The Homebirth of Karlie Joy

It has been just over a week since the birth of our precious Karlie girl. I look back at her birth-day as one of the greatest "joys" I have ever known. I could never imagined that one incredibly hard day would be so worth it!! The whole day was exhilarating! I would like to take credit for how beautiful she is, but when I look at her there is no question that her Creator is our Heavenly Father. All the glory to Him! I have prayed and prayed and done everything I could to have a smooth, successful VBAC for my child, and I feel abundantly blessed!! The whole day was what I hoped for and more.

The night of Aug. 21st Thad and I were watching a movie and I was realizing that some of my contractions were not feeling so braxton hicksy anymore. I had to actually focus on them a little more. I thought that after that movie I better get to bed in case I wake up with actual labor. Well, I really only got 3 or 4 hours of sleep. Some contractions waking me up, I would time them, and they seemed about 10 minutes apart, but some of them were really not strong at all. Then about 5:30 I decided to just get up because my mind was going all night, thinking this could be the day! I went down and made some toast with peanut butter and went for a walk outside. The sun was coming up and there was a nice cool breeze. I timed my contractions on a my trusty contraction master app on my phone while listening to Hillsong. They were coming every 6 minutes! I decided that it was time to wake Thad up and start making some plans for the day. Then I don't remember much about the next two hours until my doula got there except the visual of the bathroom rug as I was on my hands and knees trying to relieve some back pain. My mother-in-law came to pick up Will, he actually slept in that morning which was really nice. Then about 8:00 my wonderful doula arrived with amazing feeling back pressure and all sorts of different positions to try to get this baby to turn from the posterior position that it so stubbornly layed in for the last couple months. She really kept me moving while Thad prepared the birthing tub. Once the tub was ready...I was in it! It felt amazing!!! While in the tub I labored leaning over the edge on my knees. Jen(my doula) or Thad would press on my back and I would squeeze their hands real tight while taking deep belly breaths. On the exhale I would concentrate on the word "open," so I would in a deep voice say "OOOOhhhh,"and try to relax every muscle in my body while visualizing my cervix actually opening up. My doula had me get out of the tub once to keep me moving with more positions. About this time I lost my mucous plug and about 15 minutes later I was ready to get back in the tub. While being in the tub my contractions went from like 5 minutes apart to 1 minute apart in less than an hour if I remember right. At this point I think I said out loud that I didn't know if I could do this anymore...although I was thinking it the whole time...also that I don't think I will ever do it again. :) Thad called my midwife and she got there about 12:15. She wanted me to get out so she could check me. I did NOT want to get out of the tub again...and the last thing I wanted to do was lay on my back and have her stick her fingers up me. "...and there is no cervix," she said..."You are at a 10, fully dilated." Wow, I remember being really surprised...then again in the last couple of contractions I remember kind of involuntarily pushing. The urge was definitely there. But compared to my first experience, I was expecting another long labor. I got back in the tub for a bit, until my midwife thought that maybe getting on the bed would be a good idea. I did not like this idea, but went with it. She had me lay back into Thad on the bed and at each contraction grab my legs and pull back as hard as I could and push. I was curled so far back on my shoulders it was like I was upside down. This really helped that baby unlodge her head and turn. Thad said he could actually see the baby turn by watching my belly. Then a couple pushes later SHE was born! At 1:59 p.m. on August 22, 2011. She was 6 lbs. 8 oz. and 19 1/2 inches long. The moment she shot out of me (literally), they placed her on my chest. She was pink and beautiful and gooey. I placed my nipple toward her mouth and she went right for it. It was the coolest thing ever. I don't think she actually latched on at this point since I was awkwardly laying down while being stitched up, but she was trying. It was like she knew exactly what to do. I think in all it was about 7 hours of labor and an hour of pushing...oh yeah and my water broke during one of those pushes too, and may have splashed a little on my midwife if I remember right. :) It really was an amazing experience. I was so much more alert. I felt nourished on watermelon and fluids and did not get sick this time. I keep thinking over and over again that I had the best birth team ever, and I believe that I would not have had this HBAC experience without each of them.(including the tub)... :)

Unfortunately the recovery has been harder than expected with a significant tear and the loss of a bit more blood than usual, but I am gradually gaining strength and healing. My biggest concern is figuring out how to deal with two children now. Especially an almost 3 year old who has been acting up with quite the attitude lately. Will loves his baby sister...almost to an overwhelming amount that he can be in her face a little too much. :) I think once I am healed and we can get back to our normal routine and get outside a little more, my hope is that he will return to his normal self. But for now we are cherishing each little squeak and facial expression from this little girl and trying to get lots of rest. Who could look into the eyes of such a miracle and doubt the reality of God? I never could.

