My Homebirth After Two Hospital Births

I have never told my story about the birth of our third son, Aaron.  I am the only one in our family to have ever had a homebirth (though a sister-n-law delivered in her car).  Our first two sons births were not at all what I hoped for.  The first was an induction, in which four hours into it I was screaming for an epidural because the contractions were so relentless and yet the nurse kept up-ing the petocin.  The epidural didn't even take and they redid it.  Thirty mins. later it was time to push and I began to tear the wrong way, leading my Dr. to do an episiotomy.  Given that I had an epidural he didn't numb me, but he quickly discovered that epidurals do not numb me properly as I gave out a gut wrenching scream!  My son was delivered in 15 mins.

With my second son I went into labor spontaneously (24 hours after having my membranes scraped).  Our entire local family was out of town and I was left leaving our 18 month old with practical strangers.  Once arriving at the hospital they confirmed my contractions were 4 mins. apart but my cervix hadn't changed from the 5-6 cm it was the day before at the office.  So they were planning to send me home until I asked when I come back.  They then realized I met the criteria for labor (contractions every 5 mins or less) so they admitted me reluctantly.  The nurse then told me that if I wanted to wait for the epidural and see if I could handle it then the Anesthesiologist may not make it here in time when I really wanted it.  So I agreed to go ahead and get it.  Thankfully it took the first time, no repeats.  Four hours later I got the overwhelming urge to push.  They checked me and I was 8 cm.  She left and said she would come back in an hour.  Ten minutes later I ordered my husband to get her in there NOW!  She came right away and asked me to give a push.  Midway through a good push she urgently told me to stop so she could page the Dr. on call.  I begged and pleaded with her to let me push and she would not let me (though I just couldn't help but push).  The Dr. walked in casually in no hurry and asked to see me push.  I quickly delivered my baby's head and he rushed to get his blue outfit on.  Thomas' total time pushing was 6 minutes!  The Dr. accidentally cut right through the cord with one of the clamps and my baby was bleeding everywhere!  Spatter ended up on the walls!  He also struggled with blood in his lungs for several days.

So that brings us to our homebirth.  Before ever getting pregnant I researched and was pretty confident about natural birth.  So when I go pregnant I went to a natural birthing center.  I was off put by the hippy vibe of condoms in a jar on the counter and all the flowery pictures.  The midwife who did my initial exam took a long time and was so rough that I began to bleed heavily.  She was grabbing paper towels to try and stop it.  She then instructed me on how to know if I am having a miscarriage!  That was that!  I called up a midwife of several of my friends, that does homebirths only.  I loved the family feel of her coming into my home to do my prenatals and talk with me.  It was wonderful.  I had the most healthy pregnancy I have ever had, only gaining 6 lbs!  I just felt great!  We only told some family as others just didn't need to know our plans.  They wouldn't agree and we didn't care to hear that.  I planned to have my best friend, Brandi there and my Mom.  I wanted my Dad to be in the house watching our boys, but NOT in the room.

So the time came, for weeks I thought I was having contractions.  I had been up all night Friday, with them and they subsided around 7 am on Saturday.  So it wasn't to be.  I was 11 days from my due date anyway ( I did go early with my other two).  So that Saturday we went on with our day, Ryan cleaning like he was a nesting mother.  My friend Brandi was out of town and was going to be very upset if she didn't make it back in time.  I called her to let her know what was happening.  They were planning on being back that evening.  Around 3pm I started feeling contractions again and called my midwife, Teresa who quickly came over along with her colleague, Ouida. They did a prenatal and checked me.  I was still a 2 and baby Aaron was high!  That's it.  My first two I was 5-6cm before evening going into active labor!  So she wanted to see what my cervix did through a contraction.  They waited on my bed.....and waited and waited.  Until they fell asleep...waiting.  I never had one while they were there so they left.  Discouraged I went to take a shower and relax.  As soon as the water hit me I had a contraction...and another and another!  They were 2 minutes apart.  I called Teresa after I got out and told her what was going on.  She RUSHED back!  I was indeed in labor!

