Birth Story: Part Three

I'm back today with the last installment of my little three part series.  Click to read Part One and Part Two.   If you have any questions or comments, I’d love to get an email or comment from you!

There I was, at 5:50pm on St. Patrick's day in the throes of active labor.  Wouldn't a cold Irish beer be nice right now?  Instead, I was lying on my back praying for the nurse to finish the *@#^ing exam.  All I wanted to do was shift around.  After what felt like an eternity, she finally looked up to announce she didn’t feel any cervix.  I was 10cm dilated!

They put the bar on the foot of the bed so I could squat and lean on it throughout the remaining contractions.  Now they just felt like urges to push, different than the contractions before.  I continued to shift around, trying to find the most comfortable position to push.  I had been convinced squatting was the ideal position for delivery, but I just couldn't get comfortable that way, despite the countless squats I'd done through pregnancy to prepare.  Frank remained there at my side, encouraging and supporting.  
Our nurse said to me, “Do you understand how close you are to meeting your baby?”  I paused, thinking to myself, "why no, I don't."  I settled on a side-lying position on my left, with my right leg in the air and bent.  Frank stood to my left, helping to hold my right leg up.  The nurse joked that her shift would end in an hour, in an effort to encourage me to get the baby out before then.  I took that seriously and used it as more motivation.  

It must have been 6:20 or so when the doc returned, quickly wheeling the cart of instruments in.  I remembered our teacher had told us that the cart means delivery is very close, and I said so to Frank.  There was a little flurry of activity as the doc and nurse set up for delivery.  I continued pushing and moaning when I felt like it.  The moaning really felt like it helped me push and physically release.  Our nurse called for warm towels and blankets on the intercom.  They wheeled a mirror in for me to watch the delivery.  

Elsie’s head became visible in the mirror, all dark and wrinkly.   I continued to push, feeling like time had frozen, and it should all be happening faster.  The feeling in my perineum was so intense.  More much pressure and stretching than I had imagined.  Now there were several nurses, the doc, our doula, and Frank watching the progress.  Everyone began to cheer as I was pushing, saying how close we were.  Each time I pushed, EB's head would show, and when the contraction passed, it would retreat.  We had learned about this:  three steps forward, two steps back.  The stretching and burning peaked, and I just pushed as hard as I could to get through that.  I felt there was no way I could push any harder than I was.  This was definitely the most intense sensation throughout labor.  I hesitate to call it pain, because it was different than the pain you feel if you break a bone or cut yourself, or bump your head hard.  I knew my body was doing what it was built to do, and trusted what it was doing and what I was feeling.  After a few more pushes, her head emerged.  Then very quickly the rest of her body slid out.  It was 6:40pm.  Relief!

A nurse walked in with the warm towels just as Elsie was born, surprised at how quickly it happened.  They wiped Elsie off quickly and sucked the mucus out of her mouth and nose.  Frank and I were both in shock and so emotional as they put her on my chest.  Frank cut the cord.  I gave one last push to deliver the placenta. 

The doc was pushing on my belly, trying to get my uterus to contract.   I was bleeding pretty heavily.  She gave me the choice of Pitocin or Cytotec to stop the bleeding.  I chose Pitocin.  Now that Elsie wouldn't be affected, I was OK with the meds.  They set up the pitocin drip.  

Frank and I just marveled over our beautiful little girl.  She was so whole and flawless and perfect and THERE in our arms.  Finally.

one minute old

She stayed on my chest for a while (maybe an hour?), covered with a warm blanket.   It was amazing to see her pecking and rooting.  I breastfed her.  We snuggled and watched her closely, in awe. 

30 minutes old

When they eventually pulled the blanket away, we saw that she had pooped all over.  We were both covered in meconium!  I mean covered!  Meanwhile Dr. Travis sewed my 2nd degree tear.  Now, that was painful in the broad sense of the word.  The new nurse (the shift had changed by now) took Elsie to wipe her off, weigh and measure her, and Frank stayed with her.  I went to shower off, then wrapped up in warm blankets and sat in a wheelchair, waiting to move to the Mother Baby Unit.   
 Elsie was 19.5" long and 7lb 7oz, a really average size.  The doc had thought she'd be much bigger, being so far overdue.  Perhaps this was her "due date" all along.

