Baby Tali, my second girl, was born this morning at 8 AM after about three hours of labor. 
: I woke up at 4:14 with what felt like menstrual craps and decided to take a warm bath with some tea tree oil. I love the smell of tea tree oil, especially while pregnant so it was like heaven. The cramps turned into small, regular waves of tightness.
I got out within 30 minutes, woke up my husband and he began timing. 4-5 min apart. The rest was a blur. The tightness continued. I'd have big ones where I'd need to concentrate on relaxing and small ones that almost like massages. They felt like good work. The "coming down" part of the waves felt excellent.
I knew I was in transition when I threw up in my daughter's beach bucket and saw that I was shaking a bit. I couldn't believe it. It had only been an hour!
The hardest part was the mental aspect. Keeping myself relaxed, making sure I was aware and didn't tense my body. My friend Danielle who teaches Bradley had given me some excellent coaching during my pregnancy so I was able to spot tension and concentrate on releasing it. I recommend Bradley courses!
My 3 year-old woke up at around 6 AM and my husband settled her in with the DVD of Cars (her favorite). She didn't even know baby was coming. I didn't want to alarm her. My husband went back and forth between her and me. After transition I had the strong urge to be alone and told him this. He just walked by our bedroom door every now and then, peeking in (he's so cute), making sure I was OK. I just kept waving him away and giving him a smile when I could so that he'd know I was OK.
I wasn't surprised by this urge to be by myself as I'd had dreams that I'd give birth with no one else around since month 5. I'd still been blessed to get in contact with a midwife through a friend/angel of mine here. I'd decided that if I felt like I needed her, I'd call her but that in general, I was supposed to be alone during this birth. In the last dream, I dreamed of the exact position I'd be pushing in and that God was sitting at the corner of my bed, being my guide. No one else was around.
I was on my side when I realized that the pushing stage was coming. I knew that having my baby on my side wasn't going to happen because generally ones legs can't be closed when delivering a child. Science!
I didn't want to change to that position because it hurt to move. For a moment, I just wanted to jump on the bus that I could hear in front of my house and drive away to a magical place where they don't have labor or babies. As I thought this I laughed to myself. I knew this was the "fight or flight" feeling and that baby was coming very soon.
I knew I needed to move into the position I'd seen in my dream. I didn't want to. My lower back was aching (I didn't know at the time, but I was having back labor). Finally I just felt like someone said, "If you move the baby will come." That sounded like an excellent deal so I used every ounce of willpower to sit on my bed with my back against the wall. I felt like I'd moved a mountain. The urge to push came strong and fast but with breaks in between. I told myself to "open, relax." I submitted 100%.
I could feel her head bulging with my hand and before I knew it, her head was out. Her body quickly followed. She was face up and purpleish with the cord draped across her shoulders like a scarf. She let out a loud cry as if to let me know that it had been work for her too
Then she stopped crying, pinked up, and I just held her. I called my husband and daughter who were amazed. They'd heard her cry out but thought it came from outside! My 3 year-old could not believe it and wanted to share her toys immediately.
Her placenta came out 15 minutes after she did. My husband said "here it comes!" and I was so relieved as it was hard to get comfortable. It was whole, red, and I appreciated what it had done for my baby. Currently, it's hanging out in my fridge until I decide what to do with it. After the cord stopped pulsing and lay limp, we cut it. Maya had been saying, 'We need to cut her string." Ha!
My Tali is so sweet. She's already latched on and is a champion nurser. She's so quiet and relaxed. I feel fantastic. I feel as if my back got a little jacked from the back labor so I'll be getting an adjustment asap. I don't think I have any tears like I did with baby #1 (vaginal hospital pitocin birth). My midwife is coming tomorrow to check me out.
I'm so thankful to God and feel so blessed.
What this birth has taught me is that there is no greater authority on Earth about a birth than the woman carrying her child. We need to listen to ourselves. No book, no doctor, no midwife knows what we need as well as we do. It's time to bring back the trust in a mother's instincts. I'm not a homebirth advocate, birth-alone-at-homebirth advocate or hospital birth advocate, I'm now a die-hard listening advocate. Give birth wherever you feel like you need to, do anything you need to do but I'd urge you to question why you're doing it. We have a lot of noise in our lives, ways to stay "busy"and a binge buffet of information that makes being aware of messages difficult but it is possible.
We all have access to the same information, both earthly and otherwise.
Every mother has woken up in the middle of the night knowing something is wrong only to touch the head of a feverish child. We just know. Experts are great for certain things but they're no replacement for a willingness to be still and just listen. Fear is a devil that zaps not only creativity but life. If you're wondering the different between fear and caution just pay attention to their very different voices: caution will ask you to become present to the moment, fear will demand that you leave the present moment and entertain a variety of scenarios, some from the past, most of which have never existed. Banish it.
Thanks for reading! I'm settling in with my little fam, drinking some Shepherd's purse and red raspberry leaf tea and am in awe of this whole day!
