Melissa’s HBAC (Australia)

From Melissa: ” Here’s my birth montage of our baby number four Marlia. Three years ago I gave birth to Blaze our third baby at home and you posted his slide show on your blog. The only thing I regretted about his birth was not having any video footage of his birth. I have included some footage of Marlia’s birth in the slide show. I had a midwife present for Marlia’s birth and as last time she stood back and just took photos for me. I transferred to hospital for postnatal care as my husband and I are now separated and I had no one to care for me at home. We transferred via ambulance skin on skin with cord still intact and pulsating and it continued for 1.5 hours post birth. I birth the placenta in the shower at hospital 2hrs after the birth with no pressure from the staff. The hospital were very good about all of my postnatal wishes. “

Birth without borders

I’ve been on a bit of a rant lately about “Keep those damn hats off babies”, “Take off those wet sports bras”, “Get everyone skin-to-skin, dark, private” and I get told that “We have to choose our battles”, “It’s important to meet people where they are and not overwhelm them with picky details”, and other variations of advice to STOP IT!

These things are HUUUUUGE to me. I only want to speak into the ears of those who want perfect births. I had a perfect birth. What is a perfect birth? It’s a birth that you look back on when your child is 30 years old and you wouldn’t change a single thing about it. . . every smell, touch, taste, word spoken and beam of light goes to the grave with you as a top of the mountain of life experience. It’s an experience that makes up for so much of the day to day b.s. that is part of living in a human body. It helps to salve the losses and the heartaches and gives you a glimpse of the bliss that’s possible when all the stars align on a really, really good day. That’s what I want for every birthing woman. When I saw this little video clip (I think it’s from Russia), it made my heart sing as I prayed that no one would enter the frame and interfere with this woman’s bliss (no one does). Unfortunately the sound is missing but I love it that someone turns off the lights so baby could transition to this bright world in a slow way. I also love it that the toddler comes in with questioning eyes to see what the heck is happening in his world and looks to the Dad with questioning eyes and is reassured that “Yes, this is different but it’s all good, sweetie.” I just made that up but I love my own version of things. Enjoy.

“Birth with Gloria Lemay”, a review of the film.

Dear Gloria,

The video arrived on Saturday, October 1. I was able to watch it today…of course, it was wonderful.

Of all the birth videos I have seen, this is the first that has not shown one stitch of medical equipment. When I think with the mind of the skeptical pregnant mother, I look back at the births documented and never once wonder or worried if there were any tools to “save” anyone during this process. The births are clearly not in need of any interference. Birth is not in need of interference. Usually, those documenting find it important to show some sort of equipment at the ready for the “in case” situation. I’ve heard from a doula that she and a midwife arrived to a home in the same moment and the doula was employed in that moment to carry in an oxygen tank before letting the mother know she had arrived, and before ever knowing if there was need. While there may have been pieces of medical equipment in none or all of the homes you worked in, they were not part of how these births progressed. How refreshing!

I also took note that you, the attendant, were not a big part of how these births progressed. I much admire, and perhaps aspire, to hold that birth space for a laboring woman. Watching your approach will be a fantastic teaching tool for those who believe there must be a professional who participates and/or directs how birth unfolds. In your voice-over you note one mother saying “I did it!” and you follow up saying that indeed, she had. You were there. In many cases, that is all any laboring woman (or her partner) ever needs. . . to have someone there to witness and support a perfect process.

It was lovely, also, that the mother chose who was with her and even who would deliver the baby. I was struck with happiness when you coached the sister of one birthing woman in “catching” the newborn. Not all midwives are eager to teach and let others participate, but prefer to be the one who “does” that piece of birth work. Only with midwives like you can women experience birth in a normal way that solidifies that all women know this work and that it is not a matter of medical education, but a matter of experience, intuition and the passing on of knowledge.

As you well know, most women and girls know nothing of birth outside of the medical model. Your video is a great vision of the true nature of birth. Mother centered birth once was the norm and with your help, it can return to such an event where a woman gains fulfillment and strength in her mind, and in the minds of those in her life.

