HE IS HERE!!!!

A new lil man, who we'll call emers here in blogland, was welcomed into the world, at home, on christmas eve at 10:22 a.m.

we are in love......

More Baby News!

My best friend of 22 years and counting had her second child, a boy, at home thursday morning!

I couldn't be happier, or more proud.

Of course, I will add that it was very sad for me that i couldnt get to texas to actually BE THERE.

She attended ira's birth, and i attended her daughter's birth. But she missed liv's and i her son's.

boo.

but, i guess at this point, we have already sealed so many childhood promises-

live together- check!

move away- check!

marry best friends- check!

be with each other when we have our first baby- check!

so, i will settle with

have our second babies at HOME, in WATER, within 3 MONTHS of each other- check!

so what if we are in different states?

the flags i made her got there in time.

ira gave them a hug & kiss before i put them in the envelope- so it was important to us they ge tthere in time.

yay babies!

New Life!

A beautiful new soul was born to this world by a friend. 

An amazing homebirth by an amazing mama. 

I have the feeling in my chest that I get when I exit a rollercoaster that was thrilling, scary and worth every second of the wait..... the feeling of excitement, not for me... but for all those in line to get on.

I always want to squeeze them and scream "THIS IS SO MUCH FUN! AHHHHHHHHHHHH"

Instead, I watch them get in... longingly, then run my jealous booty back to the  end of the line.

Let me just stay thrilled for my friends for a long time...

because I CANNOT get back in this line for a year or more :)

Liv's Birth Story

I started having contractions on may 12th, my official due date. I woke jared up a little after 11pm and asked him to sit with me. They were coming every 5 minutes, but were not very strong. Jared said to me, "dont you think that maybe if you can still sleep, you should. YOu dont want to be up all night and exhausted during your birth" so I decided to go to bed....

I then woke up at 4am-ish may 13th with REALLY strong contractions. I labored on the birth ball for a a little while... they were getting stronger and closer together, so I called my mw at around 530am.

My midwives got here at 8, and my contractions all but stopped. I was having contractions about 5-10 minutes apart, but they were not getting stronger or closer at that point.

My midwife suggested I take a walk for the third time, so I agreed and jared, ira and I went on a walk around the block... about a half mile!

I was so angry I didnt want to come home, I kept saying, "I trust my body, I dont want to speed anything up, if my body is slowing down, I want to let it...when we get home- you tell them they have to leave!" It was at this point that i realized i was actually scared... i was actually IN LABOR, and nothing was going to stop it.... not wine, not a bath, not breathing. I felt like the countdown was ON and it would be a matter of hours before I was pushing and working and tired..... so yeah, I freaked out a bit ;) I could tell jared didnt want to have to tell them to go, but he wasnt going to argue with me... .pre labor- we had established the- "you do not argue with me while in labor" rule. True to his word, this man was not going to argue with me.

So when we got back from the walk, my mw pulled jared aside and said she was going to leave and give me some privacy to labor and focus, etc. (how is that for intuition? she just *knew* which is why I love her)..Jared was thrilled he didnt have to say anything.....

So it was about 11 am at this point and they left. I took a nap on the couch and woke up at noon with incredibly strong and relentless contractions. The birth ball saved my life, but I told jared to get the pool ready. I NEEDED to be in the water- needed it.

I was using hypnobirthing breathing techniques and imagery... I felt really in control and on top of my labor. I do think I screamed at jared a little because the water heater ran out and the pool was no where near full.. So he ran and got out our stock pots and was boiling like four huge pots of water as well as using the water heater. THe pool was ready to go at 1pm, and when I got in, I swear it felt like magic water. It was absolutely the most amazing relief. jared called the midwife and she said to call her in an hour if things were still progressing.

Ira was in the pool with me the ENTIRE time... from the moment I got in. She was mostly playing, but during my contractions she would pour warm water on my back or put pressure where daddy had showed her to. It was quite beautiful actually. I absolutely love that she was introduced to birth this way. No fear. I was still able to let her know when contractions were coming calmly and explain what I was feeling, which I think helped me as well. Jared was amazing. During my contractions, he would hold my hands and I would press my forehead against his and he would say, "welcome the pain, jen" (thanks rach) and it was all so great.

At 2:30, I got out of the pool to pee and *knew* that if I didnt get the mw here, we would be doing this alone. I had three contractions on top of each other in the hall on the way back to the pool and out of the water they were so not peaceful and beautiful... they sucked and I lost my cool completely. sucked .

Jared called our midwife and told her, "jen says she needs you here now"

the midwife said, "does she want anything?" I said, "yes an eegee (a fruit slush)" when she asked what kind, I thought to myself, we dont have time, she needs to be here now... so I said, "no- come now, forget the eegee"



When they got here at 3pm ish, which is hilarious, because she said there was all kinds of traffic and thinking back if she would have stopped at eegees, she would not have made it here. I asked her to check me. I was at a 6 . grrr. I had BELIEVED i would be fully dilated. This news frustrated me.

And with the frustration, I think I started fighting contractions. Jared says that he could SEE that I was fighting them, but was afraid to say anything, because we had agreed to a "NO questioning, NO telling me what to do" rule.

