My birth story!

**Disclaimer** This is MY personal story. I am NOT an OB/GYN, labor & delivery nurse OR Doula. This post is not meant to give medical advice. I'm just a momma with an opinion...and a blog.

He's just a couple hours old here

He has such great hair.

   Well naturally, having done this whole birthing thing before, I can't help but compare the two. So I apologize if jumping back and forth gets annoying. Both my birthing experiences were very similar, yet also very different. As you may remember from my first birth post, I had every intention of laboring at home as much as possible because I didn't want any hospital interventions (IV pitocin, breaking my water, epidural etc.) and my feelings hadn't changed this time around either. In fact I was even more certain of my choice to labor at home as much as possible. I didn't plan to go pain med free just so I could have bragging rights, but simply because I knew I could do it and the added bonus would be a quicker recovery for me and baby. I believe our bodies are designed to carry and deliver babies and the medical profession is complicating all that with unnecessary interventions. (Seriously about to get on my soap box with this topic so I better just move on. If you wonder what I mean, please watch Ricky Lake's documentary "The business of being born" and you'll see exactly what I mean.) And ladies, what's with us intentionally trying to scare other momma-to-be's with the pain of child birth? "You're gonna get an epidural right??" or "omygosh I thought I was gonna die until I got the epidural!" Stop. Just stop. Yes child birth is painful. It's one of the worst pains I've ever gone through but hear me when I say this, its TOLERABLE and it's WORTH IT. Do your research and I have no doubt you'll release that fear too.

  So with Eli's birth, I had just had the privilege of witnessing my best friend's birth 7 months earlier and after being admitted with contractions every 5 minutes, she decided to go home because she was barely dilated and did not want her water broken for her and pitocin started in order to "get things going." I remember thinking I would never have had the guts to get there and leave because I wouldn't want to inconvenience them. It was an eye opening experience for me. Her drive was only 7 minutes to the hospital but mine was 30. I couldn't imagine driving to the hospital with the contractions I was having and choosing to go home because I wasn't "progressing" as fast as they wanted, and do that drive another 2 times. So I waited. With Eli I waited until my water broke at home and thats when the contractions became super intense and I knew it was time to go to the hospital. I thought I'd do the same with this one but this time around, it was very different.

    I woke up at 11:30pm thinking I might have felt a little wetness, wondering if my water had broken. Sure enough I noticed my underwear was slightly damp but I showed no other signs that it had actually truly broken (ex: passing my mucous plug, bleeding or being soaked.) Also at this time I started to feel an achy sensation to both sides of my lower back, that would shoot down to my rectum and then wrap up to my lower belly where it felt like menstrual cramping. Pleasant. NOT! So. Much. Pressure. I was afraid of 2 things with labor; laboring through the night where I'd lose my beloved sleep (Waaah!) and the dreaded "back labor," and here I was starting it off with the two things I was hoping to avoid. This rattled my confidence a little, I'm not gonna lie, but then I just chose to focus on getting through each contraction (which were every 2-5 minutes from the get-go. No training wheels, no ramping up, just "go" time. Thanks uterus.) This is it. It's the real deal. No noticeable braxton hicks for this girl.

   I decided to let my hubby sleep for a bit before I let him in on the big news because I knew I wasn't ready to head to the hospital yet and I figured he had a long road ahead of him if I was going to labor for 16hrs like I did with Eli. I decided to text my mom instead because she's way more helpful when I'm in pain or sick than my hubby is. But just a few hours later at 1:45am I realized the pain was getting intense and that it was almost time to leave so I woke him and Steph. We actually didn't leave until 3:30am and that was only because the contractions were every 2-3minutes and super intense to the point where I thought I had to be close. I was disappointed my water hadn't broken yet because I really didn't want them to insist on doing this for me once I was at the hospital. 

  Once we got there, the nurse checked to see how far dilated I was and it felt like she shoved her whole hand up there which made me think I wasn't even close. I thought his head should have stopped her at some point if I was "close" but it didn't seem to. Sure enough though, she confirmed that I WAS just about there because once again I came in at 9 ½ cm dilated and his head was "right there". Deja vu. I'd heard those exact words over 3 years ago. Looks like I'd be having both my boys at 39 weeks and 1 day. Ha! Consistent, that's me! They called my doc and also decided to call the in-house on call doctor because they didn't think mine would get there in time. Turns out my doc and the in-house doc got there at the same time (within 12 minutes!) They had just gotten me to the bed, strapped the fetal monitor on my belly, applied the BP cuff to my arm, and helped me to lie down on my side when the craziest sensation ripped through my body. My water broke! Holy cow! With Eli it was a slow trickle that made me even wonder if it HAD broken, but with this one, it reminded me of the Coneheads movie where her water breaks and comes out in a torrential downpour and floods the floor! I'm not even kidding. The best way I can describe it is this huge release of backed up pressure like a giant water balloon being shoved through a small hole and finally giving way under the enormous pressure and exploding everywhere! Move out of the way, this baby was coming! My doc had enough time to put on gloves and this was how I welcomed her to the party. Hey doc! (In hindsight, I find it comical that I put on a pad "just in case" for the car ride to the hospital and what a joke that would have been if my water broke with such magnitude in the car. Oh. Em. Gee! We would have needed to buy a new car! Ha ha ha. But I digress...)

My "birth plan" that I asked Steph, Aaron and Jac to help me with

   During my mental prep and research about the best laboring positions and natural childbirth, I had read that even a comatose woman could birth a baby! The body WILL do the work and that technically you didn't even have to push--the contractions are THAT strong. I had also learned that for some reason, the united states was slow to respond to the current evidence that "coached" pushing or "blue pushing" (where mom holds her breath and "bears down" to a count of ten with each contraction, thereby denying herself and her baby much needed oxygen during a crucial time) was BAD for mom and baby and actually NOT recommended. How come with the 3 labors I attended, Jac's, Steph's and my own, we were ALL told to do this?!? Well that does it. I made up my mind that I was NOT pushing. No siree bob. With Eli, the nurse treated me like an epidural patient and told me when I was contracting (thanks, I feel that you know) and instructed me to push while counting to 10. My gut and body said it was wrong. It felt wrong and I had no desire to push, hence the reason she kept telling me I was "doing it wrong". There were only a select few contractions that made me WANT to push, but not all of them did. To me it was a waste of precious energy to push when my body said not to. My research has since indicated that the new evidence says that mom should only push when she feels the urge and not to push with every contraction simply since she's 10 cm dilated. I felt vindicated! Then I felt angry. Never again would I doubt my instincts.

   After my Conehead experience, (skip to 1:33 of the video if you want to know what I mean) I didn't have to do anything. No seriously. My hubby held up my leg, I moaned/groaned (a tight jaw=a tight perineum. Did you know that?? I didn't) and let that baby come on his own. I "pushed" (shhh, no I didn't) 4 times (read:4 contractions did the work FOR me) and he was out. I was admitted to the hospital at 4am, baby in my arms by 4:35am. Only 10 minutes after hitting the delivery room. Halleluia! Each nurse who took care of me during my short hospital stay kept saying "so I heard you barely made it to the hospital on time." Not true. I had no urge to push until I got to the hospital. We had time.

This is my so-relieved-to-be-done face

Meeting each other for the first time

Daddy cutting the cord

I can't even believe he's finally here!

He looks like he has a cone head here but that's because the blanket is covering part of it. He actually had a perfect shaped head!

Proud daddy, got a son that looks like him!

I present to you, Andrew Major Scicluna

  When I mentioned being consistent earlier, Andrew weighed in 1 ounce smaller than his big bro at 8lbs and 2oz. He's an inch smaller at 19 ½ inches but we joke that Eli had a conehead that gave him the extra height, ha ha.

  The best part of a natural labor was that I was up and moving around later that morning. I had zero swelling because I didn't get a ton of IV fluids to combat low blood pressure if I would have chosen an epidural, no spinal headache from said epidural, and no urinary catheter. Yay for that alone! I was ready to take on the demands of being a mommy of TWO!

  So yes, I mentioned how birth was one of the most painful things I've ever gone through but I chose to go without pain meds twice because it was the best thing for ME. I have friends who have had uncomplicated deliveries with an epidural and rave about them and I say more power to you. I get more discouraged when I hear stories of "I got xyz (insert: epidural, pitocin, cervidil, induced etc) because "they recommended it" or "that's just what they told me I had to do." Then my heart breaks when I hear of the adverse effects that follow and eventually leads to that "emergency" c-section. To go through the pushing stage in labor and endure contractions, only to end up with a c-section is my worst nightmare. I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

  I'd like to especially thank my hubby, my sister, Jac and my friend Caylan for their incredible support and guidance.  Just knowing that my hubby, sis and Jac were there to advocate for me gave me tremendous relief and my friend Caylan, although not in the delivery room with me, is a doula and mommy of 3 (with her 4th just born a couple days after me!) allowed me to pick her brain as often as I needed and gave me invaluable advice that ultimately gave me the most confidence. Muuuuah to you lovies! I can't thank you all enough.

Welp, that's my story. We're home and getting adjusted to being parents of 2 boys but so far its pretty dang awesome. Stay tuned for updates.

-Linds

p.s   A super awesome natural birthing link that rocked my world regarding the pushing stage was this one. If you're pregnant, I highly recommend it.

   

   

My 30 week pregnancy check-in

  

    Is it just me or is this pregnancy going by super fast?? I realize January, (when I conceived) seems like forever ago but sheesh, I'm already 30 weeks! I'm still feeling good but bending over to pick something up is the pits, and I really hate only being able to sleep on my right and left side. I can't wait to flip over to my stomach after the baby gets here. Oh, and I'm definitely waddling full time now, ha ha.

  I just had my third ultrasound this past Friday because I'm rotating practioners so I can meet them all before I deliver (since God knows I'll deliver probably on a weekend, or at the very least during "off" hours and get the doc on call instead of my usual one) and this last doc had a hard time feeling the top of my fundus and claimed I was only measuring 24 wks (this was at my 27 week, almost 28 week appointment) and thought an ultrasound was needed "just to make sure he's growing ok." Apparently this wiggle worm was moving like crazy 24/7 but not growing for the past month. I don't buy it. Honestly, I wasn't worried because he's been super low from the get-go and I could already tell he was head down based on the location of the hiccups he has often and I also get him kicking off my right hip bone regularly so I was sure he was just wrapped more sideways, then up. Plus my usual doc has always measured me right on target. Sigh. Anyways I didn't mind the extra ultrasound since they did one each trimester for Eli since I was "higher risk" being hypothyroid.

  Well as the ultrasound confirmed, he IS head down, and he does kind of wrap around with butt to my left and feet off to my right lower abdomen and incidentally is measuring a week larger then expected at 30 weeks and 3 days. He needs to steady his pace though because I'm shooting for a 7 ½ pounder ;)

She got a big 'ol preggo belly!

I made this yoga band style skirt a year or 2 ago. Love how versatile it is that I can even wear it pregnant

Back to the pregnancy questionnaire I did at 20 weeks. Lets see how much things have changed shall we:

How far along: 30 weeks!

Total weight gain: I'm up 22lbs (Yowza! That was pretty easy to do. Dang appetite)

Maternity clothes: Pickins's are getting slim now since I would wear long non-maternity tee's and blousy shirts up until this point but now I'm "Gus-Gusing" it so I definitely need to stick to only maternity tops. My pants, although maternity, are getting snug so I'm thinking of hitting up goodwill for some more bigger comfy pants soon.

