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 Two

I have been reading “Natural Hospital Birth – the best of both worlds” by Cynthia Gabriel. In my first post here I talked about the first two sections of part one “preparing for your baby’s birth”. I will now discuss my thoughts about the last three sections in part one “getting attached to your birth plan”, “creating a supportive team” and “extra support for special circumstances”.

 Cynthia Gabriel discusses why we should get attached to our birth plan. She tells the reader that in most cases when someone says they are flexible it translates to most providers as being vague. In addition when you write a birth plan you can be specific but accommodate the unexpected. Also even if you are not able to fulfill your entire birth plan it is okay to be disappointed, she states that “isn’t always better to strive and fall short then to never strive at all?” (pg 22) I believe that is a very important thing for anyone making a birth plan to remember. That you can try to reach for your most ideal birth but it might not happen and that is okay. Also when this happens it is okay to grieve in some form over the loss of this.

 Cynthia then walks the reader through how you can create your own birth plan through three steps. Dream it, plan the whole birth, then write a medical birth plan.

 I had a really hard time with step one (which is why my post is so late). I pride myself on being a “feelings” person and being able to visualize or dream (daydreaming is one of my favourite ways to relax). However, with dreaming up my ideal birth plan I felt like something was holding me back for envisioning my perfect birth. It could be the fact that I have already experienced a birth and know the realities. Or it is the fact that I have attended a few births as a health care provider and realize the limitations that are set on hospital births. Either way I struggled to let go and allow my imagination to run wild. No matter how hard I tried most of what I could “dream” of was not that vivid. Though her questions did help some, I just could not get as vivid picture as what her case studies did. I finally came to the conclusions that most of what I was experienced were feelings. I wanted to feel safe and relaxed; I just didn’t want to be rushed. This was the main reason I chose a midwife. Everything is slowed down and the idea of why rush when everything is going good. To me I didn’t care where I was. So after going through the questions I have completed my dream birth (which I will probably come back to the further along in my pregnancy I get), the next step is planning it and then turning the plan into a medical birth plan.

 So to plan your birth Cynthia gets the reader to reflect on the aspects of the dream birth plan that can be translated to the hospital setting. For me I know that I want to wait to go to the hospital so my plan is to labour as long as possible at home (well in my case my sister’s home, as we live 2 hours from the hospital). With a midwife this is possible because of the fact she would come to me and check on my progress. When I do get to the hospital I would like it to be just me, my husband, and my midwife there. This way I don’t feel like I am being watched. I also love technology so I more than likely will have my Zoom and phone handy just to take my mind of the contractions (or pressure waves for those hypnobabies :D). I would like to try to birth without any drugs. I plan on educating myself on ways to work through the waves (just started my hypnobabies course).

 So the last part of making my birth plan is writing it down for my medical team. Cynthia ones again has a series of questions to help the reader develop their own plan (and shares a few of her client’s birth plans as examples). She also reminds the reader that you can be direct in your birth plan but polite. You can achieve this by focusing on what you want rather then what you don’t want. For instance I do not want to have labour augmented unless absolutely necessary (I have experienced a Pitocin drip and hated every moment an IV was in my hand). So instead of saying I don’t want my labour augmented unless medically necessary, I would rephrase it to say I would prefer to go into labour naturally. I am still ironing out my final birth plan and I think I will continue to until I go into labour. But these are a few of the things that I would like to see happen.

 - Labour to start on its own
- Have my membranes rupture on their own
- Allow my husband to be my coach
- Allow my daughter to visit briefly
- Use a tub or shower as pain relief
- For staff to offer non medicated options first
- Use massage and warm compresses to lessen the risk of a   tear
- I would like to use my Hypnobabies cd’s and techniques as much as possible
- After birth I would like to hold my baby immediately
- Please wait to clamp the cord till after it stops pulsating
- If possible hold off on newborn checks until after I have held and breastfed for the first time
- I will be rooming in with my baby and husband
- I would like all procedures to be done in husband’s or my presence
- I hope to avoid a cesarean
- If I need a cesarean my husband is to be present at all times
- I would like to have contact with my baby as soon after as possible

 The book then goes on to discuss surrounding yourself with a health care team that provides you support in reaching these goals. I don’t think this will be much of an issue for me as I have a midwife that is aware of my desire to have a natural hospital birth. However, I will still be giving her a copy to have so she is aware of my wants in regards to pain control; in particular my wish to use the techniques that are in Hypnobabies. But I feel this is a very good section for those still searching for a care provider or wants to make a switch. She gives several good questions to ask a potential care provider and how to find the one that is right for you and your family.

