Well, that was certainly an experience. At exactly 9AM Friday morning, Adelina Sheehy Renaut was born at the DC Developing Families Center in Northeast. It was pretty quick, as these things go - the wife went into labor around 7:15 PM Thursday, and we were at the birth center at 7:30 Friday. I'm not sure it felt so quick to her, though. The baby was 8 pounds, 2 ounces, and 21 1/2 inches long. I think she has my eyes.
We got a lot of puzzled looks from people when we told them we were doing a natural birth at a birthing center, with midwives instead of doctors. Not that I have anything to compare it to, but our experience was fantastic. Our doula, Heather Wilson, was amazing. I'm not sure I would have made it through the experience without her. A doula, for those that don't know and won't read the Wikipedia page, is basically a birth coach/assistant. She came to the house before we went to the birth center, and she sat with us and helped and gave advice and did everything you could possibly think of to make the experience easier for us.
Then she came with us to the birth center, and worked with the midwives as if they'd known each other for years. She's also responsible for most of the photos taken just after Addy (Addie?) was born.
The birth center is really more like a hotel than a hospital. One of the frequent complaints I've heard from dads is that there is no place for the at the hospital. The best they can hope for is an uncomfortable chair. The birth center had a bed big enough for two, and also a great couch that I easily could have slept on if that had been necessary. It was a private room, with a private bathroom.
And the midwives never left us. It wasn't like a hospital doctor, who might check in now and again. At least one of our midwives, Sierra and Lisa, was there every moment until they gave us some time alone after the baby was born. And even then, Sierra was just down the hall, available whenever we needed her.
And they never took her out of the room. The first time Addy left the room where she was born was when she left with us to come home around 7:30PM (Much earlier than they would have let us leave if we were at the hospital).
So, all that to say, if you're having a baby, or planning to have one soon, and don't think there are options besides the hospital, there are. Check out the birth center. Talk to a doula.
It's pretty crazy, being a dad. I look at her and still have a hard time believing she's my daughter. But she's pretty amazing.
Woo, baby - that's a full
Woo, baby - that's a full head of hair! Can't wait to meet you, little Adelina! Congratulations, Jon and Barb!!!
That comes from my side of
That comes from my side of the family. Hopefully she won't go grey as early as I did.
She's beautiful! Can't wait
She's beautiful! Can't wait to meet her!
You can meet her any day of
You can meet her any day of the week. At 3AM she should need some attention, and you're more than welcome to rock her back to sleep.
Congratulations! I'll have
Congratulations! I'll have to look into that birthing center, though my wife works for ACOG, so that might not be an option for us when the time comes. :)
Perhaps not. You could
Perhaps not. You could definitely still benefit from a doula, though. I'm not sure what we would have done without Heather.
When I didn't see you logged
When I didn't see you logged in last Friday I caught Cheryl online and asked her if she knew if you'd had your baby. Sure enough she got me the first feed pictures and I got to see your beautiful girl. Congrats to both you and Barb.
Our absence on GTalk was the
Our absence on GTalk was the #1 method of announcing the baby had arrived. Most of our friends assumed it was happening when neither of us had logged in by 9AM.
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