Thank you for being who you are and helping others see the truth in birth.

With gratitude,

Lisa Juckette
Des Moines, IA

Want to download your own copy of the film? Go to https://birthwithglorialemay.vhx.tv/

A “Skype” birth

Mat is a Japanese/Canadian man. He grew up in British Columbia and is fluent in English and Japanese and a ‘cool’, trendy guy. His wife Nayumi is a Japanese beauty who was raised in Japan and struggles with her English now that she lives here in Canada. The couple met and fell in love in Japan. Although married to a Canadian, she has not completed her immigration and, therefore, did not qualify for a government insured birth for her first child. Mat’s sister had been a client of mine for her three home births so Mat and Nayumi knew all about my services.

Our prenatal visits were done with Mat acting as “translator” for me and Nayumi. When I would explain something complicated, he would listen intently and, then, translate completely every single word for his wife. They were both dedicated to having a great arrival for their first baby.

I have attended births for many “foreign” visitors to Canada over the 30 years that I have worked in this field. I can’t help but put myself in the place of their overseas family. How would it be for me if one of my daughters was in a foreign place having a baby with a woman who didn’t speak her language? Would she be all right? Would others understand how precious and special my daughter is to her family at home? I can only imagine the relief the overseas family must feel when they know that their daughter is safely through birth with a healthy baby.

Nayumi gave birth quickly and smoothly. Their tiny downtown apartment was clean and neat as a pin. Everything had a place and was beautifully organized. Mat caught the baby in the water tub–a sweet boy, the placenta was birthed and the cord cut. After about 45 minutes, Mat and I helped Nayumi and baby to get dried off and into bed. I was in the kitchen preparing some food for the family when I heard a lot of excited Japanese talking coming from their bedroom. They had put their Mac laptop into the bed on Nayumi’s lap and the entire family in Japan was gathered together in the screen looking at the new baby boy! How wonderful to see Nayumi, radiant and well and a new little family member “live” on the internet. The family insisted that I get in front of the camera so they could see me and thank me, too. Mat translated for them that I thought they had a brave, amazing daughter and that they should be so proud of her. I assured them that I would stay until I was certain that all was well with both of them.

I can remember how amazed I was when digital photos could be sent rapidly via the internet. This instant Skype celebration was a whole new level of wonder for me at what we can do now with technology.

Japanese couple who had a waterbirth

Privacy: This photo is NOT of my clients, it’s one I found on the internet. All names/nationalities changed for privacy considerations.

Birth Over the Phone

 

These are notes that i recorded on my computer while on the phone with a friend in the U.S. who was giving birth.  All 3 of her daughters were born at home.  Her midwives had a long trip to reach her place and they missed the birth by a half hour.  I was able to stay on the phone with the husband and a neighbour.

 

Karen and Paul’s third baby girl

 

On a Waning Gibbous moon 76% Full

 

5:42 p.m. (Pacific Time)   It’s going to be Karen’s own birthday tomorrow.

 

5:46 p.m.  “I’m feeling it in my back, just like every other time I’ve birthed little women”.  Pressure helps.

 

5:48       sensations every 2 minutes.

 

5 53    Tell Paul to put a plastic sheet on the bed.  Baby is coming soon.  Karen doesn’t feel like she can  make it to the pool.  Membranes are still intact.  She feels like she might poo.

 

6 03 Paul says he is seeing some rectal flaring.  It’s a good sign of health that the membranes are intact.  Paul says, “I think it came closer that time”.

 

6 13  Karen says “I might try to make it to the pool.”

 

6 26 Karen steps into the pool.  Paul and Mary (neighbour) are doing everything they can to make her comfortable.  Water seems to calm Karen and relieves some of the intensity she was feeling.  Paul should get a bucket in case she feels like vomiting.

 

6:33 Karen worries that it’s taking longer between sensations.  I let her know that she’s having a ‘rest and be thankful period’.  What an impatient momma, she is. . . she just can’t wait to meet this baby!

