Hosanna's Birth Story

A little bit of background information first...

This was my fourth homebirth. My first birth was in a hospital and lasted 16 hours, I had to fight the whole time to stay out of the OR, as they wanted to do a C-section as soon as I came in because he was a big baby. My second birth lasted 30 minutes and the midwife got there 7 minutes before he was born. My third birth was another 30 minute one, midwife was there in plenty of time. My fourth birth was 6 hours, and was wonderful, I was calm and in control the whole time. Before I went into labor with Hosanna I was 5cm dilated, completely effaced, and my cervix was anterior, so more than half of my work was already done. I was really expecting to have a short labor, and that was what I was mentally prepared for. I was also not really expecting the midwife to be there. For some reason every time I pictured my birth or had a dream about it, she wasn't there, neither was my husband. For the first time I was okay with the thought of her not being there, I wasn't scared or anxious. For all of my other births the thought of being alone terrified me.

I went into labor at 7:30pm on Thursday evening. As much as I was not looking forward to labor, I was so excited because I just knew that I would have my baby in my arms before morning. (Ha Ha!) Contractions were consistently 10-13 minutes apart. I went ahead and called my midwife around 9:30 to give her the heads up. We talked about the possibility that it was false labor since things were spaced so far out. In my heart though I knew that this was it. The midwife told me to call her back when there was change. At about 2:00am the intensity picked up to where I knew there was no chance it was false labor, but contractions were still 10-13 minutes apart. I called the midwife and she told me to walk around for 30 minutes and call her back. I did what she told me and nothing changed, so I called her back. She told me to go lay back down and try to doze in between the contractions and just rest. I was really hoping she would come out and jump start the labor for me, I was ready to be finished and have my baby. I didn't know at the time that she had another mom (a first timer) in labor too.

I lay in bed on my side all night, not able to rest, and finally, it was 6am. I woke up Ryan and asked him to call our friend to come and get the children. He got everyone dressed and fed breakfast while I stayed in bed and tried to rest. My midwife called at 8:30 and told me she was at another birth. She said that she really thought she would be done by noon. At this point I really didn't know if I was going to make it until then. I was so exhausted, and I wanted to be done. I honestly felt a little abandoned.

At around 10:30 the intensity kicked up another notch, it was getting harder and harder to breath through the contractions. I called back the midwife and let her know what was happening. She said that the other baby had just been born, and she needed to get the mom cleaned up and make sure that everyone was safe before she could leave. Again, I felt so discouraged.

I stayed laying in bed, I figured this would keep things slower than being upright and letting gravity take over. Ryan started getting the living room set up for the birth and would come and check on me occasionally. I don't think he realized at this point how close I was as I was still being completely silent through contractions. He knew that things were getting more serious though.

At 11:50 I called the midwife back and I told her the contractions were around 8 minutes apart now, but that they were very intense. I got the feeling she really wasn't taking them seriously because they were so far apart, but in hindsight I know that she understood exactly what was going on. She was just trying to keep me calm. She said she would be leaving in 30 minutes. I asked her if she could leave sooner, and she said if she hurried she could leave in 20, but she had to make sure the other mom was safe.

At that point I knew that I was on my own, there was no way she would make it, because it was at least a 40 minute drive. After the next contraction where I felt the urge to bear down I asked Ryan to help me into the living room. We moved as quickly as I could, but as soon as I stood up it felt like an earthquake. I got into the living room and started following the instructions that the midwife had given us in the event she wasn't there.

She had instructed me to be on hands and knees until I felt the urge to push at the beginning of a contraction. Once I needed to push at the beginning of a contraction I was to go into a low squatting position paying attention to how much room there was between me and the floor. We were to pad the flood with some towels. I asked Ryan to hold the hand mirror for me so that I could see what was happening, but we couldn't get the position right, so I told him that I needed him to be my eyes and tell me exactly what was happening so that I would know what to do. He was also in charge of getting the cord off of her neck. 4 out of 5 of my babies have had the cord around their necks, so I was anticipating this.

I started feeling the urge to push so I went slow and when it started to sting I exhaled slowly. Ryan did a great job telling me exactly what was coming out and when. My water broke about ten seconds before she crowned. When her head was out he got the cord off of her neck, it was around her neck twice. And then I guided her out onto the towels the rest of the way. We turned her over onto her tummy to rub her down as instructed. Ryan is so smart, he had seen the midwife put the heating pad under a towel for all of the other births, so he did that when he was setting the area up. We put the baby on the nice warm towel while we rubbed the vernix off of her body. She started crying within seconds, and we were so excited. Ryan called the midwife to let her know that she was here, and she instructed us to have me sit down and put the baby up on my chest and to keep us warm, have me drink something, and not do anything with the placenta.

About ten minutes later I told Ryan I wanted to deliver the placenta because I was getting crampy. He called back the midwife and she told him what to have me do.

