Henry Gage

I decided to start a blog to keep people up to speed on little Henry's life!  I love to read other people's blogs, but I am not a great writer.  If nothing else, I will try to post lots of pictures :)


Henry Gage was born on January 4, 2012 and has completely taken over our lives (in a good way!). We just sit and stare at him for hours and cherish every day with him because we don't want to miss a single expression or sweet little sound.  Sam and I steal as many kisses as we can.  This little guy is already a wild child.  Everyone says he is super strong and the most active newborn they have ever seen.  He was scooting across the hospital bed and doing push ups while the photographer was trying to take his newborn pictures.  Even the obstetrician would comment on how active he was when I was pregnant with him.  Henry hates to be swaddled because he wants to have his arms and legs free to flail around.  I have a feeling he is going to keep us on our toes for the rest of his life!


I found out I was pregnant on Easter.  I had no symptoms, but was cleaning out a cabinet and found a test and decided to take it just for fun.  Sam and I didn't believe it, so I made him go buy about 5 more tests.  I had a pretty easy pregnancy despite a lot of morning sickness and gestational diabetes.  I wouldn't say I am one of those people who "loves being pregnant", but I was incredibly thankful for each day.  Each day I was sick, each day I had to check my blood sugar, each day I just stared at my clothes because nothing fit me, I would think, "There are thousands of people who would love to be ___ weeks pregnant."  


Henry was due on January 1, 2012.  I wanted him to come before Christmas so I could take lots of cute Christmas pictures, and Sam wanted him to be born before January 1 so we could get a tax break.  Henry had other plans.  


When my due date came and went, my doctor scheduled me to be induced at 5am on Wednesday, January 4.  The doctor told Sam and me to go out to dinner the night before, enjoy a quiet relaxing evening, and get a good night's sleep.  Again, Henry had other plans.  


I started having contractions Tuesday night about 6:00.  Sam and I went out to eat, but spent the whole dinner timing contractions.  I was up all night with contractions.  By the time we got to the hospital at 5:00 the next morning I was already dilated to 5cm!  They gave me a little bit of pitocin, an epidural, and the rest of the labor was a breeze.  It turns out that the "pushing" part of labor is a lot harder than they make it look on tv.  I was thinking I would push a couple of times, the doctor would catch him, and we would be on our way.  Turns out that's not how it works.  After 3 hours of pushing I was about to just give up and be pregnant forever.  When Henry decided to make his big entrance into the world, the doctor was not there.  Henry's head was halfway out, and my nurse was frantically calling other nurses and trying to find the doctor.  They told me not to push, move, or breathe too deeply or he would come out.  After what seemed like forever, the doctor showed up and Henry was born a few seconds later at 3:35 pm!  They put him on my chest, and I was in love.  


He was 7 lbs 6 oz and 20 1/4in long.  He was healthy, but the gestational diabetes caused his blood sugar to be really low.  If he had one more low blood sugar reading, he would go into the NICU.  We spent the first night force-feeding him and checking his blood sugar.  Eventually it stabilized, but his stomach was stretched out 3 times the normal size of a newborn stomach from all the formula we had to give him.  It was very hard to fill him up, which made for very long nights for about a week.  He is doing great now and is on a pretty good schedule, which means more sleep for his mom and dad.  YAY!


This little guy is so loved.  Our family was able to come spend a few days with us and were a HUGE help!  They cooked, cleaned, and held him when Sam and I needed a quick nap.  We have been so blessed by our friends and church family.  They have provided meals, sent flowers and gifts, and have come by to visit.  So many people have blessed us these past 12 days, and we cannot thank you enough for sharing in our joy.  


And now, some pictures of the most handsome baby in the history of babies: