Many thanks for Jackie for sharing her birth story with us!

The shortened version of my birth history:
-First section was an emergency and I believe it was necessary. They tested the blood in his cord and it had not been circulating.
-2nd section was after a trial of labor and ended up being ‘Failure to Progress’, or as we know it “Failure for Doctor to be patient”. I wish I could go back in time to change this decision…
-3rd and 4th sections were scheduled. I went in to my first pre-natal appt when pregnant with my third all ready to try a VBAC and basically got laughed at. I wish I had done then all the research/soul-searching I’ve done this time.

This pregnancy and leading up to it:

So, after 4 children, we thought we were done….my hubby b/c he was just done and me b/c I didn’t think I could deal with any more c-sections. After the last section, I kept saying, “I can’t do this anymore….” But, in my heart, I knew that I was not done having children…there were more ‘out there’ for me. I began looking into adoption and fostering, but didn’t have hubby’s total support there, either. Finally, after a long while….(all of our children are about 2 years apart, but this baby comes almost 4 years after our youngest)….we let go of it all and put it in God’s hands. We would let Him give us more children. And then, if He gave us the child, then He could deliver this child the way He made me to….vaginally. Believe me, its been one long walk of faith!!

We got pregnant right away after that decision, but that started the turmoil for me. I so wanted to gestate in peace, but that really didn’t happen. I immediately contacted several midwives in my area, only to be turned down by all of them. One was really nice and spent a ton of time with me on the phone and gave me lots of advice. But, she said even though she believed I could VBAC, she didn’t want her fears to affect me. So, I was ’stuck’ with my OB. (About halfway through my pregnancy, I ‘met’ online a traveling midwife who was willing to attend me. Well, after all this, my hubby tells me he’s adamately opposed to spending that much money on a midwife. [and we really didn’t have the money- It would have meant taking out a loan.] Nice he should tell me that then. We fought about that for much of the rest of the pregnancy. Our insurance doesn’t cover midwives, but totally covers OB/hospital births. So, “Thank you” to that midwife- you know who you are- she was very helpful, as well. Next pregnancy, I’m saving up for a midwife!)

I continued with OB care, being a “good little patient”, pretending that I was having a 5th section. My plan for most of the pregnancy was to stay home as long as possible in labor and show up ready to push and refuse a section. Or if things were feeling comfortable, to stay home and deliver baby.

Of course, they scheduled my section for a week before my due date….I stated that I wanted to go into labor on my own and then show up for the surgery….we had several confrontations about scheduling with my doc and the surgery scheduler. I couldn’t deal with the stress anymore and just wanted to quit going to the doc for the last few weeks. Well, my hubby, being the honest person that he is, wanted to tell my OB the truth about our plans. I knew very well what his reaction would be, but that was what we did. At 38 weeks, we told my OB (of 12 years) that we were planning to VBAC and not planning on having another section. He flipped, of course. I basically got yelled at for 15 minutes…called selfish, stupid, irresponsible…told I could die, baby could die, I had a 15% chance of rupture (which is not at all true)…on and on. I hate confrontation, had been sick to my stomach for days, dreading this encounter….but it was done. He dropped me from his care…although, he knew he had to care for me for 30 days.

I had been given the name of a doctor at the beginning of my pregnancy, who I was told was supportive of VBACs. Well, I hadn’t called him earlier b/c he’s further away, and connected to a much smaller hospital and I figured he’d be supportive of a VBAC after 1 section, but no way after 4 sections. Well, now I had nothing to lose, so I gave him a call. I had to fight my way around the receptionist and his nurse, who both said I was too far along for him to take me. I begged them to just run it by him, have him call me, talk to him directly. They did and he agreed to see me on his day off, no less! He says, “I figure you’re an adult and can make this decision (to VBAC).” I’m thinkin’ “Yes! That’s what I’m talking about!” So, he agreed to attend me (at the big hospital nearer to me where he has priveleges). We got along great, but at our 2nd appt had a few disagreements. We agreed on: he doesn’t like to break womens bag of waters, he rarely does episiotomies, and he told me several times to stay home in labor as long as possible-that he didn’t want to see me until I was at least dilated to 5 and I’m liking him alot. But, then, he says that Pitocin is safe for VBAC- yikes! and he is all for epidurals….hmmph….well, I guess he can’t be perfect, huh?

The labor and birth of Josephine Ellyn (finally, I know, I know….thanks for reading this far):
I had weeks of contractions every night, wondering if they were for real….but then finally on Monday, Oct 16, they started for real. (I was a week overdue.) I had a NST in the morning, which I really didn’t want to go to, but was trying to cooperate with the Dr., since he was working with me. She reamed on my tummy to wake up baby 3 times and I wonder if that’s what made my water break just a couple hours later. I went to the bathroom that afternoon and had some bloody show and then I started leaking amniotic fluid everytime I changed positions. Yay! I was finally going to start something! Contractions started that afternoon, but sporadic. I called hubby to pick up something for supper b/c I didn’t feel like cooking. Contractions continued all night, but not super close together. I called several people to have them pray. (Note to self: don’t call people when you think you’re in labor. LOL ) But–the ctx were just close enough to keep me awake all night.

Tuesday morning, we decided to have hubby stay home from work b/c I was having to breathe thru the ctx and they were hurting. We got the kids all ‘farmed out’ that afternoon. From noon until about 7:30, the ctx were 3-5 minutes apart and quite intense. Greg filled the birth pool and I got in it around 5:00. Well, after eating a huge piece of pizza LOL and being in the pool for a couple hours, the ctx petered out again. Argghh! (We had called the doc earlier in the afternoon just to let him know we were in labor, but were going to stay home awhile.) The ctx were sporadic the rest of the evening, but just enough to keep me awake most of the night. I would lay in bed, but while laying down, the ctx were excruciating, so when I would have one, I would roll out of bed into a kneeling position, breathe through it, then get up to go to the bathroom and then back to bed…all night long, about every 15 minutes. Ugh…..

Wednesday morning, we got up around 5:00 a.m. b/c we were sick of not being able to sleep and wanted to get things going….so I tried walking around the house for awhile and doing nipple stimulation…this would keep the ctx coming. The doctor called around 7:30 a.m. and says, “How ya doin’?” ha ha ha… He wanted me to come to his office to see if it really was my water that broke and not other discharge and to check my progress. He was really hoping that it wasn’t my water b/c he truly wanted to leave me alone. I liked the idea of going to his office better than going to the hospital, which my hubby was pushing by this point. So, we went to his office. Yes, it was my water that had broke (which I was quite certain of) and I was only dilated to 2….ugh…. He sent us back home and said, “lets meet at the hospital at 10:00 tonight, if things don’t pick up by then” to get me started on anti-biotics. I had tested positive for Group B Strep, also and the dangers of infection rise when the water breaks. I wanted to refuse the anti-biotics, but found out the hospital would test/treat my baby as if infected if I refused. And the doc was being pretty cool considering my water had been broken for more than 48 hours by that night. After leaving his office, I contracted quite regularly for several hours and was excited that it might really be happening….but once again, the ctx petered out. I was able to rest a little Wednesday afternoon between ctx. I found that standing during them was the most comfortable. For some reason, ctx were excruciating when laying on my side and a little better if I was kneeling. I had my hubby start squeezing my hips during them.

