Tag: pregnancy

16 hours later – my natural birth story

16 hours later – my natural birth story

by newbjo ♥ 1 Comment

Part 1: The Foreshadowing

At 11AM on Friday, March 11, 2016 mrJo and I walked into the doctors office for what was now my weekly appointments with my OB/GYN. It was just a routine check in, measuring the baby and hearing the heartbeat. Then when the doctor checked me, I was about 1 cm dilated. This didn’t really raise any concern; the doctor just said that I could have the baby at any time – not necessarily that I was in labor. “It could be next week or you could have the baby tomorrow. We really don’t know”.

Then my nightmare of planning a natural childbirth in a hospital started to come true. He said he wanted to schedule me for an induction! I really started to get frustrated. I told him that’s the one thing I didn’t want. He responded that it was only a precaution and “penciled me in” for March 29th (one week and one day after my due date). I was frustrated and thought to myself “you can schedule me all you want, but I’m not coming in until the baby wants to come!” Little did I know my concern would soon prove to be irrelevant.

Part 2: Intense Nesting

After the doctor’s appointment, I had an overwhelming need to start hardcore preparing. I was still working, but from home. I focused the rest of that day on completing the hand off of all of my work, cancelling meetings I had on the calendar, and telling others to take over.

After I was done working for the day, I started planning to make freezer/crockpot meals for after the baby was born because I knew we wouldn’t have the time or energy to cook. So as I was making the grocery list, I realized I hadn’t even packed the hospital bag! So I included those items in the list (I’ll do a separate post on my freezer meals & hospital bag). I spent two hours at Target buying groceries to hold us over for a bit, the ingredients for the freezer meals, and my hospital bag items.

When I got home I started packing my hospital bag and then it was time to get ready for bed. I was planning to use the next day (Saturday) to actually prep the freezer meals. LOL at that.

Part 3: My Naturally Induced Labor

I’m not sure how to elegantly put this so that if family or coworkers end up reading this it’s not weird. So whatever. I was not trying to jump start labor, but sex definitely has that effect whether you like it or not. So after mrJo and I had sex that night, things started to get interesting.

I felt a lot of pain afterwards, but being 9 months pregnant I didn’t really think anything of it. Of course I Googled it and it didn’t seem uncommon (especially after not trying to be gentle – sorry, graphic, but whatever). However, mrJo still thought my pain was a little strange. So he decided to go to bed around 11PM that Friday night. The advice we had gotten was that if you think you’re in labor, do your best to go to sleep in order to prepare for a lot of hard work.

Part 4: Early Labor

Although I did my best to stay horizontal, I could NOT get comfortable in bed. I started to realize this felt a little different. Around 1AM on Saturday morning, the pain started to really be noticeable. I got up to use the restroom and there was the “bloody show” (hint, hint: this is where it’s going to get pretty detailed). I remembered books, posts, and stories about this and also remembered that this could start happening weeks or days before labor for first time moms. So I stayed in denial. Around 2AM I lost my mucus plug. I figured now was a good time to wake up mrJo.

He started asking “Is it time to go to the hospital?!”. I said no. I wanted to stay at home until I really couldn’t anymore so I could reduce the likelihood of medical interventions. I said I needed water and fruit because I knew if we did go to the hospital, they wouldn’t let me eat or drink. I wanted to have energy if this was the real deal.

I realized I had packed my hospital bag, but didn’t have babyJo’s going home outfit! So we headed into the nursery and we (me on my hands and knees having contractions) picked out his outfit and packed it. By this time we had told our immediate families that I may be in early labor. The text at 2:40AM read:

“Hi fam – Just to keep you posted we think I may be in early labor. It may be false so we’re giving it a couple of hours. I’ll let you know if we decide to go to the hospital.”

At this point we were timing contractions. They were about a minute long and averaged 6 or 7 minutes apart.

About an hour later, I had a contraction that made me blurt “let’s go to the hospital!”. All mrJo kept saying was “get a towel!!” because his biggest fear was that I would give birth in the car. LOL at him thinking a towel would solve that problem! We had our bags packed and headed out the door and I sent a text at 4:01 AM, “We are headed to the hospital now. Please don’t go anywhere yet. We will let you know what they say”.

