**Jennifer is a lovely woman I met online. She was reading my blog and saw my lists of things we still needed for our homebirth… she had some items leftover from her own homebirths and she very kindly and generously sent them to me. I appreciate it SO MUCH! I asked her if she’d type up a guest post about her homebirth so I could share it with all of you. Please say hi and show Jennifer some love! If you have ANY questions for her, feel free to leave them in the comments below or send me an email so I can put you in touch with her! My email is erdickey at gmail dot com**

My name is Jennifer, I usually go by Jen.  I am a 29 year old, a twice laid off graphic designer working now in the stock market.  I hail from a small town in Maryland that has four streetlights and where cowboy hats are often still tips and “howdy” is still used as a popular greeting.  I have led what some might consider a very interesting life, I designed action figures and toy packaging, I worked for the NFL, was once an aspiring police officer and in my teens sported a pink Mohawk.  Despite all of my social bottom line, it is giving birth to both of my children naturally at home as the thing that most people are most curious about and find to be the biggest accomplishment.  They’re not exactly wrong either.

My story starts out simple enough. I, like many, had a hard time conceiving.  Although not diagnosed by a doctor, I attributed this to my use of the depo shot for a long period of time.  After almost exactly a year of trying to have a baby, which I considered  hard work and my husband considered to be a million dollar lottery win, we became pregnant.  I had at the time developed a blog on my trials, which a short 5 years ago wasn’t as common as it is now.  My husband and I both attended an appointment at my gynecologist who confirmed with an internal sonogram that we were pregnant.  There was a glimmer of a second baby so for a few short weeks we thought we were having twins when it turned out my body had later absorbed the other as it was not viable.

My goal was to have my gynecologist whom I had been with since a teenager and whom I trusted so much deliver my baby, and at the same hospital that I was born at.  I found out that day that just 1 month earlier he had retired from deliveries and was only working in his normal practice.  I was a bit devastated and had no idea what to do at that point.  For a few weeks I put off doing anything regarding finding a hospital/doctor, I had managed to catch a cold and made a visit to my general practitioner and to my surprise found her just a few months more pregnant than myself.  I took the opportunity to see who she was having deliver her baby.  She recommended me to see her midwife Evelyn D. Muhlhan, CNM, who specialized in natural childbirth.  I had heard the term midwife before but at that point never really knew exactly what it meant, I had ventured into foreign territory.

Since my doctor was so fond of this “Midwife,” I made an appointment.  The first time I met with Evelyn she spent about an hour talking to me about my expectations for my delivery and what I intended on doing.  I explained I just wanted to have my baby in a hospital, but since my doctor was using her, I wanted her to be there to help me so I would have someone I trust deliver my baby.  She had privileges at a hospital near by which was great and then suggested that I find a birthing class in natural child birth and rent some videos.  I watched The Business of Being Born and after making my husband watch it with me, we decided that a home birth might not be so bad.  We were up in the air for weeks, but it wasn’t until our Bradley class that we saw the statistics on hospitals and really were able to weigh the pros and cons on each method.  We had made up our mind and we were having our first baby at home.

After this decision, a rash of complaints and worries came from our immediate family.  I received a phone call almost everyday from family trying to talk me out of it and asking me questions like, “What happens if something goes wrong?” and “can the midwife give you an epidural?”  I answered all these questions and continued to tell relatives that it was our decision and that we knew we were making the right one for us and for our baby.

Then it all started the morning of January 7th. I was 40 weeks pregnant and waiting very patiently for the arrival of our son. I wasn’t exactly patient because we were hoping for an early arrival, he even had a Christmas stocking just in case. I woke up around 8:00, but didn’t get out of bed until around 8:30. I called my husband right away just to let him know I was awake and fine, I had to call him right back because after I went to the bathroom I saw that I had lost my mucus plug and a little bit of fluid. A few minutes later my water broke completely.  I called my husband back, he was on his way home! I started having little contractions about an hour after my water broke. Hubby was so excited that he started cooking and cleaning to keep himself busy. He started cooking the Chili that I wanted as my first meal after the birth, then he made jello and got the birth tub ready and many other things to keep his mind off the baby.