(jared is a capricorn, he responds well to rules) He needed to go to the bathroom, and my mw sat with me through a contraction. I told her I "was scared, and that I fighting contractions, because I was only at a six, and what if I couldnt make it, what if I couldnt do it, I still needed to go 4 more centimeters and I didnt feel strong enough" This is when she spoke the magic words that I will forever tell all my birthing friends and random pregnant women at grocery stores.....

She said, "jen, your cervix is so thin and so loose, its going to slip over your baby's head like a tight sweater."

This was apparetnly all I needed. She talked me through a contraction and when I started to vocalize and say "owwwwww", she kept me saying "oooooppppeeeennnnn, open, ooooppppeeennnn" instead.

Jared was back from the bathroom, and it was 4pm.

The next contraction was INTENSE. It was so intense I couldnt even get my mind right. I couldnt tell what my body was doing- and up until that point I was visualizing everything, so I felt really aware. All of a sudden I was lost.

I looked at jared and said, "I need to welcome the pain, the pain is good, my body needs to feel the pain".

He looked at me and said, "you are amazing, you are doing it"

The next contraction, I let my fear go and felt it completely, I started vocalizing "open" and visualizing the baby slipping through the cervix. Then next contraction, I did the same thing, but my whole body was engaged and I had a hard time vocalizing, my midwife said, "your pushing?" and I said, "I dont know, am I?...yes, I am"

lol.

I hadnt realized thats what I did on that last contraction, it felt so natural, it was truly unconscious..I read that your body would push the baby out on its own, and I believed it, but feeling it was an entirely different thing. the next contraction was the same, except I was visualizing the baby's head crowing,vocalized more than pushed and I felt the stretching.

I also felt that I might tear, so I pulled back. I didnt push again for the next contraction, I let my body do it all.

My midwife said that the head was almost out, and for me to feel for it. I said no- she asked jared to and he just looked at me and said, "no- she needs me up here". (swoon right?!?)

I was afraid if I felt her head, and it was not as close as I was visualizing, it would throw me off, and if I felt her and it was further, I would start to panic about the breathing thing (I was still in the water and slightly worried even though I knew the facts).

Ira had been in the room this entire time, my midwife's assistant had arrived, and the second midwife (visiting from germany) had been talking keira through everything. She told her my "singing" was helping bring the baby out.

So the last contraction, My body pushed, I pushed, and it was CRAZY. My midwife said, "everything is great jen, but you need to flip over into a squat." she said it so calm, and normal- I said " im not moving!!"

She just looked at me and said, "you need to turn over".

I trusted her, and did. Next contraction baby was out, and on my chest and BLUE.

so scary. no breathing, no crying, no anything. My midwife said, "everything is fine jen, she had a nuchal hand, so you just pushed out a head with a hand and arm next to it. She is not stressed, look at her, talk to her. Her cord is pulsing, she is getting air".

the nurse in me popped in and I panicked and said, "I want oxygen for her NOW!" the midwife assistant got the oxygen. My midwife gave her two bursts of air, but she was still connected to the unbilical cord which was still pulsing, but I was still nervous, and I think we were all a little worried, then the german midwife was like, "you guys, this is fine, the baby is fine, talk to your baby jen" And we all calmed down and I looked at my baby and started talking to her. Liv opened her eyes and started breathing. I cried. I think at this point everyone was still calling her a "he" and I knew it was a girl, when I looked, I was right, and I said, "you guys ITS a girl!"

Ira was back in the room(for a while now)as soon as the midwife knew everything was okay- right after the oxygen, but before she was awake.


Her birth time? 4:15!

that ALLLLLLLL happened in 15 MINUTES!

My midwife said I birthed the head in 3 pushes!

I had birthed in the pool that we set up in the kitchen (many of you know it is my favourite room).

I bled quite a bit while birthing the placenta and Ira got a little nervous, but cordelia, the german midwife told her the blood was "like medicine that helped the baby come out" (i think- this is how ira interpreted it at least..... and that FASCINATED her. She is still telling people about the red medicine, which is funny to explain.

As i was still waiting on the placenta, my friend anna came- we had called her at 3pm but I think she was at work and it took a bit to get here.

We all moved into the guest room, my midwife checked me- NO TEARS! Jared, keira, olive and I laid in bed while my midwife, her assistant, cordelia the german midwife and anna took care of everything. I wanted coffee and jared went to make that and help empty the pool.

Anna went and got us ALL food, a bouquet of flowers... so wonderful to be surrounded by great people.

They made an imprint of my placenta in paper which looks like the tree of life (will post pics soon).

It was amazing and i wouldnt change a thing, it was healing, and really brought an incredible dynamic to jared and my relationship.

He was available in ways i never expected.... he even baked cupcakes with keira in my early labor!!!!

amazing!

I have to say, that aside from needing an excuse to see my midwife regularly (i love her).. this birth made me want to have like 3 more kids.... however, seeing as it is 1 a.m. and my little newborn has a stuffy nose and cant nurse and is screaming every hour... Imay just wait a bit ;)