Nakey Baby

Mmmm Mama's leg is yummy!

Ohhh... I ate too much!

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Lily's Birth Story

From Mama's perspective:
Tuesday September 20th I went in to have my blood pressure monitored and they told me I was having pretty regular contractions, I couldn't feel them though. That evening I started to feel some back pain and was hoping it was getting close.

Wednesday September 21st I started to feel some contractions but they were all in my back, yay for back labor! Barry and I went to bed around 10 but I couldn't sleep. Lying down just hurt too much. I got up around 1am and sat on the birth ball leaning over the couch. I felt so much better. Around 2am Barry came in the living room looking for me. He woke up and I wasn't there and said he was scared because I wasn't there. For about an hour Barry laid on the couch and I sat on the birth ball. The pressure in my back started to get worse and Barry started pushing on my back. It felt so good and gave me some relief. At this point my contractions were a little less than ten minutes apart lasting for about 45 seconds. We decided to go for a walk. We walked around for about an hour or so. At this point my contractions were about 5 minutes apart. We decided to call my mom and sister and let them know what was going on so they would be able to make it in time. We walked for a little while longer and I continued on the birth ball. The contractions were completely bearable, although all in my back. At this point it was about 830am and my contractions were about 3 minutes apart and lasting for about a minute. My midwife had told me to come in whenever I thought they were close enough, we live about a half hour away so we didn't want to wait too long. I was so scared we would go in and they would tell me that this was false labor and to go home.

Thursday September 22nd When we got to the family birth place they put us in a triage room to monitor the contractions. Laying in bed hurt pretty badly but with the help of my amazing husband pushing on my back, I got through it. The contractions started getting stronger and POP I felt my water break. It felt like I had diarrhea and the warm chunkiness was all over me and the bed. It was clear (YAY!). At this point the contractions got harder. I was 5 cm dilated. Now it was about 1130am and I walked to room 8, my labor, birth and recovery room. I got in the shower and felt so much better. I asked for a birth ball and the amazing nurse got me one. When she first put it in front of me I lay against in as I felt a contraction coming on. She said "Wait! It could be dirty, let me get a towel!!" I couldn't have cared less and continued to lay against it. I stood with one leg on the ground, one leg on the bench and laid over the birth ball with the hot water rushing over me. Barry continued to press against my back on each contraction. He had to push so hard it was hurting his wrist. I was in the shower for about four hours when  the nurse came in and wanted to monitor Lily,  in the bed. She helped me into the bed and it hurt so badly. I couldn't stand being in there. At this point I was almost crying because there was no relief lying down. I was considering getting a narcotic to take the edge off but decided against it. My midwife came in and said I was at about a 9.5. Once I got back on the ball I felt better instantly. It was still really painful but I could bare it. I was hot and cold all at the same time, I had no idea what was going on and my legs were shaking uncontrollably. My midwife then asked if I was ready to push. I said yes because I wanted to get it over with. I wasn't pushing though. She helped me get into the squatting position on the bed and I tried to push but was resisting against it because of the pain. The nurse kept saying, she doesn't want to push and I just kept saying I AM PUSHING. I couldn't understand why they wouldn't believe me. Finally I lay on my side with the bed aimed down to work with gravity. I was so tired I couldn't hold myself up any more. I pushed for about an hour and a half. My midwife would sticking her fingers inside telling me to push them out, I think that hurt worse than anything. I just kept saying I can't do it, please help me and just get it out of me. When I was saying please help me all I was thinking was "cut me open right here, right now just get it out". I didn't think I could handle it. I honestly didn't see an end in sight. My midwife kept saying she could see the head and to look and I just kept saying no because I thought she was lying. Finally I opened my eyes and saw her head half out of me. I decided right then that this was it, I had to get her out NOW. So I mustered up all the strength I could and pushed and moaned and pushed. I only felt the real urge to push for about three contractions. When her head popped out I was so happy. The cord was around her neck and she was face up. My midwife slipped the cord over her face and then came the next contraction. In one push I got the rest of her body out and there was instant relief. When they put her on my chest I didn't know what was going on. I didn't realize I would get a baby out of all the pain! We just stared at each other. It felt like I had just been given the gift of life. Nothing could ruin this moment. That moment, when you meet your baby for the frst time, it is magic. My mom got to cut the cord and my mom, sister, his mom and sister were in the room with us. I am so glad they could share it with us. The placenta just plopped out afterwards, I thought I would have to push it out but I didn't. I got a second degree tear because she was face up and I didn't do little pushes like I was supposed to (I just wanted her out and big pushes seemed like the only way to get relief). Overall I only felt about two contractions normally, the rest were all in my back.
Lily Christina was born on September 22, 2011 at 5:37pm.
She weighed 7 lbs 4 ozs and was 19.5 inches long.
She got a 9/9 on her apgars and passed all of her tests, hearing, metabolic screening, etc.