Around noon I started having stronger contractions. We had already called the Midwife, but she was going to let me go until we got a little closer. I was walking around and got in the shower a few times to help ease the pain. As the hours passed, the contractions got stronger and stronger and more people started to show up. My birth team: My Husband, Mom, Aunt, Cousin, Best Friend, and my Midwife Evelyn and her assistant, Sue. By dark we were in the basement where we had set everything up to give birth, the lights can be dimmed, and there is plenty of room for the birth tub, there is a bed and couches so everyone can be comfortable. I moved around a lot and tried to get through each contraction as they started to get stronger. I groaned like a Mamma Bear just like our class instructor Jessica had taught us and my husband was right there to encourage me to keep going and not to give up.

At 4:30 in the morning the next day I was 100 percent effaced and dilated enough to start pushing… I was so ready! I tried many positions but was most comfy on the bed propped up and using my birth team as support for my legs. I pushed for an hour and then his head began to crown. Evelyn shouted, “he has lots of hair!” I started to get so excited even though I almost fell asleep between pushes. After one more hour of pushing it was time for Diego to be born. His head came out after a long contraction and four or five good pushes. His father ran over to catch him and on the next push he was born! It was 6:17 on January 8th and our precious son was here. My husband put Diego on my chest and he began to cry right away. Everyone laughed and cried as they let the cord stop pulsing and we all got our first look at him. He was perfect. After a few minutes and after they made sure I was ok Jaime cut the cord and let Sue weigh and measure him; 8 pounds 2 ounces!!!

Hubby put Diego’s first diaper and outfit on then we passed him around and he didn’t cry any more. I nursed him for the first time after I had recovered a bit and had some breakfast, hand fed to me by my midwife. We took lots of pictures and welcomed our newest member of the family! After 22 hours of labor at home we had finally done it, our biggest accomplishment as a family so far; the birth of our first child.

My second baby is a completely different scenario but that’s a story for another day. To conclude, I find I get called many things for delivering my babies at home: Hippy, Crazy, Nuts, Hero.  Call me what you will but in the end I did what I did for myself and my baby, for my family and so I would be able to make my own decisions about my delivery.  In the end it was a sound birth plan, an amazing husband coach, a trusted midwife and the determination of knowing that so many women before me had done what I was about to do and I trusted my body enough to go through with it.  I know that home birthing is not for everyone and I certainly don’t ever push it on anyone, but if you ever felt as though it might be a good choice for you, I recommend education, classes, and a Midwife you trust along with a good support system.

Do you guys remember when I posted about the Mobi GloMate? Cute nightlight and awesome toy. A little recap: it glows in different colors, it’s portable and rechargeable, lasts for ~10 hours, and it slowly dims over 15 minutes for nap/bedtime. Ryan LOVES this thing. It became the #1 toy in our house about a year ago (when Ryan was around 1.5 years old) as we used it for many, many (MANY) games of hide-and-seek. It became Ryan’s buddy even when it wasn’t charged and didn’t light up, haha.

Now? We have a new favorite. The AnimaLamp, also by Mobi. Don’t get me wrong, the GloMate is still awesome and it’s still around. But why do I like the AnimaLamp even more?

It’s the perfect light. We had been on the search for a suitable nightlight–one that wasn’t bright enough to keep Ryan awake and distracted, but also wasn’t so dim that it was pointless. Ryan loves to read books in bed before falling asleep… his lamp keeps him awake, but we can’t read in darkness! We resorted to using our cell phones for a little bit of light, but then he just wanted to play with our phones! haha.

The AnimaLamp has LED lights with adjustable brightness and a rechargeable battery so you can take this thing wherever you want. It stands on its own on a dresser or can sit in bed with you for nighttime stories.

