SIDS

There is some really interesting research on SIDS coming out these days. Apparently, they have connected used mattresses with crib death. Check out this website for more information. www.stopsidsnow.com

Elizabeth and her Elodie

Leah,

Elodie Swan Antonia was born on Sunday December 14, 2008 at 12:29 pm. I am grateful for my birth experience and have been so blissed out these past 5 1/2 weeks. Elodie's due date, Wednesday December 10th, came and went - I visited Dr. Dwight that day and he said I was much softer than the week before and 1 cm dilated but didn't think it would happen until the weekend if not later which was fine with me because I was really enjoying being off work and wasn't too uncomfortable. Still, in the back of my mind, I was ready to move on to the next chapter and so came to see YOU for massage and accupressure on Thursday December 11th to hopefully move things along. To be honest, I hadn't felt many Braxton-Hicks through my pregnancy and so was surprised when, on the table, you said I was having a contraction. After I left you, I continued having more BH contractions but went on with my day. That night I passed my mucus plug (you will know it when you see it!) The next morning (Friday 12/12) I woke up with a completely different type of contraction (down low more like a menstrual cramp) which was exciting but they subsided as soon as I got out of bed. I also had the intense urge to rearrange my drawers, make a huge pot of lentil soup and german pancakes so I knew that something was up as I hadn't been nesting before. That night and Saturday day were totally uneventful and I was sure that nothing was going to happen. That day I went Christmas shopping and to lunch and even walked around the reservoir - not a contraction in sight.

At 11:30 pm we had just sat down to watch an episode of Man Vs. Wild when the first contraction began. I was hesitant to say anything since I thought it could be another false alarm - 2 hours later I was having contractions 5 minutes apart for about 45 seconds regularly and we decided to get some sleep. I laid in bed listening to some hypnoscripts my husband recorded for me from Dr. Gowri Motha's 'The Gentle Birth Method' and drifting off between contractions. By 4:00 am I had to get out of bed because I felt like I had to go to the bathroom all the time. My husband decided to call my doula, Danielle Vouvalides, at this time but I still wasn't sure how long of a road I had so we just put her on alert and told her we'd keep her posted. The contractions were coming every 2-3 minutes and were about 30-45 seconds long so I took a bath which felt AMAZING but slowed things down a bit. By the time I got out of the bath, my husband fixed me an egg and piece of toast and we called Dr. Dwight (5 am-ish) who said we should come right in. I still wasn't that uncomfortable so we decided to call our doula and wait for her to come over to decide what to do.

By the time she arrived (around 6:30) things were getting a bit more uncomfortable and the work began. I sat on my ball with my husband in front of me while Danielle applied counterpressure, listened to Stevie Wonder ;) and took a long walk which felt so nice in the early morning. It was a beautiful time. When we got back from the walk I was really getting the urge to have my contractions on the toilet quite a bit - I would have to say that was one of the most unpleasant sensations of labor, wanting to sit on the toilet and feeling like you had to go to the bathroom. This time I went and there was bright red blood. At that point we decided to go in.

I still felt like I could have stayed home but really didn't know what was going on since the contractions were so irregular. We arrived at Good Sam at around 8 am on a quiet Sunday morning. We asked for a room with a bathtub which we got because it was slow! The nurse checked me and I was 95% effaced and 4 cm dilated. Dr. Dwight came a few minutes later and confirmed this. While he was checking me *surprise* my water broke and I knew things were going to begin in earnest. Around 9:30 I was 6 cm and making the rounds between the ball, toilet and finally the shower which felt like heaven. I brought some peppermint body scrub and was scrubbing away - for some reason the peppermint really alleviated the nausea (as did a cherry jolly rancher - weird i know) and I thankfully didn't throw up the entire labor. After I got out of the shower they made me get strapped down to the fetal monitor and checked me again - 8 cm (around 10:30). We were excited although things were getting tough at that point and Dr. Dwight left me to continue laboring. I really called a lot on my yoga practice at this time, staying present and not thinking of the past or future was CRITICAL for me to not panic when I would have a particularly intense contraction. I thought of my safe place and also envisioned a pool of cool water at the level of my third eye calming my hypothalmus (all from Dr. Gowri Motha's Gentle Birth method book). I had not taken hypnobirthing but this was quite effective for me. Most of all staying in the NOW. Between contractions i would slip away, flooded with relief, it was a true otherworldly experience. I was also having Danielle rub lavender on my wrist and would smell that constantly. vocalizing also really helped at this point. I also listened to Sade and Bob Marley on repeat. Being tied to the fetal monitor and having to lay down for even 10 minutes was excruciating for me personally, keeping things moving helped so much.

About 11:30 am the nurse checked me and said I was still 8 cm which was discouraging (word of advice - only let ONE person check you - the readings vary too wildly and you can get blindsided by being told you weren't as far along as you had thought - this was my biggest mistake and led to the doubt i started having). I started reconsidering and thinking I might need a epidural after all. I said to my husband, I can't do this - I really need an epidural - all the while running the list of reasons I didn't want one through my head. That kept me from using my code word (Man vs. Wild - ha!) I think I just needed to say it. Thankfully Dr. Dwight came in and checked me around 30 minutes later and said that i was 9.5 cm and ready to push (I had told the nurse I felt like pushing). I was past the point of no return which I feel like was what I had set out to do.

