Monday, October 31, 2011
Friday, September 30, 2011
DIY laundry detergent
Many of you know, but I've been on a homemade kick since before Jemma was born. I've gotten away from using commercial cleaners and pretty much make my own with a mix of water, soap, washing soda, borax, baking soda, and vinegar. Anywhoo, the only thing I hadn't jumped into was detergent. Having heard good things about a family recipe I decided to give it a try. I ended up modifying the recipe I was given as I just don't have the space to store gallons of liquid detergent and Tom prefers powder detergent. I'm including both recipes below.
Pope Family Recipe (Thank you Grandma, Aunt Margie and Aunt Sharon!)
Ingredients: ZOTE soap, Borax, Washing Soda; Water
Grate 1/3 bar of ZOTE soap, put in a pan with 6 cups of water and heat until soap is melted. Add 1/2 cup of Borax and 1/2 cup of washing soda. Stir to dissolve. Remove from heat; add 4 cups of hot water in a bucket, add soap mixture; stir. Then add an additional 1 gallon plus 6 cups of cold water; stir. Let it sit for 24 hours, stirring occasionally. Pour into empty detergent or softener bottles.
Notes: I couldn't find Zote soap, so I used Fels Naptha. The consistentcy will not be a smooth gel and should be shaken before each use.
My Recipe
As I said, I didn't have enough room to store the 2 gallons of liquid, not to mention I was impatient to use it! When I started grating the Fels Naptha at home, Tom started having an allergic reaction to it, so I knew this wouldn't work for us! He is extremely sensitive to chemical fragrances. One of my friends uses a similar recipe with castile soap, so I bought a bar of Dr. Bronner's peppermint instead. He seemed to tolerate that just fine :)
Ingredients: Castile bar soap, Borax, Washing Soda
Grate the soap and mix with equal parts borax and washing soda. I did 1 cup of each. Use 1 tbsp per load.
Notes: Working well so far! I haven't noticed any difference in cleaning, even with our cloth diapers. I also use vinegar in place of fabric softener and the occasional cup of bleach for whitening.
Pope Family Recipe (Thank you Grandma, Aunt Margie and Aunt Sharon!)
Ingredients: ZOTE soap, Borax, Washing Soda; Water
Grate 1/3 bar of ZOTE soap, put in a pan with 6 cups of water and heat until soap is melted. Add 1/2 cup of Borax and 1/2 cup of washing soda. Stir to dissolve. Remove from heat; add 4 cups of hot water in a bucket, add soap mixture; stir. Then add an additional 1 gallon plus 6 cups of cold water; stir. Let it sit for 24 hours, stirring occasionally. Pour into empty detergent or softener bottles.
Notes: I couldn't find Zote soap, so I used Fels Naptha. The consistentcy will not be a smooth gel and should be shaken before each use.
My Recipe
As I said, I didn't have enough room to store the 2 gallons of liquid, not to mention I was impatient to use it! When I started grating the Fels Naptha at home, Tom started having an allergic reaction to it, so I knew this wouldn't work for us! He is extremely sensitive to chemical fragrances. One of my friends uses a similar recipe with castile soap, so I bought a bar of Dr. Bronner's peppermint instead. He seemed to tolerate that just fine :)
Ingredients: Castile bar soap, Borax, Washing Soda
Grate the soap and mix with equal parts borax and washing soda. I did 1 cup of each. Use 1 tbsp per load.
Notes: Working well so far! I haven't noticed any difference in cleaning, even with our cloth diapers. I also use vinegar in place of fabric softener and the occasional cup of bleach for whitening.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Food Intolerance 101
It was confirmed today by the allergist that Lily has MSPI. Milk soy protein intolerance. This was pretty much what I expected to hear. I decided about a month ago that I would feel more comfortable going to an allergist and finding out more about what's going on with our little girl. Her pediatrician is great, but his advice in this area has been rather generalized and I wanted some more specialized input. While it's good to know she doesn't have a true allergy, it still means I will continue to be dairy free and now eliminating soy. We're going to be have to be very cautious of what she eats as we start solids.
Dr. Sutton helped me come up with a plan for introducing low allergen foods to her first and we will be delaying introducing cow's milk till she has a follow-up allergy test in a year. I'm going to be starting a food diary and keeping track of what I eat and how she reacts. The nice thing is since we are breastfeeding, I can try new foods and Lily gets a diluted amount of it, so even if we see a reaction, it isn't as risky as giving it directly to her.