When we got to the hospital, my water started to break as we were waiting for the elevator. “Wait… something is happening down there” were my exact words, I believe. It’s not like the movies; well, not in my case. We got to a room and another fear of mine happened. They hooked me up to the monitor! I did not want continuous monitoring, but I whipped out my handy dandy birth plan and they fixed that real quick! We waited for about an hour before they checked me. Longest. Hour. Ever.

Part 5: It’s About to Go Down!

After I was checked, I sent an update text at 5:22AM: “Water broke & I’m 3 cm dilated. [babyJo] is coming today!”

It was go time – we were pumped! I immediately got out of bed and started walking around. I told mrJo to stay resting and that I’d tell him when I needed him. I was determined to keep him well-rested because I didn’t know how long this labor would last! He continued to time my contractions, which at this point were a minute apart and lasting a minute almost on the dot. At this point, I could talk through the contractions if I wanted to, but started practicing my breathing exercises and continuing to walk around the room when possible.

Eventually, walking and talking during contractions got more and more difficult. I asked for a birthing ball and tried to use this as much as possible, but I really didn’t like it. Sometimes I labored on my hands and knees while mrJo or my mom pushed into my hips and lower back. That kind of helped, but I thought that was pretty overrated based on the stories I had heard. I tried sitting on the toilet, wasn’t a fan of that either. Ultimately and ironically the most comfortable laboring position was just laying in bed on my left side!

Part 6: Why Isn’t it Going Down?!

Around 7AM when the nurses changed their shift, the new nurse checked me and I was still 3-4 cm dilated. Um… what?! I’m not 10 yet?! It’s been forever! At that point I realized maybe I was still in early labor and I should try to rest. So I started trying to sleep in between contractions.

Eventually sleeping was NOT an option anymore. Like, ouch. Or wait. I’ll change the language. It was a lot of “pressure”. So I made the mistake of asking them to check me again only about an hour later – still around 4 cm dilated. Okay, now I’m mad!

Another thing that would prove to really cause frustration was a prediction by mrJo (not blaming him. He was just excited) that the baby would come around 11AM, after 12 hours of labor. So I started watching that clock. 11AM it is, I thought! Around 10AM, only an hour before “go time” they checked me again and I was 5 cm dilated. At first I thought, “Yay! Halfway there!”, then mistakenly countered with, “Wait, but I’m supposed to deliver in an hour! How am I supposed to get to 10 in an hour?!”.

Part 7: “Please Give Me the Epidural!”

Around noon, things were more intense than ever. I screamed for the epidural at the peak of every contraction. Sorry, at the highest point of every “wave”. At this point, I was tuning out the affirmations that had helped me so much through my pregnancy and early labor. I controlled my breathing only at the beginning and end of every contraction; the peak was uncontrollable.

It got to the point where I looked at my mom, who has had three children, in the eyes and told her “you don’t understand how much pain I’m in!”. LOL, like what? I hated mrJo at that point. He kept saying “you do not want the epidural, you’re going to regret it” and would give me false options like “if you tell me three times while you’re not having a contraction that you want it, I will let you have it”. I definitely told him more than three times in between contractions and he still didn’t allow it (I love him for that, by the way).

They checked me and I was 7 cm dilated. If I got the epidural at this point, it’d be pointless. I’m almost there. But honestly I was out of energy. The fruit I had eaten had all been expelled by now (fancy and classy way of me saying I threw it up… whoops). So I did elect to get some medicine to help me sleep. I talked through the pros and cons with the nurse and made my decision that I definitely do not regret! After that I was able to sleep in between contractions and I had the energy when it really was go time!

Part 8: “She Hee-Hee-Hoo’d Herself to Sleep!”

Around 2:00 PM I had the most overpowering need to push! It’s time, I thought! The nurse checked me and I was 8 cm dilated, at 0 stationed, and 90% effaced. So it wasn’t quite time. If I pushed I could tear. But I could not stop it! This is where things started to get VERY graphic. I won’t go into detail here, but I am so sorry, Nurse Shannon. Another nurse came to help me use breathing techniques so I wouldn’t push. I fell asleep while I was doing the exercise, hence the quote for Part 8.