And, can I just say how annoying it was to have a washcloth/towel between my legs for 3 days b/c my water was leaking….ugh…..

Finally, Wed night arrived and we went to the hospital to meet my doc and get my anti-biotics going. We were sent to OB triage. The first nurse there that I had was the only one to give me a hard time about VBACing. She was quite surprised that any doctor would ‘let’ me VBAC. But, from then on out, all my nurses were super supportive and no one gave me a hard time about VBACing. I don’t know if my doc had told everyone to leave me alone or what, but I was pretty much left alone.

Upon arriving at the hospital, my doctor recommended starting on a low dose of Pitocin. (Because of my water being broken for so long and laboring for so long.) I didn’t want it to come to this….my doctor and I had had the Pit discussion in his office. He believes that the smallest dose would not increase the risk of rupture. (His belief is that cervical gels are much more dangerous than Pit) He said at that point the risk of infection in baby was much greater than my risk of rupture. Group B Strep added to the water breaking risk. I asked for a few minutes to talk with my hubby to make a decision. I broke down and cried…I didn’t want any interventions….but we decided to start a Pitocin drip. He started it very very low- 1 unit (whatever measure they use- I don’t know.). I have a friend that was a L & D nurse there with me later in labor and she was very happy to see how low he kept the Pit….she said she would be closely watching my IV b/c there were “Pitocin Monsters”, posing as nurses and doctors, out there. She said some women get all the way up to 30 units of pitocin. I was never given more than 2 units.

The ctx started up immediately…my body was very ready, obviously. I labored from 11:00 p.m. til 7:00 a.m. with the Pit only increased to 1.5. When they increased it to 2, the ctx were too close together, giving me and my uterus no time to rest, so they lowered it. I was handling the ctx o.k. My mom was there, along with this friend and my hubby. Around 4:00 a.m., my SIL came. They all took turns holding my hips during ctx. I was hooked up to the monitors the whole time, but I had agreed to that, so long as I could be in any position I chose. My friend was so surprised that the monitors were picking up the heartrate with all the moving I was doing. God was answering my prayers, that was for sure. My hubby even asked if we could walk the halls for awhile and the nurse said “Sure, after I get 20 minutes”. I was so surprised. Ends up, I didn’t feel like walking b/c the ctx were intense enough. We did unhook the monitors quite often to use the bathroom. The baby’s heartrate was doing splendidly during ctx….we were all so glad to see she was tolerating labor so well.

The hardest part was that I was only comfortable standing. I had so much pressure in my bottom that I couldn’t sit. (Tried the birth ball, stool and couch) And it still was horribly painful to be laying down. I would try to lay down between ctx to rest, but then by the time I got to a standing position during a ctx, I would somehow be ‘behind’ on working with the ctx, so it seemed much worse. So…for 8 hours, I stood on that hard hospital floor. We had the bed raised way up, so I could lean my upper body on it during ctx. Between ctx, I swayed, walked, peed, etc. They finally made a pile of bed pads to cushion my feet.

At this point, I finally decided to get checked. (No one had pressured me to be checked up to that point) I hated that decision….its like you want to know if its good news, but don’t want to know if its bad news. So, after 8 hours of very good ctx, she checked me and I was only dilated to 4. Oh my, I was so upset. I thought for sure I was in transition b/c I had begun shaking and saying “I can’t do this!!” and I felt like I had a bowling ball between my legs!! I starting balling. That is that point where I decided to get an epidural, even though I hadn’t wanted one. (I was trying to do everything to be as safe as possible for my scarred uterus. And I knew by getting an epidural, I’d no longer be able to feel if anything was wrong.) But, I was SO tired. I hadn’t slept since Sunday night and it was now Thursday morning. I know I could have kept going if I wasn’t so tired. And I was physically tired from standing for so long- I just wanted to lay down.

So, the epidural was put in..I was able to rest! Awhile later, maybe 9:00 ish, her heartrate started dropping to the 60s and 70s during ctx. You know how doctors usually just come in at the end to catch baby, well my doc came into our room (he was in the hospital the whole time I was laboring b/c he is from further away) and hung out with us for several hours, watching the baby/monitor. He says, “We need to get her out quite soon” He knew how badly I wanted a VBAC and he worked with us. Any other doc would have sectioned me b/c of the decels, the water broken for so long, etc. He kept checking me, saying I needed to be complete soon, so he could get her out. He told me it would be a forceps delivery. We were able to talk about it for a bit…how experienced he is with forceps, etc. He only mentioned surgery once….but I knew it was always on his mind and ours. (The decels were a major flashback to our first labor/section) Once I was dilated to 8, he basically stayed at my bottom to ‘encourage’ me to dilate….I think he was manually dilating me. He then said that he wanted me to try pushing on the next ctx. I think I was dilated to 8, but hubby thinks I was 9. Anyways, around 10:00, I started pushing. The doctor was trying to turn her also, because she was posterior. Ugh…just one more thing ‘against’ me. She was not descending that was the major problem he kept saying. He couldn’t use the forceps until she was lower and she just wasn’t dropping. I volunteered to get on my knees, but he didn’t think that would help. I couldn’t do anything else b/c of the epidural. I asked about letting the epi wear off, so I could get up, to get her to drop, but he said “You don’t want me doing the forceps without the epi”. She finally was low enough and he had turned her enough to get her out with forceps. Just before she was born, I hemmoraged a ton- I lost alot of blood. (My hemoglobin was 6.3 the next day, which is dangerously low.) He was worried that it was my uterus rupturing or the placenta abrupting. (Found out later that my placenta had partially abrupted.) It was pretty intense and scary for those few hours. Hubby and doc were worried about me (I didn’t know I was bleeding out) and I was worried about baby. I kept saying “come on baby, come on baby” between pushing…that’s all I could think. My friend was right at my head, praying for me and quoting Scripture verses. Well, finally, at 12:35 p.m. on Thursday, Oct 19, after years, months, days and hours of fighting, our beautiful daughter was born vaginally!! She was 8 pounds, 11 ounces, 20 inches.

And she came out screaming- praise the Lord! (The cord was up by her head, getting squeezed during the ctx. That’s why the heartrate decels.) For the first time in 5 births, my baby was placed up on my chest immediately after birth- what an awesome thing!!

I then starting feeling faint after she was out. I spent the next hour or so on oxygen and flat on my back and/or side. I was so weak from losing the blood. I was able to nurse her and hold her for just a bit. And hubby cut the cord. But, the first hours weren’t ideal b/c of my faintness.

I ended up only having 2nd degree tear(s), which I was quite pleased with after all the trauma. And he didn’t have to do an episiotomy.

She was born 10 days after my ‘due date’ and 17 days after the original scheduled c-section. (She would have been a tiny baby, maybe with breathing problems.)

