introducing....Crew Hudson Butler

He's here! I have loved having him here and can't believe he is already 5 days old! Scott's family has a tradition of the oldest son's middle name being somewhere the mother has lived. (Scott's middle name is Austin). We chose Hudson from my time in NYC - I lived in the Hudson Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, overlooking the Hudson River.

I was inducted around 11:30 on Monday morning and didn't deliver until 4:30 am on Tuesday. I was in labor for about 17 hours, and pushed for 2.5 hours - the last half hour with forceps. Crew was still not budging, his heart rate was going down, the stress on him caused meconium, and I was developing an infection from it. I was taken to an emergency C-section. They delivered the baby and then called a Code Blue on him because he didn't breathe for the first 3 minutes. Our families were in the waiting room (mine had been in the delivery room until I was taken to C-section), and the Code Blue got everyone really scared. Crew started breathing, though, and they put him on CPAP, and he is a very healthy baby boy. He weighed in at 9 pounds 3 oz, 21 inches long, and, I must note, a 37cm head - which is 4 cm above average.

I have some nerve damage and I still can't adduct my right leg, which means for now I'm not holding Crew while I walk. We think when the swelling goes down that nerve will have better function.

Meanwhile, the joy of having our sweet baby here has been unlike any other. I feel like I need to stare at him all the time so I don't miss a second of this. The delivery was definitely not what I expected, and what my doctor called "worst case scenario", but I felt angels helping me get through it - angels in the form of competent and caring doctors and nurses, my husband, my mother and father, and my sisters, and those from heaven who came to help welcome Crew to this world.


We called all Monday morning to see when we could come in to be induced! We raced over as soon as they told us we could. They said they would hold our hospital bed for 20 minutes and so Scott was a nervous wreck about me taking this picture. We got up to Labor and Delivery and had to wait a few minutes until they were ready for us:) I was a little scared at this point, but mostly excited, and blissfully unaware of what lay ahead!


Hooked up to Pitocin, with an epidural keeping me nice and comfy.



Katie and my mom camping out close to midnight when they let me start pushing. Scott was trying to study for a test the next day and sleep on the floor - you can sort of see his feet on the left.

My first glimpse of Crew after the C-section. I kept asking why he wasn't crying and no-one answered me - they were sneaky about that Code Blue! I was really drugged when I saw him, but said "he looks like a Bloomfield!" And asked to have my Oxygen mask removed so I could kiss him.


The nurses giving Crew his first bath and dressing him.

Scott was the first to hold Crew after everyone else worked on him - finally! Scott sat in the nursery with him while they wheeled me back to the Labor and Delivery room to recover and sleep a little bit. I remember my nurse Kimmy coming in to talk to me and I felt so glad she helped me get through that - she was amazing. Scott was with the baby and in my drugged state I also remember my mom coming in to talk to me and telling me to sleep.


They wheeled me down to mother and baby and I got to hold Crew (after a fashion) and nurse him.

If I look like death in this picture, it's because I had just gone through a near death experience. Scott is crying and we are so happy to have our family together and sound.

Crew and his Daddy.


I was in the hospital from Monday until Saturday and didn't feel quite ready to come home! It's a lot easier with all those nurses around and with the hospital beds that don't make you use your abs! Katie came and helped me shower and get dressed - quite the feat, and Andrew and my Dad came to help me come home since Scott (can you believe the luck?) had a midterm on Saturday he couldn't get out of. Here is Crew in the blanket I made for him, in his carseat with his Grandpa Rich (my dad), and with his Aunt Katie.