Believe it or not, it hasn’t taken us this long to give the baby a name.  It’s just taken us this long to get around to announcing his name.

And now that I think of it, maybe we won’t announce it just yet.  Maybe we could make a bit of a riddle out of it for those who didn’t already stumble across the leaked information on Facebook.

Clues:

1. His first name is an English occupational surname, which also happens to be my dad’s and brother’s middle name.
2. I think it sounds very nice with his older brother’s name.  This is important because I expect to be yelling their names together a lot in the years to come.
3. The first name is also the surname of a super-hero’s alter ego, which occasionally causes the little ones to mistakenly call him by the alter ego’s first name instead.  Now that I think about it, he (the baby, that is) is kind of a scrawny little guy.  The super-hero’s name might make an amusing and appropriate nickname.
4. His middle name is the surname of an historical figure in whom our family has taken a rather personal interest over the last year, particularly in June and July.
5. This new little man of ours has the same 3 initials as his father and older brother. Oh – and his paternal grandfather, of course, Perry II.

Can you figure out his full name?

Baby boy and Grandpa Brown

??

Is it just me, or is that every woman’s first thought?

It’s a boy (a Boy! A BOY!!!).  Stats: 7 lbs 5 oz – small for us.  20.5 inches long.  Big ole 14″ head.  The midwife thought this was pretty impressive for a 7 lb. baby.  I have to agree.

In spite of being 10 days past due, Jennifer thinks he looks more like just a few days overdue.  This means I probably was a week off with my dates.

I’ll put together a cohesive account soon, but here are a few highlights:

• The baby was born posterior.
• He was also born hoppin’ mad.
• I passed out cold at one point.
• I labored in the pool for a bit but missed when it came time to deliver.
• The midwife missed too.  We waited too long to call her.
• Dad caught him, but he was a slippery little guy and landed on the deck. edit: I just realized that makes it sound like we dropped him from the height of the pool.  I delivered on hands and knees outside the pool, so he only slid through Daddy’s hands and fell a couple inches.
• I guess the walking worked.  Labor was not fun (is it ever?) but the really intense part only lasted for a little over an hour.

I feel wonderful and relieved, but I’ve been up all night and promised to get some rest, so I’ll tell the whole story later.  Hopefully, other family members will be sharing some photos while I rest.

Thank you for all your prayers!

I’m in now.  I didn’t want to get in too soon, but the pool was calling my name and contractions are getting intense.  The last time I checked they were 4-5 minutes apart and lasting 90 seconds.  I keep finding myself vocalizing, just a little, and it seems like a good sign.

Theoretically, that is.  It also means that we’re up to 5 ows on a scale of 1-10.  At least, I hope I’m rating them right.  I’d hate to reach 10 before I reach 10, if you know what I mean.

Remember when I asked what others wear for water births?  I’m not looking up a link now; you’re on your own.  But I will tell you thank you for the helpful input.

I settled on a short, simple dress of some synthetic material that will hold much less water than the long cotton one I ended up wearing the last two times.  It has plenty of space, spaghetti straps, and comes to mid or upper thigh.

[ow ow ow]

Feeling a bit queasy.  Probably the calcium and vitamin C, since it’s too early and too bearable for transition.

It’s a small dark blue print that reminds me of water and waves, and I’m wearing a black sports bra underneath.

[ow ow ow ow]

For those who are wondering why I’m concerned about modesty at a time like this, it’s not only for the sake of my husband and the 2 midwives and 1 apprentice who will be here (one of whom I’ve only met once).  It’s not even because of my mom, though it’s been a loooong time since I ran around the house naked in her presence.

It’s primarily for the sake of my children, who will quite possibly be here at home for most of my labor.  All but one are sleeping now, but I fully expect some to wake and check on us throughout the night.  I also expect to be laboring still this morning when they all wake up.

While they did see the birth of Rachael nearly 6 years ago [ow ow ow ow], they have no great desire to see subsequent births including this one.  They’ve seen enough to satisfy their curiosity.  Likewise, I have no desire to flash them unnecessarily, either in the pool or on my way to or from the bathroom.  Clothes during labor and delivery don’t bother me, so I prefer not to shed them. [ow ow]

Chatty children and excessively affectionate dogs and cats?  Those can be distracting.

So I’m sitting up, timing contractions with this handy contraction timer. It keeps track of length and frequency with just a click or the S key to mark the beginning and end of each contraction.

5 or 6 minutes apart and lasting 60-90 seconds.

Remember the last post, where each contraction only rated one “ouch”?  On a scale of 1 to 10, I think we’re into 3 or 4 ouches now.  These are taking all of my attention now, and we’re way past “crampy” or uncomfortable.  They hurt.

Just had my second drink right from the bottle of liquid calcium (my favorite pain killer), followed by 2000 mg. of vitamin C on my midwife’s suggestion.

I was nearly ready to wake hubby but he woke on his own [ow, ow, ow] when I turned the computer back on.  Now he’s setting up the pool for me.  I’m not ready to get in just yet – I’m afraid I may have a tendency to do that too soon and make this fun little process take longer than necessary – but I have a feeling I’ll really want it soon.

I’m in labor.  Without giving too much information, I’ll say I’ve been in early labor at least since this morning, but probably since yesterday afternoon when regular contractions started at 10 minutes apart.

We did go to church this morning, and as I expected contractions slowed a bit.  After the fellowship meal we went to the pastor’s house as planned.  The kids swam well into the evening, and hubby and I had a quick dip as well.  We didn’t start our hour-long drive home until nearly 9:00, but as soon as I was in the van contractions picked up a bit in frequency and significantly in intensity, back to about every 10 minutes and strong enough to be called crampy.

[ouch.  11:35]

When we got home, I had a quick snack of watermelon and immediately started puttering.  OK, I cleaned my room.  I hung up clean laundry, took the dirty to the laundry room, cleared most of the clutter from the chest of drawers, swept and dusted a little…while I was doing this, contractions got more intense, requiring me to stop and self-consciously relax.  They also moved down to about every 6 minutes, making hubby a little nervous.

Hubby settled the little ones into bed and called his mom and my mom, while I called the midwife, alerting them all that they’d probably be getting a call in the wee hours.  Checking on me frequently, he inspected and made plans for the birthing pool and had the kids help clear a bit more clutter out of the bedroom and straighten the rest of the house, which we invariably leave in a mess on Sunday morning.  I still hear the sweet sound of my daughters doing dishes out there.

Now I’m debating whether to stay up and time a few contractions or see if I can get some sleep.  I’m also waiting for at least one more contraction to end this post.  Like the proverbial watched pot, it’s taking its own sweet time.

[ouch. 11:49]