Dear Brandon,
I thought I'd write a little bit about our experience with midwives and our homebirth. I knew I wanted to have a midwife from the beginning, but it was something I had to convince your Dad of! We talked a lot about it and did some research. Midwifery care is great because its a lot more personlized than care with a doctor. In the beginning of my pregnancy we saw one of our three midwives about every five weeks, and that gradually increased to weekly appointments once I was 36 weeks along. Each appointment was 30-45 minutes long, and we were given lots of information as well as the opportunity to ask questions. It was really nice to get to know them, and feel comfortable with each. Any one of them could be on call when it came time for your birth, so it was good to be able to see each of them equally during my pregnancy. Many people have asked whether we would use midwives again, and our answer is 100% yes! We couldn't have been happier with the care we received.
As for homebirths, this was something that I had always been open to, but Daddy had never even considered it. Around the beginning of my third trimester, we began to talk about it with our midwives. Daddy was quite worried that it wouldn't be safe, and felt like we should be in the hospital. We attended an information session, and were able to hear other peoples' experiences with giving birth at home. Daddy found it especially helpful to hear from other dads. We spent a lot of time talking it over with each other and asked questions of our midwives. We were told about studies that have shown that home birth is just as safe (if not safer) than hospital births, provided the pregnancy is progressing normally. There is very strict criteria that I had to meet in order to be eligible to give birth at home.
Eventually Daddy came around to the idea, and realized that it probably would be more comfortable to be able to labour at home, be in our own environment, and do things on our own terms. I liked the idea of being in my own bed after the birth, and having the ability to eat food from home!
We went ahead and purchased a homebirth kit which contained most of the supplies we'd need (things like garbage bags for dirty laundry, waterproof sheets to put on our mattress, and absorbent pads to catch any fluid. Many people think that a homebirth would be really messy, but once the midwives were gone there was very little evidence of what had just happened!
Midwives don't have the qualifications to administer pain relief like laughing gas or epidurals, so I knew that a homebirth meant going drug free. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to handle the pain, and would end up in the hospital begging for drugs! In reality, Daddy told me that I never once asked for drugs, and only said things like "ouch" and "it hurts" right at the very end. I guess subconsciously, I knew that if I decided I needed help with the pain, I'd have to go to the hospital which wasn't what I wanted at all. But I don't recall thinking about pain medication during labour at all.
Once you were born it was so nice to be able to start bonding with you in our bed right away. You weren't going to be whisked away from us to be examined. The midwives stuck around for about two hours after you were born to make sure you and I were both OK. One midwife comes to check on us everyday at home for the week after your birth, then we will go into their clinic for checkups up until about 6 weeks. They listen to your heart and lungs, take my blood pressure and pulse, help out with breastfeeding, and answer any questions we have. They've also given me lots of tips already about breastfeeding, to make sure you are getting what you need until my milk comes in.
We actually didn't tell many people that we were planning a homebirth; not because we felt the need to justify our decision, but rather because we weren't sure how our family and friends would feel about the idea. The last thing we wanted was to hear any negative or skeptical opinions. Daddy decided not to tell anyone in his family, but I told my parents and sister, who were all very supportive. Now many people are asking me if it was planned or not, and want to know all about it! They will all soon find out that it was a wonderful experience, and we'd definitely do it again!
Thursday, June 16, 2011
You're Here!
Dear Brandon Connor,
You're finally here! You were named after Daddy's oldest brother, who tragically lost his life in a car accident in 2000. Connor is a name that both Daddy and I liked.
