He's here!

Emmett Xavier Weddell arrived on January 31, 2013. We did have our home water birth as well as the Lotus birth like we were praying for. I wrote Emmett's birth story below if anyone is interested in reading it. This was definitely the hardest pregnancy, birth and now nursing experience I have had so far. I was very run down and did not feel well the entire pregnancy, no matter what I did. The birth was nothing like it was with Tabitha or Grady. Nursing has been a challenge also. Nursing Tabitha and Grady was definitely textbook worthy. I never had plugged ducts, cracked nipples, pain... until now, although it is finally getting better. So to say the past 9 months has been an eye opener and humbling, is an understatement.


Here is Emmett's birth story.

I was "37 weeks and 4 days" when labor started at about 6:15am. I felt the baby doing head butts against my cervix 2 times before I felt a “pop”. I ran to the bathroom and only dribbled on the floor, but as soon as I sat on the toilet, there was a small gush. I called my midwife to let her know.

Contractions started while on the phone with her. We kept track of every contraction with Contraction Master app for Eric’s iPad. It was really cool, because at the end of labor I emailed myself the chart of every contraction I had. I can also see when labor “stalled” a couple times.

Grady decided to wake up at 8:30, since he heard us talking and Tabitha woke up around 9:00. Tabitha took over recording the contractions and Eric decided to go back to sleep in case it was going to be a long day/night.

Contractions were manageable all morning and early afternoon. Labor stalled around 10:40-12:15, then again 4:20-5:30. After labor stalled the last time, I wanted to get things moving, so I had the kids take a nap and had Eric call our massage therapist friend to suggest a few acupressure points. Boy did they work! I stood up from where we were doing the acupressure and thankfully, I was standing on a pad. A huge gush of water came out. I felt like I was uncontrollably peeing, so as soon as it slowed, I hopped in the shower. Strong contractions started and they just kept intensifying. I started crying, which is our cue that the baby was coming very soon, so we had Tabitha call the midwife and tell her to come NOW!

I hopped in the tub and started having back to back contractions. My midwife, Erika, arrived about 30 minutes before I had a huge urge to push.  I did scream 2 times because the pressure was so intense. I pushed for 21 minutes and out came Emmett Xavier at 9:17pm. We did not cut the cord, as we did a lotus birth, but did decide to cut it on day 3 since I was afraid I was going to move him wrong and rip the cord from the umbilical site.  His cord did come off on day 5.

After the birth we made sure I didn’t scare the kids. Thankfully they said they weren’t scared. I am happy I prepped them with YouTube videos before hand. Tabitha also came up to me and gave me a big hug and told me “You’re really good at birth!”.  I am so blessed!

Below are pictures of Emmett's Lotus birth.

 

 

Getting ready for our next homebirth

Well, here we are, in a month or so we should have a new baby in our household. If you ask me, I am ready right now! I am so miserable and tired that I am just ready for it all to be done, but I must be patient and deal with the little irritations for a little while longer. The baby seems to think 4am is exercise and playing time already, so at least I am trying to get into that schedule. I try my best to put my feet up during the day, but that doesn't always happen with 2 other children to homeschool and feed, as well as all the other household things that need done. Eric has become more attentive since he was on vacation last week. He is making sure dishes are done as much as possible, laundry at least started, food cooked so it can just be reheated, and letting me sleep as much as I need to when he is home. I am truly blessed to have him as a husband.

I am very much looking forward to the Lotus portion of the birth. I have never been able to actually see a placenta up close and touch it before. I know Eric is squeamish about this, but I feel this is what we are supposed to be doing, instead of what our current culture feels is medical waste.

My home birth kit and lotus herbs have been here at the house for at least a month already and the baby clothes are already in the drawer. The cloth diapers have been washed 2 times so far and will be washed another 1-2 times before the birth, so they have maximum absorbency. I have sewn the lotus birth bags and cotton wraps, snap down infant gowns (so the cord can be safely strung through the gown), multiple diaper covers, and almost finished hemming/serging the shirts I made out of onesies.

I am also looking forward to the water birth. We are going to be making the basement into a birthing suite, since there is a bathroom, couches, adjustable lighting, and refrigerator down there already. All that is needed to do is lay down the tarp, set up the tub, and fill the tub, but that won't happen until I start labor.

House cleaning has begun. I am trying to get it done slowly and thoroughly so I don't go overboard when the "nesting" hits.

Naming our children has never been easy. Eric and I rarely see eye to eye on any name until last minute. I had already chosen names and thought he liked them, then after further discussion, he didn't really like one and I really didn't like the other. So, we took an entire week to go over even more names. The hard part for Eric is my stipulation that the name can not be on the current top 200 list on baby name websites and Eric doesn't like all of my beautifully chosen Titanic era (long) names. We now have 2 names that we agree on. I really pray that those are the final decisions.

