The Birth Center http://thebirthcenter.com Wed, 22 Feb 2012 17:42:02 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Evangeline’s Birth Story http://thebirthcenter.com/2012/02/20/evangelines-birth-story/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=evangelines-birth-story http://thebirthcenter.com/2012/02/20/evangelines-birth-story/#comments Tue, 21 Feb 2012 00:25:50 +0000 madden http://thebirthcenter.com/?p=1143 It has taken me a very long time to write my daughter’s birth story. Every time I thought about writing it, a flood of emotions would wash over me and I would quickly dismiss the idea. After a lot of time healing the physical wounds, and a ton more time healing the emotional wounds, I came to the conclusion that I had a responsibility to write this story. I distinctly remember the midwives at the Birth Center saying, don’t watch those silly baby shows on TV, they’ll only scare you. I don’t want to scary anyone, but I thought that it might be important if others heard the story, not just of how things can go wrong, but also the emotional toll it takes on you. I thought perhaps pregnant mamas might be better equipped to handle a similar situation should you find yourself in it and mamas who experienced a traumatic birth might feel some kind of confirmation that you are not alone and all those crazy emotions you feel are valid.
When I first became pregnant, I knew I wanted a natural birth. We started at a hospital-based practice but didn’t like the way my care was being handled. From the moment my husband, Nate, and I walked in the doors of the Birth Center at the open house, we were hooked. I immediately began imagining myself giving birth there (in the yellow room!) and couldn’t wait for my parents and other family members to be relaxing in the family room waiting for our first arrival. I had fantastic experiences with all of the midwives at my prenatal visits. We had our ups and downs with the pregnancy, including level two ultrasounds for some potential abnormalities and breech presentation until very late in the game. But with a few weeks left and everything going swimmingly, all that was left was to wait. And wait. And wait some more.
At 40 weeks I was fine, telling my bump, “Take as long as you need, little one, but hurry up!” At 41 weeks, I began to get nervous. The dreaded 42-week mark was looming just ahead of us. At my weekly appointment, ten days past my due date, we started planning for getting things moving. I wasn’t dilated enough to do a membrane sweep, but we talked about castor oil, and if all else failed, breaking my water a day before the 42 week mark. But first I had to be sent for a biophysical profile. The baby’s heart rate wasn’t responding like it should. My husband and I walked over to St. Francis, with not even so much as a thought that of what was to follow in the next 24 hours. During the ultrasound it was discovered that I had low amniotic fluid levels, and we knew what this meant. Hospital. Induction. Being stuck in a bed. It was 5:30 on a Wednesday night and I felt completely crushed. We tried to focus on the positive. We’d be greeting our baby very soon!
By 8 o’clock I was checked in to Christiana, had the fetal heart rate and contraction monitors hooked up to me, and was waiting on the oh so lovely Foley bulb. At one in the morning, a resident came in and inserted it, and by 5am I was 3 cm and starting on Pitocin. Things went great! I read books, listened to my ‘relaxing’ baby music mix, talked excitedly with my husband and my family, and although it was hard to pee in a bedpan and even harder to focus as the contractions became more intense, but I was handling everything really well. My husband was an absolutely amazing coach, telling me to breathe when I’d start holding my breath, telling me how awesome I was doing. The problem was, I had no break. I’d finish one contraction, and I could feel the next one gearing up deep in my belly. Pitocin made the contractions come very close together. Dorinda told me to call her when the contractions got really intense, but I knew there were other mamas back at the Birth Center in labor. I didn’t want to bother the midwives just yet. In hindsight, I wish I had just asked her to come. I wonder if an objective view might have changed the outcome.
By three in the afternoon, after being up for 31 hours, I was 5 cm. The nurse said that I was doing great! However, the doctor had other ideas. He gave the nurse a look, said that technically since I’d been at 5 cm for the last two hours, I was in what he called a ‘stalled labor’. The answer? More Pitocin. And a gentle prodding: “You might become more dilated if you could relax more.” The statement was dripping with the unasked question, “Are you sure you wouldn’t like an epidural?” And I caved in and got one. Let me tell you, as soon as those contractions disappeared, I didn’t feel at all bad about my decision. I closed my eyes and began to drift off. That is until five minutes later, when the nurse came in and asked me to roll over onto my side, the baby’s heart rate was dipping too much with each contraction. I did as she asked and tried to get comfortable again. Five minutes later, and the doctor came back in. Looking at the fetal heart monitor, and then back down at me, I’ll never forget his words: “I think we need to start talking about a C-section.” The nurse, who was so great and very much on our side, suggested stopping the Pitocin for an hour and giving the baby a chance to recover. The doctor didn’t like this idea too much.
Within a span of a minute, I had the doctor, two nurses, and two anesthesiologists staring down at me, waiting for a decision. My parents and my husband had pure fear written all over their faces. I will never forget the feeling utter helplessness as eight pairs of eyes looked down at me, asking me to make a decision. The doctor was trying unsuccessfully to hide his annoyance that we still hadn’t decided, as he had another C-section waiting to go that he was going to bump to get us in first. With all of these people in the room, my husband and I tried to collect our thoughts. I wish I had just told everyone to leave us alone for five minutes, but we didn’t.
We reluctantly agreed to the C-section. I cried and shook uncontrollably as simultaneously the doctor began explaining the risks, the anesthesiologists began increasing the epidural, and the nurse inserted a catheter. I cried as they wheeled me down the hall. I cried as they told Nate to wait outside and got me scrubbed up and put up the paper sheet divider. By the time someone thought to go get Nate from the hall, they had already started cutting. I couldn’t stop the trembling, not even Nate’s reassuring hand in mine and his words that we were going to see our baby soon could calm me down. And then I heard our baby crying and I cried even harder. They took the baby away and Nate left to go figure out the gender, as no one bothered to tell us. I lay there as they stitched me up, hearing my heartbeat dip on a loud monitor, feeling like I might slip into unconsciousness and never wake up.
I eventually heard someone say, “It’s a girl”. Nate came back with a picture, which I stared at blankly. It was too surreal. The whole thing felt like a dream. They moved me off the operating table and back onto a hospital bed, covered me with warm blankets, and put the baby in my arms. I stared at her weakly, feeling completely numb. They wheeled us to recovery and left us completely alone. Our baby girl, Evangeline Rose, was born at 3:55pm on June 9th, 2011.
I don’t want you to think that I wasn’t happy. I was. But I also know that I did not feel an immediate bond with Evie. I nursed her when she needed it, I fell asleep with her cradled in my arms, but it was a long time, and a lot of hard work and conscious effort on my part, to feel that fierce maternal love. It is so natural to me now, I love that child more deeply than I thought was possible. But in those first few days, I knew that something was missing. And looking back, I decided that what was missing was a feeling of control. I struggled, and sometimes still struggle, with the feeling that she couldn’t possibly have come from inside me. I didn’t feel it happen. I was lying, half numb, in a bed, and someone put a baby in my arms. Things were done TO me, and often without my full consent.
I struggled for so long with a case of the ‘what if’s’. What if we had just asked people to leave the room so we could make a decision? What if I had done more research on epidurals and known that decreased fetal heart rate is one of the possible side effects? What if we had outright refused the C-section? Asked them to stop the epidural? Asked for a different form of pain relief? What if I had asked the ultrasound technician to check the fluid levels again? Would the baby moving slightly yield different readings?
And I mourned acutely for the birth I didn’t have. I was confronted with the reality of it daily. People asked about my birth experience and I cringed every time I’d have to tell it and brush off how traumatic it was for me. I went to moms’ groups where women talked of their amazing drug-free, Birth Center births. I know that it was not their intention to offend, but it was just so difficult to hear. I felt judged (I’m sure, this wasn’t true, just my overdeveloped sense of guilt) that I chose an epidural. I was so envious and I was so very angry. And I felt like it was all my fault. Why didn’t my body want to go into labor naturally? What was wrong with me? Why didn’t I dilate quickly? I took it all personally, wishing I had done more in during my pregnancy. Taken more herbal teas. Gone for more walks. Done Kegels. Visualized giving birth. I thought that surely one of these would have let me deliver naturally. And if that weren’t enough, I was constantly reminded of the event with a permanent scar on my abdomen and the devastating thought that I will never be able to experience giving birth at the Birth Center.
And worst of all, although I know they meant well, were the times when people would say, “Well the end result is all that matters.” My blood boils when I think back on it now. A statement like this effectively tells you that all other feelings that you might have are invalid. This statement says, “How dare you feel sadness/anger/grief at a time like this?” Yes, the end result was beautiful. I have a perfectly healthy baby girl. But it is not ALL that matters. My struggle to feel nurturing toward my daughter is evidence of that. And why can’t I be a complex person, with complex emotions? Why can’t I feel a mixture of sheer happiness and complete despair when I think of Evie’s birth? Am I that one-dimensional that I can only feel all or nothing? I know now that I am not. I am a multitude of emotions. I can simultaneously love my daughter to no end and absolutely hate the way she came into the world. It has taken me a long time to be ok with the fact that I can feel both of these things.
In writing this, I have realized a couple of things. One being that it is extremely long (sorry!). Second, that it could be potentially terrifying to someone who is pregnant. And I do apologize for that. Third, that I was utterly EXHAUSTED holding all of these emotions inside for so long. It feels fantastic to finally write them down.
For those expectant mamas reading this, please take away from this story only that which you feel is helpful, and quickly forget the rest. Remember that you have the right to stop the events that are unfolding around you and think for five minutes. You have the right to be in control of what happens to you, your body, and your baby. You have the right to speak with the people who TRULY care for you and your baby’s wellbeing without medical personnel around. You have the right to refuse any and all treatments. I was told all of these things, but it is so, so difficult to keep in mind in the moment.
And for those mamas who had a similar experience, please know this: Whatever happened, you did the best you could, with the knowledge you had, under the circumstances you found yourself in. No matter what, you are still a miracle. You formed a baby inside of you, you carried that baby for months, your body gave that baby what it needed. You created life. Every time I think that my body should have done more, I try to remember this. I say these things to myself every day, and although it doesn’t feel quite genuine yet, I hope that one day it will stick, and I can say it and mean it. I hope for the same thing for you, too. And please, write down your birth story. The good, the bad, the ugly. I promise you, that although you will cry hysterically and want to stop, it will be worth it when it’s all out there. Then do with it what you want. Burn it. Share it. Forget about it. Flush it down the toilet. But by all means, just do it!
We women are beautiful, amazing, and have the ULTIMATE gift of bringing life into this world, no matter what events unfold before the moment our babies take their first breath. Never forget that.