I hesitate to give an OB so much credit, but my doctor really made my VBAC successful. Any other doc would have sectioned me several times over in those few hours. He worked with us b/c he knew how much it meant to us. (But, of course, I know it was because of the power of my great God!) I was able to joke after the epidural was in, for someone to take a picture of me hooked up to every known intervention that I didn’t want! LOL Unfortunately, with all the events that took place, the interventions happened…..water breaking 3 days earlier, GBS+, labor stalling, cord up by her head, posterior position, no sleep for 3 nights, etc, etc. But, none of that was b/c of being a VBAC, so I’m encouraged for the next time.

I am very glad we went for the VBAC- I don’t regret it. I’m encouraged that my uterus stayed intact and that I now have a ‘proven’ pelvis. I think this will open up my options for a midwife and homebirth next time. And hopefully, all the things that happened this time won’t happen the next time around. (I want to know how to have like a 6 hour labor, with 2 pushes and baby’s out! LOL)

Love, from Jackie and baby Josie, who will know someday how special her birth was

Today I have a great post for you from Melanie, a home education mother of six. You can visit her blog here and her business site here.

Nature Walks - these are what homeschooling is built around! Getting out into nature to explore! Bring those nature journals, sketch some wildlife, write a poem…

OK, here’s for reality of nature walks for our house! Right now Cody is 6 and doesn’t really like to draw - at least nothing recognizable. So forget the nature journal. Nor does he like to write. We don’t really have time with twin 2 year-olds, an active 4 year-old girl, and an 8 mo. old baby who likes motion, to sit and contemplate nature. BUT, we can still learn a lot from it!

Today’s walk included:

Lessons in sharing a stroller. Couldn’t bring the triple stroller with seats for the youngest 3 hikers so they had to take turns!

Observation of “schools” of baby catfish and minnows, water striders and snails. Also many painted turtles. “I didn’t see that one” (crying accompanying comment).

Observation of poison ivy! Thankfully none were infected with it.

Lessons in dodging other families toddlers/strollers in a small space.

Observation of signs of a beaver cutting trees/wood.

2 train sightings, one missed by 2yo Derek. (”I can’t see the train, I need another train”)

Lunch on the boardwalk over the pond - who knows how many pond creatures will appreciate eating someone’s PBJ sandwich…

Sighting of a small snake by Cody & I. 4yo Cora saying “I didn’t see that one” (crying accompanying comment).

Capture of first land snail ever. Loss of first land snail ever as we didn’t bring enough bug containers and it dropped out of the diaper bag.

Multiple dumpings of jar of water containing water striders and pond snails due to lack of level surface to keep container on.

Identification of goldenrod, bee balm, and no touch ‘em (something like that) plants. The no touch ‘em plant will develop a pod that when you touch it it bursts open with a pop! Fun to play with - will definitely have to check that one out another time when they’re ready! These plants are also good for treating poison ivy! Will have to remember that one too!

So that rounds up the highlights (and lowlights) of our adventure. Thankfully 8 month old Judah sat happily in the backpack on mom’s back the entire time. And yes, it was a very worthwhile trip!

Thank you God for nature and all we truly can learn and enjoy about it! Thank you also for this picture-perfect day.

Melanie and company!

Amy was kind enough to offer her birth story to us for a read. Check it out here.

This morning I had a mom ask me, “Any advice for getting a baby to sleep through the night?” I wrote her back and then decided to share my response with you.

The best thing I ever did to get my babies to sleep well was to have them sleep with me. For me it meant I didn’t get up to check their breathing, or get woken up from a sound sleep to the sounds of a fully awake and screaming baby. (or in my case, I could never really sleep because I knew that at any time the baby would wake up and cry) I could just sleep and feed them and even change their diapers without ever getting out of bed. It made nights pretty easy. I know it’s not for everybody, but it worked well for us.

Other than that, I think it depends on why you think they are not sleeping all night. If it’s because they are hungry them there isn’t much you can do about that except for maybe once they eat cereal or baby food you could try doing a bigger meal right before bedtime. (but you may be awakened in the night for the poopy diaper that is sure to follow)

If it’s because they get startled by being alone or from when they flip over unexpectedly (know how they do that and scare themselves?!) maybe something like a

Zaky Pillow

or two could help them feel more cozy.

Some people find that by putting their baby on a feeding schedule that they sleep through the night sooner. I am not a person oriented toward schedules so that idea never appealed to me, but I have friends that have done so and it worked well for them. I would caution new parents to be aware that a baby’s digestive system processes food very quickly, so they need to be fed approximately every 2-4 hours around the clock for quite some time. It is not safe, healthy, or ideal for a very young baby to sleep through the night without feeding, no matter how helpful it is to you to get more sleep.

The good thing is that it does not last forever. Hang in there!

I’ve been reflecting recently on the ways my parents instilled a generous spirit in me, and wanted to share it with other parents, because I don’t think it’s something most parents think about or focus on.

My parents were not people who usually had extra money. I’m not sure that extra money had been invented by that point in history. There were three kids, a fixer-upper house, self-employment, braces, and plenty more bills besides that. You can probably identify.

I don’t remember my parents focusing on what we didn’t have. And more importantly, I don’t remember them ever holding back from hospitality, kindness, or generosity even though I now realize that it must have been really hard.

My parents taught me things like:

-Support your local fire fighters and police and appreciate the work they do for your community. You never know when you will need their help. But even if they never help you, they help others. And that’s important.

-Shop local when you can even if it costs a little extra. Your neighbors deserve your support, and you need to appreciate the services they provide.

-Actively care for those that have less than you do. My parents had a habit of kind of adopting this family we knew each Christmas. They had three kids and it was a single parent home. They had a lot of needs, and my parents somehow carved out money from the already very tight Christmas budget to leave gifts (secretly) for these people. They never took credit for it either.

-and that ties into the next one: Be generous without being showy. Do good for the sake of doing good. For the sake of human compassion. Not because other people will think you’re wonderful.

-Be hospitable with what you have. Don’t stress about what you don’t. I can remember my mom coming home from some ladies meeting at church or something, and telling about this seminar she attended about hospitality. The speaker focused on all the proper utensils, place settings, centerpieces, etc. that a good hostess should have in order to invite others to her home. My mom’s wise reaction was that for her to wait for the “proper” hospitality items would mean we’d never open our home to others for the rest of our life. Fortunately, we were able to have lots of people over to our house even though it wasn’t big, wasn’t fancy, and wasn’t perfect. Be who you are. Share what you have.

I have no idea what other generous things my parents did for other people, but there is no doubt in my mind that there were many things that were never mentioned to anyone else.

I’ve known people for whom a true spirit of generosity was extremely difficult. People who seem to feel that they have to hoard all good things unto themselves. People who can’t do a good deed without getting a pat on the head for it. People who can’t do right with humility, but instead do right to feel like they are “better people” than others.

Truly, you won’t be able to instill pure generosity in your children until you have it and live it yourself. You have to lead by example in your life to be the kind of person you want your children to be. Children have a keen ability to sniff out fakes. They may not mention it to you, but if you are faking it they will be able to tell.