Since the top of the AnimaLamp (the animal’s face) actually moves up and down, we hang ours on the edge of the toddler bed rail! In fact, if the giraffe isn’t hanging there when Ryan gets into bed, he searches everywhere saying, “Giraffe! Giraffe! Hang it!” Hanging it there leaves the face half open, which is the perfect amount of light for reading stories and falling asleep. Need more light? Just open the AnimaLamp up all the way… or close it all the way for less light.

With baby #2 on the way in a couple weeks here, I realize this will be the perfect light for middle of the night diaper changes and feedings, too.

We were worried about it lasting all night in Ryan’s room if it wasn’t plugged in, but no trouble there. Mobi says it lasts 8–12 hours per charge, but it has always lasted much longer than that for us. Regardless, 8–12 hours is plenty for overnight!

You can get your AnimaLamp for $24.95 on Mobi’s site (the monkey is coming soon!).

GIVEAWAY: one lucky reader will win their choice of AnimaLamp from Mobi! Please use the form below to enter. None of the entry options are mandatory–do as many or as few as you would like.


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Also? This is why moms hate the phone, work-at-home-mom or not!!!

**4 weeks to go! Well, 3.5… because this post is a little late **

She’s somewhere around 18.5 inches long and 6 pounds. At my appointment today, my midwife guessed she was 5.5–6 lbs. And YAY we’ve reached the point that I could still have a homebirth if I went into labor now (ya know, assuming all signs are fine).… because most babies born now do very well. But we still want her to keep cooking–have those lungs mature a bit more!

She’s getting pretty cramped. Usually your uterus fundus height equals how many weeks you are… so at 36 weeks, my uterus should be 36 cm… well, my midwife hit my xiphoid process (bottom of sternum/ribs) and couldn’t measure any further–at 34 cm. I’m short-waisted, I’m small, and I’m running out of space! lol. That’d explain the nearly constant heartburn and why it’s soo uncomfortable to lean forward at all.

She’s ROA: right occiput anterior. That means she is head down (whoo!) and her back is to my right side (feet on the left side). Some people liken this position to a posterior baby. That’s because babies don’t typically come out on the right side; optimal positioning it LOA (on the left side). SOO, this baby would turn counter-clockwise to get there, which means she has to basically move to the posterior position before ending up on the other side. Make sense? But I’m not worried. Her head isn’t engaged yet, she knows what she’s doing and my body knows what it’s doing

compare to week 36 from my last pregnancy!

Our midwife came to our house tonight for the home visit–like the practice run before the real thing! I gave her a tour of the house and showed her where all my birth supplies are (in case things are moving really quickly when she gets here for labor!). We did the normal prenatal stuff… and our doula was here too, which was awesome. The doula and midwife have met before, but I’m glad they got to chat a little tonight before the real thing.

Weight: 139 lb (up ~0.5 lb from last week and 32 lb overall)
Blood pressure: 120/60
Baby’s heart rate: 136

I did the swab to test for GBS (Group B Strep), we chatted about birth stories and fears, and I got some “homework” from my doula–working through fears, practicing relaxation techniques, etc. Oh and we paid off some birth bills–slowly crossing off my bucket list!

Not much time left! EXCITING!!!

Ryan was a bald baby for quite some time. He finally started getting some fuzz and, eventually, HAIR! I remember taking pictures of his little wisps of hair, so excited it was finally there, haha.

I don’t think he had his first haircut until around 1 year of age. My mom did it and she’s the only one that has since then. She’s no professional, but Ryan’s little and his hair is so thin and fine (just like mommy and daddy!), there isn’t much of it. My mom always just trimmed it a bit so he wasn’t growing a “party in the back” or having it hang in his eyes.

About a week ago I took Ryan to my hair lady… his FIRST EVER REAL HAIRCUT by a professional! Mama was sooooo nervous.

Pre-haircut:

It doesn’t look too bad, right? Maybe a little choppy, maybe iffy around the ears, but he’s still cute! And this was the hair style I was used to looking at for the past year. It was my “normal” and it was my baby boy!

So when my hair lady suggested a short “big boy” hair cut, I freaked. We were having family photos taken in a couple days, too, so what if it looked bad?! I know hair grows back, but I wanted Ryan to look like RYAN in our family photos, not like.…. a big boy! lol.

