My little princess has really grown.  I decided not to post until it had been 6 months so I could really absorb all that happened and ruminate about it alone.

I would NEVER change my choice to give birth to Kellianne at home.  I enjoyed my homebirth, I truly did.  There were some unexpected things that I wish I’d been aware of before that day, but never thought I needed to ask.  I never thought I would have to ask that my birth remain a private matter.  I didn’t expect to send my children away and welcome the children of others.  In the moment, I didn’t want to be upset and just kind of went with it.  But, I have pondered about that many times.  It was definitely best not to have my kids here with my midwife’s child.  I would not want myself, or her, tending to the needs of children and their squabbles.

I think I just should have shopped around a bit more.  I don’t think our compatability went into the hiring of her as much as her price did.  It was an amazing price.  If I had to choose again, I would have figured out a way to come up with a few more hundred dollars to pay for who I thought was the right midwife.

In the end, everything turned out well.  I have a healthy, happy, sweet girl.  She is still nursing and doing a great job.  She’s started eating solid foods recently as well.

Want to see a recent pic??

I am still growing every day as a mother.  I am learning tons from my children and am sooo appreciative of them.  Will there be a number 4??? Only time will tell, but 3 is definitely a handful.

She’s finally here! And so is her story:

Tuseday morning, DH & I went out looking at houses with our realtor again. I was feeling crampy and having contractions, but didn’t think much of it since I’d had my membranes stripped the day before and had been feeling crampy ever since.

So, we came home and I sat down for a bit, it was about 12-12:30 and I started noticing they were hurting a bit more and coming closer together. I was on IM with a few people when they started being really strong and I couldn’t even type out responses anymore. Said I had to go and started timing contractions. They were about 3 minutes apart, lasting 50 seconds.

I told DH to call our Midwife. She said to call her apprentice while she was on her way, so DH did. By now I wasn’t interested in timing contractions, I was seriously in pain and wanted nothing but my birth pool filled up. I told DH to clean it and start filling it. After he cleaned it, he took the boys to a friend in our apartment complex and hurried back to fill it. It was actually a pretty nice setup.

Meanwhile, this was me:

So, finally it was filled up and I got in it. For some reason, my phones started going crazy. It seemed like everyone was calling me, though I’d called no one.

OK, so that was in between contractions, but you get the picture.

Anyway, I labored in the water for a while. At about 2:50, I got checked and was 7-8 cm. Back in the water I go. The contractions were intense and I really couldn’t tell what was going on, but eventually with contractions came this great urge to push. This lasted for almost an hour. Finally, at 5:13pm, Kellianne was born!

I pushed, and once her head came out, the rest of her just shot out too. I was supposed to stop pushing so we could make sure there was no cord around the neck… oops.

She nursed pretty much right away.

She weighed in at 8 lbs 14 ozs, and 21 inches long.

Jaxon loves her…

…but thinks she stinks. “She needs a bath” he said with this look of disgust.

Kellianne and daddy (who videotaped most of it too, and I’ll have to snip and edit before I can share)

Jordan seems to think she’s pretty cool too.

Everything is going well. She’s a pro at BFing. And I’m managing with the horrid afterpains.

So, I’ve been totally neglecting my blog…. and I should really keep up.

I’m in the last days of my pregnancy. 5 days left until I reach my due date!! I’m getting pretty excited.

The birth tub is set up. I’ve got my birth kit. I’ve got almost everything ready to go, just need to get some cleaning done.  One bathroom done, every other room in the house to go.

Aside from constantly having leukocytes show up during my urine test, everything else seems to be going well.  I’m healthy.  I haven’t gained too much weight. No high blood pressure.  No elevated blood sugars.

The baby’s heart rate is fine.  Consistently in the 140s lately.  She’s growing nicely. And before I forget… submit your guess!

It’s really happening… and sometime soon. Oh, and here’s one of those pregnancy photos I promised.  I’ll be posting them all in one post so you can see the progression soon.

]]> http://mommygrows.wordpress.com/2008/10/09/the-final-days/feed/ 1 JeDeeLenae 39w2d http://mommygrows.wordpress.com/2008/09/05/i-bought-a-diva-cup/ http://mommygrows.wordpress.com/2008/09/05/i-bought-a-diva-cup/#comments Fri, 05 Sep 2008 23:19:34 +0000 JeDeeLenae http://mommygrows.wordpress.com/?p=22 ]]>

I’ve been wanting to buy one of these for a very long time.  But, I always seemed to miss out on the deals.  Well, good news, they’re back in stock at www.iherb.com for only $18.99!!!! And, when you use a coupon code NEM401you get $5 off for being a first time customer!  Score!!! I got a Diva Cup for $15.49 shipped.

I know, I know, I’m still pregnant, but it’s coming to an end.  And I don’t want them out of stock the next time I need one.

I’m so excited! My birth pool arrived yesterday. I got the Sevylor Electra!

Now that I’m 27 weeks, I’m realizing I’ve got to get moving on these things. I’ve still got a few more supplies to get before the waterbirth will be a go.