]]> http://thebirthcenter.com/2012/02/20/evangelines-birth-story/feed/ 6 Audra’s Birth Story http://thebirthcenter.com/2012/02/20/audras-birth-story-3/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=audras-birth-story-3 http://thebirthcenter.com/2012/02/20/audras-birth-story-3/#comments Mon, 20 Feb 2012 08:55:49 +0000 tbc http://thebirthcenter.com/2012/02/20/audras-birth-story-3/ It was 4am on Thursday (the day after my due date) when I woke to my first contraction. I had been feeling aches and cramps for the past couple nights, so I wasn’t too surprised or worried when contractions started. The contraction eased pretty quickly, and the next one didn’t hit for over 20 minutes. So I slept as long as I could that morning, in between the contractions, knowing that I would need to conserve my energy for the journey ahead.

My husband, David, asked me on Thursday morning if he should stay home from work. He was worried to leave me home alone when I was having contractions. I assured him that I would call if they got closer together or more intense and insisted that he go to work. The rest of Thursday passed slowly, as I tried to keep myself distracted with last minute errands that needed to be done before the baby arrived.

Thursday night the contractions were still anywhere from 20-45 minutes apart. I didn’t get much sleep that night, because contractions kept waking me.

On Friday David didn’t have to go to work. He does commercial heating/AC work, and, due to the warm winter we’ve been having, there wasn’t much service work that day. I was so thankful that he was able to stay with me! Even though contractions were infrequent, I was starting to feel the pain in my back, so it was wonderful to have David massage my back during contractions.

By Friday afternoon the contractions were getting much more intense, even though they were about 10 minutes apart. I was no longer feeling the contractions as cramps, but rather all as back pain. Even though David and I had taken a Bradley Method class which taught that the laboring woman should relax through the contractions, since the baby had turned into a posterior position it was practically impossible to relax.

At 7:30pm, with contractions about every 5 minutes, we called David’s parents who were going to be taking care of our dog while we were at The Birth Center. We then called The Birth Center to give notice about my contractions.

