Our Birth Journeys

Prenatal Care Chart - Blank

2012-02-05T20:35:00.001-07:00

This is what I used for my prenatal care with my last few pregnancies.

Jeans Diaper

2012-02-05T17:17:00.001-07:00

So, I finished sewing my "scrap" diaper. I had a pair of my old favorite jeans. The butt ripped out, so they were trash. I just couldn't stand the thought of throwing them away. Sooo, as I mentioned in a previous post, I made a pattern, and cut out a diaper (and an extra for a pattern).

** Here's the link to the first post - http://ourbirthjourneys.blogspot.com/2012/01/what-big-pile-of.html **

I waited a while because I am out of snaps, my velcro is missing, and I don't have a chair for my sewing room. Well, I got tired of the diaper sitting there. I decided it didn't need snaps or velcro, and really, who needs a chair to sew!

I ditched the fleece inner liner that I was going to use. It gets so pilly so quickly. I pulled out my yummy soft minky, and cut out the new inner liner.

After sewing the entire thing hunkered over the sewing table (hubby came in and mentioned that it's no wonder my back always hurts), and with my 5, 3, and 2 year olds watching and "helping" by getting into all my stuff (LOL), I got it done.

Here it is! I'm so happy! I can't wait for Jacob to wear it when it's time to change him!

The Double Standard Of Birth Choices

2012-02-01T12:58:00.001-07:00

I don't understand why people don't get upset when the choice to home birth with a midwife is stripped from a woman.

I can guarantee that if it was as difficult to find someone to assist a hospital birth, as it is in many states to find someone to assist a home birth, women nationwide would be up in arms! They would be livid that their choice to birth in the hospital was being taken from them.

Why is it okay to let the choice be hospital or unassisted birth? Isn't it safer to give women the ability to have a birth assistant at home, instead of forcing them into an unassisted birth if they aren't prepared, or aren't comfortable with going it alone?

Shouldn't we, as women, be fighting for the rights of each other? Fight for each other's birth choices, even if it's not our own? Why is there such a double standard?

**Disclaimer**
I have had my hospital, assisted home, and unassisted home births. I was put in the position of hospital or UC. I chose UC. I was prepared for it beforehand. It was amazing. :)

What A Big Pile Of... Updated With Link To Finished Product

2012-01-24T22:46:00.001-07:00

Clothes! I have a bunch of old clothes. Torn up jeans, holey shirts, ragged sheets.

What to do with it all? Well...

I'm making diapers and cloth wipes. Yep! Either toss it or use it. I say, if I can't wear it, baby can.

I'm only in the cut out stage right now.

***Update***
Link to post about finishing up the diaper.

http://ourbirthjourneys.blogspot.com/2012/02/jeans-diaper.html

Guest Post: A Birthing Center Story - Brett Vincent Woytek

2012-01-14T13:40:00.001-07:00

On Tuesday February 8th, I woke up at 5am and couldn't go back to sleep. I was definitely feeling real contractions for the first time during this pregnancy. Later that morning, after getting Elle off to preschool, I started timing them. The contractions were very random... anywhere from 9-10 minutes apart to sometimes 25 minutes apart. Kyle and I went to walk around the outlet mall and have lunch. (A fun memory of that afternoon: We bought a few things at A Children's Place and the cashier lady asked me when I was due. When I told her "yesterday" and that I was in the start of labor, she was shocked and thought I looked too happy and relaxed for that to be true. She said "Don't you need to call your doctor or go somewhere!" After talking to her more, we found out that her daughter delivered at the Birthing Center and loved it! Also, when Kyle was getting us lunch at Freebird's, the guy making our burritos asked him if he had anything exciting going on. Kyle said "well, my wife is in labor out in the car!" The guy said he didn't expect anything THAT exciting! ha ha)

That afternoon, I called into Austin Area Birthing Center and talked to the midwife on call, Mary. (It just so happened that we had met all seven other midwives at our prenatal visits except for Mary simply because the scheduling didn't work out.) Mary said I was in prodromal labor (or some call it "false labor" although there is nothing really false about it). She suggested I relax and take a bath as the evening settles and even have a half glass of red wine if I wanted. Mary said the wine could help me get some sleep or it could jump start true labor. The timing of the contractions was not progressing but the intensity seemed to be, so after dinner I did as the midwife ordered. To my surprise, things started to pick up... and fast! (I thought this prodromal labor may go on forever and I was dreading not being able to sleep to rest up for the true labor that was still to come!) My contractions quickly grew closer.

By 8pm, I was in active labor (4-5 min apart), having very intense contractions. I did my best to use what we learned in our Birth by Nature classes to ease my mind, relax my body, and let the contractions do their work. (That was hard!) Kyle called his parents to pick up Elle. Elle was being so sweet though and wanted to be right by me. She was so curious about what Mommy was going through and I felt bad because she would ask me questions and during a contraction I could not answer her. Kyle also ran around the house and made sure that we had everything we needed in our bags and loaded into the car. Kyle called Mary and packed up the car and we were headed out at 11pm.

With Mary, we made the decision to go to Austin Area Birthing Center South, a beautiful brand new location for AABC. We had been warned of this chance the week prior since they are remodeling the birthing rooms at the North center. They had just painted and they warned any birthing mothers of the possible smell of paint fumes. We didn't want to chance that since my sense of smell is very sensitive. I was worried about the drive all the way to William Cannon and being comfortable during contractions in the car. It was hard since I couldn't move around at all and just had to sit there. I closed my eyes, hugged my pillow and used relaxation breathing like crazy! The contractions progressed to every 3 min on the way down there. I could also feel A LOT of pressure downward as if the baby was almost ready to be birthed!

We arrived at 11:40pm. Mary met us at the door and showed us the three rooms we could choose from since we were the first birthing couple that night. We chose the Austin Music Scene room and Kyle left to go to the car to get our bags. My first contraction at the center, I leaned over the bed and said that I felt like I needed to push. My water broke right there and Kyle came back in surprised! I kept feeling like I needed to push so Mary encouraged me and told Dana, the midwife assistant, to "prepare for birth". I was thinking, "oh my goodness, this is really happening!" I couldn't get comfortable and didn't know what position I wanted to be in. I suggested that I get into the tub for a water birth, but they told me there wasn't time to fill it! Things were really happening fast! (I think they turned the tub on to make me happy, but there truly was not enough time!) I pushed through every contraction for about 19 minutes and Brett was born at 12:04am!!! Mary and Dana were absolutely wonderful and encouraging, letting me know the baby's positioning through my pushing. I remember the best thing I heard was: "the next push might deliver your baby's head". I was so excited and pushed harder and longer than ever! Awesome, intense, and indescribable feelings!!

I look back and thank God over and over for the speed of my labor (4 hours total). I was hoping that we wouldn't arrive at the birthing center and still have hours and hours to go. Things truly worked out perfectly to welcome Brett into the world. After he was born, he was immediately put onto my chest and Mary and Dana did everything to make sure he was okay. He was perfect!

The next several hours consisted of making sure Mommy and Baby were okay. AABC was such a relaxed environment. Loved it! And, since everything went perfectly, and Brett and I were completely healthy and doing very well after his birth, the AABC wants you to be in the comfort of your own home. We left the center at around 7am to make the trip home!

It was Austin's second ice storm of the season that morning. The temperature outside was in the 20s and we had to wait for ice all over our car to melt. Along with the other cars on the highway, we drove slowly home. Brett slept all the way home and didn't make a peep. When Elle came to the center to meet Brett with Papaw and Mamaw, she stayed with us and fell asleep after the excitement wore down. (Another blog post about Elle meeting Brett for the first time!) She also slept all the way home.

What an unforgettable night!

Brett Vincent Woytek
February 9, 2011
12:04 am
8 lbs 15 oz
22 inches

Guest Post - The UBAC Of Cambree

2012-01-04T13:53:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow will make 1 year to the day since Cambree was conceived....it amazes me how time flies.....I was content with having just 3 children. My pregnancies were so hard on my body from hyperemesis gravidarum to symphasis pubis dysfunction to moments where my blood pressure would drop and I would almost pass out (and frequently did while in walmart stores, lol) and the stressful journey of having twins born by emergency csection at 28wks and then an almost 10 week nicu stay. So after having gone thru birth trauma during the birth of my 3rd child and first son, also a vbac, I decided I was done having babies. I thought my husband agreed with that decision. I guess he wasn’t as comfortable with that decision as I was.

In July 2010 my husband told me over the phone that he wanted to have another baby. He was in California and I was back home in North Carolina. He was there for predeployment training and I was home raising our kids without him. I had just been doing research on birth, birth trauma, trying to get a feel for my emotions after having gone through alot of physical and emotional pain following the vbac (vaginal birth after csection) of my son. I was happy I didn’t have to endure another painful csection but knew that what had happened during the delivery just wasn’t right. I didn’t know it at first but everything that had occurred was NOT normal. That it should NOT have occurred. That the doctor, the man I put my trust in to do me no harm directly went against his Hippocratic Oath and hurt me. He abused me. He took away my rights. And broke my heart and shattered my soul. So when my husband said he wanted another child, my first instinct was to say no. That I couldn’t, that I wouldn’t go through that again. I let it sink in for a little while and we talked again the next evening about it and heard the reasons why he felt our family was incomplete and just knew I couldn’t let what had happened in the past keep my husband from his wanting of another child.

My reply to him was that if we were to have another child, he or she would be born at home. I would not allow myself to be placed in a situation that could lead to what had happened before. I didn’t trust a doctor or nurse to uphold my rights. I didn’t trust myself to not to surrender to them again. So I wasn’t going to put myself in that situation.
Josh was a bit taken aback by that response but he knew that I was still hurting and that this was what I needed so he agreed.

I began to research birth even more from there. I knew we were going to have a homebirth but I also knew that midwives in our state are limited being that only CNMs (certified nurse midwives) are the only midwives legally allowed to attend births. And in our area there was only one midwife. I sent her an email and we began to talk about my previous birth history, what I wanted from this birth and it was clear we just did not match up. I was not trusting and wanted this very hands off and she was leery that I was a VBAC. So that was that. I kept looking and found an underground midwife an hour away but she too was a bit uncertain being that I was a VBAC and that I carried risks. So I kept researching.

In a group I had found online I heard about unassisted birthing, or freebirthing as it’s sometimes referred to. At first I thought it was absolutely crazy but the more and more I researched homebirth the more that it seemed normal to me. I started researching whether or not it was really safe and if it was legal and saw that it was indeed safe and legal to do so. I brought it up to Josh that I not only wanted a homebirth but I did not want a doctor or midwife to attend. Needless to say, that conversation didn’t exactly end well.

But I didn’t give up. I did more research. I probed my husband for questions, answers, as to why he didn’t want to do the UC. Finally he gave in and told me his fears. I went through with him and showed him the research, showed him that it was safe and explained to him fully that this was just a better fit for me, that if we were to have another child that this was the way we were going to do it. It took time but he finally agreed that we could go ahead with our plans and have this child the way I wanted.

It was shortly after agreeing that we bought a house and moved and were preparing ourselves for our first deployment. My husband was going to go to Afghanistan for 6 months. It was terrifying. We were not going to try and conceive until after he returned but as time went on we felt as though we should just go for it. That if it was meant to be now than it would be. Our first month of trying, we kind of half assed it, I didn’t really track anything and there was just no rush. I had a cyst burst and I just knew this month wouldn’t be our month. I was still worrying whether trying now would be best, as I would be pregnant with him gone, having to raise 3 children 4 and under and go through the HG again without help. But at the same time I worried about something happening while my husband was deployed that would prevent us from having children again. I knew I just had to place my concerns with God and that when it was right it would be. So we kept on.

It was around the 15th of October that I tested after displaying some sure signs of pregnancy. It was still early only 9 days past ovulation and the day I was sure we would have conceived but I got a negative. I was so bummed but I knew that it was still early. My box had 3 tests in it so I decided to wait a day and test the next. So on 11dpo I tested again and sure enough that positive line showed up. Josh and I were so happy. We decided not to tell anyone just yet and wanted to wait to find the best way to announce it this time. Luckily an idea popped in my head and I shared the info with a close friend who is a photographer and we came up with the idea to announce it via family photos including a sign that read "baby #4 due June 2011" the photos were a hit when we released them via facebook. Everyone was shocked but pretty happy. Many thought we were crazy but we expected that.

Halloween came and I was already showing even though I was only a few weeks along. Josh was supposed to deploy but they delayed things so we welcomed the time together. I was feeling tired but great. I wasn’t sick yet and I just wanted to enjoy everything as we are sure this would be our last pregnancy.

Mid November arrived and I made my first appointment on base. Got the pregnancy confirmed and went to my first visit where we had a quick ultrasound to determine due date which was right on of course, with what I knew to be my due date. Had my second visit and just knew that I couldn’t continue seeing the doctors. It was laughable. They were so naive as to what normal birth was. That because of my genetics and history I was so high risk and had to be managed. I knew better. I wasn’t broken; i didn’t need to have another csection because I had one before. I didn’t need to be followed closely the whole pregnancy just because we were at risk to have another child with Down Syndrome. I didn’t need to have weekly visits since I had previously had preterm labor and deliveries. I was made to give birth. I was made to grow this child perfectly within my womb. I didn’t need the doctor’s help for this. But i wasn’t sure if I could just not go to these pointless appointments.

December arrived and it was time for Josh to deploy. The week before Christmas he left, and that is when my HG hit me full force. I had my dad come up for a few weeks to help out with the kids and house chores and such and it helped keep my mind off of everything. I went to my doctors’ visits, dreading each one. After going to a specialist appointment that I was tricked into, we discovered my cervix was shortening. I was only 15 weeks along. They wanted me to start progesterone shots weekly and to have monthly appointments with ultrasounds at each one. I was hesitant. But the doctor here seemed supportive of me that I could have the birth I want IF I could do what i needed to do to stay pregnant. I went to a few more appointments with her and realized nothing was happening further with my cervix without me needing the meds or being on limited bed rest and the doctors following me really weren’t providing any care that I couldn’t do myself. So at 16wks I stopped seeing the regular OB. I still saw the specialist once a month for a few months but more and more I realized they were just looking for something to be off, for a reason to say, let’s have this baby now.

At 32weeks, my last visit with the specialist, they pulled the 'big baby card' saying my little girl was already over 5lbs. that if things continued there was no way I could deliver her vaginally. They wanted me to repeat a glucose tolerance test. I laughed and said I never did one at all. They freaked out saying I must have gestational diabetes and that I had to test immediately. I thanked her for her opinion and let her know I had done the research and that I felt confident that the testing was not needed. We ended the appt with that and I left and never scheduled another visit and never went back.

At 36 weeks I got a call from the OB that I had quit seeing at 16wks asking how things were, where had I been and if I planned on returning. I had to laugh at the nurse calling. I told her I was having a homebirth and no longer required their services. I could tell in her tone of voice that she thought I was crazy as we said our goodbyes. I just laughed thinking it had been 20 weeks since my last visit and they just now noticed I was gone....

May had arrived and it was almost time for Josh to return home from deployment. I was so excited. I loved talking to him online and everything but the time apart was tough. But we had made it through. And most importantly he was safe and I was still pregnant! He finally came home and we were a family again!

Just a few days later I had my first "false alarm" I had been having contractions 3-5 minutes apart for 2hrs they were much stronger than my other prodromal labor contractions and more painful than braxton hicks contractions I had been having. I even called my friend and doula to come over and sit with me as I wasn’t sure if this was it. Of course a few hours later it was clear this was just prodromal labor again and it wasn’t time. But I was ok with that as my parents were due to arrive a few days later and I didn’t want them to miss the birth of their grandchild. And most importantly I was ok with waiting until Cambree chose her birthdate. It amazed me to think that had I gone into the hospital they would have pushed augmentation of my labor via artificial rupture of membranes and pitocin and would have forced her to be born before she was ready. I couldn’t imagine doing that to my precious little one. So I was glad we were doing things the way they were meant to be.

All through the month of June I wondered when baby would arrive. I was feeling the pressure of my family since they were on a schedule with when they had to return to Florida. We wanted hubby to be able to take more time off. We were going to be going on vacation to Florida in July and I didn’t want to end up giving birth there. So I was feeling the stress but still was happy with baby choosing her day, but it was getting harder to keep waiting.

Then my due date arrived. I was still pregnant! I never expected to make it to my due date, let alone passed it! I felt great though. I still had a lot of energy considering. But I was big and my hips and back hurt but I was doing well. I saw a chiropractor a few times to get my pelvis realigned and it helped me a lot.

On the morning of the 4th of July I was trying to sleep in a bit but woke up around 8:30 to go pee. I go and came back to lay in bed to hopefully fall back asleep for a little while longer before we started our day. We had a full day planned from the block party bbq at our doulas house on base followed by fireworks with the family. Josh came in and asked how I was doing and asked if labor was near. I just said no, that I was kind of crampy but U didn’t have any contractions or anything. I could tell by the look on his face he was bummed and I just kind of shrugged. Baby would come when baby was ready.

He left and I tried to get comfortable again to rest. 15 minutes later and I’m hit by a super strong contraction that I had to really focus and breathe through. It HURT! I was like man..... It was pretty crazy. 5 minutes later another one came, just as strong as the first. I rolled over and cuddled up with a pillow trying to get comfortable. But again was hit by another even stronger contraction. I looked at my phone and it had been 5 minutes again since the last. Hmmm i thought. Could this be it?