Stretch marks: None yet. I've been using Honest.com's organic belly balm that I reeeeeally like. It's very greasy and my belly shines like a bowling ball that's just gone done a freshly oiled lane but I've had ZERO itchy skin. Two thumbs up for this stuff.

Sleep: Eh. This has been so so. I get up to pee every 2-4 hrs and as mentioned above, I can only rotate between left and right sides which gets old. I've got my giant "C" shaped pregnancy pillow, a body pillow, and 2 regular pillows to help me get comfy though. Ha ha. If my hubby doesn't hold securely to his pillow though, I've been known to take that as well. Don't judge.

Best moment of this week: Having another ultrasound and getting to see him again and finding out I passed my glucose tolerance test! Woo hoo! What a relief. Last time I had to do the 3hr test because they want you below 140 and I was AT 140. Ugh.

Miss anything: Sandwiches still make the list, belly sleeping, and going to Great America because its summer time. :(

Movement: SO much movement. Lots of hiccups and big belly shifts. He has an uncanny ability of knowing when I have a camera on him to catch him in action because without fail, he stops instantly and waits patiently for me to put the camera down. Little stinker.

Food cravings: Everything and anything. Unlike with Eli where I had a strong aversion to pizza, (and I think red sauce in general)  I've actually really enjoyed pizza this time around, especially home made from scratch.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope

Labor signs: Not yet. I don't think I'm having any Braxton hicks either but they say the second time around you should feel them earlier because now you know what to look for but apparently I don't.

Belly button in or out: My usually deep "inny" is officially now an "outy." So weird.

Wedding rings on or off: Sadly it's been off for a while now since we're in the middle of summer and I'm toasty warm for once in my life. I've resorted to using a bigger ring that I got on my honeymoon instead.

Happy or moody most of the time: Overall, happy but this past week I've felt pretty irritable at the drop of a hat, mainly because nothing is easy anymore and I swear everything I need is on the floor.

Looking forward to: The arrival of this little one in 9-10 short weeks. EEEEEK!!!

What a hambone he is with that tongue!

Until next time....

-Linds

My conception story...

The evidence

   Yay for a picture of pee on a stick! Hey did you know they sell pregnancy tests at the dollar store that actually work?? I had my doubts because I wondered why there are $15 dollar ones at Walmart if these exist. What a rip! Way to take advantage of hopeful couples all over the world, jerks. Do yourself a favor and just go grab a handful of these bad boys and call it a day.

   Anyways, as I was telling you in my last post, I'm super proud of my pregnancy success stories. You may be wondering how I could feel so confident in getting pregnant when this is only my second time around. Not exactly. I actually had three successful tries. I guess I was a little misleading with the title of my last post when I said it was my "second pregnancy", because technically this is our third. Last year, exactly one week sooner than I ovulated this year, I conceived. Turns out I had a blighted ovum and ended up needing a D&C. It was a very sad time for us for obvious reasons but the hardest part for me was that Steph and I were finally pregnant TOGETHER which has always been a dream of ours! What helped me cope, (other than my amazingly supportive family and friends) was that there was no baby lost. I didn't hear a heartbeat at one ultrasound and then it was gone at another. It was never there to begin with because the embryo never developed. The egg and sperm successfully joined, and implanted into my uterus, but for some reason (usually severe abnormalities with one or both the egg/sperm) the body is able to tell something isn't right, and it prevents the cells from developing into an embryo and the gestational sac is the only thing that continues to grow. So that's what helped me cope through this miscarriage-- that I didn't have an embryo/baby TO lose. So my heart truly goes out to those who have had miscarriages where there was once a heart beat. I'm so sorry. :/

     Anyways, if any of you have more questions I'd be happy to tell you more (I'm an open book) but I don't want to depress you any further with sad news when this was supposed to be an uplifting, encouraging post. Lets move on.

