Welcome Oskar Coleman Strandberg!

On Monday May 4th at 3:39pm, Oskar Coleman Strandberg was born in our bedroom. He weighed in at 9.5 lbs. which was a surprise for everyone. (GO HOLLY!) I can not tell you enough about how incredible Holly was throughout the birth. She went into labor with some very mild contractions Sunday night while we were watching a movie ("Into the Wild") at home. They tapered off that night long enough for us to get some sleep. We woke up early the next morning to more contractions and just spent the morning in and out of bed, timing contractions and preparing for the birth. At this point, Holly had gone very inward and was very focused. The birth massage we learned in our birthing class; out the door. Holly did not want to be touched. By the time our midwife, Maria, came by Holly was at 5.5cm and was ready to get to work. She got into the tub to ease the contractions, that were beginning to get stronger. An hour later she was at 9.5 cm. I joined her in the tub soon after, at which point Maria gave Holly the go-ahead to "push". The first push Holly made was the most amazing primal sound I had ever heard. It's starts like a moan, but extremely amplified, and ends with a deep and determined scream. Each contraction got stronger and louder. Just when you thought you had heard the most ferocious scream of your life, Holly re-set the record, again...and again. About a dozen pushes later, lasting only a half hour, we had a baby in our arms. A very lifeless purple baby, but within minutes he was pink and cute as could be. We spent some time with him in the tub, while the paparazzi (Midwife Maria and Doula Lisa) took endless photos. We then got out of the tub. Holly had to birth the placenta, shower, and get a few stitches, while I got to hold the baby. With the exception of the first belt once he came into our arms, he didn't cry one bit. Once Holly settled into bed, I put Oskar onto her chest and he latched straight on to the boob. We had some celebratory vegetable pie soon after with our Midwife, who spent some time with us after the birth. Everything could not have been more perfect. Holly was so well grounded and totally in control of her birth throughout the day. Our midwife has requested Holly's birth story and already provided the title "Birthing with Confidence".