I posted on my facebook from my cell "happy 4th of July, let’s see what the day brings" as a lil clue that I might be in labor. Some thought so but many didn’t. I Kept still after that and tried laying there and fought to breathe through these contractions but couldn’t. So I got up and got dressed but didn’t leave my room. I wasn’t sure what was going on but I thought maybe if I moved they stop or slow down. I put on some shorts and my tank top and was almost knocked over by an even harder contraction, Just 3 minutes later another. Holy cow, I think I’m really in labor. Just from getting out of bed my contractions went from 5 minutes apart to 3 minutes apart.

Around 9:45am I went out to the living room and sat next to hubby and whispered to him, I’m having contractions, don’t tell anyone. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to tell my parents yet as they were quite jumpy whenever I mentioned them before. But that plan was short lived as I was hit with yet another strong contraction and right then my dad came out of the kitchen and asked if I was in labor yet, as he had every morning for the last month. The fact I couldn’t respond kind of gave it away. Once the contraction passed I said yes I’m having contractions, but I’m not sure if this is it. Another contraction came and I couldn’t sit through them any longer I had to get up.

Josh and my dad went into the kitchen and I hung out at the pass through looking into the kitchen and tried to talk with them for a bit but had to stop and really focus during the contractions. I would lean over and hold the edge of the pass through and slightly bend my knees. It was clear this was labor. They were steady at 3 minutes apart.

It was 10am when i went to the back bedroom to wake my mom. I told her, hey mom i think I’m in labor... contractions are about 3 minutes apart. My mom who was half asleep almost jumped outta bed at that point, 3 minutes apart?! She practically yelled out to me. She got up so fast, lol. She headed to the bathroom and was trying to start the day when I needed to use the bathroom, I felt like I had to pee. I joined her and sat down and tried to pee but instead had a few contractions. My mom was doing her hair and looked at me and kept saying stuff and I was trying to tune her out. She asked me at one point 'Are you sure you should be trying to pee, you don’t want to end up delivering on the toilet" at which point I yelled at her. SHUT UP MOM, JUST SHUT UP. My mom quickly left the room as I ended the contraction and I heard her tell my husband and dad that I was clearly in transition already.

I left the bathroom and texted my doula "if these contractions continue I don’t think I’ll be making it to your 4th of July party" that they were 3 minutes apart. She texted back, well then I don’t think I will be either! Just a few moments later I had another harder contraction than before quickly followed by another and then another. Looking at the clock I realized, these are 2 minutes apart! I texted Chrissy back again and said, ya contractions are 2 minutes apart now, I need you. She replied with I’m getting dressed and I’m on my way.

We knew from her house to mine was 16 minutes and man did those 16 minutes feel like ever. I was having contraction after contraction and I was trying to focus and breathe through them but it was getting pretty difficult.
I went back into my room and I posted in my due date group a simple post....
" if this isn’t labor, I’m in hell cuz OMFG!!"

It was 10:56am and I had been in labor a little over 2hrs. 2 very intense hours.
I was in my room on Josh’s laptop leaning over my bed, browsing FB and Cafemom, listening to music when Chrissy arrived. We had a laugh when she saw what I was doing. She said something like "I just knew you’d be on FB while in labor" the laughing was nice but it distracted me right as a contraction hit and it was very intense. I had to slightly squat and breathed through it and Chrissy could tell this was definitely the real thing. She rubbed my back and her presence there helped get me back into my zone.

After a few more contractions like that I had Josh fill up the birth pool. I could not wait to get in it. My legs were getting tired and I was just hurting. I wanted my "aquadural". I wanted the relaxation the water would provide. The pool was quickly filled and I got in. And the pool slightly overflowed. But I didn’t care. It was sweet relief, At least for in between the contractions. I was sitting down slightly leaning back against the side when the next contraction hit and I knew I could not stay in that position. It hurt just way too much. I got up on my knees leaning over the edge and spilled more water out of the pool but it was much more comfortable.

Another contraction hit and I made Josh sit in front of me. I held his hand and squeezed it as he squeezed back. Chrissy poured water over my back during the majority of the contractions. Whenever I would start to tense up she'd remind me to breathe and it would help me back into my zone.

I kept contracting about every 2 minutes for quite a while in this position. Each time I would need hubby to squeeze my hands I don’t know why but it helped get my mind off the pressure and intensity of the contractions.

My 4.5yo daughter Alayna was in and out of the room helping Chrissy pour water on my back, she'd tell me I was doing great and was excited but very curious to watch me labor. It makes me happy now thinking about her being there.

Around 2:00pm or so I began to waiver, I was getting exhausted. I tried to rest in between contractions but they were coming so fast, about every minute, minute and a half now, sometimes double peaking. My body began to get pushy at the end of them as well. I knew not to fight it but it was taking up alot of my energy. I kept thinking to myself I can’t do this, why am i here, why am i doing this? I know at one point I vocalized that I couldn’t do it and chrissy was right there telling me that I could do it, I was doing it and that I was awesome and doing great. It helped me to focus.

Each time I would think to myself I couldn’t do it, I would tell myself what I couldn’t do was get in a car and drive the 5 minutes to the hospital and go through all the trouble there in triage to moving to a room to wait for an epidural,etc. That I wasn’t going to give up on everything I had wanted just to get a lil relief. That I could do this. I could do it. That i was doing it.

A few minutes later I asked josh what time it was. He told me it was 2:15... I thought to myself, I better have this baby before 6:00...I don’t know why but I thought it. Right after that my body just took over. I began pushing with each contraction and I couldn’t help but go with it. I pushed down and I grunted and it was hard. But i did it. I was still holding my husband’s hands and Chrissy was still there to comfort me and i was pushing. I was going to deliver this baby, unassisted, at my home, just like i had wanted for so long.

After what felt like forever I wanted to move so my mom suggested I try leaning back on my husband for leverage to push as I was getting really tired in the squatting position. So Josh hoped in the pool and I pushed with the next contraction. Oh my- the ring of fire!!! Johnny Cash is right, it sure does burn!
**side note, I don’t recommend listening to a playlist on random if it includes this song... while we laughed we had to turn it off as it totally ruined my concentration lol**
But man does it burn. It was like my clit was going to tear in two! I tried supporting that as I pushed but the angle I was at I could support my perineum and my clit and feel for baby as she came down.

I started to lose it. I got scared. I kept saying it hurts it hurts, my doula kept saying its ok, push through it, she was coming, and my husband was telling me to just push, that it was ok. It was almost chaotic. But they got me refocused and in the next contraction Cambrees head was out.

This part hurt alot. Her head was out and she was facing my left thigh. My contractions just stopped. I kept waiting for another to come and they didn’t. I could feel cambree inside of me trying to free herself but together we could just not get things going. I told chrissy that I felt like things were getting stuck. I knew in the back of my mind what we needed to do but Chrissy was the voice that got me moving. Once i said things felt stuck, that she was trying to move but couldn’t, she ordered me to get up and move. At that josh helped me up onto my knees again and my mom took Alayna out of the room because she wasn’t sure what was going on and didn’t want her to see anything if it went wrong. But I wasn’t really in a place to tell her it was ok. As soon as I got back up on my knees with my legs spread as far as I could a contraction hit and I pushed with all my might.

I grunted and pushed and pushed again. Took a deep breath and pushed again and cambree was born into her daddy’s hands. She had a nuchal cord (cord around her neck) but it was easily unwrapped.

With help from Josh and Chrissy I turned over to sit and they handed me the baby. She was purple and gurgly and hadn’t yet taken her first breath. I rubbed her back and her breastbone trying to get her stimulated so she would start to pink up. She'd gurgle but wasn’t responding exactly how I would have liked. I knew she was still receiving oxygen through her umbilical cord and the placenta so I wasn’t too worried but I wanted to get her breathing and pinking up. I gave her one little breath and she coughed and sputtered. I patted her back and talked to her, telling her to take a deep breath and gave another short breath and she let out a nice cry as my mom walked back into the room.

We checked the time and it was 3:00pm, just 6 hrs and 15 minutes after my first contraction. Cambree pinked up nicely and we were all elated. I nursed Cambree for the first time and it was great.

Hubby got out of the pool and immediately into the shower as he "was covered in yucky stuff" as he said. After about 15 minutes or so I decided to get up and let gravity help the placenta out as the after birth contractions were pretty rough. We moved over to the chaise and nursed a little more and then delivered my placenta. After the cord was completely white, cool and limp we had a fun time trying to clamp the cord with the cord ring, I guess I should have researched that part a little bit more. We got that clamped and cut and then we weighed Cambree and she was 9lbs even and 20" long. A nice big healthy girl!

I did not think she was going to be bigger than her big brother and my mom kept saying she was.... she was right because Cambree was almost 2lbs heavier!

After a bit I went and took a shower. While in there I could feel my blood sugar dropping so ate some granola bars and cheese sticks and drank some juice to get my blood sugar back up and then I laid down for a while with Cambree and Chrissy, my doula, helped me with side lying nursing.

Healing went well, and postpartum bleeding was very mild the whole time. The hardest part was the after birth contractions. They were awful and nursing just made it so much worse.

After a bit of a nap we joined the rest of the family out in the living room for dinner and for the kids to really get to see and hold Cambree and it was amazing seeing them with her. They adore her and she really does fit in, just like she was always there.

Looking back at everything, reliving the birth experience in my mind, I definitely know that we did the right thing, the best thing for our family, by having Cambree be born here at home, unassisted. Even though many think we really are crazy, we have been surprised at just how many have been supportive in this journey. It is certainly nothing we will ever forget. It’s been an amazing experience.

~Stephanie Lunday

My Dream Job

2012-01-04T11:58:00.001-07:00

As I entered motherhood, I never imagined I would be where I am today. From the time I was 5, I knew my job in life was to be a veterinarian. I loved animals. I always had a pet. A dog and many cats were always at my home. I had rabbits, gerbils, hampsters, birds. Then, when I was a Junior in High School, it happened. I no longer wanted to care for animals. I still had a love for animals, but I had changed. It was not a passion. I just didn't want to do it any more.

I got married right out of High School. I had kids. I worked here and there (airlines, quality control for DirecTV, travel agent, hotels, etc.). Mostly, a SAHM. Then, after my 4th child, a spark began to kindle.

My 4th baby was my first home birth. I had my wonderful midwife and my doula. It made such an impression on me. I began studying pregnancy, labor, and birth a lot. During that pregnancy in 2006, all my time was studying. I wanted, I needed, to know more.

I went on to have my next child at home in 2008, assisted by my friend's mother and her daughter. I learned so much from her about natural healing and herbal remedies.

I went on, in 2010, to have my first unassisted pregnancy and birth. Then again, in 2011, my second unassisted pregnancy and birthed my son completely alone.

That was when the spark burst into flames. I knew what it was that I was to do with my life.

I have since began my journey as a Doula. I am still studying. I am trying to get off the ground. I have my site, my Facebook page, listings on Craigslist and Facebook. I am just waiting, hoping, praying, and searching for the opportunity to help women through their labor and birth. I am so excited to be there for them. To offer placenta encapsulation. To actually have a job with what I have my passion and love in.

http://mobirthjourneys.blogspot.com

He Rolled Over

2011-12-02T13:18:00.001-07:00

Yesterday Jacob rolled over for the first time. He's getting so big! I cried the other day when I thought about the "What if Jacob was my last baby? Never again to carry a baby inside of me. Never again to experience the birth of another child.". I don't think I'm ready to be done.

However, since they do grow so very fast, I am preserving his tiny days. Lately, Jacob has begun talking and "singing". He's just so funny and animated.

What A Great Week

2011-11-27T00:31:00.001-07:00

We had our two Thanksgivings this week. There is so much to be thanful for. I have my amazing husband, who puts up with me, and my seven darling children.

We spent Thursday with Brent's mother, father, and grandmother. Poor Abby was not feeling well, and didn't eat more than a couple bites. Brent and I cooked the turkey, noodles, cranberry sauce, rolls, and green bean casserole. His mom made the Waldorf Salad an several pies. It was a lot of fun.

Saturday, we spent the day with my mom, dad, brother, sister, and two of my nephews. We had the same meal, except I made a chocolate cheesecake. Abby was feeling better and snacked on a roll, but Sadie was sick. Little Jacob was sick on Friday. It looks like we have a stomach bug making it's way around.

The highlight of the day had to have been with Bekah. It was really pretty gross. I pulled a chunk of ear wax out of Jacob's ear. I told Moses to put it in the trash, but he was too grossed out. Brent said to have Bekah do it. I called her over and put the dried ear wax in her hand, telling her to throw it away. She looked at it, disgusted, and tried to shake it off her hand. When it didn't come off, she ate it!!! Brent, my dad, my sister and I all yelled! We were all cracking up! I was laughing so hard I cried!!! So icky!

The Life Of A Mother

2011-11-12T21:04:00.001-07:00

The very moment you become a mother, your life changes forever. After that very moment, you are a mother. Always and Forever. From that moment on, life is always a series of emotions. Some happy, some sad. Through it all, there is no money in the world that I would take to buy those memories.

Take tonight as an example. I am in the living room with Brent, Hannah, and Jacob. Then, Brigham walks in the room. I look down upon his little head, and what do we all see?

A small child trying to look like he had no ideas as to why I would be asking him if he had cut his hair.


Brigham trying to pretend he didn't cut his hair.

Then he realized he was in trouble, and led us to what he used to cut his hair. He had snuck scissors from the kitchen, into the bathroom, and cut off his head. He had gotten within an 1/8 of an inch. So... I took him outside, and shaved his head. He was an 1/8 of an inch from being shaved completely bald.

Brigham, after realizing he's in trouble.

After the hair cut.

The life of a mother, never ends, and neither to the memories.

Could My Journey Be Starting?

2011-11-07T20:29:00.002-07:00

My first home birth was in 2006, with my first son Brigham. I loved my midwife, Suzanne. She taught me a lot about pregnancy and birth. Brigham was my fourth child, and I had no idea how ignorant I was until I began talking with Suzanne. That is when I decided to begin studying about pregnancy and birth. I didn't want to be ignorant and uneducated. I made it my personal journey to know everything I could about natural birth. I have studied to the point that my husband had started calling me a "Birth Cultist". Saying that all I do is study and discuss pregnancy and birth. Somewhere inside of me, I knew what was to come. I want, like nothing else, to become a midwife. It is my absolute dream. For the time being, though, I am wanting to be a doula. It is my passion. It is what I would love to do for the rest of my life. I want nothing more than to help and support women with their pregnancies and births.

With all of this, I am a member of a group on Face Book called Birth Is Normal. Today, as I've been pondering how to become a doula, they posted a new Document telling me one way to do this. I am going to post it here, so I can later reference back to it, and maybe it will help someone else. I found this inspiring, seeing how my path became clouded and confused after reading through the DONA site, and not finding the help that I was seeking.

Here is the document...

So you are thinking about becoming a Doula.....

Overwhelmed and confused where to go from here? Have the passion and desire to help other women through the childbearing year but don't know how to go about it? Here is a little step-by-step guide that will hopefully help you.

First contact local doulas in your area, set up a time with them face-to-face and pick their brain. Ask challenges they face as a doula in your area, how they became a doula, training program they choose and why, do they do doula mentoring, average doula rate for your area, etc. Become familiar with all the doulas within a 2hr radius.

Network with other birth professionals (doulas, midwives, childbirth educators, LC's) in your area, look for the nearest doula network, and contact Le Leache League chapter, ICAN Chapter and other birth group chapters. Attend meetings and get to know other birth activists.

Watch the following documentaries to learn more about the current status of the maternity health care:
The Business of Being Born
Orgasmic Birth
Attending Birth
Pregnant in America

Read the following books:
Special Women: The Role of the Professional Labor Assistant by Paulina Perez
The Birth Partner by Penny Simkin
The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth by Henci Goer
Born in the USA by Marsden Wagner
Ina May's Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin

Get to know your local hospitals and birth centers. Find out if they have midwives on staff, do they offer water birth, what their c-section, induction, epidural, vbac, vaginal twin, rates are. Then find out about practices that serve each hospital and their individual rates for c-section, induction/augmentation, vbac, epidural, etc.

Research the various doula training programs. There are many to choose from! Just a few are:
Birth Arts International(BAI), Childbirth International(CBI), CAPPA, AVIVA, Birthing From Within, DONA, Birth Works, ICEA, Christian Childbirth Association, etc. Remember you can train but you do not have to certify with any organization; however if the area you live in is heavily populated with doulas and there is a lot of competition certification may be necessary.

Join the doula networking site www.alldoulas.com

Good luck on your journey to empowering women!

2011-11-06T13:40:00.002-07:00

Last night was very interesting. A few minutes before 11pm, Brent and I were sitting in the living room watching TV. All of a sudden I noticed things didn't feel right. I was almost dizzy feeling, like I was being moved back and forth. I looked at Brent, thinking he was shaking the couch, but he was in the chair, a couple feet away. Then, thinking there was something wrong with me, I looked at my hands to see if I was shaking. Very confused, I looked over at the bottle of water next to me. The water in the bottle was sloshing about. I looked back up at Brent, who was looking at me, and asked if he felt that. He had. We had just gone through our first earthquake. In Kansas City, Missouri. I called my mom, but she hadn't felt it. My brother did (and another one at 1am as well).

After we went to bed, I woke up when I felt the same feeling. I jumped awake from my dreams of earthquakes and restless sleep. My heart was racing, and it took me a bit to calm down. As I was dozing off, I felt it again, which caused me to jump out of slumber again. I had thought it was Brent rolling over in bed causing me to relive the feeling. However, since my brother said he felt it again at 1am, I am wondering if that is what startled me awake.

