Lee Stranahan’s wife Lauren gave birth at home last night, unassisted, to a healthy boy named Van Stranahan. Lee provided his nine thousand Twitter followers a running update beginning after 11:00 PM Albuquerque time:
Lauren’s definitely in labor. Shane, Jack and I went to the store to get last minute supplies.
@Patricialicious yep, baby – contractions every three minutes, she says….the kids are very excited and helpful
she has an iPod app for the contractions….welcome to the future. The future is weird.
Another trivia note : there are SEVERAL iPhone / iPod apps for measuring contractions. Lauren went with Contraction Master. So far so good
Actually, the kids and I aren’t all that busy. Lauren’s kinda busy. But even her, not so much busy as otherwise occupied.
so Lauren is in that not counting contractions stage of labor….taking a shower…going through the process…
Now she’s in the tub….this is why we got a house with a nice big tub
She says the baby is really moving down
Lauren and kids are fne. Cat is a little freaked out
Water broke, heads right there
Thanks to everyone for good thoughts. Lauren is pushing, working through it
Baby!
Crying nursing baby
Lauren’s getting ready to cut the cord
Actually….Jack cut the cord. Jack is 8. Badass.
Van Stranahan, born at home in an unassisted childbirth – one hour old http://flic.kr/p/7vrSum
This was @MrsStranahan ‘s third unassisted childbirth. All three kids in this picture, born at home, no drugs / doc http://flic.kr/p/7vrWW7
I asked my sister, a midwife currently finishing up her MD in OBGYN, what she thought of at-home birth. With a characteristic understated shrug, she remarked that tweeting it seemed new and unusual; but nothing else about the episode particularly struck her. After all, 99% of humans have been born without the benefit of modern physicians playing Johnny Bench. It is only in recent, and largely American, history that childbirth required hospitals and epidural painkillers at all.
So when I say that Mrs. Stranahan is hard-core, it’s only in comparison to 1% of all moms that have ever lived. Nevertheless…hard-core! In the interests of journalistic balance, I have checked her Twitter stream, too:
Van is wrapped up like a baby burrito and nursing like a champ. Jack cut the cord. Olivia saw the placenta & walked out of the room gagging.
Congrats to the Stranahan family.
