Faith

26 October 2009

My Home Birth

I woke up Sunday morning around 6:30 and noticed that I was starting to spot, didn't think a whole lot of it at first, but when I wiped there was more mucous plug and more bloody show.  I was having contractions about every 15-20 min and they were definitely labor contractions.  I made Michael get up and make me eggs :)  So around 8am I went ahead and texted my midwife about what was going on and let her know I'd call if something was up.  She called around 10am to see how things were going and I told her I was still having bloody show and contractions and they were now 6-7 min apart but that I was definitely not in active labor yet.  She said to call her at 12 to update her if nothing happened sooner.  I started getting discouraged then because my contractions, while they were real and doing things they slipped back to about every 20-25 min between 10 and 12.  At 12, since it was cold outside and that's the only place our reception works downstairs Michael went out to call her.  I was still laboring and was using the side of the bed to lean on during contractions while kneeling on the floor.  While Michael was on the phone with her my contractions kicked up gear and I entered active labor.  I could no longer move or talk through the contractions. I had been about to tell Michael to tell her to go ahead and wait another two hours or so, but she heard me and said she was on her way.  Jo Anne showed up about 10 min later and started getting set up, and Christine (my midwife) showed up about 15 min later, she had gotten stuck in traffic for a bit.  I got in the tub not long after they got it all set up, It was probably about 1pm.  I was amazed at how much the pain lessened just by being in the warm water.  I labored in the water leaning up against the edge of the tub while Christine and Michael took turns putting water on my lower back with a cup.  I don't remember having a real transition, my contractions were very irregular during the entire thing.  There were times that the contractions were right on top of each other, and then there were times I'd have a min or two to catch my breath before the next contraction would come on.  I remembered thinking I must have hours to go because it just wasn't painful enough, but still noting that I could feel her moving down into the birth canal.  I felt like I was in way too much control to be that close, but sure enough it was really too long after getting in the tub that I felt the need to push.  I just went with it.  It was very hard, and very painful and I didn't want to do it either, but at the same time I'm so amazed at it!  Michael got in the tub with me, and I leaned on his legs while I pushed leaning back slightly at times and sometimes on all fours.  Christine coached me to slow down sometimes and did perineal massage on me and kept me from tearing.  Willow had a hand up by her chin so it was VERY hard to push but I managed to get her out in about 5 or 6 real good pushes and a couple of small cough pushes.  Christine caught her and handed her to Michael (I stood up for the last push) and then I got to sit down and stare and my little girl!  I thought she looked SO tiny and beautiful!  Tiny she was not but she looked it to me!  I got out of the tub about 5 or so min after, and delivered the placenta as I was getting out of the tub, and then I got to rest for a little bit on the bed and try and nurse.  The rest of it was kind of a blur, I know I got to shower after a bit and then I spent a great deal of time just staring at Willow while resting on the bed.

So Willow Rose entered the world after 2 1/2 hours of active labor on October 25, 2009 at 2:36pm.  9lbs 5oz and 22 3/8 inches long!


The difference I had with this birth and the hospital births is amazing!  I feel amazing!  We're both doing really great and she's nursing like a pro already!

24 October 2009

Due Date!

I'm 40 weeks today.  I made it to my due date :)  This is the first time I've ever made it to this point.  My parents are here for only a couple more days so here's hoping maybe she'll come soon!  I'm so uncomfortable now too, and she is SOO low that it feels like she's going to fall out!  


Just hoping labor will come soon so I can get it over with :)

16 October 2009

So I know it's been a little bit but I've been dealing with all that the end of pregnancy entails.  I have a child's head in between my pelvis and and bearing down and it hurts.  I waddle, my right hip kills me, along with my right leg.  I'm having contractions on and off, some hurt, some don't.  It's very frustrating.  I would really like to have a baby right now.  I'll be 39 weeks tomorrow.  If something doesn't happen in the next week then I'm going  to try some natural methods of induction.

Ugh, I just want to have a baby, so I can sleep more comfortably and hopefully be in a little less pain!

12 October 2009

12 days till my due date

I'm feeling pretty crappy.  I woke up feeling pretty good, Michael let me sleep until 10:30 and I woke up because of a contraction.  I have only had 2 since then.  But now I feel kinda, I don't know, icky.

Hopefully after I eat some lunch I'll be feeling a little better, in fact a pb&j sandwich sounds pretty good!

07 October 2009

Customer Service is a Dying Art

Can someone please enlighten me as to why it takes six different people, 3 hours and constant re-explaining of our problems for AT&T to fix anything?

The first thing I learned about customer service is that if you have to bring them to someone else to solve a problem you do NOT make them repeat their problem.  You do it for them so they don't have to repeat themselves ten million times.

