Friday, May 20, 2016

Sometimes

Being a mom can be lonely.. Especially a stay at home mom.. Especially to two young ones close in age, both in diapers.. Both napping. Don't get me wrong when the house is quiet it can be quite nice. 

You go through your day with hardly any adult conversation then when your hubby gets home he's burnt out on talking from his job and the kids get a lot of focus.. So your need for bonding and adulting falls to the wayside. 

I'm thankful I have my mom friends to hang with. I don't have to have something to take my children to everyday but it helps break the day up. If I go a whole day with no phone calls or texts because most people are busy working I just feel on my own, or maybe even forgotten but that's not often. You just have to listen to yourself and know when you need bonding time with friends, when you need a break, and when you need to reach out. 

Most of the time play dates are more for the moms, so the kids tire out, so we can talk to other adults, so we can also breathe in the fresh outdoor air and feel the sun on our skin too so when our kid wants to go home shortly after arrival.. After the process of getting dressed putting on sunscreen packing etc it can be quite frustrating.




Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Worn


This picture is what being a mom can look like sometimes.. It's not all cute selfies with your children smiling. It's a worn out momma with huge bags under her eyes trying to not have to get up to pee since both kids are asleep. 

Motherhood is often grabbing your screaming toddler at 1:30am to join you in your bed while your 4 month old is trying to sleep in the bassinest next to your bed and your husband is on the couch. Normally my husband takes care of toddler if he wakes but he didn't hear him and he was upset. My job is to comfort, especially since that morning he got a bad coffee burn. Needless to say momma didn't get much sleep, toddler wanted to see how many times he can change positions for the next two hours. When he finally fell asleep sissy needed to eat.

In this picture daddy had brought him back to me after he slept some in his room and fell asleep on my chest and his sister is nursing! Momma was stuck but needed and loved. I may be lacking in sleep and outings out of the house but the days are never dull and constantly changing. 

As my second and last baby is four months old already I'm reminded how quickly they grow up. So as I sit and listen to her blow raspberries I remind myself to listen harder for things to smile and laugh about and slow down and savor. And if the morning is starting out rough don't freak out because it'll pass some times in 15 minutes and some times in a few days. This morning it seemed as neither would nap and both were fussing but now my toddler is asleep and I have time to eat lunch and love on sissy! 

So for today I'll accept that it will be spent wiping snot and cuddling my babies because that's what this period in my life calls for. I probably won't get out of the house but tomorrow is another day! And the rain is supposed to go away tomorrow too! 

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

The Day She Came

It's time to sit and write about Callie's birth before I forget most of it. I have a bad memory, mommy brain and I'm lacking in sleep these days. Let me start by saying I had a home birth and even though I ended up getting transferred to the hospital both my husband and I agree if we had it to do again we would do another home birth. Sorry this is going to be long but cathartic for me.

On the 28th I started to spot some, so I think my bloody show was starting and that continued and then on the 30th my bag of waters was leaking and continued to get heavier to where I had to use a heavy pad instead of a pantyliner.

So on July 30th my 18 month old was drinking a smoothie I made him on our living room floor out of a plastic cup using a reusable hard plastic straw and he fell forward and cut a huge deep gash into the middle of the roof of his mouth. He bled a ton! Me being a mother and two weeks over due pregnant I freaked out and was screaming and crying and calling my husband who couldn't understand me. I then called my girlfriend who is in the medical field and she came over to help us. The gushing blood stop but it still bled off and on and he cried off and on which isn't like him. He's a pretty tough little boy. At first we thought since it was in the mouth it would heal on its own okay but the more I looked at it the more it worried me, there was a lot of skin hanging and it looked deep.

I called the pediatrician nurse line since the office was closing and she said if it was longer than an inch to go to the ER. I was trying to avoid the ER since I was over due pregnant and didn't want to be stuck in a waiting room for hours. My friend suggested to go to the ER since they would have an ENT specialist and an urgent care office would not. My husband came home from work and we all three took my son to the ER. We got admitted very quickly so that was good. The bad news was the doctor said it wouldn't repair itself and my son would need sutures and would have to be put under for it. I was so glad my best friend was there to support me and keep us calm. She even helped out when nurses were messing up my sons IV install. I had to leave the room for that! It was a stressful and emotional day to say the least. His doctor was awesome and the nurses loved my sweet son. My mother in law came and hung out with us too.

