Isabella’s Birth Story

Although I still need to post Caleb’s breech delivery birth story, it is still a work in progress. I did have our second baby 1 week ago. Here is her birth story.

Isabella Mae July 17, 2015, 6:23am.

Isabella’s Birth Story

Richard and I did not find out the sex of our baby, and her due date based on an early dating ultrasound was July 27th, 2015. I Started having contractions Thursday morning July 16th at 5am. They continued throughout the day but were quite spaced apart. Anywhere from 5-15 minutes apart. Richard and I went into the hospital at 8 am to get an assessment, as my mom was hoping to be present for the birth, that way I could let her know to be on her way. She had to come from out of province about a 12 hour drive away. At the assessment I was 3 cm but my cervix was still high at -2 (meaning the baby hadn’t dropped completely). I called my mom anyway because I had a feeling I wasn’t far off! I kept busy all day. Actually at 3 pm we even went and had maternity photos done. I was even having contractions off and on throughout the 1.5 hour photo shoot.

My contractions stayed spaced until 10 pm. I would actually say I was in Pre-labour until then. Early labour probably started at 10:00 pm because that is when my contractions got more consistent between 5-8 minutes apart. I laboured for a while keeping busy. My mom made it at midnight.

The odd contraction caught me off guard and were really strong. Richard and I went to bed at 2:00 am to try to get some rest. I woke up at 3:15 am having MUCH stronger contractions now spaced 3-5 minutes apart. Richard woke up too and started watching me and rubbing my lower back. I was on my side lying down and during a contraction I rolled over onto my hands and knees, when I immediately felt a thump on my cervix! I literally was like “What the hell was that? That felt really weird?” That’s when Richard decided it was time to go to the hospital! Our bags were already in the van, except one which he grabbed; he was also smart and grabbed me a towel to sit on in the van. While putting my shoes on, I started to have some trickling of fluids, and on my way to the van. The hospital is only a 5 minute drive from our house. The only thing was that the front doors of the hospital are closed after 9 pm. So we had to go through emergency. We arrived  at the hospital at 3:45 am. Richard let my mom and I out at the doors while he went and parked the van. I had to yell hello at the two nurses in the emergency check in, because neither were at the front desk and didn’t see us. One of them came up to the counter, immediately understanding the situation at hand, she let us in and told us where to go. Richard caught up to us. I had to walk because they had no wheelchair available. We had to take the elevator to the fourth floor. My water broke on the walk down the extra long corridor to the maternity ward. Richard was a few steps ahead of me and my mom. Me waddling down the hallway with a pink towel between my legs. Richard ran ahead when he overheard me say my water broke and told the nurse at Triage “my wife is in labour and coming behind me and her water just broke down the hallway!” My mom and I at the this point were giggling because it was a funny scenario and exciting at the same time. The nurse asked for a pee sample and gave me mesh underwear and a pad to wear. When I saw the pad I started to laugh hysterically! Not sure if you have seen them before but it was big enough to be a period pad for an elephant! My mom came in to help me as I was still having contractions close together and she ended laughing at the humongous pad too. The nurse had me lay down and checked my baby’s heart rate. She then checked my cervix. She thought I was 8 cm but when the doctor checked I was actually only at 4cm. Very discouraging!!! So they admitted me, and wheel me to a private room. Once there my contractions got really intense! The nurse had me sit up on all fours on the bed to bring on dilation! Right away my contractions got stronger almost to a point I couldn’t breathe through them. I also did some walking, and sat on a birth ball. They checked me again after half an hour at which time I was at 6 cm. I laboured for probably another 45 minutes mostly on all fours on the bed. The doctor came back and checked my cervix. I was relieved to hear that I had dilated to 8 cm. However my baby was occipital posterior “sunny side up” and the doctor said that could be why transition was taking a little longer and why I was having intense back labour. Both Richard and I feared the worst for a short time frame, thinking about possible c-section. Richard even asked the doctor if everything would turn out okay. Apparently posterior presentation it is quite common, nothing to worry about and with a few position changes baby would most likely turn back. My contractions got VERY close and extremely painful! My mom was trying to get me to focus and slow my breathing, but it was so intense I got mad at her! Richard was at my side rubbing my back, telling me I had this and it wouldn’t be long. The doctor left for a couple minutes then came back and stayed in the room from there on. I had only 3 or 4 more contractions after that, all of which I had urge to push, the doctor checked again. The baby had mostly turned and I was 9.5 cm dilated. He had me get in a position I found comfortable, which was a partial upright position. He told me then that one push should bring me to 10 cm. He then had me push just once then checked me again. I was relieved I was 10!!!