Now, you don’t have to wait to feel good about generosity before bringing your children into it. There’s nothing wrong with struggling and learning together. You can start with natural opportunities that come along, like mentioning to your child why you make some of the generous choices you make. Help them to see opportunities in their life when they can give more than their “fair share” and be ok with it. Let them get glimpses of you doing the same, but don’t make a big deal out of it.

How can you cultivate a generous spirit in your own life?

You could start by being generous secretly, and keep doing that until it becomes easier for you. Zoe Children’s Homes

is one of my very favorite organizations, and they take online donations via paypal which is easy and private. You may know of other organizations that are meaningful to you, so you could start there.You could respond to a fundraiser for something that hits your heart, like sponsoring children in foreign countries, and you could just give because you want to, rather than make a dozen excuses to yourself about why you’d rather not this time.

You could invite some people over for dinner or dessert. You could make an unexpected gift or meal for someone that social circumstances don’t compel you to do.

Some families decide to sponsor a child that is very close in age to their own child, and include their children in the process by allowing them to do some work to help raise the support money, or perhaps decide to forgo a family treat like eating out at a restaurant in favor of using the money as a donation. Child sponsorship puts a real face with the needs, which makes generosity more tangible for kids. Compassion International is a great choice for this.

Do you give money to your church or local charities? Encourage your child to give regularly, and point out the blessings that come from it.

I have known some children that had birthday parties where gifts were not allowed, but donations to well-loved charities were allowed. How wonderful!

The interesting thing about being generous is that once you can get past your hesitations and give with a pure heart of love, you will feel so happy to have been able to give! Also, many times being able to be a conduit for generosity will end up coming back around to you in ways you would not have expected. It is surprising and fun.

There are so many great needs in this world, but often we get caught up in our own lives and don’t take time to care enough to make a difference. It is my belief that if everyone just stretched a little father and gave a little bit more, many needs would be met and the world would be a better place. So, next time you and your family learn of a need, why not ask yourself, “What can we do?” and then do it. You’ll be doing your kids, and the world, a big favor!

One of our most recent new products is Your Baby Can Read! I’ve had some questions about this product and wanted to take some time to tell you more about it.

The first time I heard about Your Baby Can Read! I was kind of taken back. “What?! Babies being taught to read?!” I was worried that babies were being pressured into academics when they should be spending their time blowing bubbles and sticking their toes in their mouths.

A few years later I heard about it again from a mom of 8 (I think) and she had used it with several of her youngest kids. She thought it was great and easy to use, so I decided to give it a try. At that time I was homeschooling my older kids, and the younger ones watched some educational type videos during our school time. I figured that something that was focused on helping them learn to read was a good use of their time and attention.

The program includes 5 DVDs that have stuff on them little ones would like to see, like a real bird, or someone blowing bubbles, or a kitten, or whatever. When they see a cat, for instance, the word cat shows, and someone says cat. That’s it. Just showing interesting pictures or video, and showing and saying the word that goes with it. It’s very gentle and not a spazzy fast-paced video like a lot of kids watch. These videos are supposed to be watched by parent and child together, just like if you were going to read them a book. Not something where they are being left alone with the TV.

The word cards would be for keeping a couple wherever you change diapers or to carry in your purse. You would just show the child the card that says cat and say cat. You could stick them in places where your baby would see them often (like next to their high chair, on the wall next to their bed, etc.) and just say the word as they notice it.

Basically, it’s a very gentle, non-stressful kind of thing that is incorporating the written word into the baby’s world more naturally. It’s kind of funny, I guess, to think that we try to teach them words and we speak words to them all the time, but they don’t get to see or touch the written words that go with the spoken ones. With this program they get a chance to have that aspect as well, so it gets across the concept that there is a written form of our language.

The instructions for the program are very much child-led and pleasant. They don’t want you forcing your child to sit and watch this video on some sort of strict schedule. Your baby should be sitting with you as you watch the video together, and this should last for howevermany minutes the baby is enjoying it. If they like to watch the entire video, that’s fine. But if they only like to watch it for 5 minutes, that’s when you stop. The flash cards can just be used naturally as you have the opportunity through the day, not as a high-pressured flash card session.

So, it’s not a thing where the child is missing out on the rest of life or being forced to do anything. It’s just one more little learning thing in their day, right along with singing songs, helping mommy cook, taking a bath, etc. In my opinion, Your Baby Can Read is a good thing for the parent that has the time and interest to do it, and it is a good program that could make reading more seamless for the child.

UPDATE: You may enjoy reading an independent review of Your Baby Can Read HERE.

This birth story has been shared by Cerise who owns www.coMOMities.com.

Before and during my pregnancy, I relentlessly researched all of my options for pregnancy and childbirth. After much consideration, we decided to have a homebirth with a midwife. I felt really good and healthy and had an easy, uneventful pregnancy. In fact, the most difficult part of my pregnancy was the constant criticism we received for the decision to have a homebirth. Although the comments were hurtful, I tried not to let it bother me too much as I firmly believed that this was the absolute best choice we could have made.

As a good prenatal yoga student, I took to heart Anne’s mantra of “the average first time pregnancy lasts 41 weeks and 1 day.” When people asked if I thought I would go early my response was “No, I’ve had it way too easy. I’m sure I’ll go way past my due date and be good and miserable at the end.” Needless to say I was shocked when at 36 weeks and 1 day I felt a trickle and gush of my water breaking! I was in disbelief, but I didn’t know what else it could possibly be. The water continued to trickle, so I called our midwife. She was also surprised, but was pretty sure from my description that my water had indeed broken. Since it was around midnight and I’d had no contractions, she said that she would check on me the next day. She gave me instructions for reducing my risk of infection and staying hydrated so that my amniotic fluid would continue to replenish itself, and told me to call if I started having contractions. The next day, I still felt fine other than the strange sensation of the trickling water. So, I went to work and started making preparations for my maternity leave. This whole time I only had two main concerns: would I make it to my shower on Saturday and how was I going to take care of everything I still had left to do at work?

Our midwife came that evening and at that time I had only had three mild contractions. In fact, I didn’t even know they were contractions until I described them to her. Candace assured us that we would be fine. In fact, she said it was good that our baby was taking his time since my water had broken before 37 weeks. She said that he needed time to get his lungs ready since it was so early and not to worry if it took a few days – this was a good thing. I still felt great the next day and had a lot of adrenaline to wrap up my duties at work. I took care of everything I needed to and left work at the end of the day feeling that everything would be okay without me.

That evening I began having more intense contractions. They started out pretty far apart then got closer and closer together. When they were about 7 minutes apart I called our doula, Anne, and our midwife to give them the heads up. The contractions were manageable, so Anne and I decided to wait an hour and check back in to see if I needed her then. After that, they slowed down to being 30-60 minutes apart. They were just intense enough to keep me up most of the night. Friday, my husband and I stayed home from work to rest and shop for some last minute things just in case we had to cancel the shower. My contractions continued at the same rate and intensity, so we decided to go on with the shower. The contractions definitely became more intense during the shower, but I was able to interact without anyone having a clue as to what was going on. The interaction and activity was enough of a distraction that I could get through the contractions a little easier. So, when my husband’s friends suggested going out to dinner afterwards I was ready to keep up the distraction. I talked to our midwife while we were there and she said that if our baby didn’t come that night, that we could try some natural induction methods the next morning.