At about 12:15 am on June 14th, I was laying in bed trying to fall asleep when I felt and heard a "pop" in my abdomen. I had heard that that's a common sensation to feel when the amniotic sac (bag of waters) breaks. I didn't feel any fluid right away, until I sat up in bed to switch sides. I woke up Daddy and told him that my water just broke. He turned on the bedroom light and sure enough, the sheets were wet. Good thing we'd put the waterproof mattress cover down a few days before! We first paged Beth, the midwife on call at the time and told her. At that point I wasn't yet feeling any contractions, so she advised me to take a few Tylenol, and try to get back to bed, as it can sometimes take up to 24 hours to start having contractions. Next I called my parents to let them know, as my Mom was planning to come over and hopefully be there for the birth. She would have to wait until the morning to catch the ferry over. Daddy sent a text message to his Mom. So we went back to bed despite our excitement and realization that the day had finally come. I was shaking like a leaf! About half an hour later, I started to feel some contractions. They weren't painful at first, just uncomfortable so I was able to partly ignore them. Within a few hours they were getting uncomfortable and I had to breathe through them, while at the same time sitting up in bed and walking back and forth. Around 4am, it was obvious that I wouldn't be getting any more sleep, so we got out of bed and moved to the living room. Daddy started timing my contractions, and they were about four or five minutes apart. Over the next two hours, it started to get intense. I generally would get down onto the floor on my knees, and put my arms on the couch. I moved my pelvis around which felt better than staying still or standing up. I was breathing quite hard by this point, and Daddy would help me take drinks of water when each contraction was over. Around 6:30am, Daddy called Beth again to let her know that things were getting pretty hard for me. I managed to speak to her on the phone and answer her questions, but I had to stop talking during the contractions. She suggested getting into the bath, and let us know she was on her way. Daddy ran the bath nice and warm, and in I got. I found it relaxing to lay back a bit in between contractions, but found I had to sit up and squeeze Dad's hand to help me through. I was already starting to feel pressure and was getting the urge to push, but was trying hard not to until Beth arrived. About 45 minutes later she finally arrived and I soon got out of the bath. I moved into our bedroom and got on my hands and knees on our bed. She checked my cervix and found that I was fully dilated and could start pushing anytime. Daddy held my hands the whole time and I started pushing with each contraction. It wasn't long before I laid down on my side, with one knee bent and facing the ceiling. This helped to open up my pelvis so that you could come down as easily as possible. After 20 minutes or so, Beth told me to reach my hand down and feel your head. That was pretty cool, and it gave me more energy for pushing, knowing you were so close. After about an hour of pushing, I felt some intense burning and stinging as your head and shoulders emerged. Then your body and shoulders came out, and that was the best feeling ever! After about nine hours, the hard work was done and we finally got to meet you at 9:35am on June 14th. I was 39 weeks and 4 days along. I wanted to have music playing during my labour, and you were born to the song Let Her Cry by Hootie and the Blowfish. It seemed appropriate, since I had a few tears of joy! You laid on my chest for a while, and Dad was able to cut your umbilical cord. Eventually one midwife did your newborn checkup, which included listening to your heart and lungs, and weighing, measuring you. You were smaller than we thought you'd be; 6 pounds, 14 ounces! You were 21 inches long.
After your birth I still had to deliver the placenta. I was given a shot of oxytocin in my leg as you were being born to help my uterus contract and squeeze out the placenta. I just had to push a few times gently and it came out. The next part was a bit scary for Daddy and I, because I continued to bleed, and lost more blood than the midwives generally consider to be normal. They said I lost about 800ml, and the average for a vaginal delivery is 500ml; 1000ml for a C-section. They gave me another shot of oxytocin and began to massage my uterus on top of the abdomen. It wasn't working though, so they had to give me another drug that just dissolved under my tongue. That did the trick, and the bleeding finally stopped. Beth had to give me a few stitches since I had a bit of tearing, but she said they were very minor and would heal within a few days. Once that was done, I finally got to hold you and try to breastfeed. Daddy and I just admired you and couldn't stop staring! You were born with dark hair like me, and the typical bluish-grey eyes that most newborns have. It will be interesting to see what color they turn out to be.
My mom arrived about two hours after your birth, and was sad that she missed it. She did her best though, and she fell in love with your gorgeous face right away! So that's the story of my labour and your birth! Beth told us that it was a relatively quick labour considering this was my first pregnancy. She also said I have a very high pain tolerance, since I didn't have any painkillers during labour and it all happened quite quickly. As I said it was intense at the end, but part of me also wondered when it was going to get worse! I am going to write more about the actual homebirth experience in another post, but first I will include some of the first pictures of you!
You're finally here! You were named after Daddy's oldest brother, who tragically lost his life in a car accident in 2000. Connor is a name that both Daddy and I liked.
