August 25, 2015 – 39 weeks, 6 days I had originally planned to title this post “Strong enough? Finding the balance between female empowerment and dependence on God.” And I’m going to talk about that, I promise. But I realize, at 1 day shy of 40 weeks up at 5:30AM having contractions, that I can’t … [Read more…]
Cut, Stapled, and Mended: When One Woman Reclaimed Her Body and Gave Birth on Her Own Terms After Cesarean by Roanna Rosewood was the only book I read while I was pregnant. Roanna is a HBA2C mom who wrote her story in a memoir format. This book covers not only her three pregnancies but also story from … [Read more…]
I knew going into this pregnancy that one big thing I wanted to be different between this pregnancy and my first pregnancy was that I wanted the third trimester to be much more relaxing. With Ezra’s pregnancy, there were many things that contributed to stress in the final weeks leading up to his birth: The assumption that … [Read more…]
July 22, 2015 I’m 35 weeks pregnant today. Last night, we attended the 2nd week of our two-week “childbirth refresher” course at the hospital where we will be having Little Brother. Another mom asked a question about catheter procedure during epidurals and spinals, and I almost gasped. Just like that I remembered that the night … [Read more…]
A lot of the work of birthing can be done during pregnancy – especially the emotional work. Take the time to consider your fears or anxiety about birth and work through those. This is especially important for first time mamas and mamas planning a VBAC. … As midwife and Russian birth pioneer Elena Tonetti-Vladimirova says … [Read more…]
When I moved to NC in 2013, one of the first things I did (before we even moved) was start Googling to try to find resources to prepare for a VBAC in preparation for the birth of our next child. I was hopeful that, when the time came for us to have another, my birth experience … [Read more…]
Optimal fetal positioning is a hot buzzword in the natural birthing world, especially when it comes to VBAC. So what is it all about, and why does it matter? More importantly, what does the scientific research say? My Story I remember lying there on the operating table when they came back and told me my first … [Read more…]
Birth affirmations. Those wonderful mantras that mamas repeat to themselves in pregnancy and birth to maintain a positive outlook on birth. When I was preparing for my VBAC, I ATE THEM UP! (You can view the complete list of birth affirmations I used in pregnancy here.) Looking back, I almost find it humorous. Other times, … [Read more…]
Music was one of the most instrumental things that provided comfort, healing, and hope for me during my pregnancy and birth. I started looking for songs for my playlist in the first trimester. By second trimester, I had all of the songs on my phone, in a Youtube pregnancy and labor playlist, and burned to … [Read more…]
In the five years between our two children’s births, my husband (who is a combat veteran), was diagnosed with a generalized anxiety disorder. While he had always struggled with anxiety, things that he went through in the Army and panic attacks leading to an emotional breakdown on his second deployment (just after our first child was … [Read more…]
It’s 2015, so by now I think most people know what a doula is and what they do. I don’t think there’s a right way to pick a doula. Every mom, every family, is going to look for something different…need something different. Which is why it’s so great that there’s so many options out there … [Read more…]
Preparing for and experiencing a VBAC / TOLAC is a long, arduous journey that you simply can’t take alone. The more support you have, the higher your chances of having a positive, healing experience will be. Your doula I have a whole post coming on how I chose my doula, so I’ll just touch on … [Read more…]
Little Brother arrived Thursday, September 3rd, 2015 at 5:58PM. He weighed in at 10 lb 1 oz, 22 inches long. I went past my “due date.” This was not all that concerning to me, although my husband and son were quite ansy. {Read my 40 week update here.} I continued having prodromal labor, soft bowels, mucus, … [Read more…]
I started preparing for VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) pretty much from the moment I brought Ezra (my first child) home for the hospital. His birth was scary, traumatic, and disappointing. I knew that the next time, I wanted a vastly different experience. I did a lot of research over the five years between his … [Read more…]
Little Brother arrived Thursday, September 3rd, 2015 at 5:58PM. He weighed in at 10 lb 1 oz, 22 inches long. I plan to share his birth story in a lot more detail with pictures and video (we have over 240 pictures of labor and birth alone!) in the month of October, when I’ll be sharing 31 … [Read more…]
