On 20 December 2008 at 1:41 am, Brette and I welcomed our son Elliot into the world. Both mom and baby are doing very well, and we’ve loved the last several days getting to know each other.

The previous day Brette, my mom and I were joking around that the baby would almost certainly come the following day — still a few days before his due date — during the snowstorm that was expected to drop up to 15 inches of snow on Boston. He didn’t disappoint. We found ourselves walking to the birth center about half a mile away in the 4 or 5 inches that had fallen at that point on nearly deserted roads during Friday rush hour, stopping briefly whenever Brette had a contraction.

The birth went amazingly well and I am so proud of Brette. All of the nurses and midwives at the birth center were talking about what a wonderful job she did, and I couldn’t agree more.

A few things I wanted to mention:

If you prefer to give birth in a hospital, or want a pre-scheduled c-section, go for it. Do whatever is most comfortable and appropriate for you. But Brette and I wanted a natural childbirth without surgical intervention unless medically necessary, and for us the Cambridge Birth Center was the perfect place. Situated inside an old Victorian house, it sits across the street from the Cambridge Hospital. The rooms are homey and comforting. The only thing that annoyed us was the constant snow plowing going on just outside our window… but once things got down to business we weren’t paying attention to any of that. The nurses and midwives were so wonderful and accommodating. We were allowed to walk around, bring whatever food we wanted with us, got to sleep after the birth and go home the following afternoon. Just a great experience.

Ok, this is important: get a doula. I think I was as helpful and comforting as I could be for Brette, but look, I don’t have a uterus. I never have and probably never will. But a doula does. I don’t know physically what it’s like to give birth. A doula very well may have gone through it herself. But most importantly, they have training on ways to make the laboring woman more comfortable, and her entire job is to support and comfort. Ours was fantastic, and I can’t imagine going through the birth without her.

Also many thanks to my mom, who has been with us for the past week. She has helped us tremendously with keeping the house clean and orderly, making us food all the time, giving us a relief when we’ve been overwhelmed with E. at all hours, and sharing her experience with us.

Merry Christmas.