Frank packed up our stuff then the nurse wheeled me up to the Mother Baby unit.  I held Elsie and Frank walked beside us.  There were two nurses there, one for Elsie and one for me.  I put on some clean clothes as Elsie's nurse bathed her.  She still had meconium in her nooks and crannies.  It was 9:30pm or so, and though visiting hours ended at 9, they allowed my inlaws to come meet Elsie.  They stayed for 15 or 20 minutes, oohing and ahhing, taking photos and marveling with us.  Once they left we settled into our room.    We were exhausted!

We were a family.


It was Thursday, March 17, 2011.  We spent that night and the following night in the hospital, having a crash-course in baby 101. 

one day old

Saturday, once we were cleared, we left to return to our home.  Forever changed.

first car ride

four days old

eight days old

two weeks old

I wanted to share my story in hopes it might help you in some way, whether you're planning a natural birth or not.  In hindsight,  here are the tips and lessons I found most important.

• All of the preparation we did helped.  I was so glad we had done the classes and read the books.  We were planning and hoping for a natural birth, but also felt prepared if meds or surgery were needed. 
• I wish I had not focused on my "due date".  Mentally it was so difficult for me to feel OK about going "so far passed it".  I use quotations because a due date is such a subjective thing.  It's impossible to know exactly the date, and even if you did, the statistics of women who actually give birth on their due date are very low.  It's very common for first pregnancies to go passed the estimated date.
• Even though I was two weeks passed that "due date" my body was primed for labor.  I truly believe the visualizations I did and the six sessions of acupuncture helped my body begin labor, in a sense, without me really knowing it.  
• I had watched online videos that our hospital birth class had given us access to, demonstrating the changes in the cervix as labor progresses.  This helped me form an accurate picture in my mind. (Seconds 14-25 in this video are similar)
• When I was in the tub and made the mental shift to welcome the contractions and open up to them, it was truly transformative.  I believe that's why my labor progressed so quickly.  Rather than bracing myself against the pain, my surrender to it helped me move through it more quickly.  This is such a parallel to any trial in life.  What a miracle that lesson was. 
• Hiring a doula turned out to be a great decision.  She was a calm, knowledgeable presence throughout the process.  We hadn't planned on hiring one, but as the end of my pregnancy drew closer, we decided to do it.  She was a great support through those last couple of weeks, answering questions and making suggestions.  I highly recommend having one. 

 How is it that an entire year has passed?  I am so blessed.

 

Check out my fave link parties:  At the Picket Fence,  Serenity Now, and Making Lemonade

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Pinterest Challenge: Custom Banner How-to

Some of my all-time favorite bloggers (Sherry and Katie are the authors of the first blogs I ever read and Cassie and Erin), are hosting a little challenge.

They've done this a couple times over the past year, and are at it again...challenging us to actually create something based on a pin from Pinterest.  You know how it is...we pin pin pin, but rarely take the next step and incorporate the ideas.  My most favorite recent pin is this beauty:

Source: dearlillie.com via domesti on Pinterest

  
As much as I'm itching to replicate this moveable growth chart, I had more pressing projects to do this weekend.

So, today I'll share a project I just finished up.  A few weeks ago I searched for some inspiration for EB's upcoming birthday (the big 0-1).  We're keeping it small with a just a few family members, but I still wanted to make a bit of an effort for the occasion.  Her birthday is March 17th, so of course we're going with a smidge of a St. Patty's theme.  I stumbled across this fun banner (original source here).
  

Source: hostessblog.com via domesti on Pinterest

After a little bit of work, I came up with my own take on it.  I'll give you a look at the final product first, then I'll share a detailed tutorial on how you can create one yourself.  We'll be displaying it this weekend for the big day, but I temporarily hung it in her room for these photos:

Wanna make one?  Tools you'll need:  word processing software (like Microsoft Word), printer and paper, scissors, card stock, patterned or colored paper to back each letter, pencil, glue stick, hole punch,  ribbon or twine

I started by creating the text on my computer.   used Microsoft Word, which is a little different on my Mac than it is on a PC, but the steps should be similar enough for you to follow them either way.

