Benson

Benson Scott Serr

Born June 25, 2011 at 11:15am

9 lbs 6 oz, 22 1/2 inches

I guess a week late is better than never. One of the many interesting differences between this postnatal period, and the time after I had Madeline is my lack of desire to be socially connected this time. After giving birth to Madeline, the change in lifestyle from working full time in the hospital to being at home left me starved for some sort of human contact and mental stimulation. I ended up watching a lot of tv. This time around I'm perfectly content just watching Benson sleep and enjoying every moment with him. Hence, the blog hasn't been on the top of my list of things to do.

We decided to shake things up and try something different this time around. After much thought, discussion, and disgust at the lack of choices in this area, we decided to use a midwife for this baby instead of an OB/GYN. We didn't have a particularly bad experience in the hospital with Madeline, but there were many reasons why we decided not to deliver him at the local hospital. The midwife we chose works out of Twin Falls, and she's a naturopathic doctor as well. She delivers babies at home, but she has also converted the upstairs of her own home into a birthing center. Considering that we live 30 minutes from the nearest hospital, we chose to have the baby at the birthing center in Twin, which is very close to a hospital.

The prenatal period was very interesting. The midwife was very much into nutrition and body alignment (good thing I'm married to a chiropractor). She had me drinking 2 quarts of alfalfa and red raspberry leaf herbal tea a day. It was a nasty sacrifice, but I did drink it. And I was amazed how much better I felt when I did. Towards the end of my pregnancy I had really low blood pressure in the mornings that left me light headed and week. She had me take cayenne pepper drops, and it actually raised my pressure. Scott and I also took a hypnobirthing class to help give us some coping mechanisms for pain.

The week before the baby was due, we had some stressful events happen at work and I slacked on my nutritional regimen. And then I came down with the flu. As in influenza, not the stomach flu. I was extremely sick, and even went into labor on the second night of the flu due to dehydration. We hoped and prayed that the baby wouldn't come until I was strong enough to deliver him. After five days, my fever eventually abated and I started to recover. Benson waited another much needed three days.

I went into labor last Saturday morning. It was fast and intense. I went from the beginning of active labor to the end of transition in a little over an hour. Most of that occurred in the car during the 45 minute drive to Twin Falls. That's where I found the hypnobirthing to be helpful. I had a relaxation track playing on my ipod during the trip, which helped me to not be hysterical. Once we made it to the birthing center, I pushed for almost two hours to get his 9 1/2 pound self out of my body. The pain was awful, but the atmosphere during the delivery was peaceful and intimate. The midwife, her assistant, and Scott were with me every second. This was drastically different from Madeline's birth, where we were left alone for hours. One of the things I remember the most were the smells of the birthing center. The midwife used lots of herbal tinctures (I was constantly opening my mouth for her to drop something or another under my tongue) and they made the room smell wonderful.

Benson finally entered the world at 11:15am. The pain immediately stopped, and I really felt pretty good. This was another drastically different experience. I felt like I'd been hit by a truck immediately after I had Madeline, physically and mentally. I couldn't sit up in bed for days due to my episiotomy, and I felt very indifferent towards my new baby. This time I had very little pain immediately following the delivery, and I was much more mentally stable. I've heard others say after having a baby that they felt so good they would do the whole thing again in a heartbeat. That was most definitely not the case with me. It will be a long time before I can forget the labor pain enough to want to go through it again, but overall the experience was positive.

We were surprised at how much Benson looks like Madeline did as a newborn. Madeline doesn't particularly look like either of us, so we didnt' expect to get another baby that looks like her. He has a full head of dark hair and darker skin than she did, but they have similar facial features.

We brought Benson home later that evening. He's been doing great since. He has his days and nights a little mixed up, but we'll get that sorted out eventually. Scott and I just love him so much. With Madeline, I felt like I was always looking to the next stage, but we are trying our best to enjoy every moment we have with this little baby. Now we know how fast they grow. Someday soon this time of child-bearing in our lives will be over, and I will miss it.