED all over the doctor and everyone of the nurses. He was 5 days late so I get it. But really kid, as soon as you enter the world? We laughed so hard. 

Once they laid my sweet baby boy on my chest, it was a feeling that I could never ever put into words. Not ever. My world changed forever!

Within 30 minutes of him being born, the craziest thing happened. He moved his way from my belly to the corner of my chest. He glared into my eyes for sometime then made his way to my breast. And boom, he was breastfeeding. I kid you not! So, my kid came out pooping then wanted to eat. Ha. But really, it was amazing to me that he fed so quickly and latched so easily. It was such a beautiful sign that I would be able to take great care of him. I was so worried about being able to breastfeed. Would he latch?, Would I produce milk?, Will it hurt so bad I won't be able to bear it?, etc. All I wanted was to breastfeed him. Its beautiful, natural and there are so many benefits. Most importantly, the opportunity to bond with him in that way was something I wanted to experience. What is even more crazy is that when I took a breastfeeding class, the teacher talked about a newborn's crawl instinct to find their mother's breast. I thought, "Come on! No way!" and it happened to me! I mean, animals find their way so why wouldn't it happen with humans? Google it (breast crawl). You'll see videos of it. It's BREATHTAKING! And I thank God, it happened to us. I'm forever grateful. 

Sharing a close up of Richie's first day in the world.