We got there around 4:30 and didn't get home until around 11:30 and at that point my labor was slowly starting. It was an active two days and I didn't get any sleep. I tried to sleep so I would be rested for labor but my contractions were bothering me too bad. Oh yea that whole time I was at the hospital for my son I was trying to hide the fact that I was quite uncomfortable and was having contractions by the end at every five minutes or so. I ran out of pads to hold my leaking water though and had to use newborn diapers the midwife had! We had to laugh at the situation. My midwife met me in the parking lot and listened to the baby and all was good. She went home and so did we once we got our son. My husband slept and so did my son for a little bit but then my son started crying and I couldn't let him cry because he had just had surgery on his mouth and his cry sounded so awful! Needless to say we all ended up in our full sized guest bed for a while and the boys slept and mom shifted around uncomfortably! It was a sweet moment though.

I had a great doula too, that happens to be a close family friend. She's very sweet and compassionate. She works on weekends and had just gotten back from a beach trip so it was just meant to be that she was able to make the birth. Friday was the only day she could make it and that was the day I went into labor! Talk about timing!

I ended up getting up and standing in the shower for a while, that felt really good. The warm water on my back was awesome. Then I filled up our master bathtub and hung out in there for a while sipping on juice. My son woke up around 6:15 instead of his normal 7:30 and he wanted his mommy badly. He got in the tub with me and played some. In the pictures his mouth was still very swollen and he didn't look like himself at all! He started to throw toys at me so we got him out of that tub. I can't remember exactly what time we called the midwife and doula to come but it was probably around 6 or so. I was never sure when a good time to call them was and also never called my photographer friend. Some times it's better to have less people there and a calm environment.

My husband was filling up the birthing tub with the midwife but the water was way too hot for me to get into. Our son at one point was trying to help add cold water to it. When I finally got in the birth tub it felt so good. Our son was throwing his lovey into the birth pool and getting fussy so we texted my mother in law to come hang out with our son. I was just going to have my husband and the midwife team at home for the birth but we ended up needing my mother in law and she was a great help. It was especially good that she was there when I had to go to the hospital!

Once my son went downstairs my labor started to progress quicker according to the midwife. My husband and doula both worked hard at massaging my back and doing counter pressure. The team kept bringing cold washcloths with hints of essential oils on them for my forehead and that was great! I had birth affirmations and scriptures hanging all around the bedroom and bathroom that my friends had written. I had an awesome play list playing on the Bose speaker. Most of the time everyone was quiet unless I talked to them or I needed encouragement. It was a relaxing atmosphere.

I was probably in labor for 12 or so hours give or take and pushed for about 2.5 hours. With my first child I pushed for 3 hours in the hospital with an epidural and pitocin. This birth was unmedicated but because Callie was coming out in a position called military presentation it slowed things down and made them more difficult to get her out. That means she was coming out with her forehead tilted upwards. military presentation picture I was so hoping that since it was my second child and I wasn't using pitocin or an epidural that the process would be quicker this time! ahh We can't always get what we want I guess. I know me not being laid back in a bed like in the hospital helped things, gravity helps get the baby out. If I would have been in the hospital they would have forced me into a C-section because her heart rate dropped for a few minutes and it was taking a while.

I labored in the birth tub most of the time but towards the end I had to get out and labor on the birth stool and then I labored on all fours on the hardwood floor beside our master bed! That is the position that she finally came out in. I liked being in the water because I could switch positions very easily. Her heart rate had dropped so I had to get her out quickly! Her head and body came out all at once, which isn't common! We all knew it was an act of God. I had been talking to God most of the delivery and my midwives prayed too. It was pure coincidence or just God intervening that I ended up with a midwife and midwife assistant there were both Christians. Our baby girl came out behind me so I didn't see whether she was a boy or girl. We didn't find out her sex until she was born, we wanted it to be a surprise. Someone had mentioned the word bud or boy so we didn't even think it was a girl for a little bit. We were shocked!! It actually took it like a week or more for it to kick in that we have a girl.

Once she came out we waited until the umbilical cord stopped pulsing and then daddy cut it while I was in the bed nursing and having skin to skin. The placenta came out easily on its own shortly after baby was born. I laid in bed for about an hour after she was born while she got checked out. I went to stand up with help to go soak in the bath tub and get cleaned up and that's when I started to hemorrhage. I couldn't really see it happening. They laid me back down and let me husband know that we should call an ambulance. He had knee surgery in May so he couldn't carry me to the car. The reason I hemorrhaged was because pieces of the membranes from the sac surrounding the baby came loose and remained in my uterus. There were clots inside and it was pushing my uterus higher than it should be. I almost passed out but didn't.

The EMS and rescue team came and talked to us. It wasn't a rushed or crazy thing. I didn't feel scared, I was just upset that I had to leave my babies and go to the hospital, which I was trying to avoid to start with. They had a chair they were going to have me sit in to go down our stairs, I was like are you crazy?! I just tore and gave birth. They brought this special "mega mover" tarp thing they use for heavy patients instead so it would be easier on my bum. It looked like I was being carried down the stairs in a body bag. Thank goodness my mother in law shielded my son from seeing that! I remember being outside in the bright SUN and it was blinding and hot out and I asked the rescue team if anyone was outside looking at me haha. I got an IV in the EMS and fluids. They didn't speed to the hospital or turn on their sirens. The hospital is like 8 minutes from our house which is another reason I was okay with doing a home birth.