I started pushing. My support team and the doctor were soooo supportive. They kept telling me that I was doing great, and to trust my body and instincts. The doctor even sat back a bit in between contractions then moved in when I went to push. I held Richards hand and my mom was at the head of my bed rubbing my shoulders and cheering me on. The doctor helped me birth her head. He then pulled out one arm. The doctor then told Richard and I to pull out our baby. We both reached down and pulled her out! We still no idea the sex, we put her up on my chest and the doctor announced excitedly that she was a little girl. I started pushing at about 6:12 am and she was on my chest at 6:23am! She was out in 4 contractions and only 11 minutes! She was 7lbs 3.8oz, and 19.75 inches. She latched to nurse with no issue!
❤️We are on cloud 9. She is beautiful, and so good so far.

Isabella Mae

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Vaccination debate

I will not be the first blogger to write about the vaccination debate, nor will I be the last I am sure.

Whether or not to vaccinate our children can be a very touchy subject. However, I feel it is no different than any other choice we make as parents. Every little decision we make as parents is setting the paths for our children, in every way, in life. These little human beings we are making decisions for will one day grow up to make choices for themselves, maybe one day their own children.

I have no judgement toward any parent that chooses not to vaccinate, that is a choice they have the freedom to make for their children.

There is a great deal of judgement and discrepancy between parents and society about who is vaccinated, who is not and the recent possible connection between the recent outbreaks of infections. There is blame , from both sides. However, if my child is vaccinated does that not make him LESS likely to get said infection, if at all? The answer to that question is not necessarily. Vaccines are NOT 100% guaranteed to shield your child. Vaccines are said to be anywhere between 85% – 95% effective. This fact has opened my eyes as a mother. There is also a 2 week grace period between the time a child received a vaccine and the time they actually become immune. Any time before they are vaccinated and that 2 week grace period they are vulnerable to be infected. As a mother, this does scare me. I will not be putting my son in a plastic bubble, kids will be kids. Yes, I am that mom that will wipe my sons face and hands often, I wipe down tables and lay down my own changing pad. I prefer other children in the shopping center not to touch my son, BUT that being said, is in respect that I will teach my son about personal space and good hygiene in return. I cannot shield my children from everything, they will get dirty, they will get sick, heck they will probably eat dirt, but I can be vigilant about cleanliness and healthy choices.

The anti-vaccine movement started as a result of a paper written by a former british surgeon,  Andrew Wakefield  in 1998, claiming that childhood vaccines, specifically the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine are the underlying cause of Autism and bowel diseases. Once the paper was published many other researchers attempted to back up his findings, but failed to produce results in their research to back up his claims. It is also said that the same man was behind a study involving autistic children where he performed unnecessary, invasive medical procedures on them, without proper approval from the necessary institutional review board. This later resulted in him being stripped of his medical licence and him being removed and barred from the United Kingdom medical register. Even though his work has been discredited, and since labelled “False” by many scientists and doctors since, many anti-vaccine movements continue to support this cause. Even with some cases of support in Hollywood, such as playboy personality, Jenny McCarthy claiming vaccinations caused her sons autism. However, she has since claimed she is not “an anti-vaccine activist” and is actually pro-vaccine, but does state that parent’s should do their research and make their own educated decision. Her son has also been apparently cured of autism since which doctors have actually believed for some time to have been something else all together.

