this is ashley's doula.
your fellow mama welcomed her precious daughter, Iris at 11:57pm late wed night! it was an amazing labor and birth. ash was so strong and brave the whole time. i will let her give you the glorious details soon. she's snuggled up in her bed nursing her newborn right now.
a million blessings to this mama bear and her family.
Updated:
Iris Paxton
October 15, 2008
11:57pm
7lb 4oz
19 in long
14 in head
In early labor with dd
Flowers in the tub
Snuggled with mama
Hanging out with dad
Iris Paxton
Hi mamas~first of all, thanks for thinking of with me yesterday...I had all your love and thoughts with me as I worked hard to bring Iris into the world.
As I posted in the chat thread for the 15th, my water broke around 5am. That was so unusual for me- I've never experienced that in any of my other labors. Ctx started soon after but were mild and gentle. Dh and I called our birth team just to give them a heads up that today was the day. My friend from RN school, Dusty, was on her way from 2 hours out. Our mw said to give her a call when we needed her and things picked up. We decided to let our 2 older boys stay home from school- and they were thrilled. Dh, ds1, dd, and I went for a crisp autumn walk through the neighborhood and ctx started picking up. When we got back home around 8 we called our doula and let her know that we would need her soon. Dusty got here and we chatted and laughed through my early labor. Our amazing doula (gunter) arrived soon after and we continued to laugh and chat, making it really start to feel like a party.
Over the next couple of hours I sat on the birth ball, rested in my bed, and hung out with dh and my dear friends as ctx began picking up. Our doula went home for a bit to get her pump and nurse her babe and we decided we’d call our mw when she got back. Our mw came an hour or so later and got things all set up. Dusty started my IV and we all just did more hanging out while I labored away. After awhile our mw and her assistant took a run out to Whole Foods to give me a bit of space. Since ctx had begun to space out a little, our doula, dh and I decided we’d go out on a walk through the neighborhood and down our nature trail. We were gone maybe a little over and hour but I had lots of good, strong ctx. When we got back it was around 6:30 or so and I was feeling hungry. I ate a whole plate of vegan ravioli and green beans. Soon being downstairs started to feel overwhelming and I needed to head back up to my birthspace so our doula, dh, Dusty, and went back to my room. The tub was started and I got in and tried to settle into the water. The candlelight and flowers in the water that were from my Mother’s Blessing two weeks earlier made the room feel almost holy. At that point in my labor I began to really doubt my ability to continue to birth my babe. Dh recognized that I was holding onto some fear about loss and our baby not being okay. He sensed how the sad news over the last few days in our ddc had been affecting me and wanted for us all to speak that fear outloud. Our stellar doula came in and said a prayer for Fireflymama and MommaSomeday and I lit 2 white candles in their honor. Everyone in the room had tears in their eyes and I know that there was a divine presence with us. Soon after that huge emotional release one of my dear nurse-midwife friends called simply because I had been on her mind the last few days. We have not been in touch for over a month so the fact that she would call when I was in labor was amazing. She told me I was strong and she knew I could do this. She reminded me that I needed to just be the mama (like our doula had a zillion times) and not try to midwife myself. It was really powerful talking with her and reminded me that there was a cosmic energy working around me during this time. Not long after I began to feel the need to push. I moved to the bed and my mw checked me. I was only at 8cm. I had asked her to lie to me if I wasn’t as far as I thought I was but she figured that that last little bit of cervix would just melt away. She was right because after encouraging me to follow my body, all that soon remained was a little lip of cervix. My ctx spaced out once more as I begged for rest. Only once during this time did I even entertain the thought of going to the hospital, saying several times that I could not go on. Not one person in the room even mentioned going anywhere, everyone having complete faith that I could do what needed to be done to birth Iris. Not long after that I instinctively put my hand on my headboard for leverage and began pushing with all I had. At first I was discouraged because my mw could only see bulging from my tissue and a bit of a forebag but within the next 2 or 3 pushes everyone said I was opening and they could see sweet little head. I felt the ring of fire and her head was out. She had a tight nuchal cord but our mw reduced it and somersaulted Iris through it. The rest of her body came out easily and she went right up on my chest. I was given IM pitocin and Dusty put some in my IV fluid as well. Sweet, sweet baby Iris started to nurse almost immediately, making her mama proud with her awesome latch.
While it was an amazingly intense experience, there is not one thing I think I would change about the entire day. I learned so many lessons that will not only help me be a better mama but also as I continue to support women in labor as a nurse and eventually as a midwife. Each baby and birth teaches us so much and I will always be grateful to Iris and my incredible birth team for all that they have given me. I, too, am grateful to all of you for sharing with me in this amazing journey.
your fellow mama welcomed her precious daughter, Iris at 11:57pm late wed night! it was an amazing labor and birth. ash was so strong and brave the whole time. i will let her give you the glorious details soon. she's snuggled up in her bed nursing her newborn right now.
a million blessings to this mama bear and her family.