 

6:54  Karen wants to know “Why is it taking so long?”  It’s been 12 hours since the mucous plug came out but it has only been about 4 hours of focused birth. She’s feeling nauseous now.

 

7:07 pm.  Complains of feeling tired and her bum hurting,

 

7:16 p.m. “should I be pushing?, lots of rectal pressure, feeling scared.  Nothing’s happening.”

 

7:35 p.m. Karen says “nothing’s happening, why isn’t the baby coming out?”

 

7:49 the head is out

 

7:51 baby born

 

7: 53 “Hi baby,” Karen greets her baby

 

8:00  Karen in bed.  Wants placenta out right now!  Mary (neighbour) and Paul are doing a great job of helping mom/baby  get comfortable.

 

Baby nice and pink, responsive.water birth with candles

water birth with candles

 

8:07 p.m. It’s a girl!

 

8:20  the  midwives have arrived in time for the placenta.

Water birth

When I first saw this birth video from Australia, I thought it was an unassisted birth. I think if more midwives could stand back and leave women to catch their own babies and families to celebrate in their own way, midwives would have a better reputation. Congratulations to all.

Megan’s third son, born at home

10 lb 12 oz boy.  Born April 1st 2009 @ 4:40pm

My Third Birth ~ Laticus
 

I surprised myself with this pregnancy; it’s amazing how things are always so different yet the same. My due date was March 20th 2009, but this baby didn’t care much for March. Each date in the future I set as a goal for my third birth I watched go by without a care. Part of me was so impatient to have this baby born and the other part didn’t mind if it took forever, because I was scared about what life would be like with three. I was one week and 5 days past my due date when he decided to come. April 1, 2009 my April fools baby, I like to imagine that he’ll have a great sense of humour!

The night before the birth the only indication I had was that my mucus plug came out before bed but I didn’t think too much of it because I had lost that a few times before my second boy was born, but I did get a little excited. I didn’t tell anyone, I thought if I kept it to myself it might actually mean it was time.
The next morning it was our weekend so my spouse was home (thank goodness) and we put on a new movie to watch with the kids. I had been having contractions since I first opened my eyes that morning but they were slight and I wasn’t watching the clock. Again, I didn’t want to acknowledge what was going on because I thought, if I did, it would be a false alarm. But, as an hour or two went by, my heart beat went up and I made a phone call to my doula to ask if she thought it might be time. She urged me to call my birth attendant, and when I did that, I knew it was time because she took me way more seriously than I took myself!

So, I went and sat beside my spouse who was still watching the movie with the kids and told him my doula and attendant were on their way cause we were having a baby today . . . He was like, “WHAT, REALLY?” It was funny to surprise him like that, he was mostly shocked because I was so calm but sure.While we waited for them to get to the house we put the kids downstairs to play and moved around the furniture in the living room and got out the birth supplies. We pumped up the pool but didn’t fill it yet.

My team arrived and just faded into the back ground. They took care of the kids so my spouse could be glued to my side just like I needed him to be. It was lovely.  He came with me everywhere, I didn’t even need to ask, he just knew. Every time I had a contraction I would just lean on him and he would hold me and rub me and it was so much closer to heaven than hell. The day went on like that and time passed quite quickly for me. My contractions weren’t super close together or super unbearable so part of me was worried this was going to take forever. But sure enough around 3:30-4ish I was feeling like I could get in that pool I was SO looking forward to being in it for the first time. It was so wonderful having the next place to go. I was just starting to get to the point where it wasn’t any fun anymore, where I was having those ‘I don’t want to do this’ thoughts. Then I got in and it WAS heaven; I remember smiling and trying to explain to my spouse how great and neat and cool and wonderful it was! I could stretch my body out long and float, I could move around with such ease!

