A doula, a golf caddy and a pregnant women walk into a bar
Love this analogy!
Have you had a doula at any of your births?
Will you at your next?
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Long time, no see - Updates & Homebirths!
Well, hello everyone!
I just realized I have REALLY been MIA! Wow.
So what's new in my life?
Well, Ian has been gone for almost three months, I miss him like crazy! He is doing good though, and so are we.. Time is passing & he will be home before we know it... Even if it doesn't feel like it right now. :)
Liam is four months old now, can you believe it?! He is saying momma all the time, starting to sit up somewhat unassisted, and rolls both ways. Time is flying by! I wish I could keep my babies little forever! Kylie is such a great big sister, she is so sweet.
I decided a couple months ago to go back to school & get my accounting degree. School has been going great, and it's been helping me pass the time! I've always planned on going back to college and so I finally just took the plunge and did it!
The latest news though...
Yesterday morning, a beautiful little girl was born at home weighing in at 10 pounds 14 ounces! She is stunning and her mommy and daddy did a beautiful job bringing her into the world! This is the first homebirth I have attended, and I was just in awe of the beauty and peace in that home. Daddy worked so well with momma through the entire labor, coaching her every step of the way, reminding her how wonderful she was doing. I could not be more proud of either of them. Each contraction showed the mom's strength and ability to handle the hardest, most empowering, wonderful experience a woman can go through and she truly demonstrated womanhood at it's greatest.
I am hoping when she is feeling better that she would be willing to write a post for the blog about her experience, and how having a doula influenced her birth. Stay tuned!
I just realized I have REALLY been MIA! Wow.
So what's new in my life?
Well, Ian has been gone for almost three months, I miss him like crazy! He is doing good though, and so are we.. Time is passing & he will be home before we know it... Even if it doesn't feel like it right now. :)
Liam is four months old now, can you believe it?! He is saying momma all the time, starting to sit up somewhat unassisted, and rolls both ways. Time is flying by! I wish I could keep my babies little forever! Kylie is such a great big sister, she is so sweet.
I decided a couple months ago to go back to school & get my accounting degree. School has been going great, and it's been helping me pass the time! I've always planned on going back to college and so I finally just took the plunge and did it!
The latest news though...
Yesterday morning, a beautiful little girl was born at home weighing in at 10 pounds 14 ounces! She is stunning and her mommy and daddy did a beautiful job bringing her into the world! This is the first homebirth I have attended, and I was just in awe of the beauty and peace in that home. Daddy worked so well with momma through the entire labor, coaching her every step of the way, reminding her how wonderful she was doing. I could not be more proud of either of them. Each contraction showed the mom's strength and ability to handle the hardest, most empowering, wonderful experience a woman can go through and she truly demonstrated womanhood at it's greatest.
I am hoping when she is feeling better that she would be willing to write a post for the blog about her experience, and how having a doula influenced her birth. Stay tuned!
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
“Birth is powerful…..let it empower you” - My all-natural VBAC
You may be wondering what brought me to wanting to become a doula.. Well, let me tell you.
It started when I was pregnant with Kylie, I was young & didn't even consider reading books & doing research on childbirth before going in to have her. I had the sweetest doctor & trusted her completely (Don't ever trust your OB completely, no matter how sweet they are!).. So at 8 days 'overdue', she wanted to induce me. Of course, I didn't even think twice before saying yes, because I hadn't taken the time to learn about the most important event in my life beforehand.
My induction started off beautifully, but quickly spiraled into one intervention after another which they inevitably do. At the end of a long day, & four long hours of inneffective pushing, I was wheeled into the operating room. I knew without a doubt after that day that I would never let medical interventions & a surgeon have control of my birth again.
So when I found out I was expecting again I dove into any & all information I could find on VBAC's, natural births, birthing options, etc.. I learned more than I ever had imagined. We studied The Bradley Method, hired a doula, & I focused on having the best, most empowering birth I could.
My due date came & went.. & my wonderful midwife didn't even bat an eyelash that I didn't show any signs of labor beginning, & I was okay with that, because your body & your baby know the perfect day, the perfect moment to begin giving birth.
I had my last appointment with my midwife at 6 days 'overdue', & when I left her office I realized I was having contractions every ten minutes. I didn't want to get my hopes up, because I was just sure it was going to fizzle out.. Well, at about 3 the next morning they were 6 minutes apart; thinking we'd be heading toward the hospital in a few hours, & I woke Ian up. We got ready & waited... Then my body took a break. A major break. They suddenly were 20 minutes apart & I wasn't sure what was going on. But by that night they were down to 13 minutes again all night long.
Fast forward 2 days of intense contractions that went back and forth between close together & far apart... On day 3 of early labor I was sure I was going to be in labor forever, but Ian finally convinced me to get off the birthing ball & go for a walk. As soon as we got out and moving they jumped from 10-12 minutes apart down to 3-6 minutes apart. We walked quite a bit, & when we got home, the only comfortable position was on my knees leaning against the couch. Ian & my mom would rub my back during contractions & remind to relax my whole body, & let my tummy do all the work. I stayed in this position for about two hours & told Ian that I probably had at least 6 more hours before we'd need to head in... Boy was I was wrong!
POP! Well, looks like my body finally decided to get the show on the road, & my water was everywhere. But I didn't jump in the car right away, I wanted to see how quickly it would progress before running in, so I stayed in the position until the next contraction hit... As soon as it did, my whole body started shaking & I was instantly nauseous. Since I knew this was what happened during transition, I told Ian & my mom to grab the bags. Out the door we went.