I called Brandi (it was now around 6pm) and she had just walked into the door of her home.  She was glad to make it in time.  Ryan called my parents.  Teresa and Ouida called their assistants, Teri and Paige.  Our house grew busy!  I laid in bed for awhile and Teresa checked me every now and then with not big change and mostly he was still high.  So they had me walk for an hour.  With all the people there I was not as relaxed as I would have liked to be.  I then went and laid back down.  Around midnight I was still contracting every 2 mins. and was at 6cm.  Teresa thought it would help to break my water.  When she went to do it, it broke before the hook ever came in contact with the sack.  I immediately went from contractions I could handle to immense pain in my back.  This went on for nearly three hours!  By this point my dad had already put my boys to bed and went home.  My mom had taken him home (everyone was glad to get a break from her constant talking which was taking focus off of helping me) and when she returned they let her know nicely to keep the talking to a minimum.  Everyone massaged and rubbed me.  Nothing really helped.  I mostly laid on my side but Teresa really didn't like that he wasn't coming down straight so she had me get on my back.  I was in agony!

Finally, having all I could handle I asked if I could get up on all 4s.  They said sure!  It didn't help much, maybe a little.  I then asked if I could push, not because I felt the urge, but because I wanted it over.  They said no.  I then had to pee bad and there was nothing they could do because I was so close to delivering.  I peed over the towels and pads.  That must have done something because they then told me I could push.  I gave a good long push and asked if he was coming out.  Teresa told me, "NO, Megan!  Your gonna have to push harder!"  I then gave it all I had (even biting my husband's shoulder) and quickly they discovered his little hand presenting beside his face.  I pushed again and heard, "STOP! The cord!"  And a bunch of commotion.  Remember I am on all 4's so my perspective is no good.  They clamped and cut his cord which was tight over his shoulder (much like a bag strapped over someones shoulder).  And they yelled at me to push.  I gave out all I had again and he was born.  He lay there gray and still.  His eyes open.  Ouida gave him oxygen and tugged at his little scrawny legs.  He finally half cried.  They laid his cold little body on me and wrapped us up.  He then began to come alert and cry.  While we laid there they midwives gave me IV fluids to help perk me back up.

I was spent.  I felt so relieved it was over and just thought I could never do that again.  My mom was crying in the corner of the room and just too emotional to be supportive.  What impressed me was my husband.  Through my other two births he was little help to me as he didn't know what to do and the nurses did not show him.  My with the homebirth he was there, supportive and when I was at my worst he stayed there firmly holding me and let me rest on his shoulders.  He cried along with me, which oddly strengthened me.  His strength and compassion were the fuel I needed to get through it.  I was the single most thing that has helped our marriage grow into what it is today.

As for Aaron, he is a true joy.  After getting our baths, we nestled into my own bed (the midwives cleaned everything up for us) and I nursed my little boy with my husband and best friend at my side.  After everyone left we laid down for a short rest.  When our older two awoke we called them in our room.  They were shocked to find their new baby brother laying between us in bed.  They climbed into bed with us and held him and loved on him.  We know now, 18 months later, that we will most likely do a homebirth again.  I will however NOT have my parents involved.  Though they acted as though they would be supportive, it has been anything but.  Even going behind my back since the birth and talking bad about us.  Other than that I would not change a thing!

And for those who wonder about our older two hearing anything.   We asked them what they heard that night to which they replied, "No we didn't hear anything!", in shock we would ask them that.

40% off at Yoyo.com...today only!

Go to yoyo.com to get 40% off any one item today only. I was able to snag a Radio Flyer Classic Walker (reg $99.99) for $51.00 with free shipping! It was already 15% off and then they gave me 40% off of that. The deal wouldn't work for me at first cause it said you can't use it on sale items, but I noticed other sale items did accept the discount. So I gave them a call and their customer service was outstanding! The rep was friendly, undertstanding and helpful. You don't see that much these days....don't get me started with Fisher Price and Pottery Barn's Customer Service. She credited the discount to my account and I was able to purchase it. I wouldn't have been able to get it otherwise!

Cash Giveaway at Vision Forum!!!

