Cesarean vs. VBAC: A Dramatic Difference from Alexandra Orchard on Vimeo.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Labor of Birth
Labor of Birth
Squeezing the pride from my womb,
filling my head with impending doom.
I try to escape to a happy place,
but the reality of pain I have to face.
The pressure, the pain won’t let me be,
regular and timely waves wash over me.
Earthly angels take their place,
at my back and at my face.
“You are doing good” they tell me, but inside my
head a voice shouts out I’m not okay I want out.
Fear gives way to despair,
burning lungs in need of air.
I’m falling, falling sinking down,
darkness, darkness all around.
A search light finds me in the night,
giving me courage to fight.
Priesthood hands upon my head,
hope and faith replaces dread;
And love flows into me.
The fight, the battle is almost won,
my work and labor almost done.
Grunting and pushing with all my might,
my primal scream into the night.
In the room shouts of joy,
“It’s a beautiful, perfect baby boy.”
My child is laid to rest,
warm and wet upon my breast.
I am powerful, I am strong,
and I will know it from now on!
Michael Cluster
This poem is dedicated to my wife, Twyla, who gave birth to or son at home
Friday, July 17, 2009
Pregnant Robot
I am not sure what to think about this. It is interesting. I think that these students will be in for the shock of their lives when they attend a birth with a REAL woman. Especially when the mother doesn't cooperate with what they dictate.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Sling Along Baby Slings
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Birth Story of Milo
I've had a difficult time wanting to write this story - or knowing HOW to write it. I don't even know WHEN the "birth" story started. I felt like I'd been in labor for at least a week before Milo was born, and by the time I knew for certain that it was the "real deal," it felt like a bad joke. That said, everything went well once things really began to happen, and I shouldn't have any complaints. I had a list of things that I wanted in my birth:
a healthy baby
a natural birth (no IV or drugs)
John
my doctor
to make it to the hospital in good time (not too early or too late)
I got all of those things!
I've gone back and forth about what to include in this birth story, and I've decided to error on the side of telling too much, rather than to pick and choose what to include. So this will be long (it's already long!),but it felt long at the time, so maybe it's appropriate. Today I'm going to post the preliminary stuff, and then later, I'll post the actual BIRTH story. :) Feel free to skip all of it if you want to. :)
With this being my 5th baby, I felt a lot of braxton hicks contractions - starting back in November, and getting progressively worse until in March I was going a little nuts. After 36 weeks, the contractions got a lot stronger, more often, and more regular. On Friday, April 3rd, the contractions were strong and 3 minutes apart. I felt awful - nauseous, light headed, sick . . . after agonizing about what to do, John and I decided to go to the hospital to find out what was going on. It didn't seem too likely that I was in active labor, but with contractions that close together, we didn't want to risk having the baby in the car or something.
Greg came up to stay with our kids,and we arrived at the hospital around 11:30 pm. Once I was in bed and hooked up to the monitors, the contractions slowed down in both frequency and intensity. After an hours' observation, the nurse said we could go home, or walk around, shower, etc. to try to get things to pick up again. We were tired, so we went home, fully expecting to be back soon. (My cervix hadn't dilated during that hour, but it had gotten much softer, so our nurse was optimistic that we'd be back in the next day or two at most. Although I know these things are unpredictable,I held onto the hope that she was right.)
She wasn't. I continued to have fairly regular and strong contractions (up to my due date), but they didn't progress.
The next Wednesday (April 8th) was my due date, and I had my 40 week appointment that morning. My doctor was leaving for spring break with her family early in the morning on the 10th, so I knew I had less than 48 hours to have my baby if I wanted her there. And I did. I'm generally opposed to induction, and I really like to just let things happen, but the previous weeks' fake-outs/practice and the desire to have the baby before my doctor left won out, so I asked her to strip my membranes. The theory is that if your body is ready,stripping the membranes can help start labor - that's what happened with Ruby, so I was hopeful that it would once again get things moving. If my body was not ready to have the baby, stripping the membranes wouldn't do anything.It seemed like a safe move.
I came home from my appointment and took Ruby and Jonah on a nice long walk. During our walk, the contractions were really intense, and 5 minutes apart. We came home for a break, and the contractions slowed down and got weaker. We walked to the school to get Maxwell. Once again, the contractions kicked in. And once again, after we got home,they slowed way down.
