Things I love about my Mom.

I seem to be all about the lists recently. Anywho, it sucks living with your mom when you're almost 24 and have a kid. But I'm also very grateful. There are tons of single moms that don't have the awesome support system that I do. Some people can't move back in with their parents when they're broke, and I bet a lot of them wish they could. I'm so grateful to my mama. We get on each others nerves, but she always has my and Clara's best interests at heart. Here are some things I love about her.

1.The only reason that I'm such a good mother to Clara, is because she was and is an awesome mama to me.

2. Her heart belongs to Lake Michigan. You've never seen my mom more beautiful then when she's sitting on a beach, staring at the waves in silence.

3. Sometimes, she actually knows everything. When something goes wrong or right, when I have to make a big decision, or I just need to vent, my mama is usually the first person I go to for advice.

4. She spoils Clara (and me too, a little bit). She's always doing something nice for us.

5. Even if I get mad, she pushes me to be the best person and mother that I can be.

6. She knows how to get a stain out of anything.

7. She appreciates everything I do. She says thank you. She lets me know that I made her feel special, even if it's just that I cleaned the toilet.

8. She has an incredible work ethic. She works 5 days a week at both her night job and her day job. When she has a day off, she refuses to sit still. She's doing things for other people, working outside in her garden (spring, summer, and fall), cooking, cleaning, playing with Clara. Something. all. the. time.

9. She would do anything for me. She had breast cancer this time last year. On the day of her second chemo treatment, I went into labor. She's the only reason I made it through 18 hours of labor with no drugs. She's my biggest advocate.

10. Her heart is always in the right place. Even if she messes up, it was done with good intentions.

That doesn't even touch the tip of the iceberg. If I can be half the mom to Clara that she was to me, I'll be the second best mommy in the world.

My Wonderful Experience with Hypnobabies

I had a wonderful experience using hypnobabies during pregnancy and labor. I heard about it through a friend, and I really thought it would be worth a try. I started the program when I was seven and a half months pregnant. What I noticed right off was how easily I slept. Instead of waking up multiple times a night due to discomfort and baby kicks and hiccups, I slept....well, like a baby. 

As Clara's guess date approached, I became more and more anxious about delivery. The positive affirmations really helped. I wrote out my birth plan, and my doctor found it to be appropriate. 

I was doing prenatal yoga and hypnobabies every morning and evening until the day before Clara was born. I finally felt ready and prepared. 

If you read Clara's birth story, you know that  we had some complications, and I was brought in to the hospital to be induced. Needless to say, my birth plan went out the window. After 18 hours of labor with no epidural or IV pain medications, I was still  going strong thanks to hypnobabies. I mean, I'm not gonna sugarcoat it, it was HARD. But manageable. I could do it. I was able. But I had only progressed a half a centimeter in those 18 hours. So, it was decided that a C-section would be done.

 I'm still getting over the fact that I wasn't able to have Clara naturally. I will most definitely be with a birthing center or possibly a home birth with my next child. 

I would never take back my experience using hypnobabies. It kept me calm. It kept me focused on allowing my body to do what it does naturally. I truly believe that without the medical intervention, I would have been able to have Clara naturally.

Benefits of using Hypnobabies: 

● Many moms use fewer drugs or no drugs, which means less risk of side effects for you and your baby, due to elimination of the Fear/Tension/Pain Syndrome, and using post-hypnotic suggestions.

● Most Hypno-mothers have shorter labors since there is less resistance of the birthing muscles when pain and fear are minimized or eliminated.

● Hypno-Moms generally have much more energy throughout first and second stage, due to total relaxation throughout the birthing process.

● The birthing environment is much more calm and peaceful when you, the natural childbirth mother are comfortable, relaxed and confident.

● Breech and posterior babies can be turned using hypnosis.

● Blood pressure, heart rate, and temperature can be lowered and nausea, back and hip pain eliminated with hypnosis during pregnancy and labor.

● There are fewer interventions for failure to progress and therefore fewer complications during labor for our mothers and babies.

● As a Hypno-Mom, you are easily "deprogrammed" from the usual negativity of childbirth stories and scenarios you may have heard or read, by way of training in Hypnobabies classes and audio CDs which have positive messages and hypnotic suggestions. This automatically allows you to have a much more positive attitude and confidence in birthing. It is truly a gift that you are giving yourself, an amazingly easy way to enjoy your pregnancy more and actually look forward to your baby's birth.

It is well worth the time to look into Hypnobabies as a wonderful birthing option, both for yourself and for your baby. Natural Childbirth without intense discomfort has many benefits to mom and baby, and the deep relaxation has even helped many a nervous birth partner to enjoy pregnancy and childbirth, since they experience hypnosis in Hypnobabies class as well! In addition, the skills you will learn for relaxation and hypnosis will benefit you both for the rest of your lives.

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Birth Story

Starting on Monday, March 21st, I couldn't feel the bean move as much as she had been. Or, really, at all. I've heard from everyone that movement slows down in the week or so before birth, so I was hopeful that it would be happening soon. My doctor said she should still be moving after every meal and at night when I'm going to bed, which she wasn't. I had an appointment on Thursday, March 24th and asked my doctor about her movement. She ordered a non-stress test after my appointment. For the hour I was on the monitor, bebe moved once. The doctor said her heart looked good, but she ordered me a non-stress test for the following Monday, set my induction date for April 4th, and sent me home.
On Friday, March 25th, I woke up still feeling uneasy. My Mom and sister called from my Mom's chemo treatment, and I shared my concerns with them. I kept telling my Mom that something wasn't right, and I needed to hold the bean in my arms, and then I would feel better. They both told me to go in and demand a non-stress test. So, I did. I drank juice, they put a vibration thing up against my belly, and the doctor tried moving her all around, but she wouldn't budge. I told my doctor that I would like an ultrasound, and it would really make me feel better.
She sent me to the hospital for a bio-physical profile, and they got me in right away. I called BD at work to let him know what was going on, and he said to let him know as soon as I knew anything. I also called my Mom and sister. The ultrasound tech was mostly quiet, but I got to see little bean's hands and feet move, and see her lungs working. She told me I could go home and would know within the hour.
I really didn't think anything was wrong. We've had so many false alarms, I'm used to over-reacting, but feeling better once I was checked out. I went to Old Navy and looked at baby clothes, then went to Barnes & Noble to continue searching for baby names, and doing parenting research. After the first hour with no news, I had a very anxious boyfriend, mother, and sister.
As I was beginning a list entitled "Things to do before the baby comes", the doctor called. She explained that my amniotic fluid was low, and that they wanted to induce me whenever I got to the hospital. I had a mini-panic attack, and she told me to pack last-minute things and eat a good meal. I left several books sitting out and left right away. As I was getting in the car, I called BD and said,
"We're having a baby."
"Today? Like right now?"
"Yes."
He left work to meet me at home. I called my Mom and sisters, drove home, and started grabbing last minute things. I forced myself to take a deep-breath, then walked in the nursery and cried my eyes out, staring at an empty crib that wouldn't be empty for long. BD got back and ate a meal, all while freaking out. I ate a banana. I made him stand in the nursery and take a deep breath, then told him to appreciate the silence for the last time. I kept rubbing my belly, trying to remember the feeling of the baby inside me. We got our last-minute things together, and left for the hospital.

Once we were settled and I was hooked up to monitors, the on call doctor came in to talk to us. She told us that we were in quite the dire situation. My fluid was not only low, it was dangerously low. There was 1 cc of fluid left (they like to see 10 cc). She said those are the babies that die, and that we were lucky to have found it now, before it was too late.

(And now to finish this story...)
I have to say that the worst part of the whole process was the monitors and iv. Especially since it was in my birth plan not to have those things. I was tethered to the bed by them, and couldn't even walk the halls.

Anyways, I was induced around 10 pm on Friday night. I slept maybe a total of 20 minutes the entire night. It was torture. Around 3 pm the following day, the on call doctor broke my water. Nothing was left. At 4 pm, my cervix had only dilated to 2.5 cm. (I had been at 2 cm for the last 3 weeks, so I had only progressed a 1/2 cm.) So, after 18 hours of drug-free labor and only a 1/2 cm of progression, it was decided that I would have a C-section. I cried. A lot. After all my work on my birth plan, my 2 months of hypnobabies, and TONS of research, I was disappointed. I felt like a failure. I know I wasn't, and the only thing that was important was a healthy baby, but I was disappointed. I wanted to do the whole thing naturally and drug-free. (*I learned that the best way of knowing what's going to happen, is to write a birth plan, and then expect the EXACT opposite to happen.)

Once a C-section was decided, the whole process happened very fast. BD dressed in scrubs and got the camera raedy. I said 'see ya later' to my mama, and they walked me into the operating room. (It was sterile and scary.) I was so afraid of moving while they did the spinal block (but I didn't). Not feeling pain is the weirdest sensation. I could feel what they were doing, but it didn't hurt. When I was all set up, they had BD come in and sit by my head. From there, it went quickly. BD talked to me the whole time.
When it was time to pull her out, the anesthesiologist held a mirror up so I could see her come out. :) She was so beautiful and perfect, all covered in blood and mucus. (BD says she looked like a demon.) BD just kept saying, "oh my goodness, oh my goodness", and taking pictures. I couldn't say anything. I just stared. I started crying right away. They cleaned her up and brought her over to Lee. I kissed her and stared. They took her to the nursery, and Lee stayed with me. I was so worried that everyone would get to hold her before me.
Now that she was out, and safe, I worried about me. They took about 30-45 minutes to close me up. I was trying not to freak out. (BD got a picture of the doctor sewing up my uterus while it was laying on my belly...eww.) They finally finished and took me to the recovery room. Lee's entire family and my mom and sister were waiting right outside my room. BD and the bean were waiting for me, and I got to hold her second, after him. :)
The nurses helped me start to breastfeed right away. It didn't work. Getting out of bed for the first time was horrible. I was very slow and in pain for the first two weeks. It took the baby and I about 10 days to get the hang of breastfeeding. It was very stressful.
Overall, I'm ok with the outcome. :) They took the staples out too early, and my incision separated. It became infected. I got an infection in my uterus, bringing on a cat-scan and 2 different antibiotics, and it still hasn't gone away. I couldn't get out of bed for the first week, even with vicodin, so I slept in a recliner. But through the pain and disappointment, I got the most beautiful and healthy baby girl.
Hopefully, once we finally get hooked up to the internet, I can start posting on a daily basis. Thanks for reading, and I would love comments and your continued support. Oh, and a vote if you wouldn't mind. :)

Happy Birthday!


Clara Leanne
Saturday March 26th, 2011
5:51 pm
6 lbs 15 oz 18 in