Go check out this giveaway on Vision Forum and be entered to win $100, $200 or $300!!! Who couldn't use that? They sell great Christian Books and other items!

Hurry on over cause it ends on December 3rd.

Gearing Up to Blog More

I have been on a blog break since doing more facebooking. I've decided to try and pick it back up so that I can share more than just little facebook postings. I have cleaned house on our blog and removed links and added a few on the right. You will see that I now have couponing sites listed. I am trying to get more seasoned in couponing. I have never been able to achieve what you see on tv, not that I want to be that coupon crazy! :)

I hope to eventually get to do a few giveaway and just have fun blogging! Stay tuned...

YAY...Free Friday this weekend at Baby Be Blessed on Facebook!!!

Baby Be Blessed is giving away a $56 gift certificate! Head on over to Baby Be Blessed's Facebook page and scroll down to the Giveaway post. Like their page and become a follower of their blog then comment on the link and tell them you are a follower.

Extra entries for blogging, tweeting or facebook posting. :)

Lots of Changes Going on Here!

Well it has been a LONG time since I have blogged. We have been busy with the summer which started out with a trip to the beach and shortly there after we found out.....*drum roll*.....we are expecting baby #3!!! Those of you who follow our lives know that we have been trying and praying and hoping for another little one for some time now. I am 14 weeks today and officially in the 2nd trimester so we are looking forward to me getting some energy back and losing the nausea! I am due (if all medical advise is correct) Feb. 16th. The boys are excited, but since they can't feel the baby move in Mommy's belly I think it is hard for them to grasp the concept. This time around we are getting many questions, which have been able to give short vague answers to satisfy their curosity...let's hope it stays that way for awhile longer.

Joseph is getting ready to start up in homeschool this year and is very excited about that. After much work deciding on an affordable curriculum for Kindergarten we decided NOT to use one :) We feel that Kindergarten isn't worth hundreds of dollars as all he really needs is phonics, reading and math. I got "100 Easy Lessons" and an extensive Kindergarten Math workbook which should do just fine.

Just wanted to update any followers out there who read our blog and want to know what we are up to.

Dunkin' Donuts Freebie!

It's Official: Hypothyroidism

Well I finally got a Dr. to look at my lab results and most importantly, listen to my symptoms. Dr. B without a doubt felt I am struggling with Hypothyroidism. This is good news because it means I can finally get help and try to get healthy. All the other dr.'s have treated the individual symptoms. Hypothyroidism is the cause of my heart palpitations, infertility, hairloss, inability to lose weight, lack of energy, and dry skin that at times has become pretty severe. Since he is in GA he will be emailing me the info on the treatment he has for me. From what he told me when we were there this weekend, I will be taking about 3-4 different meds./supplements. He thought I should see dramatic changes in the first few months. I am just so excited to finally have answers. In the many questions he asked I told him about my recent visit with a Dr. that wanted to put me and Ryan through a number of procedures and testing....even surgery for me. The same Dr. felt my thyroid was borderline and that I should "look into AFTER the surgery". This was a red flag for me and Dr. B even felt that they were just wanting to make money. So that is my update. I am looking forward to updating you all with news that I am on the mend.

More Health Updates

Last week I got in to see a fertility specialist and for the first time someone listened to each and every problem and asked questions about ever aspect of what I have been dealing with off and on since I was 11. That alone was therapeutic :) They decided it was time to do a laporoscopy to check for endometreosis or any other cause for my problems. I am currently scheduled for Jan. 22, but that could change if they find anything from the tests. And before anyone worries about me going through IVF or fertility meds., no need to be concerned! My main goal and desire is to get diagnosed and then figure out from there what course of treatment we would be comfortable with. With that said, they ran blood work to check my hormone levels and they performed an ultrasound to check for any abnormalities that could be seen on US. They did find a cyst on my right ovary. Basically they will take all the results and of all the tests and somehow see if there is anything they can conclude from those. I also scheduled some insulin tolerance tests to check for any problems there.

