Category: Mom Life | Page 3

And Then We Were Three

July 15, 2015

Being a new mommy has consumed much of my time, but I am loving every minute of it. This is how it started.

My Husband, Jacob and I welcomed a sweet baby girl into this world on February 8th at 10:01pm. The whole thing was not really what I expected. It was very fast and intense, and completely natural.

I woke up that morning feeling huge, but nothing was out of the ordinary. I had been having Braxton Hicks contractions off and on for a couple months, but they were tolerable. It was my husband’s birthday and we decided to go out for brunch with my mom and a friend to celebrate. I wasn’t due for another two weeks. We were having a nice weekend, not expecting anything to happen so soon. While we were walking around a store around 3pm, I started having some discomfort which quickly escalated to full blown contractions. I was thinking the Braxton Hicks contractions just started getting stronger. This couldn’t possibly be real labor so soon! By the time we got to the car and started heading home, I was in full on labor. We wanted to try and have a very natural experience and stay at home as long as possible. We had taken Hypnobirthing classes and hired a Doula to help make that a reality. I turned on some calming music in the car and started my deep relaxation breathing.

When we got home, I called our Doula. I hadn’t seen any evidence that active labor had really started. My water hadn’t broken. The pressure was quickly growing, though. Jacob made me a snack and I took bites between contractions, which were holding at a steady 3 minutes apart for 90 seconds. I got in the tub for a little while and I had only been out for a few minutes when I realized this was getting too much for me to handle. I had only been in labor for a few hours and my water hadn’t broken yet so I must have a good 10 hours or more to go! What! I was going to need some help. I told Jacob to get the car packed up, we have to get to the hospital NOW. I couldn’t talk anymore, so he told our midwife and our Doula we were heading out.

My body was already trying to push in the car. I wasn’t sure why since I still had so much longer to go. I was concentrating and breathing while my husband was trying to get us to the hospital as quickly as possible. When we got there, I was barely able to think. I was just concentrating on breathing and relaxing my body. I got into Triage and my midwife showed up just a few minutes later. When she told me I was already 7.5cm dilated, I was so relieved. I got wheeled into my delivery room right away and the nurse started getting the labor tub filled up for me.

It’s amazing what the human body can do if you let it. Fear tenses your body and makes things much more difficult. My body completely took over. I could feel my body pushing on its own; I didn’t have to do anything.

There was no time for the beautiful labor that I had envisioned. We left everything in the car – the music, the essential oils, the relaxation scripts. Our Doula barely made it to the hospital in time for delivery. But we had the most important things – my labor team was there (Jacob, Mom, Doula, and Midwife), the lights were dimmed, I was laboring in the tub, and I didn’t have an IV (I really hate needles).

When it was time for Baby Girl to come out, I somehow got out of the tub and onto the bed. After another hour or so, baby broke through her sac (my water never broke) and came out very peacefully. Her warm little body was placed on my chest and I stared at her little head in complete awe. So I had 6lbs. 3oz. of perfection snuggled up on me. There’s much more that followed that wasn’t so pleasant, but as far as baby is concerned, we had a perfect delivery.

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5 Most Helpful Things During My Pregnancy

March 18, 2015

Sure, I probably should have written this post while I was still pregnant. But I was really busy…eating and sleeping, and reading lots of pregnancy books and articles. And watching Gilmore Girls on Netflix. I didn’t have a particularly difficult pregnancy, but it did have its challenging moments. Here are the things that helped me most through my pregnancy.

The information below is intended for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other professional health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new health care regimen.

1. Chiropractor Visits. Early in my pregnancy I developed pretty severe pain in my lower back and hips that I mistakenly thought was sciatica. It was actually Pelvic Girdle Pain (PGP). Frequent trips to a chiropractor that specializes in prenatal and infant care made a huge difference. After a few weeks, I was able to walk around again. I continued with my visits until the end of my pregnancy. I have heard that adjustments help women have an easier delivery. It seems that if the hips are not aligned, it would be more difficult for the baby to come out. My labor was quick and delivery went very smoothly, so that could have helped also.

2. Magnesium Supplement. Pregnancy wreaks havoc on your insides. Hormones combined with your growing baby pushing everything up can really slow digestion and, well, make the rest of the process more difficult. I used a magnesium citrate supplement called Natural Calm Magnesium to get things moving a little easier. It’s also supposed to help you relax and sleep, although I never had any trouble sleeping.

3. Pregnancy Pillows. Despite frequent chiropractor visits, my hips would really start to ache at night when I slept on my side. The only thing that helped was keeping a pillow between my knees. The Snoogle Total Body Pillow was a great one, but it was a bit bulky for me sometimes. I would turn a lot throughout the night and had to keep bringing it over to the other side. Sometimes I would just grab one of our smaller decorative pillows to sleep with between my knees. If you are a stomach sleeper, there is a pillow called the BellyBabyBreast Pillow that allows you to sleep on your belly while pregnant.

4. Cool Mist Humidifier. Again, hormones do some strange things to your body that you wouldn’t expect. Mucus production increases and can cause lots of nose and throat problems, especially during the night and early morning. Using a cool mist humidifier really helped me. I used the Crane Drop Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier.

5. Breathe Right Nasal Strips. I’m not a snorer typically and I really hate hearing other people snore. I will make my husband change positions in his sleep when he starts snoring. In my third trimester, though, I had the worst snoring problem! All that pressure against the diaphragm and nasal congestion from that mucus can turn the quietest sleeper into a human chainsaw. I actually woke myself up a few times with my own snoring. After I started using Breathe Right Nasal Strips, it got better.

Hope that helps you pregnant ladies! If there are any other helpful tips you’ve learned, please let me know.

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