This is Part II. You definitely want to start with Part I to hear about how I was sent home from the hospital and told I was "not in labor." Back at home I laid on the couch with one leg over a couch pillow while Daniel dozed on a yoga mat on the floor next to me, holding my hand through contractions. The contractions were becoming unbearable and I started to feel overheated during them and … [Read more...]
Hildie’s Birth Story: Part I, “You’re Not in Labor”
To arrive at our sweet girl’s absolutely wild birth story, the stage must be set. It was a rough pregnancy. 25 weeks of debilitating nausea due to HG followed by a third trimester of lightheadedness and the other perks that come with anemia. Then my midwife mentioned, “Hmmmm, looks like she’s breech. But don’t freak out because she has plenty of time to turn.” I did start to freak out and … [Read more...]
A Hospital Bag Checklist for the Catholic Mom
I am 38 weeks tomorrow. My baby girl continues to stubbornly stay breech and transverse in there so this week is chock full of chiropractor visits, more handstands at the pool, acupuncture, moxibustion, and if all that fails (as it has been) an external version at the hospital on Friday. I am feeling very not in control of much right now. But I can pack my hospital bag (and I plan to take it … [Read more...]
Birth Plan Advice
Today I'm over at MamaAndBabyLove talking about envisioning your dream birth plan. If you're expecting, a good birth plan is a must! Here's a snippet of my post, I hope you, or a friend, can find it helpful: "When we wrote our birth plan for our first baby, my husband and I were surprised to realize how many things we hadn’t thought about before. Who was going to cut the cord? Did we want our … [Read more...]
Keeping Vigil
On Friday morning when I woke up, I lit a candle we brought back from St. Augustine for a friend who was in labor. I knelt and prayed for mother and baby in front of our family altar, asking for a safe and joyful delivery. By noon, I heard that mama and baby were safe and after saying a prayer of thanksgiving for the miracle of new life, I blew out the candle and went about my day. That … [Read more...]
Benjamin’s Birth Story: Part Three
This is Part Three. You can catch up by reading Part One and Part Two. My water still hadn’t broken so Christy, our midwife, asked if we would like her to break it and we agreed. This was 6pm. By 7pm Benjamin’s head was still tranverse and the contractions were still out of this world but I didn’t have the urge to push yet. But due to being able to labor all around the room and get things … [Read more...]
Benjamin’s Birth Story: Part Two
This is Part Two. If you missed Part One you can read it here. By the time we got to the hospital I was 7 cm and labor was intense. Daniel and I wanted to use the Bradley Method of husband-coached natural childbirth (no drugs). Christy, our midwife, suggested that Daniel and I walk around the halls to keep things progressing. During the next few hours my contractions intensified until they … [Read more...]
Benjamin’s Birth Story: Part Two
This is Part Two. If you missed Part One you can read it here. By the time we got to the hospital I was 7 cm and labor was intense. Daniel and I wanted to use the Bradley Method of husband-coached natural childbirth (no drugs). Christy, our midwife, suggested that Daniel and I walk around the halls to keep things progressing. During the next few hours my contractions intensified until they … [Read more...]