Then I had this video brought to my attention... Saying the New Madrid fault line is showing plumes, and to expect a 5.0 in the next 2-4 weeks (posted Nov 1, 2011).

Our Facebook Group

2011-10-29T12:44:00.004-07:00

We now have a group on Facebook. It is smaller, at 85 members. It is full of wonderful women, who are very loving and helpful. Feel free to stop by and join in our little community. It is a closed group, so you will need to apply. However, everything said on the group stays there. It is not visible on your wall, or other areas of Facebook.

I hope to see you there.

Our Birth Journeys
http://www.facebook.com/groups/ourbirthjourneys/

Breast Milk - The Miracle Medicine

2011-10-26T20:35:00.002-07:00

The night before last, I woke up in the middle of the night with pink eye. My left eye was burning, itching, scratchy, and partially crusted shut. Everything I knew was pink eye.

I was nursing Jacob, so I took some breast milk from my other breast, rubbed it across my eye, and went back to sleep. I did it again in the morning, and about three more times during the day. I did it again before bed, along with my other eye because it was starting to feel like my left eye did the night before. Just to be certain, I rubbed breast milk in both eyes during the night and when I got up this morning.

Both eyes are perfectly fine today.

I love Breast Milk!

It really is amazing all the uses breast milk has, other than feeding your baby. Breast milk, being high in antibodies and antitoxins really is the Miracle Medicine!

What CAN you use it for?

It is great for cracked nipples. When breast feeding, more than likely your nipples are going to get sore and possibly cracked. Just rub a little milk on them after each feeding to help with this.

Eczema, acne, cuts, diaper rash, burns, bug bites... Just clean the area, then apply breast milk and air dry!

Ear infections? Yep, it helps with that too. Just pour or squirt some breast milk into the sore ear.

Do you have a cold? The flu? Pneumonia? Stomach bug? Drinking breast milk can help with these as well.

For a stuffy nose, you can squirt breast milk into the

It has even been suggested that breast milk can even kill cancer cells.

Although the special substance, known as HAMLET (Human Alpha-lactalbumin Made LEthal to Tumour cells), was discovered in breast milk several years ago, it is only now that it has been possible to test it on humans. Patients with cancer of the bladder who were treated with the substance excreted dead cancer cells in their urine after each treatment, which has given rise to hopes that it can be developed into medication for cancer care in the future... (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100419132403.htm)

According to the Iowa Extension Service, every teaspoon of breast milk has 3,000,000 germ killing cells in it; so if a baby gets even one tsp. a day, it is very valuable!

.. it has been shown in man and in several animal models that immunisation via the gut, and also the lungs, stimulates a special population of antibody-producing B lymphocytes. They appear in large numbers in special aggregations in the gut - the Peyer's patches. These lymphocytes leave the gut after having met bacteria and viruses there and move or "home" to exocrine glands such as the mammary, lacrimal and salivary glands, as well as glands in the mucosal membranes of the bronchi and the gut. As a consequence, human milk contains sIgA antibodies against all those bacteria and viruses which have been in the mother's gut. This gives the milk capacity to protect against those microorganisms to which the infant is exposed, because they are usually the same as those its mother has been in contact with.
source: L A Hanson et al. Breastfeeding protects against infections and allergy. Breastfeeding Review; Nov l988 , pp l9 - 22.

For some interesting tables and charts on breast milk, and it's antibacterial, antiviral, antimicrobial, anti parasitic factors... Go here... http://www.latrobe.edu.au/microbiology/milk.html

The Diaper Experiment

2011-10-16T13:30:00.001-07:00

Well, the other day I finally got around to making my first cloth diaper for Jacob. I started out really late, cutting the pattern out at 11:30 pm. I wanted to make one, and cut into the fleece blanket I had bought just for this project. I knew most of what I was doing, but still needed a little help from my mom with the elastic. I had no idea what it was wanting me to do. After reading the instructions multiple times, we decided to pull out a fleece diaper I had bought from someone on a Cafemom group (Cuties With Cloth Booties). We quickly figured out what I was needing to do. As I was finishing up the last bit of stitching, my mom mentioned it was almost 2:30 am. Come to find out, sewing is like a time warp. I was abducted by my sewing machine, and lost several hours of my life!

The diaper turned out perfect, though. I was so happy with it! The stitching was perfect, and for a first diaper it was amazing! I was even more shocked at how much easier the diaper was to sew than the nursing pads. I really just hate circles. As a beginner at sewing, circles are something I need to practice.

It's a pretty easy pattern. I was only stumped for a bit on the elastic (how to sew it in), but got it after a bit.Here's the ...link to the pattern.http://themafiatutu.blogspot.com/2010/04/free-cloth-diaper-pattern.htmlAnyway, Jacob loves his new diaper.

Healthy Eating Once Again

2011-09-16T19:02:00.001-07:00

Now that Jacob is born, I am looking to get back into my pre-pregnancy weight. My plan is to drink lots of water, like 3/4 of a gallon of water. AFTER that, I can drink milk or 100% juice. I am going to start eating healthier. Whole grains, lots of fruit and vegetables, limited white sugars/flour/sweets. I know it's not possible for me to cut out all the "bad foods" right now. There is really no point in making that part of my plan, when I know it's not going to happen. It will only make me feel like a failure, and I'll just quit.

I am also going to start exercising again. I'm going to start off with 10 push-ups (girl style), 25 reps of the kettle bell, and 25 hindu squats (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPSVpo4mzNI) for the first week. I'm going to start tomorrow, take Sunday off, and then start up again on Monday-Friday. After those get easier, I'll add 5 per exercise. I am also planning on starting up my 30 Day Crunch video again, once I find it in my packed boxes.

What are some of your favorite foods, exercises, and ways to get your body healthy again?

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

2011-09-15T09:42:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, September 3rd, Brent, myself, Jacob, and Rebekah headed up to Gallatin to check out a storage facility that is for sale. We talked to the man about it, and are now waiting for the contract to be written up. We will be "managing to own" a storage facility. It has 31 units, all but 2 are rented out. It also has 4 store fronts, so we can do our BBQ (so excited!) because we can get one set up as a commercial kitchen! One would be for the office, and the other two are private enough that we can remodel them a little and make them into a living quarters until we get some land!

After we got back on Saturday, we prepared for Monday's "festivities". It was Labor Day, and we were spending the day at Brent's Grandmother's with his parents, and other family and friends. We had hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, watermelon, and I brought some dessert (brownies, pecan pie, and pumpkin pie).

Just before dinner, Bekah was getting a little grumpy. She had eaten a little breakfast, and flat out refused lunch, so I was sure she was grumpy because she was hungry. It didn't help she was getting 3 teeth all at once either (a molar, eye tooth, and front tooth). Sandy (Brent's mom) gave Bekah some watermelon, and she ate a few pieces. Then, a few minutes later, dinner was ready. I made her plate, but she refused to eat it. She just cried. I took her and put her in bed and she went to sleep. At that time I didn't think she felt hot. Sandy said earlier she had felt hot (feverish), but it seemed to have gone down.

After a while, Brent, the kids and I all went downstairs where Bekah was resting. She began getting fussy around 9, and Hannah said she felt hot again. I asked her to go get a sippy cup of ice water. When Hannah got back downstairs, she said Bekah didn't look right. They were behind Brent and I. We turned around, and Hannah was holding Bekah up, with her arms wrapped under Bekah's arms. Bekah was just dangling there (Brigham kept trying to give Bekah her sippy cup). Something was definitely not right. Bekah was in the middle of a febrile seizure (a first for us).

I will admit right now that I completely lost it. I was absolutely terrified and on the inside was having a total break down. On the outside, it wasn't much better. Brent grabbed up Bekah and held her. I called 911. That was an ordeal in itself. I dialed on Brent's grandmother's phone, and waited for what seemed like forever (probably 10 seconds), and it didn't ring. I looked at the phone and yelled at it. At that time, everyone else in the room looked at me funny. I told them Bekah was having a seizure, and they all began to move around to help. I tried dialing again, but the phone line was dead (GREAT!). I pulled my cell phone out and got through (by that time she was getting better and I didn't actually NEED to call, but I found that out later).

The police got there within minutes, followed by the fire department, then the paramedics. Come to find out, when you mention 18 month old, they all come running. Brent went with her to the hospital. I wanted to sooo bad, but I had Jacob, and there was no way they would let him in, and I didn't want him exposed to all the hospital germs. When we went outside to the ambulance, you should have seen the street. The entire street was filled with flashing lights. There was the ambulance, 2 fire responder vehicles, and around 5 police cars, all in a little culdesac. I said later that you just can't have a good holiday without the entire police force showing up at your front door.

Brent got to Children's Mercy around 10pm. Bekah was responsive, but still not feeling well. Here's a picture Brent took of her in the ER waiting room.

We were all pretty shaken up. Hannah kept saying if only she would have gotten the water to her faster (I told her that there was NOTHING she could have done to prevent it), Sadie couldn't stop crying (they have a special bond), Brigham couldn't understand why Bekah wouldn't take the cup from him. He kept saying that he tried to give it to her, but she wouldn't take it. When Sandy and Bill were telling him that Bekah went to the hospital, he responded back that the hospital is where people go to die. How sad that he thought she was going to die! We told him that she went there to get looked at and would be home soon. Abby and Moses were doing fine. Abby was skipping around (LOL), and Moses was next door with great grandma and the company talking about dinosaurs (Jurassic Park) and Ghost Busters.

Now, the delima that came to be was that Brent was at the hospital, and had no way to get home. I didn't know how to get to the hospital, and had baby man. What to do? My cousin Stephanie said she could give us a ride (so sweet of her), and took Sadie and myself to Children's Mercy. I left Jacob with my mom, thinking they would get out soon (LOL - Yeah right). After 5 hours, we FINALLY saw a doctor, who went over what we should do if it happens again.

Here's Brent and Bekah waiting in the room.

Basically, Bekah has a 30% chance of another febrile seizure, she'll out grow them by 6 at the latest, if it lasts more than 5 minutes - take her in or call 911, a fever reducer wouldn't have prevented it, and her (or my other children) will probably pass it on to their children.

I learned from questioning others and my own studies that she needs a high fat diet. The brain cannot handle the fever if it doesn't have enough fat.

Overall, it was a frantic and traumatic learning experience. I don't want to go through that again, but I will be watchful during each fever we have from now on. Bekah is doing fine, and is as ornery as she always has been.

We are now preparing for our move, coming up soon! Nothing but sunny skies ahead, if I have anything to say about it.

Thank you Heavenly Father and Mother for watching over my family!

8 Days Old - I'm Exhausted

2011-08-11T18:09:00.000-07:00

My man is 8 days old. It has been an emotionally draining day.

First thing's first. Our little man now has a name. I would like to officially welcome Jacob Porter Hartman to the family. What a name. It fits him perfectly. Our little Jacob!

Second... Jacob had an experience of his own today. In our family, we believe in the Token Of The Covenant. On the 8th day, the boys get their circumcision with a Mohel. So, this afternoon, Jacob saw the Mohel and was circumcised. It is always, as a mother, hard to see your baby go through that. As necessary as it is for us (our beliefs), it's a moment of happiness and sadness. It was so fast (about 15 seconds start to finish). He is doing great. What a trooper. He's now sleeping in my arms.

It's been such an exhausting day. With the mixed happy and sad feelings, then, on the way home a song came on the radio. A song that played at my best friend Tara's funeral. That was really too much for me. My brain is short circuited, and I am emotionally fried.

7 Days Old Today

2011-08-10T19:55:00.002-07:00

My little man! He's a week old already! It's almost sad that so much time has passed. He is such a perfect baby. He sleeps amazingly! Last night he slept so long in his bassinet that I got up to check on him, and make sure he was okay. He's so sweet and snuggly!

His little umbilical cord fell off today. It was really wanting to hang on when using the cloth diapers. Yesterday, though, I decided he needed to go to sposies to keep the cord dry. The cloth were just too damp at times to let it dry out. It worked. I kept putting the Golden Seal powder on the cord, and it dried up and fell off by today.

Tomorrow is his "big" day. At 4:15 is his appointment with the Rabi to get his circumcision. He will also get his official name. I say he's having his Naming Ceremony. I am so excited. Brent and I talked about the name today. I really liked Porter Nathanial, but we both agreed that Porter was not what we "felt" his name was. I think we've come to an agreement on his name. We just have to see our child, and feel what his real name is. This time it just took a little longer, but according to Jewish tradition (although we're not "Jewish"), the official naming is during the bris, on the 8th day. That will be his as well.

Other exciting news for the day. I entered a contest on the Cuties With Cloth Booties blog, and won a free cloth diaper for my little man!!! How very exciting! We also have a bunch of cloth, and my mom and I are going to try to make some diapers, probably next week, after we get our big "House Clean Out" finished. :)

Our Newest Little Man - Born August 4, 2011 at 39 Weeks and 3 Days

2011-08-05T14:43:00.002-07:00

Our baby was not officially due until August 8. I was not too worried about an early delivery, since all my previous babies had been born on, or after, their guess date. Hannah being our exception, since she was induced early for no reason (my own ignorance).

Brent and I went to bed at about 11:30 pm on Wednesday night. At midnight, contractions started in. I had been having them off and on for a few weeks. Usually lasting a good 12 hours. This time, however, they were down low, in my cervix, instead of up high on the top. There was a definite difference in these contractions. There was a pressure, a pushing down. I was awake more than asleep. Going between using the bathroom, and listening to my Hypnobirthing soundtrack in my restless sleep. At about 7 am I got up and decided to take a shower. It was such a wonderful feeling. The warm water took so much of the pain away. There were still a few contractions that I had to squat through during my shower and just after as I got dressed. Then, after I got dressed, they stopped completely.

Yep. That's how things had been going for several weeks. I had just gone through another 7 hours of hard contractions, and then nothing. I was a little disappointed, but I wasn't quite ready. I looked at it as 7 hours of labour that I had gone through and was 7 hours closer to having baby. We still had some things to do in the house before I wanted baby to come. We also had some plans to visit Brent's friend a little over an hour north of us. We were going to look at some land he had for sale, and visit with him and his wife for a while.

At 10 am I had only had around 3 very mild contractions, so I told Brent that we should go and visit his friend. I could tell he was a little weary of going so far away from home, but I grabbed up my birth kit, baby clothes and extra cash. I said all else, we'll get a hotel and have the baby there. Seeing that I wasn't too concerned, and feeling pretty good, he agreed to go. It was a trip we were both wanting to take, and I think overall it was a good distraction for me.

We traveled up north to his friend's house. I had a few contractions, but nothing that really concerned me. As we were at their house, we were talking at their kitchen table, and I started getting some stronger contractions. The ones that I had to close my eyes and focus on relaxing and breathing through. They were still only about 20 minutes apart. We went out around noon, and looked at the land... Well, Brent and Jeff looked at the land. I stayed in the van and fell asleep while they tromped through the woods. I wasn't really up to ticks, poison ivy, and walking through the woods with contractions. A little later they came back and we went back to their house for lunch.

At 1 pm we ate lunch. I just opted for salad and some chicken broth. I was beginning to realize that labour was kicking in, and I was pretty sure that I was going to be having the baby that day. Knowing what I know, only 2 of my births had not included getting sick. I only wanted to eat soft, easy to throw up foods. I began to time them, and they were 10-15 minutes apart. I knew that from past experiences (except Moses's whirlwind birth) that usually gave me plenty of time, I laid down and dozed on the love seat as Brent sat on the couch and talked with Jeff about Church history. They asked several times if I was doing alright, and I said yes. A little after 4 pm, I was not feeling good anymore. Brent and I decided to go ahead and head back home around 5:30 pm. By that time, I was at about 5-7 minutes between contractions. However, as we walked out their door, they got so much worse. I had to stop in their driveway, half squat, breathe and I started crying. They had instantly gone from 5-7 minutes to 2-3 minutes apart just by walking to the van! I felt bad for Brent, because he was driving and I could just see him wondering if we were going to make it.

He was awesome. He did speed a little, but not bad (I kept teasing him about getting pulled over). He kept telling jokes and kept the mood light in the van. I'm not really sure if it was for him or me that he was doing this for. I really helped me, though. He was also starving, as we hadn't eating much that whole day, and I was feeling sick. He said a few times (jokingly) how he was going to starve, and I didn't want to stop and eat.

It was a hard trip for me, though. I felt such pressure. Most of the contractions were so hard, and I did my best to relax, and picture my cervix opening wider through each contraction. I read how this worked in a book by Ina May Gaskin. How they actually felt a mother's cervix open when she visualized it opening during a contraction. At one point, I told Brent that I changed my mind. That I loved being pregnant. That I wanted to stay pregnant forever. He laughed and said it's too late now.

When we got onto the back road leading to the house, we ended up getting stuck behind someone going 40. It was 55 on that road. There was nothing but hills, and we couldn't pass. I had to start laughing. I told Brent it was like the movies where they start yelling, "My Wife Is In Labour!". We both laughed at that.

He asked me where we wanted to go, my mom's or his Grandma's house. I really wanted to get in the tub. I knew that his Grandmother's tub was almost never used, and was very clean. At my mom's, the kids all use the tub, and I did't want to clean it to get in and labour in. I wanted it to be super clean and sterile enough for me if I happened to have the baby. We got to his Grandmother's house, and we realized that we didn't have our sterile gloves. They were at my parent's house. Brent grabbed Hannah (and I thought Sadie) our two oldest who were staying at his Grandmother's to help her out, checked on me to ask if I was okay and if there was time to go. I was sitting on the toilet trying to get through contractions. I said I thought so. He went out the door. Then 30 seconds later, Sadie pops in and asks if I'm okay. That Brent wanted her to check on me. I said yes, that I was running a bath. She went on out, and I though she left with her dad.