My wise and lovely Birth Attendant had asked me earlier when I thought I was going to have my baby that day and I told her I didn’t know but in my head I was saying around dinner time, but I didn’t believe myself. I should’ve known better, my birth attendant had gotten it in her head to go to the store to get us some things. She came to tell me so and I wanted to tell her it wasn’t a good idea, but at the same time I thought “sure, why not?” Sure enough, not 15 min after she left my water broke and things got real intense, real fast. It was so neat feeling my water break under the water! I didn’t know what had happened at first! I had felt the huge pressure and then I felt something come out and I was all looking around franticly wondering what it was! And here it was just me adding some more water to the pool! Right away, my spouse asked me if he should get in with me and I said yes (I’ve never seen his shorts come off so fast!) My doula called my attendant and told her to come back. Right away, I could feel the baby down low getting good and ready to meet the world. I remember being so shocked I was at the end of the road already! I remember feeling so blessed it was so ‘easy’.  HA.

My spouse was to receive the baby so he was in front of my and I was lying back in the pool, I remember feeling the immense pressure and saying, “I don’t like this part!” The head birthed with not much help from me and I had a moment of rest. I knew to take it slow and follow my own sensations and urges. The problem was, after the head came out, I didn’t have any. I started to get anxious. I wanted to wait for a contraction to push but I just wasn’t having one and I felt the need to do something. So I pushed anyway just strong little pushes until, finally, I got a contraction to back me up and then I gave it my ALL and my all was what it took. It was so surprising to me to have to ‘push’ the third baby out since my second baby just ‘shot’ right out of me.

Finally, he was out and my spouse brought him slowly up to the surface. I had planned on letting him have a moment with the baby but I remember getting up and just taking that baby right into my arms. I remember thinking, “Give me that thing!” I took a quick look between the legs and seeing for the first time what my surprise baby’s sex was . . . My third boy, I remember thinking that that was going to hurt later, but not now. Now I just looked him over and held him in my arms. I was amazed that I had just had the birth I had always wanted but hadn’t, till now, seemed able to get.

We sat there in the water for awhile, my spouse got in behind me and I laid back on him. I wanted to relax until the placenta came out but the baby didn’t want to nurse right away and was crying because I had tried to get him on my breast one too many times. Also, it was quite warm in there.

So I started to focus on that placenta getting out of me. I pushed with my contractions but the weirdest thing, only half of it came out of me and no matter how I pushed the rest wouldn’t come out. So, finally, I got up on my knees with some help, the baby still in my arms of course. And I remember reaching down and feeling the placenta in the water half out of my body, half in. I think I gave it a tiny pull with a push and it came right out. I was so relieved, it was really over now.

I got out of the pool right away. I got myself over to the couch and lay down to nurse my baby for the first time. We didn’t cut the cord until after the placenta had been out for at least an hour, which was a whole hour longer than with my first two babies.Laticus’ was my third birth but his was my first home birth, my first water birth, my first unassisted birth, and the first birth that I wouldn’t change anything about.  

Eliza Lily’s birth story, by her Mom, Heather

Eliza Lily birth story:

 

On Thursday, last week, I started really having early labor contractions.  I had five hours of regular contractions each day, and they would intensify each day.  I was starting to wonder if I would even take labor seriously by the time I needed to.  It was frustrating and emotional for me.

 

On Tuesday night, Jason went to sleep right around our older kids’ bedtime.  It ended up serving him well to do so!  Gideon and I stayed up a little later.  By the time we laid down for sleeping at 10pm, I was feeling the familiar tugging of contractions.  I opened my eyes just to read the time each time I would get a tug.  I noticed that they were ten minutes apart.  After an hour of just observing and feeling them out to see if they were intensifying or not, I just went to sleep.

 

On Wednesday morning, I was startled awake at 2am with more intense tugging which I wrote off as being mostly related to the potty break I needed.  I couldn’t sleep after I came back from the toilet, so I just laid there next to Gideon for the next 2 hours halfway sleeping.  Each time I had a contraction, I would open my eyes just to notice the time, and I would try to go back to sleep.  Each contraction was deep enough for me to breathe and rock a little, but I was still able to rest.  At this point, I knew I was so close to being pushed over the edge into full-out laboring, but I was also in this grey area of thinking it could stop at any time.