1. To fill and drain the pool, I will need 2 aquarium hoses (which is drinking-water quality & 25ft).
2. A faucet adapter for the faucet in your sink to attach the hose.
3. A fill and drain pump. (1300 Water Pump)
4. A fishy net.
5. Floating thermometer.
6. Tarp.

And that will be my birth pool kit.

So, it’s been a while since I updated anything. And, there’s been good reason.

1. We moved across country and didn’t have internet for about 2 months.

2. We’ve been busy moving in to our new home.

3. I didn’t have anything to say. You can only write about being pukey for so long.

4. I was waiting for something good to happen.

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So, here’s the update:

I have a midwife! We are planning a homebirth. I’m really excited about it. My pregnancy seems to be going well and there are no indications that a homebirth would not be ideal for me.

I had my 2nd appointment with the midwife today. Heartbeat is 150. The baby is doing fine. My BP checks out good. Baby is head down. We have a very active baby. So, we are both happy and healthy. My next appointment is July 8th. Pretty routine stuff here, eh?

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I missed my appointment on July 8th. I swore it was the 12th. But, my midwife said she could meet me anyway. HB was 146, so still close to what it was last time. Baby is still active… lots of kicking. Head down, but a bit sideways. There’s still time. We discussed what I need to accumulate for the homebirth and I’m getting my birth kit ready now. I’m measuring good and will be at my next appt on August 5th, at 31 weeks!

Woohoo.  I’ve got work to do.  Thanks to this awesome tutorial, I’ll be turning some prefolds into prefitteds! I found this on Diaperswappers, and it’s linked to below, with credit given to the creative mind behind it.

-   –   A new way to prefitted – no serger required tutorial

Shanna

03-10-2008 10:17 AM

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A new way to prefitted – no serger required tutorial

This method has side tabs and extra soaker in the wet zone! Super quick to make too!

As far as I know, this is a new way to make prefitteds. I wanted an alternative since I don’t own a serger, and my machine doesn’t like doing the overlock very well. Forgive me, as I’m not very good at pattern writing and it can be unusually hard to describe something that’s really simple. :giggle:

Mark your tabs. I’ve used two slightly different patterns here, one w/ a more gradual tapering to cover the bum a little more. There are pros and cons to this, as you’ll see later

Cut along the marked lines. Do NOT cut down the middle!

Open up the layers down the middle soaker. One side will probably havea long ‘tag’ on the inside. Cut it out if you can. It doesn’t have to be pretty, it just takes away some of the bulk and make gathering w/ elastic a little more effective.

Fold the center sections in to join in the middle. You’ll need to figure out how far in to hem to get them to lay flat. (ex. gerber prefolds need about 1.25″ seam, GMDs only need .5″).

Sew the outer edges of both middle sections together.

Reach through the “tunnel” and turn the prefold inside out. you can trim the fabric to the curve of the soaker here.

Lay the soaker flat, making sure the seam is spread apart flat on the underside. Stitch the soaker down using a zig zag stitch along the top, using a 5/8″ straight stitch sew a casing down the legsfor elastic, zig zag across the bottom and straight stitch back up the other leg.

Thread your elastic through the casing. **New sewers tip** – attach a saftey pin to the end of your elastic to make this WORLDS easier. Even better, push the safety pic through with a knitting needles

Fold the cut ends of the tabs in on themselves and hem together close to the edge.

Continue the curve down right over the elastic. Sew over the elastic a few times to secure.

Turn the diaper around and do the same on the other side. As you get to the elastic, pull it tight, helping the fabric to gather as much as possible.

Continue your hem over the tightened elastic. Reinforce a few times.

**new sewer tip** when cutting the excess elastic, pull it tight and cut. it will retract and not be readily visable.

Is really not that bad this time around.

I do have a little, but it’s NOTHING like what it was with the other pregnancies.  I mean, I’m over 7 weeks pregnant and I can still function. (knock on wood) So, I’m happy.  Life is good.

I’m still looking for a doc in Nevada for when we move.  I’m excited to move. I’d like to have a homebirth, but we’re just uncertain right now.

I’m getting really excited about cloth diapering a newborn again.  Thanks to my knitting machine, I’m getting started on soakers, longies, and shorties already.

I’ve got something really cool in the works.  Can’t wait to share!

This was the pregnancy confirmation appt.

I saw Dr. Schattauer at Homefirst.  Overall, it was a nice appointment.  Everyone was really nice.  The doctor didn’t look at me like I had3 heads when I started nursing Jaxon.  It’s was a good thing.

Everything looks great.  I’m measuring right for what I’m supposed to be.

I got a folder of information about them and what to expect for birth and after birth.  And, the shocking sticker price for their services.  The physician fee, plus the home fee.  I didn’t realize that home fee would be out of pocket.

It’s not that big of a deal though, I’ll be in Nevada by the time I have to birth the baby.  I just really wanted the Homefirst experience.