Another great article you can read on the issue was featured in parents magazine: Vaccines: The Reality Behind the Debate.

Did we vaccinate our son? Yes, we did. We will vaccinate our new baby as well. We would rather our children have some immunity than no immunity at all. I have seen the effects of some of these infections we are vaccinating against, for example I had a great uncle that lived with polio. He was my grandmothers brother and contracted Polio at around the age of twelve. It dibilitated him. He was in a wheel chair and could hardly speak when I knew him. However, he did get married and had two sons, with grandchildren to follow. He lived into his late 60’s.

I should mention that although we support vaccination, this does not include the yearly flu vaccine. My reasoning behind this is that the flu often has so many different strains circulating at the same time, that the vaccine is often ineffective. I have also gotten the flu shot in the past and found myself sick shortly thereafter. So either the flu shot itself made me I’ll or I ended up getting the flu regardless.

So this is my stance on vaccination, but making an educated about vaccinating is definitely an important one. Do your own research and decide what is right for you and your family.

Healthy mommy, healthy baby….

“A healthy mama, and a healthy baby are all that matters”.

My hubby and I heard these words repeatedly throughout my first pregnancy. Especially in the last month after we learned our baby would be born breech. I came across this article and wanted to share, with the permission of the original blogger. I cried as I read this article…it perfectly explains some of what I have been feeling about my birth experience since having my son.

I admit I felt grief when we learned our birth plan had to change. I still feel some residual guilt that our birth plan didn’t go just as we had planned. We of course realize that things can’t always go as planned, especially when it comes to birth. However, that being said, a woman’s birth plan is precious. I had started to plan and dream for my birth plan before I even conceived.

This article acknowledges the fact that a mothers birth experience is important and precious!

February 2, 2015

THEY LIED…IT MATTERS HOW YOU BIRTH

“Well, all that matters is a healthy mom and a healthy baby.”

How many times did I hear that after giving birth? How many times did it drive me deeper into confusion and self-doubt over my son’s reception into this world? If all that mattered was a healthy mom and a healthy baby, then why was I so heart-broken?

This article was written by a fellow mommy blogger, Bestofbabylady. Grab your tissues and read her beautiful article here:

http://bestofbabylady.com/lied-matters-birth/

Products I love

Hello!

I made mention that I tend to prefer an organic approach. Now I would like to elaborate by breaking down some of my favourite brands.

I am most particular about products for Caleb and my soon to be second child. Some of the things I tend to be particular about are:

Milk (you can buy pasteurized organic milk here in Canada)

Baby washes, and wipes.Diaper’s, I prefer cloth, but there is the odd time where disposable are convenient.

Some baby food, IF I don’t make it myself, which I do most of the time.

Some of my favourite products and why I love them

I understand that not all of these products I discuss, may be available to my readers, depending where you are from. I am from Canada and these products are available to me. Hopefully they are available to you; if not, you should be able to find some good alternatives in your area. I would be interested to hear what you discover.

Dairyland organic milk

I have always loved Dairyland milk, even as a child. Any other milk brand, although I am told they are all from the same cow 😉 tastes rather funny to me. So Dairyland dairy products are definitely what I stick to when I can. I buy 3.25 % organic Homogenized milk for my 1 year old. He is still breast fed 2-3 times a day, but will have approximately 4 oz of cow’s milk a day.

