Happy Birthday Daisy!

Daisy Ann Hendriksen’s Birth Story

 

Here is Daisy's birth story. Peruse what you may since I know it's long. Check out the 2-minute video picture montage at the end!

 

Weeks before Labor

Daisy was due on Thursday Oct 16, so the week before she was born we were all pretty anxious since her other siblings born naturally were all ‘early’. Weeks prior we had quite a bit of drama since she was in a breech position.

Rebecca, our midwife didn’t seem too worried since the odds of her turning were good, but I was quite emotional about it. Would she be able to turn? Would I be able to have a home birth? Would I have to have a c-section? 

Initially (34-36 weeks) I walked laps each morning in my basement while listening to a general conference talk. I prayed to Heavenly Father to help bless me to let Daisy turn. I did some family history work and indexing and went to the temple. I felt like if I was doing my part then Heavenly Father would do His part and bless me with a head-down baby.  During my appointment at the 37 week mark, Daisy was still breech.  I started researching ways to turn a breech baby. The following is what I posted on Utah Birth Forum’s Facebook page:

• I've been doing the inverted poses 2-3 times a day, the forward inversion as well as the ironing board breech tilt.
• I've put ice on top, heat on the bottom. Peppermint oil on top too.
• I've tried annoying music with headphones on top.
• I've soaked in the tub with my belly down in the water.
• We tried the rebozo technique once with gentle movements on the belly, but not sure how much or how often to do it.
• I've visualized her turning and even wrote her a letter.
• I've gone to a chiropractor (Dr. Draney) 3 times this week and she is working on getting my sacrum aligned with the Webster technique. She has noticed that the baby is in a slightly different position, but I still feel her head in the same general area. I scheduled 3 more times next week.
• Dr. Draney told me to crawl and swing my right hip while standing, so I've been doing that also.
• Last week I tried swimming and doing flips and handstands in the water.

I was frustrated that all of these things weren’t working, and was growing weary of doing so much. I received a priesthood blessing in which I was told I’d be okay and that the baby would be born in the proper position. That was comforting- yet I still was anxious for Daisy to be fully ready. 

I am happy to say that the following week (Monday September 29) she turned! That morning I went to the 4th chiropractic visit and Dr. Draney adjusted my sacrum and pubic bone. She said to come back on Wednesday for another treatment.

At noon Rebecca came for her home visit.  As I lay on my bed for the standard belly & heartbeat check, she felt my belly and noticed that Daisy was still head up but in a different position than last week when she had checked (before all my chiropractic visits). Rebecca gently moved her hands on my belly to slowly nudge Daisy’s head downward.

She instructed Darrell to put some pressure on one area of my belly- then matter-of-factly guided Daisy’s head.  It was not uncomfortable for anyone and suddenly Daisy was head-down; HOORAY!  Rebecca said that it wasn’t just “her” that moved the baby. The chiropractor set the stage to “move the furniture” a little, so it was easy to turn Daisy. I then got up from the bed and started to do deep squats to make sure her head settled down into the pelvis. I was so happy and relieved! I called the chiropractor and canceled my remaining appointments. We were all ready now for birth.

On October 4 (General Conference Weekend) I began feeling pain and pressure in my pelvis, back and groin. I started the pregnant waddle and I was hurting quite a lot. There were days that I couldn’t do too much and other days that were a little better.  Having Daisy suddenly pushing down was quite the shock to my “I’m-not-in-my-20’s-anymore”-body. I knew the only way to make the pain go away was to have a baby.

Darrell started getting anxious and I was on-again/off-again anxious to get the baby out. I attended the final checkup with Rebecca on Monday October 6th. We all figured that I’d have the baby sometime that week. I did every ounce of laundry and cleaned the house as much as my body would let me.  I asked my friend Candace if she could come over on Friday Oct 10 to induce my labor by making me laugh, since she had done that to me during 2 previous pregnancies.  Little did we know, but Daisy would come on that day anyway.  :)

The Actual Birth Story

On Thursday evening October 9, we all went to bed as normal. At 1:30 AM as I lay asleep on my bed, I heard an audible popping sound. I opened my eyes and thought that must be my water sac breaking. I quickly got up and stood over a towel that I had previously placed at the foot of my bed. Sure enough, amniotic fluid was starting to come out. I wrapped up in the towel and waddled to the bathroom while telling Darrell “Honey, it’s time!”

I told him to call Rebecca already since she had told us we are “late callers”; I wanted to give her enough notice this time. We spoke to her and she asked if the fluid was clear and I said yes. She asked me when she wanted her to come. I, of course, wasn’t sure. I considered our previous births, and told her that when Oaklen was born my water broke and contractions didn’t start coming for at least a few hours. She said to call and give her a head’s up but to at least give her 30 minutes to travel to our home.