After about a week we got a call from the nurse saying they had found all my levels to be fine except for my thyroid (which by the way was tested numerous times two years ago). I am scheduled to go in Monday for further testing of my thyroid. This is a huge relief, believe it or not. Mostly because we are getting somewhere and finding answers that I have wanted for soooo long.

This has been a hard week for my health wise as I have struggled through another monthly visit ;) (if you get my drift). They totally wipe me out and I find myself nearly bed ridden. At times it feels as bad as my labors were, but without the wonderful gift of a new baby :( It has brought me closer to the Lord as I find myself relying on Him more and crying out to Him for relief. It's funny how in the midst of the paid I am sure this is NOT normal and just like laboring a baby I then forget about a week out, how bad it was and I begin to question if I am just being a baby. But at the moment I can confirm that it is real and VERY NOT NORMAL! I even find myself breathing through the pains as if they were contractions :|

So that is the update. There are still a few followers out there who have requested updates and I wanted to share this with you. Hopefully this will help you in your prayers for me, as I need many prayers. Well I need to go lay down I am feeling pretty bad at the moment.

Happy Thanksgiving and Welcome Christmas!

I have to admit it. I LOVE the holidays. It's the one time of year we get to see everyone and enjoy spending time with family and friends so much! Right now I am preparing to host my very first Thanksgiving meal and I am doing it all on my own. So far I have three pies done and trying to figure out what to do with the bird. So many ideas...so little time. I got a lot of cleaning done today too in hopes that we can enjoy a wonderful 4-day weekend as a family. Ryan has hardly even had a day off (he worked 19 of 21 days recently!) He has had to unfortunately work more Sunday's since he was called back in August, than he has ever worked since he started with the Co. We are thankful that we are not in last years shoes! I am going to get off and check on my apple pie and wash the boys up. Happy Thanksgiving!

.....And Merry Christmas too :)

Go see this great giveaway!

I stumbled on a great giveaway a fellow blogger pointed me to. Go on over and check it out!

Another Hard Week

I have been using the Progesterone cream for the last 3 months now. I have made great improvements while using the cream and doing better than I have done in years! Then this last week came a lot of ups and downs. I began to think I was pregnant, but tested neg. Then as the days have gone by I began to have even more pregnancy symptoms. Still neg! The last test I took I just KNEW would be pos, but no. It's wearing on my emotions. It just so hard to sorta get excited (even talk names) and then hope is dashed away. I don't really know what to do now. Still COULD be preg...what to do? It's just been hard! It's not that I would be mad if I knew for sure I wasn't preg., but I just want a for sure. Just plain HARD!

A Lovely Evening Together

Well, I might have not been completely accurate in the title. Let's just call it sarcasm :) Ever since moving into our humble home we have had issues with the toilet's plumbing. Problems:

1. Teeny Tiny Toilet that NO adult can sit on comfortably.
2. The toilet is at least 2" away from the wall.
3. Cast Iron Pipes
4. Improper flange...yes I know all about this stuff now!
5. Nearly no wax ring

...thanks to the horrible contractor the owner hired to flip the home.

So with that said...a year or so after moving in we started discovering these issues when we noticed water under the flooring. We patched the problem and really hoped that would be the end of it. Now 3 years later we still have not put tile down on the hardy backer and we started to notice the toilet ran non-stop. Then we discovered the dreaded black mold on top of all our previous work. Sat. Ryan and I went out and found a toilet and Sun. I managed to talk Ryan into installing the new toilet. We quickly got into more than we EVER expected. The bolts were rusted out and once we finally got them loose, I realized we got the wrong toilet. I then found out we had only an hour to get to Home Depot two towns away. Once we got home we ate and got the boys to bed and began scraping up two layers of sub floor. NASTY, NASTY, NASTY!!! EWWWWWWWWWW!!! So gross! We worked until 1am on just the floor. We still do not have a toilet installed and oh yeah...it's a one bath house! Please don't ask about specifics on that!!! I have never been so excited to get a new toilet! Praise God for indoor plumbing!!!

At least we got time together, though we both were sick to our stomachs the whole time :(

Growing, Growing....

