Piecemeal Bits of Me

So my blogging resolution got off to a bad start. Mostly because Bu is teething, her first is already through and now the second one is making its way out. While she is not crying in pain she is more needy and only wants to sleep on or near me and wakes to suck more frequently. So as a result I haven't had a free evening since the new year and no time to blog. But Daddy morning to the rescue!

I have managed to finally write my About Me page on the new layout of my blog. Bit by bit I plan to get the pages written FINALLY! Time certainly takes on a whole new dimension with a baby. As they grow the time seems to fly by far too fast but a sleepless night can seem to last forever and there is never enough time in the day to accomplish all those 'to dos'. I have resolved this one by just making a very, VERY short daily to do list.

So as my time is ticking by ever so fast I will just share some photos I haven't shown anyone before. These were taken by a friend who is an amazing photographer when I was 35 weeks pregnant with Beanie Bu. They are very intimate and special to me and I hope one day to have them framed and hung in our still-under-construction-home. Now that's a subject where time seems to have stood still for far too long!

And this. Well this just seems a very long time ago:

A HypnoBirthing story--Katie & Adam

Katie & Adam took my HypnoBirthing classes in August 2011 on Tuesday nights at Babies by the Sea Boutique in Cardiff by the Sea, CA (North County San Diego). Here is their birth story:

Aiden arrived on October 6th at 2:41am, 7 lb 15 ounces. The information we received from the Hypnobirthing class was so helpful and made it possible for us to be able to bring Aiden into this world naturally. I remember before attending Carol's class, watching hundreds of natural births on YouTube and bawling my eyes out and not wanting to do it. I never thought I could be so calm, collected and relaxed during labor and delivery. Adam was so amazing at reading the scripts, light touch massage and reading my body language that no one would have ever known that he snored his way through class! haha lol! I won't say it was easy, but knowing what to expect and having the tools to be able to stay relaxed during the whole experience is what made it overall a beautiful event for me, Adam and Aiden.

Here is our birth story:

Aiden has finally arrived!!!!! So our "guess date" was Oct. 5th, and this little guy had it planned to be on time. The night before the 5th we decided to get eggplant parmigiana from Buca de Beppo, we ordered enough to feed a small army. I had heard about a diner in Georgia that was known to have Mom to Be's go into labor after eating their famous eggplant parm, and my friend Kristina reminded me to try it because it worked for one of her friends. So I stuffed my face full of yumminess and called it a night, since I had an early morning the next day.

I woke up on my "guess date" which is also my Dad's birthday and felt a little pressure, but I knew I couldn't think about it. I went into the office, and had a few meetings that lasted till about noon. I went to the restroom and felt a little leakage and I am thinking to myself "NO WAY this is my water breaking at work on my Guess date". I waited a few minutes and then knew this was the real deal, instead of freaking out like my male co-worker did when I told him what was going on, I calmly told my boss"my water broke, and I will have my baby within 24 hours...YAY" and drove home. When I got home, I called my hypnobirthing instructor, Carol, to fill her in on our status, she was able to give me the reassurance I needed to stay at home until I felt comfortable and wish us well in our birthing experience. I think I even mentioned while on the phone with Carol that it was just good to hear her voice because it was just what I needed at the time of uncertainty. We stayed and labored at home in bed with Louie (our 3 lb Chihuahua) by my side till about 7pm, I wanted to stay at home later, but it was rainy out and with traffic we decided it would be best to go get settled at the hospital.