Ryan did such an amazing job of helping me. He took the initiative when I needed him to, but also let me handle what I wanted to handle. He knew that I wanted more than anything to deliver this baby myself. Even had the midwife been there I was planning on catching the baby. He struck the perfect balance of being there and supporting me, but not taking over, which I really appreciate. He was so calm the whole time, and acted as though he did this sort of thing every day. I didn't have to worry about him loosing his cool or being panicky. It was so great, he was the perfect support.

The midwife got there about 40 minutes after the birth and the first thing she said when she walked in was "I am so PROUD of you guys!" Everything checked out really well. She helped me get cleaned up, and got my herb bath going. She weighed Hosanna and she was 8lb 12oz. and 20 inches long.

Although while I was in labor I was genuinely annoyed that the midwife wasn't going to be at the birth, now I am so glad that we flew solo. It's hard to explain, but the experience between me and Ryan was almost romantic. I'm so glad that I didn't miss out on that. I'm not going to go and plan an unassisted birth for the next one or anything, but if she doesn't make it again, we'll be just fine.

While I was going through this really frustrating labor I kept thinking to myself, "Natural childbirth is so over-rated. I am so over this. I am just going to go to the hospital and ask for a c-section. This is dumb." I never said any of this out loud, but it was constantly going through my head. After the birth I told Ryan and he didn't believe me at first! I was in a really funny place during this labor. But it all turned out so well, and I'm really glad that it turned out the way it did.

A year later....

It's been a whole year since I've updated. A lot has happened in a year! Hosanna Mary Belle was born on August 14, she's seven weeks old now. I'll have to post my birth story. It was more exciting than usual for us because the midwife didn't get to us on time. She was with a first time mother and couldn't leave her. Hosanna is delightful and we are so grateful that she was given to us.

Ryan will be 7 in November, Robert will be 5 in a few more days, Teddy just turned 3 in August, Clara is 18 months!

We are participating in Classical Conversations this year, Ryan is enrolled in the 1st/2nd grade class, and Robert is in the Pre-K/Kindergarten class. We meet on Fridays from 9:00 until noon. The boys are loving it, and Ted and Clara are enjoying the nursery too. Hosanna does not currently have an opinion, she just sleeps most of the time.

We have two goats in milk right now. I milk the goats Monday through Thursday, and Ryan is kind enough to help me out Friday through Saturday. We have chickens too, for eggs, but they are on strike right now. We decided not to raise anymore hogs, but we still have plenty of pork in the freezer from the last one.

The kids and I are all suffering from seasonal allergies right now, I am praying it will pass soon. It's such a beautiful season, feeling miserable just doesn't seem right.

We are going to be so busy this weekend. Our church's annual Turkey Supper is on Saturday. I'm cooking two turkeys today, 40 pounds of sweet potatoes on Saturday, and 5 pies on Friday in preparation. The kitchen smells heavenly, but looks a fright. I have a chicken in the crockpot too. I wanted to make some chicken soup for all of us with runny noses. I wish it could be ready for dinner tonight, but good soup takes time. We'll have it for lunch tomorrow and probably eat off of it all weekend.

I read a blog entry last week by a lady with 15 children. She talks about the importance of getting your home to the place where it hums and purrs. So, that is what I am working on right now. I also read an incredible post by Ann Voskamp, she's amazing. She writes about priorities. Ann is incredible at painting word pictures and getting to the heart of a matter. It is such a juggling act, peace in the home, and peace in the hearts of your children. You can't have one without the other.

Update on Life

It's been way too long since I've posted......

We've been gearing up for the school year. We are doing a Kindergarten/1st grade year for Ryan. Academically he's at a first grade level, motor skills are still kindergarten level. He'll be turning six in November.

Robert is going to be starting preschool, and we'll test the waters to see if he is ready to start reading.

We are using Tapestry of Grace as our foundation. For science we will be using Apologia Botany. I got a fantastic deal on Ebay for the Veritas Press Phonics Museum for grades K and First for just $35. It is thoroughly used, but if I really like it, I'll just order a new set when this one dies. We are using A Reason for Handwriting and A Reason for Spelling as well as First Language Lessons for the Well Trained Mind for Language Arts. We are using Song School Latin as well. For Math we are going to be using Math U See's primer level.

I am in my very last week of the Couch to 5K running program and am happy to say that I enjoy running! I am going to start working on increasing my running from three days a week to six, and then increasing my time from thirty minutes to one hour. The baby weight is coming off slowly but surely. I'm down 13 pounds now.

I am doing much better with menu planning after my two week crockpot challenge. I have stopped exclusively crock-potting, but I am using 2-3 times a week.

I am learning more and more on using every minute of my day wisely. I have a lot I want to get done every day, and wasting time is really no longer a luxury I can afford. I am tweaking a schedule right now that will hopefully work for us. I'll post it when it is finished.

We got another goat, a nubian a few months ago. She's loud, and a bit spacey, but she is pretty. We are getting a new piglet or two in a few days too.