After lunch, Ruby and I went out to walk, AGAIN. This time the contractions were quite painful,and at least 5 minutes apart - many coming closer together. The wind was blowing, it was cold, and I was tired, so we came home - only to have things slow down again!
That afternoon, I helped the kids practice piano and do their reading. We walked to piano lessons and back a couple of times (with strong contractions each time). We made popcorn balls. I sewed four burp cloths and made dinner. Finally,around 6 pm, my contractions seemed to stay strong when I was not walking, but by this point, it seemed like a cruel joke.
When we got to the hospital (at about 11:30 pm), they quickly got us into a room (my reputation for quick births preceded us because a nurse we'd had before was working). Our doctor was called, and she told them to do a 20 minute test strip, to let me move around after that, and that she would be over soon. When she arrived, she had the nurse set the room up so they'd be ready when I was. Ruby, Jonah, and Maxwell were all born less than 2 hours after we arrived at the hospital, and my doctor seemed confident that this labor would follow the pattern set by my last two births. On the other hand, I was worried that we'd spend the night with everyone waiting and waiting for me to have the baby, and that he wouldn't be born for HOURS.
At about 12:45, I asked to be checked because the contractions were very strong. I'm always hesitant to be checked because the news can either be encouraging, or very depressing. Luckily, I had progressed to a 7, so I was encouraged, although still not confident that things would move quickly. My doctor and a nursing student stayed in the room with John and I after that. It was nice to have people to visit with between contractions, although it was kind of strange to have everyone quiet down while I was having a contraction. A little while later, I began to feel pressure (not quite an urge to push, but close to it) during contractions. After a few contractions like that, I asked to be checked again, and was found to be complete. The urge to push was still not overwhelming, and I was worn out emotionally, if not physically, so I asked my doctor to break my bag of waters to speed things up a little. After a few more contractions, she broke my water, and said I could push whenever I felt like it. I pushed on the next contraction, but it was so weak no one could tell I'd done it! Argh!
I pushed harder on the next contraction, and the next,and the next, and I started to wonder what was going on! The last 3 babies had all been born in just a couple of pushes, and I couldn't figure out what was taking so long.It turns out that Milo wasn't in the right position,so as I pushed, he was rotating into position before he could be born. (I wonder if breaking the bag of water made him drop down before he rotated all the way. If so, it was my own fault that I had to push so much longer.) The pushing was really hard and really scary. I always forget how painful and scary pushing is for me.
It's so strange to be the one in labor. No one else can feel what you're feeling, and even though John and my doctor are there, I feel pretty alone.Birthing my baby is something I have to do - no one can do it for me, and besides the baby, everyone else is mostly spectating. This time, the difference between the experience that the others had was markedly different from what I was experiencing. I managed to not scream out loud, so the nurses, my doctor, and even John thought that I was doing really well. I LOOKED calm, in control, and focused as I pushed. What I remember is totally different. I was scared silly, in a ton of pain, and felt like I was freaking out. It just hurt too badly to open my mouth to yell or scream or cry or even to open my eyes to see the birth (I always plan to watch the birth, and I've never been able to keep my eyes open). I remember thinking of how much it hurt, and how long it was taking, and just wanting it to be over and for him to be OUT. It felt more like chaos than calm to me.
Eventually, my pushing and his rotating did their job,and Milo was born! John helped to catch, and I managed to open my eyes to see my baby (and to ask for my camera so I could get a picture of John holding our newborn).
Once the cord stopped pulsing, John cut it, and I got a chance to hold our baby. He was hungry! Milo was basically born rooting. :) He was quickly cleaned up and weighed 
(we were all a little shocked at his size - my biggest baby), and then I got to hold and feed him while the doctor finished taking care of me.
Milo hardly cried at all, which worried me, but his color was good and no one else was concerned. He was born at 1:17 am. Great timing. Just as my doctor finished with me, she headed over to another hospital to deliver another baby. :)
To read Jenny's blog and see beautiful pictures of Milo click HERE.
a healthy baby
a natural birth (no IV or drugs)
John
my doctor
to make it to the hospital in good time (not too early or too late)
I got all of those things!