The worst part pain wise was all that took place at the hospital. I would rather be in labor again than deal with that stuff. I had a catheter inserted three times. That was super painful! especially since I was all swollen. I had like 5 different people press on my stomach to try to push my uterus down. I had a third almost fourth degree tear that I had to get stitches for. My clots had to pushed out and scooped out. I was starving, exhausted and weak! I wanted food and sleep so badly but it was going to be a long time before I would get those. They wouldn't let me eat real food until after some of the pain meds were given that I begged for once I knew I was getting stitches. I had to bed for crackers and juice and pillows. They gave me pitocin so my uterus could contract back down some more.

I was so emotional at the hospital and on the way. I don't think I've ever cried so much! I was sad that things didn't work out the way I wanted them to or had planned in my head or like I had watched on Youtube. I was sad to be leaving my two children. I was very hormonal. I was also racking my brain with all the medical bills adding up, husband had knee surgery, my son had mouth surgery and now I was in the hospital too! My mother in law later brought my daughter to us and some much needed food. I wouldn't have been able to get through that day without all the family that helped. My mother in law cared for our two children for a while. My brother and sister in law took my son to our in laws house to spend the night and watched him while she was with us at the hospital. Everyone was where they needed to be when we needed them!

Because I wasn't able to stand up on my own to go to the bathroom because I was so weak and because I couldn't pee on my own even into a bed pan I had to stay in the hospital overnight and our daughter stayed with us. I lost a lot of blood so my body took a while to gain the strength needed to get out of the hospital but I went home the next afternoon and didn't need a transfusion. I was drinking so much fluids and eating a ton of food trying to be able to go home!!

Our baby girl was born perfectly healthy at 8.8lbs and 21.5" She came at 11:25am on July 31st! I have to just be happy that she and I are both healthy. I'm proud of myself for rocking a long hard unmedicated home birth! I'm working on learning to not be jealous of other women's faster, quicker, easier births or magical looking home or water births. Every birth and every pregnancy is different. I can't have another baby just to try to have a pretty water birth with beautiful pictures. I'm pretty sure we are done having kids. Two is a a good number for us! I would have never thought three years ago that it would have been something I could accomplish. I didn't just get through it and survive but I rocked it as my husband would say. He says I was a beast :) She is almost 12 pounds already! She's growing like a weed.

I feel so blessed to have both a boy and a girl. Our son is growing into such a good big brother. I'm proud of him already. Our little family is complete!

Monday, September 21, 2015

Why I chose Home Birth

1. Being in your own home is so much more comfortable than being in the hospital! at home you have your own bed to relax in after giving birth, your own food, shower, and towels.

  • home is comfortable because there aren't strangers walking in and out of your room at all hours of the morning and night. at home there's also a bed for my husband to relax in instead of a hard bench. 
  • since your mind can relax so can your body which makes it easier to relax for labor
  • at home you have much less inhibitions and are able to be free and do what you need to do to ease your pain.
  • it's nice to not be hooked up to an IV or have a blood pressure cuff squeezing your arm or stomach
  • at home you can eat or drink whatever you want to keep yourself energized and fueled up
2. Hospitals are scary!
  • just going into a hospital tenses my body up and gets my stomach churning. the more tense you are the the more fear affects your pain levels in your body. even the smells in the hospital are bothersome. everything is very rushed and emergency like and birth most of the time is not an emergency but a natural process your body knows how to do. 
3. When you are at home it's much easier to have your wishes followed for your birth. When you are in the hospital it's hard to stick to your guns in the heat of the moment unless you have a great birth advocate like a doula, which I recommend. 

4. I liked the idea of having my son at home even if he wasn't right there during the moment she came out. I didn't want to be away at the hospital for several days and then come home to my toddler. I thought it would make it harder for him to adjust to having a new sibling; if there were an added factor of mommy leaving him; unfortunately I did leave him for a night. I wanted him to be a part of the process and feel included.

5. At home you can deliver in the birthing pool, that part didn't work out for me but I did labor most of the time in the birth pool. The warm water surrounding me helped a lot with contractions. 

6. I wanted to deliver at home so afterwards I could shower and then relax in my own bed and just be with my family! I wouldn't have to go any where or pack up and drive home. Since I had to go to the hospital that part didn't fully work out. 

7. With being at home things were at my own pace, they weren't on a a hospital's timeline or another persons agenda. I was able to listen to my own body. I wasn't told when to push and was never checked for dilation during my pregnancy or delivery. 