By 10pm we’d reached the “4-1-1”… contractions 4 minutes apart, lasting about a minute for a full hour. David’s parents had just arrived, so we figured we were ready to go. However, when I talked to Katie at The Birth Center she said she still could hear a smile in my voice between contractions and she wasn’t sure if I was ready to come in yet. (I have been accused of being “too nice,” and my husband later told me that this was another instance of me covering my true emotions in an effort to be polite.) Also, she told us that another baby had been born earlier in the evening, and that the family was in the water birth room. This is the room that we had picked for our labor, so we labored at home for another 3 hours before calling The Birth Center again. This time I was ready to go!

We got to The Birth Center around 1:30am (and I was thankful to see that the other family was getting ready to leave the water birth room). When Katie checked me I was astonished to hear that I was already 7cm!! I was excited to be so far into labor, and I thought that surely I would be holding my baby by dawn!

But dilation is not necessarily a gauge for how labor will progress, and, after almost 5 hours of laboring in the tub, Katie asked to check me again. I almost started to cry when she told me I was at 8cm. All those hours of intense labor only gained me 1cm? My water hadn’t broken, and Katie believed that was one reason why it was taking longer than anticipated. She asked to break my water around 7am, and I gladly agreed! This helped a lot, and suddenly I was almost completely dilated.

At 8am there was a shift in the on-call staff, with Midwife Dorinda and Nurses Tyler and Peggy joining us in the water birth room. The baby was still posterior, so Dorinda suggested I try different positions to help encourage the baby to turn. The next 1 ½ hours passed slowly for me. I was completely focused on the task at hand and I didn’t notice the people moving around me at all. David later told me that I even started to fall asleep and snore between the contractions! By this point I’d been in active labor for over 12 hours, and hadn’t had much sleep for the past 50 hours. I was so exhausted, and I doubted myself with almost every contraction. But Dorinda, Tyler and Peggy, along with David, continued to encourage me and give me reassurance. Without their support (or, in other words, if I had been trying to do this naturally in a hospital) I think I probably would’ve given up!

At last, at 9:30am, I was in stage 2 of labor – it was time to push! However, the baby continued to be posterior, so with every push the pain in my back was strong. I was grateful to have Tyler putting pressure on my back during each contraction. Around 10:30am, since I was completely unmedicated, I felt the baby turn into the anterior position. Of course I was still exhausted, but it was nice to have the pressure off my back.

At 11:13am, I pushed 4 final times, and suddenly was holding my baby! Both David and I were astonished that she started to cry when only her head was out. She was so alert! Only for the first minute I didn’t know it was a she, so I suppose I should still be referring to her as the baby. I remember I turned to David, delighted that it was finally over, and announced “I did it!” Up until the end I still doubted that I had the strength to do this without pain relief or medical assistance. And then Dorinda turned to my husband and said, “David, tell Alvana what it is”, and David got to announce “IT’S A GIRL!” It was so exciting to finally learn the gender of this baby! After a few moments of holding our baby and crying some tears of joy, I asked David if we were set on the name. He said he was happy with what we had picked out, and I agreed. Then I was able to introduce our daughter, Audra Leigh, to Dorinda, Tyler and Peggy.

Looking back, this is not the birth I had planned to have. I had heard about back labor, but I really didn’t have any idea how severe the pain would be. Also, I wasn’t expecting to be in labor for that long, though I know that 15 hours is around average. However, David and I both view this experience as an amazing and beautiful event. We are so glad we chose to experience natural childbirth outside of a hospital, where a staff of loving women worked so hard to make this an enriching occasion. Our hearts are grateful for The Birth Center!

]]> http://thebirthcenter.com/2012/02/20/audras-birth-story-3/feed/ 0 Jacob’s Birth Story http://thebirthcenter.com/2012/02/20/jacobs-birth-story-4/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=jacobs-birth-story-4 http://thebirthcenter.com/2012/02/20/jacobs-birth-story-4/#comments Mon, 20 Feb 2012 08:51:09 +0000 tbc http://thebirthcenter.com/2012/02/20/jacobs-birth-story-4/ This was my first baby so I had no idea what to expect and what certain symptoms would mean. I had been having cramping and lost my mucus plug about a week before I gave birth so I knew that labor was probably coming in the next couple weeks. When I went in for my weekly appointment on Thursday, Dorinda said he was already +2 (most women have to go through hard labor to get babies that low) and she wouldn’t be surprised if he came early (I was only 36 weeks at this point)! I just had to stay pregnant until Friday at midnight (Saturday was my 37 week mark).

I made it to Saturday and wasn’t having much symptoms until Sunday night. I couldn’t sleep at all! The cramping was a lot worse all night (I knew it wasn’t active labor though) and then the cramping subsided Monday day. Same thing happened Monday night (no sleep again!). Then Tuesday morning at about 6 or 7am I thought my water broke. It wasn’t a lot of liquid but it definitely wasn’t discharge so I called Sarah who was the midwife on call. She told me to time my contractions and call back when they came every 3-4 minutes and lasted a minute. When I timed them they were kind of irregular but were coming anywhere from 2-5 minutes apart and only lasting about 30 seconds. So about an hour after my water broke I was told to come in.

My parent’s and I got all of our stuff together and headed off to the birth center and by this point my contractions were getting more intense. We got to the birth center about an hour later and when Sarah checked my cervix, I was already dilated 5-6cm! I couldn’t believe it! When we noticed my contractions coming closer and closer together we started the tub, which I knew would feel amazing for the pain!

 

Since my husband is deployed to Afghanistan, we contacted his higher up’s and was able to get him on skype! At this point I was in a lot of pain and the contractions were VERY intense and frequent. I had no awareness of time and was just focusing on getting through each contraction. I was in labor pretty much all day and didn’t feel the urge to push until about 5pm. I felt like I wasn’t making any progress when pushing and was getting so frustrated! I kept checking to see how far down he was and though I could feel his head, he didn’t seem to be getting passed a certain point. I felt like I was ready to give up!

It took about an hour and a half of pushing and FINALLY at 6:27pm, he came out in one push!! It felt AMAZING. I reached down and caught him myself and brought him to my chest. Everyone missed it because of how fast he came out! Couldn’t believe it.