When we arrived at the hospital my Mom brought cookies and coffee for the staff and we got checked in, my doctor was at the hospital that night so we were so happy and relieved that she would be delivering our little man. When we got settled in I had Adam read the balloon trip script to relieve any anxious feelings I was having and it definitely helped me to be calm. I decided to use the Hep lock instead of IV and was happy to be able to frequent the toilet and be able to walk around the halls in my little labor gown I bought online and my furry Uggs without something attached to me. Things started progressing around 12:20am and I had my IPOD in my ear with my rainbow relaxation on repeat the whole time and Adam reading my scripts to keep me calm. I got checked and I was 5 cm dilated. I had both Adam and my Mom there doing whatever they could to keep me comfortable they were truly "MY DREAM TEAM". Things started moving quickly and I had the urge to push around 1:40 am, so the doctor checked me and I was 9 cm dilated. At this point not pushing was the hardest thing to do, but my "Dream Team" encouraged me to blow whenever I wanted to push. I went to the toilet so many times I thought he would have been delivered on the toilet. Finally I reached 10 cm and was able to push, this was such a relief and it actually felt good. After about 40 minutes of pushing, I was able to reach out for my baby!!!! After Papi Bear cut the chord and we just stared at him and both felt a love like no other. It was the most surreal experience and I was so happy that it had gone exactly as planned, it was truly beautiful... It felt so good to bring Aiden into this world naturally and to accomplish my goal. I could not have been so relaxed and pain free without my amazing husband and Mom, they were by my side the whole time helping me with whatever I needed.

What happened next was not part of the plan, but thanks to my hypnobirthing classes I took I remained calm throughout the next sequence of events. One minute I was enjoying my new baby and family, and then the next minute the doctor had a very concerned look on her face and was covered in blood. The first time I had really felt the pain was when she had to put her whole hand inside my uterus to try to stop the bleeding. My doctor then informed me that I was hemorrhaging so bad that I may have to have an emergency hysterectomy...here I am thinking "this was the most amazing experience and then this is happening right now? This must be a nightmare, and I am not going to be able to have any more kids? My mind was racing and all I could do was go back to my place of focus, think positive and be thankful that I have my son, husband and family all there supporting me. I had to be rushed into the OR at that point no discussion, no talking about options. I was frightened and just wanted to be with my baby.

We are now home settling in and enjoying time with our little man, our lives are forever changed and we feel so blessed.

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Congratulations Katie & Adam! You did a great job! Even with the special circumstance that happened at the end. I hope you've fully recovered now and are enjoying being parents! Thanks so much for sharing your story!

If you are interested in learning more about HypnoBirthing classes in San Diego, please visit Carol's website at www.AWellLivedLife.Net. Carol Yeh-Garner & Kelly Pappas teach classes in North County San Diego. If their classes do not work with your schedule, please visit the www.hypnobirthing.com website and go to the Find a Practitioner section to find a practitioner near you.

www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com

Resolute in 2012

I'm posting! Hallelujah! And therefore I'm beginning my new year resolutions right... now.

Which are:

1. Get back to regular blogging and develop this blog into a place for both infertility information and support and sharing my love of attachment parenting.

2. Start writing my new blog about mother-baby health with my mum who is a nutritional therapist. We feel so passionate about the connection between nutrition and health and get so angry when we hear about the dangerous pharmaceutical products mothers and babies are prescribed which only ever address the symptoms and not the root cause of their health problems. We regularly critique the conventional medical approaches to pregnancy, birth and babyhood and discuss the variety of other options available. So we decided we should start an informative blog and find a productive medium for our frustration!

3. Finish my sing and sign training so I can start teaching baby signing by April.

4. Go back to healthy eating for 12 weeks: no wheat, chocolate or desserts - starting tomorrow. I can feel my belly quivering at the thought but that belly jelly has got to go!

5. Be more understanding and kinder to my husband who is really rather amazing but tends to feel the sharper edge of my tongue whenever he puts Beanie Bu's diaper on wrong or forgets her socks or doesn't put her hat on when she goes out... I could write a neverending list. I have to learn to smile and say things gently. This is particularly hard when one is suffering from serious sleep deprivation. But he deserves kinder words regardless of how many hours of sleep I've had.

But most importantly I will give thanks. Thanks to the Universe.

Thank you 2011 for the most wonderful year. I became a mother. A mother to the most amazing little girl I could have ever wished for. I can't wait to spend this next year watching her grow from baby to toddler. So here's to 2012, to dreams coming true and keeping new year's resolutions. May you have a wonderful 2012 and may all you wish for come to you.

And Happy New Year from Beanie Bu!