I moved myself slowly from the toilet to the tub. A laborious effort, considering they were only like 2 feet away from each other. I got in the tub, and it was so nice and warm. I had one really hard contraction that just about knocked me over. I got on my knees, sitting on my feet, and leaning forward on my hands. My contractions were almost nonexistent feeling because of the water. I was amazed at how much it eased the pain. Why hadn't I ever done this before?!

I reached inside of myself to see where baby was, or if I could even feel baby. I got 1/2 a finger inside of me and immediately felt something round.

"Is that the baby's head?", I immediately thought? I touched it again, and it just disintegrated at my touch. Water flowed out of me, and a tiny bit of bloody show. My bag of waters! I felt it, and then felt it release into the tub. I looked at the not quite as clean bath water, and immediately knew that baby had not passed meconium. That was good.

I was completely calm. I was both doctor and patient. I felt inside of myself again, and a full finger length up was the baby's head. I had never felt this before. I had always just let someone else take control of my births. Even with our last, our first unassisted birth, I let Brent take over and I just told him what to do. I had not wanted to move, to reach, and feel what was going on. I knew what should happen. What to look for. I could "see" it all, with my mind's eye. I felt baby's head again, and knew it felt funny. I couldn't tell what it was that I was feeling. It was a lump, a cord like feeling. I immediately wondered if that was the umbilical cord. I knew that I had to know quickly. I felt again, and kind of pinched to feel it better. It wasn't a pinch to break, but to get a better feel. That is when I could tell it wasn't the cord, but a bunch of the sack on his head from when it broke. I was calmed and knew that it was almost over. Baby was in the birth canal. All that was left was to push my little baby out. That sounds easy enough, but having done this before, I knew what it consisted of.

I waited for another contraction, but they had slowed down since getting into the water. Still on my hands and knees, I leaned back, sitting on my feet. Then got back onto my knees and leaned forward, half way stretched out. Then righted myself back to the hands and knees position. That got the contraction started. I felt inside of me and pushed hard. I felt the baby move down to the opening. I stopped and waited, again, for another contraction. After nothing happening, I again leaned back and forward to produce another contraction. I gave a hard push, and baby made it maybe 1/3 of the way out before I stopped and relaxed, feeling baby move back up inside of me. At this time, I was mentally moving back from doctor to patient. I for a second or two thought how hard this was and how it hurt. How I didn't want to go on.

I then changed back to doctor mode. I thought of when my two boys (4 and 3 years old) cry when they have a hard poop. How I tell them they just have to push it out. The longer they wait, the longer it's going to hurt, and that it HAS to come out sooner or later. I mustered up all my mental energy. When I had my next contraction, I pushed. I pushed hard, but slowly, and with complete control. I felt my baby's head stretch the skin. I held the head, and massaged the skin to help prevent tearing (not the easiest thing to do on yourself). I wanted to stop, but knew I couldn't. I kept pushing. I wanted to cry out (but was completely silent for this entire experience). It hurt. It stretched. It burned. Then, when I though for sure I couldn't do it any more, the head was out. Oh, my! What absolute relief!

Then, baby began to wiggle. Never had I experienced this! Still underwater, baby's head was moving around, like he was twirling around. He was moving his arms around inside of me, wiggling. His head was twisting and turning. I gave another great push to get him out for good. This was, strangely enough, harder than any of my other babies. Normally the body is the easy part for me, but being in this odd position (hands and knees still), I had to lean forward and push him more behind me. Then, as his body began to slowly slide out, I moved back up and guided him back toward my stomach. He was out! I had my baby, all by myself, in the water, and I caught him!

We had another little boy! I held him under the water for a few seconds. He was so calm. As I took him out, he cried. I held him to me, but didn't get the skin to skin contact I was expecting. I forgot I was wearing a shirt. It was too wet to take off, so I just held him to me.

Then, Sadie (my 13 year old daughter) knocked on the door. I didn't know she was there. She came in and helped me with baby. We looked at him, and he was perfect. She got my phone and took a picture of him in the tub.

I then told her to call Brent. She grabbed the phone and I think all she said was, "It's a boy". She went and fetched a towel I had set aside and, still in the tub, we wrapped him up in the towel. I drained some of the water, and refilled it with cleaner, warm water. I tried to nurse him, and he tried, but wasn't too interested. Sadie got my Shepherd's Purse tea (Brent had my birth kit in the van, but I remembered to grab the tea). I drank half, then tried to nurse baby again, and then drank the other half.

Brent came in, and saw that we were all doing good. He made sure I was okay, and baby was doing well. He got out his phone and took a picture of me with baby in the tub...

I then told him he hadn't seen baby's face yet! I unlatched baby and faced him toward Brent. He got another sweet picture of him...

What a sweet baby man! We waited an hour to cut the cord. We tied it, and cut it. Then Sadie got another dry towel. He got wrapped up and Sadie got to hold him. Then Brent took him out as his mom came into the house. I had Sadie shut the bathroom door, and I birthed the placenta in the emptied tub. I laughed, saying the tub looked like a murder scene. Sadie had Brent get a gallon zip lock bag for the placenta (which really grossed him out to hold the bag). I did a really good job of not letting the placenta touch him. I cleared out the room, drained the tub, and took a shower (to clean both myself and the tub).

As I was drying off, Brent and his mom were drying off baby and weighing him. He was born at 7:05 pm Thursday, August 4, 2011. He weighted 8 lbs exactly.

I came out of the bathroom and helped dress him, and then the pictures started.

He's a great baby. He doesn't cry much. He slept all night last night. I had to keep waking him up to nurse him. At about 5 am, I couldn't sleep because of after birth pains. I got up with baby, and we slept in the recliner in the living room until about 8 am.

He's doing good.

Lots Of Contractions Lately

2011-07-20T20:45:00.001-07:00

So, as of Thursday of last week, I've been having lots of contractions. On Sunday, when I went to bed they were between 3 minutes apart to being on top of one another (and I had to breathe through them). I practiced my hypnobirthing, and it relaxed me enough to where after about an hour I fell asleep.

They continued throughout my restless sleep. I would dream I was in labour, wake up, and was still having the contraction from my dream. They slowed down the next morning to about every 10-20 minutes, but since we were going on our fishing trip (LOL - Yep we went), I made DH drive. I just took my birth kit. ;)

Things have slowed down a lot. I knew I wasn't in labour. I did find out that I could visuize my cervix on Sunday night and actually feel it changing and opening some. It was amazing! I found I could relax much faster by visualizing my cervix opening.

It was a really wonderful experience to work on my mental state. I hope I can keep it up when my final labour starts up.

I will admit that I was kind of hoping I was in labour. However, at 37 weeks, I want to wait a few more weeks.

Bad Day

2011-07-15T10:22:00.001-07:00

It's just been a bad couple of days. I'm just really stressed out, and have been having a lot of contractions because of it. I've been resting a lot.

Checking Dilation Without A Vaginal Exam

2011-07-13T20:36:00.000-07:00

While cruising the internet, I came across this. Although, I don't feel cervical dilation tells us anything about when baby will come, I do think this is interesting. I am not big on internal vaginal exams. I think that if you are wanting to check your cervical dilation, this would be the way to do it.

Here is the info from Anne Frye in the book Holistic Midwifery, Vol. II, p. 376.

Determine how many fingerbreadths of space are between the fundus and xiphoid process at the height of a contraction.

"...During a contraction and with mom on her back, determine how many fingerbreadths of space are between the fundus [top of the uterus] and xiphoid process [the triangular tip of the breastbone] at the height of a contraction.

5 fb = no dilation
4 fb = 2 cm
3 fb = 4 cm
2 fb = 6 cm
1 fb = 8 cm
0 fb = complete"

Here is what Anne Frye says:

As the space between the xiphoid and the fundus shortens (becomes narrower), dilation advances. This occurs, in part, because the upper segment of the uterus thickens as labor advances. The uterus also rises more as contraction intensify.

To use the fingerbreath method, it should be the height of the contraction and she should be on her back.

Another tip from Anne Frye
Many women have a bloody show as the presenting part passes through the fully dilated cervical os. This show should be quite mucilaginous and stretchy; a trickle of brighter blood near the end of dilation, accompanied by lots of suprapubic pain, can also mean a cervical lip is being pulled down with the presenting part.

I also found this information: What You Don't Know About Your Cervix Can Ruin Your Birth.

Baby Pains

2011-07-13T19:49:00.000-07:00

Lately, I've noticed more and more that I almost never feel baby on my left side. Baby is always sitting and pushing way over on the right. Just below my bottom rib, and above my hip bone. My muscles on the right side are so tired and sore. Baby is always there. I try to move baby, but the only time he/she moves is when I lay flat on my left side. Even then, the movement to the left is very minimal. Last night it was like baby was laying with the body pushing into my right rib area and the legs into my left hip (diagonal). That's as much left side baby I've felt for as long as I can remember with this baby. Normally, my babes are all over both sides.

A little back story. I thought at first it might have been related, but now I don't think so.

Last year, the day after I had Bekah I began having severe pain on my right side. It was like my right ovary was stuck in a muscle, or something. I would take my fist and push on it (to the left) to try to move it. Finally, after a couple days, I pushed again with my fist, trying to move it back left, and it made a literal "pop" feeling. It was instantly better, and I was only left with my after birth pains, which I must say felt very minimal compared to what I had been feeling.

Today I tried again to push baby from the right to the left side. I really paid attention to what baby was doing. He/she did move to the left side, completely, but it was just a very dulled feeling. It was as if I there was a barrier between baby and my nerves. This made me think it might be what a few others suggested. The placenta is probably on the left side, blocking me from feeling baby.

Otherwise, everything is going great. I'm 36 weeks and 2 days along. I'm still getting things ready, but am mentally prepared. As much as I can be, anyway.

Our Birth Journey Story

2011-06-09T08:51:00.000-07:00

My story is about our journey into natural birth. When I was 25, my husband and I began trying to conceive our 4th child. We were also in the middle of a spiritual transition. It was during that time that my husband read a quote to me from a leader in our religion. The quote was short, but made a big impact on me. It said, "It will be so in a little time that not a woman in all Israel will dare to have a baby unless she can have a doctor by her" (Brigham Young).

It was then that I began reflecting upon my previous births. Now, I will say, that they were not "bad" experiences. However, they were not good either. They were not something that I would look upon and say, "I would love to repeat that experience".

About three months later, we got pregnant (March of 2006). That was when I began seriously looking into home birth. I had never considered birthing anywhere other than in the hospital. Birthing at home was so foreign to me. I seemed so "Old Fashioned". It felt so right. I had a deep calling within my soul that I must have this baby at home. I had a horrible foreboding that something bad would happen if I was to birth in the hospital. It was a feeling that I didn't understand. Home birthing alien to me. Why was I having these feelings? I knew to follow those promptings, though. I didn't want to find out if the dark feelings about the possible hospital birth was true or not. I would not take that chance.

I began researching home birth. I studied all day, while my husband was at work, day in and day out. My husband is a man who listens to facts and studies. I printed out papers on Home Birth vs Hospital Birth studies, safety statistics, midwife facts, and so on. I wanted him to know that what I felt was right was also safe. I approached him one day and just laid it all out. I told him how I felt and what I wanted. To my surprise and astonishment, all he said was that he agreed. He was feeling the same way about the birth.

I began looking for midwives, but soon found out that in Missouri, that was not an easy task. Missouri is not exactly a "Home Birth Midwife Friendly" state. The closest midwives I could find were on the complete opposite end of the state. A good 5 hour drive. I searched for months, and began to feel like I was going to end up having an unassisted birth, which I was not ready nor comfortable with at that point in my life. It wasn't until my 28th week of pregnancy that I found my midwife. I stumbled across her on the internet, on a site called Birth Partners. She was just across the river in Kansas. I immediately sent her an email, and by the next day, she had responded and we made a time for her to visit me at my home.

When she came for my first "appointment", I loved her. She was so different then the OB/GYNs that I was used to. She spent a long time talking with me, explaining what she was doing, why she was doing it, and what it ment. I was shocked at how ignorant I was about pregnancy and birth. This was my 4th baby, and I knew nothing! She opened my eyes to the importance of taking my pregnancy and birth into my own hands. I was responsible for this child. I needed to understand what was happening, instead of just "doing what I was told". She taught me a lot.

Late, the night of December 19, 2006, my husband and I went to bed. We had stayed up way later than we should have, but I was feeling good. No contractions, or any sign of upcoming labour even though I was 3 days past my guess date. As I laid down in bed, I thought how in the morning I would put that waterproof mattress pad down for just in case my water broke. About 4 hours later, I woke to what I am sure was a popping noise and water hitting my knees. I jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom. Sure enough, I was a night too late for that waterproof mattress pad. My water had broken in bed. I woke up my husband, telling him the good news was that I didn't wet the bed. The bad news was we weren't getting any sleep. We called my midwife, and a friend of mine who is a professional photographer. She really wanted to document our birth, and took over 300 pictures of the labour and birth, put them on a CD and gave it to us.

I laboured for 8 hours with our first son. It was hard. It was painful. It was amazing! When he was born, I had never experienced anything like it with any of my previous births. It was truely the most memorable thing I had every been through. I had done it! I had birthed my baby at home, completely naturally!

That birth completely transformed my idea of what birth was. We went on to have another baby, assisted by our friend, in 2008. Then again, our 3rd home birth in 2010. That time, after years of study, and preparing myself mentally, physically, and spiritually, our 6th child and 4th daughter was born assisted only by my husband and my 11 year old daughter. Our first Unassisted Birth!

Now, a year and a half later, we are expecting our 7th baby. Our 4th home birth. Our 2nd planned Unassisted Birth. As I write this, I am 31 weeks along in the pregnancy. I continue to study, prepare, and practice my Hypnobirthing. We are hoping for a water birth (our first). Only God knows what will happen, and I pray daily for thanks that we are, once again, blessed with this opportunity to welcome another blessed spirit into our family.

If you would like to read the birth stories, and view the pictures. You can see them at Our Pioneer Life (for the first 4 - including my 1st home birth), and Our Birth Journeys - baby Moses and Our Birth Journeys - baby Rebekah (for the last 2).

Amanda Hartman

isaplan@yahoo.com

31 weeks 2 days

2011-06-08T21:55:00.004-07:00

Things are still going great. As of now, I'm still showing a weight gain of only 10 pounds. However, I had some "extra weight" that has been burning off while baby weight has been adding on. I've been eating healthier, although the last few days I've nit been doing so well at keeping away from soda. :( I'm cutting myself off. The only other issue is acid reflux. Ugh! I hate it! LOL! It's strong all the time. The papaya tablets aren't working quite as well, so I'm going to look into Heartburn Soother tea and KYOGREEN--it is a wheat and barley powder mix that you mix with water. Hopefully one will help.

I'm getting excited as the day gets closer. The awful thing is that the birth is righ in the middle of our Kettle Corn season. It's going to cause issues, but there is nothing that can be done about it. :)

Anyway, baby's growing and I'm really feeling good overall.

26 Weeks 1 Day

2011-05-03T15:23:00.002-07:00

Wow! Time sure has passed by on this one. We are doing great. My tummy has popped. I've gained about 7 pounds so far. Baby is moving all the time. I've been keeping my records together, and everything is great. I just need to try to motivate myself to exercise.

I've got some of my birth kit together, but not all of it. Still a few odds and ends to gather up.

I don't have any recent pictures, or any "good" pictures. Here's one I took myself 2 weeks ago at "24 Weeks".

A Little Update On The Midwifery Bill

2011-03-09T17:47:00.001-07:00

Here is an e-mail I got from FOMM.

From Friends of Missouri Midwives [FoMM]

Have you all sent your emails to the Committee members, opposing Talboy's "Regulate Midwives Out of Existence Bill" (House Bill 301)? Or the latest assignment - the emails to House Leadership and a "thank you" to our new bill sponsor, Thomas Long?
Perhaps it seems as though your little emails can't make much of a difference. If you're like me, you may sit at the computer, staring at the screen for a long time, trying to figure out WHAT to say. You backspace your email six times, thinking it doesn't communicate what you want to say about why you love and respect midwives. And then you go to bed in frustration, wondering if anyone else did the assignment and sent the emails...

I spent several long days at the Capitol last week and was pleased to stop by a committee members office and hear the assistant tell me, "We've received more emails on this midwifery thing than any other issue this year, by a LONG shot!"
I asked her if they were for or against Talboy's bad bill.
She said, "Well, at first it was just moms and midwives emailing us, but now we're hearing from the doctors, too, so it's kind of a mix these days. Both sides are being pretty vocal." I pressed her for more details, and she finally said, "Well, the moms and midwives are definitely still ahead of the doctors on the emailing! It's obvious that a LOT of people in Missouri are worried about us taking away their midwives!" I had to smile to myself that YOUR emails are making a difference. That you've made midwifery the BIGGEST POLITICAL ISSUE that over a dozen representatives have heard about all year!! Let's keep it that way! If you haven't taken the time to sit down and send your emails, please do it today! And then have your mother, and your husband and your neighbor and your friend at MOPs send them emails, too!

Lastly, the cherry on top was a snippet from the Missouri State Medical Association's newsletter that a "little bird" forwarded to us:
"...It has come to our attention that since the hearing, committee
members have been bombarded with emails and phone calls from midwifery
supporters from all across the country. The midwife lobby is clever and
slicker than snot on a doorknob. We are clearly getting out-spammed and
our message is getting drowned out."