I found a free font on dafont.com  called Sherwood.  It has an Irish Celtic feel, and was perfect for this!   It was super easy to install on my computer, following their instructions.  To be clear, I'm not paid or perked by dafont (or anyone, for that matter) in any way.    

Here's a series of seven steps to create and print the letters:






















Now that you have your letters printed, you'll want to create a stencil in the shape you want the final cut-out to be.  I wanted a shield-ish shape.  (Other ideas: circles, triangles, ovals, rectangles...the possibilities are endless!)  I decided to cut the lower case letters smaller than the upper case, so I needed two different stencils.  For each of the sizes, I folded the piece of paper in half, along the center of the letter.  Then I free-handed half of the shape around it (so it would be symmetrical), and cut it out:

I then traced those two shapes on a piece of card stock (an old cereal box) and cut them out.  Next, I cut a hole in the center of each one and marked the center with two pencil lines (as you can see on the right in the photo below).  This allowed me eye-ball the center easily when I placed it over the letters. 

I was able to see the letters from the back side of the paper, so to avoid having pencil marks on the front, I worked from the back.

I centered the shape over the letter, and traced around the outside.





Next, I simply cut the letters out.  For the contrast backing, I had several sheets of the scrapbook paper leftover from a different project.  You could use construction paper or wrapping paper or old maps, or anything, really.  I created two more stencils, slightly larger than the two sizes of letters I had, and cut them all out.



Then I simply glued the letters onto the scrapbook paper, and punched holes in the corners.  I picked up some cute ribbon to use for stringing the letters together.  This 1/4" ribbon was perfect, as it's just wider than the holes, which causes the letters to stay put and not slide around, as they would with a skinnier string or twine.

You can string your letters in one of two ways:

with the ribbon exposed in the middle of the front

or with the ribbon exposed on the edges

I liked the look of the ribbon on the edges, so I laid out my letters and started stringing.



Taping off the end of the ribbon made the stringing really easy.


Then I hung it up!  These little suction cup hooks are great for temporarily hanging lightweight things on glass.



I can easily remove the "1st" for future birthdays, or could even use the "happy birthday" for other's birthdays.  That's the beauty of this kind of banner!

I have one more party craft I'll share with you guys next week.  I'll show you how I turned these felt circles into an adorable 30-foot garland in less than 30 minutes.  Come back to check it out!



Oh, and did you notice the "new" lamps in the nursery?  They're all done, and I'm working on a tutorial (for the "gold leaf" lining - for just a couple of bucks).  Here's a peek:

And, before I go, I have to show you EB's latest party trick.  Literally.  She's practicing for her "party" on Saturday.  How old is Elsie? you might ask...



That's right.  Proud Mama right here! 

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Zucchini Soup with Rice and Tomatoes

Happy Monday to ya!  I know the days are getting longer and warmer, but technically it's still soup season, right?  This is a bright, flavorful soup that's on a pretty regular rotation in our house.  My Mom started making this recipe years ago, and we still love it.  Thanks Mom!  You could easily swap out the chicken broth for veggie broth to go full vegetarian.  It's a keeper...give it a try!




Zucchini Soup with Rice and Tomatoes
adapted from the Italian Soup Cookbook

1/2 cup Olive Oil
1 large onion, cut in 1/2" dice
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 small zucchini, scrubbed and diced
salt and pepper to taste
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes (we use Muir Glen Fire Roasted - yum!)
4 cans (about 7 cups) of chicken broth
1/2 cup rice, uncooked
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil (I use about 1T of dried if we don't have fresh)
2T finely chopped fresh parsley (I like to use a good handful)
baby spinach (optional)
3/4 cup grated parmesean

Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat.  Add the onion and saute until it begins to turn golden (5 minutes).  Stir in the garlic and cook 1 minute more.