I've gone back and forth about what to include in this birth story, and I've decided to error on the side of telling too much, rather than to pick and choose what to include. So this will be long (it's already long!),but it felt long at the time, so maybe it's appropriate. Today I'm going to post the preliminary stuff, and then later, I'll post the actual BIRTH story. :) Feel free to skip all of it if you want to. :)
With this being my 5th baby, I felt a lot of braxton hicks contractions - starting back in November, and getting progressively worse until in March I was going a little nuts. After 36 weeks, the contractions got a lot stronger, more often, and more regular. On Friday, April 3rd, the contractions were strong and 3 minutes apart. I felt awful - nauseous, light headed, sick . . . after agonizing about what to do, John and I decided to go to the hospital to find out what was going on. It didn't seem too likely that I was in active labor, but with contractions that close together, we didn't want to risk having the baby in the car or something.
Greg came up to stay with our kids,and we arrived at the hospital around 11:30 pm. Once I was in bed and hooked up to the monitors, the contractions slowed down in both frequency and intensity. After an hours' observation, the nurse said we could go home, or walk around, shower, etc. to try to get things to pick up again. We were tired, so we went home, fully expecting to be back soon. (My cervix hadn't dilated during that hour, but it had gotten much softer, so our nurse was optimistic that we'd be back in the next day or two at most. Although I know these things are unpredictable,I held onto the hope that she was right.)
She wasn't. I continued to have fairly regular and strong contractions (up to my due date), but they didn't progress.
The next Wednesday (April 8th) was my due date, and I had my 40 week appointment that morning. My doctor was leaving for spring break with her family early in the morning on the 10th, so I knew I had less than 48 hours to have my baby if I wanted her there. And I did. I'm generally opposed to induction, and I really like to just let things happen, but the previous weeks' fake-outs/practice and the desire to have the baby before my doctor left won out, so I asked her to strip my membranes. The theory is that if your body is ready,stripping the membranes can help start labor - that's what happened with Ruby, so I was hopeful that it would once again get things moving. If my body was not ready to have the baby, stripping the membranes wouldn't do anything.It seemed like a safe move.
I came home from my appointment and took Ruby and Jonah on a nice long walk. During our walk, the contractions were really intense, and 5 minutes apart. We came home for a break, and the contractions slowed down and got weaker. We walked to the school to get Maxwell. Once again, the contractions kicked in. And once again, after we got home,they slowed way down.
After lunch, Ruby and I went out to walk, AGAIN. This time the contractions were quite painful,and at least 5 minutes apart - many coming closer together. The wind was blowing, it was cold, and I was tired, so we came home - only to have things slow down again!
That afternoon, I helped the kids practice piano and do their reading. We walked to piano lessons and back a couple of times (with strong contractions each time). We made popcorn balls. I sewed four burp cloths and made dinner. Finally,around 6 pm, my contractions seemed to stay strong when I was not walking, but by this point, it seemed like a cruel joke.
After dinner, I sat down and read a book while John put the kids to bed, I took a shower, and then watched a movie with John. The entire time I was wondering if I should be paying attention to the contractions, or if it was another false alarm. At 10 pm, we started to get ready for bed, and debated whether or not to call Greg. Eventually, I gave him a call. I explained that I wasn't too optimistic, but there was a chance that labor would get serious that night and we'd need him to watch the kids. I asked if he'd rather spend the night, or just come up in the unlikely chance that John and I decided to go to the hospital. Greg said he'd just come up and spend the night. Shortly after I got off the phone with Greg, my contractions became more painful, and I started to feel sick. By the time Greg arrived, I'd decided that we'd better go to the hospital. I gathered my things together, and we'd set out - just like we had almost a week earlier.
When we got to the hospital (at about 11:30 pm), they quickly got us into a room (my reputation for quick births preceded us because a nurse we'd had before was working). Our doctor was called, and she told them to do a 20 minute test strip, to let me move around after that, and that she would be over soon. When she arrived, she had the nurse set the room up so they'd be ready when I was. Ruby, Jonah, and Maxwell were all born less than 2 hours after we arrived at the hospital, and my doctor seemed confident that this labor would follow the pattern set by my last two births. On the other hand, I was worried that we'd spend the night with everyone waiting and waiting for me to have the baby, and that he wouldn't be born for HOURS.