This would be Joseph's growth chart. At five years old he measures for a 7-8 year old boy. Yep, of course I shouldn't be surprised, cause he has been at 75%-100+% ever since he was 3 mos. old. It is just amazing to see it on paper and our Dr. is in awe of it every time! With cousins of mine that measure 6'4" and above it is obviously hereditary. I have actually had people tell me he was tall from all that formula I had to supplement with, just to keep up. Yep people are cruel! If that be the case then I beg the question, why is Thomas on the average size? They both had formula!

Anywho...just thought I'd share. Before long he will have us eaten out of the house and be towering over me. Please don't let it go so fast!

Welcome Fall...

since you will be around for a few months, I thought I would make you feel welcome with a new look. Also did you notice our new title? Yep, thought I would change it up a bit. The old title never grew on me. This one seems to fit much better!

Recently I discovered a new favorite bible verse:

"He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life." Titus 3:5-7

God's word is so inspiring and uplifting.

Happy Birthday To My Favorite Blonde-Headed Boy!

I can't believe it...I am officially the mother of a five-year-old boy. At 1:28pm on Oct. 5, 2004 we became the proud and blessed parents of Joseph Allen. He has been about as easy as his delivery was. I only labored with him for about 4 1/2 hours.

Joseph we are so blessed to have the pleasure of raising such a fine young boy. You are very laid back and easy going. You developed a sweet friendship with your favorite stuffed animal, "bear-bear". In fact, I bought a 2nd just in case "bear-bear #1" didn't hold up. You make friends easily, but are VERY cautious in everything you do (especially around water more than 1ft deep). You like to giggle a lot which then turns to hiccups. Your best bud is your brother Thomas, though you are sometimes worst enemies. You don't get upset too easily, but when you do you let everyone know. You have a gentle spirit and love animals and babies. You used to not let Mommy give you kisses, but you finally realized that kisses are okay from Mommy :). You are my favorite shopping buddy and enjoy going out just about anywhere! We often get some of the best questions from you about God and you are quickly learning the teachings. We just started school this year (a year early). When you try hard you do very well, but sometimes you get easily discouraged. Your favorite school is Sunday School and you are making many friends there. I enjoy hearing your prayers and am often surprised by what is on your heart.

Happy 5th Birthday Joseph Allen! What a blessing these 5 years have been!!!

An unusual post...well at least for me. You see I typically do not post about faith matters because, well I just don't. Ryan and I have dove into the study of covenant theology for the past two years. It all started because Ryan's Brother's family are Presbyterians and as we got together little things would come up as we spoke about the Lord. We didn't really understand how to defend ourselves as Baptists if we didn't understand Presbyterians. So we started studying to find out why they believed what they believed and we were almost certain that we would find a great defense for ourselves as Baptists. We thought there would be scripture that would give us one of those "ah-ha" moments. Well actually the opposite happened. We were unable to defend ourselves with the scriptures (as Baptists) and began to see the bible in a different way. Baptist typically separate the bible out, Old and New. Well we began to see the relationship between the two books and how the new was just a continuation of the old. Many things changed, but NOTHING was taken away without something replacing it. We eventually decided to start our search for a reformed Presbyterian Church which brought us to Covenant Presbyterian Church of Oak Ridge. We have gleaned so much from the pastor, people and Sunday schools.

Right now the boys are officially in separate aged classes. Each week they tell us lessons they learned, songs they sung and projects they made. They ALWAYS come home with a project of some sort.

Ryan and I are taking the new members class and have enjoyed learning about the national church, the individual church and their doctrine and theology. This past week we really dove into covenant theology (well I did...Ryan had to do mandatory overtime :( ). It was just such a great lesson and I learned and took LOTS of notes that I shared with Ryan.

An overview of what we have learned of covenant theology is:

1. We believe the church is made up of the believers and their household (including all children in the home). (Gen. 17:9, Jer 3:39, IS 55:1-5, Acts 2:38-39)

2. We believe that the covenant expanded into one another.
(Adamic Covenant, Noahic Covenant, Mosaic Covenant, Abrahamic Covenant & Christ Covenant--Most people admit they see how the first 4 expanded into one another, but draw a line after Abraham, separating that covenant from the last.)