Add the zucchini and season with salt and pepper.  Stir and cook, uncovered, for about 10 minutes.  Stir in the tomatoes and cook 5 minutes more.

Add the broth, rice, basil, and parsley; bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to simmer and cook, covered, about 15 minutes.  Let the soup rest to develop the flavors.

I like to place a handful of baby spinach in the bottom of the bowl for added flavor and nutrition, then ladle the hot soup in and top with freshly shaved parmesean.





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Birth Story, Part Two

Ooooh, I'm so glad y'all are back!  Before we get to part two of the story, I wanted to let you know I'm guest posting over at Living Savvy today.  Head over there to check out my most recent project, learn about an addiction I have, and get a sneak preview of our master bedroom...soon to be featured in an Our House post.  You'll love Tiffany's blog.  She has lovely taste and a knack for getting the most bang for her bucks.


So, here we are with part two of my little three part series.  To read Part One, click here.  Keep in mind...I’m taking a leap here, sharing the most intense personal experience I’ve ever had, and I’d rather you not read it if it’ll make you feel uncomfortable.  Please don’t judge.  This is my story, the way it happened.  Birth is a touchy subject for some.  Please read respectfully, if you choose to read.  And if you have any questions or comments, I’d love to get an email or comment from you!

 For a few moments I waited, expecting something to happen immediately.  Our doula encouraged us to move around to help labor to begin.  So Frank, the doula and I walked around the L&D floor.  We couldn’t leave the unit, so we made a couple of loops.  I remember seeing another mom doing the same, but she was in much more advanced labor.  I wanted to be as far along as she was!   But I was also nervous.  She was obviously in quite a bit of pain.  We returned to our room and I bounced on the yoga ball. 

 Frank and I meditated together (not something we typically do) and did some visualization to help bring on labor.  I had been doing this often throughout the pregnancy, but especially the last few weeks.  We talked through a visualization of the baby moving down through the birth canal and my cervix opening and thinning.  Our Doula wrapped my belly tightly with a long piece of woven fabric.  The idea was to bring the baby to a more vertical position where she could more easily drop.

 
   We walked the loop again.  I wasn’t feeling any contractions.  Ugh!  Around 1pm we started using the hospital breast pump for nipple stimulation.  This stimulates the same hormone that is released in contractions, and can trick your body into going into labor.  We did two 20 minute stints.  I also took some homeopathic remedies our doula offered.  We had smuggled some snacks in and I had a granola bar, ate some jello, and had cranberry juice.  

 
   At 2pm the doc visited again.  She said she would give me two more hours before she felt she should start Pitocin, since I wasn’t yet feeling contractions.  Our nurse tried hard to get the finicky wireless monitor working so I could eventually labor in the tub.  Our doula kept asking if I was feeling contractions.  I was expecting the same feeling as the Braxton Hicks contractions I had felt throughout the end of the pregnancy, but now I was just feeling period cramps low near my cervix.  When I mentioned this, our doula thought it was good news.  We did another round with the breast pump.

The “period cramps” got more intense and closer together.  Was this labor? Had the breast pump worked?  I found it most comfortable to work through them either sitting on the ball and leaning up on the bed, or kneeling on the lower part of bed, leaning on the raised upper part.  

 Around 4pm  the nurse did an exam.  I was 6cm dilated.  This didn’t sound like much to me, but our doula was so happy because it confirmed labor had really started.  During the exam my cervix was still a bit posterior, so the nurse pulled it forward with her finger.  Ouch.  This was the worst pain I'd felt so far.  We waited a bit longer to be sure labor would continue, and when it did, we started filling the tub.

 

I worked with the cramps-turned-contractions, breathing out “OK” every time one would come on.  Frank was always right there with me, coaching me on, encouraging me, reminding me to relax.  He would say things like, “Your body is strong,”  “Our baby is working with you to come out.”  

Around 4:30 I got into the tub.  The warm water felt sooo good and relaxing.  Frank and our doula poured cupfuls of water over my belly and it helped with the pain and made my contractions much more manageable.  With our doula's encouragement I made the mental shift to welcome the pain, be open to the contractions, surrender to them.  I was able to relax into each contraction, mentally opening myself up to them.  I knew (from what I’d learned in class and from the stories I'd read) that this would progress the labor. 