   So, if we talk on a regular basis, then you've no doubt heard about me obsessively rave about how cool the Take Charge of your Fertility book really is. I've talked to many struggling women about "charting" (aka taking your temperature every morning and monitoring your fertility "signs") and I have to emphasize that anybody can take their temp, but if your chart shows you ovulate every month and you still aren't getting that positive sign on that pee stick that you so long for, then its the book that can help you understand the why. For me it was obvious I didn't ovulate every month since I rarely got a period (before Eli), but it was the book that helped me put all my "signs" (changes in cervical fluid, tender breasts, cervical position, etc) together to determine a time frame for my most fertile moments. It only took 2 cycles (or 9 months in my case, waaaah!) to figure this out and then on 3 separate occasions that we "tried," I got pregnant. To me this is like having someone whisper in my ear the winning numbers of the lottery before its even played! I have a few friends who by charting learned that their luteal phase (the weeks after ovulation, before your period arrives) was too short for the fertilized egg to successfully implant. By charting, they were able to follow up with their physicians and do what was necessary to lengthen that phase, and then went on to have successful pregnancies. I had one friend who would have sex on day 14, 15 and 16 of her cycle, only to find out that although she had a 28 day cycle, she had a 16 day luteal phase and actually ovulated on day 12 of her cycle. See what happened in her case?? Month after month she couldn't get pregnant because the egg was dead and gone long before she had sex. Once she realized this through charting, the following month she had sex on day 12 and guess what? Successful pregnancy! Every person's struggle is different and not all "infertility" issues should be treated the same like the medical community is apt to do. I call it "cookie cutter care." Try to avoid this by becoming the expert on YOUR own body. Knowledge truly IS power.

      For 2 years after Eli was born, I was able to use my newfound knowledge of how my body works, to prevent pregnancy as well. I was able to use a natural form of birth control that didn't wreck havoc on my body or finances each month. The pill always made my heart race and caused my BP to go up so I hated being on it. You may be thinking "who wants to get up at the butt crack of dawn to take their temp every morning for the rest of their life as a form of birth control??! Not this girl!" But let me assure you that it's easy peasy, lemon squeezy! Now that I know how my body works, when I start to get my signs of impending ovulation, I know I have a 4 day window before that egg arrives (now that's for ME, MY body. Don't go thinking YOU have a 4 day window as well, because I don't want to get hate mail stating you had an unwanted pregnancy because I said you were safe for 4 days! YOUR charting will tell you YOUR window. With that being said...) Its only then that I start taking my temp, and abstain from sex. Once my temp-taking confirms I ovulated (by the thermal shift) then I wait another 24hrs (to ensure the egg is dead and gone) and then I'm "safe" to have "relations" again ;)  Voila! I'm only inconvenienced for a week max. (Of course you could turn to condoms during this time if you wanted.) Make sense??

    So what do you think? Awesome-sauce or am I off my rocker? Don't answer that. I still expect to see a baby boom next year! Ha ha. Just kidding. Baby making is supposed to be fun. Lets get back to that. Bow chicka wow wow! Aaaand cue Marvin Gaye: "Lets get it onnnnnn...." :)

I gave my hubby this shirt along with the positive test to let him know we were pregnant

ha ha. What a good sport

Hi honey! 20 week "selfie" ;)

Yay!! Someone's excited for a brother!

On that happy note, toodles!

-Linds

P.S, when my method fails next time and I have an "oopsie" I'll tell you all it was planned. Ha ha ha. j/k. Muuuuah!

My second pregnancy!

     

Proud big brother!

    Lets see if I even remember how to do a blog post, it's been so long! Like I mentioned last time, I found Facebook and now Instagram to replace my need to blog. Well with this second baby (BOY!) coming along, I definitely want to get back into it since I LOVE looking back on Eli's beginnings. Steph will ask me a milestone question regarding her son Liam and I'm always like "jeeze it feels so long ago since I was in that stage. I'd have to check my blog..." --Good Old Faithful coming to the rescue, recapping the little things that have long been cataloged into the deep recesses of my brain. I love this little blog and I really do love blogging.