 

 

 

 

His name is Jacob Andrew and after about an hour or so of cuddling and skyping with daddy, we got his stats and measured at 6lbs 10oz, 19 inches long :)

 

]]> http://thebirthcenter.com/2012/02/20/jacobs-birth-story-4/feed/ 0 Audra’s Birth Story http://thebirthcenter.com/2012/02/20/audras-birth-story-2/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=audras-birth-story-2 http://thebirthcenter.com/2012/02/20/audras-birth-story-2/#comments Mon, 20 Feb 2012 08:48:43 +0000 tbc http://thebirthcenter.com/2012/02/20/audras-birth-story-2/ It was 4am on Thursday (the day after my due date) when I woke to my first contraction. I had been feeling aches and cramps for the past couple nights, so I wasn’t too surprised or worried when contractions started. The contraction eased pretty quickly, and the next one didn’t hit for over 20 minutes. So I slept as long as I could that morning, in between the contractions, knowing that I would need to conserve my energy for the journey ahead.

My husband, David, asked me on Thursday morning if he should stay home from work. He was worried to leave me home alone when I was having contractions. I assured him that I would call if they got closer together or more intense and insisted that he go to work. The rest of Thursday passed slowly, as I tried to keep myself distracted with last minute errands that needed to be done before the baby arrived.

Thursday night the contractions were still anywhere from 20-45 minutes apart. I didn’t get much sleep that night, because contractions kept waking me.

On Friday David didn’t have to go to work. He does commercial heating/AC work, and, due to the warm winter we’ve been having, there wasn’t much service work that day. I was so thankful that he was able to stay with me! Even though contractions were infrequent, I was starting to feel the pain in my back, so it was wonderful to have David massage my back during contractions.

By Friday afternoon the contractions were getting much more intense, even though they were about 10 minutes apart. I was no longer feeling the contractions as cramps, but rather all as back pain. Even though David and I had taken a Bradley Method class which taught that the laboring woman should relax through the contractions, since the baby had turned into a posterior position it was practically impossible to relax.

At 7:30pm, with contractions about every 5 minutes, we called David’s parents who were going to be taking care of our dog while we were at The Birth Center. We then called The Birth Center to give notice about my contractions.

By 10pm we’d reached the “4-1-1”… contractions 4 minutes apart, lasting about a minute for a full hour. David’s parents had just arrived, so we figured we were ready to go. However, when I talked to Katie at The Birth Center she said she still could hear a smile in my voice between contractions and she wasn’t sure if I was ready to come in yet. (I have been accused of being “too nice,” and my husband later told me that this was another instance of me covering my true emotions in an effort to be polite.) Also, she told us that another baby had been born earlier in the evening, and that the family was in the water birth room. This is the room that we had picked for our labor, so we labored at home for another 3 hours before calling The Birth Center again. This time I was ready to go!

We got to The Birth Center around 1:30am (and I was thankful to see that the other family was getting ready to leave the water birth room). When Katie checked me I was astonished to hear that I was already 7cm!! I was excited to be so far into labor, and I thought that surely I would be holding my baby by dawn!

But dilation is not necessarily a gauge for how labor will progress, and, after almost 5 hours of laboring in the tub, Katie asked to check me again. I almost started to cry when she told me I was at 8cm. All those hours of intense labor only gained me 1cm? My water hadn’t broken, and Katie believed that was one reason why it was taking longer than anticipated. She asked to break my water around 7am, and I gladly agreed! This helped a lot, and suddenly I was almost completely dilated.

At 8am there was a shift in the on-call staff, with Midwife Dorinda and Nurses Tyler and Peggy joining us in the water birth room. The baby was still posterior, so Dorinda suggested I try different positions to help encourage the baby to turn. The next 1 ½ hours passed slowly for me. I was completely focused on the task at hand and I didn’t notice the people moving around me at all. David later told me that I even started to fall asleep and snore between the contractions! By this point I’d been in active labor for over 12 hours, and hadn’t had much sleep for the past 50 hours. I was so exhausted, and I doubted myself with almost every contraction. But Dorinda, Tyler and Peggy, along with David, continued to encourage me and give me reassurance. Without their support (or, in other words, if I had been trying to do this naturally in a hospital) I think I probably would’ve given up!

At last, at 9:30am, I was in stage 2 of labor – it was time to push! However, the baby continued to be posterior, so with every push the pain in my back was strong. I was grateful to have Tyler putting pressure on my back during each contraction. Around 10:30am, since I was completely unmedicated, I felt the baby turn into the anterior position. Of course I was still exhausted, but it was nice to have the pressure off my back.

At 11:13am, I pushed 4 final times, and suddenly was holding my baby! Both David and I were astonished that she started to cry when only her head was out. She was so alert! Only for the first minute I didn’t know it was a she, so I suppose I should still be referring to her as the baby. I remember I turned to David, delighted that it was finally over, and announced “I did it!” Up until the end I still doubted that I had the strength to do this without pain relief or medical assistance. And then Dorinda turned to my husband and said, “David, tell Alvana what it is”, and David got to announce “IT’S A GIRL!” It was so exciting to finally learn the gender of this baby! After a few moments of holding our baby and crying some tears of joy, I asked David if we were set on the name. He said he was happy with what we had picked out, and I agreed. Then I was able to introduce our daughter, Audra Leigh, to Dorinda, Tyler and Peggy.

Looking back, this is not the birth I had planned to have. I had heard about back labor, but I really didn’t have any idea how severe the pain would be. Also, I wasn’t expecting to be in labor for that long, though I know that 15 hours is around average. However, David and I both view this experience as an amazing and beautiful event. We are so glad we chose to experience natural childbirth outside of a hospital, where a staff of loving women worked so hard to make this an enriching occasion. Our hearts are grateful for The Birth Center!

]]> http://thebirthcenter.com/2012/02/20/audras-birth-story-2/feed/ 0 On Becoming a Mother http://thebirthcenter.com/2012/02/16/on-becoming-a-mother/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=on-becoming-a-mother http://thebirthcenter.com/2012/02/16/on-becoming-a-mother/#comments Thu, 16 Feb 2012 14:51:07 +0000 LTBrady http://thebirthcenter.com/?p=1088 My second daughter, Flannery, is going on two and she’s full of spritely giggles and curiosity of all things she sees, hears, smells, and feels. We hear a lot of “What is that?” and a delighted, “Oh!” every time we answer her questions. This is such a sweet phase in her development.