 

By 4am, I was tired of the ten-minute contraction range, and I was wide awake.  Not in pain, just alert and wondering what I could do with myself at this point of the morning without waking the household.  I decided to wake Jason up to ‘celebrate our anniversary’ and maybe keep the tugs going or even speed them up. (wink, wink)  Then I went downstairs to do some computer work: clean up old files and work out some low-memory problems on the computer.  I had some breakfast.  I listened to some music, did my busy work, noticed the times from the computer, and rocked and breathed through the contractions.  Closer to 6am, I noticed bloody show when I wiped after using the toilet, and I figured that I’d go ahead and assume I’m in labor.  I still felt, in the back of my mind, that the labor could stop.

I woke up Jason and told him to let his teacher know he wouldn’t be coming into class that day.  I needed him to lay with Gideon while I took a hot shower.  I didn’t want my 2yo to wake up upset and looking for me.  The shower was a nice change of scenery and helped.  We decided there were some things we wanted to do before things got rolling (if they even did), so we started getting to work. 

Jason made coffee for himself.  I showed Jason what I had in the birth boxes, and we set them up in a convenient place.  Jason moved the furniture around to get things ready for the birth pool.  The kids started waking up for breakfast slowly.  Kyler is almost 7 y.o., Suzanne is 5 y.o., and Gideon is 2 1/2 y.o.

By 7am, Gideon was up and starting to bother me during contractions.  At this point the tugs had become intense enough that I needed to lean over something, focus, vocalize, and rock through them.  Kyler and Suzanne were great, but Gideon couldn’t understand that the small noises and movements from him jumping up on the couch with me or leaning on me were hurtful and distracting.  So, I called my friend, Rachel, and asked her to come pick him up.  I still had no idea how quick things were going, and I packed a bag for Gideon including a toothbrush, his jammies, another change of clothes and his bedtime loveys.  ha!  She picked him up sometime before 8:30am.

 

I was really having hard contractions, but because everything was so normal in between the contractions, I didn’t seriously believe I could be as far along as I was.  By the time Rachel picked up Gideon, the birth pool was all blown up and being filled with water.  I was getting through the contractions by kneeling over my birth ball in the TV. room while listening to Pink Floyd’s A Momentary Lapse of Reason coming from my husband’s laptop in the other room.  The best songs for me were “Learning to Fly” and “On The Turning Away”.

 

I think it was about 8:30am when the tub was filled.  I got in, drank some pregnancy tea, and hung out with my kids in between contractions.  They did fairly well while I moved and groaned through the tugs.  I loved laboring in the tub.  It was so peaceful.  The living room was as perfect a place as I had imagined it to be when I picked that birth spot.  On one wall, I had my kids’ collage frames of their first year baby pictures.  On another wall, I had the view out of my full windows into our gardens and trees in the back yard.  Also, it was a gloomy day which really gave such a nice dim light through the window and made me feel like having tea and cuddling up.

 

At some point within the next hour, the contractions became more difficult to work through.  I was getting much louder as they hit.  The kids asked to watch a movie in the other room, so Jason put on Ariel’s Beginning.  When I would have a contraction at this point, I felt like my noises were pushing at the same time.  I felt like the noise I was making was pushing my baby down, and I wondered if this was true or not.  I felt inside just out of curiosity.  The baby’s head was not even an inch inside.  I could feel the dilated edge of my cervix outlining the edge of the baby’s head.  I could feel the water bag if I pushed at all on the middle of the head.  I thought about how amazing this is, that I am this close from giving birth to my baby, and I could be so clear-headed between contractions.  I felt like it was just a normal observation that I was making as an outsider; not a woman in laborland.  I said to Jason, “wow, I could push this baby out, like, right now, but I don’t think I want to.  I’m just going to let it come down on its own.”  So, I did.  He thought I was nuts!  She thinks she could push the baby out but she doesn’t want to?  what is she crazy?

