Not What I Expected...

Warning...this post my be a little TMI for some people but I am an open person so I don't care.

I was really lucky and had an AMAZING delivery. I was prepared and knew what to expect. When it came to breast feeding I felt it was such a natural thing I didn't need to really learn about it. I was sure wrong! I have had probably one of the most difficult breast feeding experiences but I will not give up.

In the hospital, Bella was latching on. I thought it was a good latch and so did the hospital staff. It did hurt a little bit but the hospital staff said she had a strong suck and it probably will hurt for a couple of days. They recommended I get some All Purpose ointment to help. So I got my prescription for it and began using it. A couple of days later I still was experience pain and I noticed my nipples started to crack. But I kept nursing and correcting her latch.

At Bella's 2 week appointment the doctor said she had a little bit of thrush so we got her some medication. I immediately when over to my midwives to get checked out. They said I didn't have it and would be fine. The didn't give me any kind of medication. They should have because if you treat baby, you must treat mom too.

At 3-1/2 weeks they were hurting so bad when I was nursing I was holding back tears and dreading it every time. Not the experience I was hoping for. I was looking forward to the bonding time more than anything and it wasn't like that for me.

At 4-1/2 weeks I had my postpartum check up. I asked again about my breasts and nipples. The midwife said they will heal and to use these Gel Soothies to help. Well they didn't help the heal them as quickly as I had hoped.

We went to California for Christmas and came back just after the New Year. My nipples just as cracked as they were 7 weeks prior. I was so fed up but I was not going to give up. I was pumping every 6 hours to give them longer relief. I took MothersLove More Milk Plus pills to help with my supply.

After we got home I decided to go see a lactation specialist. The lactation specialist said I definitely had yeast and needed to be treated. So I had had thrush/ yeast for the past 7 weeks and my midwives said I didn't. I was furious! The lactation specialist also informed me that my left nipple had not more skin left on it and it was going to take time for the skin to grow back. My right nipple was just a crack and that would heal. The only problem with that was the it is on the side and I have flat nipples. So every time they are stimulated the crack would just rip open. Not fun at all.

But I was not going to give up! I spent almost $300 on a pump I did not want to pay for formula. And I am determined to breast feed as long as I can. So I began to only pump on my left side every 6 hours and pump my right side once every 24 hours. I am lucky and don't get engorged so this was easy for me to do. Also my left side produces 5-6 ounces every 6 hours so Bella gets enough milk.

I used gentian violet to help get rid of the thrush. Bella had thrush again by this time too. Gentian violet helped Bella but not me. So I called my midwives and demanded antibiotics to get rid of it. Amazingly within a week, they finally started to heal! I went through 2 weeks of antibiotics and I still have it. So I just got another 2 weeks this last Tuesday and I have a refill if it still isn't gone. I need to be symptom free for 7 days before I stop taking it. The longer you have yeast the longer it will take to get rid of it. Like me, who had it for 7 weeks and the doctor never said I did.

My right side isn't completely healed but it is so so close. Once it is healed that will be one of the best days of my life. I just want to be able to start nursing again and forming that bond. I am just glad I got a good 3 weeks in before I started pumping and bottle feeding so it will be easier for Bella to relearn.

I went to a Le Leche League meeting a couple of weeks ago and it was so great. It is awesome to be with other women who know what you are going through and can help you. I would recommend all women who plan on nursing to attend while they are pregnant or who have had difficulties. I also read their book The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding and I recommend all women read this book. I think if I had read this book while I was pregnant I would not have had as many problems.

One last thing if you will have antibiotics during labor, (if you are group b strep positive you will) take plenty of probiotics before you deliver. This will help to balance out the good and bad bacteria and will decrease your chance of getting yeast. I wish I knew this before. If you think you have yeast you probably do so just get the antibiotics.

My Beautiful Girl

I am so lucky and have the cutest little girl anyone could ask for

My Natural, Unmedicated Birth

Sorry it's long but I wanted to write down everything I could remember.

I was very lucky and had a great birthing experience. I decided before I was even pregnant I wanted to have a unmedicated, natural childbirth. I did not feel comfortable with receiving an epidural.

Since I planned on having an unmedicated birth I did my fair share of research on different birthing methods to allow me to have the best experience possible. I decide to takeHypnobabies birthing classes, which I highly recommend. I would not have been able to have the birth I experienced without it. Hypnobabies allowed me to relax during pressure waves (contractions) and I was able to listen to my body. Greg thought I was crazy at first because he didn't understand what Hypnobabies was and it's not hypnosis as most people think. After we attended the first class, he was definitely on board. He realized what it was all about and understood why I wanted to have an unmedicated birth. I would not have been able to do it without my sweet husband. He was so supportive and the best partner I could have asked for.

We started my Hypnobabies classes when I was 27 weeks, a little earlier than most but that's when they were available. I practiced my finger drop technique, using my light switch and relaxing. (My light switch is a mental cue to help me relax and let my body go limp). I listened to the Hypnobabies tracts nightly and I would not have been able to sleep as much without them. They always put me right to sleep if I had a difficult time. Greg also read scripts to me a couple times a week and learned cues to bring me more deeper relaxed.

I was 8 days late, I couldn't believe it. Emotionally, those 8 days were some of the most difficult days I have had in a long time. I was not prepared to be over due, even though I knew Bella would come when she was ready. Hypnobabies even teaches you that you have a Guess Date, not a Due Date. I was just so sure I was going to go early, I was sure wrong. I dreaded every time my phone rang or sent me a text. The last thing I wanted was to be reminded that I was still pregnant. The Friday before she was born I decided to go to the temple. I instantly felt calm and at peace. I really learned to rely on the Lord and was reminded he is always there for me. After I attended the temple I was content with being pregnant till she decided to come on her own. Bella was going to come when she was ready.

Monday morning, November 15th I woke up at 5 am and thought I was leaking amniotic fluid. We decided to go to the hospital to check. I was group b strep positive and need to make sure to get antibiotics soon if my water had broken so Bella wouldn't get sick. I was not leaking amniotic fluid but they did have me hooked up to a monitor. My entire pregnancy I did not feel any kind of birthing waves/ pressure waves. I don't even know if I had Braxton Hicks so I had no idea what to expect. I asked the nurse if those were pressure waves that I was feeling and she said yes. I was pretty excited I knew what to expect now. They didn't feel like most people explained them to me. They were only in the front, they didn't start in the back and wrap around to the front.

We left the hospital, went home and slept from about 8 am till 1 pm. I feel asleep listening to the "Come Out Baby" track. I actually had been listening to this almost everyday for about 2 weeks. We went to In-N-Out for lunch and I was still feeling pre-birthing waves. That afternoon I kept feeling them, I knew the time was going to be in the next couple days. Finally! They weren't consistent so I knew I wasn't in my birthing time yet. I went to bed around 11 pm listening to my Hypnobabies "Deepening" and "Birthing Day Affirmations" tracks to help me fall asleep. This also helped me to have my light switch off so I could relax during my pressure waves.

At 12:30 am I woke up and I was in my birthing time, wahoo. I felt good and comfortable. I didn't like to lay down so I got out of bed and stood up rocking back and forth, listening to "Easy, Comfortable Childbirth". Greg began timing my pressure waves, some of them were close together and others weren't. The pressure waves were lasting 40 seconds -60 seconds but they never became consistent as I expected. I stayed in our bedroom and rocked back and forth standing up and on my knees. They were getting strong enough that I needed to lean up against the bed or stay on the floor. Greg called my midwife around 1:30 am to let her know what was going on. She told me to stay at home as long as I could before heading over to the hospital. We decided now would be the best time for Greg to give me a blessing. It was such a wonderful blessing and I knew I would have the birth I was desiring.

Finally at 2:30 am I decided it was time to go the hospital. Greg got everything loaded up and we drove over to Mt. Timpanogos Regional Hospital. The drive over there was so uncomfortable with my pressure waves, I just didn't like sitting dow. It was probably 3 am by the time we got settled in. I was so, so lucky and had the best nurse! I wanted to have intermittent monitoring but they had to monitor Bella for 20 mins while I was in the bed when I arrived. I could not wait for that time to be over, I did not enjoy lying on my back or sitting down. They also needed to check to see how much I was dilated. I didn't want to know, I just wanted to make sure I didn't have to leave and so the nurse told Greg.

Those 20 mins went by and I was able to get up and walk around if I wanted but I headed straight over to the birthing tub. Once in the tub I asked Greg how far I was and I was at 4 cm. I was a little disappointed and was hoping I was 6 cm but I was glad I was staying. I knew Bella would be here soon. I birthed the entire time in the tub, it was amazing! My nurse let me stay in the tub while we did the monitoring and when she checked me. I was lucky! Greg played my hypnosis tracks, "East First Stage", "Deepening" and a couple of others while I was in the tub. He also gave me cues to help me relax even deeper then I was. The "peace" cue helped me a lot to stay relaxed. Greg was so great and drained the water and would refill it with fresh, clean and hot water. I asked the nurse to check me again because I kept feeling like I had to push. She checked me and said I still need to progress further. The nurse didn't tell me how far along I was but she told Greg. A few minutes later I asked Greg and I was 6-1/2 cm / 7 cm. After she checked me it took everything I had to stay relaxed, it was just difficult for me to hold back the pushing and staying relaxed during each pressure wave.

My midwife showed up sometime but she wasn't really needed. Greg was such a great support, reminding me constantly to stay relaxed, encouraging me, letting me know we would meet our little girl soon. It became more and more difficult for me not to push. I asked Greg if I could have a little something to take the edge of and he said no. Looking back I realize I was in my transformation stage, the most difficult part of the entire birthing process. I am so grateful Greg reminded me that I could do it alone and I didn't need anything. I knew I could do it too I just had a slight moment of weakness and need to be reminded. I am so grateful for because I didn't need it. I asked if I could have my water broken and my midwife told me that it is best not to because it can bring on stronger pressure waves that I might not be prepare for. But she said she would check me first. I was 9-1/2 cm. Wahoo! She said I could start pushing a little bit if I wanted during pressure waves to help relieve some of the pressure I felt.

When it was time to push I was moved over to the bed. I decided to push in the side lying position. I breathed out all my pushes during my pressure waves. In between my pressure waves I took little naps to help give me the energy to push again. My pressure waves weren't very consistent sometimes I had more breaks in between and others were right on top of each other. It was difficult when I didn't have time to rest and get my energy back up. I felt like I was pushing forever. It seemed like her head kept getting sucked back in and wouldn't come out. Finally she was crowning, I knew it wouldn't be much longer. Then after a few more pushes her head popped out. I pushed one more time for her shoulders. Greg "caught" her and pulled her out. Bella was finally here! Greg placed her immediately on my chest. We waited for the cord to stop pulsating before Greg cut it. I only had a small tear and needed 1 stitch. The nurses evaluated Bella while she was on my chest. I was so happy to have a healthy baby girl, she couldn't have been more perfect.

Within an hour I was up and about. I felt great! I took a shower which felt so nice. It was amazing to feel clean!

I had a wonderful birth experience and I was so lucky it was a quick one. My birthing time was 6-1/2 hours and I pushed for about 20 minutes. I would not have been able to have the birth I had without my Heavenly Father. He gave me the strength to go unmedicated. I will not say I had a pain free birth that can be achieved with Hypnobabies but it would not have been possible without it. Hypnobabies gave me all the techniques I needed to relax. Greg was the best birth partner I could have asked for and he helped me to remember everything from my Hypnobabies. I will give birth naturally and unmedicated to all my children. I have even more confidence that my birth can be pain free with the next ones.

If you believe you can give birth unmedicated and you have a good support team you can do it. I highly encourage all women to look at the pros and cons of epidurals. I am glad that I did.

I have video while I was birthing...maybe I will post it.