Wordless Wednesday - Fluffy Bums and Then and Now (Easter Special)

Hannah - 2010 (4 months)

Maisey - 2012 (3 months)

I'm back!

Well, here I lay (almost midnight) thinking for the umpteenth time I really need to get back to my blog. Then I received an email from a reader (wow are people even reading anymore since I have been so neglectful to them?)

Well last time I left you I was in the middle of a great book that was going to help me with the birth of my second child. Well I got through most of the book...but I really don't know if the techniques would have worked for me as it turned out my labour was very fast. But I guess I should start from the beginning...

My hubby and I decided to attend a grain grower conference right before my due date. I was excited at the chance to go into labour while up there. Mostly because it would make the drive one our verses two hours if I was at home.

Here is me 39 weeks + 4 days at the conference.

So on January 5th (3days before my due date) we went on a tunnel tours with the other conference attendees. For those who don't know about the tunnels of Moose Jaw I will set a link up when I get a chance at the computer.(here is the link to tunnels of Moose Jaw, we took the passage to fortune tour)

This was our sweet ride (on a very crisp night) to and from the tunnels.

The tour is A LOT of walking and I am now going to recommend it to all those who want to induce their pregnancy. Because at 2am on January 6th my contractions started!

So I started to pack up our stuff we had out around the room. Thinking that if this was false labour they would stop after moving around. Well around 3am I decided to wake hubby as the contractions were 5min apart lasting for 1min. We phoned our midwife and arranged to meet at my sister-in-law's like planned. We got to my sister-in-law's at around 5am and my midwife arrived some time before 530am. By this time my contractions were very painful and about 3-4 min apart. After being checked by the midwife wife (i was 5-6 cm dialted, 80% effaced) we decided to head to the hospital.

Now on the way the contractions got horrible! I had a hard time thinking, back pain was awful...but I LOVED the heated seats (wonderful for back labour).

My hubby helped me to the emerg door and then parked the car. The contractions were now really close together (for example i had one going through the emerg doors and then a few feet away had another at the emerg desk). I checked into emerg at 550am.

I arrived on the labour and deliver floor at 6am. After that everything is a blur, I was offered pain medications once (gas I think) but I remember being confused by the question (I assume this was when I was in transition). My hubby got to the room just in time to help me through some a few contraction and then I was ready to deliver my baby.

At 6:26am my daughter Maisey Linda arrived into this world. 

Maisey Linda - January 6th 2012, 8lbs 1 oz

So what have I been doing all this time?

Well I have been trying to adjust to being a mom of two...a lot harder then what was in my fantasy. I can't believe that SAHMs manage to get out of the house with more than one child. There are a lot more schedules to co-ordinate (timing naps, feedings, diaper changes, going to the potty etc). We are now getting more into the swing of things and I hope that I can get back to blogging and starting up my sewing business. But I plan on doing that all in baby steps. 

Thank you for staying with me through this unscheduled hiatus.

Lots of Bunny-Hugs!

Cecette

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Natural Hospital Birth - Section One Part One

In the first section of the book "Natural Hospital Birth - the best of both world" by Cynthia Gabriel it focuses about preparing for the birth of the baby. I will be focusing this post on the first half of this section entitled "You can do it" and "Feeling Safe".

My favorite part of the first section was where Cynthia talks about why some people choose a natural birth (including myself). The following quote sums up my feelings perfectly. I choose a natural birth because it is "letting your body follow its natural course in labor the same way that it had followed its natural course during pregnancy." (pg3) and just because I am having my birth in a hospital does not mean I should have to "sacrifice the body's natural process". (pg4) It wasn't till I read that sentence that I truly realized why I wanted a "natural birth", it was just something I felt. 

So  what is a "natural birth"?  I felt quite drawn to Cynthia's idea that a natural birth is a "birth with the fewest interventions possible to support the health of the mother and baby". (pg7) Cynthia goes on to say that in this book "natural birth" means "the most instinctive, self-directed, intervention-free birth possible." (pg7) This is what I was looking for, this is why I picked up this book. Cynthia acknowledges that when interventions are necessary it does not mean that your commitment to having a natural birth should be given up on. It just means that this one part of the plan changes. This is referred to as preventing the cascading effect of interventions, once you have one they figure you are up for it all.

Cynthia then moves on to talking about creating a safe environment so you feel you can labour. She does a wonderful job in describing the hormones that help labour (oxytocin) and hinder (adrenaline). Cynthia is very thorough in helping the reader understand the part fear plays in the progression of labour by giving three examples she has seen first hand as a doula (the nurse in me comes out because I really enjoy case studies). To me this makes perfect sense, no animal including humans would want to labour in a sense of panic. If you fear for your life would you want to put yourself in a vulnerable position? Now we has humans don't have to really worry that a predator is going to attack as we are giving birth. However, we still have an engrained sense to protect our young and our-self. Cynthia lists several ways to deal with the fight-or-flight mechanism that can be created labouring in a "strange place". She suggests things from trying to keep the area free of people who may trigger this reaction, to having a dimly lighted room.