8. You can use a midwife and deliver at home or the hospital or a birthing center but using a midwife this pregnancy from 18 weeks on was so much different and better than an OBGYN. I felt so connected, loved and genuinely cared for and to top all that off I didn't have to wait in the waiting room for an hour then go sit in a cold room for 30 more minutes. I felt much more educated too. 

9. My first pregnancy was healthy with no complications and with the second one I remained healthy and my first few appointments and my 18 week ultrasound were all great. 

10. I talked to several people that had home births and they had great things to say, not to say that it's a walk in the park. I was influenced by the movie "The Business of Being Born." I watched a lot of Youtube videos of actual home births and water births and read a lot of blogs and stories. There is so much done in hospitals and Obgyns that are just unnecessary and lead to more necessary things being done. I wanted to avoid a C-section. 

11. My husband was fully supportive and had faith in me that I could do it. 

12. I had many people praying that all would go well. 

13. It wasn't a large factor but I did think it would be a little cheaper than a hospital birth. 

I am probably forgetting something but I think I covered most of it.


Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Slowly

I'm trying to relax and slow down and enjoy the little things with my children. They are 18 months apart and both under two so life is chaotic but wonderful!  I'm currently enjoying my one month old sleeping on my chest, listening to her breathe and taking in her scent. Her big brother is napping. I could clean but I'm listening to my body, I know I need the rest more! 

My husband and I both catch ourselves staring at our toddler as he plays and just enjoying him. He's so smart and funny. Even after he goes to bed we look at videos on our phone. 

I watched a video on Facebook about not doing and just being. It was very moving. Our day doesn't have to be busy for it to be full. It can be full of laughter and learning without leaving the house.

Saturday, August 22, 2015

What can I bring?

 Top things to bring a momma that just had a baby:

1. Food; already prepared meals, snacks and quick things to grab. If she's breastfeeding she's hungry like every hour! Granola bars, brownies :)

2. Coffee, already made like a treat from the coffee shop or even keruig pods too! 

3. Wine! And beer for daddy, don't forget dad he's stressed too! 

4. Diapers and wipes

5. Help, come prepared to help around the house or run errands or entertain the other children. But also sometimes momma just needs company :) like come by in the evening for a glass of wine and a show together to catch up. 

6. A small gift for the older child. My son was so happy when people made him feel special! It's amazing how happy the dollar section at Target can make a toddler! 

7. Maybe a dvd rental 

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

A few of our favorite baby and baby momma things

My son is almost 6 months now! I know it sounds cliche but time really does fly! It's hard to believe almost 6 months ago we brought him home. I thought since we are close to half a year flying by I could go over some of my favorite things for baby and maybe some momma liked.

For the newborn stage we loved the Aden + Anais swaddle blankets.  They are the best for swaddling when young and smaller and not as strong and skilled at busting out of the swaddle. They are light weight and breathable. If they accidentally cover baby's face you don't have to worry as much because they are so thin. They are great for light weight blankets for in the stroller too! They are bit pricey but totally worth getting at least one pack or adding to your registry. I've also scored and found them at Marshalls.

At first his favorite paci was the soothie kind that the hospital gave him (without my permission) grrr.. oh well!

I think maybe having a paci too early might have made it hard for him to master latching for breastfeeding. Although I did have flat nipples and he had a high pallet so that might have some to do with him needing a nipple shield. So on a side note.. nipple shields saved me for the first few months breast feeding! The first few weeks I had to solely pump but then we used nipple shields for 3 months and then he randomly started taking my nipple on his own! I was soo happy and proud!! I used the Medela shields from Target. If you do need to use them make sure to have at least 4! I had one in diaper bag, one upstairs, one down stairs and one at my mother in laws. I also tried the Ameda and NUK brands and both worked fine.

This is the type I'm talking about soothe paci. He also loved the soothie kind with the little stuffed animal attached to it for a bit. They are called WubbaNub. The things they like changes from week to week! You go out and stock up on what they like and so do you in-laws and then that little guy changes his mind!

His favorite for quite a while have been the Avent paci. They have lots of holes around the mouth area so they're breathable. He will only take the pacis where the mouth part is straight, he hates the ones that curve. My mother in law bought him a Tommee Tippee one and I was like oh.. he won't like that! It's his favorite one! They are hardly ever in stock at Target. Last time I was there I bought the last pack and our foster dog has already chewed the 2nd one in the pack. You always need to have back ups of the baby's favorite things!! I have always found mine at Target.

Another great thing we have that we loved was the bouncer seat!! We have the Ingenuity Brand one in neutral colors. You will use these all the time! They also are great for setting on the bathroom floor facing the shower and strapping the baby in so you can take a shower. That is literally the only way to take a shower sometimes!