My little sprite has been sick the past few days and has this cough that is preventing her from sleeping well. You know what that means. My husband and I haven’t been getting much sleep either. I’ve been told we’ll get to sleep again once our girls are in college. Anyway, I spent yesterday afternoon with her resting on my chest as we swayed back and forth quietly in our rocking chair. In that moment, I felt I was spending my time exactly as I wanted to be, nurturing my girl when she needed extra comfort and care.

 

When my girls get sick, I feel clear about my motherly duties. I slow our lives down, we stay home, and I provide them with the quiet space and time they need to recover. However, the daily grind of being a Mom isn’t so simple, is it? I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to be a mother. What does it mean to you? Does it mean complete selflessness? Unconditional love? Total surrender to the needs and desires of your children? I know that when my first daughter, Laila, was born in 2007, something else was born in me; I became a MOTHER. Instantaneously. But truly defining who I am as a mother is a slow unfolding process.

For me, the immediate transformation from “Laura, grad student, wife, human with passions, dreams and goals” into “Mama” was at once filled with a beautiful, deep love, and a shocking, world-rocking awareness that I was smack in the middle of the vast unknown. In the days after her birth, I remember thinking things like: “I am filled with complete and total love for this new being. I will do anything and everything for her. She is my life. My everything. This is scary. And who am I again? What is my purpose on this earth? How am I going to do it all?”

 

Becoming a parent is the truest expression of “diving in” or “taking the plunge” into unknown territory and a lifetime of responsibility. This new world is unconditional love realized and can be somewhat terrifying and isolating, too.  I don’t bring up the conflicting feelings, emotions, and experiences of becoming a mother as a gloomy forecast for the lifetime of parenting ahead. No, I express the complex layers of becoming a mother with a dream and a hope for every Mama out there.

I have a vision of the 21st century Mother. She is strong and graceful. She has a bold, empowered voice and she knows how to use it with love and courage. She loves her children unconditionally and nourishes their bodies, hearts, and minds. She shows them what a balanced, fulfilled, and healthy woman looks like.  She takes the time she needs to nourish her body, heart, and mind, to have fun, and to cultivate her passions in life. She knows that taking this time for self-care and personal development is an act of love not only for herself, but also for her children. Her family life flows with a rhythm and balance that honors the needs of both the children and adults in her household. Whether this Mama works inside or outside the home, she is true to herself and her family. She is happy and she is at peace with her choices in life. This is my vision of a nourished Mama and her family. What is yours?

Photography by Olivia Gatti

Now, becoming a mother is one thing. Becoming a mother who balances self-care and family-care is another thing. I know that I struggled with this pretty deeply after the birth of my first precious child.  Self-care went out the window, even though somewhere in the recesses of my mind, I knew it was a bad idea. I wish that I had spent some time during my first pregnancy building a concrete plan, or roadmap of sorts, for how I was going to cultivate self-care in the early days of motherhood. I spent months reading, thinking, and planning for how I was going to care for my baby but forgot to make a plan for how I was going to have the support, space, and time to nourish my body, heart, and mind. I think this is a mistake a lot of first-time Mamas make. Do you agree?

I have good news, though! I did it differently the second time around. I read, thought, and planned for how I was going to balance self-care, infant-care, and all around family-care during my second pregnancy. I can’t say I execute all of my plans to perfection but I have come up with a lot of amazing tools that I want to share with you. Speaking of passion in life, becoming a mother was integral to me discovering my passion to work as a holistic health coach with women and their families. I want to share my wellness strategies with every Mama on the planet. Are you on board? In the early days of motherhood, I will help you cultivate the following:

 

  • *A nourishing home environment and family rhythm;

 

  • *Holistic postpartum health through whole foods nutrition and healthy movement;

 

  • *Balanced self-care and baby care;

 

  • *Helpful support from partners, family, and friends;

 

  • *Mindfulness practices to prevent and/or manage postpartum blues;

 

  • *Loving and constructive communication with your partner postpartum and beyond… And much more!

 

Are you pregnant now and dreaming about what life will be like once your baby is here?

 

Photo by Jessica Rinaldi

Dream big because this is one of the greatest adventures of your life. And please spend some time dreaming about how you will care for you, too. I want to leave you with this one simple strategy for your daily life after baby is born. I encourage you to have an affirmation (or more!) for the early days of motherhood. Affirmations are simple, present tense, and action-oriented statements that help encourage you to live your life in alignment with your needs and desires. An affirmation for the early days of motherhood is quite simple and here are a few ideas for you:

I nourish my baby and my Self today.

I give me and my baby plenty of quiet time to bond and rest.

I am at peace with my changing body.

I eat healthy whole foods that nourish me.

I surround myself with loving family and friends who support me and respect my needs.

I ask for help when I need it and accept help when it is offered.

I accept the unknowns of motherhood with humor and a light heart.

I allow emotions and fears to wash over me with loving acceptance.

I forgive myself for the inevitable honest mistakes that come with motherhood.

I have compassion for my baby’s moods as well as my own.

I share my mixed feelings and fears about motherhood with my partner or trusted

loved one.

I love my baby and I love myself. I make the time to care for us both.

I honor the joys and challenges of motherhood with a loving heart.

 

It is powerful to personalize affirmations for your own experience. If you come up with an affirmation that resonates with you, write it down on a piece of paper in your own handwriting and place it on your bathroom mirror or refrigerator. Read your affirmations throughout the day, whether out loud or in silence. These affirmations can be powerful tools to stay grounded and present, care for yourself, and savor the sacredness of the early days with your baby.  If you would like more support through the journey of becoming a mother and beyond, come to my Cocoon Time Workshop at TBC on February 25th, 2012 or schedule a free health strategy session with me to learn how I can help you. I look forward to supporting your healthy and happy journey through Motherhood.

 

With warmth & light,
Laura

 Laura Thompson Brady, M.S., H.H.C., founder of The Nourished Home, offers holistic health coaching through phone and skype consultations for women, expecting parents, and the whole family. Laura has her Master’s in Human Development & Family Studies and she integrates the latest research on nutrition, pregnancy, birth, parenting, and personal development with holistic health strategies to support her client’s goals for personal and family wellness. Laura lives in the beautiful state of Maine with her husband and two daughters.