 

Well, during those contractions, I steadied myself, focused on keeping breathing even, and occasionally would slightly and very gently push just a little.  The amniotic sac burst during one of those.  I felt the baby’s head move further down, and I remember a point where I had a bit of deja vu.  I yelled out, “ohmigod!  ohm, I was wrong about the size of this baby!!”  I felt the familiarity of the difficulty I had in pushing out Gideon’s humongous self.  At that point, it was too late to turn back, but it was the only time in the labor where I thought I had changed my mind.  In that moment, I didn’t want to go through with it anymore.  Jason brought the kids in and sat them on the couch, but I had to have them leave.  I had to get loud with my pushing to get the energy to push and keep my focus, but it was so loud that my kids had their hands on their ears.  I couldn’t handle opening my eyes to see that, so I told them to leave.  Oh well, I felt more demanding pushing urges after that, and I pushed through 3 contractions just to get her head out.  I felt like the front would split open.  I had kept my hand down the entire time as her head lowered and came out.  I was sitting Indian style for some of this and moving to my hands and a really low squat.  I also sometimes looked like I was doing a sitting down hurkey or something…like a cheerleader.  As soon as her head was out, I was peacefully recovering my breathing between contractions, and I felt very distinctly the shift of her body and shoulders inside me.  It was so cool!  I love that I had her head in my hand and could feel her body (on the inside of my body) preparing itself for birth.  With the next contraction, she was out, and I was pulling her up.

I kept her in the water for a small amount of time.  I wanted this to be a sort of ‘Leboyer bath’ experience.  I wanted her to have that gentle transition onto land instead of the violent force of adjustment most babies get.  Once I pulled her up onto my chest, I saw that she was a girl and announced it, “I was right!  I knew it!”  Jason grabbed a towel and helped me wrap her up.  Soon after that, Jason asked me what her name was, and I said “Eliza Lily”.  She wasn’t breathing for a small period of time.  She was clearing stuff out a little, and then she still wasn’t breathing.  I turned her sideways on my chest and rubbed her body.  She cried a little.  She gurgled some more stuff out.  She took some breaths.  She still seemed clogged up a little.  I just kept rubbing her and talking to her.  Jason got me the bulb syringe, and I cleared out some mucous.  During her first nursing session a little later, she turned blue again with mucous coming out her nose and mouth, but we got through that too.  She cleared it all out with sneezes and coughs, and she started pinking up real nice after that.  It was a little nerve wrecking to me, but even while it was happening, I knew that really she was okay and her body was taking care of it.

 

Suzanne had come running into the room as soon as she was born.  She was so excited to have a baby girl!  We had thought it was a girl the whole time.  The first thing Kyler said to Eliza was ‘You are as cute as a mouse.’ with a big grin on his face.  Then, he started saying all the many things she was as cute as….”a cupcake”…”a muffin”….”the dot at the end of a sentence”…lol,  It was too funny.  He also was very interested in making eye contact with her and saying, “Eliza, I’m your big brother.”   

After a short time hanging out in the pool after the birth, I felt pressure and assumed that my placenta was detaching or had detached.  I got up and went to the mattress we had prepared and ready near the pool.  I kneeled over a chux pad and got the baby diapered, dressed, and blanketed.  Unlike with Gideon, this little girl had a really long cord, so it was easy to do all of that without having to cut it yet.  I had wanted to do this with Gideon, but since his cord was so short, I was unable to manage it.  Anyway, with the baby all wrapped up and warm, I checked to see if I could push a little, but the placenta wasn’t ready.  I called my mom instead.  I was so excited to tell her that the baby had come.