When we got home from dinner, the contractions became much more intense. They were getting much closer, 15, 12, 8 minutes apart, but not in a predictable pattern. I kept thinking I was in the first stage and that it could still take 12 hours for me to have this baby. I began to doubt my ability to do this naturally. Suddenly, I had an extremely painful contraction. It felt like his head was coming down and I felt an extreme urge to push. I was afraid to push because my contractions were still mostly over 10 minutes apart, so I couldn’t possibly be fully dilated. After a couple more contractions like that I called Anne and told her I definitely needed some help. I knew something was happening so I called our midwife too. She agreed to come and check me, but said that if she did we had to have this baby soon because there would be risk of infection after doing an internal exam. I told my husband to go ahead and start filling up the birth pool – I wanted to be able to get in it as soon as I could! By the time Anne arrived I couldn’t sit or lay down anywhere – there was a huge bulge on my bottom and I felt like I was sitting on my baby’s head! Anne arrived and helped me through a few contractions. Candace arrived shortly afterwards. She said that we would have to empty the pool because it probably wouldn’t be warm enough by the time I was ready. She watched me have one contraction, and then we went back to the bedroom so she could check my dilation. She checked me, looked at Anne and said, “I need you to help him get that birth pool ready now! She’s complete.” I felt this immediate sense of relief! She told me I could reach down and feel my baby’s head! Candace called her apprentice and rushed to set up her equipment. Anne and Craig rushed to set up the pool and I felt relieved that the end was near.

When the pool was ready, I got in and completely relaxed. I didn’t have another contraction for at least 30 minutes, maybe longer. I had a few more contractions, but they were 10% of the pain I had experienced before getting in the pool. During those contractions Candace told me how to push with them to open myself up. She put the mirror in the pool so I could see the little sliver of baby’s head with each push. I pushed again and felt an intense pain as more of my baby’s head came out. Candace and Anne reminded me to slow down and not force it too quickly to reduce the chance of tearing. I tried to breathe deeply, pushing gently and relaxing between contractions, but everything seemed to happen so fast. I think I pushed about 3 more times and my baby’s head was out. Next thing I knew his body was coming out and he was in my arms! I immediately felt this intense love for my baby and couldn’t believe I was actually holding him. I was amazed at how well my husband supported me throughout my entire labor and delivery. I felt extremely peaceful as my husband and I held our new baby during his first moments of life.

I am so grateful that I trusted my body and my baby enough to plan a homebirth. My birth confirmed my belief that it is most important to trust your body and your baby — they are the true experts when it comes to childbirth. I’m so glad I didn’t listen to everyone who criticized my choices to have my baby at home, to go to work when my water had broken and to continue being active during my labor. My baby’s entrance into this world was absolutely perfect!

With dance practice, choir, cub scouts, and tae kwon do, who has time to prepare
an appetizing meal for the kids after school? You do! You can have time if you
serve an easy to cook kids’ meal.

Of course it’s a no-brainer to throw a hotdog in the microwave or set a tortilla
in a pan on top of the stove, add some cheese and 90 seconds later have a simple
quesadilla, but what’s the excitement in that? Instead experiment with
Casseroles or one-pot meals which in most cases go over well with the kids; and
are simple to whip together.

Try this quick kids meal:

1 – lb. ground beef
1 - 16 oz jar spaghetti sauce
1 - cup water
1 1/2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
1 - cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Crumble beef in a three-qrt glass baking dish and microwave for 4-5 minutes, or
until beef is no longer pink. Mix & rotate part way through cooking time. Drain
Beef. Stir in sauce, water and macaroni. Microwave another 12 minutes, stirring
part way through. Sprinkle cheese on top and allow to stand covered
approximately 5 minutes before serving. Serves a couple hungry kids.

There are many meals you can cook with hamburger. Any recipe that asks for
hamburger will work just fine replaced with ground turkey, chicken or venison
instead. The simple recipe below uses ground meat. It takes nearly an hour to
bake but merely a blink to prepare.

Combine together:

2 pounds ground meat
1 can condensed cheddar cheese soup
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
Crinkle Cut French Fries

Brown ground beef and drain the grease. Add both soups to strained ground beef
and spoon into a 9×13 greased baking dish. Top off with cut French fries and
bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes or until French fries are light brown.

Taco salads are very quick and easy to prepare. Begin with lettuce. Add tomato,
onion and cheese (if your kids will approve of it.) Fry up some meat and toss in
an envelope of taco seasoning – or just incorporate some taco sauce to the meat.
Next add crushed tortilla chips or Fritos. Finish off with salsa or Ranch salad
dressing. Remember the sour cream and guacamole too! Kids love this meal!

For a fast, on the go, healthy, cold meal try:

A head of lettuce (not bagged lettuce)
Ham or Roast Beef slices
Cheese slices
Condiments

Step 1: Peel off a medium lettuce leaf.
Step 2: Assemble meat, cheese, and condiments.
Step 3: Roll up and stick a toothpick in the middle.
Step 4: Gobble Up.
Step 5: Wipe your face, there is a trace of mayo. on your cheek.

How about an interesting twist to the normal macaroni and cheese kids recipe?

1 (16 ounce) box macaroni (elbow, seashell, bowtie – doesn’t matter, just not
spaghetti)
1 c. cottage cheese
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 t. cinnamon

1. Cook macaroni according to package instructions.
2. Stir in cottage cheese, sugar, and cinnamon with drained macaroni.
3. Taste and add sugar or cinnamon, if required.
4. Serve right away. Delicious!

Incorporate a bit of creativity to incorporate a twist on a tried and true
recipe and even with the chaotic after school activities you will find time to
cook a nourishing meal for your kids evening meal.

Desire More Quick & Easy Kid Approved Meals? Visit

Kid Approved Meals

Weekly Breakfast and Lunch Menus Moms and Kids Love!

Each and every year, after the holiday credit card bill shows up, we make resolutions with the best of intentions. And, within a month or maybe less … we’ve given up completely. Why is that?

Vague Goals The goals we oftentimes set are unrealistic or are too vague to be trackable. Here are some examples of resolutions Bad Resolution: “Pay off credit card debt.” Better Resolution: “Pay an extra $20 each month towards credit card debt until it’s paid off.” Do you see the difference? One is vague. You can’t possibly hold yourself accountable. The other is much more trackable.

Here’s another example. Bad Resolution: “Spend less money eating at restaurants.” Better Resolution: “Use a menu planning service to ensure that we have groceries in the house at all times. Eat at restaurants or fast food only twice per week or less.”