    So where do I start? I'll do a separate post to describe my conception story since most of you already know my beginning infertility issues I discussed in this post and I'm super proud of it. When I told my husband we were indeed pregnant after our first month of trying in January, I said, "more than anything else, don't you just feel an amazing sense of accomplishment??" Ha ha. We both laughed because it was so true. There was a time were I was that girl "trying-to-conceive" and now I'm completely confident in my ability to not only GET pregnant but to NOT get pregnant while not using the traditional birth control methods. (I'm not saying all this to boast, or be cocky, but in an attempt to give other ladies out there struggling in this department, HOPE.) Stay tuned if you fall into that category because the next post will be for you :)

    Welp, I'm at the 20 week mark (as of Monday). I can't even wrap my mind around the fact that I'm half way there! Currently I feel amazing, like I'm not even pregnant, unless I feel a kick (which is all the time now.) The baby is still really low in my pelvis, and each kick makes me instinctively reach to feel so if you catch me Al Bundy style, don't judge, ha! I can't say the same thing for the first 14 weeks though. Ugh. Was that ever a dark period in my life. The long, brutal winter didn't help matters either I'm sure. I'm so thankful to still be married because I'm positive my hubby had to remind himself "through thick and thin, through sickness and in health..." multiple times a day because I was awful. I was awful and I knew I was awful, and yet had no control over how I was feeling. I had zero energy (with a toddler to chase), horrible mood swings (sorry!!), many food aversions, everything stunk (easy on the cologne/perfume people!) and all day queasiness. We went to Hawaii when I was 9 weeks pregnant and although I enjoyed it, now when I think of it, I get nauseous. Such a sad way to remember a beautiful place. I think my hubby should take me back when I'm not pregnant so I can make new, happy memories :D

     I found a fun pregnancy questionnaire online that I thought I'd go through and answer so here it is:

How far along: 20 weeks!

Total weight gain: I'm up 10lbs

Maternity clothes: Heck yeah! I even wore maternity pants for comfort before I was pregnant (see above about not judging, ha ha)

Stretch marks: None yet. I did end up with a nasty "star burst" looking stretch mark under my right breast after Eli was born. Probably from the NASTY engorgment I had when my milk came in. But now its completely faded and I have to really search to find where it was.

Sleep: sleeping great but I have an earlier bed time.

Best moment of this week: having our 2o week ultrasound to find out the sex of the baby and to have so many friends anxiously awaiting the announcement as well.

Miss anything: Sandwiches. I really want some deli meat but the fear of listeria will keep me from eating one until after the baby comes.

Movement: SO much movement. Little "thumps" started at 15 and ½ weeks and they've gotten progressively stronger ever since. 

Food cravings: just like with Eli, everything sounds good. I'm gravitating more towards sweets but right now I can't open my fridge without grabbing a handful of the 4 lb box of green grapes that I got at Costco the other day. Good thing I bought the big one...

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing now except thinking of Hawaii. (So sad!) In the beginning it was black beans & tortillas that were the strongest aversions but really everything was unappealing. I had to remind myself that I loved certain foods and to just eat them. Once I started eating I was fine. It was the getting-it-into-my-mouth part that was a struggle.

Have you started to show yet: Yep. I was super bloated at 9 weeks! (See pic below.)

Gender: Boy!!

Labor signs: No. And stay that way for another 19 weeks. Pleaseandthankyou.

Belly button in or out: It's completely gone already! I was in the 30 wks range when that happened with Eli. Yikes!

Wedding rings on or off: On, but with the warmer weather on the horizon, probably not for long.

Happy or moody most of the time: Now I'm a happy camper. I feel like I have a pretty good sense of humor usually, but while pregnant, everything is 100x funnier. Not sure why that is...

Looking forward to: dressing the bump and watching it grow. I'm obsessed with baby bellies!

9 wks in Hawaii. My face says it all. Yowzers!

How great is this ultrasound pic?? Baby #2 at 10wks