Anderson MacRae Babin

Our family is thrilled to announce the safe and healthy arrival of Anderson MacRae into our lives on July 6th, 2010 at 4:10am. He weighed 7 lb 9 oz. and was 19 1/2 inches long.

My weekly midwife appointments were starting to get a bit silly as I was dilated to a 3, 4 and then 5 without being in full labor! The baby was waaayy down there, I was 90% thinned out and I was more than ready to get the show on the road. After my appointment on Monday July 5th, I started having real contractions instead of just "low cramps." We went on our merry way by going out to lunch, going to Costco and eventually dinner at Lucas's Dad's and Grandma's. I was having random contractions about once and hour but was in denial that this could be it. We went home to finalize installing the car seats and then I noticed the contractions coming about every 10 minutes or so at about 10:00 pm. I also needed to take a break when they were happening. With being so far along already I was worried about things progressing too far. As Lucas brushed his teeth and put on his sleeping boxers, I laughed and told him our plans for the evening were changing. I called our doula Jennifer, our midwife and he called his mom to come pick up Eliza. We started packing the car for the hospital!

We were immediately checked into our room around 11:30 and a few minutes later Jennifer arrived. When Georgianna checked me around midnight I was already at 7 cm! She had another mom who was at an 8 so there was a bit of a competition. The next 4 hours were filled with a tremendous amount of hard work. I did it all natural and didn't even have an IV. We had the lights dimmed and Jennifer played a CD with relaxing music while I got into my groove. I insisted Lucas let me squeeze his two fingers while I did my "hee, hee, hee, who" breathing routine through each contraction. Jennifer was my focal point through all my breathing and also provided much needed massage on my legs, hips and back. She coached Lucas on helping me relax after each contraction and provide me with ice chips. She also encouraged me to change positions which is the last thing you want to do even though it helps the progression. Soon I was 9 cm with only a small amount to go. Georgianna recognized I wasn't mentally ready to push yet so she let me get to that place on my own. Just before 4 am I was done with the contractions and ready to move on to pushing. I was a bit anxious, but finally moved into a pushing position and didn't waste any time getting the baby out. After 15 minutes Georgianna was telling me to reach down and grab my baby to pull them onto my chest. It was such an empowering feeling. The immediate relief to have your baby out and on your chest is one of the most amazing experiences after such hard work.


I wanted Lucas to be the one to announce the gender of our baby and it was so worth the wait to find out! The next three pictures are of him making the big announcement and my reaction.

Even though he had the cord wrapped around his neck and arm, he was perfectly healthy from the moment he was out. He also had one of the most beautifully shaped heads! My babies must have hard heads:)

I couldn't have done it without my Doula, Jennifer! Thank you!

Eliza was able to meet her new baby brother later in the day and start changing her vocabulary from "baby sister" to "baby brother!" She calls him "Ann-er-son" and loves to hold and kiss him.

All of our family and several friends came to visit us over the next few days. It is such a joy to share a new baby with everyone.

Anderson's middle name is Grandma Doris's Scottish maiden name. We wanted to honor someone who has been such a big part of our lives!

Thank you to everyone who gave us their love and support during this beautiful pregnancy...now let us all enjoy every minute with this sweet boy!