I misunderstood and thought that she would be coming in 30 minutes, but later realized that we needed to call her again.  Darrell and I got up and got dressed. We prepped the bed with plastic and put another sheet on top. He gave me some grape nuts and a banana since I felt a little hungry. After about a half an hour of bustling around, nothing had really happened with the labor. We decided to try to go back to sleep. We “slept/rested” until about 5:00 AM. I had had about 6-7 contractions during that time (from 2:00-5:00 AM) but they were not getting closer together. I felt that active labor was about to begin and phoned Rebecca, and she told us to expect her in 30 minutes. We also called my mom and asked her to arrive about 6:30 to help manage the other children when they awoke.

I asked Darrell to get out the birthing tub and he reluctantly started getting it ready. We had never used the tub in the past because we figured it was a big hassle and I wouldn’t use it. (Later we realized it wasn’t a lot of hassle and it was great to use.) He found that the hose attachment wouldn’t fit on our faucet so we couldn’t use the tub. (Phooey!) But luckily Rebecca arrived soon after that and had another kind of attachment that would work on our shower faucet. I was glad for that! :)

The inflatable tub was easily ready with warm water in it. Darrell had turned up the water heater so I could have it as hot as I liked! Rebecca added some citrus essential oil to the water to help wake us up. I wore a bathing suit top with a towel around my waist, and waddled into the TV room. Sicily and Ezril had just awakened, and they were excited to see a swimming pool in the middle of the TV room.

Darrell went downstairs to fetch Salem and Oaklen. They came upstairs excited. We took some family pictures then let the kids start their morning routine. It worked out well to start labor on a Friday; it was only a half-day at school so I decided to just keep Ezril home for the day while Salem and Oaklen rode their bikes to and from school. My mom kept Sicily and Ezril downstairs and awaited our beckon call to come back up after the delivery was complete.

I got in the tub and it was very nice and cushiony. Nothing like my hard cold cast-iron tub in the bathroom! I sat in there for a while and just chatted with Rebecca and Darrell. I had had a few contractions from 5:00 till 6:30 but once I got in the tub it seemed that I stopped having contractions.

Rebecca made an herbal tincture for me to drink. It was just a small shot glass, but she said that it works for about 90% of the women to help things progress. I got out of the tub for a while to see if the contractions would come back. She rubbed some clary sage essential oil on my lower calves to help things along as well. After all the herbs kicked in, I started having 3-4 harder contractions so decided to get back in the tub.

Darrell and Rebecca filled up the tub a little more so it was deeper and hotter. I sat there through a few contractions and it felt good to be in the water. I didn’t want to move but knew I needed to get in a better stance than a standard sitting position. I moved to lie on my left side, propped up with my elbow so most of my upper body was out of the water.

It was about 8:00 AM and the contractions started coming a lot heavier and faster. I had to concentrate and didn’t want anyone talking during the peak of the contraction. I used my voice with some audible low groans to help me concentrate and focus during each contraction. I was basically chanting “hhh-aahhhs”.  Later Darrell and I discussed that my chants sounded very similar to our son Ezril saying “e…e…ee” whenever he is content and playing with something.

I was very glad to be in the water, the contractions seemed more manageable even when they were the hardest kind. Finally I had the urge to push. It stung when I could feel her head crowning but I knew that it would be over soon. I grabbed Darrell’s hand and squeezed it. My low groans turned a little more higher pitched as I was pushing but I certainly wasn’t screaming. I think I did about 6-7 pushes and she was finally born at 8:37 AM.

I was breathing fast and hard and just said “Is she here? Is she out?” “YES!” they said. We raised her up out of the water and laid her on my chest. Oh what a relief!

I got a little emotional, she is such a beauty. I couldn’t believe that she was born and it was already over. Rebecca draped put a towel on us in the water and we all just stared at the newborn. Darrell called down to my mom and asked her to bring the kids upstairs.

Ezril, Sicily, and my mom came to see Daisy. My mom went back downstairs to get me some apples with peanut butter, while I focused on getting Daisy started with nursing. Rebecca checked the umbilical cord to make sure it stopped pulsating and then prepped the area. Ezril came over to Rebecca’s side and cut Daisy’s cord. He was now officially Daisy’s belly button brother. (Sicily watched and asked “Why is he cutting the penis?” :)  We explained it all over and over, but she didn’t seem to get it :).

My mom came back upstairs with the apples for me.  Darrell got to hold Daisy for the first time and also let my mom hold her and give the kids a closer look. I was finally ready to deliver the placenta. I pushed the placenta out and then was able to get out of the tub.

I dried off and went on my bed. They gave me Daisy back and we nursed while Rebecca checked my bottom area. I had just one tiny paper cut tear, but other than that was in great shape. After nursing Daisy for a while, we weighed and measured her. She was 7 lbs 6 ounces, 19 1/2 inches long. Rebecca did all the newborn tests and she was a wonderful healthy baby.

Rebecca congratulated me and cleaned up to leave. My mom took Sicily and Ezril to story time at Columbus library while Darrell stayed home with me. I took a little nap and my mom, Sicily and Ezril came home a little later. Salem and Oaklen arrived home about 1:00 PM and met their new baby sister. Now our family is complete!

View this video to get a picture glimpse of the day:

Sicily's Birth Story

Happy 1st Birthday Sicily!  I've enjoyed a great year welcoming my daughter into the world.

