Isaac Rygg Ellis

Isaac was born last night at home at 9:43, after almost exactly four hours of labor.  For those of you keeping track, this was about half as long as Melissa took, and 1/12 (yes, one twelfth) as long as Matthew.  This is probably partly due to the cohosh that Rachel asked the midwife to give her; Rachel had cohosh when she felt like she could endure being huge no longer with Melissa, and labor started shortly afterwards.  This time, labor didn't ensue by the afternoon, so she took a second dose.  Labor started then, hard.  After Isaac arrived, I told her that next time, if the cohosh doesn't take the first time, wait a couple days before trying again.
So labor was hard but short, and mostly in the bathtub.  For a while we thought she and baby wanted a water birth, but then she got out a couple minutes before Isaac was born and birthed him standing up.  Rebecca teased her about her pattern of birthing near toilets, "but whatever works for you!"  Rebecca Williams attended Melissa's birth too; we highly recommend her to any Utah readers.  She has, or will have soon, a birthing center for those who aren't as enthusiastic as Rachel about the home birth option.  We've now pretty much covered all the bases -- Matthew at a hospital, Melissa in a birthing center, and Isaac at home -- and the hospital was by far the least pleasant experience.  I'm glad Rachel was stubborn enough to fight (USA) convention and try other options.
Matthew and Melissa attended the birth, too.  I tried to put them in bed at 8:30, but when Rebecca arrived and they heard that the midwife was here and this time, she was going to take the baby out, no force on earth could have kept them away.  They were fascinated with labor, and delivery, and I think that was about as far as Melissa's interest lasted (baby!) but Matthew was interested in the whole process, until he was finally put to bed much against his will some time not long before midnight.  "I have too much energy to sleep!" he protested, and fell asleep ten seconds after his head hit the pillow.  Melissa, for her part, valiantly battled a large piece of chocolate cake (that Rachel had made Sunday and frozen for baby's birthday) until the cake won.  I got home from filling Rachel's percocet perscription to find her asleep on the bench at the table.
I learned that the after-birth contractions get stronger and more painful with each child.  I think Rachel just took over-the-counter pain medication after Melissa, but this time it's a good thing we have the percocet.  Other than that though, the labor went about as well as you could ask for.  Rachel should be up and about well before I and her mother and mine are done waiting on her.
Isaac was six pounds and 19 inches, which puts him at the lightest of our children by a large margin, but one inch longer than Matthew.  So he's a skinny little guy.  We've kept him well bundled and snuggled up to Mommy.  So far he just wants to eat and sleep, just like a textbook newborn.  How pleasant, after Matthew and Melissa.  We will see if this lasts; it's obviously too early to tell.  Rachel is a stubborn woman but I could use a little encouragement if God wants us to have another after this.
I caught, with Rachel's assistance -- I think that if God Himself were catching, she would still have had her hands there too, Just In Case -- and Matthew cut the cord.  He was very pleased about that, until Rebecca told him that the boy who cuts the cord has to have a bite of the placenta.  Some cultures do eat the placenta, and some even eat it raw, but not ours, and Matthew shrank into my lap at this news.  "Come on over here and see the placenta.  Bring your fork!"  Everybody laughed, and Rebecca admitted that she was joking, much to Matthew's relief.  Then Rebecca showed him how the baby and placenta had shared a "swimming pool" together until the baby broke the pool and came out.
Matthew made the calls announcing our baby boy, then un-named, to Rachel's side of the family.  We only got through to Andrea and Brian.  I called my brother David, who was the only one who I knew would still be awake at almost midnight EDT.
Rachel presented me with a T-shirt that says "Baby Catcher" on it.  Cute.
Rachel will probably post pictures when we get them from the photographer.  Yes, we had a photographer, too, although the labor went so fast that she almost didn't arrive in time; she stayed until past 1:00 with the midwife.  At that point I think the photography was just an excuse -- she just really, really likes babies.  And little Isaac is a cute one, so I can't blame her.
Update: Isaac's been a busy boy.  He's already had three names.  When he was born, I decided that he looked like a little Rygg, after my good friend Ellis.  Rachel preferred Isaiah.  "Rygg Isaiah" has a nice ring to it, I proposed.  This appealed to both the midwife and photographer.  Rachel was unconvinced.  "We'll talk about it tomorrow."  So we left Name: blank for the night.  In the morning, Rachel was still not convinced but I didn't like Isaiah as a first name, or Isaac, another proposal.  So we went with Thomas Winward as a compromise candidate, a name from our pre-birth candidate list and a family name on Rachel's side.  I thought things were settled and announced this name to some of my family and this blog, but Rachel decided he didn't really look like a Thomas after all, and we finally settled on Isaac Rygg.  I think I will call him Little Rygg until he is big, and then I will call him Big Rygg.