]]> http://thebirthcenter.com/2012/02/16/on-becoming-a-mother/feed/ 0 Introducing The Nourished Home Guest Blog http://thebirthcenter.com/2012/02/12/introducing-the-nourished-home-guest-blog/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=introducing-the-nourished-home-guest-blog http://thebirthcenter.com/2012/02/12/introducing-the-nourished-home-guest-blog/#comments Mon, 13 Feb 2012 01:55:08 +0000 LTBrady http://thebirthcenter.com/?p=1057 Hello, Birth Center Families!

I am so happy to be a guest blogger here at The Birth Center. I want to introduce myself and let you know the topics I’ll be covering in my future posts. First, let me say hello. I’m Laura Thompson Brady, founder of The Nourished Home, where I offer holistic health coaching to women, expecting parents, and families. My passion is working with women from preconception through pregnancy, birth, and motherhood. I believe that every woman on the planet needs support while going through the great transformation of pregnancy and motherhood. I am on a mission to help every mother and family get off to the best start possible. Before I get carried away with my vision of motherhood and nourished family living, let me tell you more about why I’m blogging here.

I am a Birth Center mother. My first daughter, Laila, was born in the yellow room five years ago on the 27th of this month. My husband, Damian, and I feel we were our best selves in pregnancy and birth because of the support, warmth, and model of care provided by the midwives at TBC.  Giving birth naturally in such a peaceful place empowered me in the early days of motherhood to believe in my instincts and have a deeper trust in my body and mind. Damian and I both feel that TBC was THE PLACE we were meant to have our first child. We will always be so grateful to our midwives, nurses, and doula. I am thrilled to make this contribution to TBC community five years later.

Since Laila was born, we moved to Maine and had our second daughter, Flannery, at our home.   My second pregnancy and birth experience only deepened my passion for supporting, nourishing, and empowering women through pregnancy, birth, and motherhood.  So what do I have to offer you? Here is a working list of the topics I will cover on TBC Blog:

  • * Delicious whole foods recipes for fertility, pregnancy, postpartum, babies/kids, and the whole family,

 

  • * Empowering and inspiring information on fertility, pregnancy & birth,

 

  • * Mindfulness strategies and healthy lifestyle suggestions for motherhood and family life,

 

  • * Information on natural parenting and methods to holistically nurture infant & child development,

 

  • * Nourishing and fun activities for the whole family,

 

  • * Simple and quick strategies to keep self-care at the top of your priority list,

 

  • * Strategies to establish a family rhythm and home environment that honors the needs of both children and parents,

 

  • * Discussion about the interconnections between self-care, a nourished home, and a nourished planet,

 

  • * Research on the latest developments in nutrition, natural pregnancy & birth, sustainable living, and a nourishing family environment, and

 

  • * Bits of inspiration to keep you motivated to do what is best for your Self and Family each and every day.

 

I am happy to read your comments, requests, and suggestions for future blog topics. I want to discuss issues that are most relevant to this community so please feel free to send an e-mail to laura@thenourishedhome.com. I invite you to visit my website here and take a look at my program offerings. I offer health coaching through phone and skype consultations so we can easily work together, regardless of your location. I’m also leading The Cocoon Time Workshop for postpartum self-care live at TBC on February 25th! Go here for details and registration.

If you have questions about how I can support you, please get in touch with me to schedule your free health strategy session. I look forward to supporting you in your journey through pregnancy and motherhood!

With warmth & light,

Laura

 

 

Laura Thompson Brady, M.S., H.H.C., founder of The Nourished Home, offers holistic health coaching through phone and skype consultations for women, expecting parents, and the whole family. Laura has her Master’s in Human Development & Family Studies and she integrates the latest research on nutrition, pregnancy, birth, parenting, and personal development with holistic health strategies to support her client’s goals for personal and family wellness. Laura lives in the beautiful state of Maine with her husband and two daughters.

]]> http://thebirthcenter.com/2012/02/12/introducing-the-nourished-home-guest-blog/feed/ 0 Audra’s Birth Story http://thebirthcenter.com/2012/02/12/audras-birth-story/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=audras-birth-story http://thebirthcenter.com/2012/02/12/audras-birth-story/#comments Sun, 12 Feb 2012 21:19:50 +0000 madden http://thebirthcenter.com/2012/02/12/audras-birth-story/ It was 4am on Thursday (the day after my due date) when I woke to my first contraction. I had been feeling aches and cramps for the past couple nights, so I wasn’t too surprised or worried when contractions started. The contraction eased pretty quickly, and the next one didn’t hit for over 20 minutes. So I slept as long as I could that morning, in between the contractions, knowing that I would need to conserve my energy for the journey ahead.

My husband, David, asked me on Thursday morning if he should stay home from work. He was worried to leave me home alone when I was having contractions. I assured him that I would call if they got closer together or more intense and insisted that he go to work. The rest of Thursday passed slowly, as I tried to keep myself distracted with last minute errands that needed to be done before the baby arrived.

Thursday night the contractions were still anywhere from 20-45 minutes apart. I didn’t get much sleep that night, because contractions kept waking me.

On Friday David didn’t have to go to work. He does commercial heating/AC work, and, due to the warm winter we’ve been having, there wasn’t much service work that day. I was so thankful that he was able to stay with me! Even though contractions were infrequent, I was starting to feel the pain in my back, so it was wonderful to have David massage my back during contractions.

By Friday afternoon the contractions were getting much more intense, even though they were about 10 minutes apart. I was no longer feeling the contractions as cramps, but rather all as back pain. Even though David and I had taken a Bradley Method class which taught that the laboring woman should relax through the contractions, since the baby had turned into a posterior position it was practically impossible to relax.

At 7:30pm, with contractions about every 5 minutes, we called David’s parents who were going to be taking care of our dog while we were at The Birth Center. We then called The Birth Center to give notice about my contractions.

By 10pm we’d reached the “4-1-1”… contractions 4 minutes apart, lasting about a minute for a full hour. David’s parents had just arrived, so we figured we were ready to go. However, when I talked to Katie at The Birth Center she said she still could hear a smile in my voice between contractions and she wasn’t sure if I was ready to come in yet. (I have been accused of being “too nice,” and my husband later told me that this was another instance of me covering my true emotions in an effort to be polite.) Also, she told us that another baby had been born earlier in the evening, and that the family was in the water birth room. This is the room that we had picked for our labor, so we labored at home for another 3 hours before calling The Birth Center again. This time I was ready to go!