Pushing was the hardest thing I have ever done! I didn't have any strength and had pretty much been up for over 24 hours at this point since labor started at night. I was caught between a rock and a hard place because I was so over the contractions but also didn't have the energy to push. After about 15 minutes Dr. Dwight said things would go a lot faster if I used the suction and that baby would have to be examined by the NICU team. I didn't care at this point and said yes. By the time we got that going I was screaming and really losing focus. Somehow everyone made me understand the baby was not going to come out unless I got my focus back and soon enough I saw her big head of hair. The cord was tied tightly around her neck and Dwight had to cut it. The next push my beautiful little baby was out! 12:29 pm. After NICU examined her which took all of 5 minutes (while I was hyperventilating, birthing placenta and getting one stitch) the head nurse brought her to me, pulled my gown away and put her on my breast. Tears fill my eyes thinking of that moment.

I am so so grateful for my experience and feel that the stars were aligned for me. My classes with Leah, Juliette, and Danielle at Silverlake yoga as well as Amy Blain's Labor Support class were all so helpful. Danielle Vouvalides was an amazing doula. My yoga practice was so essential - just trusting your body enough to let it do it's work and SURRENDERING into the contraction. Two books helped tremendously, Bradley Method's explanation of labor helped as did Dr. Gowri Motha's Gentle Birth Method - i cannot recommend that book enough! Anyway, thank you for you wonderful touch and yoga classes throughout my pregnancy! See you in Mommy & Me soon next week.

Elizabeth Antonia

Ansel's Gorgeous Birth

Ansel Paul Antonides was born on Saturday, January 10th at 6:27am. The day before, I had my weekly check-up with Dr. Dwight at Good Sam, and when he checked my cervix I had only dilated about 1/2 cm, so no real progression. I remember Dr. Dwight saying that I probably would go into labor around my due date which was January 20th. That afternoon, my husband and I went for a nice long walk enjoying the beautiful day, and then that night he cooked me a wonderful dinner. Mark is a singer-songwriter, and after dinner I asked him to play his guitar and sing some of his songs. A beautiful evening spent together, and I remember Ansel dancing around in my tummy as Mark sang to us.

Around 8pm, I went to the restroom and once I got up I felt water trickling down my leg. I sat on the toilet and more water came streaming out, so my water broke. I was stunned by it, because I had prepared myself in believing that I still had over a week!! I told Mark and called the doc. I also called Fina Arnold, who worked with Amy Blain in her childbirth classes (A Heart For Family) that Mark and I took. She gave me some great guidance and encouragement as I was still in a kind of shock, and helped bring me back to the labor ahead of me. She would stay in touch through the whole evening checking on me and giving support which was incredibly helpful.

By 1am, my contractions were getting intense and strong, so we decided to start heading to the hospital. Checked in at 2am and I was 4 cm dilated. My contractions were quickly getting stronger and stronger, and I truly had to focus and withdraw inwards to open myself and release all tension with each contraction. I remember having to just take each one at a time, and I focused in my mind the thought that I welcomed the contractions like a friend who was helping me give birth to my son. Visualizing my son's healthy birth and accepting the contractions as working to help that birth come true gave me strength to get through each one. By 5am, I was 8 cm dilated and Dr. Dwight was called in. Once he arrived, I began to push and that was an incredible experience. I struggled at first with the pushing, my body wasn't completely letting go, and I remember Dr. Dwight telling me repeatedly to "get angry" and give it my all. Once it clicked in me to use all my force, use every bit of my being to push that I finally was getting somewhere. And about 30 min. later Ansel was born! I was elated, because I did it naturally without any drugs, and the labor progressed so steadily and quickly. Dr. Dwight was wonderful. He was a great doctor throughout the whole pregnancy and always respectful of my birth plan. I had also had some amazing nurses at Good Sam, Jenni, Hwanhee and Ghina, during my recovery who were all so caring and generous in their help.

I have to also champion the wonderful instruction Mark and I received from Amy Blain's childbirth classes (http://aheartforfamily.com/), and the support of Fina who called throughout my labor, checking in on me and giving me encouragement to follow my birth plan. Their help has continued after the birth, as I had to deal with some breast feeding challenges and being a first time mom. Their generous help and kindness has made my transition from pregnancy to motherhood so much easier knowing there are people to turn to, and I will never forget them. Fina will be leading her own childbirth classes with A Heart for Family, and she will be a wonderful instructor. Thank you to all the "Angels" that came to help Ansel's birth. We could not have done this alone.

Love, Emily, Mark and Ansel

Urdva Danurasana: Kate and Olive

Giraffe Birth at Safari West

Check this video out. Go to the link below. It's really fun.

Thanks Shannon for sharing this with us. It really puts everything into perspective, right?

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1513658418/bclid769464397/bctid1772783521