Baby wipes

So I actually use cloth wipes, most of the time. However, there is the odd time I am in between washes, or we are out and about and store bought wipes are handy. I use only one brand. Aleva naturals organic wipes. I have tried a few other brands, including babyganics (which also claim to chemical free and organic), as well as huggies (natural care). I was shocked to find even though these wipes claimed to be organic and chemical free, they made my poor baby’s bottom beat red and sore after only a few diaper changes, using them. So that being the case, I am adamant to use only Aleva wipes or my own home made.

http://www.alevanaturals.com/home

The Aleva wipes are amazing, they are soft, smell great, do a good job cleaning, are organic, chemical free as they claim, and they are biodegradable after only 21 days. Aleva naturals have a line of other great products as well. Visit the website above to learn more.

Baby wash & lotions

Two brands make it onto my list of favourites when it comes to baby washes and lotions. Aleva naturals, once again, as well as Live clean baby. Live clean baby, is another organic baby brand. They also have a large line of products available. I personally like their baby body wash. It smells fantastic and even makes good bubbles in the tub. One of the main ingredients is chamomile, which has many great benefits such as calming, anti-inflammatory effects, not to mention it smells sensational. Live clean baby wash is also what I use in my home made wipe solution, which I will go into more detail in a later post about how I cloth diaper. If not available to you in store, you can order Live clean products on their website or off amazon.

http://live-clean.com/collections/baby

Aleva naturals also have a baby wash which is quite lovely as well. Aleva naturals 2 in 1 hair & body wash. As long as I can get one of the two brands I am content. Some of the ingredients included in this product are shea butter, tea tree oil, witch hazel and aloe. There is also an after bath night time lotion by Aleva. Aleva naturals Sleep easy calming lotion. Aleva naturals products are also available to order off their website and amazon.

I should also mention that both these brands offer products for mommy, and even the whole family.

Organic diapers & cloth diapers

For those odd times in between it is necessary to use disposable diapers I prefer to stick to organic, or at least chemical free if I can. I find that regular disposables give my baby a rash. I am not sure if this is because he has sensitive skin like me, or if he is used to cloth. Either way, I am careful what I buy. Just like the wipes, babyganics diapers made him very sore. 😦 I was not the first person to post a “what gives” review on their webpage after using them. Why on earth would something claiming to be organic and chemical free make my baby so sore? Needless to say, I will not be buying their products again. However, be advised that this is only my preference. There are organic disposables available, you just have to be willing to read labels, do your research, and keep in mind they can be more expensive sometimes. I like store brand organic diapers as well as huggies pure & natural disposables. If you are looking to stay away from chemicals all together than cloth diapers are probably the best way to go. I can safely say, I cloth diaper 95% of the time.

I use Sunbaby pocket diapers, a local cloth diaper called Charlies cheeks, Bum genius, as well as some homemade velcro, and pre-folds with rubber pants.

Sunbaby diapers 

Not only are they cute prints, they are also easy to use, durable, inexpensive, and adjustable sizing. I have been using my sunbaby pocket diaper’s for the past 10-11 months. My sunbaby collection is about 18 diapers. I have been very pleased with them; they show very little wear and tear considering I wash them daily. The only thing I have noticed is that after many washes some snaps have come out or broken. However, it has only been one at a time, and a few diapers. I don’t mind though, they can be replaced and for the most part have not posed any concern.  I would recommend these diapers to anyone, especially when you are looking to start cloth diapers on a budget. They can be ordered online through these websites.

http://www.sunbabydiapers.ca/

http://sunbabydiapers.com/

Little Charlie’s closet

Charlies cheeks diapers are made by a local husband and wife, in British Columbia Canada. They are awesome!! I have only 6 of them, but definitely prefer them to my other diaper styles as an overnight diaper. The diapers as a whole have yet to show any signs of wear and tear, they too are a great price, and available in many adorable prints. At this time order is through their Facebook page, but they can ship anywhere.

Little Charlie’s Closet also offers other products such as crochet hats, head bands, silicone chew bracelets and necklaces, wooden growth chart rulers, and baby infinity scarves.

