It's a Girl!
Robin and I were blessed with our new baby girl, Geneva Rachel Ludington, at 10:49pm on April 6. She weighed in at 7lbs. 12oz (or 3.5 kilos). Whether you are new here or have been reading me for a long time, this will likely come as a surprise, because I haven't mentioned we were expecting.
It turns out I'm superstitious about these kinds of things. I got it in my head somewhere early in the pregnancy that talking too much about it online would cause some form of bad luck. Like skipping the 13th floor in a building, I have no logical basis for my reasoning. Since everything went smoothly, my superstition is reinforced by the idea that if I had talked about it something certainly would have gone wrong. ;) Now that Geneva is here, I'm taking a moment to brag like any other proud father.
We had a home birth, which made perfect sense because Wyatt, Geneva's big brother, was also born at home. Robin didn't fall into any of the categories that suggest a high risk pregnancy. I don't have a hospital birthing experience to compare the home birth to, but I honestly can't imagine doing things any differently. It was great to be able to settle back into our own bed for a frequently interrupted night's sleep, with Robin's parents and Wyatt just down the hall, rather than spending the night in a strange place. Geneva was never out of Robin's sight at any point following the birth and I got to be actively involved through the whole process. I realize this is currently a highly controversial topic here in the U.S., so I may be opening a can of worms by bringing up home birth in this forum, but there are very few instances where being at the hospital for a birth is medically necessary.
If you happen to be thinking about a home birth or have a family member who is considering one, email me and I'd be happy to share our experiences in greater detail. I'm not going to offer any medical advice, but I can certainly offer my perspective on what additional material you might want to refer to in making an informed decision.