As soon as we were on the road, the vomiting started & contractions were one on top of the other, with barely a break in between. I kept telling Ian I didn't think we were going to make it. I could feel myself pushing & we still had about 45 minutes ahead of us until we reached the hospital. Every contraction, I was sure he was going to start crowning, but we made it to the hospital.
A nurse brought me a wheelchair, & I couldn't even sit down feeling his head right there.. She kept begging me not to push because she was only an er nurse. :) haha. (Poor girl, she was more stressed than anyone.) They got me into my room, & first thing I did was go straight to the toilet. As soon as I sat down there was no denying the I was pushing, the nurses kept telling me my midwife was on the way if I could just breathe through them, & I kept telling them there was no way anymore. My wonderful doula kept telling to just push enough to get through it which helped so much..
When I I got back to my bed & sat up on my knees, and yelled that I couldn't wait anymore. My midwife came in & instantly sat down behind me. Before I knew it, she told me to reach down & feel his head.
I was really doing it, I was having a baby the way God intended! One more big push and I reached down & helped catch my beautiful new baby.
He was here & I couldn't believe it! I had done it! The rush of natural childbirth was the most incredible, empowering experience. Nothing can compare.
Every woman that has a child should have the priveledge of natural childbirth. It is not scary, it is empowering. It's not painful, it's intensity.
"Women’s bodies have their own wisdom, and a system of birth refined over 100,000 generations is not so easily overpowered. Sarah Buckley"
“Deep within each woman, lies the Knowledge of how to give birth without outside interventions.” Unknown
It started when I was pregnant with Kylie, I was young & didn't even consider reading books & doing research on childbirth before going in to have her. I had the sweetest doctor & trusted her completely (Don't ever trust your OB completely, no matter how sweet they are!).. So at 8 days 'overdue', she wanted to induce me. Of course, I didn't even think twice before saying yes, because I hadn't taken the time to learn about the most important event in my life beforehand.
41 weeks
My induction started off beautifully, but quickly spiraled into one intervention after another which they inevitably do. At the end of a long day, & four long hours of inneffective pushing, I was wheeled into the operating room. I knew without a doubt after that day that I would never let medical interventions & a surgeon have control of my birth again.
So when I found out I was expecting again I dove into any & all information I could find on VBAC's, natural births, birthing options, etc.. I learned more than I ever had imagined. We studied The Bradley Method, hired a doula, & I focused on having the best, most empowering birth I could.
My due date came & went.. & my wonderful midwife didn't even bat an eyelash that I didn't show any signs of labor beginning, & I was okay with that, because your body & your baby know the perfect day, the perfect moment to begin giving birth.
41 weeks 1 day
I had my last appointment with my midwife at 6 days 'overdue', & when I left her office I realized I was having contractions every ten minutes. I didn't want to get my hopes up, because I was just sure it was going to fizzle out.. Well, at about 3 the next morning they were 6 minutes apart; thinking we'd be heading toward the hospital in a few hours, & I woke Ian up. We got ready & waited... Then my body took a break. A major break. They suddenly were 20 minutes apart & I wasn't sure what was going on. But by that night they were down to 13 minutes again all night long.
Fast forward 2 days of intense contractions that went back and forth between close together & far apart... On day 3 of early labor I was sure I was going to be in labor forever, but Ian finally convinced me to get off the birthing ball & go for a walk. As soon as we got out and moving they jumped from 10-12 minutes apart down to 3-6 minutes apart. We walked quite a bit, & when we got home, the only comfortable position was on my knees leaning against the couch. Ian & my mom would rub my back during contractions & remind to relax my whole body, & let my tummy do all the work. I stayed in this position for about two hours & told Ian that I probably had at least 6 more hours before we'd need to head in... Boy was I was wrong!
POP! Well, looks like my body finally decided to get the show on the road, & my water was everywhere. But I didn't jump in the car right away, I wanted to see how quickly it would progress before running in, so I stayed in the position until the next contraction hit... As soon as it did, my whole body started shaking & I was instantly nauseous. Since I knew this was what happened during transition, I told Ian & my mom to grab the bags. Out the door we went.
A nurse brought me a wheelchair, & I couldn't even sit down feeling his head right there.. She kept begging me not to push because she was only an er nurse. :) haha. (Poor girl, she was more stressed than anyone.) They got me into my room, & first thing I did was go straight to the toilet. As soon as I sat down there was no denying the I was pushing, the nurses kept telling me my midwife was on the way if I could just breathe through them, & I kept telling them there was no way anymore. My wonderful doula kept telling to just push enough to get through it which helped so much..
When I I got back to my bed & sat up on my knees, and yelled that I couldn't wait anymore. My midwife came in & instantly sat down behind me. Before I knew it, she told me to reach down & feel his head.
He was here & I couldn't believe it! I had done it! The rush of natural childbirth was the most incredible, empowering experience. Nothing can compare.
Every woman that has a child should have the priveledge of natural childbirth. It is not scary, it is empowering. It's not painful, it's intensity.
Mom, Doula, Husband, & midwife
"Women’s bodies have their own wisdom, and a system of birth refined over 100,000 generations is not so easily overpowered. Sarah Buckley"
“Deep within each woman, lies the Knowledge of how to give birth without outside interventions.” Unknown
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