Sicily’s Birth Story

Darrell was anxious for the baby to be born and I, Heather, was finally starting to be. On Friday February 10, Darrell and I were bound and determined to have the baby that weekend. We watched a movie for a date night- after the movie was over I decided to try some laughter therapy since that pretty much induced labor with my last two pregnancies. It was getting late and we were already “punchy” so I showed Darrell a hilarious workout video called Body Flex. He had never seen it and we both laughed hysterically! It was really funny to see this lady do these weird facial expressions and also to watch Darrell roll on the floor laughing so much. :)

The boys were excited!

I woke up the next day (Saturday, February 11) and started having light contractions around 8:00 AM. After Darrell came back from his morning run and had showered, I told him about it. Salem started writing down the times that the contractions started. Some were 5-10 minutes apart, but other times they were more sporadic at 20-30 minutes apart. Darrell went to the worldwide leadership training held at our ward building but he took our cell phone so I could call if needed.

I called Cathy Larson, our midwife to let her know about the contractions and she said that she’d come see me around 11:00. I called my mom to let her know since I needed her to help with our other children. Darrell got home from the leadership training and Cathy came around 12:00 noon. My mom came and took Salem, Oaklen, and Ezril out to lunch and to the park.

Eating lunch at Subway while in labor

The contractions still weren’t consistent but Cathy decided to check me and I was 70% effaced and dilated to a 7. I realized that this was only a number and didn’t really predict progress but still it made me figure that the baby was going to come soon. I lay on the bed and just waited for the next contraction while Cathy was there. As we were waiting, Cathy suggested that Darrell and I go out for a walk while she got things ready at the house.

We decided to splurge and go to Subway for lunch for the $5 Footlongs-in-February sale. I had a few contractions during lunch. They were getting stronger but still very manageable. After the lunch, we did our “walk” in stores since it was nice weather for February, but not warm enough for me to walk around outside for very long. We went to Whole Foods and Smith’s Grocery to pick up some last minute things. When I had a contraction, I just stopped in the aisle and held onto the cart to breathe. We saw a few people we knew but  no one could tell I was in labor. The contractions were still pretty manageable.

Shopping for our walking labor

A few last minute errands during labor

When we arrived back home around 3:00 PM, Cathy and her apprentice Laurisa were there waiting for us. We told them my contractions were still not at a steady rate. Cathy checked the baby’s heart rate and things were fine. They decided to leave us for a few hours to labor on our own. She said to call if needed and that she’d stay in the area so she could come quickly. Before Cathy left, she showed me a bottle of a blend of essential oils to breathe to help with labor, as well as suggested to walk the stairs with a wide stance when I had a contraction to help bring the baby down, or hold up my belly and push it back down into the pelvis. I tried climbing the stairs during one contraction and it was a lot of work! After trying that, I opted out of climbing the stairs since I felt like I needed to conserve my energy for when I really needed it.

Darrell’s parents called and wanted to come see our new kitchen and so they came without knowing that I was in labor. We visited with Eric, Elaine, Natalie, Adam and Zeke. I had a few contractions while they were there but I was able to just walk (waddle) around and things were fine.

After they left Darrell started making chicken for dinner. We had to use the crockpot since we still didn’t have an oven or stove ready for use in our almost-finished-newly-remodeled kitchen. (The fridge and oven were still in the dining room.) Around 5:00 PM, my mom brought the kids home, they had been hanging out at Uncle Cabot and Aunt Jen’s house waiting for us to call with an update. It was decided that my mom and John would have dinner with us, and then take the kids up to their house to be there until bedtime.

Last dinner before Sicily was born

I kept thinking that things would be picking up speed and didn’t want Cathy to miss anything so I had Darrell call her around 7:00 PM. She arrived and checked the vitals again; things were fine. She showed us how to do “the baby dance.” I’ve always seen that in birth/labor videos yet I never thought I’d be doing it since labor had been relatively fast for my last 2 births. She wanted us to have our privacy so she said she’d be downstairs waiting at our beckon call while we labored upstairs. Becky, another apprentice midwife came to be with Cathy downstairs.

Darrell and I decided to watch a movie. We had already watched Steel Magnolias (my favorite chick flick) a few nights before, so we pulled out the latest DVD that I borrowed from the library: American Graffiti. As we watched the movie, the contractions got stronger. Darrell and I got up each time from the couch to do the baby dance. It helped to lean on him while walking and swaying.

About 9:00 PM my mom brought my boys back home and we put them to bed and told them we’d wake them when the baby came.

Cathy helping through a contraction

We finished watching the movie then Cathy came upstairs to do a vital check for me and the baby. Things were still fine, just the same as hours earlier. She sat and chatted with us for a while. Once in a while I’d have a contraction and Darrell would walk around with me, but still the contractions weren’t coming any stronger. By about 11:30 PM, Cathy suggested that we try to get some sleep. I was anxious but Darrell was quite tired so I agreed to try to go to bed. We got me comfortable with pillows and a heating pad on my lower back and went to sleep. The contractions were still coming but they were manageable for me to just lay on my left side and relax. Darrell was fast asleep so I didn’t wake him whenever I had a contraction.

