The Family O' Blevins

"The Family O'Blevins" would like to welcome little Henry Gordon Blevins into our family! Although it took him a little longer than expected, Henry is well worth the wait.

The Birth: I wish I could tout tales of water breaking, counting contractions, or even a thrilling saga of labor in stop-and-go traffic. But such was not Henry's case. It actually began 2 1/2 years ago with his big sister Chloe's birth. You see, Chloe's pregnancy was a little more stressful than Henry's, and it all came to a head with major gushes of blood and an emergency c-section. In a subsequent pregnancy with a uterine scar, I had two options for delivery: spontaneous labor with a hope for a VBAC (vaginal birth after c-section) or a repeat c-section.

(Enter my ninth month of pregnancy...) I had high hopes of going into labor spontaneously. Ethan and I had dutifully attended all of our Prepared Childbirth classes. We'd even missed the Broadway production of The Lion King to learn about coping with labor pains. At week 39, my wonderful sister Andra flew in for Henry's vaginal arrival. We began working pressure points, and I was diligent about bouncing on my labor ball. We prayed.



My mother flew in on my due date, March 5th, and still no baby. I continued bouncing and pressure-pointing. We prayed harder. I tried almost everything that had ever been rumored to kick things into gear. We feasted on Eggplant Parmigiana. I walked vigorously. I squatted. And at the recommendation of the fabric cutters at JoAnn's, I ate KFC. Besides stomach cramps and some nausea, even KFC failed me.

March 8th was my scheduled c-section, but my wonderful doc said I could give it another week. So we all redoubled our efforts, pressure-pointing, eating, walking, bouncing, stretching, etc. On March 12th, my sister left. No labor, no baby, nutt'n. But later that night Ethan's mother, Martha, flew in. We were hoping this baby might just be waiting for his grandma before he made his debut.

March 15th was the re-scheduled scheduled c-section. And again my doc said I could wait. I admit, by this point I was discouraged. It seemed like Henry had set up camp and planned on making my body a permanent residence. But I decided I would be okay with whatever happened.



March 18th: Sweet, supportive Martha was dropped off at the airport at 5:30am for her 7:00 flight and Ethan, my mother, and I drove to the hospital for my scheduled c-section. I still clung to the idea of maybe being dilated enough to strip my membranes, but no such luck. We had resolved, though, that we would give my body every chance to do a VBAC and if it didn't happen, Heavenly Father must have had a different plan, and we would trust that.



So at 42 weeks, Henry was delivered at 8:40 am on March 18th via c section. He was 19 1/2 inches long and 8 pounds 1 oz, measuring the same length as his big sis (but almost 3 pounds heavier).

The Name: Henry Gordon Blevins. Henry was one of about 10 names we had on our list, but when we saw him we knew that no other name would do. Gordon, a family name on my side, was cut from the list as soon as I had first suggested it by Ethan's veto power. But when we put the names together after he was born... voila! It might sound a little old man-ish, but he's a very mature 17 day old.



The Boy: Henry loves long floats in amniotic fluid, drinking warm milk, taking milk-induced naps, snuggling with his mamma, peeing on his dad, and being a generally cute little fella. He has made it clear that he does NOT like baths, diaper changes, and hunger. His favorite facial expression is a serious furrowed brow with intermixed fleeting smiles. But his bewildered face always makes me smile.



We're so so grateful to have him here and home with us! Thank you to all for your support, prayers, and service! Henry is the perfect addition to our growing family and we feel honored to be his parents. He's looking forward to meeting all of you!