Way to go, Friends of Missouri Midwives! We're ahead! Keep up the good work!

The Truth About Home Birth And Hospital Birth

2011-02-28T14:05:00.002-07:00

By Sheila Stubbs ©2005

Home birth should never be recommended to anyone who is afraid of having the baby at home. If a woman feels safer in the hospital, she will labor better in the hospital.

In spite of all the childbirth education available today, it seems that women fear childbirth as much as they ever did – and perhaps even more so. Thanks to the media, childbirth is perceived as a risky event. The hospital is considered to be the safest place for both mother and child because of its modern technological equipment.

What do the Statistics Say?

Did you know that no study has ever proven that hospital birth is safer?

When hospital birth has been defended as safer than home births, all out-of-hospital births were used in the statistical data, including births that occurred in taxi cabs and newborns found in trash cans.i That is not a realistic representation! A well-informed, healthy, couple planning a homebirth should not be compared to a fifteen-year-old drug addict who gives birth in a toilet at the mall! A reliable comparison between home and hospital births would have to include parents who were matched, couple by couple, for age, number of pregnancies, education, socioeconomic status, and risk factors.

Such a study was actually done in California by Dr. Lewis Mehl, MD, and included over 1000 couples.

· A bottle of champagne and a cake for the party afterward!
· Birth Day Party gifts for other children, wrapped and ready. (Some find a video is a good gift, using it for mom/baby rest time.) Surprise your helper with a gift for her too.

Other Things Some Couples Like to Have
· a large mirror - to watch the birth
· hot water bottle or heating pad
· talc or lotion for back massage
· bendable drinking straws, ice chips
· rocking chair
· your favorite laboring music.
· disposable diapers
· petroleum jelly – helps clean off those first black baby poops.

Other preparations
· Be prepared to meet with negative reactions. Some people may think you have just taken a terrible risk!
· Be prepared to prove the baby is legally yours! A camera that stamps the date might be a good idea.
· Be prepared to limit visitors. They may forget that just like hospital patients, you still need your rest.
· Be prepared to accept help. If someone offers, they will be happy to know exactly what they can do. “How nice of you to offer! There’s a load of laundry in the dryer that needs folded, and could you sweep the kitchen floor please?”

This study, outlined below, clearly shows that planned home birth by informed, healthy couples had superior outcomes to hospital birth. ii

Hospital Birth Home Birth
1st Stage of Labour 8 hours average 12 hours average
2nd Stage of Labour 42 minutes avg. 72 min. average
3rd Stage of Labour 5 minutes avg. 22 min. average
birth injuries 30 0
elective induction 22 0
amniotomy 56 6
episiotomy 87.4% 9.8%
pain medication 75% 5%
oxytocin - 3rd stage 95% 24%
forceps 35% 1.6%
oxygen required 8.9% 1.2%
Cesarean required 8.2% 2.7%

You will notice that all stages of labour all are accomplished in less time in the hospital than at home. This seems to be a benefit. However, it is the increased use of interventions - the amniotomy, episiotomy, oxytocin and forceps – that shorten labor. And note that those long labors at home required little pain medication.

When this study was done in 1976 the cesarean rate in the hospital was only 8.2%. As you are probably aware, it’s now over 20%, even 30% or more in some hospitals. But even that low rate of C-Sections is three times higher for couples who planned their births in the hospital, than for couples who planned their births at home.

The study also found that in the hospital births,

Resuscitation was required 3.7 times more than home births
Newborn infection occurred 4 times more than home births
Meconium aspiration pneumonia 2.5 times more than home births
Newborn respiratory distress 17 times more than home births
Fetal distress occurred 6 times more than home births
Meconium staining occurred 3.5 times more than home births
Shoulder dystocia occurred 8 times more than home births
Maternal high blood pressure 5 times more than home births
Maternal hemorrhage 3 times more than home births
3rd degree tears 5.5 times more than home births
4th degree tears (into the rectum) 14.6 times more than home births

Why would there be more cases of shoulder dystocia in the hospital? Why would there be a greater risk of maternal hemorrhage where there is more technology ensuring your safety? Why should there be a greater likelihood of 3rd - and 4th degree tears dependent upon the location where a woman chooses to give birth? Does this make sense?

Or, is there something about being in the hospital that actually makes birth riskier?

Things Your Obstetrician Doesn’t Want You To Know

§ Doctors are only human. They have made mistakes about birth and continue to make mistakes.
§ Most of the maternal deaths in the 1800’s were a result of childbed fever, an infection which was caused by the doctors themselves, spreading infection from patient to patient.
§ The obstetrical practice of shaving the woman’s vulva to prevent infection caused more infection than it prevented.
§ Doctors believed modern formulas were an improvement upon Nature and discouraged mothers from breastfeeding in the last century.
§ Many of the ‘things that can go wrong’ during birth go wrong because of unnecessary risks taken in the hospital.
§ All interventions carry risks.
§ Interventions are often used in the best interest of doctors, not patients. Why? A hospital is a place of business. Interventions speed and control unpredictable labors to make their business run more efficiently.
§ In a court of law, the use of interventions helps the doctor’s case by proving he used all the available technology to ensure a safe birth.

How Routine Interventions Can Cause Problems

We will look at typical interventions used during a normal labor and how they can turn a normal birth into a surgical procedure.

1. You arrive at the hospital late one evening. The doctor orders a sedative.

Reason given: To help you sleep through those early contractions so you (and the doctor) will be well-rested for the birth.
Risks: - Your baby may be affected by the drug.
- It might slow his heart rate to the extent that he shows signs of distress, necessitating cesarean.
- The baby could require resuscitation.
- Sedatives would not be prescribed during pregnancy because of the risks to the baby, but doctors deem them safe as a labor drug.

2. The hospital policy requires Electronic Fetal Monitoring.
Reason given: “It lets us check on how the baby is doing”
Risks: - Whenever a hospital starts using fetal monitors, their cesarean rates increase.
- There has been an increase in the rate of cesareans being done since routine fetal monitoring began, but this has not resulted in any improvement in mortality and morbidity rates.iii

3. Bed rest for labor.
Reason given: Get as much rest as possible. Avoid infection.
Risks: - The weight of the baby presses on your back when in bed, causing pain, increasing the need for medication.iv
- Labor is slowed down increasing need for augmentation
- When mother can’t move about freely, baby may become wedged into an awkward position increasing the need for forceps delivery.

4. Rupturing Membranes (Breaking your water)
Reason Given: This will “help speed things up a bit.”
Risks: - Increase your infection risk.
- The cord may prolapse making a cesarean necessary.
- Your contractions will become more intense and painful.

5. Augmentation: The use of artificial hormones to stimulate labor
Reason given: This will increase and/or regulate contractions.
Risks: - Can cause uterine contractions so strong that it increases the risk of uterine rupture
- Substantially more painful than natural contractions.
- More likely to need pain medication.
- Abnormally strong contractions can cause fetal distress.

6. Pain Medication
Reason given: Pain Relief
Risks: - Could adversely affect your baby, causing respiratory difficulties.
- Your baby may be lethargic and have more trouble breastfeeding.
- Some drugs have been known to have an adverse affect on intellectual and motor development of the childv
- Can make the mother feel lightheaded and not in control

7. Epidural

Reason given: The epidural will allow you to be awake and alert for the birth, but feel no pain.

Risks: The epidural has been related to an increase in neonatal jaundice.
- Some women experience a backache that might last up to several months.
- Occasionally the numbing effect of the drug accidentally goes up instead of down, causing the woman breathing difficulty.
- Slows down labor, increasing the need for further augmentation.
- You can’t feel the pushing urge.
- Forceps delivery is more likely, because your ability to push is affected.
- Adversely affects the hormonal surge following birth that aids bonding

8. Lithotomy or semi-sitting position
When it is time to deliver, you will usually be positioned on your back or semisitting.
Reason given: Allows the doctor better access to deliver the baby
Risks: - Lying on your back makes your uterus work harder.
- Increases the need for forceps.
- Increases the risk of tearing as it puts the most pressure on the perineal tissues.
- The weight of the uterus rests on your major blood vessels, possibly making you lightheaded and also...
- Reduces the oxygen supply to the baby, causing fetal distress.
- The main reason for you to be in that position is so the doctor can do an episiotomy, but the main reason you need the episiotomy is because he has you in this position!

9. The Episiotomy
Reason given: to enlarge the vaginal opening and make it easier for the baby to come out, and to prevent a tear that would be difficult to repair.
Risks: - Studies have shown there is a higher risk of second- and third-degree tears with an episiotomy, than without one.
- Increases the risk of acquiring an infection.
- It will be painful to sit on those stitches for days, at best, weeks sometimes, and that some women have painful intercourse for months after an episiotomy.
- The birth may occur a few minutes sooner but repairing the incision takes up to an hour.

What about the Baby’s Safety?

- Both you and your baby have a much higher risk of picking up a dangerous infection in the hospital.

- You are immune to the germs in your own home.

- A cord around the baby’s neck is not uncommon, occurring in about 30% of births, and is not inherently dangerous.

- What about cutting the cord? Within a few minutes the cord goes cold and white. Tie string around it so it won’t leak, and cut it.

- The common practice of putting alcohol on the cord to help it heal was proven in one study to be useless.

- Hospital nurseries were necessary when babies were adversely affected by amnesic drugs given to the mother. Healthy mothers can look after their own babies.

- The nursery undermines a woman’s confidence in her ability to care for her child. Mothers feel inadequate compared to the medical experts who keep her baby under observation in the nursery.

- When nurses ignore babies’ fussing as insignificant, mothers assume that as the “experts” they must be right.

- Separating mom and baby interrupts an important learning period in which mother learns to interpret baby’s signals. This can affect breastfeeding success.

- Babies should be welcomed to the world with love, not kept in a nursery with strangers!

The Move to the Hospital
There is a common misconception that women stopped giving birth at home because hospital birth was safer. The truth is that from the early 1900’s and continuing to today, studies have shown that mortality rates were higher in doctor-attended births than midwife-attended births, and highest in hospitals.vi

Why do they continue to use hospital s if home birth is safer?
1. Convenience. It was easier for the doctor to have the patient come to him, than for him to have to travel to the patient. Thus, while the woman was laboring in the hospital under the watchful eyes of the nurses, the doctor could continue to see other patients. This brings us to the second reason:
2. Money. The doctor could earn more money if his patients came to one central location, where he could manage several patients at once.
3. Power and control. In the hospital, the doctor was in his own domain. He had authority, could dictate how things were run and refuse admittance to outsiders. At homebirths, doctor was not the leader, but the helpful guest.

Home Birth: Not only safe, but fun!
§ You don’t have to worry about going anywhere. Your doctor or midwife comes to you instead.

§ There is little to do in the hospital but focus on having the baby, and time can drag in the hospital (making augmentation more appealing). At home, you can move about freely, doing what you might normally do.
§ Preparing your home for the baby – “Feathering your nest” – is an emotionally satisfying way to pass the time.
§ No coping with admission procedures and paperwork.
§ No asking permission or arguing policy. Eat what you want, go where you wish. Cry, scream, dance, or talk on the phone. No rules to follow.
§ You can have whoever you want at the birth, as many people as you want. You can be all alone if you prefer.
§ Your privacy is respected. You don’t have to worry about staff walking in at any time.
§ You can do whatever you feel like doing with that privacy. Kissing and lovemaking, by stimulating the right hormones, can actually help your labour along!

What should you do if “Something goes wrong”?
· If something goes wrong, go to the hospital of course!
· Most problems can be detected well in advance of disaster.
· If the umbilical cord has prolapsed into the birth canal, call the hospital to prepare for an emergency C-Section. Kneel on the back seat of the car with your head down and bottom up to protect the cord from getting compressed. Being in the hospital would not have avoided this complication.
· Some blood is normal in labor, but too much would be worrisome. Go to the hospital to be checked out.
· Hemorrhage after the birth. (3x more likely in hospital) Nursing the baby and massaging your belly will help your uterus to contract. Go to the hospital if the bleeding is profuse.
· A cord around the baby’s neck: The cord can usually be slipped over the baby’s head. If it can’t be slipped off, tie it and cut it and deliver the baby as quickly as possible.
· Shoulder dystocia (baby’s shoulders get stuck) occurs eight times more often in hospital. Usually a change of position will help: standing up, or on all fours, or squatting. A midwife or other attendant can reach in a finger and gently pull one shoulder from under the pubic bone. If not, call 911.
· Baby doesn’t breathe: (Seventeen times more likely in the hospital!) Do infant CPR as described in any First Aid Book.
· If a long, difficult labor is exhausting you, you can always go to the hospital for relief.

· If you simply have a “gut feeling” that something is just not right, trust your instincts.

Handling the Pain
§ Pain is usually easier to handle in your own home as you know when you feel ill at work. You want to go home where you’re able to cope better.
§ At home you don’t have to wear the same image you wear in public. Hospitals are public place. At home you “let loose,” and that relaxation leads to a faster, easier, less painful labor.
§ Often when you feel like you can’t handle the pain it’s because you are only a few contractions away from pushing your baby out.
§ Pain is worse when accompanied by fear. At home, the fear of the unknown is reduced because of your familiar surroundings.

Birth Attendants
You will likely have two midwives at the home birth, so there one pair of hands for mom and one for baby. You might want another attendant to help out as well. There are several things to consider when you decide who you would like at the birth.
· A “doula” is a woman you can hire who has training in labour support. Or you could just ask a caring, supportive neighbor to be your doula.
· How many people? Some like having the support of many close friends. Others like to keep it private and intimate.
· What do you want them to do? Housecleaning? Childcare? Backrubs? It’s nice to have someone do cleanup while you enjoy the new baby. Pick someone who won’t mind doing a little housework.
· With other children, you may wish to have a person who knows your other children well can take them out to play if you request it, or can reassure them if they watch the birth.
· Don’t make the mistake of inviting someone to your birth because it would be a good experience for her. This is your day, and you have enough to do without performing the perfect birth for someone else’s benefit.
· It must be someone who is supportive. If your best friend thinks you are taking a terrible risk, you don’t need her there.
· Have a few back-up persons lined up in case your first choice of helper is not available, or you need more help than you expected, or in case you have to go to the hospital. Ask them ahead of time.

Preparations for the Home Birth

Stuff You Probably Have Already

· Lots of food stored away - so your birth attendant(s) can have something to eat, and so you have plenty for yourself after the baby is born.
· A firm bed, if bed is where you want to give birth.
· Some like to sit on an exercise ball during labor. Or soak in the bath.
· Plastic sheet - to protect the mattress (or carpet) from wetness. An old shower curtain or vinyl tablecloth will do.
· Old sheets and towels - to put over the plastic sheets and absorb fluids.
· Newspapers - also to protect floor if amniotic fluid is leaking.
· Tea Kettle - to make some raspberry-leaf tea, an herb which is known to help labour, childbirth, morning sickness, menstrual cramps, and mood swings. Boiling water is also for sterilizing the scissors and shoelace for the cord, and to have warm compresses for the perineum.
· Sharp scissors for cutting the cord.
· A dresser or table cleared off for doctor or midwife use.
· Large bowl or dishpan or ice cream tub for the placenta. You can line it with a plastic bag if you like. Or use newspaper.
· A roll of paper towels. Handy for any kind of messes.
· Large garbage bags to contain those messes.
· A shovel. Traditionally, Dad buries the placenta ceremoniously in the backyard, planting a tree over it.
· Camera, camcorder, or tape recorder for those who want to record the event.
· Heavy-flow menstrual pads. You’ll need them the first day or so.
· Clothes, washed and clean for the baby; clothes for mom to wear after the birth, too. Something with easy access for breastfeeding.
· Thermometer - a good idea to check mom’s temp daily - a rise in temperature could indicate an infection.
· A list of emergency phone numbers, posted by the phone.
· Olive oil - often used for perineal massage. You can put it in a squirt bottle from the dollar store for better aim. Warm it in hot water.
· Soft washcloths or old diapers - for hot compresses.
· Flashlight - in case of a power failure.

Things You Might Not Have and Might Want to Get
· A shoelace for tying the cord. Shoelaces are soft and pliable like babies, unlike the hard plastic clamps used in maternity wards.
· Germ-killing soap like Betadine or Phisoderm for hand-washing.
· Infant Ear syringe - to suction mucous if necessary.
· Baby Scale – you can borrow one. Many midwives use a simple fish scale. Babies don’t cry when weighed this way (suspended from the scale in a cloth sling) like they do when laid out naked on a metal scale.

“What about The Mess?”

When you prepare the birth bed, make the bed with clean sheets, twice. On top of the clean sheets, put a plastic sheet, and then another set of clean sheets. After the birth, your helper simply strips the top layer off. Wash out blood in cold water, not hot, or it will stain. If you use old towels and newspapers, you could simply stuff everything — even the placenta — into a large trash bag.

In some places the placenta must be buried by law, as it is human tissue. In winter, wrap it up and put in the freezer until the ground thaws. Label it to avoid surprises!

Notes

i Ontario Ministry of Health, p. 109.

ii Lewis E. Mehl, MD., “Statistical Outcomes of Homebirths in the US: Current Status,” in Safe Alternatives in Childbirth, ed. by David & Lee Stewart, (N.A.P.S.A.C. [National Association of Parents and Professionals for Safe Alternatives in Childbirth,] 1976) p.81.

iii Nancy W. Cohen and Lois J. Estner, Silent Knife, (Bergin & Garvey 1983), p. 180.

iv Robert S. Mendelsohn, MD, Confessions of a Medical Heretic , (Warner, 1979), p.155.

v ibid. page 168-70.

vi ibid. p. 35 footnote.