Here are a few pictures of the big day...you can also click here for a few more.

the birthing tub all prepared

must have been between contractions

It's a girl! (sorry skipped a lot of "show-to-much" pictures)

happy ending :)

Isn't she adorable!?

meeting big brother

Will REALLY likes his new sister :)

first family pic

We love you Karlie!

Welcome to the world Karlie Joy!!

Our beautiful baby girl was born at home yesterday, August 22 @ 1:59 p.m.

6 lbs. 8 oz. 19 1/2 inches long. Mom and baby are both doing well. Praise the Lord for a smooth and amazing VBAC!!! Birth story to come soon. :)

Starting on the Red Raspberry Leaf

This week I started drinking the ever so delicious red raspberry leaf tea. I went to our local health food store and bought the loose leaf Frontier brand in bulk. I was super surprised with how cheap it was!...and so much better than the tea bags. I actually just enjoyed the plain red raspberry leaf tea with out anything blended with it. Although I can see myself getting tired of it pretty quickly. I will probably add some peppermint or nettle to it and maybe change up between drinking it cold and hot. I also am loving my Teavana perfect tea maker for brewing up a lovely cup of this each afternoon. If you are a tea lover and have not heard of Teavava and their wonderful products you should definitely look into it. The picture above is the perfect tea maker in use. You just pour the loose leaf tea inside the maker and pour boiling water over top. Let it steep for the suggested time and place the maker over top of your mug and it strains out the bottom. Super slick!

...and about the red raspberry leaf tea...It is known as the herb for pregnancy. It helps tone the uterus for labor and helps reduce the pain during and after birth. It also helps give you more effective contractions during labor and can help prevent postpartum hemorrhage. It is rich in vitamins A, B complex, C and E as well as calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium. It also is a great treatment for anemia, leg cramps, and works as an anti-inflammatory. Not like this is already the most awesome tea for women, but it also helps with the production of breast milk!

If you are pregnant and wondering when and how you can start drinking it too here are some thoughts...

Some people who have had previous miscarriages or preterm labor should probably not drink it until they are in their 3rd trimester. Obviously consulting your midwife or doctor first would be the best, but I have heard of people sipping a small cup from the time they find out they are pregnant. So I think it just depends on you and what you are most comfortable with. I started a thread on Mothering in my due date club and got a lot of great ideas and stories. You can check that out here. I also read about someone who made a really strong infusion and mixed it with orange juice to freeze into Popsicle to enjoy during and after labor. Yum!

My Inspiration

I found this video on Mothering tonight and was blown away by its beauty! This is my inspiration, along with all the other wonderful homebirth stories I have been reading. But Lindsey and I have something in common. I have experienced a Cesarean (as did she) and I am ready for a VBAC! (I am NOT telling you I am pregnant...sorry) :) I am getting educated and healthy and if anyone has any good reads or advice as far as VBAC or preferably HBAC, please let me know. thanks!...and enjoy the video.

My Journey to a VBAC from Lindsey Meehleis on Vimeo.

Pray for Hunter!

*Thank you so much for your prayers. Hunter is doing excellent! The hole has filled up and my sister called me with so much excitement today that she was able to feed him and he did wonderful! *

I am an Aunt!! Well, I have been an aunt since I married into the Fever family a few years ago, but my sister just had a baby this week!...and he is soooo cute! Her water broke early wednesday morning and she had a healthy birth around 3am yesterday. A little 5 lb. 8 oz. boy . What a blessing! This was very unexpected because she was not due for another 4 weeks. We were all very surprised. I have never been so anxious waiting all day to know how she was doing and wondering when she was going to actually have this baby. Unfortunately she was not able to hold baby Hunter right away for he was rushed to the NICU because of his trouble breathing with being so early. He has a hole in his lung, but just keeps on improving. Kristin and Josh have been really positive about everything and seem to be doing really well, but we all know it is hard to go through stuff like this. I knew I could count on my blogger readers to be praying for this precious little babe. That is what I love about this online community; all the support and encouragement.

Thanks!