I managed to get a little bit of sleep but slept very lightly. Cathy came upstairs to check on me a few times through the night but saw I was sleeping and didn’t awaken me. She, Becky, and Laurisa slept on the couch and floor downstairs awaiting any further progression.

Happy couple

We were awake by 8:00 AM (Sunday February 12). The boys wondered what happened in the night but nothing did. Cathy said that something like this happens frequently and not to worry. The baby will come when we’re both ready.  Our vital signs were still fine. She asked if I wanted her to do any interventions, but I thought we could still wait a bit since we were fine, just annoyed that it was taking so long! :) As I was having a contraction, she pressed on my lower back and it felt very comforting. Cathy suggested that we just live life normally and passively wait for labor to pick up speed. Becky and Laurisa left, and Cathy said she was going to leave to go to church (in West Jordan) but to call when we needed her.

The boys got ready to go to church and Aunt Marie picked them up and took them to church. Darrell stayed home with me. I ate, showered, and curled my hair. I figured I’d indulge in a nice shower and spending time doing my hair since I wasn’t sure when I would be able to pamper myself again after the baby was here.

Contractions finally started getting stronger, I liked the lower back compression that Cathy did before she left so I asked Darrell to press on my lower back. He was doing his best, but I didn't like the way he was pressing on my back, I wanted Cathy. I had Darrell call Cathy about 10:00 AM, she said she’d come. I was getting anxious for her arrival and irritable with the contractions. Darrell happened to enter the bedroom eating a bowlful of Chinese pot stickers. The cabbage was smelly and I didn’t like it. I was mad at him for eating in front of me, and for not making any food for me. I snapped at him about the food and asked where the heck Cathy was. At that moment, Cathy was right on queue and entered the room. I sheepishly said hello. :) I’m sure it’s quite normal in her line of work for verbal offenses like that; it’s often a sign that the mother in labor is nearing the end. (Halleluiah!) Darrell told her that I wanted her to press on my lower back, so she did and I didn't like it! :) It wasn't helpful anymore and Darrell smiled since his previous work wasn't in vain.

By that time it was about 11:00 AM. I was tired and decided to lie down on the bed on my left side. Cathy and Darrell were there and Becky arrived soon afterward. Cathy said that I could start pushing whenever my body told me to push. I started having a contraction and felt the need to push. Between contractions Becky gave me some Emergen-C drink that gave me the needed energy and electrolytes. It was very good and was just what I needed.

It's a girl...ignore the blue towels :)
The rest of the pics are too naked!

With one of the pushes I heard a burst. “What was that?” I asked. It was my water breaking. After more pushing, her head was out then at 11:58 AM I finally had the beautiful sensation that her whole body was out. Sicily was finally born. They laid her on my chest skin to skin and quickly covered us with warm towels. I didn’t cry with emotion but was relieved that the hard part of labor was over. Since we were covered with towels, I asked Darrell and the midwives if our baby was, in fact, a girl just to make sure. Yes she was! :)

New family of 6

Laurisa, Heather, Sicily, Cathy, Becky

Within 10 minutes of her being born, Laurisa came, and the boys arrived home from church. They ran upstairs and met their new sister. (Aunt Marie came in the room too and took a peek at the newborn before leaving.) We were excited for the fact that the boys arrived in such a timely manner so the family could share this special moment. We had been prepping Oaklen for weeks telling him that if all worked out and he was there at the time of the birth that he could cut the umbilical cord. As Oaklen was cutting the cord, I got emotional and shed a few tears. It was bitter sweet seeing my baby finally being separated from me. Sicily now had her belly button brother Oaklen. (Salem got to cut Ezril’s cord, so they are belly button brothers.)

Oaklen cut the cord

We kept Sicily on my chest, skin to skin, as I delivered the placenta. Afterward, my mom came in to meet Sicily to see the baby. Then Darrell got to hold her for the first time and he and the midwives weighed and measured her. 8 lbs 2 oz, 22 inches long. Her vitals and apgar scores were great, and she was a healthy baby! Welcome to the world Sicily Haven Hendriksen!

3-1-9... Introducing Ezril Windsor

It's a boy!
Ezril Windsor Hendriksen
3 hr labor
Born at the comforts of home on Sunday 3-1-9
6:12 AM
8 lbs 11 oz
20 inches long

It's been 5 days since the birth and I've finally finished this blog post. My nose is almost back to normal (no longer hugely swollen) and Ezril's cord fell off today so he officially has a belly button! For those who just need a quick reference, I've posted the stats above. Anyone interested in the long birth story, read on! (Note the picture slideshow at the end.)

Ezril's Birth Story
Saturday night Feb 28th I was irritable and anxious wondering when the baby would come. I felt like I was going to have a March baby (due date was March 6th) and March was soon approaching. We had dinner as a family (our classic garlic & oil pasta family staple) and after eating a little, I asked to be excused from the table since my back was hurting. I got on all fours and after 20 minutes felt better.