We got to The Birth Center around 1:30am (and I was thankful to see that the other family was getting ready to leave the water birth room). When Katie checked me I was astonished to hear that I was already 7cm!! I was excited to be so far into labor, and I thought that surely I would be holding my baby by dawn!

But dilation is not necessarily a gauge for how labor will progress, and, after almost 5 hours of laboring in the tub, Katie asked to check me again. I almost started to cry when she told me I was at 8cm. All those hours of intense labor only gained me 1cm? My water hadn’t broken, and Katie believed that was one reason why it was taking longer than anticipated. She asked to break my water around 7am, and I gladly agreed! This helped a lot, and suddenly I was almost completely dilated.

At 8am there was a shift in the on-call staff, with Midwife Dorinda and Nurses Tyler and Peggy joining us in the water birth room. The baby was still posterior, so Dorinda suggested I try different positions to help encourage the baby to turn. The next 1 ½ hours passed slowly for me. I was completely focused on the task at hand and I didn’t notice the people moving around me at all. David later told me that I even started to fall asleep and snore between the contractions! By this point I’d been in active labor for over 12 hours, and hadn’t had much sleep for the past 50 hours. I was so exhausted, and I doubted myself with almost every contraction. But Dorinda, Tyler and Peggy, along with David, continued to encourage me and give me reassurance. Without their support (or, in other words, if I had been trying to do this naturally in a hospital) I think I probably would’ve given up!

At last, at 9:30am, I was in stage 2 of labor – it was time to push! However, the baby continued to be posterior, so with every push the pain in my back was strong. I was grateful to have Tyler putting pressure on my back during each contraction. Around 10:30am, since I was completely unmedicated, I felt the baby turn into the anterior position. Of course I was still exhausted, but it was nice to have the pressure off my back.

At 11:13am, I pushed 4 final times, and suddenly was holding my baby! Both David and I were astonished that she started to cry when only her head was out. She was so alert! Only for the first minute I didn’t know it was a she, so I suppose I should still be referring to her as the baby. I remember I turned to David, delighted that it was finally over, and announced “I did it!” Up until the end I still doubted that I had the strength to do this without pain relief or medical assistance. And then Dorinda turned to my husband and said, “David, tell Alvana what it is”, and David got to announce “IT’S A GIRL!” It was so exciting to finally learn the gender of this baby! After a few moments of holding our baby and crying some tears of joy, I asked David if we were set on the name. He said he was happy with what we had picked out, and I agreed. Then I was able to introduce our daughter, Audra Leigh, to Dorinda, Tyler and Peggy.

Looking back, this is not the birth I had planned to have. I had heard about back labor, but I really didn’t have any idea how severe the pain would be. Also, I wasn’t expecting to be in labor for that long, though I know that 15 hours is around average. However, David and I both view this experience as an amazing and beautiful event. We are so glad we chose to experience natural childbirth outside of a hospital, where a staff of loving women worked so hard to make this an enriching occasion. Our hearts are grateful for The Birth Center!

]]> http://thebirthcenter.com/2012/02/12/audras-birth-story/feed/ 0 Jonas http://thebirthcenter.com/2012/02/12/jonas/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=jonas http://thebirthcenter.com/2012/02/12/jonas/#comments Sun, 12 Feb 2012 21:12:17 +0000 madden http://thebirthcenter.com/?p=1047 I went to the birth center during my first pregnancy in hopes of a natural birth. At 41wks I was risked out due to low amniotic fluid levels. I was utterly devastated, I had not even considered I would be birthing in a hospital.
During my 2nd pregnancy I considered a homebirth, but could not find a midwife suitable and lacked financial resources. I figured I would give it a go again at the birth center.
At 39wks exactly I started having contractions early Tuesday morning around midnight. They did not get organized until about 3:30am, at which they were lasting a minute long and 10 minutes apart; continued at that pace until about 5:30pm. I called the midwife at the birth center at around 6am to let her know what was going on, that I ‘might’ be in labor. I would call if there was any change. Throughout the day rested the best i could during contractions, showered and bathed. I stayed comfortable and managed well. My husband came home from his first job, knowing these could stop any time and I was “only 39wks” I sent him off to his 2nd job at 5:30pm. My mother in law came over to sit with me and my 2.5yr old toddler. He took the cell phone with him and i told him i would call him if they got closer together.
Around 6pm they were 8 minutes apart and lasting a minute, they required more concentration at this point. i took another shower and had planned to call my husband, Rodney, after i got out and let him know to head home because within the hour i suspected we would head to the birth center when they were about 6-7 minutes apart. After i got out of the shower I called him and told him to come home. Then suddenly they were 4-5 minutes apart and lasting a minute. I paged the midwife to let her know they had changed and we were heading to the birth center and would be there about 8:45pm.
Rodney got home and we left about 7:40pm. About 20-25 minutes into our 70 minute drive the contractions changed to 2-3 minutes apart; at this point i knew i was in transition told Rodney to turn on the hazard lights and go! I had seriously thought we would not make it and I would have to deliver the baby myself – which I was totally okay with. i had packed extra blankets just in case :o ) we were about 10-15 minutes from the birth center and my bowels had emptied. I knew baby was coming VERY SOON! My husband had asked if i wanted him to pull over i said no, keep going – run stop signs and lights when we get off the freeway. I was actually giving him directions to the birth center upon getting off the freeway while pushing – multitasking at its finest ;O)
We were about 10 minutes from the birth center and my body started pushing and i started praying that the baby could hold on just a few more minutes. We arrived at the birth center and i jumped out of the car without shoes, pounded on the door and the midwife let me in. I asked if we could use the pink room, now the water birth room since this baby was about to be born ASAP. I was told the yellow room was prepped and ready. Somehow I managed to get up the stairs, I have no idea how. We went quickly up to the room i had chosen, i took off my pants and they cleaned me up. Rodney was turning off the car while they were cleaning me up, he uncertain which room I was in almost missed the birth. He came up stairs and i was kneeling on the bed; I told him to come towards me so I could brace myself on his . shoulders. I remained kneeling. i put my arms around him and pushed for about 2 minutes, Dorinda asked me to slow down. My body was pushing with the force of a freight train, the force was unstoppable. My waters broke and Jonas surfed on out….about 4.5 minutes after we got to the birth center! I caught my breath, looked down and exclaimed “it’s a boy!” He was born at 8:57pm, weighing 7lbs 4oz and measuring 19 3/4 inches.


