Introducing Daniel Alexander Rashman*

Isn't he just the cutest baby ever? We think so.

Contractions started around 7 on Friday night, but they weren't bad and they were pretty far apart, so Zach and I went to synagogue as usual. Then we came home and went to bed but I could tell that this was going to be the real thing. After waking up on Saturday, the contractions were about 7 minutes apart and fairly intense, but they weren't getting any closer. Dana, the midwife on call, suggested taking a shower and going for a walk, so I did and then things started to progress.

When the contractions were 3-4 minutes apart, we headed to Tripler Army Medical Center around 11:30 am and got all checked in. I was 5 cm dilated at the first check, so I was admitted and then the real fun began. Honestly, the whole afternoon is a bit of a blur. Which I guess is good because I don't think anyone would have more than one baby if they truly remembered everything about the experience. My goal was to minimize medical interventions, like continuous fetal monitoring, an IV, anesthesia, etc (and we were successful--no epidural for me!). Zach and I had taken the Bradley method classes and had been with the midwives the whole pregnancy, so we were ready.

At 6 pm, I was 10 cm dilated and ready to push. TV makes it seem like it takes about 3 pushes and then a baby magically appears. For us, it took a little over an hour of hard pushing, with wonderful coaching by Zach, Dana, and the two nurses, Stacey and Rachel. Dana's shift ended at 6, but she stayed to see everything through. I really cannot say enough about the midwife program at Tripler!

Daniel was born at 7:20 pm on Saturday night, weighing in at 8 pounds, 15.7 oz (which I am rounding up to 9 pounds, just because I can). He was 21 inches long, so all around a big boy. He was born with his left hand up by his head, which is why it took a long time to get him out. One of the nurses commented that he looks like a C-section baby because his head is so round. All in all, he's perfect!

We stayed at Tripler two nights and now we're back at the house and looking forward to our first night together in our home! Here are some more pictures (and I'll get some videos up in a different post).

*Zach wants to make sure that everyone knows Daniel's middle name is Alexander (his last name is not Alexander-Rashman).