Since Oaklen's labor started while my friends Candace & Eli were here, I jokingly told Darrell that we should invite them over tonight. :) Well, the spirit must have prompted them because Candace called a little later and asked if she and Eli could stop by. I was more than willing to welcome them into our home. :)

We put the kids to bed and Candace & Eli arrived about 8:15 PM. We had a nice visit and had a few good laughs. They didn't stay too long and left our house before 10:00 PM. As they were leaving I jokingly said "We'll call you in a few hours when we have the baby!" (Little did we know what was going to happen.)

Darrell and I were asleep in bed by 10:45 PM, but just before we retired my back started hurting again. Throughout the next few hours my back seemed to still hurt no matter what I did. I didn't think it was labor since it was just a constant ache like I had been having with my hips for the past month. I got up to go to the bathroom at 3:11 AM and still was hurting. I finally started pacing my room and the walking seemed to help my back. I did this for about 5 minutes then laid back down in bed.

It was then that I felt the first real contractions. They were pretty low in the belly and I remember the contractions being a little higher in front with Oaklen's labor. I wasn't able to sleep; the contractions were coming pretty often so I rolled over to view the clock and started timing them. They were about 4-5 minutes apart. It was about 4:00 AM by then and I wondered what I should do first. Wake up Darrell? Call my midwife? Call my mom? I decided to wake up Darrell.

I gently nudged him and said "Darrell, I'm in labor." He calmly woke up and said "How do you know?" I told him that I was having regular contractions about 4-5 minutes apart. He then smiled and said that he remembered his dream! (He never remembers his dream so this was quite an occasion. He ended up not telling me his dream and later I asked him and he had already forgotten the dream.) Anyway...he got out of bed and turned off the alarm. I knew then that things were going to be happening since he wasn't planning on going to his Sunday morning meetings.

He asked me what I wanted him to do so I told him to start preparing the bed and to get the hose. (Hose? You're probably wondering...our midwife brought a blow-up birth pool/tub a few weeks prior for us to use if we wanted and so he needed to get the hose from our car trunk since I purchased a new hose.)

I started walking around and stopped when I had a contraction. I swayed back & forth and was dancing on my tip toes to help with the contractions. Darrell kept coming in and out of the room with more stuff and wanted to help me with the contractions but I just kept telling him to prepare everything. We got a plastic drop cloth and draped it over the bed and put another sheet on top. I helped with that between contractions and also managed to have Darrell snap a picture of me one last pregnant time.

Once the bed was ready I laid down and rested since I was getting tired. At 4:45 AM Darrell called Rebecca, our midwife. She woke up to answer the phone and asked if we wanted her to come now. I (always indecisive) wasn't sure so she talked to me on the phone to see if I could talk through a contraction. A minute later a contraction started and I wasn't able to talk since I needed to focus on breathing. That was all that she needed to know so I handed the phone back to Darrell and she said that she would be there soon, but wouldn't rush. If we felt like we needed her to rush then to call back and tell her.

We decided that getting out the tub/pool would take too long and might not be worth it. But just in case I felt like I really needed the water, I told Darrell to go rinse out the tub to ensure it was clean. After he washed the tub, he wanted to lay on the bed with me and hold my hand; for some reason I didn't want to move and wanted my hand where it had been for the past while. I'm sure he felt helpless but he was (and is always) a big help, and very calm.

By about 5:30 AM the contractions were quite strong and I had the urge to push. I was excited to get that urge since I knew "transition" was over and that it would somewhat be downhill from there. We called Rebecca to see where she was and she was 15 minutes away.

With each contraction I pushed slightly even though Darrell told me not to push since Rebecca wasn't here yet. I knew that it would take me a while and I felt relief pushing a little. I had Darrell get a warm wash cloth to put on me and he stroked my hair. He wanted to go downstairs to check to see if Rebecca was here but I told him that I needed him here with me instead. Rebecca rang the doorbell and we called her cell phone to tell her to come in and up the stairs. She brought in her gear (oxygen, necessary medical supplies, etc.) and scrubbed up.

We heard Oaklen awake. He must have awoken with the door bell although it wasn't uncommon for him to wake up at that hour on any other given night. Darrell went to greet him and instead of putting him back to bed, we let him play in his room quietly. Darrell called my mom to tell her that I was in labor and that we needed help with the kids.

I was still lying on my left side on our bed and Darrell and Rebecca had to lift me to make sure that I had the disposable bed pads underneath me. I didn't want to move, I made them move me.

I grunted with each contraction and Rebecca encouraged my low-pitched noises. Darrell continued to hold the warm wash cloth and stroke my hair. Slowly they could see something start to come out. Later I learned that it was part of the bag of water still in tact that first came out. His head came next and after his head was completely out, Rebecca unpeeled the sac off his face and Ezril took his first breath of air. Next came the shoulders and I had to move my leg up to help that part come out. I didn't want to move so Darrell and Rebecca basically did it for me and held up my leg. It was quite the burning sensation but I was told if it burnt too badly then to hold off a little on the pushing. I did a few mini-rocking pushes and finally Ezril was fully born a 6:12 AM. It was such a relieved feeling when I could feel his body slide out.