Do you SEE my fist?! Nervous mama!!! And look at Ryan’s shaggy hair! lol.

We put Ryan in the chair, but he got nervous, so he ended up sitting on my lap for the haircut. But he was AWESOME. He didn’t cry, he didn’t fuss, he didn’t move. The hairdresser even pulled out the electronic razor and Ryan didn’t even flinch. I think he kinda liked the way it felt

We couldn’t, however, get the cape on him so he ended up covered in hair, haha.

Haha… the picture above was the first time I got to see how his haircut was going in the mirror–ooooo! Mama likes! Anddd post-haircut:

Aww, isn’t he cute?! He got a cookie (or 3) for surviving his first real haircut. I think *I* needed those cookies And yea, he walked around with no shoes like he owned the place.

He definitely looks like a big boy with his haircut, but WOW did he need it! I loved his hair before (of course), but this looks so much better. WE SURVIVED Is it a little ridiculous how many pictures I took? Or how long this post is documenting the occasion? I also have a “first haircut” postcard with a lock of his hair

Centrum multivitamins has a whole new line of supplements called ProNutrients. They’re designed to work with your current multivitamin to further support your health and there are select supplements you can choose from depending on what area you’d like to improve upon. The 3 new products are: Omega-3, Probiotic, and Fruit & Veggie:

• ProNutrients™ Omega-3 goes beyond heart health to also support your brain and eyes.* It comes in an ultra-concentrated MiniGel, which is smaller than most other brands, so it’s easy to swallow.
• ProNutrients™ Probiotic goes beyond digestive balance to also support healthy immune function.* It’s designed in a powder form with probiotics that arrive active and ready to work. The flavorless powder easily dissolves into any cool food or beverage like smoothies, yogurt or cereal.
• ProNutrients™ Fruit & Veggie MiniTabs harness the power equal to a serving of a blend of fruits and vegetables and is 100 percent naturally sourced from grapes, blueberries, raspberries, plums, carrots and tomatoes.

I’m a fan of the Centrum brand–they have a whole line of Specialist products too and I have their Prenatal pills.

Centrum is also part of a new website called Nutrition Possible that offers tons of information on health and nutrition. It even has a free self-assessment tool so you can see what you may be lacking and what you need more of! I took it and it suggested I eat more seafood and meats (definitely know I need that) and that I get more physical activity (and it gave me a list of great ones to try).

Want to try the new ProNutrients line? Click here to visit their facebook page and get a $5 off coupon!

GIVEAWAY: one lucky ready will win their choice of Centrum ProNutrients product–Omega-3, Probiotic, or Fruit & Veggie. HOW TO ENTER: Please use the Rafflecopter form below to enter. (You can view official giveaway rules here.)

I am participating in a Centrum ProNutrients campaign hosted by One2One Network. I received nutritional product and compensation. While all opinions stated are my own, I make no claims about Centrum ProNutrients as a product or it’s effectiveness.

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Remember how excited I was about the new International Delight Iced Coffee? The cartons are now being sold at Walmart, whooo! Have you gone shopping for them yet? Do you love them or what?! I was lucky enough to be able to share the yummy goodness with a friend.

I decided to send a package of all 3 flavors (Original, Vanilla, and Mocha) to Beth at Me As A Mommy. First, she has two of the cutest kids EVER. Seriously–I’m not just saying that because that’s something you have to say about other people’s kids… because you don’t. Because let’s face is, some aren’t. Second, she’s one of the kindest, awesomest, funniest ladies I know. Haven’t seen her blog before? Go check it out!

Why did I think Beth could use some coffee? Well… what mom doesn’t? What mom of TWO doesn’t?! Her family just picked up and moved to another state, she has an almost 3 year old and an almost 1 year old, she’s crafty, and she’s an awesome mom… she does it all! On coffee!

Isn’t she pretty?