Difficult Goals It’s wonderful to make resolutions, but, they do no good if you don’t have a plan in place to help you reach them. Let’s go back to that “Pay an extra $20 each month towards credit card debt.” Where is that $20/month going to come from? Is it magically going to appear just because you set a goal? Will the “New Year’s Fairy” deliver a wad of cash to you each month? Of course not. You have to have a plan in place to make the extra money available to you. For instance, the two goals could be combined. The second goal is reachable. Instead of just saying to eat fast food once per week, it adds on a way to do just that – by signing up for a menu planning service. The best Resolution could be a combination of both goals: “Use menu planning service to ensure that we have groceries in the house at all times. Eat at restaurants or fast food only twice per week or less. Take the money we save and apply at least $20 each month towards credit card debt until it’s paid off. It’s a new year, which means that it’s a new chance to actually make New Year’s Resolutions and KEEP THEM.

We hope these examples will help you to set achievable new year’s goals and put systems into place so you can achieve them. Christine Steendahl created a menu planner for busy moms. For a free one week trial of this family friendly meal planning service which includes a weekly grocery shopping list, visit Dine Without Whine by clicking this banner:

Make Your Resolution To Lose Weight Actually Work This Year

You know the drill; you make a resolution to lose weight on New Year’s
Eve. You go grocery shopping for all kinds of health food on January 2nd,
and while you are at it, you join a new gym. Everything goes well for a
few days and you start to see the pounds drop off. Then things slow down,
and you start to lose interest. Cravings for your favorite foods set in
and you’re getting tired of these diet meals. By the end of January, most
of us have given up on our weight loss resolution. Don’t let this happen
to you.

Make this year different; make your resolution to lose weight actually
work. It’s really not that hard, but you have to do it right. The best way
to make sure you will stick to your weight loss resolution is to find
little ways to hold yourself accountable. Announce your resolution to
family and friends. Find a weight loss buddy that has the same goals. The
two of you can check on each other and motivate each other to stick with
the plan. If you can’t find a weight loss buddy, make your spouse or close
friend your accountability partner. You report your weight loss to them
weekly, and they will do their best to keep you motivated to keep going.

An alternative to using people to hold you accountable is a weight loss
journal. By simply putting what you eat, how much you worked out and how
much you weigh into a journal, you will feel more responsible about what
you are doing and are less likely to skip that workout or sneak in an
extra snack. A weight loss journal can also be a great motivator when you
glance back though the pages and see how much you have accomplished over
the past weeks and months.

One last piece of advice – don’t be too strict on your diet. The main
reason people give up on their weight loss plan is that they aren’t
allowed any of their favorite foods. You should aim more for lifestyle
changes you can stick with for the rest of your life than a traditional
diet. This means that the piece of chocolate or that cheeseburger are ok –
in moderation. Limit yourself to one small piece of chocolate a day, and
only indulge in that cheeseburger or slice of pizza once a week. If you
eat healthy foods the rest of the time, you will be able to indulge every
once in awhile and still see those pounds melt off.

Are you struggling with keeping your weight loss resolution? Healthy Menu Planning is the
solution – it helps you stay on track. Sign up for a free 7-day sneak peak
today.

Hey Moms,

I found out about this article about infant car seats today and wanted to share it with you. Sadly, Consumer Reports only found two infant safety seats that they can recommend. Take a minute or two to read this article.

Many thanks to Shelly Clemons for sharing this birth story with us. You can visit Shelly’s home business here.

Erica, here’s a copy of the story I wrote about the birth of my son - we’re
now expecting #2, and the baby in the story is 3 years old.

Saturday, November 22, 2003
On Wednesday, August 20th, Craig took me in for my first internal exam. We
were both excited, as I was nearing my due date; this exam would tell us if
there were any progression at all, and maybe how soon I would be rushing off
to the hospital.

It started pretty uneventfully, really. I had to pee in a cup as usual,
then get weighed and get my blood pressure checked. My blood pressure was
running high that day, so Amy, the nurse, told me she’d come in after my
exam to check it again. After waiting around, Dr. Schwartz came in and
started my exam. It really was more fun than having my earlobes burned, but
that’s about it, really. He told me I would probably experience some
spotting throughout the day, but there was no real progression. I think I
was 1 cm dilated, and 50% effaced. Amy came back in to check my blood
pressure, only to find it was still high. I was sent to a cozy little room
at that point, where I was hooked up to a monitor. It basically was a large
rubber band wrapped around my belly, with a monitor attached near where
Brandon’s heart was beating - we were making sure he was moving normally,
and everything was okay in there with him. (I believe the test is normally
called the “Non Stress Test” or NST). I was hooked up to the monitor until
almost 3 PM - and the doctor hadn’t been running late that morning. We were
getting nervous, not only for Brandon’s well-being, but also because Craig
had scheduled a job interview that afternoon for 1 PM. (He missed the
scheduled time, but was able to go in later.) After being in that chair for
several hours with Brandon wiggling around as normal, we were released, and
I was instructed to take it VERY easy, and drink a lot of water.
Later that evening, Craig and I decided to go out for what may well be our
last dinner together before the baby was born - first, to celebrate what had
been a great interview for Craig (though he didn’t end up getting the job),
and also to celebrate the impending arrival of Brandon. We decided to go to
The Cheesecake Factory at 119th and Metcalf, because we didn’t want to wait
around on the Plaza, and I wanted to go to Wild Oats afterward, if I had
time. On the way, we invited Craig’s parents to join us, since it was near
their house. It was around 7:15 or so in the evening when we left for the
restaurant. It was a hot, hot day, as had been most of the summer. So hot
that you could nearly cut the heat with a spork. Or something like that.
Anyway, I had been miserable, because our air conditioner wasn’t cooling the
house well, and I was stuck resting upstairs, where it was the hottest, so
as not to endanger my health, or Brandon’s. I was happy to get out and
drive, even though it was that hot. The car was certainly cooler than our
house!

When we got to the restaurant, I made my ritual journey to the bathroom.
Our wait was going to be about ten minutes, so I figured I’d get that part
taken care of first. I went in to the stall farthest from the door, and
emptied my bladder. I was about to get up when I realized that there was
still liquid coming out, and it wasn’t urine. I waited a minute, figuring
it would pass; when I realized what was happening, I dug out my wireless
phone and called Craig. He answered by asking me what was going on; I had
been in there a good while. “Craig”, I said, “I think my water’s just
broken.” I’m sure the panic ensued out in the lobby; being stuck in a
stall, I wouldn’t have seen it. Rather than waiting in that stall and then
bolting out, I pulled up my shorts, locked my legs together as tightly as I
could (how that would help, I’m still not sure I know) and waddled into the
next stall, where I drained myself a little more, before repeating the above
process two more times. As I got to the door, the hostess came in to see if
I needed anything. I guess Craig was worried, and asked her to check on me.
I told her I was fine, and bolted as fast as I could waddle (legs tightly
together) out the door. We met up with Craig’s parents halfway to the exit,
where Craig said “Hi and Bye” to them. They followed us out the door,
worried that something terrible had happened. As we got out the door, I
told them my water had broken, and I was trying to get to the car as quickly
as I could, because there was a towel there that I could sit on. At this
point, my shorts were fairly soaked. And I hadn’t even gotten to eat any
cheesecake!