From Daddy's perspective:
I wake up at 230, my wife is not in my bed. I figure she is in the bathroom, I walk into the bathroom, No Chloe. I go downstairs to the basement and she isn't there either, in my head I'm like, could she be outside at 230am? I check the front door and its locked so then I went into the living room and there she was, on the birth ball with a brown blanket over her whole body blending in perfectly with the leather couch color. At this point she is getting back pain every 10 minutes, so this goes on for an hour or two. We finally got dressed in case we needed to go to the hospital soon, and decided to take a walk outside for an hour. The contractions were now 4-7 minutes apart. Apparently when I apply pressure with my hand on her lower back, it alleviates the pain up to 50%. We finally end up going to the hospital around 10 AM. The contractions are around 3 minutes apart, and my wrists are beginning to feel like jello from pushing on her back so hard. Finally, her water breaks and there is nasty goo everywhere.
At this point, she is around 5cm, so they give us a REAL room, not a triage #2. She then goes into a hot shower and it makes the contractions more bearable, all the while I'm still pushing on her back every 3 minutes very hard. After a few hours in the shower, the Midwife comes in and we finally get to start pushing. At this point, she is in extreme pain from not having any medications, but she wanted it that way so she had no choice now. She literally fell asleep in between contractions at the end while pushing. It was really funny, and yet horrible. She would wake up and begin pushing with all her might, all the while saying, I can't do this, somebody please help me.
finally we start seeing the head on the pushes. After about an hour and a half of sleeping pushing every 5 minutes. The baby finally came out!! She was beautiful. The placenta looked so cool, it was like an alien embryo, bright silver with oozing slime all over it!.
THE END!

Warning: The Following pictures are a little rough (it was a long couple of days).

This was the most amazing experience of my life. Through all the pain, all the focus and exhaustion I would do it again in a heart beat. With the next baby, we have decided to do a home birth. Nothing is more magical than the passion of birth, nothing feels better than holding and nursing your little one for the first time. This birth was everything I could have asked for. Pin It Now!

A Car please.

 We sold our two cars in preparation of buying one that would work in all aspects of our life. This hasn't quite happened yet. So for about a month now we have been carless. It is nice not to have any car, gas or insurance payments however it is very inconvenient with a baby. We have been doing a lot of walking. [I think] we will be buying a Honda Pilot within the next week or so.We found a VERY good deal on an Acura MDX which we instantly fell in love with. The seller has been putting off selling it  however. So a month after we initially were interested in it, we are still empty handed. Today we went to see the car. It is beautiful and something I really like. However he said 'a couple more week' AGAIN. We are starting to look elsewhere. The Honda Pilot is very similar to the Acura MDX. It is slightly more spacious, a little cheaper and a little more in our price range. So hopefully, in a couple days we will finally be able to drive ourselves where ever we need to go. In the mean time I am very grateful to my lovely mother and father in law, who have been driving us everywhere. Pin It Now!