He was immediately place on my bare chest, skin to skin, and then Rebecca put a warm towel on the both of us. Darrell quickly left to get Oaklen and wake up Salem to meet their new brother. They came in and climbed up on the bed. The cord had finished pulsating and was ready to be cut. Prior to labor, I had thought about cutting the cord myself since Darrell got to do it last time but since the boys were with us, we gave Salem the opportunity to cut the cord. That was a pretty neat experience for him.

Ezril was very vocal and kept whimpering. We tried to nurse and he seemed not quite ready yet. His head and face looked perfect since he was cushioned being born in his sac. His coloring was a wonderful pink at the 5 minute mark. I delivered my placenta and all was well.

My mom came not too long after Ezril was born and the boys were quite excited to tell Grandma that they had a new brother. It was like Christmas for them since they woke up to a fun surprise.

Ezril laid on my chest for the next hour and we learned that he pooped on me twice! It’s not surprising since I pooped three times after birth before they weighed me and Darrell gave his Dad a nice squirt. :)

Darrell finally got to hold him, then he and Rebecca weighed and measured him: 8 lbs, 11 oz. (after pooping) and 20 inches long.

I got up to take a shower and felt great. Afterward, the family and I watched Rebecca do her exam on Ezril and he was a happy healthy boy. After a round of pictures and hugs, she packed up her things and left the house by about 9:00 AM.

The boys and Darrell sang Happy Birthday to Ezril; Oaklen looked at my belly at first to sing to it but then remembered that he was in Daddy’s arms now. :)

Darrell, the boys, and my mom went downstairs so Ezril and I could rest. We had many visitors later that afternoon and evening and throughout the next few days. Thank you to everyone for your visits, meals, gifts, friendship, and support!

Ezril remains to be happy, healthy, and nursing well! We love you Ezril, Happy Birthday!

Salem's Birth Story

Today is Salem’s 5th Birthday, Happy Birthday Salem! To commemorate his birth, here is his birth story.

Warning: this is a long post, and has a lot of information, possibly even “TMI”, read this if you’re interested in birth stories, otherwise skip it! :) This also is not only his birth story but also my labor and post-op story. It’s been 5 years and my memory is already fading but I think I’ve got most of the (too-much) detail. I had an OB/GYN for his birth and 5 years ago, I liked my doctor and I thought the birth went well. I realize now that I was ignorant about a lot of issues and just went with the standard/regular birth and trusted the medical people instead of owning my own mind and making informed decisions. Had I been informed and made my own decisions, I don’t really know what I would have done; it may have ended up being the same labor & delivery but I’ll never know. I don’t necessarily regret anything that happened. I want Salem to know that his birth was a positive experience, and I’m glad that he’s a happy healthy boy. I just want you, the reader, to not judge and base your decisions about birth based on my experience alone. Please know your facts and make your own decision, every person and every birth is unique.

Salem’s Birth Story

Here is a little background to set the mode of the birth story: I was working at Overstock.com and decided to take a leap of faith and quit work to stay home with the baby after he was born. I thought I was due August 30th, so by the first part of August I had already divvied out most of my job duties and was just doing busy work waiting out my final days. Although it was August, I didn’t have such a “terrible summer pregnancy” because I was in an air conditioned office, car & home every day.

Friends & family had thrown me showers so I felt somewhat ready to have this baby. At one shower, everyone guessed when the baby would be born, and my friend promised that she’d give the winner a prize. I participated as well, and happened to guess August 21st.

It was Wednesday August 20th and I was scheduled for my weekly OB/GYN appointment. I left work a little early to catch the last appointment of the day. Darrell met me there and after the standard OB/GYN waiting time, we went in for our check-up. The nurse did the usual thing, weighing & measuring me, including taking my blood pressure. After waiting a little longer, Dr. Gemmell came in for her 5 minute consultation.

She was concerned with my blood pressure, it was a little high. (Well what do you expect when you have to rush here straight from work, and climb a couple flights of stairs?) She had been watching my high blood pressure for the past few weeks (concerned about preeclampsia) and even had me take my blood pressure at home. At home I used my brother’s automatic blood pressure machine; it was always normal and not high. I didn’t quite believe the nurse’s blood pressure reading because a few times they took the blood pressure at the end of the appointment, after I had relaxed, and it was lower than when I had just gotten there.

Dr. Gemmell said that because my blood pressure was high and it put me at risk for preeclampsia, that I should just go ahead and induce labor. She looked at her schedule and said that we could be induced the following day. She also said “Let’s see…your due date was August 16th so...” I interupted “Uh, no I thought it was August 30th!” So still to this day I don’t know the real “due date” of Salem and I don’t know if he was “early” or “late!”

She left the room for a minute so Darrell and I could think about being induced and tell her our decision. I was in denial, could I really have this baby tomorrow? I’m not ready! This can’t be happening! Darrell, being calm yet excited, told me “Let’s have this baby tomorrow!” After a few more coaxes and realizing that I’d win the birth date guessing game I finally consented to being induced the following day on August 21st.