At about 12:15 am on June 14th, I was laying in bed trying to fall asleep when I felt and heard a "pop" in my abdomen. I had heard that that's a common sensation to feel when the amniotic sac (bag of waters) breaks. I didn't feel any fluid right away, until I sat up in bed to switch sides. I woke up Daddy and told him that my water just broke. He turned on the bedroom light and sure enough, the sheets were wet. Good thing we'd put the waterproof mattress cover down a few days before! We first paged Beth, the midwife on call at the time and told her. At that point I wasn't yet feeling any contractions, so she advised me to take a few Tylenol, and try to get back to bed, as it can sometimes take up to 24 hours to start having contractions. Next I called my parents to let them know, as my Mom was planning to come over and hopefully be there for the birth. She would have to wait until the morning to catch the ferry over. Daddy sent a text message to his Mom. So we went back to bed despite our excitement and realization that the day had finally come. I was shaking like a leaf! About half an hour later, I started to feel some contractions. They weren't painful at first, just uncomfortable so I was able to partly ignore them. Within a few hours they were getting uncomfortable and I had to breathe through them, while at the same time sitting up in bed and walking back and forth. Around 4am, it was obvious that I wouldn't be getting any more sleep, so we got out of bed and moved to the living room. Daddy started timing my contractions, and they were about four or five minutes apart. Over the next two hours, it started to get intense. I generally would get down onto the floor on my knees, and put my arms on the couch. I moved my pelvis around which felt better than staying still or standing up. I was breathing quite hard by this point, and Daddy would help me take drinks of water when each contraction was over. Around 6:30am, Daddy called Beth again to let her know that things were getting pretty hard for me. I managed to speak to her on the phone and answer her questions, but I had to stop talking during the contractions. She suggested getting into the bath, and let us know she was on her way. Daddy ran the bath nice and warm, and in I got. I found it relaxing to lay back a bit in between contractions, but found I had to sit up and squeeze Dad's hand to help me through. I was already starting to feel pressure and was getting the urge to push, but was trying hard not to until Beth arrived. About 45 minutes later she finally arrived and I soon got out of the bath. I moved into our bedroom and got on my hands and knees on our bed. She checked my cervix and found that I was fully dilated and could start pushing anytime. Daddy held my hands the whole time and I started pushing with each contraction. It wasn't long before I laid down on my side, with one knee bent and facing the ceiling. This helped to open up my pelvis so that you could come down as easily as possible. After 20 minutes or so, Beth told me to reach my hand down and feel your head. That was pretty cool, and it gave me more energy for pushing, knowing you were so close. After about an hour of pushing, I felt some intense burning and stinging as your head and shoulders emerged. Then your body and shoulders came out, and that was the best feeling ever! After about nine hours, the hard work was done and we finally got to meet you at 9:35am on June 14th. I was 39 weeks and 4 days along. I wanted to have music playing during my labour, and you were born to the song Let Her Cry by Hootie and the Blowfish. It seemed appropriate, since I had a few tears of joy! You laid on my chest for a while, and Dad was able to cut your umbilical cord. Eventually one midwife did your newborn checkup, which included listening to your heart and lungs, and weighing, measuring you. You were smaller than we thought you'd be; 6 pounds, 14 ounces! You were 21 inches long.
After your birth I still had to deliver the placenta. I was given a shot of oxytocin in my leg as you were being born to help my uterus contract and squeeze out the placenta. I just had to push a few times gently and it came out. The next part was a bit scary for Daddy and I, because I continued to bleed, and lost more blood than the midwives generally consider to be normal. They said I lost about 800ml, and the average for a vaginal delivery is 500ml; 1000ml for a C-section. They gave me another shot of oxytocin and began to massage my uterus on top of the abdomen. It wasn't working though, so they had to give me another drug that just dissolved under my tongue. That did the trick, and the bleeding finally stopped. Beth had to give me a few stitches since I had a bit of tearing, but she said they were very minor and would heal within a few days. Once that was done, I finally got to hold you and try to breastfeed. Daddy and I just admired you and couldn't stop staring! You were born with dark hair like me, and the typical bluish-grey eyes that most newborns have. It will be interesting to see what color they turn out to be.
My mom arrived about two hours after your birth, and was sad that she missed it. She did her best though, and she fell in love with your gorgeous face right away! So that's the story of my labour and your birth! Beth told us that it was a relatively quick labour considering this was my first pregnancy. She also said I have a very high pain tolerance, since I didn't have any painkillers during labour and it all happened quite quickly. As I said it was intense at the end, but part of me also wondered when it was going to get worse! I am going to write more about the actual homebirth experience in another post, but first I will include some of the first pictures of you!
Friday, June 3, 2011
Week 39
Dear Sweet Pea,
I am 38 weeks along today, but there isn't really much to report! In terms of your development, you're pretty much good to go now. You are putting on a bit more fat and your lungs continue to mature, but you'd be perfectly fine if you were born today. I am feeling pretty sore and tired, but am trying to stay somewhat busy with house cleaning and baking for after your birth. It will be nice to have a few things we can just pull out of the freezer.
I went for my spa day today and it was nice and relaxing. I had my fingernails and toenails painted blue since you're a boy! I also installed your carseat today, so that's ready to go too. I think I've accomplished everything I wanted to before your arrival, so anyday now would be nice :)
Here's today's picture:
I am 38 weeks along today, but there isn't really much to report! In terms of your development, you're pretty much good to go now. You are putting on a bit more fat and your lungs continue to mature, but you'd be perfectly fine if you were born today. I am feeling pretty sore and tired, but am trying to stay somewhat busy with house cleaning and baking for after your birth. It will be nice to have a few things we can just pull out of the freezer.
I went for my spa day today and it was nice and relaxing. I had my fingernails and toenails painted blue since you're a boy! I also installed your carseat today, so that's ready to go too. I think I've accomplished everything I wanted to before your arrival, so anyday now would be nice :)
Here's today's picture:
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