Once in the car, I called Dr. Schwartz first, to find out if I needed to
head to the hospital. I told him that my water had broken at 8 PM, and he
asked me to head to the hospital, just to make sure. After speaking with
the doctor, I called my parents, then called our doula, Kim Oursler. I let
them all know that I would be heading home first, to finish packing, then we
would go off to the hospital. I was to call everyone when we left our house
to head to NKC hospital, since we were so far away from home, and weren’t
quite finished getting everything together. Craig’s parents were going to
get some food, and then meet us at the hospital. My mother must have called
about five million times before we even got home; she called another eight
million once we were home, before she finally decided she would just meet us
at our house, because she just couldn’t wait. She wasn’t in the least bit
impatient!

When we got home, I decided I should take a shower, because I wasn’t sure
when I’d get to next. I should’ve gotten something to eat, too; of course,
I didn’t know that I’d go without food for nearly three days. Ahh, yes,
hindsight certainly is 20/20. My parents and brother all showed up at our
house right before I hopped in the shower - they were all more nervous than
Craig or myself, so they were all ordered to just sit down and stay out of
the way. We finally headed to the hospital around 10 PM on the 20th. I was
more hot than nervous; even though it had been a cool shower, the heat and
humidity of a Midwest summer still really got to me. By the time we got to
the hospital, I felt like I needed another shower!

I (fortunately) had the sense to pre-register in June, so all I really had
to do was check in with registration, answer a few questions, and then, we
were off on what would prove to be a longer journey than any one of us had
anticipated.

My memory gets fuzzy at this point, because of all of the commotion, so I
may forget a few major and minor details. We got up to the 7th floor, and I
got into the lovely house garments. There is nothing better than a hospital
robe when you’re leaking everywhere to make you feel good about yourself.
The night nurse had to verify that my membranes had indeed ruptured; perhaps
they’d had cases of women filling themselves with water to fake it before?!
We found that I was correct, my water had broken, and it really hit us -
Brandon was on his way! I was hooked up to another monitor, had a saline
drip inserted, and the dance began.

Unfortunately for both Brandon and myself, my labor never really
progressed. I never got more than 2 cm dilated, I think, and I think I was
about 50% effaced. We started my Pitocin drip around 2 AM of August 21st,
to induce labor. I’d not even had any contractions up until that point, but
once the Pitocin kicked in, it was a different story. The contractions
started coming regularly, but nothing was really happening. They weren’t
unbearable until later that night, when they really cranked up the Pitocin.
I spent a good amount of time on Thursday trying to walk the halls (with a
towel between my legs; I was still basically a fountain!) or bobbing around
in the tub. I also got on the “peanut”, an odd, peanut-shaped birthing
ball, and got into the rocking chair, but nothing seemed to help Brandon
make his way into the world. I’ve got to admit that Kim, my mom, and Craig
were great throughout the whole thing, except when they got hungry. Yeah, I
told them about hungry, that’s for sure. At this point, all of the hours,
minutes, even days started running together. At some point, Dr. Schwartz
had the Pitocin cranked up so high that I was having one major contraction.
I don’t know how long it lasted, only that it was nearly the most
excruciating pain I’d ever felt. I was crying and trying to hard to get
through it, knowing I had to, to make sure Brandon would be okay. I
remember that Kim was urging me to try to walk it off, or try the birthing
ball, but I kept telling everyone that I just wanted to rest in bed, on my
side. (Come to find out, Brandon was not in the correct position for birth,
anyway; he was face-front, instead of back. Dr. Schwartz had me try laying
on my side, turning my belly to the mattress as best as I could, to try to
turn Brandon into the proper position. I think he turned some, because I
felt some pain from that, but I never found out for sure. Funny how my
instincts guided me throughout the whole process.) My mom was just trying
to make everything okay. Craig was around somewhere, doing something -
mainly I think he was just holding my hand. Craig’s parents, my dad, Sean,
and Boe came in and out once in a while, but didn’t really stay too long,
once things got real intense. Maybe because I kept threatening to show them
my butt?

Dr. Schwartz was coming in, talking about epidurals and C-Sections. I was
in intense pain, but didn’t want an epidural, because I was afraid of what
it may do to Brandon. I’d spent so much time trying to make sure Brandon
was healthy while I was pregnant, by avoiding taking most anything when I
got sick, and that sort of thing, that I didn’t want to introduce an
epidural if I didn’t have to. I still wanted to try to have him naturally,
and be able to move around.

My family was concerned, however, and the tension you could cut with a
knife. Everyone seemed to be upset with the nurse except Craig and I; we
both knew she was only doing her job, and what the doctor wanted. After
having a meeting with everyone, I decided I would let them give me a dose of
a mild antihistamine that night; it would help me sleep (which I hadn’t
really done in a few days) and it would help me get through the pain. I was
nervous about the antihistamine shot, but it was only a small needle in my
left thigh - the nurse administered it during a contraction, so I barely
noticed it. The fun part was that the monitor I was hooked up to not only
let us hear Brandon’s heartbeat throughout our pre-delivery stay, but it
also showed the amount and intensity of my contractions. I remember crying
on Thursday night because I was hot and tired, and I wanted a shower; the
doctor agreed to let me shower and then get my shot. I think getting a
shower actually helped more than the antihistamine did; I apparently had
longer, more intense contractions throughout that night, but slept through
every single one of them. Everyone was impressed with that feat. I was
just glad to get some sleep.

The next morning, I awoke feeling a bit more clarity. I knew I was starting
to get concerned for Brandon’s well-being, as he was rolling around in my
belly without any water, and it had been 2 ½ days. Craig and I talked it
over, and we decided since I was still not past 4 cm, I would have a
C-section. I was told that Dr. Schwartz would be able to get me in around
11 AM on Friday, the 22nd, so early that morning, the nurse stopped my
Pitocin drip. If only I could get her to bring me some food, but I
couldn’t. The only thing I’d had was a bit of orange juice Kim snuck to me
the day before, which I’d thrown up later that day during my non-stop
contraction.

The nurse came in around 10:30 or so to start prepping me; I got a nice,
cold shave in my nether regions, and Craig got dressed in his scrubs. I
think they had to bring in a larger size, mainly because the shoes wouldn’t
fit! I think I had a goofy hat on - at that point, nothing mattered except
bringing Brandon into the world. I was wheeled in, and I’m pretty sure Dr.
Schwartz had some pretty bad jokes to tell (he always did!). There, (in the
sub-arctic room) I met my anesthesiologist. He walked me through the
epidural procedure, telling me of all the risks, and what exactly they were
going to do. Craig wasn’t allowed into the room until they were ready to
start slicing me up, so he watched the epidural being administered through
the little window. It really didn’t hurt like I thought it would - it was
only some pressure in my spine. Craig told me there was a lot of blood.
Once the epidural took effect - and it was pretty quick - they let Craig in,
and got ready to start the procedure.