We talked to the doctor and we were supposed to check-in to the hospital tomorrow morning at 8:00 AM. I left the medical office and was just in awe. Oh boy, what am I in for?

I immediately went home and started getting everything ready (nesting instinct.) I even took a trip to Babies R Us to pick up a few last minute things. Darrell and I decided that we wouldn’t tell anyone that we’d be induced so that everyone would be surprised when we told them the baby was born. I talked to my mom that night and it was hard for me not to say anything, but I somehow managed to not let the cat out of the bag. (Or the baby out of the womb! :) Okay stupid pun…)

Thursday morning Darrell and I left for the hospital and I called my boss while enroute to tell her that I was going to the hospital. She hadn’t arrived to work yet, so I left a voice mail.

We checked in to the hospital and they got me gowned up, monitors on and ready to be induced. About 9:00 AM is when they gave me pitocin and my doctor came in to break my water. She said that she was going to the office and she’d check on me at the end of the day. (I thought she was kidding, of course I wouldn’t still be in labor by the end of the day. I’ll have this baby out in the next few hours for sure!)

After they broke my water, my belly looked very funny. It was no longer a basketball, it was a baby with skin on top, that’s when I knew that there was no turning back.

It didn’t take long for my mom to figure out where I was and we got a phone call. She said that she had been trying to call me at work and I wasn’t picking up the phone. After a few separate phone calls, my boss picked up my phone and answered “Heather’s phone…” My mom replied “Uh, may I speak to Heather?” Kamie told her that I hadn’t come in for work today and she didn’t know where I was. (Later I realized that Kamie is notorious for not checking her voicemail. After the baby was born I called her and she mentioned that she didn’t know where I was. I told her I had left her a voicemail and she said “Heath…you know me!” My co-workers, of course, figured out that I must be in labor and called around a couple of hospitals to find which one to send flowers to. They were beautiful, thank you!

Okay, okay, back to the birth story…

My doctor told me that I could get an epidural and any stage of my labor, so I figured the sooner the better. I got an epidural after I felt the first mild contraction. From then on, it was quite boring. The most painful thing for my whole labor ended up being the poke from the IV needle. Darrell was ready to be my “labor coach” but I really didn’t need anything so we just sat around.

My mom and John (step-dad) surprised us, and came to the hospital. I told them that there was no need for them to be here since I had the epidural and was just sitting around waiting. With my permission, they took Darrell out to lunch and stopped off at our house to pick up a few movies.

Darrell and I watched Steel Magnolias and Return to Me, two of my favorite movies. My mom stayed in the waiting room for most of the day and even had my sister Holly come after work and wait around. I felt bad because there was no need for them to sit there and wait for me.

Finally about 6:00 PM the nurses came in and said that I was progressing enough and nearing the end. My doctor came (yep, after her day at the office like she had said) and got me in position (convenient for her) to push. Darrell held one of my legs and a nurse held the other leg up in the air. A student doctor attended my birth also. At about 6:30 PM the doctor looked on the monitors for my contractions and told me when to push. I could barely feel myself pushing because of the epidural. The nurse holding my leg kept telling me “push push push push push” in a rhythmic tone that descended with each word. Darrell and I still laugh about that, and Salem loves to hear it too.

I pushed for a little while and then they gave me oxygen, it was hard work! I ended up pushing for an hour and Salem Wallace was born at 7:20 PM on August 21, 2003. 7 lbs 1 oz, 19 1/2 inches long. He came out a healthy boy and the moment I heard his little whimper I started crying because reality hit me that he was really my son! They laid him on my belly and my doctor quickly said “Dad, do you want to cut the cord?” Darrell and I didn’t really respond quickly to her question so she ended up cutting the cord. They covered him with blankets and brought him up higher to my chest for me to hold him. I was preparing myself for a newborn baby that could be blotchy with different colors etc, but he was beautiful!

After a few moments, Darrell took him to be weighed, measured and to get his foot prints (still in the same room.) I still had to push to get the placenta out and also noticed in the mirror that they were stitching me up. :( I had not known that my doctor did an episiotomy on me (both up and down) even though she had specifically said months prior that she almost never does them. (Yes I could have been the exception, but you never know. Most doctors could have waited that extra 5 minutes to let the cervix soften by itself.)

They brought Salem back over to me and my mom and family came into the room to meet him. My mom was very excited to see her first grandchild, and was especially glad that she was in Utah since she and John were currently was serving an LDS mission in Monterrey Mexico and was on “leave” for a few weeks to see the family.

I laid on the bed and the nurse helped me breastfeed Salem. He seemed to latch on okay but was quite tired. After a little bit of breastfeeding, Darrell took him to get his first bath while I ate some dinner. That food actually tasted really good, I was hungry! :)

They transferred me to the post maternity ward just as the nurses were changing shifts for the night. Darrell brought in Salem and he looked so different after his bath! His hair was so soft and he smelled good.

Darrell decided to go home for the night since he’d get a better night’s sleep in his own bed, so I said goodbye to him and then it was just me and my new baby. I didn’t really know what to do. This was my first baby plus I was the youngest child and didn’t really grow up being around too many babies, let alone a newborn.