3. We believe the household should be baptised one time only. God keeps his promise whether you make a promise to him before you become a believer or not. Infants are to be baptised because they are part of the household, just as infant boys were circumcised in the Abrahamic Covenant. The sign changed but the meaning did not, just as Christ death replaced animal sacrifice, baptism replaced circumcision.

4. We do not believe that baptism saves a person, but that it is a sign of what God promised to his people...not just to the Israelites.

5. We believe that in the OT circumcision signified membership in the church and in the NT Baptism signies church membership. Consider Ishmael and Esau. (Acts 2:39, 16:14-15)

6. We believe that "sign" means:

Engagement to Christ (Rom 6:1-5)
Symbolical of washing away sins (Acts 2:38-39, 22:16, Titus 3:5)
Regeneration by the Holy Spirit(Titus 3:5)
Relationship to the Church (Matt 28:19-20)


In side notes, the word covenant is used 300+ times in the bible. By baptising our children we signify that we believe God holds to His covenants/promises to His people that one day our children may be followers of Him. If we don't believe in covenant, then we don't believe our children are God's people. God classifies His people two ways, 1) the wicked that He hates and 2) His people He loves. Teaching our children songs such as "Jesus Loves Me" and scripture like the Lord's prayer would be a lie if we didn't believe covenant theology. Jesus does not love the lost or presumed lost and the lost do not consider God their Father in Heaven.

These are just a few of our points and things we have learned. It is very expansive and has taken us nearly 2 years to get where we are and we still have a long was of learning more about this topic. Just wanted to share with those who DO read this (which I am sure are very few) what we believe and why we believe it.

My Health Update:

Well it has been awhile since my last post about my diagnosis of Adenomyosis and I thought I would give update. I started out doing a detox to clean out excesive estrogen so that the progesterone would absorb better. I started the natural progesterone cream this past week and right away it started to work. I had a few things that concerned me and I emailed the company and was surprised to hear from the owner right away and told to call him. We discussed my issues today and he tells me that all my symptoms are a sign that I am an extreme case of estrogen dominance. From his knowledge and belief he thinks he gave me special instructions to do over the next 2 months (and even told me to call him back in a few weeks). He thinks that with this treatment I will be able to more easily lose weight and get my cycles more regulated. Then maybe we will be able to conceive :) A friend of mine who also struggles with infertility explained it well this week. Everytime a friend finds our they're expecting or has a baby it is so exciting, yet it make us ponder our own infertility and reminds us of our discontentment. So that is the latest and hopefully I spared you any gruesome details ;)

"The Government Can"

Make sure to pause my playlist on the bottom right before watching this video.

GA Aquarium Date

While we were recently down in GA, Ryan arranged for his sister to watch the boys while he took me out to the GA Aquarium and lunch afterwards. We really had a great time (even though we both talked about how much we missed the boys being there). I was really impressed with the aquarium and how hands on they were. I was a little dissappointed that you had to pay for th Titanic exhibit and a few others, but there was still plenty to see. We then we took a walk through the Olympic Park and over to the CNN building (no we are not CNN fans!), but thought it would still be neat to see if we could watch the news live (which we couldn't). I then managed to literally "blow out my flip-flop" on the brick walkway of the park. For lunch I chose an old fav. of ours called "Wok & Chopstix". As you guessed it is a chinese resturant. It is always so quant and quiet along with clean and fresh food. We enjoyed EVERY bite! Here are our pics:


I found NEMO!

Coral Reef Aquarium...I like how you can see Ryan's reflection :)

Da...Dum, Da..Dum, Da Dum, Da Dum.....SHARK!

Grouper

Jellyfish

One of the HUGE Whale Sharks

Beluga Whale

My favorite: Sea Otters! They are like toddlers. They played with toys and instead of using the "tools" they were supplied, to crack open their food, they use the window :)

I promise, this is a Sea Dragon, not Sea Weed

The Anemone, Sea Urchin & Starfish touch pool



River Otters

Poisonous Frogs

Sting Ray & Shark touch pool