Dorinda told me not to move too suddenly because the cord was short. I leaned back and they brought him up to my chest. The nurse rubbed him with a blanket. It happened so quickly and suddenly it took me a while to take it all in, it was so surreal! The midwife and nursed kept telling me how amazing it was and how awesome i was, they loved on me and reassured me how amazing my body was. That is something you don’t get in a hospital. I delivered the placenta less than 10mins minutes later and had Rodney take pictures of the placenta. Though in hindsight I regret not having it encapsulated.
I packed a bag full of goodies to eat during labor, candles and music to use – none of which i used. i told Rodney to get one of the cd’s i packed so i could relax. Jonas nursed about 20 minutes after birth. he was alert and wide awake for 3hrs after birth, two of which he nursed for off and on.

My parents in law brought Reed up to the birth center around 11:30pm. The first time we told him to give the baby a kiss he actually licked the baby’s head, lol! He kissed Jonas almost every hour it seemed for the first few days (they are 6.5yrs and almost 4yrs well its quite a different story now). He is handed it even better than we anticipated. He is very curious about where the baby is and what he is doing
My husband is much more comfortable with the idea of a home birth and having seen a midwife in action; knowing they are fully capable and posses the skills to attend births outside of a hospital setting.

True to the form, in April I gave birth to my 3rd son at home with a midwife.

I love midwives! I love the birth center! They were a huge part in my pregnancies and births.

]]> http://thebirthcenter.com/2012/02/12/jonas/feed/ 0 Giving Back…a new mural at The Birth Center http://thebirthcenter.com/2012/01/31/giving-back-a-new-mural-at-the-birth-center/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=giving-back-a-new-mural-at-the-birth-center http://thebirthcenter.com/2012/01/31/giving-back-a-new-mural-at-the-birth-center/#comments Wed, 01 Feb 2012 01:39:33 +0000 madden http://thebirthcenter.com/?p=1020 We were given a beautiful gift this week by the Kanienberg family.  Christian, of Wish Painting and Sculpture, and proud Birth Center Daddy, painted a huge, whimsical beanstalk in the children’s play area of waiting room.

“About a year ago my wife discovered The Birth Center in Wilmington. I was skeptical as a lot of Dads are, but this facility soon became a home. We became fast friends with the staff and respective families. Wish wanted to offer a work to serve as a promotional piece, but mainly as a means to give back to the place that helped usher our daughter safely and openly into this world. The bonus is that a big baby girl arrived during the very execution of this mural. Piper’s name is “carved” into the beanstalk trunk for years to come.”  Christian Kanienberg, Wish Painting and Sculpture

 

 

The children’s play area as you may remember it   &  The finished product (from a toddler’s perspective)

The Spider   (see Piper’s name painted in the beanstalk?)   &   The Sparrow

 

The Ladybug

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Artist.

 

The Project Manager.

Sweet Vivien ( 6 months now) was born at The Birth Center to Leisa and Christian July 16th, 2011.  Vivien and her mama hung out and watched daddy paint.  We at The Birth Center are so grateful to Christian, Leisa and Vivien for this beautiful work of art.  More of Christian’s work can be seen at his website www.wishpainting.com .  You can also find Wish on Facebook.   His children’s murals are spectacular.  Christian’s work will also be featured at the 2012 Philadelphia Flower Show this March (in 2011 his structural design won Best in Show!)

 

Come visit us and see the mural in person soon!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

]]> http://thebirthcenter.com/2012/01/31/giving-back-a-new-mural-at-the-birth-center/feed/ 1 Jacob’s Birth Story http://thebirthcenter.com/2012/01/27/jacobs-birth-story-3/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=jacobs-birth-story-3 http://thebirthcenter.com/2012/01/27/jacobs-birth-story-3/#comments Sat, 28 Jan 2012 00:20:45 +0000 madden http://thebirthcenter.com/2012/01/27/jacobs-birth-story-3/ This was my first baby so I had no idea what to expect and what certain symptoms would mean. I had been having cramping and lost my mucus plug about a week before I gave birth so I knew that labor was probably coming in the next couple weeks. When I went in for my weekly appointment on Thursday, Dorinda said he was already +2 (most women have to go through hard labor to get babies that low) and she wouldn’t be surprised if he came early (I was only 36 weeks at this point)! I just had to stay pregnant until Friday at midnight (Saturday was my 37 week mark).

I made it to Saturday and wasn’t having much symptoms until Sunday night. I couldn’t sleep at all! The cramping was a lot worse all night (I knew it wasn’t active labor though) and then the cramping subsided Monday day. Same thing happened Monday night (no sleep again!). Then Tuesday morning at about 6 or 7am I thought my water broke. It wasn’t a lot of liquid but it definitely wasn’t discharge so I called Sarah who was the midwife on call. She told me to time my contractions and call back when they came every 3-4 minutes and lasted a minute. When I timed them they were kind of irregular but were coming anywhere from 2-5 minutes apart and only lasting about 30 seconds. So about an hour after my water broke I was told to come in.

My parent’s and I got all of our stuff together and headed off to the birth center and by this point my contractions were getting more intense. We got to the birth center about an hour later and when Sarah checked my cervix, I was already dilated 5-6cm! I couldn’t believe it! When we noticed my contractions coming closer and closer together we started the tub, which I knew would feel amazing for the pain!

 

Since my husband is deployed to Afghanistan, we contacted his higher up’s and was able to get him on skype! At this point I was in a lot of pain and the contractions were VERY intense and frequent. I had no awareness of time and was just focusing on getting through each contraction. I was in labor pretty much all day and didn’t feel the urge to push until about 5pm. I felt like I wasn’t making any progress when pushing and was getting so frustrated! I kept checking to see how far down he was and though I could feel his head, he didn’t seem to be getting passed a certain point. I felt like I was ready to give up!

It took about an hour and a half of pushing and FINALLY at 6:27pm, he came out in one push!! It felt AMAZING. I reached down and caught him myself and brought him to my chest. Everyone missed it because of how fast he came out! Couldn’t believe it.

 

 

 

 

His name is Jacob Andrew and after about an hour or so of cuddling and skyping with daddy, we got his stats and measured at 6lbs 10oz, 19 inches long :)

 

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