July 23
10:24 AM
8 lbs 7 oz
21.5 inches long
8 lbs 7 oz
21.5 inches long
Erika had a wonderful homebirth experience. She shares the heartwarming letter she wrote to Kingston telling him about his birth:
Dear Kingston,
In regards to your arrival…
Brant and I were lucky enough to enjoy our two year anniversary and his 30th birthday on Tuesday, July 21st, 2009. We spent the day in Stillwater shopping, eating, and enjoying the day. I knew this would be the calm before the storm. How did I know this you ask?
Because Wednesday, July 22nd was the full moon and I was convinced I was going into labor on the full moon. So convinced I called my labor support team the day before to tell them mine and baby's plan. So when contractions started at 4am on Wednesday, July 22 I wasn't a bit surprised and did my best to sleep around them for the next five hours. Once we decided to get up for the day contractions were about five minutes apart and fairly notable so we decided it was time to prepare for baby's arrival; this was the real deal. Well to be honest I tried to convince Brant to go to work for a while but was quickly was reminded by a contraction this day was no normal day! So we hustled and bustled around the house getting everything in order. To manage the contractions we did things to both encourage the progression of labor and pass the time. We played fetch at the park with Bosko and walked around the neighborhood. As we walked the block we wondered what the neighbors thought when they saw mommy, in her bright green slippers, walking then stopping to hug daddy for support through the contractions! We even went to Sonic to have a little snack all while having contractions four to six minutes apart! In the mid afternoon our acupuncturist, Stefanie, came over to give me a treatment which helped progress contractions a bit more bringing them to three minutes apart. Then in the late afternoon our first doula, Liz, arrived at the house to help. We decided it was time to get into the warm cozy tub to help with the pain. I was still in good spirits when the second doula, Carey, showed up. My good spirits were much ado to my birth team keeping me laughing. I was cracking jokes and keeping up well into labor. The amazing thing about natural birth is you get to feel all your hormones pumping through your body this in turns allows a mother to feel an almost high in between contractions which makes her birth experience pleasurable as well as rewarding. Then as the sun set our midwives, Amy & Kate, arrived and as Brant said, "turned our house into a full birthing center with all kinds of equipment and supplies." Labor continued to move ahead but at a slow pace. I kept feeling the urge to push but since my body wasn't ready for baby to emerge had to ignore that sensation and keep focus through contractions. Our wonderful birth team did a great job of reminding me to constantly change positions in order to progress labor so we did all kinds of things like take a shower, sit on the yoga ball, squat, lay on my side, and rotate my while hips on all fours. All helped to take me closer to my goal with each contraction. Finally we decided to climb the stairs two at a time (thanks to Liz!) in order to open things up. This successfully brought us to the next step... time to push! Little did we know this would reveal why I felt like pushing so much during the whole labor. Turns out my tailbone was turned upwards and exactly in the way of baby's head which meant it was extremely painful on my back and caused piercing pain when I pushed. To help ease the pain Dr. Amy called a chiropractor, Dr. Amber, to adjust my low back and help support me during the last phase. I am so thankful for Dr. Amber coming over at 7am to help out! Once again thanks to my labor support team (especially daddy!) I made it through the process and three hours later and finally gave birth to a baby boy! He took his time coming out but once he was here he made his presence known with a loud cry as he nestled into mommy’s chest. Almost immediately big brother Bosko made his way up onto the family bed to see who all the fuss was about and he quickly approved! After 30 long hours our baby boy, Kingston Micheal, was born at 10:24 am Wednesday, July 23rd, 2009. He had red hair and long fingers, toes, and legs. His personality definitely met his fiery look with loud roars and demand for feeding. He loved to sway his arms about almost like he was boxing opening and closing his fists. He made all kinds of facial expressions with tight lips and open mouths most of the time with his eyes wide open. After his well baby exam (also done on our family bed!) we found out he weighed 8lbs 7 oz and was 21.5 inches long. Based on the shape of his head we found out he was also a bit crooked on his way down the birth canal (and also posterior facing or sunny side up), yet another reason mommy should be proud she delivered him in only three hours & without any interventions! All the helpful birth women made sure to give Daddy a nod for being so helpful and supportive during labor one even mentioned he should teach a class to other daddy’s as she has never seen a daddy so supportive and involved like he was! The next four hours after labor were spent getting mommy and Kingston prepped for a nap and having the house cleaned up. We are so thankful to have had such a warm and cozy homebirth experience. Our midwives stayed until mommy was bathed and had eaten and they got the laundry started. We really feel so fortunate to have had such wonderful energy and experience surrounding us during such a transitional experience.
We would never change a single detail about our home birth experience. The fact that I was able to make all my own decisions about my labor and delivery experience allowed me to feel empowered and enlightened not only about my own existence but also that of my son’s and my family’s. I was lucky enough to have everything happen in my own home so I was able to recover quickly and begin to adjust to my normal life more smoothly. The experience brought me and my husband closer and gave us strength to face any adversity.
And for all those wondering… in all honesty… I can’t imagine doing it with pain medication. The woman’s body and chemical makeup is really amazing! Experiencing every moment was so important to the progression of our labor and each sensation was accompanied by rushes of birth energy making the experience wildly colorful.
