Well, 4 weeks after Vincents birth, I'm finally back online! I didn't expect it to take this long to get back with our story, but we've been busy babymooning!

I went into "labor" on Tuesday the 6th of December at 7:45 pm - well, not so much labor as my water broke with a mighty gush!

It took 25 hours of stop/start laboring before I got into any regular and discernible pattern of contractions, and then another 17 hours of active labor.

We went from excited (me and my 8yo daughter) and numb with shock (my hubby!) to bored to tears thinking that it might NEVER get to the point and deliver a baby already!!

By 5:30 AM on Thursday the 8th, I finally got to the point where I told my hubby I wanted him to stay handy and not leave me alone.

I was "failing to progress" and having extreme back labor when my husband just ordered my cervix to open up (it's the one flesh thing) - and finally - FINALLY - 42 hours later!!! - Vincent arrived at 1:50 PM on December 8th.

He came out facing the wrong direction, but head down which probably explains why everything moved so slow and why it was so utterly painful. We used the heating pad & pressure a lot to help, took a few hot showers. I spent most of the laboring on my hands and knees or kneeling against a chair. Hubby had to keep reminding me to not try to recline, but to stay in an upright position.

This labor was so very different from my previous three! It was longer than all 3 of the others put together, and definitely the most painful! I didn't feel baby pass through my cervix or feel a strong pushing urge like I always had before, so my early pushes were extremely tentative - I didn't want to be pushing too soon and I wasn't totally sure I was there yet. Until Vincent crowned I took the pushing fairly slowly.

I eased his little head out to prevent tearing and was saying, "He's coming! He's coming! Catch him!". DH and I together caught the head and then DH took over with the body after I got his head out. I delivered upright on my knees.

I was so excited to see his tiny, sweet little helpless body laying there underneath me and just scooped him right up and held him to my chest, kissing his messy little forehead! What a thrill!!

Even though it was so very long and so very painful, I definitely consider it the BEST of all my deliveries. I feel like I have an even stronger initial bond to him than I did my other kids since his prenatal care and delivery were totally the responsibility of my DH and me. It was WONDERFUL!!

My daughter is thrilled and calling herself "Mini Mom" which we're trying to be careful of because frankly, she likes to hog my time with him AND likes to carefully oversee our parenting of "her" baby! My 16 yo son seems mildly amused by the whole thing - not terribly involved, but affectionate. I think he thinks Mom and Dad (especially Mom) are nuts!

My DH wonders why we couldn't have discovered this whole UP/UC thing alot sooner and done it with all of the kids because he is so proud and excited about the whole experience. He wants to do it again and again - I keep telling him to get MW/Homebirth certified here in New York because this state is so desparate for options - especially in our area!!

We hadn't planned on Vincent - he was our little surprise - but we are so thrilled with him and the whole experience that we may just do it again!

Vincent is a sweet little baby. He has such a pleasant temperament and is a good sleeper at night, usually only up once to nurse and then back down for the night. He rarely cries, and 'sings' all the time with the sweetest little noises!

If you are pregnant or considering it, definitely consider homebirth - it is SO much better than going to the hospital and all of their "standard procedures"!

On the knitting / crafting front, during my maternity leave, I managed to finish the 2nd piece of handmade lace for my twin nieces hope chests. They are only 10 months old, but do you know what is required for a proper hope chest?? I've got to start now or they will never have a dozen quilts each by the time they are big girls. The lace was 7 ft of edging for each of them to get a head start on things. I had also made a dress for one and tried to finish the 2nd dress, but didn't manage to get it completed yet. I've got to get on that right away before winter passes us by and it's useless to them!

I'm nearly done with my Rebecca wrap too. I worked on that alot while I was at home. I think I'm really going to LOVE IT!!

I had intended to do alot more knitted items for Christmas, but with going back to an office job and having the baby, it just didn't happen. I got alot more done than I thought I would though. Now I just have to figure out how to get back into the swing of spinning and dyeing yarns with a new baby needing my attention!