At about 12:45, I asked to be checked because the contractions were very strong. I'm always hesitant to be checked because the news can either be encouraging, or very depressing. Luckily, I had progressed to a 7, so I was encouraged, although still not confident that things would move quickly. My doctor and a nursing student stayed in the room with John and I after that. It was nice to have people to visit with between contractions, although it was kind of strange to have everyone quiet down while I was having a contraction. A little while later, I began to feel pressure (not quite an urge to push, but close to it) during contractions. After a few contractions like that, I asked to be checked again, and was found to be complete. The urge to push was still not overwhelming, and I was worn out emotionally, if not physically, so I asked my doctor to break my bag of waters to speed things up a little. After a few more contractions, she broke my water, and said I could push whenever I felt like it. I pushed on the next contraction, but it was so weak no one could tell I'd done it! Argh!
I pushed harder on the next contraction, and the next,and the next, and I started to wonder what was going on! The last 3 babies had all been born in just a couple of pushes, and I couldn't figure out what was taking so long.It turns out that Milo wasn't in the right position,so as I pushed, he was rotating into position before he could be born. (I wonder if breaking the bag of water made him drop down before he rotated all the way. If so, it was my own fault that I had to push so much longer.) The pushing was really hard and really scary. I always forget how painful and scary pushing is for me.
It's so strange to be the one in labor. No one else can feel what you're feeling, and even though John and my doctor are there, I feel pretty alone.Birthing my baby is something I have to do - no one can do it for me, and besides the baby, everyone else is mostly spectating. This time, the difference between the experience that the others had was markedly different from what I was experiencing. I managed to not scream out loud, so the nurses, my doctor, and even John thought that I was doing really well. I LOOKED calm, in control, and focused as I pushed. What I remember is totally different. I was scared silly, in a ton of pain, and felt like I was freaking out. It just hurt too badly to open my mouth to yell or scream or cry or even to open my eyes to see the birth (I always plan to watch the birth, and I've never been able to keep my eyes open). I remember thinking of how much it hurt, and how long it was taking, and just wanting it to be over and for him to be OUT. It felt more like chaos than calm to me.
Eventually, my pushing and his rotating did their job,and Milo was born! John helped to catch, and I managed to open my eyes to see my baby (and to ask for my camera so I could get a picture of John holding our newborn).
Once the cord stopped pulsing, John cut it, and I got a chance to hold our baby. He was hungry! Milo was basically born rooting. :) He was quickly cleaned up and weighed 
Milo hardly cried at all, which worried me, but his color was good and no one else was concerned. He was born at 1:17 am. Great timing. Just as my doctor finished with me, she headed over to another hospital to deliver another baby. :)
To read Jenny's blog and see beautiful pictures of Milo click HERE.Tuesday, April 28, 2009
How to Make a Belly Cast
Supplies needed:
Rigid Wrap. (http://www.michaels.com/art/online/displayProductPage?productNum=gc0027 ) You can buy this at most craft stores. I would buy 3 packs, maybe 4. They should cost about $4 a pack.
Vasaline.
Old bra
scissors
bowl of warm water
Directions:
Wear the old bra. Wear grubby pants down low under your belly.
Slather your belly and breasts with the Vaseline. Make sure you cover every area you plan on casting. This will allow the cast to come off easily.
Cut the rigid wrap into smaller pieces. Some about 8 inches, some 12 inches, some 18 inches.
Dip the larger pieces in the warm water and lay on your belly. Smooth it out.
Do that all over and in different directions. Smothing as you go. Use smaller pieces in touch up areas.
Do a few layers.
Try to make a nice edge.
It will harden quickly and you can lift it off.
Shower off and wash all the Vaseline off.
I've also heard of women using plastic wrap (like saran wrap) instead of Vaseline. I've never done that.
I hope it works for you.
Rigid Wrap. (http://www.michaels.com/ar
Vasaline.
Old bra
scissors
bowl of warm water
Directions:
Wear the old bra. Wear grubby pants down low under your belly.
