Tomorrow, Henry turns 2. I can't believe he is 2 already. I feel like my poor baby had to grow up a little too fast, since his brother Levi came so quickly. He is already a great big brother. I realized that I never got the chance to write down his birth story. I'm worried that I'll forget, so I'm writing it down tonight, before I put it off any more.
We we first found out that we were pregnant with Henry it was a pleasant and blessed suprise. I had just had an ectopic pregnancy end two months earlier, after a couple of years of trying to get pregnant. We were devastated, but suprisingly, I felt very peaceful through that whole difficult process. I remember the doctor telling me after the ectopic pregnancy, that is not uncommon for women to get pregnant again quickly after losing a baby. Your body is already in that pregnancy mode, and it often happens. Even after she said that, when we found out we were pregnant again just two months later, we were thrilled and very nervous.
Because I had had the ectopic pregnancy, the doctors were very nervous about me having another one. So I got to have quite a few ultrasounds from very early on with Henry. Right after we found out we were pregnant, at about 6 weeks, I got to go in for an ultrasound and got to see the baby's tiny flickering heartbeat on the monitor. I was so happy. The baby was in the right place and looked perfectly happy.
The first part of my pregnancy was relatively uneventful. I was quite a bit more nauseous with this pregnancy than with Emma. I had my hints that this meant that I would be having a boy. It was still an easy first two trimesters. At about 20 weeks, we went in for the big ultrasound, and when we found out it was a boy, again we were thrilled. We would now have one of each. Emma came with us to the ultrasound and she was just as excited as we were to see the baby. Henry was laying an odd way, and they couldn't see his heart clearly, so they had me come in later for another ultrasound. I can't believe how many ultrasounds I had with him. It think it ended up being 7-8 before he was born. I loved each one. I loved getting to see him moving and kicking around so much.
Near the end of my second trimester, my blood pressure began to rise. The same thing happened with Emma, but not until a week before she was due. Now, my blood pressure was rising much earlier and the doctors were a bit worried. At about 32-33 weeks, my doctor decided that I should go on "moderate" bedrest. I was actually confined to a bed, but my doctor wanted me to relax and rest as much as possible. I got to take extra time off work and spend lots of time at home with Emma. It was wonderful.
More than a year previously, we had purchased tickets to a Hockey game for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. I was so worried that I wasn't going to be approved to go to the game. After being on bedrest for a few weeks, my doctor brought me in for some tests, and said I was good to go. Shane and I got to run away to Canada for the weekend and enjoy some much needed away time before the craziness of 2 kids hit our household. We had a great time and stayed in the Semiahmoo resort up in Blaine, WA.
The last few weeks of the pregnancy went really fast. The doctors were just trying to get me to 37 weeks and then they would induce me. Right on 37 weeks, my doctor decided it was time. She sent us over to the hospital on the morning of March 2nd, to start being induced. It was a crazy busy birthing day apparently. We were brought into a bed into a combined room, that served as a waiting area until the real labor rooms opened up for new patients. We hung out there for a few hours, until the doctor finally came and got things started. We then waited for a few more hours, until they finally moved us into a room and got me started on the pitocin, to begin the contractions. I virtually felt no contractions until later in the evening around 10:00, when they broke my water. Then it was an immediate intense rush of contractions. I couldn't get the epidural fast enough. I got the epidural around 11:00 at night, and then was able to rest (sleep)! for quite a while.
I remember we weren't officially set on Henry's name yet, although it was our agreed upon favorite. One of the nurses asked us what his name was going to be, and we say we thought Henry. She then wrote a cute sign on the white-board on the wall that said, "Happy Birthday Henry!". I remember looking at that sign, and thinking, "yes, Henry is it". I loved the name and if was official from there on out.
My blood pressure had been continually rising and I was unaware of how bad it was getting. I felt great, but I think Dr. Anton was nervous. She gave me some magnesium, which I thought was probably a common drug to administer. I didn't realize until later that it is intended to prevent strokes in high-risk deliveries. I was clue-less. I'm grateful I was clue-less. I was still able to enjoy the delivery.
One of the nurses created a pillow fortress for me to sleep in. She was so nice, and I remember feeling so incredibly comfortable. After a short nap, I woke up and it was time to push. Since I was technically a high-risk delivery, there were lots of extra people with this delivery, just in case anything went wrong. Of course it didn't. I think all the extra people had Shane worried. He hadn't eaten anything all night, and when it came time to push, he started feeling a little dizzy. One of the nurses ran and pushed him into the chair to give him some oxygen. She said the last thing she wanted was to have to pick him up off the floor. She was a 100 lb something, and was scared to death that Shane was going to crash to the ground. :) Shane sat in the chair with some oxygen and held my hand as I started pushing.
Henry came even faster than Emma did. I only had to push through a couple of sets of contractions. I had had a very bad cold in the weeks before delivering, and I remember coughing through contractions and apologizing to the doctor. She said, "no--keep coughing--its working great!". So I coughed a bit until she then finally said, "ok now-no coughing!" Which is hard to do when you have a tickle in your throat. She helped him the rest of the way out and after just a second of getting him cleaned with the specialists, my sweet boy was in my arms.
He was so big! 9lbs 1 oz, and he was a chunky-chubby baby, even at 3 weeks early. Its amazing how quickly you can fall in love with someone. It happened quickly with Shane. Very fast with Emma, and even faster with Henry. I just held him in my arms and kissed his forehead and knew that he was mine forever. Henry was such a good baby. He was happy, content and very playful. Most of all he was HUNGRY! He ate 3-4 times a night, clear up until he was a year old. I was going crazy with no-sleep. Once we finally switched him from formula to whole milk, he gave up the bottle.
I look at him now and I see a sweet little man. He has started to say so many words. My favorite conversation we have right now happens everyday multiple times. After Shane goes to work, he'll ask. "Where Daddy go?" and I'll say, "I don't know? Where is he?" Henry will then respond with, "Where Daddy go? At work..." and he'll nod his little head. Then he'll ask, "What's he doin'?" And I say, "fixing busses.". He then nods his head and says, "bugsy?" (as in Pete's dog Bugsy. And I say, "no not Bugsy, busses". He then smiles and says, "busses". We literally have this same conversation everyday at least five times. I love it he's so cute.
He loves tools, and wandering around chasing after Emma. He has a pair of rainboots that he wears right now, that he adores! Sometimes I'll go in and get him up from his nap and he's already put his boots back on. He smiles at me and points, "Boots!". I can't imagine life without this boy, and I'm so grateful he came to our family. :) I love you Henry boy!
Yesterday for Henry's birthday, we decided to take the day off and do something fun. After Emma's basketball game in the morning (which she did awesome at, she scored 3 baskets!) we went into Seattle. We rode the Ferry over to Bainbridge Island and visited the cute little kids museum over there. It ended up being a beautiful day, and we were able to enjoy the sunshine. Its one of our favorite little places, and it is a beautiful little trip to get there. 
Henry and his favorite accesories, his boots.
In the motion exhibit, playing with the golf balls. 
Henry and his favorite accesories, his boots.
In the motion exhibit, playing with the golf balls. 