Now how do I relate this to my birthing experience? Yes I am having a hospital birth, not really by choice but by circumstances. I live in a rural community where the opportunity to even having a child close to home has been removed. They call this "centralization of care"...I see this as making the patients come to the care instead of the care going to the patient. Also it has played a part in de-populating the rural communities...but I digress. So I have come to terms with the fact that I have to drive at least an hour to give birth to my baby. However I chose to drive an extra 40 minutes so that I can receive the care that I feel will benefit my baby and myself. I chose the extra driving time so that I could have a midwife attend my birth and to help facilitate my desire for a "natural birth". I hope that because I have a midwife and can labour at "home" (I will either be at a friends place or my sister-in-laws...still has to be worked out with those particular individuals) I will be able to create a safe environment to allow me to progress naturally through the first stage of labour. That way by the time that I reach the hospital my labour would have been well established and can progress from there. There is also a tendency that medical staff can get "antsy" in the first part of labour (which is not true of all medical staff, just my experience). Labour at the start is usually slower and medical staff like to see progress because you are tying up a bed. So for me I think it a very important part of my labour to not be in the hospital at this time, you can't offer me augmentation to help speed me through the slow part if I am not there. When I am in the hospital I will be reliying on my husband and my midwife to help me through not only the more difficult contractions and pushing. But to also ensure that I feel safe where I am there.

What did you get from the first two chapters? Did this section help you realize why you wanted a natural birth? Or did it just confirm what you already knew? 

I will be adding a Mister-Linky later today so that all the posts (whether you did several posts or just one) can be in one location.

Pregvit - my new best friend

It is recommended to all pregnant women to take a prenatal vitamin (most recommend to being taking them even if you are thinking you may become pregnant) because some of the most important development occurs in the first couple weeks. If you are not in the active role of "trying" for a baby you won't know you are in the 2 week waiting window (for those who actively try know this is as the point between conception and that positive result). I was one that I really really tried to remember to take my prenatal vitamin before conception (or at least folic acid) but it can be hard to remember (I even resorted to using a dosette, yes those medication holders that either the elderly or those on several medications use). 
For me the trouble really set in when I started to have extreme nausea and/or vomiting (it started a week before my positive result and has not let up yet and I am now around 14 weeks. Please see my first post on this issue here). I would try taking the prenatal vitamin in the morning and either I would get the nausea and then around an hour later have it come back up or I just felt horrible all day. Most days I would just get the pill to my tongue and would start dry heaving (sorry very graphic). I even tried switching brands (in fact I tried a total of 4 different brands) and time of day, what I ate and how much. Nothing seemed to help the situation. So most days my prenatal vitamin went to the way side and I was left with an extreme feeling of guilt. Finally at one of my midwife appointments I brought up my concern about not being able to keep down my vitamins (I felt very guilty and didn't want to admit that I was neglecting a very important part of keeping my baby healthy). She mentioned ways that we could alleviate the nausea but before I could try those remedies we had to find something that I could take between now and then. For me cost wasn't a big concern, I needed prenatal vitamins. So I mentioned to my midwife about trying an over the counter prenatal vitamins that splits the calcium and iron into two pills. This makes it easier on the stomach because you are not overloading your already sensitive stomach. I talked with the pharmacist and Pregvit came up. I had heard of it through nursing school (it was mentioned as a "new vitamin" for during pregnancy as you can get a Pregvit 5 for those with high chance of spinal problems like spina bifida) and through several chat forums I regularly visit. So I gave it a shot and wow it is quite expensive, for 30 pills it cost $36. But alas at least if it worked I wouldn't have to feel so guilty and that is worth the price. 

So I started it on July 7th and the first day was pretty good I felt icky but that was general "ickyness" it did not increase or decrease the feel but I will take that over what it was like before. So at least I can get the pill down and on average it stays down for at lest 3-4 hours before I find that I hit the inevitable "wall" where most if not all I have eaten comes back up. I have to say that I do feel lucky that I am still able to eat (yes even all this nausea hasn't completely turned me off food). I figure even if I do feel nauseated after I eat, what is the difference I am going to feel the same even if I don't eat so might as well keep something in my stomach to bring back up.

I have now been taking my new vitamins for almost 5 days now and am happy to report that I have only brought back up one pill and only missed one dose. Which is better then the average I had before taking when I was taking the over-the-counter versions. So hopefully this means I am on the road to taking my prenatal vitamins more consistently.

- Cecette
I have reviewed the vitamin supplement Pregvit on my own time without any endorsement or compensation from Duchesnay (makers of Pregvit). Everything is my own opinion and should not be taken as medical advise, what works for me may not be the case for yourself. So please talk to your midwife or Dr. before trying out this medication.                                                                                         

The Joy of Pregnancy...

My last pregnancy was almost text book (except for the major heartburn and slight anemia) right down to the labour and birth. This one not so much.. I don't have major problems (no bed rest etc) but I just don't feel that "pregnancy joy". Not because I am not happy to be pregnant. It is just very hard when every waking moment is filled with nausea or vomiting...or both. It is so bad that I am on day 5 of trying to finish this post. 

I am on the maximum dose of diclectin (when I remember to take it) and I have even resorted to a prescription multivitamin (pregvit) to help reduce the irritation on my stomach. I could go on another anti-nausea medication but I don't like the idea of being on so many medications (yah irony, seeing as I happen to be the one who hands out pills for a living) but it is mostly because I am pregnant. 

So what are my options??

I went on a hunt to see what else I can try out (I will also admit that I know very little about the "natural options" out there..so bear with me if the small things amuse/wow me. :D)  The options I found included: acupuncture (and acupressure), physio (or chiropractic), reflexology, homeopathy, and aromatherapy. I have plans for trying out at least a few of these options and hopefully either one (or a few together) may help reduce this nausea. So with a little research I hope to have a post up about some (but hopefully most) of these options in the next month or so. It might take me some time as I have to travel to the city for most if not all remedies (which may be difficult between my work schedule). I will also disclose that I am not writing these posts as a health professional but as a pregnant lady who is at her wits ends of how to deal with her most annoying pregnancy side effect. Therefore do not take what I write as the gospel it is just what I experienced.

Lots of Bunny-Hugs

Cecette

Wordless Wednesday - my 12 week secret :D

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