Valentine's Day LOVE Craft

       Another holiday, another craft that you try to attempt and hope that it looks half as good as what you saw on Pinterest. That's basically how I look at it. This one turned out pretty adorable, but let me tell you... Trying to wrangle a 6 month olds hand, paint it, and get a decent looking handprint onto a canvas, isn't easy.

Things You Need: 
10 x 10 Canvas (We got ours BOGO 50% off at Michael's, they're around $7 regular price)
Red Acrylic Paint
Paintbrush
Modge Podge
Baby Wipes
Lots of Patience :)


       This was pretty cheap & easy to make, aside from the handprint at the end, but it would be way easier and way quicker with an older munchkin. 



       I took the canvas, and painted an L in the upper left hand corner, and an E in the lower right hand corner. The hand print and footprints will make the O and the V. I used my hairdryer on the cool setting, to dry the paint quickly so that Brooks wouldn't end up with more paint on him than we needed.





       

       We did the footprints to make up the V, first. I think if I were to do this again, I probably would've gotten the handprint out of the way first, and it might've been a little bit easier. Brooks was passed out in the Tula on my back for this, and somehow the foot tickling with the paint didn't wake him up...

       Brooks was awake by this point, so I figured I'd put him in the highchair and it might be a little easier to get the handprint. I was wrong, it was incredibly difficult. He wanted to clench his fist to squeeze/feel the paint on his hand, so it was a real pain to get him to open it up for me. By the time I finally got his hand open, it needed more paint because it had smeared around and dried on parts. Fun times. :) 

       Here's the finished project! As you can see, the handprint is a little bit smeared. Oh well, it still looks cute. Plus, what kid's project is "perfect?" I'll end up glazing it over with a coat of Modge Podge to seal it, and voila! Here's a nice wall hanging that I can bring out to help decorate for every Valentine's Day :) 

P.S. The acrylic paint wipes right off with baby wipes, so keep a pack handy so you're able to wipe the paint off before it ends up everywhere!

Motherhood

I approached my husband a few weeks ago, asking him to take a picture of me nursing our son, Brooks. In my mind, I wanted to put on a decent outfit, actually straighten my hair, & maybe even throw on a little makeup, sit on the couch and let Brooks nurse away while he snapped a few nice pictures for me to have and keep. Then, while lying in bed one night, nursing my little peanut, I realized that's not what I wanted to capture. I didn't want to capture it like that, with a facade that made me look like I actually had my shit together every day.  Newsflash-I don't. Sure, it's good for you to dress nice and do yourself up to keep yourself feeling good, but that isn't what I wanted a picture of. I wanted a picture of what I normally wouldn't *want* to be captured. I wanted it to capture motherhood, and my life, in all of its raw, beautiful, exhausting, enlightening, frustrating, sometimes I go 3 days without a shower because I literally forgot (shut up, you know darn well that you do it, too), glory. 

I'll never forget bringing Brooks home, holding his squishy little newborn self in my arms in total awe of what I had before me. I soaked up, and still soak up all of the wonderful cuddles and take in that sweet baby smell every second that I can. Then, I looked in the mirror after the first shower when we got home from the hospital. There I stood, with my own 'just gave birth swollen squishy stomach, some pretty impressive stretch marks, not so designer bags the size of Texas under my eyes, sore 'my baby is literally glued to my chest' boobs, those great mesh underwear with a pad bigger than I even knew they could make attached, and more love in my heart than I ever thought humanly possible. That was my postpartum, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. That was all marking the beginning of the most amazing journey I would ever set out to take on, the beginning of motherhood.

It slapped me in the face. I tried telling myself that I just gave birth and it's normal, but it was hard in the beginning and I still have my days. I tried ignoring the extra squish, the stretch marks on my stomach, hips, ass, chest and basically everywhere else, but it was impossible. Six months later, I've finally learned to embrace it. Sure, I lost most of the baby weight, but breastfeeding has done its job on redistributing weight, making me squishy in areas I never was before. That's okay. I'm okay. I'm a mom. My body took on the most amazing journey ever, and gave my husband and I the most amazing gift ever. A bright, happy, healthy baby boy, who is the light of my life. 

Motherhood isn't always beautiful, and it's surely not always perfect. Our bodies or outer shell may never look the same again, but it's all for the better. Here I sit, feeding my baby, lacking make-up, brushed hair, and a shower today. It is what it is. I know I'm giving him all of the love I possibly can, and that's what matters the most while I'm soaking in this still pretty new, crazy normal. 

To the other mommas out there...  Feel free to share with your momma friends. I want all of you to know this, too. Motherhood has taught me in this short time to embrace imperfection, and that quite honestly, the most seemingly imperfect things will end up being the most perfect to you in the end. Take it from me, please. It doesn't matter if you stay at home, work at home, work outside the home, or something in between. We're all mothers. Do yourself a favor... Embrace the imperfection. Embrace the even more amazing and badass 'new you.' Embrace the ever so convenient mom bun, and the unwashed yoga/pajama pants that are covered in spit up & who knows what else. Embrace the days where you wonder how much more your tiny little baby could possibly eat. Embrace the stretch marks and extra 15 lbs, because who gives a crap what anyone wants to think.... You just had a baby. Embrace the crazy days where you don't even remember what meals you ate because you were too busy with your little one. Embrace the giggles, the smiles, and even those late sleepless nights. I know I'll miss them, one day. It's hard. It's emotional, it's exhausting and some days it just breaks you down. It's okay, though. You're okay. You will get through it, and continue to be the absolutely amazing mama that you are. Embrace yourself, embrace every last bit of motherhood and what it offers you every single second, of every single day. 

This is my new normal, my perfectly imperfect life and self. This is motherhood. 

Starting Solids!

       We started Brooks on solids on January 31st, when he was 26 weeks old. I mention the 26 weeks, because I wanted to be sure we waited 6 months before introducing him to anything other than my breastmilk. At 26 weeks, he was 2 days short of "officially hitting" 6 months based on his birthday, and past the 24 week/6 month mark. Health and breastfeeding experts all over the world agree that babies should be 6 months old before being introduced to anything but breastmilk. Loads of research has been done on this, but as always-not every provider is necessarily up to date with the latest information. WHO, AAP, AAFP, and UNICEF are just a few of the several organizations who recommend that babies should have nothing but breastmilk (or formula) for the first 6 months. That means no cereal, juice or solids. Babies will be developmentally ready, inside and out, for solids by 6-8 months of age. KellyMom has some great information about this, and why 6 months is that magic number. To me, the simple fact alone that their digestive systems aren't ready sooner, is a key reason as to why we waited 6 months and didn't choose to introduce any rice cereal, or anything like that. If you research "Virgin Gut," your eyes will definitely be opened up to a lot, and you too will most likely decide to hold off until at least 6 months!

       When you decide to start your baby on solid foods, there's a lot of information out there. There are different ways to go about feeding, whether it be deciding to do purees or baby-led-weaning style... Or simply deciding what their first food should be. At first I started to whip up some purees in our Baby Bullet (which we do love!), and then I decided to research BLW (baby led weaning) some more. It piqued my interest, and we decided to go with it for his first days of solids. There's a great page here, explaining more about BLW, how to do it, etc., at Mama Natural. I am SO glad we did this. You always imagine yourself spoon feeding your baby their first foods, but the reason that purees for baby were even a thing, is because people were starting to feed their babies at 4 months. Their digestive systems simply aren't ready for foods at that point, so the purees are given because they're more easily digested.

       Watching Brooks explore on day 1 with sweet potato was pretty impressive. Of course, babies learn with their hands and their mouths, but watching him pick up chunks of sweet potato and munch away on them wasn't what I was expecting. It felt natural, and it felt right. He was having fun exploring with his food, and I was having fun watching him. Sure, not a massive amount of food actually gets eaten at first, but that's just how it goes. It's easier for him to tell me he's done, versus me sitting there spoon feeding him, and waiting for a jar to empty. He knows when he's over it, and wants to be done.

       Food preparation for BLW definitely matters, because you have to make sure the foods are cooked soft enough and the chunks are cut to an appropriate size. When you do your research on BLW, you'll figure it all out!

       For the sweet potato, I just cut it in half long ways, put it in a glass baking dish, skin side down, and put a little bit of coconut oil on top of it. I baked it at 350 for probably around 45 minutes until it was soft enough for him. I peeled the skin off once it cooled, and sliced it into french fry-like chunks. He seemed to love it!

       The next food we tried was banana, and he REALLY loved it. It's so amazing and fun to me to watch him feed himself! With the banana, I cut it in half across the middle, so it basically made two mini bananas. Then, a couple of inches down, I cut through just the skin, all the way around, and peeled it off so some of the banana was exposed. Cutting it like this allowed him to munch away, but not get his hands all messy. Win, win!

       He's also had some butternut squash, and broccoli. He loves holding broccoli and chomping away at it. The squash.... Not a huge fan. All in all, we love baby-led weaning so far. We give him food once or twice a day, depending. He eats however much he wants, and I can usually tell he's done when he starts playing around and throwing stuff. :) I'm glad I discovered it through friends before we dove straight in and did strictly purees. This is more fun for all of us! Plus-I can watch him eat, which allows me to have some time to eat too. That's a big win for me!

Dad's Birth Story

   

        On December 2nd, 2014 I received a phone call letting me know that I was going to accomplish one of my biggest goals in life. While working I received a phone call from my wife, saying “I’m pregnant.” Granted I didn't have the best enthusiasm because of being in the middle of work and I simply said “ Cool, we’ll talk when I get home.” I promise, I was way more excited when it really hit me. 

       But from that day, until August 2nd, 2015 I was one of the happiest people on the face of this earth-of course with a mix of “oh shit” and “Can a 22 year old KID really be responsible for something that’s so special?”

        Let’s fast forward to the sentimental stuff from July 31st to August 2nd, 2015.

       My father was in town from Seattle, Washington, and it was a very late night since I was nervous about my wife having to be induced. I was also scared to fail much like my father did… Even though my parents went their separate ways and I was 3,000 miles away for most of my childhood, my father wanted to speak to me on the subject of how to be a father, and how to protect and serve my family. He wanted me to comprehend every mistake he ever made and be a good husband and a good father.

        I put my pregnant wife and my ten pound guard dog to sleep and held back tears about being parents… finally. But as I sat there playing NHL 2015 in my underwear and socks and stole one of my Dad’s beers from the the fridge.. he crept up the stairs as if I put him in timeout. He spoke softly and asked me to talk, and of course I wanted to talk. It was kind of like one of those movies with the “big talk” and informative conversation about what to expect or what I signed up for.

The Big Day:

       August 1st, 2015 at around 10 A.M., we had to be on our way to Magee Women’s Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Of course, my father and his current wife were a little slow paced since they lived life as if it were still 3 hours behind. So my dog Brody, my wife, and I were on our way to the hospital. I kept thinking to myself “How in the hell am I… Arthur Anderson going to be a father when three years ago I joked about being married and having a family?” But unlike the movies, everything wasn’t a slow-mo action scene from a Bruce Willis film. It was hit after hit like a goal line stance at a 90’s Bills game.

       So my wife’s Aunt and Uncle, my dad, my step mom, my pregnant wife, and myself went up to the 2nd floor and checked in for our delivery room. I rubbed my face, took off my hat, and looked over the railing and saw nothing but moms, babies and dads carrying car seats and quite honestly I was scared as hell, heart beating out of my chest, cold sweats, just thinking about a tough past, and hoping that I wouldn't fail.

       I’m guessing we waited over an hour for a room, and of course we were picky since my wife wanted a natural birth, so we relocated to a room with a tub. We got settled in and I helped my wife with whatever it was she needed. My wife and I had a moment where we both knew that we were ready to be parents but also so nervous for what the next few hours had in store.

       Fast forward a few hours. The day shift nurses got on my last nerve. The night shift came on and checked on my wife’s progress, and mainly the midwife was there and we were excited since she did a lot of our previous appointments i.e. cervix checks and etc. My wife and I sat there and just watched the Pirates play the Cardinals on a cool rainy night and of course McCutchen was not clutch during that game but I sure as hell knew I had to be clutch when it came to getting our baby out of my wife so I could hold him. (selfish but I’m excited too!) The midwife came in to check in with us and also discussed the idea of a code word for my wife to say if she for some reason couldn’t take the pain of her Natural Childbirth, so we decided on our dog’s name which is Brody. If she said that word, we knew she was caving and wanted the epidural. Roughly around 1 P.M., when the day had started, they put the Misoprostol in my wife’s cervix and less than an hour she felt contractions… Later on that night, around 11:30, the stripped her membranes to keep things moving. We walked what felt like thousands of laps around the L&D unit, and then at 1:30am, they broke my wife’s water. Because she was diagnosed with Polyhydramnios (too much fluid), when they broke her water… There was A LOT. 

       Funny side note, my stupid self wanted to take a nap and catch some Z’s before the big push, after they broke her water… I didn’t realize things we’re going to get moving so fast, but as you can figure I was in it for the long haul. 

        I remember the contractions, the screams, and the squeezing of my hands and how she just wanted to be done with this whole labor thing and just wanted to push. But of course there was this process which is what I’ll explain from my point of view.

       First it was the big red yoga ball which looked like Clifford the big Red Dog’s chew toy. She bounced and bounced over and over again after they broke her water, and more water poured out as if she peed the bed… I was right there holding her in my arms and we bounced together. (wasn’t harmony or dancing in the rain I’ll tell you that now hah!) Our MW came in and asked us what we wanted to do and my wife piped up and said lets try and get into the tub. So in doing so we made a trail of towels as my wife leaked amniotic fluid everywhere, I undressed her and our midwife ran the bath and we got her in there, and she kept contracting and contracting like it was no one’s business. 

       My wife’s contractions were so rough on her body she kept dozing off during the short breaks between them. So after that, my wife was only in a bra and nothing else and scurried her pregnant butt back onto the hospital bed for a brief moment and the pain was too intense when she got into that position on the bed, so quickly we switched to standing up and leaning on the food tray that the hospital provides for the rooms. From my point of view I had to hold her hips like we were Bump and Grinding to an R.Kelly song. Clearly that wasn’t the case. Every time she contracted, I had to push in and up on her hips to alleviate the pressure on her from the back labor. I did everything I could do to be helpful, and the night time nurses and the midwife were helpful because they not only calmed my wife down but they calmed my happy ass down too.

 

       So, in the meantime, when my wife was at about 6 cm for dilation of her cervix and they gave her four shots of sterile water injections into her lower back to help with the back labor… and I’ll just say she screamed bloody murder and my stupid self said “shhhh honey it’s okay.” She probably would of slapped me if she had the power and energy too but luckily for me at that moment, she was pregnant, and exhausted. She told me right then not to dare tell her to be quiet. I listened. 

       After that didn’t work for long, it felt like a lifetime she was stuck on 8 centimeters dilated, then 8.5, finally we were approaching ten and we both were so thankful but around this time it was time for shift change and our midwife decided to stay and help us so for that I’m forever grateful. (and if I ever win the Powerball she’s getting a chunk.)

        My wife educated herself and used gravity to help move the baby along, with her face at the head of the bed and her lower half towards the foot of the bed, on her hands and knees to push.

       I’ll keep this short because I don't want to invade my wife’s privacy and ruin a cherished moment in my life, but she kept pushing and screaming, and swearing her butt was about to explode.

       As she was getting closer to the “ring of fire,” she was biting me harder and harder and almost made me bleed, but I held onto her hand as did the other nurse who was also a trooper. Our midwife also kept giving us updates about how close we were to being parents as she pushed, while our son was crowning, and I broke down. I won’t lie to anyone who reads this... I cried like a little kid. 20 percent of me was excited to hold my son, the other 80 percent of me flashed through all the tough times in my life and where I was before I met my wife, who I like to refer to as the woman who saved me. They were all tears of joy, and there were a lot of them.

        After all of the hardships in labor and pain endured, my wife never once mentioned the code word that would've meant she wanted the epidural, and our baby boy Brooks Callahan Anderson was born at 10:01 A.M. on a beautiful Sunday morning. She had the natural birth that she had dreamed of. (Minus the back labor.)

    Post Birth:

       After my son was born, the nurses and everyone wanted to grab at him, measure him and record his weight, and the midwife let my wife have skin to skin with our son for 60 minutes after he was born. Just so you know, the midwife and the nurses had different bosses and procedures on what needs to be done versus what was wanted to be done but of course as being the parents of Brooks, and having a hell of a midwife to advocate for us- we got our way. Our boy was 8 lbs. 7.6 ounces & 21.25 inches long. Overall, we were just caught up in the moment and I couldn’t have thanked the midwife enough for helping us both through this long 18 hour adventure called childbirth.

        Of course there were some nurses who were just insensitive to what we wanted and there were those who were insensitive from a family perspective. But as we let a select few into our room to meet our son there was this sudden dad moment in my mind that just told everyone to get out, and to tell the nurses to banish all family members to this far away castle called our postpartum room.” The nurses who checked Taylor after she gave birth came and gave us some advice and overall checked her to make sure that she was okay. I can honestly say I changed his first diaper, and I was there to help ask or answer questions while my wife slept. 

        I understand we are first time parents, but my wife did all the research and we were as prepared as any 22 year olds could be. What scared me the most, was when a social worker showed up to the door of our room. I got scared that they thought we weren’t fit to be parents or someone like, adopted our kid without consulting us.  Luckily it was nothing like that. They check on everyone. 

        Saving the best for last, my happiest moment(s) was when we met the lactation Consultant and she said; “Well since you are exclusively breast feeding I guess you can call yourself a Breastaurant.” I was cracking up at that, and my wife and I still joke around and throw that around. The ultimate happiest moment though, was when I ran my happy self to the elevator and ran to the car to get that green and black Graco carrier that we waited nine months to use. I came back to our room with it, and it was finally time for my wife, Brooks, our dog Brody, and myself to be a bigger family.

       My experience is a memory I’ll never forget and I’ll gladly talk to anyone who reads this. On the subject of my wife going with a natural birth, I supported it 110 percent from the beginning. No, I didn’t read any books, I didn’t educate myself because I like to read books that you can color in. My wife did her research and talked it over with me, and given the circumstances of her medical history she truly did not want a needle in her back for a very solidifying reason in my eyes. There really wasn’t a question about what I wanted my wife to do during childbirth… I wasn’t the one pushing him out and ultimately I felt like I had no say in what she wanted. I was there to be supportive in what she wanted. If a woman gets an epidural it does not mean you're weak or pathetic, so don’t think for a second that if you don’t go natural then you don’t understand childbirth… I simply supported my wife in what she wanted, and I’d support her if that was what she wanted regardless. If a woman gets a C-section whether it be electively or for medical reasons, it doesn’t mean you're not part of the band of motherhood. Me personally, after what I saw and experienced with my wife… I sure as hell wouldn’t be having kids…EVER. 

       Experiencing natural childbirth with my wife was something neither of us will ever forget. Not saying that birth is any less special when it happens another way, but for us personally, I feel like it made it even more. I was able to participate, and be actively involved in a way that I never imagined possible. Sure, I had bruised arms from her squeezing and even biting me at one point to get through the pain as she pushed, but it was all worth it. It brought us closer as husband and wife, and gave us the most amazing experience. It was empowering for us both, and for me especially to see first hand what the female body is capable of powering through and accomplishing. I can only hope with our future children, that we have an equally amazing experience, minus the back labor for my wife's sake. 

       Yes, we vaccinated our son, which some people don’t agree with. We agreed it was in our son’s best interest, and yes our son is circumcised because it’s what we wanted… Granted there is no medical reason for doing so or not doing so, it was just a preference we wanted and discussed. In regards to my wife breastfeeding, with no use of pacifiers or bottles, that is a choice she made and I simply nodded my head and agreed to it. We felt it was the best choice for our family in the end. This does not mean we think you are a bad parent for choosing to use them, or that we think less of you. It’s how we chose to parent and I’d like to hope that you would not pass judgment on my wife and I choosing to parent this way.

       There is no right or wrong way on how to parent, there is no right or wrong way to give birth, and in my opinion there is no right or wrong to feed your baby whether it be formula or breast milk, from a bottle or a woman’s breast. It’s just our take and taste on how we want to do things, and what we felt was best. I do hope that more and more mothers and fathers become more and more educated on labor and delivery as much as we did and continue to do, because it’s benefitted us both tremendously. 

       Overall, my wife and I worked as a team and we made/are making the choices we believe will most benefit our son and future children.

       I’ll end it on this note for any future or current parents; I’ll answer any questions or have a discussion on how I feel about all the controversial subjects regarding giving birth, and how to take care of your children. I’m a proud parent who supports my wife every step of the way, and even 110 percent supports my wife breastfeeding in public. I sure as hell support dad’s babywearing their kids in carriers i.e. Tula’s, because I do it, and It doesn’t bother me if another man says that I’m losing my man card. I was there every step of the way, and I rose to the occasion when it came time to be there physically and emotionally for my wife. In the end, that’s what matters most.

 

Polyhydramnios

I’ll start off by saying that the end of my pregnancy wasn’t exactly as picture perfect as I had hoped it would be. I guess most things about pregnancy are not ‘ideal,’ but I’ll get into that at another time. At my 33 week checkup, we learned that I was measuring 2 weeks ahead, in regards to my fundal height. It didn’t seem like a big deal to me, but they let me know that if I was measuring ahead at the next appointment, we would have to get a growth scan done to make sure everything was okay. 

Sure enough, we went to my 35 week appointment and I was measuring 2.5-3 weeks ahead at that time. I was only 34w3d in the picture above. I didn't know how much bigger I could get. They decided to send us for the growth scan, so we went a few days later when they were able to squeeze us in. It lasted way longer than my husband or I would’ve liked it to. A few measurements turned into a lot more measurements than we thought there would be. The ultrasound tech measured Brooks, and we learned that he was about 6 lb 10 oz according to the scan. Though we didn’t take that estimate too seriously-I about had a heart attack knowing that my baby was potentially already almost 7 lbs at 35 weeks. I was slightly scared of delivery at that point because I knew if I went a full 42 weeks that I would be delivering at least a 10 lb baby. Considering I was planning on my natural birth, this made me a little uneasy. During the scan, when Brooks would move, his heart rate jumped over 200 bpm quite a few times. That scared the crap out of us, and made us even more nervous on top of the nerves we already had from the crazy amount of measurements. From what they told us, increases like that in the baby’s HR are normal, as long as the baseline HR isn’t too high, and as long as the increases are associated with fetal movement. 

They noticed during the scan that there was a LOT of amniotic fluid around him. By a lot, I mean way more than normal. The high end of normal amniotic fluid at that point is around 25, and mine was 31.9. As you can see in the picture above, I was huge by the time I was induced. He still had a ton of room to swim around in there, and we were able to get perfectly clear 3D/4D imaging of him, which isn’t common that far along. It was a bit of an added bonus, to distract me from all of the extra chaos if anything. At that point, I was scared and confused. A doctor came in, and sent us over for an NST, but didn’t really say much to us in regards to what was going on, aside from mentioning something called Polyhydramnios, and that there was a possibility I would need to be induced early. The NST ended up looking fine, but my doctor let us know later that day that I would be going for a weekly ultrasound to check the fluid and a weekly NST to keep an eye on the heart rate accelerations. 

I didn’t have another appointment for 10 days, and the waiting was making my husband and I both insane. I called my doctors' office to ask what exactly was going on. Before I did that though, I visited Google. Bad, BAD idea. Google is basically the devil when you’re pregnant. I’m pretty sure over the 39 weeks I was pregnant, it only proved itself to be helpful 2-3 times. All of the other times it did nothing but scare the crap out of me and make me think either that I was dying or something was going wrong with the baby. Not a good thing when pregnancy hormones are already making you basically batshit crazy. Of course, this time it scared me again. I simply searched “Polyhydramnios.” I started reading, and it basically just talked about how Polyhydramnios is an excessive amount of amniotic fluid. I didn’t get too concerned, until I dug into things a little bit more. 

I saw that it occurs in only about 1% of pregnancies, and can cause pre-term labor, and that if there’s enough fluid it may require draining with a needle. WHAT?! No thanks. I wasn’t too fond of that idea. I then read, that some of the known causes can include a birth defect that affects the baby’s gastrointestinal tract or central nervous system, maternal diabetes (which I knew I didn’t have), a lack of red blood cells in the baby, or blood incompatibilities between the mother and baby (which I also knew wasn’t the case). It also mentioned how complications can include premature birth, PROM (when your water breaks early), excess fetal growth, placental abruption (placenta peels away from the uterine wall before delivery), C-Section delivery, Stillbirth, heavy bleeding after delivery, or umbilical cord prolapse (when the cord drops into the vagina ahead of the baby). 

All of that scared me so much. My doctor called me back, and let me know they wouldn’t be letting me go past 39 weeks. I would be getting induced. I then realized in that moment that I was 36 weeks along. This baby would be here in no more than 3 weeks. I thought at one point I could have as many as 42 weeks if he decided to stay cooking. Cue the panic!

At my next few appointments, I met with my midwife, and she further explained everything for us. The main concern in her eyes was the possibility of cord prolapse, but she said that his head was far enough down where she wasn’t too horribly worried about it. My belly kept growing and growing, though. At my last appointment, the day before my induction, I measured 43-44 weeks. Not fun. Not fun at all. I was huge and I felt like my skin was going to tear open at any second. My husband kept joking around that it was going to be a real life Alien v Predator situation. 

Luckily, my case of Polyhydramnios didn’t end up being anything serious, or causing anything serious. Though I did have a very large amount of fluid, it didn’t cause any more issues than a really huge mess when my midwife broke my water at the hospital. It seems to me, and from what my midwife told me that a majority of cases of Polyhydramnios, usually don’t have a cause discovered, and in a lot of cases present no complications. Thankfully, everything worked out for us in the end. They took extra caution when stripping my membranes and breaking my water during my induction, but our sons head was far enough down at that point that it wasn't too concerning or worrisome for us. I was so thankful that it ended up not causing any problems for us or for the baby. 

Moral of that story is don't hesitate to ask questions, and don't scare yourself with Dr Google when you're pregnant. If you don't ask enough questions-your mind will make sure you're going crazy by asking you 1,000 of them after your appointment. 

Cradle Cap Treatment

     Brooks had seemingly perfect skin and hair from Day 1, but a couple of weeks ago we noticed he was starting to get a flaky scalp. I realized it was cradle cap, but wasn't sure exactly how to go about treating it. I saw a few different places say to just leave his shampoo on a little bit longer in the bath, and use the comb on his hair before & after the bath as well. I tried both of those things, but it wasn't seeming to work, and the cradle cap was getting worse.

       I saw a few different places mention using coconut oil, but a variety of different methods of use in terms of when & how long to leave it on for. I tried a few different ways, and I seem to have found the perfect remedy! It may not work for everyone, but its worth a shot. We use Spectrum Organic Coconut Oil to treat it. We use this to cook with too, so it was nice that we already had it in the house! You can get a jar of it at Target or a grocery store for around $7.00, but it lasts a while!! We love cooking with it, and using it in place of Olive Oil. It's healthier and works great.

       The coconut oil is a solid in the jar, at room temperature depending on how warm whenever you're storing it is. When you run the jar under warm/hot water it will liquefy. All I did was liquefy it in the jar, scoop some out and put it on my hands, then rub it all over his hair and scalp. I let it sit for about 5-10 minutes before putting him in the bath! Once I got him in the bath, I combed it through his hair, and then shampooed it but left the shampoo sit in his hair until his bath was over. Once I rinsed it at the end, things already looked better!

       I used the coconut oil to treat the cradle cap, every other bath. So, every other day, and it was cleared up 100% in just a week! I noticed a huge difference just after the first 1-2 uses of it and I couldn't believe it! Now his scalp looks amazing, with no sign of the cradle cap! 

August 2, 2015

       I felt like pregnancy took forever some weeks, while others flew by. Once I found out at 36 weeks that I was going to have to get induced at 39 weeks, time flew by up until the final few days before my induction. Then it drug by. I was so anxious. I was anxious to meet our little boy, I was so unbelievably anxious and excited to start this new journey as parents alongside my husband, and anxious to deliver our baby boy. 

       I’d been 100% hell bent on a natural birth from the beginning. I still to this day get crazy looks, I was (and still am) told I was stupid and crazy, and that I would never be able to do it by complete strangers. I learned to deal with the comments, because I realized natural birth wasn’t exactly the norm here, which in my opinion is unfortunate. Let me say first, I have *absolutely nothing* against mothers who make birthing decisions that are opposite of my own. If you choose to have an epidural, that’s totally fine. It’s your decision and I don’t judge. I wanted a natural birth, because after doing research and reading into some things, I determined that it was the absolute best and healthiest option for myself and my son. Plus, the way I saw it, it's what our bodies are made for, so why not aim for that. Right? 

       I was incredibly afraid of being induced because of wanting a natural birth so badly. I realize that birth plans don’t always go according to planned. Very rarely do they actually go how you want them to. Being induced was obviously not a part of mine. I was prepared to go a full 42 weeks before getting induced if I had to. I then was diagnosed with Polyhydramnios (too much amniotic fluid)-which I delve into in another post-and because of that diagnosis, I didn't have a choice. That was okay, though. I wasn't happy about it, but the safety and health of my baby comes before my comfort. I was afraid of Pitocin, and the endless amount of possible issues that can ensue with induction, with the increased chances of a cesarean section being necessary, among many other things. Thankfully, I had an amazing midwife through my OB office, that took all of my concerns into account, and made sure things went as smoothly as possible. 

       I tried like hell to get myself to go into labor before my induction date, but we all know none of the crap they try to tell you to do actually ever works. I was 2cm dilated and 80% effaced for a solid 2 weeks before being induced. Endless walks, hours bouncing on a yoga ball, drinking loads of pineapple juice and eating spicy foods….. Didn’t do a damn thing. Figures. 

       My induction date rolled around, and I had to wake up by 8am to wait for a phone call. They told me they’d call me between 8a-12p, and let me know when to come in. 9:45am, my phone rang and it was the hospital. They told me it was time and that we could head over. We showered, ate breakfast and loaded up then headed on our way at around 10:45am. Of course traffic that morning was an absolute mess, so the 45 minute drive turned into about an hour and 35 minutes. My nerves didn’t need that.

While we were waiting to go back to our room!

       

       On the way there, I kept telling my husband that I was getting nervous and didn’t know if I’d be able to succeed with the natural birth. He just kept telling me that he knew I could do it, and that was enough to keep me calm for the time being. We finally arrived at the hospital around 12:25pm and they didn’t have a room ready yet, so we stood around for a bit. I was able to request a room with a tub/shower to labor in, which was awesome. It was a lifesaver during labor. I got back to my room at 1:15pm, and they got things started pretty quickly. I was handed a pretty generously sized pile of paperwork to start filling out, and they took care of my IV. The girl that did my IV initially was new (I didn't mind-they have to learn somehow!) and she ended up blowing my vein. That was a fun start to our day!! The next girl thankfully got it done perfectly after giving me a little break to recover from the initial mishap. I had a nice bruise for a couple of weeks afterwards...

       The nurses and doctors knew I was aiming to go 100% natural, so to start the induction they used Misoprostol, and inserted it into my cervix. I had to stay in bed for 1 hr following that, to make sure it was completely absorbed, and then I was free to move around. They put me on the wireless monitoring for contractions/baby’s HR, so I was able to walk around the L&D unit as much as I wanted to. I started walking laps with my husband around L&D just to try and keep things moving. I was having regular contractions within an hour of the Misoprostol, but I wasn’t really feeling them yet. 

       My midwife came on at 5pm, and into our room at around 7pm. She told me to keep snacking (but don’t tell the nurses!), because my food was energy and that I needed to allow myself to stay nourished. I told her she needed to make sure Brooks was delivered by the time she left at 7am, because I didn’t want anyone else delivering him! Haha. I knew I wouldn't be able to do as well without her there, and I didn't want an OB delivering him. She told me to just move about, and do whatever I felt like doing at the time and just labor as if I was hanging out at home. My husband and I did just that, hung out in the room and watched the Pirates game as I bounced on the yoga ball. My MW took me off of the IV fluids per my request, and just let me do the Hep-Lock, as long as I agreed to stay hydrated on my own. The Pirates started losing, and we got bored and decided to go walk around the L&D unit. I can’t even count how many laps we walked. People we didn't know looked at me like I was nuts, and they kept joking with my husband and I as we passed them over and over and over again in the family lounges they were waiting in. I frequently got a 'You're STILL walking?!,' accompanied by a nice laugh. At around 10:00pm after a couple of hours of walking around, I started feeling cramps in my lower back, and realized I was feeling no contraction pain radiating around the front of my belly like everyone seems to describe-at all. I told my MW, and she said 'oh shit,' and told me to follow her into my room. That’s where we determined that Brooks was Occiput Posterior (spine to spine/face up towards my belly, instead of facing down), and I was beginning to experience back labor. I had no clue what the next 12 hours of my life were about to be like, and if I had any idea I might've caved for drugs right then. 

My best friend! :)

       I can’t sugar coat it, and anyone that has ever experienced back labor can’t sugar coat it either. It freaking SUCKS. It hurts like hell, but I swear that it IS possible to get through unmedicated. We tried sooo many different things to try and get him to swing around and not be sunny side up anymore, but he never turned. Little stinker. The pain sucked, but it was manageable with the right mentality. Around 11:30pm, my midwife decided to sweep my membranes to try and keep things moving since I was progressing nicely. She was extremely particular about the order and pace in which she did things, because she didn't want to intensify things too hard and too fast. She also wanted me to avoid Pitocin, so she wanted to keep things going and moving along at a comfortable pace. I was about 3cm dilated at that point. I’ve heard a lot of horrible things about membrane sweeps hurting really bad. I didn’t think it hurt, though the sensation was gross to me. It kind of made me want to gag, but it wasn’t anything horrible. The contractions definitely intensified a little bit at that point, but they weren't too bad yet. My husband and I walked around L&D for another couple of hours, and then around 1:30am, my MW decided to break my water. That was not something I was prepared for. I just about choked whenever I saw what she was about to use to break it. It literally looks like a gigantic plastic crochet hook! She went ahead, and broke my water. Now, with the polyhydramnios that I had, there was a LOT of water. I had no idea how much fluid there was going to be, but I was shocked when I saw how much there was, and how much continued to come. I got onto the yoga ball for about 35 minutes after they broke my water, then the pain really started to intensify and the contractions started hitting harder and faster. I decided to go into the bathroom and get into the tub. My MW drew up the nice warm bath, and she was absolutely amazing. She talked me through my contractions along with my husband, and used the shower head and a cup to pour water over my lower back as they hit. The warm water did wonders for my pain!! 

       After a couple of hours in the tub, the pain was getting worse, and I was exhausted. I was dozing off in between contractions, believe it or not. I was at that point of exhaustion where someone would talk to me in between contractions and I didn’t even reply with anything that made sense. I moved out of the tub, and actually stacked two pillows up on top of the food tray they have in the room that swings over the bed, and leaned over it. I used that to labor with, since leaning forward helped a lot with the back labor. The pain was pretty bad at that point. I was trying so hard to stay focused and just let my body guide me through the process. Since the pain was getting so bad, my midwife suggested we try using counter pressure during contractions, and that helped SO much. I had one person on either side of me, pressing up and into my hips and lower back as hard as they could. Nurses, my midwife and my husband were all taking turns because I was asking for so much pressure. I can imagine it was exhausting for them. I was about 6cm dilated, and it was just a matter of time. 

       The contractions were getting more and more unbearable after a couple more hours, so I started mentioning the epidural, and asking about it. My midwife, prior to my induction date, had my husband and I come up with a code word. She told us to keep the word in mind, and if at any point I said that word, she knew that I was giving in and going to get the epidural. If I talked about the epidural itself, and didn’t say the code word, though-I wasn’t going to get it. This worked out perfect, and was a really amazing extra mental block for me. She suggested something called sterile water injections, instead. I figured it was worth a shot. You can read about them here. They’re actually really interesting, and seemingly effective. They injected at 4 points on my back. So, I had two midwives, one on either side of me, each with two needles. They injected simultaneously, and holy hell did it sting. It felt like a wasp sting, and it definitely hurt. I screamed (loud) when they injected it, but once the water was in, I definitely noticed a difference in my pain. While having that injection, my husband very calmly told me to quiet down, and it wasn't him being rude. He was trying to keep me calm and quiet. That was the only time I came close to snapping at him through the entire process. I remember locking eyes with him and saying,  "Don't tell me to quiet down right now, you have NO idea what this feels like." It didn’t go away completely, but it went from about an 9/10, down to a 7/10, for quite some time. Thankfully, we made it through this far without Pitocin, and continued to do so. 

       As I was standing there laboring, the pain re-intensitifed, and shortly thereafter, I felt like my butt was about to shoot off of my body. I thought it was time to push, but she checked me and I was only about 8/9cm dilated. At that point, my impatience got the best of me and I started asking her how much longer. I’m not sure why I thought she had the answer to that question, right then and there! :) 

       I moved onto the bed to labor, and was on my hands and knees taking the contractions on one by one. The pain was incredibly intense but at this point I knew I was SO close. I continued yelling and groaning through the contractions, to help myself deal with the discomfort. Before I knew it, it was time to push. My midwife had me stay on my hands and knees, and things continued. (The one thing I loved about laboring naturally was being able to just follow the lead of my body and adjust my position based on how I was feeling at that time. I allowed my body to guide me to do what felt best.) I was terrified about having a bowel movement when I delivered, and everyone told me, “Oh, you won’t feel it if you do!” I realized almost immediately that I didn’t have any drugs to numb me down there. I felt everything. I knew I went. I simply didn’t care at that point. She told me to let my body guide me through the delivery, and just follow its lead. I did exactly what she had said, and followed the lead of my body as I had contractions to bring the baby down and out. It was honestly pretty incredible. I pushed with my contractions, and took my breaks in between. There was no counting as I pushed, no telling me when to start, or anything like that. I loved the calmness of it. I pushed for an hour and a half in total, and it went by fast. I didn’t feel like it lasted that long. A lot of people look at me crooked when I say I delivered him on my hands and knees. Surprisingly there are a lot of huge benefits to giving birth "upright." There are multiple positions, basically all of which are more optimal than the usual lying down on your back, which surprised me since that's how most women seem to deliver in America. That info is all found here!

       Unfortunately for me, Brooks never spun around, so I delivered him face up and that made the delivery extra painful for me. I somehow managed to get through the pain. Pushing in general wasn't bad, but people aren’t lying about the whole “ring of fire” when the baby is crowning. It’s definitely no joke! While I pushed, my midwife used warm compresses and perineal massage to help prevent me from tearing and to help my body stretch naturally to avoid an episiotomy. It worked, thankfully! The warm compresses definitely provided extra relief during pushing, as well. Once he crowned, and the midwife delivered him, she placed him up underneath me on the bed, I picked him right up and laid back in bed. I'm so thankful for her, and how amazing she was. Her shift was over at 7am, but she stayed 3 hours later just to deliver him. We can't ever thank her enough. My husband and I were both emotional wrecks at that point, and I’m sitting here crying as I type this out. 

    
   At 10:01am, on Sunday, August 2, 2015, Brooks Callahan entered this world. He was 8lb 8oz, 21.25 inches long, with a full head of hair and absolutely perfect. Seeing Brooks lay beneath me, picking him up and hearing him cry for the first time was the most incredible series of moments in my husband and I's life. 

       We had our hour of skin to skin, since we delayed getting him measured or weighed, opted out of the eye ointment, and they gave him his Vitamin K shot after he was weighed. My MW came over during that and let me know that I didn’t need any stitches, I wanted to jump out of bed and hug her for that! She used warm compresses and massage while I pushed, and it definitely helped with pain relief, and clearly worked! She also let me know that the shakes I was experiencing were completely normal. Those were no joke!! I couldn't believe it. My legs were shaking so badly, it looked like I was seizing on most of my body. It was crazy and scared me at first, but she assured me it was ok! Thankfully they only lasted about 15 minutes. We waited to clamp/cut the cord until after the placenta was delivered & the cord wasn't pulsating since there are so many benefits to doing so, and everything at that point was picture perfect. As soon as Brooks was out, the pain was gone. I was definitely sore, but I only took the Motrin twice at the hospital, and nothing else. The best part was that I was able to be up and walking around just an hour after delivering him. It was so nice to move around a little bit after all of that! 

       They moved us up to our postpartum room after 2 hours and we were flooded with visitors. I don't think we got any sleep for a total of 35 hours when it was all said and done. I was exhausted but it was well worth it. One of the nurses that was in our LDR room for most of my labor, came up to visit us that evening. She had gotten off the clock a few hours before I delivered Brooks, and she came upstairs just to see him. She told me everyone downstairs was still talking about us and that she couldn't believe it but she was so proud of me for pushing through without any medication. We appreciated her coming up to see Brooks and everything so much! It really meant a lot to me to hear all of what she said. 

       

       I’m so incredibly glad and proud, that even though I was induced, I was able to follow through with the natural birth I had hoped for. Had I not had to deal with the back labor, I’m sure the pain would've been much more tolerable for me to handle! It was clearly bearable though, and any of you women out there considering a natural birth that have nothing medical holding them back-stick to your guns and believe in yourself! You were made for this, and you can absolutely do it. The only way out, is through, and your body knows exactly how to get you through it. Having a midwife was the best thing ever, and I won't ever consider delivering a baby with anyone other than a midwife. Their bedside manner, and general knowledge is absolutely amazing. They handle things in such a special way.

AJ, Myself, & Brooks with my midwife, Stephanie!

  

       The pain is so worth it in the end, and seems like nothing when you look back on it. Having a natural birth was by far the most incredible, empowering thing I’ve ever experienced. Any future children we have, I plan on doing the same if all allows. My husband says as well, that it was an amazing experience for him, and though it was exhausting, he was so glad that I stuck to my guns and pushed through. Our bodies are truly an amazing thing!

       

       With all of that being said, like I mentioned before... I'm in no way knocking epidurals or any of that. I did what I felt was best for us, and I'm incredibly proud of myself for sticking to that. Any woman that gives birth, whether it be naturally, by C-Section or a medicated birth has something to be proud of. If you plan on a natural birth-you ARE CAPABLE! Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. You can do it, you can and will be able to get through the pain. It's only temporary and you'll thank yourself for digging deep and pushing through. The female body is an incredible thing, embrace it.