So, what is a food intolerance? Symptoms can vary, but Lily's are fussiness and irritability, vomiting, diarrhea, rash, and congestion. The congestion and rash only happen if I have goofed up and eaten something offending multiple times in a few days, but the vomiting and diarrhea happen every time I have an oops. With a food intolerance, symptoms usually begin within a half hour of eating the food but can also appear up to 48 hours later. Dr. Sutton told us that children with an allergy will almost always develop hives in addition to the other symptoms but children with an intolerance typically do not have an immediate skin reaction. The big medical term for this is that an intolerance does not produce an IgE antibody response, whereas an allergy does. That means Lily isn't going to need to carry around an epi-pen, but she could still get very sick from eating a food she is intolerant to. Based on her history and symptoms, Dr. Sutton felt she was very sensitive and that if she had been on a milk based formula, she would likely have had much more difficulty gaining weight and may even have struggled with dehydration. Thank heavens for breastfeeding!!
We are 100% certain of the cow's milk and I'm 75% sure of the soy. The next common food intolerance is grains, so we're going to hold off on giving her rice cereal or other grains until I've given her a small challenge through my diet. My plan is to clean my diet of soy over the next 2 weeks, and then I will begin my food diary and start challenging grains and soy to determine if those really are causing issues or if it is simply the cow's milk. On a positive note, this is likely something Lily will outgrow by age 3, but for the forseeable future, we're going to be dealing with this.
Dr. Sutton helped me come up with a plan for introducing low allergen foods to her first and we will be delaying introducing cow's milk till she has a follow-up allergy test in a year. I'm going to be starting a food diary and keeping track of what I eat and how she reacts. The nice thing is since we are breastfeeding, I can try new foods and Lily gets a diluted amount of it, so even if we see a reaction, it isn't as risky as giving it directly to her.
So, what is a food intolerance? Symptoms can vary, but Lily's are fussiness and irritability, vomiting, diarrhea, rash, and congestion. The congestion and rash only happen if I have goofed up and eaten something offending multiple times in a few days, but the vomiting and diarrhea happen every time I have an oops. With a food intolerance, symptoms usually begin within a half hour of eating the food but can also appear up to 48 hours later. Dr. Sutton told us that children with an allergy will almost always develop hives in addition to the other symptoms but children with an intolerance typically do not have an immediate skin reaction. The big medical term for this is that an intolerance does not produce an IgE antibody response, whereas an allergy does. That means Lily isn't going to need to carry around an epi-pen, but she could still get very sick from eating a food she is intolerant to. Based on her history and symptoms, Dr. Sutton felt she was very sensitive and that if she had been on a milk based formula, she would likely have had much more difficulty gaining weight and may even have struggled with dehydration. Thank heavens for breastfeeding!!
We are 100% certain of the cow's milk and I'm 75% sure of the soy. The next common food intolerance is grains, so we're going to hold off on giving her rice cereal or other grains until I've given her a small challenge through my diet. My plan is to clean my diet of soy over the next 2 weeks, and then I will begin my food diary and start challenging grains and soy to determine if those really are causing issues or if it is simply the cow's milk. On a positive note, this is likely something Lily will outgrow by age 3, but for the forseeable future, we're going to be dealing with this.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Please pass the cocketballs
Dinner, Pope household, 7pm.
Jemma, pointing across the table, "Mama, Jemma have cocketball?
Tom, whispering to me, "Did she just say cock and balls?"
Me, whispering back, "I think she said chocolate balls."
Jemma, interjecting into our conversation, "Please Jemma have cocketball!" She is becoming a little frustrated at this point.
Tom, "What do you want Jemma?"
Jemma, "Cocketball! Jemma want cocketball!"
And finally, we realize she is pointing at the bowl of olives, which, yes, she thought were chocolate balls. She continued to ask for "cocketballs" throughout dinner!
Jemma, pointing across the table, "Mama, Jemma have cocketball?
Tom, whispering to me, "Did she just say cock and balls?"
Me, whispering back, "I think she said chocolate balls."
Jemma, interjecting into our conversation, "Please Jemma have cocketball!" She is becoming a little frustrated at this point.
Tom, "What do you want Jemma?"
Jemma, "Cocketball! Jemma want cocketball!"
And finally, we realize she is pointing at the bowl of olives, which, yes, she thought were chocolate balls. She continued to ask for "cocketballs" throughout dinner!
Friday, July 15, 2011
Rolling, rolling, rolling...
Lily started rolling! She rolled over once yesterday and she's done it twice today! This baby is going to be a mover. She thinks she's bigger than she is. She wants to stand and sit up all the time. I think Tom and I might be in for it with her!