Her cute hubby enjoying his coffee, too! I heard that he was SO EXCITED about their package of iced coffees, Beth said you’d have thought the box was filled with bricks of gold, haha. I love that he’s drinking it with a straw

I couldn’t keep a secret, I told Beth she was keeping a shipment of amazingly delicious iced coffees in the mail. Why not make her day twice?! She was excited when I told her and a couple weeks later when the box actually came, she was even more excited. They even sent Beth the handy International Delight iced coffee cup:

It always feels good to GIVE and I’m so happy that I got to give this great gift to Beth and make her day (and her husband’s!). This iced coffee is on my shopping list for the next time I’m at the store… as of January 15th, it’s available in the dairy section of Walmart!

~This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. All opinions are my own (and Beth’s). #CBias #IcedCoffee

I know that question just sounds ridiculous. From having one kid, I know that. Sure you can prepare the nursery and wash the clothes and get the diapers ready.… but that’s not what I’m talking about.

I’ve been spending lots of time thinking back to Ryan’s first few days, first few months… and remembering the crazy we’re about to go through once again. I’m so used to Ryan’s one nap a day… one poopy diaper a day… him being able to talk and tell me what he needs… he’s only 2, but I feel like I’ve forgotten the newborn phase!

There’s such a steep learning curve when you have a baby. It takes awhile to get your daily routine down… and even longer to find a way to do things efficiently again. Getting them in and out of the car seat, nursing, pumping, babywearing, etc.

And I know that even though I’ve done it once before–so things should be easier this time, right?!!–I know I’ll have an entirely new learning curve–one that’s all about getting TWO KIDS ready each day.

Can I prepare for that?!!?! Here are my crazy lady questions for those of you with more than one kid:

The car. I dreaded going anywhere with Ryan when he was little just because I hated the in and out of the car seat. Such a hassle! Once I got better at it (AND realized that was just part of life, lol), it was no biggie. But what happens when I have TWO?! Who do I put in the car seat first? Who do I get out first? I picture: getting Ryan out of the car seat first when we run errands because otherwise my arms will be full with a baby and I won’t be able to unstrap Ryan. So what is Ryan doing while I’m getting the baby out? Running wild through the street or parking lot, of course. AHHH!!! Maybe I’ll lock him in the trunk. MAYBE we need a mini-van!

The stroller. I didn’t use it a ton with Ryan, but it was handy for shopping trips. We are getting a double stroller for the 2 kids, but I guess my question is–does that work? Is it worth it? I imagine Ryan will want to walk and then baby will want to be held. I’ll be trying to keep Ryan from running off… while holding a baby… while pushing an empty double stroller, haha. Oh, and then I’ll be sweating. And swearing.

Sleeping. (What’s that?). Ryan takes one nap a day that’s 1–2 hours long. He’s in bed around 8:30pm and up around 6am. Yea it took us about 1.5 years to get that schedule down… he was not sleeping through the night before that. We co-slept forever.

We want a different plan with this baby. We need her on a schedule MUCH sooner than Ryan was. So my question is.… HOW?!? When Ryan takes his one nap for the day, I want the baby to be napping at the same time. Is that too much to ask?

Right now, Steve and I take turns putting Ryan down for bed. One night it’s my turn, the next night it’s Steve’s turn. It works out really well because we both get quality alone time with him and then we both get a break on the off nights. (Ryan’s bedtime routine takes like an hour). We figure once this baby comes, we’ll just never get a break. One night I’ll be with Ryan and Steve will be with the baby… the next night, I’ll be with the baby and Steve will be with Ryan.… which leads me to another question I guess–when can Ryan go to sleep on his own?! We always stay in his room with him until he falls asleep (an hour long process) otherwise he’d be crying it out and we don’t like that.

Breastfeeding. When I became pregnant with this baby girl, Ryan stopped nursing shortly after. Maybe because I had no milk? Maybe because it tasted different? No idea. I thought we were done for good, but he recently started back up again. I know I don’t have much milk, but there is some. He was nursing just at nap time and at bed time (if I was the one putting him to sleep), but he seems to be asking for it more and more and sometimes nurses during the day now. Maybe 3x/day?