As I was working so hard at relaxing, the contractions must have been getting stronger.  They didn't feel much worse, but I was in a sort of trance with my breathing and attempting to relax.  Frank took the only bathroom break he had all day, and one contraction came during that time.  I missed him being there.  The labor had become so ritualistic.  I found comfort in the predictability of our routines with each contraction.  When a shift in the pattern happened, I found it difficult to readjust. My legs started trembling pretty strongly.   Our doula reminded us this is a sign of transition. 

Around 5:30 I felt a strong urge to use the bathroom and really wanted to get out of the tub.  For the first time (ever) I asked Frank to come with me to the bathroom.  I felt that I would need his physical support.   When I sat down, an overwhelming urge to push came over me.  This feeling was stronger than anything I have ever felt.  It consumed my entire body.  I can not imagine trying to counter this urge.  I couldn’t control the pushes and couldn’t keep myself from grunting with them.  It was such a primal urge.  Our doula heard me and called the nurse.  I heard her say I was sounding “really pushy.”   I moved to the bed and rested on my hands and knees.  The nurse came to do an exam, and I remember really not wanting to lie on my back, as it was such an uncomfortable position.  I forced myself to lie down and waited for her assessment.  This was getting so incredibly intense, so incredibly fast.

To be continued...

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At the Picket Fence,  Serenity Now, and Making Lemonade

Liquid Gold: Easy Chicken Stock

Well, here it is!  I've promised to share my homemade stock recipe, and here ya go!  What's the difference between stock and broth, you might ask.  Typically stock is made from bones, and broth is made from meat.  I love this stock recipe because it can be made so cheaply and it's so flavorful.  I'll show you how I make chicken stock, but at the end I'll explain how you can make beef stock, just as easily.

Pick up a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store.

Pull all of the meat off the bones and reserve it for a different recipe (casserole, soup, sandwiches, whatevs).

Chop up some onions, celery, and carrots (fresh parsley is another great ingredient if you have it).  Peel a few cloves of garlic.

Toss the chicken carcass and the veggies in a big ole pot (mine is 6 quarts), and throw in a handful of peppercorns.

Fill the pot with water.

Place it on high heat until it comes to a boil.

Then lower the heat and simmer for two to three hours.  You can use a lid to contain the heat and reduce the amount of evaporation.  I like to go without a lid, which causes the liquid to reduce some, but also increases the richness of flavor.

Here it is, a few hours later, so rich and golden!

Now just strain it.

At this point you can use the stock immediately, or cool it down to use for later.  With this batch I used about half for a soup recipe, then stuck the rest in the fridge.  Once it was cool, I poured it in two cup batches into freezer bags.  I like to freeze them flat, so they stack easily in the freezer.

For beef stock use the same recipe, just with beef bones.  Here's a cool trick I like to use for either chicken or beef stock:  If you have chicken bones or beef bones, but aren't ready to commit several hours to making stock, place the bones in a plastic container.  Cover them with water, and stick them in the freezer.  When you're ready to make the stock, just plop the frozen chunk in with the veggies and water.

I choose not to add any salt to the stock, because it's just as easy to add it into your final recipe.  And if I'm using it for a sauce that will reduce (like in the duck recipe I made), salted stock would make the sauce way too salty.

To get 5-6 quarts of stock out of these simple ingredients saves so much money!  A one-quart box of stock is $3-4.  Crazy!  Please, give it a try.


domestiCate's Chicken Stock

1 rotisserie chicken carcass
1 large onion roughly chopped
4 large carrots, roughly chopped
4 stalks of celery, (with the leaves) roughly chopped
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
1 heaping Tablespoon peppercorns
6 quarts of water

Combine all ingredients in a large stockpot.  Bring to a boil, then lower to simmer for 2-3 hours.  Strain.
To freeze:  Cool the stock in the refrigerator, then pour into measured increments into freezer bags.  Lay flat on a cookie sheet to freeze. 

Enjoy!

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