: I woke up at 4:14 with what felt like menstrual craps and decided to take a warm bath with some tea tree oil. I love the smell of tea tree oil, especially while pregnant so it was like heaven. The cramps turned into small, regular waves of tightness.I got out within 30 minutes, woke up my husband and he began timing. 4-5 min apart. The rest was a blur. The tightness continued. I'd have big ones where I'd need to concentrate on relaxing and small ones that almost like massages. They felt like good work. The "coming down" part of the waves felt excellent.
I knew I was in transition when I threw up in my daughter's beach bucket and saw that I was shaking a bit. I couldn't believe it. It had only been an hour!
The hardest part was the mental aspect. Keeping myself relaxed, making sure I was aware and didn't tense my body. My friend Danielle who teaches Bradley had given me some excellent coaching during my pregnancy so I was able to spot tension and concentrate on releasing it. I recommend Bradley courses!
My 3 year-old woke up at around 6 AM and my husband settled her in with the DVD of Cars (her favorite). She didn't even know baby was coming. I didn't want to alarm her. My husband went back and forth between her and me. After transition I had the strong urge to be alone and told him this. He just walked by our bedroom door every now and then, peeking in (he's so cute), making sure I was OK. I just kept waving him away and giving him a smile when I could so that he'd know I was OK.
I wasn't surprised by this urge to be by myself as I'd had dreams that I'd give birth with no one else around since month 5. I'd still been blessed to get in contact with a midwife through a friend/angel of mine here. I'd decided that if I felt like I needed her, I'd call her but that in general, I was supposed to be alone during this birth. In the last dream, I dreamed of the exact position I'd be pushing in and that God was sitting at the corner of my bed, being my guide. No one else was around.
I was on my side when I realized that the pushing stage was coming. I knew that having my baby on my side wasn't going to happen because generally ones legs can't be closed when delivering a child. Science!
I didn't want to change to that position because it hurt to move. For a moment, I just wanted to jump on the bus that I could hear in front of my house and drive away to a magical place where they don't have labor or babies. As I thought this I laughed to myself. I knew this was the "fight or flight" feeling and that baby was coming very soon.
I knew I needed to move into the position I'd seen in my dream. I didn't want to. My lower back was aching (I didn't know at the time, but I was having back labor). Finally I just felt like someone said, "If you move the baby will come." That sounded like an excellent deal so I used every ounce of willpower to sit on my bed with my back against the wall. I felt like I'd moved a mountain. The urge to push came strong and fast but with breaks in between. I told myself to "open, relax." I submitted 100%.
I could feel her head bulging with my hand and before I knew it, her head was out. Her body quickly followed. She was face up and purpleish with the cord draped across her shoulders like a scarf. She let out a loud cry as if to let me know that it had been work for her too
Then she stopped crying, pinked up, and I just held her. I called my husband and daughter who were amazed. They'd heard her cry out but thought it came from outside! My 3 year-old could not believe it and wanted to share her toys immediately.
Her placenta came out 15 minutes after she did. My husband said "here it comes!" and I was so relieved as it was hard to get comfortable. It was whole, red, and I appreciated what it had done for my baby. Currently, it's hanging out in my fridge until I decide what to do with it. After the cord stopped pulsing and lay limp, we cut it. Maya had been saying, 'We need to cut her string." Ha!
My Tali is so sweet. She's already latched on and is a champion nurser. She's so quiet and relaxed. I feel fantastic. I feel as if my back got a little jacked from the back labor so I'll be getting an adjustment asap. I don't think I have any tears like I did with baby #1 (vaginal hospital pitocin birth). My midwife is coming tomorrow to check me out.
I'm so thankful to God and feel so blessed.
What this birth has taught me is that there is no greater authority on Earth about a birth than the woman carrying her child. We need to listen to ourselves. No book, no doctor, no midwife knows what we need as well as we do. It's time to bring back the trust in a mother's instincts. I'm not a homebirth advocate, birth-alone-at-homebirth advocate or hospital birth advocate, I'm now a die-hard listening advocate. Give birth wherever you feel like you need to, do anything you need to do but I'd urge you to question why you're doing it. We have a lot of noise in our lives, ways to stay "busy"and a binge buffet of information that makes being aware of messages difficult but it is possible.
We all have access to the same information, both earthly and otherwise.
Every mother has woken up in the middle of the night knowing something is wrong only to touch the head of a feverish child. We just know. Experts are great for certain things but they're no replacement for a willingness to be still and just listen. Fear is a devil that zaps not only creativity but life. If you're wondering the different between fear and caution just pay attention to their very different voices: caution will ask you to become present to the moment, fear will demand that you leave the present moment and entertain a variety of scenarios, some from the past, most of which have never existed. Banish it.
Thanks for reading! I'm settling in with my little fam, drinking some Shepherd's purse and red raspberry leaf tea and am in awe of this whole day!
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