Lotus Birthing

I have posted MY "Do's and Don'ts" of pregnancy, I will give light to another area of childbirth that many people have never heard of. That is lotus birthing.

Sure you have heard of water birthing, but that benefits the mother, while lotus birthing benefits the baby.

Recently there have been many articles and studies done around the world confirming that physicians and even midwives are clamping the umbilical cord too soon. Some clamp before the baby is even entire born, which deprives the baby of all of it's blood supply and some studies are thinking it is leading to brain damage. Up to 60% of babies blood is transferred to the placenta to ease birthing the child and there is also blood stored in the placenta that the baby doesn't use during the pregnancy which is stored for after birth, hence where the name for the placenta came from, The Afterbirth. Lotus Birth encourages postpartum/babymoon and slows down the whole afterbirth process and gives mother and baby the opportunity to have time to continue to bond without interruption.
I know we have done delayed cord clamping with Tabitha, we waited about 3-5 minutes, and Grady, we waited about 10 minutes. If we are blessed again, I would like the baby to be able to have all of the blood and nutrients available by keeping the cord uncut for as little as 6 hours (partial lotus) up to when the cord naturally falls off (full lotus birth).

This route is definitely not for everyone, I wanted to do this with Grady, but Eric has been really squeamish about the placenta in general, so I just dropped the subject all together last time. After much research and discussion, he told me I could do whatever I feel needs done, when the time comes, since I am the one constantly researching birthing statistics and reading everything I can to further my birthing education.

Why have a lotus birth? It just seems more natural! If you cut the cord, you are most likely instructed to wipe it down with rubbing alcohol at every diaper change to help avoid infection, right? Also it seems more natural that your baby has been with it's placenta for the past 9 months, so it should naturally fall off instead of us cutting it away like it never meant anything.

Equipment for a Lotus Birth

- A large bowl to birth the placenta in.
- A large sieve to strain the placenta for the fist 24 hours.
- A terry cloth square or other absorbent fabric to use as a placenta cloth.
- Sea salt, dried flowers, dried herbs or essential oils.
- A placenta bag.

A placenta cloth is used to wrap a baby's placenta during a Lotus Birth. It can be made of any breathable fabric, but I think terry would be best. It is about 19" x 19".

The placenta bag is to help carry the placenta along with the baby, so you do not have to be stuck in one spot for days. It must be large enough to contain the fresh placenta. It needs to be made from breathable fabric. It usually measures 10" for the bottom and 6 - 8" for the side height and has a drawstring closure so that you can tie it loosely and also double knot it to make handles.

Some of the herbs you can use for helping the placenta dry are Chamomile Leaves, Echinacea Flowers, Echinacea Root, Echinacea leaves, Golden Seal Root, Lavender Flowers, Marshmallow Root, Rosemary Leaves, Sage Leaves, Witch Hazel Leaf, Uva Ursi, Yarrow Flowers. In addition to these, you also use sea salt. (Yes, it does seem as though you are marinating it...)

I have made template placenta bags and placenta cloths, just to see if I could do it. The ones I found online are so expensive. I would be pleased to make a placenta bag and placenta cloths for anyone who would like these. If there are enough people who ask this, I may also start making my own herb mix too.

If there are any midwives or other birth professionals who read this and have a client who would like to lotus birth, you can contact me if they are interested in buying a placenta kit. I will happily make it for them! The costs will vary depending on the type of cloth.

Here are some things I took from Joyous Birth website

How to have a Lotus Birth

The placenta is kept level with the baby or higher (usually in a bowl or sieve) until the Wharton's Jelly has completely solidified, and all vessels have closed. If at that time, the mother decides she does not want a lotus birth, the cord could be cut without the need for clamping or tying off the cord.
If she wishes to continue with the lotus birth, the placenta is gently washed to remove blood clots and put back in the sieve/bowl and left to air. (Be nice, use warm water to wash it!) The placenta is best left to air for the first 24 hours, but it can also be wrapped in a cloth nappy whenever the mother desires.

Some people salt the placenta with sea salt to help the drying out process (after the first 24 hours). The nappy is changed once every 1-2 days and the placenta resalted until the cord falls away. DO NOT put anything on the cord or the part near the bellybutton. It is not necessary, just leave it alone! You may get some sticky stuff weeping from around the base of the cord, just wipe the dried bits off your baby's skin gently with a damp cloth.  Also, some mothers make a 'placenta bag' to put the nappy and placenta inside, and carry it around with the baby. Other mothers make keepsake decorative clay bowls to keep their placenta in!