Birth Story

Although my story is the exact opposite of how we had planned, it is still such a miracle and we are more than blessed with such a beautiful healthy baby boy. It is hard to explain how amazing the experience of a child coming into the world is, and even more so your own child.....so it was October 2, 2008 when Thad and I decided to go get some spicy food at a local mexican restaurant to try and get labor started. We ordered our meal and Thad said something funny.....I laughed and my water broke all over the resteraunt booth! I ran to the car as Thad payed for his drink and got applauded by others around us who knew what happened...very embarrassing! :) We could hardly believe this was finally happening, I was starting to feel like I was going to be pregnant forever. It was only about an hour later when I was in the shower that contractions started. (about 8:30). We went out to target and walmart to get a few things and quickly headed home for I really started to feel contractions getting stronger and closer together. Our doula, Vicki, arrived and helped me cope through each contraction; she and Thad alternating pressing on my back. Things seemed to be moving fast; having front and back labor at the same time was becoming unbearable and I began feeling really sick to where we thought maybe I was moving into transition stage so we called Kim, my midwife, and she got here as soon as possible. Checking me when she got here I was dilated at 7 cm....so we thought it wouldn't be long...but the night seemed to go on and on forever, now of which I recall being a blur. I labored at home for 28 hours!! I got to 9 cm and never felt the urge to push. They gave me a little more time to try and progress but then after checking me again Kim realized that I backtracked to 7 cm and she thought the baby had turned posterior, and we could not get it turn back. The only way we all felt comfortable at this point was going to the hospital. It was not what I wanted to happen, but my birth team was tired and I could not hold on much longer in this pain having not slept or eaten anything in a couple of days. Everyone at the hospital was so great in letting me stick it out a little longer so that I could still have the chance of delivering this baby naturally...but 12 hours later with no progression at all they decided it was becoming dangerous for the baby being a couple of days since my water broke. He was at high risk for infection, the only choice was a c-section. At this point I was exhausted and wanted whatever was best for the baby. The doctors had to give me a spinal anesthesia, and wow! I never felt better. I couldn't feel anything in the bottom half of my body and after 40 hours of labor this was amazing! I went in for the surgery and 5 minutes later the baby was out! William Thad was born on Saturday, October 4, 2008 at 12:42 p.m. at 7 lbs. 4 oz and 20 inches long. I could hardly believe how fast it happened. Thad watched, announced the sex, and was the first one to hold the baby. He was able to bring him over to put him up to my head while they stitched me back up. The whole experience was so surreal I could hardly believe that was the baby inside me. The reason I was not progressing was because Will's head was tilted sideways not allowing it to drop any further. Unfortunately because my water had been broken for so long, Will had an elevated C Reactive Protein count (a marker in the blood for inflammation) and had to stay in the intensive care for 7 days on antibiotics. Once again it was not what we had planned, but he progressed so well and we got to take him home today. It was kind of emotional when he got his IV taken out and all the cords from the monitors taken off...he was finally free! We have never appreciated being home so much, and we are so thankful for this beautiful, healthy baby boy. Thanks to all of you for your prayers. Here are a few new pictures...

Daddy and Will.....
Will's first bath in the hospital....


...and the day we were all waiting for...taking Will home!!!
(It took him a few minutes to get used to the car seat)

William Thad

Our little Will was born on Saturday, October 4th at 12:42 p.m. 7 lbs. 4 oz. 20 inches long. We will post more pictures and a birth story probably next week sometime. Thanks to everyone for their prayers.

Homebirth and 13 week update

Many of you may know by now that Thad and I are planning for a homebirth. I thought it would be appropriate to explain our reasoning for this and why we believe that giving birth in our own home is what is right for us. Before I begin, I want to include that I am not against hospital birth and neither is our midwife. I believe that many people have had wonderful experiences in the hospital. We know that unexpected complications could arise at any time and our certified nurse midwife knows how to handle those situations. If it is something beyond her reach she has no problem with transferring us to a hospital and sticking through the entire thing so we feel as comfortable as possible.

Many people in our country think of homebirth as unsafe, generally because we are uneducated about it and don’t know what other options are available. We personally feel more comfortable in our own home where I can relax. I am able to labor in whatever position I need to do with out having to worry about who is going to walk in the room next. I will be able to sleep in my own bed afterwards next to my husband. I can eat or drink whatever I want and whenever I want because it is immediately available. It will also be less likely for me to pick up an infection. A mother is used to the bacteria in her own environment and has built up immunities to it.