Updated:
Iris Paxton
October 15, 2008
11:57pm
7lb 4oz
19 in long
14 in head
In early labor with dd
Flowers in the tub
Snuggled with mama
Hanging out with dad
Iris Paxton
Hi mamas~first of all, thanks for thinking of with me yesterday...I had all your love and thoughts with me as I worked hard to bring Iris into the world.
As I posted in the chat thread for the 15th, my water broke around 5am. That was so unusual for me- I've never experienced that in any of my other labors. Ctx started soon after but were mild and gentle. Dh and I called our birth team just to give them a heads up that today was the day. My friend from RN school, Dusty, was on her way from 2 hours out. Our mw said to give her a call when we needed her and things picked up. We decided to let our 2 older boys stay home from school- and they were thrilled. Dh, ds1, dd, and I went for a crisp autumn walk through the neighborhood and ctx started picking up. When we got back home around 8 we called our doula and let her know that we would need her soon. Dusty got here and we chatted and laughed through my early labor. Our amazing doula (gunter) arrived soon after and we continued to laugh and chat, making it really start to feel like a party.
Over the next couple of hours I sat on the birth ball, rested in my bed, and hung out with dh and my dear friends as ctx began picking up. Our doula went home for a bit to get her pump and nurse her babe and we decided we’d call our mw when she got back. Our mw came an hour or so later and got things all set up. Dusty started my IV and we all just did more hanging out while I labored away. After awhile our mw and her assistant took a run out to Whole Foods to give me a bit of space. Since ctx had begun to space out a little, our doula, dh and I decided we’d go out on a walk through the neighborhood and down our nature trail. We were gone maybe a little over and hour but I had lots of good, strong ctx. When we got back it was around 6:30 or so and I was feeling hungry. I ate a whole plate of vegan ravioli and green beans. Soon being downstairs started to feel overwhelming and I needed to head back up to my birthspace so our doula, dh, Dusty, and went back to my room. The tub was started and I got in and tried to settle into the water. The candlelight and flowers in the water that were from my Mother’s Blessing two weeks earlier made the room feel almost holy. At that point in my labor I began to really doubt my ability to continue to birth my babe. Dh recognized that I was holding onto some fear about loss and our baby not being okay. He sensed how the sad news over the last few days in our ddc had been affecting me and wanted for us all to speak that fear outloud. Our stellar doula came in and said a prayer for Fireflymama and MommaSomeday and I lit 2 white candles in their honor. Everyone in the room had tears in their eyes and I know that there was a divine presence with us. Soon after that huge emotional release one of my dear nurse-midwife friends called simply because I had been on her mind the last few days. We have not been in touch for over a month so the fact that she would call when I was in labor was amazing. She told me I was strong and she knew I could do this. She reminded me that I needed to just be the mama (like our doula had a zillion times) and not try to midwife myself. It was really powerful talking with her and reminded me that there was a cosmic energy working around me during this time. Not long after I began to feel the need to push. I moved to the bed and my mw checked me. I was only at 8cm. I had asked her to lie to me if I wasn’t as far as I thought I was but she figured that that last little bit of cervix would just melt away. She was right because after encouraging me to follow my body, all that soon remained was a little lip of cervix. My ctx spaced out once more as I begged for rest. Only once during this time did I even entertain the thought of going to the hospital, saying several times that I could not go on. Not one person in the room even mentioned going anywhere, everyone having complete faith that I could do what needed to be done to birth Iris. Not long after that I instinctively put my hand on my headboard for leverage and began pushing with all I had. At first I was discouraged because my mw could only see bulging from my tissue and a bit of a forebag but within the next 2 or 3 pushes everyone said I was opening and they could see sweet little head. I felt the ring of fire and her head was out. She had a tight nuchal cord but our mw reduced it and somersaulted Iris through it. The rest of her body came out easily and she went right up on my chest. I was given IM pitocin and Dusty put some in my IV fluid as well. Sweet, sweet baby Iris started to nurse almost immediately, making her mama proud with her awesome latch.
While it was an amazingly intense experience, there is not one thing I think I would change about the entire day. I learned so many lessons that will not only help me be a better mama but also as I continue to support women in labor as a nurse and eventually as a midwife. Each baby and birth teaches us so much and I will always be grateful to Iris and my incredible birth team for all that they have given me. I, too, am grateful to all of you for sharing with me in this amazing journey.
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