Slather your belly and breasts with the Vaseline. Make sure you cover every area you plan on casting. This will allow the cast to come off easily.
Cut the rigid wrap into smaller pieces. Some about 8 inches, some 12 inches, some 18 inches.
Dip the larger pieces in the warm water and lay on your belly. Smooth it out.
Do that all over and in different directions. Smothing as you go. Use smaller pieces in touch up areas.
Do a few layers.
Try to make a nice edge.
It will harden quickly and you can lift it off.
Shower off and wash all the Vaseline off.
I've also heard of women using plastic wrap (like saran wrap) instead of Vaseline. I've never done that.
I hope it works for you.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Blessing Ways
What is a blessing way? It is a celebration of the mother and her journey to motherhood. It is an event to fill the mother with positive energy for her upcoming labor and delivery. It is a time to boost the mother’s confidence in her ability to birth her baby. It is also a time to support her and surround her with love.
Introductions
At the beginning of the blessing way it is fun to go around the room and do introductions, even if everybody knows each other. Some fun ways of doing introductions are to:
Have each woman introduce herself by saying, “My name is Jane. I am the granddaughter of Esther and Emily. Daughter of Karen. Mother to Megan and Tyler.”
Have the guests each light a candle.
Have the guests pass a ball of yarn around. Continue through the evening. Let the “web” created show the support circle for the mother. After the evening is over, everyone can cut a piece of the yard and tie it around her wrist as a reminder. They can wear it until the baby is born.
Pamper Mom
There are many things you can do to pamper the mother at the blessing way. Here are some ideas:
Foot rub
Belly cast
Henna
Belly silhouette (trace mom’s shadow on a large paper or poster hung on the wall while a lamp shines on mom’s side profile. Can decorate it)
Pedicure
Hand massage
Facial
Take photographs
Massage
Rose petals
Clean her house
Blessings
The blessing is a well-wish or an uplifting thought. Here are some ideas:
Poems
Songs
Scripture
Thoughts
Quotes
Balloon release
Birth art/ postpartum art
Gifts
Gifts at a blessing way are not traditional like a baby shower. They are centered around the mother and usually go along with the blessing given. Here are some ideas:
Soaps
Lotions
Beads (usually they go with the blessings and the mother can make a necklace or bracelet with the beads from all the guests)
Poster (this is something everyone could draw birth art on or write on for the mother to hang and look at during labor. You could do this with the silhouette.)
Coupons for postpartum service, complete with date, time, and what you will do. (example: June 4th,
Scrapbook. This could easily incorporate the blessings. If everyone knows before coming the size of the book, they could prepare their blessing on the correct size paper and then the blessings could all be kept together. The mother could look at the book during labor for encouragement. This would be ideal if the mother plans to birth outside her home. It is easy to transport. Even if she plans to birth at home she could neatly hang these on her wall and put them away when she is done with them. Then it is an easy way to store them forever.
Candles. These could also be tied into the blessings given.
Piece of fabric. Then later they could be sewn together to make a blanket.
Tokens, figurines, cards, or anything symbolic of the blessing.
Music. Is there a song with special meaning?
Food. What new mother doesn’t love a frozen casserole?! Or better yet, chocolate.
Sometimes the mother will prepare a gift for her guests to take home. Here are some thoughts:
A candle. The mother can ask someone to call the women when she is in labor and the women all light their candles to remember the laboring mother and say a prayer for her.
Music. The mother can prepare a disc of music and give it to her guests to have them play and remember her during labor.
Lotion or soap. Maybe the women could wear the lotion when they find out that the mother is in labor. As they smell the lotion, they will remember her and think of her during her labor.
Bracelet or something the women could wear during the mother’s labor.
Flowers, flower bulbs, or seeds.
Other things to consider are invitations (just a phone call? Email? Or something mailed?), food (are you bringing dinner, fruit, desserts? What ever it is don’t leave it up to the mother to prepare.), decorations, and entertainment (a video, song, or maybe even a belly dance?)
Blessing ways are wonderful and uplifting for all who attend. And so much fun! Please add comments if you think of any other great ideas or things you have seen done at blessing ways. Or just tell me what you think of blessing ways, especially if you have never heard of them before.
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