Giving birth is a very normal and natural condition. For me, I feel that in a hospital we are treated as more of a medical patient. In the hospital a baby being born is a daily occurrence and treated like it is a medical condition. Essentially the mother is the only one who really knows what her body needs. It is also less likely to have unnecessary intervention with a midwife attended homebirth. There are many people I have talked to that feel they were unhappy with the way things progressed in a hospital setting. For instance, the doctor does not feel like the labor is progressing and they do not want to be there all night so they call the shots and bring the patient in for a c-section when maybe the baby was just not ready to come out yet.(In some situations; not them all.) For women having their first birth in a hospital the c-section rate is now up to 40%! For women having their first birth at home the c-section rate is at 1%. Crazy! Wow, it seems like most of the time a c-section is pretty unnecessary, and opens the door for more complications. I do understand that for some people there is no choice and that is the way it goes, but I do know that I would want to stay away from that as much as possible.

Here is a bit of information I found interesting while reading a fellow bloggers thoughts...
"At homebirths, babies are usually immediately placed on the mom’s stomach or breast, providing security, warmth and immediate bonding between mom and baby. This contact provides security for both mom and baby. In the rare case when the baby has difficulty breathing on its own, midwives are fully trained in infant CPR. Usually, putting the baby right to the breast and having mom talk to her baby will encourage it to take those first breaths.
Putting the baby immediately to the breast helps reduce any bleeding the mom may have. The sucking action stimulates the uterus and causes it to contract. This closes off blood vessels and reduces bleeding."-Amy.

I really enjoy our midwife. She comes to our house for my prenatal visits and spends over an hour with us each time. I feel the more time spent with us the more we get to know each other and will feel more comfortable with each other on the day of. She is a certified nurse midwife who was a nurse first and then went to midwifery school. She has 8 children of her own and 6 of them were born at home. She has also attended over 350 homebirths and hospital births in the Quad cities area. After meeting with her for the first time we felt very comfortable with her and realized that this is exactly what we want to do. She has a website for anyone who wants to look more into it. It provides questions and answers, service information, and other resources to look at. I found it to be very helpful. Her website is http://www.homesweethomemidwifery.net/.

We are still thinking about hiring a doula to assist in the laboring. I will attend a series of birth classes taught by a trained Bradley Method doula in our area and from there we will decide if we want to have her attend our birth as well. She will teach us plenty of positions that will help the labor progress without using pitocin. If she were to attend our birth she would also provide us with specific message that can help ease pain and progress labor as well. I don't have much information about doula services yet, we are learning as we go. If anyone has had a similar experience and has any advice for me, let me know I would love to hear about your experience.

And here is an update...I am 13 weeks and 5 days along...or 96 days along...or you could say I have 26 wks and 2 days to go...or 184 days to go. hehe, kinda fun :) The fetus is said to be about the size of a peach right now. I have still been feeling pretty good, and am now entering into my second trimester! Crazy! It feels like this has all just started, but I am now a third of the way done! So exciting!...but I am still tired all the time. Hopefully that will start to get better as I progress into the second trimester. I have really started to have an opinion about what foods I want to eat and which ones I CAN NOT STAND! I kind of feel like a kid, with certain foods (depends on the day), I will start to chew and have to spit it right back out or I feel like I may get sick. Eww! But for the most part I am feeling pretty good. Our next prenatal appointment is April 2nd. Here is my 13 weeks and 5 days belly picture...

The Business of Being Born

Thad and I anxiously waited to see the documentary," The Business of Being Born." Renting is only available on Netflix right now and in late spring will be available in video stores. But since we have recently decided to have a homebirth we were interested to check it out. So we signed up for one month of netflix, which was only $4.95. It was way worth it, for we did not want to wait a couple of months. We loved it! I tryed to post a YouTube trailor on my blog, but I could not figure it out. So, is all you have to do is click here to see the trailor.

"Natural childbirth is the focus of this documentary by filmmaker Abby Epstein and executive producer Ricki Lake. Much debated issues concerning at-home verses hospital births and controversies of the childbirth industry are explored through intimate footage of several mothers--including Lake--and their birthing experiences." -Rotton Tomatoes

I feel this documentary was not at all one-sided, but addresses many issues that we all need to be aware of. I hope you enjoy.