One of the nurses turned on the radio; the song playing was something by The
Backstreet Boys. I told them I wasn’t going to stick around listening to
something that sucked, and that my baby was going to need some rock and
roll. They turned it to 98.9; I forget what song was playing. By that
time, they were cutting me open and flinging stuff around. I remember
smelling burnt something, only to realize it was probably me as they cut me.
I could see some of what they were doing in the reflection of the light
above me, and I could feel that they were wiggling my abdomen, but that was
it for me. I was behind the drape. Craig, on the other hand, got to watch
the whole thing, which seemed to take only a few minutes. At 11:43 AM on
August 22nd, Brandon Austin Clemons was born. The doctor took him out and
briefly showed his gooey, blue face to me over the drape. In what would
become normal habit for Brandon, he drooled baby-goo on me, just missing my
face. How precious! Craig tells me that when they placed him on the table
to clean him and warm him, he grabbed the blanket and started chewing on it.
That’s something he did pretty frequently, and something he still does.
When Brandon arrived, his eyes were wide open, and he was taking everything
in. From the start, he was a nosey baby, in everyone’s business. We knew
right from the start he was going to be an active baby, and probably quite a
handful. We were right. He was also a natural at breastfeeding, ready to
suck on just about anything.

We were overjoyed with our little one. He was 7 pounds, 2.3 ounces, and was
20 inches long. He was so cute, even with his temporarily cone-shaped head.
It seemed, though, that his respiratory rate was too fast, and cause for
lots of worry. On Saturday night, our nurse took him into NICU to run some
tests and keep a better eye on him. He stayed in the NICU until Wednesday,
August 27th. He suffered from respiratory distress, which made his
breathing irregular, sometimes very fast. It’s apparently common in babies
born by C-section, as they’re not squeezed through the birth canal, getting
the fluid out.

We finally had our baby home. It was a big adjustment for all three of us,
but well worth it. We have now a happy, healthy three-month old little boy,
who surprises us every day with his intelligence and humor (not to mention
his diapers!) Neither of us can imagine life without him. He really is
precious. But don’t tell him we said that, he’s already a character.

I’ve had a very kind and talented photographer offer to allow us to enjoy her work here at the Baby Boutique Blog! I will add new photos often. You can visit her site here.

Here is another great birth story from Karen Clark of Story Time Felts.

At about 9:55 am the nurse checked me and I was 3
cm, 75% effaced, and baby was at a -2 station. Finally we got the
Cervidil put in at 10 pm, along with a hep lock IV, which I was upset
about! It hurt, and I couldn’t move my hand as well. I tried to
refuse it but was told that sometimes the Cervidil can make
contractions come on too strong and they need to be able to
administer meds in a hurry. Whatever! I accepted it but I didn’t like
it.

At 11:20 they finally let us get off the fetal
monitor. I hated being tied to the bed! It was such a relief to get
off of that thing. The shift changed and we got a new nurse, Gail,
who had been our nurse the night we came in for the false alarm,
which was nice! She was great, very quiet and calm and laid back. She
told us we can go walk around for a bit, see what happens, but not to
wear ourselves out and make sure we get to bed soon (Greg was going
to have to sleep on a mat on the floor in the tiny room). She said I
was scheduled to have the Cervidil removed at 6:00 am and unless
something happened before then, she’d just leave us alone till
morning. So we went walking at 11:30 pm and called our parents. We
told them it didn’t look like much was happening, I hadn’t dilated or
anything, and only had a few contractions now and then. We told them
to go ahead and go to bed, and we’d call if anything happened through
the night otherwise they’d hear from us in the morning when I was
going to be checked again.

At 12:00 midnight we gave up on the walk. I had a
few contractions but not much so we decided to rest up and go to bed.
We turned on the jazz station again and relaxed. Greg slept really
well but I was a little wired! Started to have some hard contractions
every 5 minutes or so, but since I had similar ones at home for the
last couple weeks, I didn’t think anything of it.

At 2:20 am on Friday, I went to the bathroom and
the Cervidil insert fell out! I called the nurse and she said don’t
worry about it, just try and get some sleep now. So I laid back down
and Greg fell back to sleep. I, however, could not sleep! The
contractions got much harder and closer together, and I had to do
some deep abdominal breathing to get through them. Greg was snoring
away in the dark and I was pacing my breathing to his snores - I
could get an average of 10 deep breaths in for every contraction!
LOL! He had no idea what I was going through but I did not want to
wake him up, we were both so tired and I knew we’d have a long haul
ahead of us.

At 3:55 am I went to the bathroom and could hardly
get through the contraction on the way back. Greg woke up and asked
if he should call the nurse and I said not to. But he insisted when
he saw what I was going through! She came in a checked me and I was
100% effaced, 6 cm dilated but baby was still pretty high. She said
she could feel the bag of waters and was going to call my midwife,
Suzie, and see if she wanted to come in. In the mean time she sent
someone to prepare a labor/delivery room for us. It took them about a
half hour to get the room ready, so we spent the time sitting and
breathing through the contractions. When it was finally ready they
wheeled me into the new room on the bed, and it was very
uncomfortable, the contractions were getting really hard! At this
point I did not think I was getting that close, it certainly was
bearable, and the deep breathing was really helping. The only problem
was I was getting dizzy and had pins and needles - I was
hyperventilating! By the time we got to the new room (Room 1 - the
Good Room!) the nurse got me a paper bag to breathe into which really
helped. I also was feeling very hot and had Greg massaging my face
with a wet wash cloth, then would breathe into that during
contractions. It was great!

At 4:05 when we finally got to the new room they
checked me again and I was a complete 10 cm with just a rim of cervix
left! I couldn’t believe it and made them repeat it again and again.
LOL! I was confused! It was happening so fast. Greg hurried and
called our parents to get down there, that we’d be pushing soon! My
bag of waters still hadn’t broken so the baby was high but I was just
starting to get some contractions that felt like more pressure, like
I’d be wanting to push soon, but I could breathe through them and not
push yet. They called my midwife, Suzie, and I really wanted her to
be there for the birth so I tried to slow things down. But the
contractions were coming right on top of each other, tripling up! It
was hard to stay focused but Greg and the cloth, and the paper bag,
really helped! It was awesome. Every 3rd contraction I had a chance
to breathe and think and I was just giddy! I was so excited that we’d
be seeing our baby soon! I could not wait!

The pressure during contractions was getting so
strong, I started to get scared! Suzie showed up I guess around 5 pm
and sort of watched me, helped me through a few contractions,
encouraged me to go to the bathroom, etc. She kept telling me that if
I felt like pushing to go ahead and push, that would help get that
last rim of cervix taken care of. I did push a little bit here and
there, while walking to and from the bathroom, but I didn’t want to!
Finally at 5:20 am she decided to break my water, as it was bulging
and probably keeping me from being really effective at pushing (and
it didn’t help that I was trying to not push because I was scared of
the pain!). We all knew that as soon as my water had broken, things
were going to speed up! Greg wrote down in our notes:

5:20 am Broke Karen’s water

5:30 am She’s pushing!

5:40 am He has a head!

5:42 am Terry Jay Clark 9 lbs 15 oz 22″
long

I will never forget the feeling of touching his
head. I was laying on my side in the bed with one leg in a stirrup,
still only pushing when I absolutely could not stand not to. Suzie
kept saying it’s OK not to push, let the baby decide when to come
out. He would come whether I push or not. I loved that! I never felt
pressured or order