Natural Living on a Limited Income

About a year ago my husband lost his job. He started his own business. Soon after I found out I was pregnant and stopped working out of the home. With my husband working about 4 days a week and me not working, our budget was tight and our wallets were empty. We needed to simplify for sure! I started researching cloth diapers and fell in love. But that wasn't enough. I was determined to be a stay-at-home mama so we had to make some changes.

Cloth diapers was the first "budget-friendly decision". By not having to by diapers or wipes we save approximately $1000 a year. This may not seem like much, but in the grand scheme of things it really is. Modern cloth diapers are easy, budget-friendly and actually very fun! No chemicals on that sensitive little booty is also a big plus.

The next decision was to exclusively breastfeed. Breastfeeding is VERY healthy for mom and baby. Baby gets all the nutrition she needs, mom's risk for breast cancer drops drastically and it is an easy way to get some much needed sleep. Not to mention you will never need to run to the store at the last minute to get some formula, you will never need to make your baby wait while preparing a bottle and you will save tons of money! This decision was very easy for me. I also enjoy nursing my baby and those bonding moments.

Since I no-longer had to commute to work we decided to become a one car family. This is where things get tough. We are both used to having our freedom, driving wherever we please, when we please. We sold our two cars in preparation of buying one that would work in all aspects of our life. With on car and insurance payment and gas for just one car we have cut down on payments and saved a lot of money. (We have not yet bought a car replacing the other two.)

The one thing we have not and will not give up is healthy food. Yes, we buy generic when we can, but we buy organic often and don't skimp on what we need. Whole foods is easily my favorite grocery. I intend to start a small vegetable garden in our backyard but I am by no means a gardener. It will be interesting to say the least. I do however clip coupons, buy in bulk at our local Costco, and go crazy on sales.

Living on a limited budget isn't so bad. It takes a little sacrifice but isn't that what mother-hood is all about? Pin It Now!

Assembly Day 2

Lily was SO tired. She was a little fussy in the morning because she kept fighting sleep. Eventually she was out.

Family pictures!

Lily wore a silk pink and white dress.

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Assembly day 1

Today we had our first day of the circuit assembly. Lily was VERY good and didn't make a peep the whole time! We had dried blueberries, pears, Turtle cookies, peanut butter and jelly sandwich's, string cheese, honey granola with flax and fruit snacks for lunch. My mom made me a brown skirt that looked great! We went to House of Kabob for dinner and it was flurrying on the way home. Today was a good day :)

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Our Day in a Nut Shell

"Playtime wears me out!"

Lily helps Mama and Daddy make Pumkin Muffins and Caramel Apple Cake :)

"That stuff looks goooood!"

All packed and Ready to go! (She's thinks she is the food...)

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A Tour of Lily's Nursery

We aren't quite finished, but this is an update on the nursery!

A cute little sign featuring a Corgi! (Wonderful gift from my Aunt Dee who is the artist behind Animal Artworks)

Changing Station and dresser! The beautiful yellow blanket handmade by my mother.

Love these pictures from etsy!

A window to the backyard and a mirror for Lily to see herself. We will be painting the mirror frame bright pink.

A good view and a message written in Melissa and Doug blocks.

My grandmothers rocker to read and a toy box. There will be floating white shelves above the rocker.

Lily's place to lie her head. The blanket is made by the Brilliant Ms. Nancy.

Gorgeous birdie mobile and decals.

Wooden Zany Zoo Activity Cube.

And a plush white area rug to top it off!

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What [she] Wore

Lily wore a sweet Velour jacket and pant set with little rose embellishments. Faux fur outlines the hood to keep her ears nice and warm :) Pin It Now!

I'm a sucker for wooden toys (and a good deal)...

Zany Zoo Activity Cube retail- $112.00, our price- $19.00!!!

Melissa and Doug Geometric Stacker retail- $12.00, our price- $3.00!
 

Melissa and Doug Wooden Blocks retail- $12.00, our price- $3.00!



Investigating the new addition...

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