Welcoming Henry Finn

Henry Finn did not leave his hospitable abode on 14 October as expected. He was so comfortable on the inside that we, meaning me (mom), had to beg the doctor to induce. I was rather fearful our little Resident Alien would reach ginormous proportions if left to incubate too long. So, on the morning of 17 October, we loaded the car with our prepared hospital-stay bags, hopped in, and headed to OHSU to welcome Henry into our world.

We arrived at the hospital at ten o’clock. The day moved slowly as OHSU is a teaching hospital and treatment suggested by a resident doc had to be cleared by an attending before anything happened, such as getting the drugs to bring on labor. Around 5P.M. we were advised we could grab some dinner so, unbeknownst to the staff, I got dressed and Darr and I escaped from the hospital to grab our last meal sans baby at home. Even with bad traffic, we were back at the hospital, I was in my gown, and we were ready for the Pitocin drip on time.

At 1:05A.M. we did a practice push. A mere 45 minutes later Henry was born. Our perfect little boy weighed 6 pounds, 14 ounces and measured 19.5 inches. Ten fingers, ten toes. Lots of brown hair.

It has been over a month since we brought Henry home. We are all adjusting to life with Henry. He is a pretty good baby by all accounts. He has moments of quiet reflection where he is very intent. He eats a lot and is co-sleeping well. The cats and dog have been accepting of the new tenant. Some things have changed, like the cats are sleeping at the foot of the bed instead of up near our heads, and the dog isn’t getting as much attention or play time outside as she would like. But they are all very careful around our lil’ guy and we appreciate that greatly.

We are now entering the talking and looking stage. Henry has found his voice and is happy to use it to coo and say things like “ah-goo!”. It’s adorable. And he seems to see us more clearly as he smiles a smile that lights up his face and ours.

I best stop writing now or I’m going to end up sounding like one of those sappy Hallmark greeting cards. As for babies, all I can say is that if you don’t have one, you should get one. They’re pretty cool.