 

While I was on the phone with my mom, I felt a strong urge to get that placenta out, and I set the phone down near me so I could concentrate.  I used a little traction on the cord and coughed the cord out.  I didn’t really have to push that much at all.  I was surprised by the size of the placenta.  This one was really small and oblong-shaped compared to my last two babies.  I wrapped it up in the chux pad and moved onto a fresh chux pad so that I could sit with the baby and nurse.  When I got back on the phone, I explained why I took so long to get back to my mom, and I think she was tickled that I took a break to deliver the placenta and got back on.  It was kind of funny, like how normal birth can just break itself into our day.

I didn’t cut her cord until I was ready for us to get cleaned up and moved into another room.  It was about an hour and a half.  By that time, the cord was limp, cold, and had no blood moving through it.  Jason held her, and I just cut it down by her feet so we wouldn’t have to disturb her blanket.  It was about twice the length of her body, so that was still a good ways away from the placenta too.  I double-bagged the placenta for the placenta lady to take and encapsulate for me.

 

Around 12:30, Rachel brought Gideon home.  Gideon ran in and started calling her his “baby sissy”, rubbing her head, kissing her, and holding her hand. 

My sister missed the birth, but she and her husband got to my house around 3pm that same day.  They still got to experience some of the wonders of homebirth with us.  They got to see how it really is just like any other day.  They got to see us just laying around relaxing on the couch with the baby instead of strangers running in an out of the room to do exams and poke and prod.  They got to see how it really wasn’t a huge mess to clean up.  Instead of dealing with policies, records, and testings, we got to just focus on the baby.  That’s the biggest difference I notice when I have been at hospital births and visiting friends after, and I’m glad that she got to have that experience anyway, even if she didn’t get to see the actual birth.

 

Another fear I had along with the fear of my sister missing the birth was the fear of the labor possibly being so quick that I wouldn’t be able to keep up and manage the level of intensity.  It wasn’t like that at all.  It was quick, but I enjoyed the ride.  It was by far the most peaceful yet exciting birth I have experienced.  I feel so content and satisfied.

         

 

Since the birth, my afterbirth cramps have cut themselves in half or more with intensity.  My bleeding is down so much more than I ever have experienced at this point.  While I usually have hormone issues after a birth, I feel like normal.  I really do.  Of course I still have a uterus the size of a large orange in my lower belly, some cramping and some soreness, but I feel like myself pre-pregnancy besides that.  I’m calm, capable of handling my older kids while working out nursing issues with this one, and am holding my temperature well.  Usually I have hot flashes and mean streaks after a birth, but not so with this one.  I may not even have to ingest placenta to maintain my sanity after, so I’m really thankful for that.  I attribute this to the stress and adrenal supplements I took with the chiropractor.  That’s what they were supposed to do, and I really didn’t think they would work.

I can’t believe I worried so much in the beginning about an increase of hemorrhage with this being my 5th pregnancy and all.  I was expecting there to be clots and lots of blood in the pool, and it wasn’t like that at all.  The bleeding has been minimal since the birth.

 

I didn’t tear.  I didn’t really think I would tear though since I never had before.  I might have scraped slightly on the front, but it wasn’t enough to matter.  I haven’t needed the peri-bottle to pee with since the first day.

 

Its funny how after overcoming nursing challenges in the other kids, I’m able to just be so laid-back about this nursing challenge we had.  Eliza only really nursed once in the first day.  She would root around and then lick me.  She was just not interested.  She was interested in sleeping.  🙂  It didn’t bother me, but I was thinking how much it could bother someone if it was their first baby they were breastfeeding or if I was in the hospital and having people freak out over the baby having a specific number of feedings or a specific number of diapers used.  She didn’t really start nursing much until she was in her third day of life, so yesterday.  She has had a low amount of pee and poor diapers, but she got all her mec out and has moved onto the seedy breast milk poo.  I know I would have been discouraged and second-guessing my nursing relationship with her if she was my first or second baby.  I was a lot less confident then.  I think it’s sad that women might interpret their baby to not like breastfeeding or become so scared that their baby might die if they don’t eat in the first couple of days that they give up altogether.  I’m glad she was my fourth with her little picky ways.  🙂