CHECK THEM OUT!

https://www.facebook.com/littlecharliescloset

Bum genius

Bum genius diapers are one of the more expensive cloth diapers on the market, but I find the 5 I have to be very durable, so far leak proof, and also adjustable in size. I have 1 pocket and 4 all in ones. All in ones have the liners built in, and are washed and worn as all one piece. I can purchase Bum genius diapers at Toys R’ Us here in Canada. The Bum genius website has the option to search retailers.

http://www.bumgenius.com/

Homemade, Pre-folds and covers

This picture is an example of my pre-folds, covers and homemade velcro diapers.

The home made cloth diapers were made by my awesome, gifted mom. Sadly, Caleb has outgrown most of the cloth diapers my mom made. They are packed away safely, for baby #2. There are many great tutorials on Pinterest and YouTube, on how to make your own cloth diapers.

I probably should elaborate on the cloth diaper covers.  The cover pictured is Kushies PLU. Diaper covers are usually made from rubber or PLU, sometimes not organic, but this doesn’t pose a problem for me as it is not directly on Caleb’s skin.

Baby food

My top baby food brand if I had to pick one would be baby gourmet. Caleb definitely seemed to favour it over other cereal brands. He is just over a year old now though and does not have baby cereal any more. He eats most of what we eat and so far is not at all a picky eater. i do know that Baby Gourmet is a Canadian company, I do not know if their products can be ordered or purchased outside Canada.

http://babygourmet.com/

Now that you have my favourites and reviews, feel free to try them out. Let me know what other great products you have come across.

These are the things that make being a mom so awesome…

Within the past week or two our little boy has started to do so many new things.

He shakes his head no, waves hello and bye, brushes his own teeth, and can stand unassisted for 5 or more seconds. We are pretty positive that he can walk on his own, and just chooses not to. Which is just fine. Every baby has their own timeline and he is only a year and two weeks old. If you ask him “May I have that?” He will hand whatever it is he has to you, and put it in your hand. 🙂 He also claps if you clap, and when you say clap your hands. He has a 5 word vocabulary. He says Mama, Dada, Hiya, Yeah, and huh, all with intention.

So tonight we had a shower, when we got out, I gave him his toothbrush to brush his teeth (which he also does by himself), while I got him and myself dressed. When we were done I took his toothbrush away and put it down on my hubby’s bedside table, we then went out the the living room. I put Caleb down with his toys, where he cried at me, shook his head no, said mom then proceeded to crawl out of the living room and down the hallway. So curious as to where he was going, I let him be and followed him. He goes down the hallway, into our bedroom, right to our bedside table and grabs his toothbrush off hubby’s bedside table where i had put it down. Once he had grabbed it he turned around and gave me the biggest grin. 🙂

He makes us so proud. Every day he is doing and learning something new.

Birth story update

Hey,

So I started to type up my Birth story, turns out it is quite the story, and I am currently at 2800 words, and not near finished. So it may be a while a before I upload. Bear with me. I am sure it will be worth the wait! 😉

Thank you to my new followers, and future followers. ❤

About me

Welcome to my blog. I am new at this, so here is hoping I get the hang of it…

I am 26 years old, and mommy to an adorable 1 year old boy. Caleb Marcial, born March 9, 2014 at 12:38 am. There is a very interesting story surrounding his birth, but I will go into those details later. I am also currently 21 weeks pregnant with my second child. 

I am in a stable common law relationship, with my significant other Richard. He has 2 children from a previous marriage. My stepdaughter is almost 15, and my stepson just turned 13. I won’t be going into too much detail about them though. They are good kids and live with us 50 % of the time. However, they are older and this blog will be mainly about my adventures in mommyhood with my little ones. 

I am starting a blog, for the simple reason, that what I have experienced, and am yet to learn, can perhaps help another mommy, or even a daddy. 

I am in no way an expert! I am learning as I go. 

I cloth diaper 95% of the time, my baby was exclusively breastfed up until a year; Now he has 3.25% homogenized milk once a day as well. I favour an organic approach to parenting, am very craft savvy, and frugal.