Being the new naïve mom, I checked on him as he made every whimper. I even raised my bed as high as I could to stare at him eye-to-eye since his little bassinet was high for my bed. One nurse assistant came in to check my vitals and was shocked to see my bed so high and lowered my bed. An hour went by and I expected that the nurses would come in and tell me what to do or at least check in on me since I still had my IV. (This was the first time staying overnight in a hospital.) I pressed the nurse call and finally someone answered through the speaker. I said “Am I supposed to nurse my baby now?” She said “Yes, you can do that, go ahead.” So, I got Salem out of his little swaddling blankets and tried to nurse him by myself and it wasn’t working. He was just too tired & sleepy. I was getting frustrated that my baby would not latch-on and the nurses didn’t come in to help me. I was a post-partum emotional wreck and after trying numerous times to call the nurses I ended up calling Darrell at midnight to make him come back to the hospital to help me. I figured that he would come faster than the nurses. He was asleep and was very drowsy on the phone; he was trying to convince me that he didn’t need to come and that the nurses would be there shortly. Just as I was saying goodbye to him, the nurse finally came in.

After that , things started getting better. The nurses understood that they had an emotional first-time mom and a very sleepy baby that would not breastfeed. They tried many times to help Salem latch on to the breast, we even got him down to his diaper so that the coldness would wake him up a little. No budge. This little boy was tired and he wasn’t going to wake for anyone! :) Now I realize that his sleepiness was probably an effect of the epidural. I had the epidural way too soon and for way too long. (I didn’t think about the effects of an epidural on the postpartum baby when I had planned on an epidural months prior. My doctor also didn’t tell me any warnings or reasons behind waiting for a certain stage in the labor to administer the drug.)

Long story short, (though this is still quite long.) The next morning I had the hospital’s lactation consultatnt help me. We still couldn’t get him to wake up very much or latch on very well. She gave me an SNS and we finger fed him after trying to latch him on each time. The finger feeding was okay since it still helped him get used to skin to skin contact, but we still needed to get him nursing.

Many people came to see Salem on Friday and welcome him into the world. I was glad to see everyone. My doctor came to check on me and was surprised when she found out that I still had my IV until 8:00 AM the next day. The nurses were supposed to take it out when I got to the post maternity room. The student doctor came to visit and she said thank you for letting her attend the birth. She said it was great and that Dr. Gemmell was amazing under the circumstances. (Huh? What circumstances? Was this not a normal birth?)

We were scheduled to leave the hospital Saturday morning and by that time nursing still was not established. As a last resort, the lactation consultant gave me a nipple shield to use but warned me not to rely on it. The nipple shield seemed to do the trick. He was latching on, and actually nursing for a few minutes before he’d fall asleep.

We drove home with now three in our family. We put Salem in his crib and I went to bed. We had visitors that day, I was asleep for some of them and wasn’t woken up and I was awake for others. The next day (Sunday) Darrell wanted to take Salem to church with him and let me rest but I didn’t want Darrell to get all the glory :) I wanted to see the people’s faces when they first saw Salem too. So, our little family went to church at 9:00 AM. Everyone was happy yet shocked to see us there. I felt okay just as long as I was sitting but later I realized that I “over did it” those first few days at home. On Monday we visited both Darrell’s and my employer to show off Salem. That week Darrell stayed home with us to help and the next week Darrell was back at work and mom had also gone back to Mexico. Being a first-time stay-at-home mom was challenging and emotional but I loved Salem very much and was glad for the opportunity.

The nursing situation was still quite challenging. The first few days home I tried using the SNS for finger feeding as well as attaching it to the breast but it was just messy and frustrating. I was engorged on day 3 and ended up renting a hospital-grade pump to help establish my milk supply. I started using the nipple shield more and more and that seemed to be the best solution. I was very happy that I was breastfeeding him but I hated relying on the nipple shield. One time I was away from home and forgot the shield so I had to go home to nurse him. I was also told [wrong] information that the nipple shields were not good and that they decrease your milk supply. I learned later that it was a myth because 30 years ago nipple shields were made differently and not very good, but today they were made with silicone and shaped appropriately so they were not bad to use. The hardest part was weaning him from the shield. I’d try to latch him on then quickly yank it out but that turned into a mess.

I talked to a La Leche League leader and also went to a local La Leche League meetings. She suggested that I cut the shield every few days so that it gets smaller and smaller eventually small enough to just be my nipple and not the shield. The trick worked! After 6 long weeks, one night Salem was using the shield and it fell off and he sleepily latched on! Yeah! The next morning we were completely nursing and I was a happy camper. I even emailed my mom (on her mission) and said “I can see clearly now the rain is gone!”

I am thankful for the opportunity to mother Salem. I was the classic example of a naive first-time mom. And I hope that you have learned something from my experience. I shared a little more than just the birth story because a lot of times some of the detail doesn’t get known and then another mom will be having a similar experience thinking “I’m all alone!”

Salem, happy birthday! I love you to infinity!