I am wondering what to expect when this baby comes. Will Ryan be jealous? Will he want to nurse every time the baby nurses? That’s like… constantly… so I hope not, lol. I’m guessing he’ll nurse more, but someone told me their toddler actually nursed less/stopped because they said “milk is for the baby!” Anyone have a story to share?

nursing my baby boy at the park

Okay, I think that’s enough for now… I’m sure I have a million more questions, but I think this post is long enough. Basically… please share ANY tips you have for raising more than one kid and how you adjusted! I’d like to make this learning curve as short as possible

*5 weeks left!*

Baby girl is getting pretty squished in there! She’s just over 18 inches long and 5 pounds. These next few weeks are all about gaining weight and estimates get pretty pointless. Baby’s typically weigh anywhere from 6 to 10 pounds, every one is different!

Ryan was 7 lb 9 oz at birth. They say second babies are usually bigger, but girls are also usually smaller than boys… so who knows!

She’s still kicking away–it’s pretty cool now that I know exactly where she is. I never knew with Ryan, probably because my OB never explained it to me. But my midwife had me feel her head and I know her back is along my right side (with her butt at my upper right) and her feet are curled around on my left side. Kicks and hiccups confirm!

photo by Mark Hensel
compare to week 35 from my last pregnancy

I’m doing really well–except for the fatigue. I think I enjoyed pregnancy so much more last time because I didn’t have a toddler and could nap whenever I wanted, haha. Props to all preggos with kids!

My uterus (normally the size of a fist) is now under my rib cage and it’s crowding out my other organs… which is why I get major heartburn pretty much every day now.

Our midwife is coming to our house next week for a home visit… it’s like the practice run before the real thing! So she can make sure she knows how to get here and figures out her way around our house in case things happen quickly…

At that home visit, I’ll test for Group B Strep. I wasn’t going to because 1) I’m not worried about having it and 2) even if I am positive, I’m not worried about passing it to the babe or having any complications from it. So WHY am I doing it?? Some studies were just published in Canada that say if your water breaks early (before you’re in active labor), there’s no increased risk of infection for up to 4 days if you’re GBS negative (and avoid vaginal exams, etc.). If you’re positive, risks begin sooner (can’t remember off the top of my head when, like 24 hours?).

SO by testing–and finding out I’m negative, hopefully–IF my water happens to break early, we’ll just be armed with a bit more confidence that we don’t have to worry about anything for awhile.

I’m also kicking butt on my baby bucket list and am feeling better about only having ~1 month left, eek!

Booked an overnight getaway in Wisconsin for me and Steve the first weekend in February.… our last hoorah! lol. And if there’s enough snow by then, we’re taking a sleigh ride

Weight: 138.5 lb (up 1.5 lb from last week and up about 31.5 lb overall)

Hemoglobin: I don’t remember if I ever posted about this, but my midwife checked my levels just over a month ago. They were at 10, which is on the low side… but could be normal for me–with the increased blood volume during pregnancy, blood becomes more dilute. I’ve been working hard at upping my iron levels over the past month so hopefully when she tests again in a couple weeks I’ve improved! Why being anemic could be risky: it isn’t at all related to a higher hemorrhage risk, but IF I do happen to hemorrhage or lose a lot of blood, being anemic would not be good. That means less oxygen is being carried through my body, slower recovery from blood loss, fainting/passing out, higher likelihood of being transferred to the hospital.… and no one wants to do that.

Looking forward to: home visit with the midwife next week

Still recovering from all that holiday shopping? I know I am–and let’s throw in there the new baby shopping and new house shopping and… :/ Regardless the reason, I know everyone could use an extra $100 cash!

Winner of this fast FLASH giveaway will get a $100 Amex Gift Card!

Fine print: ENDS at midnight (12:01am 1/13/11)! Please use the form below to enter. Winner will be notified within 24–48 hours after the end of the giveaway. Check back tomorrow to see who won!

Thanks to Deals4Dummies for organizing and hosting this giveaway!

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