Okay, so here's the deal:  We have an air card, which didn't work in TN/KY and doesn't work here in Augusta, nor do we need it because we have the internet through AT&T and the phone line.  We put it on military hold, or at least we though, well they screwed that up, we still got charged for it.  Then Michael calls to fix it, they say it's fixed and going on military hold.  Great.  Michael's PHONE stopped working!  I'm due in less than 2 weeks and they shut his phone off.....how nice!

So he calls back today, at 5, it's now 8 and he's STILL on the phone with them and is now talking to a sixth person and we still don't have everything resolved.  Seriously, this is customer service?  He's telling me it's fine, and I'm telling him it's crap and bad customer service.  He's now outside so he doesn't have to listen to me anymore.  Maybe it's all the contractions I've had today that's making me cranky, but I seriously think it's AT&T!

05 October 2009

Schooling

I have no clue how next year, when I have to declare James for homeschooling how I'm going to do that when I can't seem to stretch their school time out more than an hour at this point. I'm supposed to keep attendance for them and they are supposed to do 4 hours of school a day but it's just not feasible with them. (I'm talking real sit down doing work school). Guess I'll just count in all the other times we go over things or the kids ask questions about things (they do that a lot). It just seems ridiculous! My 3, almost 4 year old daughter just today read the word "nut". All on her own too. I am so impressed by them, and yet the longest we've had school this year in the past 8 weeks was 65 min, most of the time it's around 35-40 minutes long. They are quick learners. Oh well, I'll figure it out I'm sure. So my parents are planning on being here around the 14/15th. I'm excited. I told Mom that she might want to wait until closer to the 39th week mark because that's around when i think I'm going to have her, and that I'd just keep her up to date on what's going on. I have no clue though, this pregnancy is turning out to be way different than my other ones. Last Thursday I started having about a contraction an hour, so I figured yay, something familiar, but it was just that day. The past couple of days I've had contractions sporadically. It's hard for me because I like knowing what's going on and I don't. I feel like I should know more, it's not like I'm a first time Mom this is my 4th child! Oh and this was funny to me, given my support of breastfeeding and all the things I've said that could offend someone when it comes to the whole breastfeeding/formula feeding debate, I managed to offend someone by saying that I couldn't understand how someone could give their child formula because it smells. Really? I've said MUCH worse things about formula (not in that particular post on cafemom, but in general) and someone gets offended because I said it smells? Well it does! Then they came back with the argument that they've never seen a difference in the health of a ff baby and a bf baby. Yea, well I see it all the time. My husband was breastfed and I was formula fed. I'm sick A LOT (which may or may not be from being formula fed) but if you look at my kids, the healthiest one of us is Steven. He's had like 2 fevers and the sniffles in his whole life. He breastfed until 18 months and he's also the only one of us NOT vaccinated and yet he's the healthiest..... I just don't understand how someone can get offended by me saying formula smells.....oh well, can't please everyone.

04 October 2009

I turned 37 weeks yesterday.  I'm trying very hard to get things ready for our new arrival who could come any time now, and yet everything that needs to be done now requires me to have help.


My help at the moment is asleep on the couch because he slept for almost 4 hours yesterday at the end of the day and then stayed awake into extremely late last night so now he probably won't want to wake up for another hour or so and so my whole morning is shot.  


The kids woke me up this morning being extremely loud.  When I asked them to please go in the other room and play quietly so I could get a little more sleep since I woke up exhausted and all I was bombarded with "daddy said I could do this, daddy said I could do that".  Ugh, like I care what Daddy in his sleep deprived state, I need sleep!  How am I going to deliver a baby if I don't get enough rest or have anything done???


Yesterday all I wanted to do was have Michael check the damn outlet to see if we needed to call maintenance or the lady to fix the problem with our dryer, and then I wanted to go grocery shopping so I could walk around some and to get the rest of the things we need for the birth so i can feel settled.  Then today I wanted to get laundry done with our working dryer (cause it would have been fixed) but I can't do anything today because Michael didn't help me accomplish what I wanted to be done yesterday.  I have no clue how to check outlets, so I can't do that on my own and even if I did know how I couldn't move the dryer out of the way, and I can no longer drive because my stomach sticks out way too much in the front so I can't even go shopping by myself.


I'm just so frustrated now!

01 October 2009

I am almost 37 weeks and I'm tired of being pregnant!  I know I know a few more weeks and it'll be all be over but ugh.  I'm so uncomfortable.  I know everyone gets this way at the end, well most people anyways.  


I'm ready though to meet my newest child, not just for the end of pregnancy.  Plus with her being posterior her limbs are all stretching out the front of me and it hurts!!!  Not even Jade caused me this much pain and she was posterior also.  I don't know if it's cause she is probably smaller than Willow will be or what but I guess it doesn't matter because I can't really change anything.


I was all set to write more, but I think it'll have to wait, the kids are begging for attention and Steven definitely needs a nap now.  Plus I've been having some fun contractions all day so I think I may just go lay down shortly.