A HypnoBirthing announcement--Meara & Mike

Meara & Mike took my Thursday night classes in April/May 2010.

They had originally planned to birth their baby at Scripps Encinitas Hospital with Dr. Biter, but when Scripps suspended him, they decided to have a homebirth with Jamin Sylvada & have Dr. Biter be their unpaid doula. They also had the assistance of labor doula, Linda Goldsmith.

Here is the birth announcement for their baby. Meara promised to write up her birth story soon.

At 4:03am on Friday, May 21st, Sylvie Ines was born at home. She weighed a whopping 9lbs and measured 21 inches long... She's all leg, just like her big sister Elsa! It was an amazing experience, although it all happened much faster than we ever could have imagined. Our midwife arrived just 8 minutes before Sylvie made her grand entrance. My water broke at 3:25am, the midwife arrived at 3:55am, and Sylve was born at 4:03am. For a moment I thought Mike might have to deliver our daughter on the bathroom floor! My OB and our doula arrived after Sylvie had already been placed on my chest. Elsa slept through it all and wandered into our room at 7:15 am, after everyone had tidied and gone home, to find us in bed with her baby sister! What a magical moment... I think everything happened just as it was meant to.

It all happened so fast that I didn't really get to get into my hypno-zone, but I feel tremendously successful in terms of feeling really empowered and unafraid and this time I didn't push--just breathed my baby down and out and in record time! I'll share the full story in the next few days some time. I really do feel like our time with you helped in many ways.

With love,
Meara, Mike, Elsa, & Sylvie

For more info:

San Diego Midwive, Inc
LaShel Montgomery, CPM 760-213-7384
Jamin Sylvada, LM 760-809-9396
www.sandiegomidwife.com

Labor doula: Linda Goldsmith 760-815-3852

Going Home

Mr. T and I are finally going home. We are getting on a plane and returning to life in Marrakech. We have been away for 6 weeks, staying at my parents and now it's time to go home.

I have so many mixed emotions about it. The last time I was in our house, in our bedroom, I was crying my eyes out and in shock. When I left it was under such intense sorrow, I'm scared those feelings will come back when I get home. So it is with a knot in my stomach that I prepare to head home. Perhaps instead of dwelling on my anxieties I should think of all the things I am looking forward to about going home.

1. Seeing my cats, Mika & Tigerlily - and Tigerlily's new kittens, who are 1 month old now.

2. Being in the hot sunshine.

3. The palm trees.

4. Seeing all my friends again. Especially lunch and drinks with my girlfriends.

5. Getting started on building our house.

Hmm, that's a good list. *Smiling*

It's time for life to get back to normal (whatever that is). It's time for me to get back into life's rhythm. But the one thing I am really really really not looking forward to is going back to work!!! I suppose I have to sometime and perhaps it will actually do me good. Better go now and finish off my packing...

My First .

Not since I was 12 years old have I gone a month without the punctual arrival of Aunt Flo. But since my pregnancy and subsequent miscarriage I hadn't had a visit from AF since January. Now she's back. A very welcome visitor, for a change.

It's a weird feeling. First it's exhausting. I keep falling asleep. I have no energy and so I am just riding this wave out - getting over this pregnancy sometimes seems to be never ending! Secondly it's the beginning of the whole TTC palaver again. Something which I obviously want more than anything and there is no way I won't be TTC, but at the same time I am nervous too. When I got pg I thought yay, no more planned perfectly-timed sex, just sex for fun. No more crying when AF turns up and feeling down in the dumps all day, no more aching and feeling left out in the cold as the pregnancy and birth announcements roll in. But. I am back to step one. Back to getting egg and sperm to meet.

I have to admit I was totally and utterly naive and blissfully ignorant when I got pregnant. I HAD read all the pregnancy and birthing books (I had two years of TTC to get ready for this) but I still believed that once conception had actually happened then I would be fine. A miscarriage was definitely NOT on the cards for me. Now of course I know differently.

So. First step one. I know I will be very very upset if I don't get a BFP in the first few months. Everyone keeps telling me how quickly they or a friend or a friend of a friend got pg after a miscarriage - I am pinning so much hope on these rapid post-miscarriage pregnancies. I am trying to steel myself for another long journey but I just shudder when I think about it. So let's just not, okay? So let's just say for argument's sake that Mr.T's sperm are fine and we don't need to do another IUI. I reach step two. Egg and sperm have met. Implantation occurs, I POAS and get my BFP. Then I will be nervous as all hell. Every twinge, every ache. Mr. T is going to be a right pain in the ass - i say that with love. We are going to have to come up with some sort of strategy to get through it as when I reach step two it will all be about getting to that 3rd month and the scan. Head spinning anguish.

I always had in my mind that I would be one cool relaxed mama, just groovin' along with pregnancy and baby stuff (when it eventually happened) - I guess reality had a strong cup of triple espresso waiting for my delusional caffeine-free self. And so the TTC countdown begins again. Hmm feels familiar. Kinda like going back to school after the holidays...