© Sheila Stubbs 2005
Sheila Stubbs is a nurse, doula, childbirth educator, breastfeeding counselor, mother of six, and author of Birthing the Easy Way. Her first child was born by cesarean section due to a condition she calls “Physician Distress.” The rest of her children were born without medical intervention, four of them at home.

Missouri Legislature Targets Midwives

2011-02-23T13:32:00.004-07:00

The Missouri legislature is going to vote, possibly as early as this week, about midwifery in Missouri.

"Four years ago, the Missouri Legislature decriminalized midwifery -- making it legal for a woman who's certified by one of two national midwives' organizations to deliver babies here.

But the state's physicians don't like the competition. They sued, unsuccessfully, to stop the legalization in 2007. And now they're pushing a bill to require midwives to be licensed by the state, on top of national certification, and meet a host requirements so onerous that midwives say they could be forced right out of business.

The Columbia Missourian reported last week that a lobbyist for the the Missouri Medical Association -- the powerful physicians' lobbying group in Jefferson City -- actually helped write House Bill 301. http://www.house.mo.gov/billsummary.aspx?bill=HB301&year=2011&code=R

In addition to requiring state certification, the bill would force midwives to carry at least $500,000 in malpractice insurance, pay a licensing fee and perform at least 30 hours of continuing education every two years. It would also require them to notify the state in writing every time they get a new client -- and only allow them to work "in collaborative agreement with a licensed physician" who has privileges at a nearby hospital.

Not surprisingly in light of its origin, the bill carves out special exemptions for physicians, even while cracking down on midwives. According to the bill's official summary, it "exempts certain emergency medical providers from civil liability when treating a woman or infant during childbirth as a consequence of care received from a licensed midwife."

According to the Missourian, a lobbyist for the physicians' group testified that the current system was like "invit(ing) your neighbor over to help you deliver your baby" -- an analogy that might make a bit more sense if midwives weren't required to do extensive training first.

But if money talks at the Capitol, the midwives might be in trouble.

A Daily RFT analysis of reports filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission shows that the physicians' political action committee, MO Medical PAC, donated $199,349 to various legislators in the 2010 cycle. That includes $500 to Representative Mike Talboy, the Democrat who serves as the bill's primary sponsor, and another $500 to Talboy's co-sponsor, Republican Ryan Silvey.

MO Medical PAC also donated $1,000 to the new Speaker of the House, Republican Steve Tilley, according to ethics commission records.

The House Professional Registration and Licensing Committee could vote on the bill as early as this week.

http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/dailyrft/2011/02/missouri_legislature_targets_midwives.php# "

A woman here in Missouri got many of us women together to send a letter as to why we decided to have a home birth, and some nice pictures if we had them.

Amanda Hartman Home Birth Story for Missouri Legislature

Happy Birthday My Little Rebekah

2011-02-10T11:18:00.003-07:00

Last year, on this day, my family was snowed into our little cabin. At 11:15am, my husband (Brent) and 11 year old daughter (Sadie) assisted the birth of our baby girl, Rebekah! Oh, how time flies. She is now, officially, 1 year old. It really does seem like just the other day she was a tiny newborn. Now she has her two front teeth, is walking, and just getting into everything in general.

Happy Birthday my beautiful Rebekah. You are my joy! You bring such happiness and laughter to our family every day!

Rebekah about an hour after birth (2-10-10)

Rebekah March 2010

Bekah in April 2010

Today, on her 1st birthday.

One Born Every Minute...

2011-02-07T23:21:00.004-07:00

So, I finally got to watch episode 1 today. I must say, I was sorely disappointed, but not really all that surprised. I was extremely saddened by the second woman who ended up with a cesarean. When she said she had lots of pressure. The nurse said it was because baby was coming and she was almost fully dilated (she was at a 9 1/2). Then, when she hit transition (you could tell), they called emergency c-section for "failure to progress". I was like WTH!!!! She's at a 9 1/2! Baby is pushing it's way down! I was so ticked!!! DH thought it was complete crap!

**Here is the link to the video.

http://www.mylifetime.com/shows/one-born-every-minute/video/full-episodes/episode-1-to-medicate-or-not

Fast forward to 27:45. She says that there is a lot of pressure. The nurse says "That is the baby. You are almost fully dilated." Then at 28:07 they call "Failure to Progress" for the reason of the cesarean! NOTHING about baby having ANY problems.**

I've also been hearing all about how the "crunchy" family was so rude and obnoxious. How the nurse (Pam) was also rude and obnoxious. How they should have had a birth in a birthing center if they wanted to go natural. So on, and so on.

I think that the nurse, was a bit rude with her overall attitude about their labour and birth wishes. She needed to step back, and let them labour. Really, just leave them alone. They didn't want all the interventions. After hours of hard labour, I can tell you that I am much meaner than they were. DH is also very protective of my wishes. Neither on of us would have been so nice, and probably would have just asked for a different nurse. The couple most likely would have LOVED to go to a birthing center, but they couldn't. Why? Here is what the mother had to say:

"First of all, there are no birth centers in Columbus, and several homebirth midwives, but only one homebirth midwife practice that has a physician ‘back-up’ (which just felt responsible to me). But, NO insurance locally covers homebirthing, so at first, it was an economical decision. Later in my pregnancy, after we began taking NCB classes, we decided that our next baby would be at home, but there was also a measure of comfort in doing the first at the hospital, since I had no idea what to expect."

I was disappointed when they finally pressured her into Pitocin. :( At 21 hours of labour (which is normal), she was tired and (IMO) they took advantage of that.

Overall, I really think that the show put the hospital and staff in a negative light. The nurses spent a lot of time rolling their eyes when the woman was moaning through her labour pains. They always had snide little looks on their faces. They were always pushing interventions. Which I understand. It is there job to sell the drugs and procedures. The more they sell, the more the hospital makes.

It was actually really sad to watch. However, on the plus side. This show did remind me why I enjoyed birthing my last 3 babies at home so much. It was a little more painful, but so much easier, happier, more comfortable, and much less stressful.

I think that the first episode is all I care to watch. I think I'll throw it in the "A Baby Story" trash bin. It's too bad, because the previews really made it look like it was going to be interesting.

I Did It! It's Encapsulated! -- Had To Tell Someone! -- Pictures

2010-02-22T13:49:00.001-07:00

I am so excited! I finally got the placenta encapsulated! Our little one is a week and a half old, but I am so happy that I got it done. I froze it the day of her birth, and decided to go ahead and dehydrate it and make it yesterday, since I had thawed it out the day before.

I took pictures of the process. I am just so happy, since this is another of my firsts in this pregnancy and birth. :) I don't know if anyone else has posted this, but I thought it might be of interest. Here is how I did it.

Placenta after sack and umbilical cord trimmed, and being sliced thin.

Sliced and on rack.

In oven (very low temp so it drys and doesn't cook).

Hours later... it is finished drying.

Chopping it up.

All ground up with RRL, fenugreek and kelp.

Encapsulating the powder.

Finished... I got 150 capsules! :)

Our First Unassisted Birth!

2010-02-22T13:13:00.005-07:00

Feb 11, 2010

She's Here! I can't believe it finally happened. Due on Jan 30, our little Rebekah arrived February 10, 2010. Weighing 9 lbs 1 oz and 21 inches long.

I had been having contractions starting at 4:30am the previous morning, lasting about 10 minutes apart. They were strong, but not uncomfortable. I was beginning to get excited until around 4:30 pm, when they stopped. It was such a let down, since she was over a week late and I was really looking forward to meeting my new little one. I was also excited, because, although she was our 6th baby and 3rd home birth, she was our first completely unassisted pregnancy and birth. It was like doing it for the first time all over again.

This being our 6th baby, I thought I knew what the labor would be like. LOL! Like they say, each labor is different. I went to bed around 9pm that night, and was a little down since my contractions had stopped a few hours earlier. Brent came in and I asked if he could rub my back, since it had been hurting some. He began rubbing my lower back, just above my butt, and it felt so good, but gave me one long contraction the entire time he rubbed it. It happened to be hurting in the pressure point to help with labor. :)

After that, my contractions started up again slightly. Around 10:30pm the contractions were back to 10 minutes apart and were waking me up. I was able to sleep between them until 11:30, when I decided to get up and listen to my MP3 and rock in the recliner in our room. I spent some time listening to Ashokan Farewell (civil war song) and Scottland the Brave (bagpipes), but ended up listening to Oh Holy Night by Josh Groban for an hour or more. It brought me some peace, thinking of how all of mankind had been going through this, even the mother of Christ.

I started timing the contractions around 1:30am and they were still 10 minutes apart. By 2:30am they had gone to 3-5 minutes apart. My water hadn't broken on it's own (like it did with 3 of my others), but I decided to wake up Brent just in case, since my last labor only lasted 4 hours.

He was so wonderful for me. He got me what I needed when I asked. I moved around a lot, and always forgot my robe in a different part of the room. He would bring it to me, get me drinks, hold me, comfort me when needed. He was great.

Brigham, our 3 year old, woke up around 5am and came into our room. He watched me as I labored, and added a little humor to it. He began moaning with me during my contractions, as they were getting stronger and I was beginning to make noise at this point. LOL!

At about 7am he woke the rest of the kids up (their normal wake up time) and told them baby was coming today. They were so excited! They all came into the room, one at a time and gave me a big hug. Throughout my labor Brigham was in the living room, just on the other side of the wall, but continued to make noises like me. What a funny little guy!

Things were really not going how I had thought they would. Each child I had, the labor was shorter, so I was more or less expecting a quick labor and birth. This labor was getting stronger, but felt like it was taking forever. My water hadn't broken, so I wasn't sure how far along things were moving. Brent asked if I wanted him to check me. He did, and said he could feel the head and I was about a 7 or 8. I must say that after 10 hours of laboring, I didn't want to hear that her head wasn't through the cervix yet. He then asked how it was that he could feel the head if the water hadn't broken yet. I said something to the effect of it being like a water balloon and you could still feel the head through it.

I must say that through this, it was such a bonding experience for us. It was great to work together and learn the actual birthing process, as just the two of us.

I don't know what time it was, but maybe and hour and a half or so before Rebekah was born, Brent called in Sadie (our oldest - 11 years old) to help be the nurse. She was to bring Brent what he needed so he wouldn't have to leave me. She was also advised how to give me the mistletoe tincture after the head was born, but before the body, to help prevent hemorrhage. She was so excited to get to help out and experience the birth of her new little sister (or brother since we didn't know at the time what we were having).

Labor was really getting hard for me. I was so tired that I was almost falling off the birthing chair asleep between contractions, which were about 3 minutes apart and very strong (to the point of me yelling at times). I moved to where I was kneeling on the floor and laying on the birthing stool. I asked Brent to check me again, and he said she was still not through the cervix (how disappointing), but he asked if I wanted him to break my water. He was so sweet to not do anything without asking my permission first. I said yes.

He pinched the bag of waters under the baby's head. He said for a moment he didn't think he had done anything. Then the water shot out and covered him. LOL! He got it in the face and all over his clothes! Sadie said she got a little on her hand, as she was standing off to the side holding a flashlight for dad, but he got covered. I felt it come out, and I heard him react. I slowly turned around to sit on the birthing stool and told him that I know wish we had been video taping the birth so I could have seen that. LOL!

I was hurting pretty bad, but the water breaking helped a lot. Things began to really move at that point. I began pushing a little during contractions. She was slowly moving her way down the birth canal. I asked Brent where the head was, if it was coming out yet (as if I didn't know). He said she was almost there and he and Sadie could see her hair. I reached and felt her head, but she was still about 3 inches in. I told Brent later that it may as well have been a mile at that point. :) A few contractions later, pushing during them, she was crowning.

WOW! I've been through natural birth 2 times before. I never seem to remember how big a baby's head is. I kept pushing, and it took about 3 contractions before I got her out. The entire time as she kept coming and coming and coming, I could just picture myself tearing. The only thing keeping me going at that point was knowing that once the head was out, it was basically over. As her head was coming, I began yelling for Sadie to get the tincture for me. Brent kept saying the head was not out yet, but I knew that she needed to get it, because I wasn't going to wait around to long to deliver her body.

Finally, her head was out (and I didn't tear). Brent said that there was a beautiful head of hair. So sweet and wonderful, he teared up and began to choke up when talking. He was so overcome with emotion. Oh, how I love him.

My little Sadie, big sister to all our children, gave me the mistletoe tincture and on the next contraction I pushed our little girl into the world. I thought as soon as she was out, I should have warned Brent that I was pushing, but I think he knew what I was going to do. He caught our little Rebekah, and she was perfect. Sadie quickly fetched a towel to put her in and clean her up with. As soon as she was in the towel I asked for the time. 11:15am. Brent held our new little baby for a minute, looking at her and absorbing her into his memory, and then quickly passed her to me.

I sat on the birthing stool for a moment, then asked Sadie to get a chux pad to put on the recliner. Brent went to take our baby, when he found she had pooped on me. :) We cleaned us both up. I then moved over to the recliner and held the baby, while helping Brent tie off the cord after it had stopped pulsating. We cut it, and I got a little blood spatter on my shoulder. :) Then he got some thick cloth diapers wet, and one with a ginger tea compress, to clean me off with and to hold onto myself for helping to heal.

I sat in the chair for about an hour, trying to feed her, but she wasn't interested. She was just angry. :) Then I began cramping pretty hard and having a little blood pass. I took the umbilical cord and gently put pressure on it (not pulling, but making it taunt) and pushed a little. The cord began to go slack. I asked Sadie to get me the bowl I had reserved, and I slowly pushed the placenta out and put it into the bowl, reserving it for later, to encapsulate it.

We were preparing to weigh her, but found she had pooped on me, again. LOL! My little stinker! We both cleaned off, again, and then I helped Brent put her in the baby sling with a digital scale attached (after zeroing it out of course). 9 lbs 1 oz! No wonder! She beat out my biggest baby by an ounce! LOL! She loved the sling, and we let her stay in it for about 15 minutes while we got things cleaned up. Sadie went and got some clothes for Rebekah, and when I went to get her out of the sling, I found, yet again, she had pooped in the sling! :) I must say that through the night she proved that her bowels worked great. LOL!

She is perfect, though. Her big, little head with great big squishy cheeks. I love her more than I can say! The kids can't get enough of her. The boys love her and want to hold her all the time. Even though Moses can't talk, he still tells me he wants to hold her. He sits next to me and reaches for her. Oh, how he and Brigham love to share their new little baby! :) What good big brothers they are. The big sisters are all so great with her and were so excited to hold and love on her finally. ;)

40+ Weeks and counting

2010-02-22T13:12:00.001-07:00

This was from Feb 4, 2010...

Wow! I can't believe it's February already. I was due Jan 30, and as of now, still no baby! LOL! In some ways I'm disappointed. In others, I'm relieved. We are planning another home birth this time around, but we are still finishing up on the cabin we are living in. I keep arranging the bedroom to where I can move about comfortably and prepare to labor in. Then, the next day, DH has to move it into a big mess to put in plumbing (or for other reasons). SIGH....

Sometimes it is so frustrating. I feel like I'm going to be pregnant forever, but I'm not ready for the baby because of the cabin situation. I hate conflicting emotions. It's really made me a basket case. I feel so bad for my DH and kids. Sometimes I'm fine. Others I'm yelling and crying. My poor family has to put up with my emotional instability. LOL!

Other than that, I am feeling pretty good. Baby is doing well. I'm really surprised with this baby. He/she doesn't move as much as my other 5. I am used to getting a good kick in the ribs or bladder at least once a day. I can only think of one time each this baby has done so to me. Baby moves about, but is very gentle with me. I just get an occasional elbow and knee across the stomach. :)

Anyway, I am so looking forward to meeting our new little one. I have been having dreams for the past week of giving birth and seeing my new little angel. I've seen her (girl in the dreams but we don't know if we are having a boy or girl) face in the dreams. I've gotten to hold her. I wake up longing to snuggle with my baby in my bed. To nurse my baby and love on him/her on the outside.

I hope you are all doing well in your pregnancies. I'll keep you all posted as to when we have our little one. Any day now! :)

39 Weeks and Waiting - Rambling Thoughts - Catching Up On Old Posts

2010-02-22T13:10:00.001-07:00

This was written Jan 24, 2010... I just never got it posted.

I can't believe I am at 39 weeks. It has all gone so fast. These last few weeks have gone by really fast and really slow. LOL! If that makes any sense. My stomach is always cramping and tired, and I have had horrible heartburn, but I am not quite ready for baby yet. I am kind of hoping for Feb 6 (was my Grandmother's birthday). We have been working like crazy, and have almost gotten our cabin finished. We just have the upstairs left to put flooring and trim down on for the girls, which should be done this week. Until then, I have their dressers in my room taking up space that I will need when laboring and birthing.

I am still in shock that we have decided to home birth this baby by ourselves. I am so excited, and yet I am just recently warming up to the new baby. I haven't really felt much through this pregnancy other than the need to prepare. I just the other night had a dream that I met my new little one (a girl in my dream) and got to see her. I woke up, and all I wanted was to snuggle with my baby in the bed. I think that one good thing about all of this is that I am not at all nervous about the labor and birth. I am completely at peace about all of it, and I am more focused on helping myself relax through my more uncomfortable contractions I've been having the past few days.