Soon after, my doctor arrived and walked into the room… in his normal, Saturday afternoon clothes… with his hand in his pocket… just casual. My thoughts about that? Ummm – sir can you go get dressed?! Why are you talking to me! I need to push!

Part 9: “Look down!”

At 3PM my doctor returned in his scrubs. He checked me and I was 10 cm, 100% effaced, and he didn’t have to tell me the station, the doctor just said “his head is right here!”. NOW, it’s go time.

Apparently he gave me instructions on how to push, definitely didn’t hear those. So my first push was accompanied by me screaming. I guess you’re not supposed to do that. So he told me it’d be easier if I didn’t make noise. LOL basically he told me to shut up.

Let me pause to say this was my favorite part of the whole thing and it was easy to me! I could actually DO something about my contractions rather than just wait them out. It was so rewarding.

After the second push (done the right way), I heard “his head!” and the doctor said, “a couple more like that and I think we’ll have a baby!”.

Third push. “Oh my gosh!”

Fourth push. Apparently I wasn’t supposed to push that time. The cord was wrapped around babyJo’s neck. Very loosely though, so luckily the doctor was still able to fix it.

Fifth push. “Look down!”

“Why are they telling me to look down”, I thought. And then I heard him. And then I saw him. And then I held him. At 3:13 PM on Saturday, March 12th after about 16 hours of labor and 10 minutes of pushing, mrJo and I finally got to meet babyJo.

Part 10: And Life Has Never Been the Same

6 pregnancy symptoms i expected, but underestimated

6 pregnancy symptoms i expected, but underestimated

by newbjo ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Like most newly pregnant women, I downloaded the “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” mobile app and use a lot of information from the many different resources. Although there’s a lot of information on possible symptoms, every pregnancy experience is different. So you can expect all you want, but it may not happen. Or it will happen and you still won’t be ready!

Here are six symptoms I was told to expect, but was not mentally or physically prepared for!

symptoms pic

Fatigue

In my first trimester, I was DONE at all times. Getting out of bed was the hardest task in life and I couldn’t bring myself to do anything around the house. I’m sure mrJo thought I was really useless. I yawned at least once per minute and got a lot of “are you okay?” from coworkers. However, I did not have any morning sickness, so I guess there’s a trade off there.

Food Aversions & Cravings

Okay. These are two symptoms I really thought were fake. False. My dad loves to BBQ… like everyday loves to BBQ. I liked his grilling – before babyJo. When we moved back in with my parents, I had to close the myself off in the bedroom when he grilled because the smell made me feel both sick and angry. I would get so mad, sincerely. But what am I supposed to say, “Grrrr stop grilling your delicious food for dinner!”?

The cravings are real. Mouthwatering, can’t live your life without it right this second, real. Some of the cravings throughout my pregnancy: cereal, pickles, marshmallows, apple pie (OMG APPLE PIE… sorry, still pregnant), the smell of alcohol – red wine in particular, Dr. Pepper in a can, Zoe’s Kitchen, dinner rolls, and roasted vegetables.

Emotional Breakdowns

I’ve never cried so much in my life. One time, during my first trimester, I was at work and took my last sip of my water. So I got up and started walking towards the break room to refill my water bottle. I remember thinking “man I really thought that bottled water would last me awhile”. The next thing I knew, tears. Tears everywhere. I was SO sad that I ran out of water.

I also feel for mrJo. So many times I broke down in tears before bed without explanation. By my 3rd trimester, I would just tell him “I’m sad” and point to the bump. Then he’d open up his arms to prepare for the water works. I love him.

Itching

Now this, I wasn’t expecting. I had to Google it (which brought me to Baby Center). I’m writing this in my 29th week and trying my very hardest not to itch! In addition to your belly growing during pregnancy, the rest of your body may itch because of hormones (when in doubt, your symptom is because of hormones). My palms, breasts, and tummy itch the most. See the Baby Center post for suggestions if this is happening to you, but what “helped” me the most was cold water and lots of lotion/Vitamin E. Also trying to trick myself to not think about it by blogging, reading, or coloring (Adult coloring books. Mindful Therapy. Duh.)