Dealing with Baby & Placenta:

The cord will dry out pretty quickly, so careful how you position it! You can get it to dry in a certain position so its convenient when you change the baby's nappy or clothes. I had mine dry with a kink to the side, at where the cord came out of the nappy. Don't do this right at the bellybutton, you will have difficulty changing nappies! Don't worry about flexibility - you will notice that the cord can rotate at the bellybutton. As long as you're careful, it will rotate easily as you move the placenta around.
To carry the placenta and baby, put the placenta on the baby's tummy. Treat it with respect and care same as you would with your baby! In bed, just place it next to the baby. You may find yourself getting impatient with the extra burden of the placenta but remember this! The first days are supposed to be a SLOW time spent with your family, getting to know the newest addition!
Take it easy for this first week and just enjoy being a mother! Let visitors know this so they don't stay for long or better still, ban visitors until you are ready. Let your baby get used to your smells, daddy's smells and any brother/sister smells before you introduce him/her to visitors. Also this way you won't get any "comments" from visitors about the cord or placenta!
The cord will fall off quickest if you leave it all open to the air as much as you can! My daughter pulled her cord off at around 6 or 7 days I think, it was completely dried by day 5 but she seemed to be rather attached to it! I also noticed that she'd get upset if DH (husband) changed the placenta nappy, maybe she thought he'd run off with it haha.

Does the placenta smell?

Some people have asked me about the smells. What smell!? I have not once noticed a bad or meaty smell from the placenta or cord at all. (I live in the hot and humid Wet Tropics of QLD too!) I have noticed a salty smell - from the sea salt, and because I sprinkled my placenta with lavender, there was this wonderful soft lavender smell from the placenta nappy. I have heard others say their placenta smells like their baby, and I found this to be true in the first 24 hours before I did anything with the placenta.

Other Information: It takes a lotus cord about 3 - 7 days to fall away compared to the 5 - 15 days it takes for a cut cord stub to fall off/heal. There is no need to worry about infection or hygiene in a lotus birth as there is NO wound. The lotus cord will fall off quicker than a cut cord stub which is an open wound, and needs to heal, dry out and fall off. Open wounds also run a chance of getting infected!!

It is said that when the placenta is left intact, the baby is sensitive to having the cord and/or placenta touched. Even if the baby is sleeping and the placenta is touched it can startle the baby (this is reported even after the child and placenta are a few days old). Also, the baby may be particular to who touches his/her placenta!

After the Lotus Birth:

The placenta can be stored in the freezer in a labelled container, buried under a favourite tree in the garden, or even planted in a pot with a favourite tree or plant, so you can keep it with you even if you move house!
If you do bury/plant the placenta, don't plant anything in the same spot for one year as the placenta is so rich in nutrients that it can sometimes kill anything planted before a year is allowed to pass. Plant a tree, flower or plant in the same spot and the placenta will nourish its growth!

Taken from http://www.naturalparenting.com.au/flex/lotus-birth-a-gentle-beginning/363/1
Physiological benefits of delayed cord cutting include:

- More maternal antibodies received by infant.

- The baby receives full benefits from the placental blood including platelets that clot the blood, plasma (proteins of the blood), white cells to fight infections, red cells that have iron and carry oxygen to all cells, stem cells that replace worn out cells, hormones and enzymes and iron reserves.

- Less Respiratory Distress Syndrome (RDS), especially in premature infants.

- Less chance of infant brain damage (i.e., cerebral palsy, schizophrenia, autism).

- Higher infant blood pressure.

- Less need for blood transfusions for premature infants.

- Less chance of organ damage from schema in premature babies.

- Improved infant renal (kidney) function.

Some reasons parents choose a Lotus Birth include:

- Improved breastfeeding success rate.

- Possible faster healing of the umbilicus.

- To avoid unnecessary risk of cord infection.

- Because the parents don’t want to cut the cord, preferring a completely natural intervention-free birth.

- No need to worry about clamping or cutting the cord.

- Respect for the baby and placenta as a unit.

- Encourages maximum mother/baby bonding.

- Facilitates baby mooning by limiting visitors (many will prefer to wait until the cord separates).

- To promote mother/baby attachment, less passing around of the baby.

- To allow the most gradual and peaceful transition into this world for the baby.

- Baby is kept very still, the environment kept very quiet and mother gets maximum rest.

Here are a few websites on lotus birth. Please keep in mind that I do not believe in the "earthy/religious" aspects that a lot of these websites seem to associate with lotus (ie... nature worship). I am for the aspect that this is a normal 4th stage of labor.

http://www.lotusfertility.com/Lotus_Birth.html

http://www.naturalparenting.com.au/flex/lotus-birth-a-gentle-beginning/363/1

http://www.lotusbirthcampaign.org/what-is-lotus-birth.html

False Negatives

I am so relieved that I am finally not going out of my mind as of this morning! After an error and 2 negative pregnancy tests, I finally got the positive result I knew it had to be.

I am so excited! It was a month earlier than planned, but a baby is a blessing. I think I can handle sharing a birthday month :)