The pregnancy has been really normal. No complications. No complaints (other than the normal aches and pains associated with the end of pregnancy). Baby has finally dropped. I am measuring right on track. I have gotten my weight to where it should be. Before we moved, I was eating unhealthy foods and had gained way too much weight. In the last almost 2 months, I have not gained any weight at all. This is not bad, but good, because I have lost a lot of mommy fat, and have gained, in return, baby weight. I have now gained a good, healthy 35 lbs for this pregnancy. There has been no dieting, but just eating healthy foods like fresh ground whole wheat, honey (instead of white sugar), water, raw milk, brown rice (instead of white) and cutting out all the refined flours and sugars, soda and candy.

This has really made me feel better about the labor and birth as well. I know that I am in a much better state to go through what my body is going to have to do. I am much healthier, and so is my baby. I hope to get to meet my little one soon. Until then, I have been keeping myself busy with the kids and going over birth information with DH. When the time has come I'll share the birth story and some pictures of baby. I pray all of you are doing well.

I'm done!

2009-11-18T09:42:00.002-07:00

Last week I finished up my birth kit. I am so excited it's done, but funny enough, I'm now stressed out that I have no birth kit to work on. LOL! I guess I need to unwind a little. ;) I do still have plenty of packing to do.

I am feeling great. I do have some back pain, but that is pretty normal for me. My back pain has never really gone away since my hospital epidurals years ago. It just bothers me more when I'm pregnant. I haven't been exercising as much as I would like, but I have been eating better. Last night was the first night I had soda in I don't know how long. I was feeling queazy, so I had some ginger ale. BTW - don't drink ginger ale and eat a cookie just before bed. Expecially if you have pregnancy heartburn all the time.

I am looking forward to the big move. We will be moving to the farm soon, and can start preparing for the arrival of our little one. I just can't believe I'm all set for it. I am such a procrastinator. It seems strange to have it all done months ahead of time.

I thought it might come in handy for next time, so here's the birth kit list.

Poise Pads (postpartum bleeding)

Adult Diapers (for labor if water breaks and postpartum bleeding)

Chux Pads

Peri-bottle

Cold Pack

Massage Oil

Olive Oil (perennial massage)

Molasses (up iron and help with constipation)

Witch Hazel (16 oz)

Epsom Salt

Baby Powder

2 Night Gowns

Bulb Syringe

Digital Thermometer (for baby)

Q-Tips

Stethoscope

Evening Primrose Capsules (cervix ripening starting at 36 weeks)

Mistletoe and Shepherd's Purse Tincture (hemorrhage preventive)

After Ease Tincture (ease after birth pains)

After Birth Herbal Sitz Bath

Stiz Bath (that sits on toilet)

Dr Christopher's 6 Week Formula (prep for birth)

Birth Ball

Birth Pool - kiddie pool (with portable water heater)

Fish net (to scoop poop in pool) - LOL! I had to repeat myself as to why I need
this 3 times to DH today in Sears (they didn't have one - need to go to Walmart)

Printed Keepsake Birth Certificate

Ink Pad (for foot prints on Birth Certificate)

Cranberry and Crangrape Juice (64 oz each)

Prune Juice (for after birth to help with constipation)

Digital Hanging Fish Scale (to weigh baby)

Sling (to put baby in to weigh with hanging scale)

Umbilical Cord Tape

Sterile Gloves

Exacto Knive to cut umblilical cord

Towels and Wash Cloths

Baby Clothes

Robe

Birth Information for DH (always nice to have for reference)

27 weeks 1 day

2009-11-01T08:23:00.003-07:00

Wow! I have really slacked off on keep up with this.

Things are going well with this pregnancy. I have been working hard on getting my birthing kit together, and am almost done. I got my mistletoe and shepherd's purse tinctures, Dr Christopher's 6 week formula, and my hypnobirthing book in the last few weeks. I am going to Joyce's today, and am going to go through my kit to see what I have and what I still need. I'll post it on here later.

The baby is doing great. Baby moves all the time, especially at meal times. LOL! Baby loves to eat. ;) I, however, am having a harder time with eating. I have had a loss of appetite for the last week or so, and have had to force myself to eat. I know I need to eat, but the though of food seems so unappetizing. It's obviously not effecting my weight gain, since I've gained about 25 lbs so far. I have been working out a little, but not enough. I was able to walk 3 miles on Friday, with almost no soreness the following day.

I did manage to get a picture of myself. It's not the greatest, but the best I could do on my own. :) It's today's photo at 27 weeks 1 day.

17 weeks 2 days

2009-08-24T14:21:00.003-07:00

Well, not much happening right now. :) That is always good. I am getting bigger. I am trying to focus more on food right now. I am wanting to eat healthier. It should be pretty easy soon, after we move. For now, though, it is not so easy. I always feel I am surrounded by food that is anything but healthy no matter where I go. It is hard to fight my willpower when it's everywhere. I have decided to stop drinking soda, however. I am going to start grinding my wheat again and make whole wheat bread and use whole wheat in a lot more stuff. I need to start eating more vegetables and less cereal, unless it is oatmeal. I am going to start snacking on healthier foods like cheese, fruit, vegetables, and home-made granola (one of my projects I want to do this week).

Breakfast -
1 english muffin w/ an egg and 2 slices of cheese

Snack -
1 cheese stick
1 granola bar
2 glasses (1 Qt total) 100% grape juice

Lunch -
2 Talapia fillets
1 glass water

Dinner -

1 helping pasta salad
4 small pieces beef
4 glasses water

Snack -
1 granola bar

14 weeks 6 days

2009-08-06T22:06:00.002-07:00

Just a little update. Things are still going well. It is harder to keep me eating because I just don't feel hungry. I am still nauseous at times, but it's not as bad. I've been trying to keep an eye on what I eat, and how much. Not eating too much has been easy since I just don't feel like eating, but eating enough has been a struggle.

It's funny, because I really don't feel pregnant yet. My tummy is getting a little bigger. I think I feel something sometimes, but it's too faint to really know. When I lay on my stomach, it feels like I have a hard lime in there. LOL! That's pretty much where we are right now. :)

Weight: 148.5
BP: 108/62 BPM: 87

11 w 6 d

2009-07-17T09:10:00.003-07:00

I am trying to keep track of my eating and drinking. I haven't been doing so well with keeping up on my liquid intake. I should be getting about a gallon a day, but have only been drinking about 1/2 to 3/4 most days. I also seem to skip meals, making me feeling sick and weak. I believe seeing what I'm doing will help me out.

Breakfast
2 eggs w/cheese
hash browns w/cheese
2 pieces toast (white bread) w/honey
1 glass (2c) orange juice

2 of 4 prenatal vitamins
1 kelp pill

Lunch
2 cups water
2 cups juice
1 banana

2 calcium/mag pills
1 vit E
1 vit C

Dinner
2 cup water
1 baked potato (cheese, salt, sour cream, L&P, bacon, green onion)
1 serving meat loaf
1/4 cookie

I did weight myself the other day. I haven't taken my blood pressure lately, but will get that done today and post it on here(if I can remember). :)

Weight: 145 lb
BP: 113/60
BPM: 72

Not bad, but I need to start exercising again. Today my goal is to do 30 Hindu squats and walk 2 miles. I hope to get up to 5 miles by the end of next month.

New Baby!

2009-06-19T21:23:00.004-07:00

Alright. I am 8 weeks 0 days today. I am trying to get started on another of my babies on here. LOL! I'm not good at keeping up (as you have seen), but I'll try my best. For now, I shall just put down my info. I have a 'not so good' self photo of my 4 week along self. I thought it would be good to have so I can compare.

LMP - April 25, 2009
PP weight - 138

June 18, 2009
Workout - 35 minutes on eliptical - burned 242 calories
Swim - 1 hr
Blood pressure 96/55 - pulse 69
took vitamins - 1 kelp, 1 vit C, 1 Cal/Mag, 1 Prenatal, 1 vit E

June 19
30 squats
took vitamins - 1 kelp, 1 vit C, 1 Cal/Mag, 1 Prenatal, 1 vit E

Here's me on July 9. It's not the best picture, but I thought it would be good to see where I started. :)

Moses is 1

2009-06-19T21:11:00.005-07:00

Moses turned one June 5. We had a little cake for him, but didn't get around to eating it until about 9pm. He didn't really care for it and just played with it a little. He then promptly threw up on Grandpa Bill. LOL! Poor little man.

Here are some pictures of him on his birthday. The ones after the cake pictures are him in the morning. I was crawling across the floor in front of him calling his name to get him to look at me. Every time I tried to take his picture he would put his head down and crawl with his face in the floor so I couldn't get a picture. What a little tease. LOL!

Our birth story 6-5-08

2008-06-08T06:51:00.003-07:00

Brent and I went to the grocery store around 7:30 Wednesday night (6-4). I was craving fruit, so we stocked up on a bunch of different fruit. I was feeling really good, even though I was 4 days past due. I hadn't had any contractions for several days, but did have some pressure pushing down on me as I walked. We got home around 10 and I ate a big bowl of cherries, grapes, a date and a bite of Brent's cantaloupe. We then went to bed.

At midnight I woke up and my water had broken. Luckily, I had enough foresight to be wearing an adult diaperfor just such an occasion. (My last baby my water broke in bed and I didn't have anything to protect me or the bed.) I didn't want to wake Brent yet, because my shortest labour had been 8 hours previous to this baby, and we had just gotten to sleep a couple hours earlier.

My contractions started out at 15 minutes apart. I spent a lot of the first hour laboring on the toilet because of the amniotic fluid, which was coming out during contractions in squirts. After about an hour I woke Brent, and he asked if we should call our friend (who was helping to deliver our baby at her house). I wanted to keep timing the contractions, but 30 minutes later they were stronger and 5-10 minutes apart. We called, and she said to come on over. (She had actually already been awake for 30 minutes already.)

It took us 30 minutes to get out of the house (packing a few last minute things into the car). We left our other kids with a friend and got to our friends house just after 2am. By that time my contractions were pretty strong and about 5 minutes apart. She checked me and I was at a 4 and 50% thinned out. I laboured in the house for a little while, some times leaning on the bed with my Brent holding me. Sometimes on the portable toilet (so I didn't have to worry about what was coming out of me). Then she asked if I wanted to try getting in the bath. I agreed and she got the tub ready. I was so cold, and couldn't stop shivering. I also felt so sick, I kept asking for the bowl (I always get sick during labour) but never needed it. She checked me again and I was at a 5 and still 50%. I sat in the bath for about 20 minutes and then wanted out. She asked what I wanted, and I said, "I want the baby out". I walked back to the bedroom and laboured some more in there standing by the bed. My contractions were 30 seconds apart and I didn't know how much more I could take. They were all so wonderful, though. They kept putting hot ginger packs on my back, stomach and elsewhere. :)

Our friend wanted to check me again, and I got on the bed. After laying down, she checked me, looked at me and said, "The baby is in the birth canal." I smiled the best I could and said, "That's the best news I could here." She said baby only needed to go about 3 more inches to go. That is all I needed to go on. I barely felt the pain from the contractions then. I pushed on the next contraction. Then pushed again 1 or 2 more times (I can't really remember). :) Then I could feel his head crowning. It hurt, but I knew it was almost over. I panted a few times and then finished pushing his head out at 4:20 am. She checked and there was no cord around his neck. I asked if he was OK, and she said he was. Then during the next contraction I pushed and our baby Moses was born into this world at 4:22 am. We then waited until the placenta quite pulsating and after it was birthed at 4:50 am the cord was cut at 4:55 am.

It was such a wonderful birth experience. I love Brent for being there for me as I called for him. At one point all I could do was hold my arms out and call for him as he rushed across the room to hold me. He was such a rock for me. I am so excited to welcome our new little one into the family.

40 weeks and counting

2008-06-01T21:03:00.002-07:00

We have made it to 40 weeks! Today is the 'due date' and we are patiently waiting for our little angel. I am so excited, and nervous, for the big day. I know that I've been through all of this 4 times already, but you never really know what will happen. I also can't wait to see our new little person. I am still just amazed that there is a fully developed person inside me. I look at my tummy and I think about how this baby will be in our arms any day now. It's so exciting. I'll post the photos and birth story when the time comes.

Waiting and smiling

2008-05-21T08:53:00.000-07:00

Well, I am still enjoying my pregnancy. I love it. I am enjoying every moment, big or small, uncomfortable or enjoyable. I have truely loved this entire pregnancy. I love feeling our little angel moving about and responding to me and Brent's touch. I love laying at night and feeling baby's hiccups. I laugh when I cough and it scares baby and makes him/her jump.

I am somewhat sad, because I am 38 weeks and I am almost done nurturing my baby from within. I love being the only one to hold and love him/her. I do want Brent to be able to, but right now it is my time. This is my special time where I can show my angel how much I love him/her.

I am looking forward to my labor and birth, though. Each baby has been different and I am excited to find out what this labor is going to be like. I have been exercising, eating healthy (for the most part - LOL), taking my vitamines and evening primrose. I currently have everything ready to go. I got my home birth supplies over to Eva's (my midwife). I got all my baby stuff washed and folded. We have several friends who are willing to watch our other monkeys while I am in labor. We are ready to go, and yet, I'm still not quite ready. I am still not wanting to give up my last bit of intimate time that I have with Brent before the baby comes. He has been so wonderful and supportive. I love him so much and can't imagine doing this without him. He is my love and my life. He is strong for me when I don't think I can go on.

I have been getting contractions at night, and sometimes during the day, but nothing serious. I enjoy working through them and teaching my body how to relax during a contraction. My natural reaction is to tense up and fight the pain, but that only makes it worse. I am training myself to relax and enjoy the progress that my body is making to prepare for the actual event. :)

I had better go, but I will keep everyone updated on our progress. When our little one comes, I'll get the pictures posted. I love you all.

35 weeks 4 days along

2008-05-01T13:30:00.004-07:00

Well, my excitement has gone from rib tickling to rib kicking. LOL! Baby is moving around right now. Our baby loves to kick me in the ribs and push, making me arch back and try to get him/her out of where he/she shouldn't, and doesn't need, to be. :)

I am feeling great. My left inner hip/groin area has been hurting for a few weeks. A couple pregnancies ago I tried scooting a heavy box with my left leg and pulled my muscle. Every since then, that muscle has bothered me during my latter days of pregnancy. Other than that, things are great. My back hasn't hurt at all during this baby. I haven't had much swelling of the feet or hands. When my feet do swell, it's my fault for not drinking enough that day. I've been doing good with my water lately. I've been drinking my RRL/alfalfa tea, and taking my prenatals, kelp and evening primrose (just started ep this week).

My parents are coming out next week. The girls are very excited. They are going to be staying with them for a few days. We will also be going to the Grand Canyon and the Petrified Forrest. Abby will be 4 on the 7th (they will be here on the 8th) and so they will get to be here for all that fun and excitement.

I did finally get some photos downloaded onto my computer. I got a couple photos of me as I looked the last of March. They are not very good (one has my head cut off - LOL). I'll get some of me now as soon as I can get my lazy butt to do so. LOL!

I'll make it quick

2008-03-26T17:53:00.003-07:00

Ok, so I am going to make this post quick. I feel like crap and don't really feel like saying much. Brent has been sick for the last week. On Sunday I was 'lucky' enough to get his flu, or whatever it is. My body hurts. I had a fever, but it finally broke a few nights ago. Now I'm left with what feels almost like strep throat, jaw pain, a headache, earache and a stuffy nose. It kills me to sneeze, but I can't stop them. Usually I can plug my nose and it stops, but I can't make myself not sneeze. It hurts like fire. I took 5 cough drops last night, but they stopped working. I made a Dr apt, but the earliest was in 2 weeks. Hopefully I'll be better by then. LOL! Sadie and Abby have it now. I hope we all heal up quickly.

I'm just a bundle of good news. I have just felt so bad the last few weeks. I am looking forward to being healthy again. Some good news is that my kidneys haven't started hurting again. :) Baby is still kicking and having a grand 'ol time.

We went out and looked at a couple places today. One is a possibility. It was 3 bd 2 bth (the master was big and I could have a water birth. It was on 5 acres, so we could have chickens and maybe goats too (eggs and milk). I don't know, though. We are going to talk to a friend of ours and see if we can move out on his land for a little while. We'll see. I'm trying not to stress about it.

Looks like I've lost some weight with my illness. :(
weight: 152.0

In and Out

2008-03-18T14:23:00.002-07:00

I woke up Sunday morning and I was in pain. My right kidney was hurting like something awful. It was like labor pains, but in the front and back of my kidney area. We went to church, and I sat through the pain. Around 5 pm it subsided. I thought I might be getting a UTI, so I drank a pitcher of cranberry juice and a lot of water (I usually drink lots of water anyway).

On Monday, Brent went to work about 9 am and I was feeling great. About 11 am the pain started up suddenly in my kidney and I had to lay down on the couch until it was better around 3 pm. Every exhale on the second breath was a stabbing pain in my kidney for an hour and a half. As soon as the pain started I got nauseous and there was no way I was eating until everything was better. I drank a glass of water with a vitamin C and garlic tablet every hour for 5 hours. I ate a little at 3 pm and then at 7 pm we all went to visit our friend Moroni and ate at his house (corned beef and cabbage - my last meal just before this started). Ironic, LOL!

I went to bed last night around 10 pm feeling pretty good. Well, I woke up at 1 am and my pain was back. It hurt like a knife in the right kidney. Brent woke up and was concerned and asked if I needed to go to the hospital. I said no (I didn't want to go). After about 30 minutes he said we were going, and I agreed. We were driving down the road and I saw the sign warning to 'Watch for Elk'. I started talking to Brent about how that would suck to hit an elk. We were talking about that (keeping my mind off the pain) and I looked off to the right, just off the road, and there was a big bull elk. I was like, 'Holy Cow! There was and elk'. Then I looked to the left and pointed to Brent a cow elk. We were watchful after that.