In regards to your arrival…
Brant and I were lucky enough to enjoy our two year anniversary and his 30th birthday on Tuesday, July 21st, 2009. We spent the day in Stillwater shopping, eating, and enjoying the day. I knew this would be the calm before the storm. How did I know this you ask?
Because Wednesday, July 22nd was the full moon and I was convinced I was going into labor on the full moon. So convinced I called my labor support team the day before to tell them mine and baby's plan. So when contractions started at 4am on Wednesday, July 22 I wasn't a bit surprised and did my best to sleep around them for the next five hours. Once we decided to get up for the day contractions were about five minutes apart and fairly notable so we decided it was time to prepare for baby's arrival; this was the real deal. Well to be honest I tried to convince Brant to go to work for a while but was quickly was reminded by a contraction this day was no normal day! So we hustled and bustled around the house getting everything in order. To manage the contractions we did things to both encourage the progression of labor and pass the time. We played fetch at the park with Bosko and walked around the neighborhood. As we walked the block we wondered what the neighbors thought when they saw mommy, in her bright green slippers, walking then stopping to hug daddy for support through the contractions! We even went to Sonic to have a little snack all while having contractions four to six minutes apart! In the mid afternoon our acupuncturist, Stefanie, came over to give me a treatment which helped progress contractions a bit more bringing them to three minutes apart. Then in the late afternoon our first doula, Liz, arrived at the house to help. We decided it was time to get into the warm cozy tub to help with the pain. I was still in good spirits when the second doula, Carey, showed up. My good spirits were much ado to my birth team keeping me laughing. I was cracking jokes and keeping up well into labor. The amazing thing about natural birth is you get to feel all your hormones pumping through your body this in turns allows a mother to feel an almost high in between contractions which makes her birth experience pleasurable as well as rewarding. Then as the sun set our midwives, Amy & Kate, arrived and as Brant said, "turned our house into a full birthing center with all kinds of equipment and supplies." Labor continued to move ahead but at a slow pace. I kept feeling the urge to push but since my body wasn't ready for baby to emerge had to ignore that sensation and keep focus through contractions. Our wonderful birth team did a great job of reminding me to constantly change positions in order to progress labor so we did all kinds of things like take a shower, sit on the yoga ball, squat, lay on my side, and rotate my while hips on all fours. All helped to take me closer to my goal with each contraction. Finally we decided to climb the stairs two at a time (thanks to Liz!) in order to open things up. This successfully brought us to the next step... time to push! Little did we know this would reveal why I felt like pushing so much during the whole labor. Turns out my tailbone was turned upwards and exactly in the way of baby's head which meant it was extremely painful on my back and caused piercing pain when I pushed. To help ease the pain Dr. Amy called a chiropractor, Dr. Amber, to adjust my low back and help support me during the last phase. I am so thankful for Dr. Amber coming over at 7am to help out! Once again thanks to my labor support team (especially daddy!) I made it through the process and three hours later and finally gave birth to a baby boy! He took his time coming out but once he was here he made his presence known with a loud cry as he nestled into mommy’s chest. Almost immediately big brother Bosko made his way up onto the family bed to see who all the fuss was about and he quickly approved! After 30 long hours our baby boy, Kingston Micheal, was born at 10:24 am Wednesday, July 23rd, 2009. He had red hair and long fingers, toes, and legs. His personality definitely met his fiery look with loud roars and demand for feeding. He loved to sway his arms about almost like he was boxing opening and closing his fists. He made all kinds of facial expressions with tight lips and open mouths most of the time with his eyes wide open. After his well baby exam (also done on our family bed!) we found out he weighed 8lbs 7 oz and was 21.5 inches long. Based on the shape of his head we found out he was also a bit crooked on his way down the birth canal (and also posterior facing or sunny side up), yet another reason mommy should be proud she delivered him in only three hours & without any interventions! All the helpful birth women made sure to give Daddy a nod for being so helpful and supportive during labor one even mentioned he should teach a class to other daddy’s as she has never seen a daddy so supportive and involved like he was! The next four hours after labor were spent getting mommy and Kingston prepped for a nap and having the house cleaned up. We are so thankful to have had such a warm and cozy homebirth experience. Our midwives stayed until mommy was bathed and had eaten and they got the laundry started. We really feel so fortunate to have had such wonderful energy and experience surrounding us during such a transitional experience.
We would never change a single detail about our home birth experience. The fact that I was able to make all my own decisions about my labor and delivery experience allowed me to feel empowered and enlightened not only about my own existence but also that of my son’s and my family’s. I was lucky enough to have everything happen in my own home so I was able to recover quickly and begin to adjust to my normal life more smoothly. The experience brought me and my husband closer and gave us strength to face any adversity.
And for all those wondering… in all honesty… I can’t imagine doing it with pain medication. The woman’s body and chemical makeup is really amazing! Experiencing every moment was so important to the progression of our labor and each sensation was accompanied by rushes of birth energy making the experience wildly colorful.
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1 comment:
I love hearing beautiful birth stories. Thanks so much for sharing.
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