 The final section of part one talks about special circumstances which for me I just skimmed over as I do not fall in this category. But for anyone who is having twins, VBAC, or is a survivor of a traumatic event this is a great section to read. I especially think her VBAC section is a great read.


That is the end of part one of the book “Natural Hospital Birth – the best of both worlds” by Cynthia Gabriel. My next post on this subject will be focusing on part two “giving birth”.

 TTYL!
-Cecette

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.

I became a midwife today...

Well sort of....

I got a call from my father-in-law this afternoon (just under an hour from when my daughter and I had to be at a meeting about my sister-in-law's wedding shower/tea). The conversation went basically like this (this is most of what I remembered. Also FYI some of this content may offend some people, we are talking about a birth here):

FIL (father-in-law): you busy?

me: not really I have a meeting at 2:30...

FIL: (pause) I have a sheep lambing and I think she is having some trouble

me: (pause) you know I have only watched my dad pull calves but never done it myself

FIL: yah, but I called your MIL (said her name but don't want to use it) and she figured you could help

me: oh?

FIL: plus your hands are smaller then mine...

So it was agreed that I would go out to the farm and see if I could help check the sheep to see what was taking so long for her to lamb. So I packed up my daughter and didn't bother changing because I figured it might get messy.

My in-laws only have a few sheep, more of a hobby then anything else. The farm is run more on grain. Now I am use to growing up with cattle they are big but quite brilliant animals and they herd quite well. All of the above, I found out is not the qualities of sheep (sorry if I offended people who love sheep but they really do not herd all that well).

So I showed up at the farm my FIL is in the barn waiting for me. We then managed to get the right ewe into the barn into the right stall. (again a warning to those who do not like to hear about a birth this is not the blog post for you).

My FIL then managed to get the ewe on her back so that I could see what the problem is, I could see a tiny little nose and two hoofs, it appeared that the head was trying to come out before the feet which is a no no in delivering of lambs. My FIL wanted to know if I could see if the the lamb was alive so I removed the sac from around its nose and mouth...and it licked! So it was still alive at this point. 

So the next option was to see if we could get the legs "unstuck" you do this by slowly pulling on one leg of the lamb until you hear it release and then the other. It worked!!! The lamb came out quite easy after that and WOW was it ever a big lamb! Which according to my FIL was probably minutes away from dieing because the lamb was too big for this first time mom to deliver on her own.

We then trimmed the wool around the utter of the ewe so the lamb would be able to find a tit to drink from. Ewe and lamb were then united and she promptly started to lick her baby off. It was quite the sight too see (unfortunately I forgot my camera will try to take a picture of the lamb in the next few days).

So I wish everyone an early Happy Mother's day as I sit here in awe that I could help a first time mom deliver her lamb.

Lots of Bunny-Hugs

Cecette

Dr. Visit and first ultrasound

Well I have my physical and prenatal blood work on Monday (May 11th) and then off to the big city (lol...where I live we are a "city" but I got in faster for U/S for some reason in the city close to us) on Tuesday (May 12). I also will be delivering there so it's no big deal to drive an hour for a U/S when I will be doing it while in labour (I will be explaining this more in a different post). 

I am kinda looking forward to the U/S rather then the physical. I guess being able to see your in utero child is more exciting and even possibly less painful...I was informed in my last visit that I need a pap test as my last one was last summer. 

Not to mention if I don't see multiple in the U/S I will not be staying with my GP but transferring to a midwife rather then a OBGYN. My GP is fine with this, however....it was kinda odd that she mentioned that she was going to book two separate appointments with an OBGYN to "make sure everything was still going smoothly". I didn't make anything of it but I will talk it over with my midwife to see if this is necessary. I will be having two U/S this one and at 20 weeks so maybe that will be enough. But it doesn't hurt I guess to check....as long as they are not anti-midwife. I worked in the postpartum at that hospital as a grad nurse and have run into several Dr. and Nurses that are anti-midwife. So I just hope that they don't make excuses to want to change me over from my midwife care. I guess I will cross that bridge when I get to it.

Crossing my fingers hoping everything will go good!

TTYL