Clara is six months old today. She has her first tooth and is very close to sitting up all by herself. She loves jumping in the Johnny-Jump-Up, and Ryan says she looks like a little ballerina when she jumps. She is such a joy and delight. Teddy turned two on August 17, and Robert turns four on October 11. I have a birthday in September, 27 years old!

I did some canning this weekend. I did ketchup (my grandmother's recipe) and pasta sauce. Both turned out very well!

I believe that's about all that's been going on. I hope to update more regularly, and get some new pictures up too.

Menu Plan Monday

I've started a two week crockpot challenge to minimize my afternoon stress levels and make a last ditch effort to stay within my grocery budget (and to avoid serving the same thing three nights in a row). Listed below is what I will be serving this week.

Monday: Crockpot Chow Mein
Tuesday: Crockpot Tamale Pie
Wednesday: Crockpot Apricot Chicken
Thursday: Crockpot Sloppy Joes
Friday: Crockpot Mongolian Beef
Saturday: Crockpot Spanish Rice Casserole
Sunday: Crockpot Roast Carrots and Potatoes (My own recipe)

For more recipe inspiration you can go take a look at what other bloggers have set for their menu this week at The Organizing Junkie.

Crockpot Challenge!

I have been seriously menu-challenged for the past few weeks. Every day around 5:00 I get a sinking feeling in my gut. Darn, I did it again. I completely forgot that I am solely responsible for getting dinner on the table by 7:00. Grrrr. I hate it when that happens. Every.single.day.

What happened? I used to be so organized about meals, planning up to one month ahead of time. Oh well, no use analyzing what went wrong, I'm not really interested anyway. I just want a solution please and thank you.

What's the solution? The crockpot! But there's a problem there. I HATE cream of mushroom soup and any recipe that uses it. It's looks icky, smells icky, tastes icky, feels icky, and IS icky. So many crockpot recipes require cream of mushroom soup.

What's the solution? A Year of Crockpotting! This gal is a genius. She made a new year's resolution to cook in her crockpot for 365 days straight! She is on day 213. She posts the recipe that she cooked the day before, pictures and whether it was a success or a flop. The best part is......she doesn't use cream of mushroom soup! The second best part.....they cook gluten free! What a jackpot!

I sat myself down this morning to make up a menu for the next two weeks, based solely off of Stephanie's Crockpot recipes. There were tons to choose from, it didn't take me long at all to choose fourteen. I picked a bunch of asian and a bunch of mexican recipes. I am so excited to get started tomorrow.

I made up my grocery list and got everything I am going to need for the next two weeks. It felt so good to go in there with a plan this time instead of just winging it. I ended up saving about $50 off of what I have been spending on shopping trips the past two months or so. Having a menu plan really does save a good bit of money. I had to buy at least ten bottles of stuff like cooking sherry, sesame oil, white wine vinegar, dijon mustard, etc. And I still came in $50 less! I need to remember what a savings using a list is. I'm excited to see how much I'll save next pay period, now that my cupboard is stocked with ingredients.

So, I am going to post my menu through Sunday, and on Monday I'll post another week's worth of menus. Go check out A Year of Crockpotting!

Friday: A-1 and Dijon Steaks
Saturday: Salsa Chicken
Sunday: Roast chicken with potatoes and carrots (My own recipe)

Make sure to check back in on Monday to see what I'll be cooking for the next week!

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Starting a Running Program

Two weeks ago I started a running program called The Couch to 5K Running Plan. I used to hate running, I mean really, really HATE running. Even when I was in the best shape of my life in high school I hated running. I always felt like my lungs were going to explode, and everything burned. I really needed a good way to get back into shape and drop the pounds that I have accrued after four pregnancies. I knew that in general running burns more calories than any other exercise. So I started The Couch to 5K Running Plan.

The Couch to 5K eases you into running for thirty consecutive minutes over a span of nine weeks. You start off with week one walking for five minutes, then you run for sixty seconds, then you walk for ninety seconds. You repeat the running/walking for a total of twenty minutes, then cool down.

I just finished my last run for week two, and I'm feeling great! I am just running around my big backyard area. It is hilly, and bumpy, and the grass is too long, but it beats sitting on the couch. I knew that if I had to drive myself to a track it would never happen. And I'm not confident enough to run on the road yet, I look too goofy when I run. So, I'm sticking to the backyard, at least until I am done with my nine weeks.

I started off asking my husband Ryan to run with me to keep me motivated. It worked really well that first week when I tried every excuse in the book to get out of running. Ryan wouldn't let me give up. He also bought me a really expensive pair of New Balance running shoes. I think the shoes are the biggest motivator! Forget the increased cardiovascular health, lost pounds, bragging rights......I don't want the crazy expensive shoes to go to waste! I hate spending money, especially on something other than books and farm animals! So I am making sure to get my money's worth out of those shoes, even if it makes me skinnier in the process.

So, if you've been considering starting an exercise program, give the Couch to 5K a shot. It works for me.