Dizziness

This symptom is in all the apps, books, and blog posts, but I underestimated it. This varies by person and you should talk to your doctor if it affects you! I personally would know when the dizzy spell was coming because it was typically introduced first by a hot flash. If not a hot flash, I would suddenly feel very crowded, car sick, or just sensitive to the environment in general. Unfortunately, one day it hit me while driving on the highway. I was able to pull over, but I ended up on an ambulance and in the ER from that incident. Iron became very important in my diet during the second half of my pregnancy. Even still, I would get a dizzy spell every couple of days.

Pain/Discomfort

As fetuses grow, your organs are literally squished in the corner somewhere and your bones and muscles have to adjust as well. I know that’s not very scientific, but all that hurts! Your growing baby can result in shortness of breath, hip pain, back pain – the works. Talk to your doctor about your pain level and what you can do. For me, I found that sitting on an exercise ball (also referred to as a birthing ball), stretching, visiting the chiropractor, and a maternity pillow helped relieve some pain. But what was most life changing for me was athletic tape! My chiropractor wrapped me and it really took the pressure off my hips. I later bought this pregnancy band for support and it really helped as well.

As I write this, I haven’t even met babyJo, but all of the above is already so worth it. Every time it seems to be “too much” he kicks right on cue to remind me it’s all for a good cause. I’ll emphasize again: every pregnancy is different. Don’t be afraid to talk to your doctor or midwife about what you’re experiencing to see if there’s anything they can do to help.

What other symptoms have you experienced or heard about during pregnancy?

how i got started with essential oils for pregnancy

how i got started with essential oils for pregnancy

by newbjo ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

I’ve always seen Pinterest posts about essential oils and didn’t know much about them, except that they’re good for you. It’s when I decided to give birth to babyJo naturally that I started seeing more about essential oils in my research.

During my third trimester I started experiencing major pain. I’m petite and a human is growing inside me, so some pain was expected – but WOW! My doctor recommended I visit a chiropractor and I am so glad I made that appointment.

As I walked into the office I could smell the essential oils being diffused. That was probably enough to get me started, but when the chiropractor used a blend on my hip after my adjustment it sealed the deal. At this point there were only a few things I knew about essential oils:

  1. They’re not cheap! But they’re a good investment because each oil is so pure you only need a drop or two
  2. Some oils aren’t recommended for pregnancy
  3. Some oils aren’t recommended for childbirth
  4. Some oils aren’t recommended for breastfeeding
  5. Some oils work wonders for pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding!

oils starter pic

After doing some research and consulting with my doctor and others, here was my first order:

  • Lavender (x2): I love lavender anyway, but this helps with a good nights rest. If you’re in the third trimester, you need all the help you can get!
  • Peace & Calming: This is for relaxation and better rest – I told you I’ll try anything!
  • Frankincense: can be used if I get sick (since I don’t take any OTC medication while pregnant) and also after child birth for the umbilical cord stump
  • Valor: Mainly for backaches, but can also be used if I get sick
  • Lemon: For both immune support and mood support! I’m planning to diffuse this in the labor room.
  • Peppermint: this is sort of a go-to for pregnancy discomforts in general!
  • Tea Tree: although this is generally regarded as safe for pregnancy, I’m not quite sure what it does… yet!
  • Purification Blend: I will be using this as a natural air purifier.
  • NingXia Starter Kit: This was recommended by another mom because it helps you get all your nutrients during pregnancy! I got the starter kit to try it out.

Also in my order, but not doctor recommended or in my research are oils and blends that just came in the collection I purchased. So I’ll hold off on using these until I find out more information:

  • Joy Blend
  • Stress Away Blend
  • Thieves Blend
  • PanAway Blend
  • M-Grain: I must admit I was just trying to get rewards here and I needed to buy one more thing. But mrJo gets bad headaches so this is my gift to him.

I’m excited to receive my order and write more about the benefits of essential oils in my pregnancy, childbirth, and beyond! Please share in comments your experiences!

Where I got started (with my member information added in case you don’t have another contact): www.youngliving.com/signup

Some blogs and resources that helped me with my first order: