PRE-Birth of Baby Bell #2

A lot has happened in the last 18 months. The most recent and biggest change is the newest addition to our family. We have yet to decide on a name, but that will be very soon. She was born on June 17th, 2015 at 5:36 pm. She weighed 8 lbs 1 oz, was 21 inches long and her head was 14 inches. She was bigger than Lily on each measurement. She was pink and healthy.  Because I posted next to nothing on facebook, I want to talk a little about this pregnancy.

This pregnancy went by super fast. I'm sure a big part has to do with having a little toddler to keep up with and having less time to focus on the actual pregnancy. I was also traveling for the for the 3rd and 4th month of the pregnancy, doing a lot of sessions, visiting family, and working a lot. Creighton was in his first year of Grad school at UH for social work, which adds another dimension.

Beginning of PG 

There were no complications during the pregnancy, which is a huge blessing and one I am truly grateful for. It was harder in some aspects at the same time. I really feel like this pregnancy had a big impact on my emotions. Other things that may have contributed were the stress with Creighton in Grad school, working, taking care of Lily (which is a job I love even though it has been hard at times), and finances. There were many ups and downs for me, more than usual at least.

 I really felt at the beginning of this pregnancy, I felt that it needed to be different. The midwife I had with Lily no longer worked at the OB office at Castle medical center. I felt I needed to deliver the baby at home. When I got home from the mainland in January, I started contacting people and I chose Selena Green. She was willing to work with me financially and it just felt right. I also knew 4 or 5 people who she delivered babies for, all who said how amazing and intuitive she was.

I really appreciated not having to travel for my prenatal care appointments. Selena came to me and was there to answer questions of any type- providing more support than an actual OB, where you go in and have a 10 minute appointment. She used an apprentice midwife- Jaymie who is skilled enough and has been at enough births the be considered a licensed midwife. My doula this time was Nancy Holbrook, who I would recommend to anyone. Both Creighton and I felt comfortable with this team who was going to help us deliver this baby.

I taught stroller strides in Honolulu up until 7 months pregnant when I overstretched some pelvic/ groin muscles playing indoor soccer. This helped my to stay active and fit throughout the pregnancy. I was not consistent with Tupler technique until about 20 weeks along this time, but knew it was better late than never, which I also recommend for anyone. I swam almost every week the last half of my pregnancy. The more pregnant I got, the more I swam. This was one way of letting go of stress for me. I think it also helped to prevent swelling.

End of Feb 2015

 

As my belly grew and my skin stretched, I applied lavender essential oil and coconut oil to my stomach to prevent stretch marks, which I find very helpful! Also, I got a foot zone to help which healing of my groin muscles and realign my hips, which helped me so much. I also used oils to help balance my emotions, and brightly colored foods like mangoes, and bananas, and strawberries. Fruit was my main craving. I craved chocolate at the beginning of he PG all the time.

 

End of March 2015

 

Next 3- April 2015

                                                    

May 2015- about 37 weeks (below)

 

 

42 weeks- last PG pic before baby

One thing I did not expect was to go 2 weeks over my due date, granted I totally understand that one's last period is not the most accurate indicator due to not having a regular cycle from nursing and only having one period. But still, I did not expect 2 weeks over. I also had some fears to overcome like having more than one child and going through labor again (despite it being a positive experience with Lily) I was very patient until 1.5 weeks past due. I did lots of things to help get it started. I used gem stones, did a couple foot zones on myself, used oils, energy work, acupressure points, and walking. I think the big thing for me was relaxing. The day before going into labor, I went to the beach by myself, and swam and did some meditation. Then my friend gave me a pedicure, which was exactly what I needed. That is when light contractions/ Braxton hicks got really consistent and the tightening of my uterus was increasing.