Now, this was the night of St. Patrick's Day and the cops were out. Brent was driving perfect, so what happened. We got pulled over in Show Low. Now I was getting annoyed, which only agrivated my condition. I was hurting and we got pulled over for no reason. He came to my side but my door doesn't open and our windows don't work in the front. HA! HA! Cop had to come to the driver's side. He gave Brent a warning (pregnant lady with abdominal pains going to the hospital helped). We had a light out on the back of the van! Thanks dude.

We finally made it to the hospital and I gave them my information (the computer went down, so she had to write it all down). I was admitted for the night. They put me on antibiotics and pain medication (Motrin with something else that burned in my IV). Around 6 am this morning, they took 5 viles of blood and then did an ultrasound on baby and my kidneys around 7:30.

Baby looks great. I was correct with my due date of June 1. They said, by the ultrasound, they are saying June 4, so I was close enough to be the same. We did try to find out the sex but baby was sitting on one foot (covering up the back) and one hand was covering up the front. LOL! We got to see baby's face. It was so clear and such a cute little person. I can't wait to hold my little one and kiss that little face. Baby is almost 3 lbs. Getting big.

As for me... they said they don't know. I have a UTI, but my right kidney is inflamed and there was some blood in my urine. They said it is either kidney stones or a kidney infection. They gave me antibiotics and released me. They said I'll probably have it start up again and I'll need to come back. I hope it's over. I sure don't want to go through this again. At least I know our baby is doing great. That's the big reason I went to the ER. If I wasn't pregnant, I probably wouldn't have gone until it got bad. (Sounds awful, but true. I hate hospitals.)

29 Weeks Tomorrow!

2008-03-15T17:38:00.004-07:00

Wow! It's going by so fast. Everything is going so well. Baby is moving around a lot. I am feeling great. Things are better than any other pregnancy. I am really looking forward to the labor and birth. I have been exercising a little, but not as much as I need to. I did 30 minutes yesterday on a pregnancy video and some stretching and squats today. It has started the windy season out here in AZ (30-40 mph winds) so it is hard to get out and walk. I can't take the kids since it is so very windy. I'll do what I can.

Brent and I get to go out tomorrow and look at some places for rent. I don't care about the size. I just want somewhere, anywhere, that I can have my baby. I want a month, or so, to get things ready for our little one. I am so excited about everything. It was hard for me at first, being out here and Brent gone with work. Now it is getting to be a routine and I am starting to enjoy things.

The people we go to church with are just wonderful. I went to our monthly Relief Society meeting today and met a few more women that I hadn't been introduced to yet. We had a great time. Since Monday is the 166Th anniversary of the Relief Society, we learned about the history and what it is for. We talked a lot about the conference coming up in 3 weeks and what we will be doing. We ate scones with tea and then had cake. How fun. It's not often I get to go out and eat sweets while enjoying the company I'm with. :)

That's about all that's been going on. Brent is working. He should be done on Tuesday with the siding on the house he's at. I hope that will give us a little extra money. We'll need $1000 to move in to a place, if we find one. We have that, but it won't leave us with much. I'm not worried. Heavenly Father has provided for us so far, and I know that if we continue to follow his plan, he will continue to provide for our needs.

Weight: 154 (I got sick three weeks ago with the stomach bug and lost 5 lbs. I've gained 4 back.)

Herb and Drug Safety Chart

2008-02-15T10:50:00.002-07:00

I found this on one of my Yahoo Groups and thought it would be good to keep on hand.

Herb and drug safety chart
Herbal remedies are considered natural alternatives to certain drugs, but they can also be dangerous when taken during pregnancy. While a cup of chamomile tea is perfectly safe for a mum-to-be, many herbs contain chemicals that can cross the placenta to your baby, and some can cause premature contractions. As with all medications, you should avoid taking any herb during the first trimester and use only minimal amounts for short periods of time thereafter, and then only when needed. If you wish to use herbs to treat a problem (rather than to ease symptoms of minor conditions such as heartburn), see a qualified herbalist. And always talk to your obstetrician or midwife before taking any herb or medicine during pregnancy. To make life easier for you, we have reprinted the following charts from Herbs for a Healthy Pregnancy: From Conception to Childbirth by Penelope Ody. Ody is the author of the best-selling The Complete Medicinal Herbal, and a member of the National Institute of Medical Herbalists. Please note: Before taking any over-the-counter herbal remedy, remember to check its contents against the following list of plants to avoid in pregnancy, and carefully note all of the individual cautions given for the herbs in the following sections. You could print out a copy for future reference. Herbs to completely avoid during pregnancy:
Herb
Reason to avoid
Aloe Vera
The leaves are strongly purgative and should not be taken internally.
Arbor vitae (Thuja occidentalis)
A uterine and menstrual stimulant that could damage the fetus.
Autumn crocus (Colichicum autumnale)
Can affect cell division and lead to birth defects.
Barberry (Berberis vulgaris)
Contains high levels of berberine, known to stimulate uterine contractions.
Basil oil
A uterine stimulant; use only during labour.
Beth root (Trillium erectum)
A uterine stimulant; use only during labour.
Black cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosus)
May lead to premature contractions; avoid unless under professional guidance. Safe to use during childbirth.
Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)
A uterine stimulant that in quite small doses also causes vomiting.
Blue cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides)
A uterine stimulant to avoid unless under professional guidance. Safe to use during childbirth.
Broom (Cytisus scoparius)
Causes uterine contractions so should be avoided during pregnancy; in parts of Europe it is given after the birth to prevent blood loss.
Bugleweed (Lycopus virginicus)
Interferes with hormone production in the pituitary gland, so best avoided.
Clove oil
A uterine stimulant used only during labour.
Comfrey (Symphytum officinale)
Contains toxic chemicals that will cross the placenta; do not take internally.
Cotton root (Gossypium herbaceum)
Uterine stimulant traditionally given to encourage contractions during a difficult labour, but rarely used medicinally today.
Devil's claw (Harpagophytum procumbens)
Uterine stimulant, oxytocic.
Dong quai (Angelica polymorpha var. sinensis)
Uterine and menstrual stimulant, best avoided during pregnancy; ideal after childbirth.
False unicorn root (Chamaelirium luteum)
A hormonal stimulant to avoid unless under professional guidance.
Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium)
Uterine stimulant; may cause premature contractions.
Golden seal (Hydrastis canadensis)
Uterine stimulant; may lead to premature contractions but safe during childbirth.
Greater celandine (Chelidonium majus)
Uterine stimulant; may cause premature contractions.
Juniper and juniper oil (Juniperus communis)
A uterine stimulant; use only during labour.
Lady's mantle (Alchemilla xanthoclora)
A uterine stimulant; use only in labour.
Liferoot (Senecio aureus)
A uterine stimulant containing toxic chemicals that will cross the placenta.
Mistletoe (Viscum album)
A uterine stimulant containing toxic chemicals that may cross the placenta.
Mugwort (Artemesia vulgaris)
A uterine stimulant that may also cause birth defects; avoid unless under professional guidance. Also avoid when breastfeeding.
American pennyroyal (Hedeoma pulegioides)
Reputed uterine stimulant to be avoided during pregnancy.
European pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium)
A uterine stimulant that may also cause birth defects; avoid unless under professional guidance. Also avoid when breastfeeding.
Peruvian bark (Cinchona officinalis)
Toxic; excess may cause blindness and coma. Used to treat malaria and given during pregnancy only to malaria sufferers under professional guidance.
Pokeroot (Phytolacca decandra)
May cause birth defects.
Pseudoginseng (Panax notoginseng)
May cause birth defects.
Pulsatilla (Anemone pulsatilla)
Menstrual stimulant best avoided during pregnancy; limited use during lactation.
Rue (Ruta graveolens)
Uterine and menstrual stimulant; may cause premature contractions.
Sassafras (Sassafras albidum)
A uterine stimulant that may also cause birth defects.
Shepherd's purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris)
A uterine stimulant; use only during labour.
Southernwood (Artemisia abrotanum)
A uterine stimulant that may also cause birth defects; avoid unless under professional guidance. Also avoid when breastfeeding.
Squill (Urginea maritima)
A uterine stimulant that may also cause birth defects.
Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare)
A uterine stimulant that may also cause birth defects.
Wild yam (Diascorea villosa)
A uterine stimulant to avoid unless under professional guidance; safe during labour.
Wormwood (Artemisia absinthum)
A uterine stimulant that may also cause birth defects; avoid unless under professional guidance. Also avoid when breastfeeding.Herbs to use only in moderation during pregnancy:
Herb
Reason for caution
Alder buckthorn (Rhamnus frangula)
Strongly purgative, so should not be taken in high doses or for long periods.
Angelica (Angelica archangelica)
A uterine stimulant in high doses, but quite safe as a culinary herb.
Anise and aniseed oil (Pimpinella anisum)
A uterine stimulant in high doses, but quite safe as a culinary herb; avoid using the oil entirely.
Bitter orange (Citrus aurantiam)
A uterine stimulant in high doses, but quite safe as a culinary herb or in moderate use.
Caraway (Carum carvi)
A uterine stimulant in high doses, but quite safe as a culinary herb.
Cascara sagrada (Rhamnus purshiana)
Strongly purgative, so should not be taken in high doses or for long periods.
Celery seed and oil (Apium graveolens)
A uterine stimulant in high doses, but quite safe as a culinary herb.
Chamomile oil
The oil is a potent uterine stimulant to be avoided, but the dried or fresh herb is safe in moderation.
Chili (Capsicum spp)
Avoid high doses as they may lead to heartburn; can flavour breast milk when breast-feeding. Moderate culinary use is fine.
Cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum)
A uterine stimulant in high doses, but quite safe as a culinary herb; avoid the essential oil completely.
Cowslip (Primula veris)
Strongly purgative and a uterine stimulant in high doses.
Elder bark
Strongly purgative, so should not be taken in high doses or for long periods.
Fennel and fennel oil
A uterine stimulant in high doses, but quite safe as a culinary herb; avoid using the oil entirely.
Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum)
A uterine stimulant in high doses, but quite safe as a culinary herb or during labour.
Garlic (Allium sativa)
Avoid high doses as they may lead to heartburn; can flavor breast milk when breastfeeding. Moderate culinary use is fine.
Gotu kola (Centella asiatica)
Possible uterine stimulant; use in moderation for occasional teas only.
Jasmine oil
A uterine stimulant best reserved for childbirth to ease labour.
Korean ginseng (Panax ginseng)
Clinical reports suggest that high doses in pregnancy can lead to androgynous babies (caused by overstimulation of male sex hormones); use for short periods only.
Lavender (Lavendula argustifolia)
A uterine stimulant in high doses, but quite safe as a culinary herb or for moderate use.
Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra)
High doses can exacerbate high blood pressure; safe in moderation.
Lovage (Levisticum officinale)
A uterine stimulant traditionally used in slow and difficult labour; safe as a culinary herb.
Marjoram and marjoram oil (Origanum vulgare)
A uterine stimulant in high doses, but quite safe as a culinary herb; avoid using the oil entirely.
Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca)
A uterine stimulant in high doses; best limited to the final weeks and during labour.
Myrrh (Commiphora molmol)
A uterine stimulant that may lead to premature contractions; avoid high doses.
Nutmeg and Nutmeg Oil
Inhibits prostaglandin production and contains hallucinogens that may affect the fetus; once erroneously regarded as an abortifacient. Safe in normal culinary use.
Oregano (Origanum X marjoricum; O. onites)
A uterine stimulant in high doses, but quite safe as a culinary herb; avoid using the oil entirely.
Parsley (Petroselinum crispum)
Uterine stimulant that may also irritate the fetus in high doses; safe in normal culinary use.
Passion flower (Passiflora incarnata)
A uterine stimulant in high doses; safe for moderate use.
Peppermint oil
A uterine stimulant; avoid the oil entirely, although low doses of the dried herb can be used.
Raspberry leaf (Rubus idaeus)
A uterine stimulant in high doses; best limited to the final six to eight weeks and during labour.
Rhubarb root (Rheum palmatum)
Strongly purgative, so should not be taken in high doses or for long periods.
Rosemary and rosemary oil
A uterine stimulant in high doses; safe in moderation and normal culinary use. Avoid using the oil entirely.
Saffron (Crocus sativa)
A uterine stimulant in high doses; safe in normal culinary use.
Sage and sage oil
A uterine and hormonal stimulant in high doses, but quite safe as a culinary herb; avoid using the oil entirely.
Senna (Senna alexandrina)
Strongly purgative, so should not be taken in high doses or for long periods.
Tea, black (Camellia sinensis)
Limit to two cups a day, as excess can lead to palpitations and increased heart rate.
Thyme oil (Thymus vulgaris)
Some reports claim that it acts as a uterine stimulant, though the research is disputed; the herb is quite safe in cooking.
Vervain (Verbene officinalis)
A uterine stimulant in high doses; best limited to the final weeks and during labour.
White horehound (Marrubium vulgare)
Reputed uterine stimulant; safe in moderation in cough drops.
Wood betony (Stachys officinalis)
A uterine stimulant in high doses; best limited to the final weeks and during labour.
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
A uterine stimulant in high doses; best limited to the final weeks and during labour.
http://www.babycentre.co.uk/pregnancy/isitsafeto/herb&drugchart/

Friday - week 23

2008-02-08T13:52:00.001-07:00

I am feeling good today. Baby has been kicking and moving around like crazy the past few days. I have been keeping up on my RRL and alfalfa tea, but not so much on my exercise. I'll do my squats and arm exercises today. I have been eating things I shouldn't be (ice cream, candy, etc..) but I have decided to stop and get back on track. I've been a little stressed and once the funeral is over I'll get our packing finished so we can leave on Friday.

Weight: 150.5 (as of Sunday Feb 3)

Our week so far

2008-02-07T20:53:00.000-07:00

This week has been a rollercoaster of emotions. On Sunday Sadie gave a talk in her Primary Class and Hannah read the Scripture 2 Nephi 4:15. The did a great job and Sadie even wrote out her talk all by herself. When we met at Jim and Joyce's (Brent's Grandparent's house) after church, Abby gave the blessing and we ate our dinner (vegetable soup). Then then girls gave their talk and scripture to Jim. He was so happy to hear how well they did.

We went over again to their house on Monday and spent some time with them. On Tuesday, we got out around 11am and voted in the primaries. We got home and Brent called our friend and was talking to him. While he was talking to Ian, Brent's mom beeped in. Brent hung up with Ian and answered his mom's call. She was frantic on the other end. She wanted Brent to come over without us. Something happened to his Grandpa. By the time Brent got there the paramedics and police were at the house. Joyce and Sandy had gone out and when they got home Jim was on the floor in the hallway. He was still warm, but he was already gone.

I has been real hard for everyone. We love him very much and he will be missed. He is in a much better place and is young and able to do things he couldn't do for a long time. Pretty much all of the family is getting in on Saturday and the funeral is on Monday. My tummy has been crampy and I haven't been able to sleep all that well, but I am doing alright. Brent, Joyce and Sandy were all there during when the paramedics were working on Jim doing CPR and the shock paddles and have been a little shaken every since. They all haven't slept very well and I pray they feel better soon. I'll post more later.

22 weeks along

2008-02-02T08:04:00.000-07:00

I am starting up this journal to keep track of my thoughts and the progress of my pregnancy.

I am 22 weeks and 6 days today. I have been feeling great, albeit a bit moody. Our baby is moving around throughout the day, but I notice baby the most at bed time. Some nights I'll sleep with my hands on my tummy and dream about the little one. Things are going so fast and I know I am only a little past half way, but I also feel that I don't have a lot of time to study for what I need to know.

We are preparing for our homebirth. We are in the process of moving to another state and I don't have a midwife as of yet. The town we are moving to is four hours from a midwife that will do homebirths. The hospital is only an option if there is an emergency, so there is no point in going to that midwife because I don't do the prenatal exams or tests. I can weigh myself and test my blood pressure myself. If we were to get a midwife, I would really want her in a different room while I was having our baby so we could go unassisted, but have her there for just incase. I don't really see that happening. I don't really see it possible for us to get a midwife anyway. We are moving and inbetween jobs. I do know that we probably wouldn't be able to pay for a midwife, even with payment plans, and I don't really want one. They interfere too much.

With all of this in my mind, I have been preparing for an unassisted birth from the begining. I had a homebirth with Brigham in December of 2006 and I still have the list of items I need on hand for the labor and birth. I have been studying about what to do incase of postpartum hemorage and how to treat GBS. I have informed Brent of the tinctures we need to buy and (big and) have been mentally preparing myself for just incase I need to put a small piece (fingernail size) of placenta under my tongue for bleeding. I really don't like the sound of that, but if it's necessary, I'll do it. As for GBS, I'll do the treatment because it fluctuates throughout the pregnancy, so I may have it now and not at birth, or not now and have it at birth. It's an easy treatment of eating lots of garlic or inserting garlic in the vagina. I'll eat it first. I love garlic.

I am trying to keep track of my progress, so I'm going to put some information down so I can keep a bit of a record.

Age - 28
Height - 5' 4"
Starting Weight - 135
Current Weight - 148 (as of Jan 27)
LMP - August 26, 2007
Estimated due date - June 1, 2008
Births before this - 4 living
Type of births - 3 hospital with epidural ; 1 natural homebirth with midwife
Previous problems - GBS with 3rd pregnancy
Problems during this pregnancy as of now - none