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Jemma changes a diaper
This actually happened a week or so ago, but I just got around to uploading the pictures. I went to the bathroom and came back to find Jemma changing Lily's diaper. Quite a feat considering we use cloth. Jemma had gotten Lily's diaper off, but couldn't figure out how to put the new one on her :)
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
My newish kitchen
Okay, so not so much about the girls, but I had a gift card to IKEA and decided to get some kitchen organization I've been eyeing for quite sometime. Jemma rode in the cart while we were there. Lily rode on me, but no picture of that ;)
So here's the kitchen before...
And after...so much easier to get to everything.
I got a new microwave cart/side table. Now we finally have a place to put potatoes and onions (in the bottom baskets!).
Also, I saw the cutest bunk bed set up that I would love to get for Jemma and Lily once they are sharing a room. Don't you think this would be so fun?! I love that the bottom mattress is on the floor. Perfect for a toddler!
So here's the kitchen before...
And after...so much easier to get to everything.
I got a new microwave cart/side table. Now we finally have a place to put potatoes and onions (in the bottom baskets!).
Also, I saw the cutest bunk bed set up that I would love to get for Jemma and Lily once they are sharing a room. Don't you think this would be so fun?! I love that the bottom mattress is on the floor. Perfect for a toddler!
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Monday, May 16, 2011
My little girls :)
I've been busy enjoying our new little addition as well as our super spunky 2 year old. Jemma has officially become a toddler. I may not have wanted to admit it before Lily was born, but there's no denying it now. Her favorite question is "why?" and she dresses and redresses herself 5 times a day lol. She's still the queen of cuteness though.
She's also become quite the little artist. I got her some paints the other day and she's asked to paint every day. (Disregard the dirty face...she'd just had lunch)
Lily is a sweet little angel and I love her to pieces. Poor babe has been battling reflux. I noticed this right away when she was born, but it didn't seem to bother her until around 3-4 weeks old. We got a prescription for Zantac from the pedi (which has helped a lot) and I stopped eating dairy (which helped even more). It's been a bit of a transition for me since milk, yogurt, cheese, and ice cream are pretty much staples of my diet. But I'm learning to read labels and eat differently. Started drinking soy milk and eating soy ice cream...did you know they even make a cheese subsitute? Tastes a little like cheese puffs. Anywho, it definitely helped me shed some pounds as I am only 3 pounds shy of my pre-Lily weight. Hoping to drop a little more too! It has made such a difference for her. We went from vomiting out her nose and mouth with a pretty large amount at every feed to a little puddle every other feed or so. Double bonus that it's helping me too. I've been wearing her in our wraps a lot since staying upright minimizes the spit-up and plus she just seems to love it. Jemma liked being worn, but Lily LOVES it. She is such a little cuddle bug.
She's also become quite the little artist. I got her some paints the other day and she's asked to paint every day. (Disregard the dirty face...she'd just had lunch)
Lily is a sweet little angel and I love her to pieces. Poor babe has been battling reflux. I noticed this right away when she was born, but it didn't seem to bother her until around 3-4 weeks old. We got a prescription for Zantac from the pedi (which has helped a lot) and I stopped eating dairy (which helped even more). It's been a bit of a transition for me since milk, yogurt, cheese, and ice cream are pretty much staples of my diet. But I'm learning to read labels and eat differently. Started drinking soy milk and eating soy ice cream...did you know they even make a cheese subsitute? Tastes a little like cheese puffs. Anywho, it definitely helped me shed some pounds as I am only 3 pounds shy of my pre-Lily weight. Hoping to drop a little more too! It has made such a difference for her. We went from vomiting out her nose and mouth with a pretty large amount at every feed to a little puddle every other feed or so. Double bonus that it's helping me too. I've been wearing her in our wraps a lot since staying upright minimizes the spit-up and plus she just seems to love it. Jemma liked being worn, but Lily LOVES it. She is such a little cuddle bug.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Getting to know Lily
So Miss Lily has been with us for 3 weeks now, and I thought I'd share some of the things we are learning about her!
1. She likes to eat. A LOT. The girl literally ate for almost the first 2 hours of her life (with a half hour break or so while her daddy held her) and this verocity for food has continued so far. You can tell she's a Pope ;)
2. She's a spitter. This is a whole new world for Tom and I. Jemma rarely spit up and we never needed extra outfits or burp cloths. It's a necessity with Lily! I'm pretty sure she has reflux and have actually decided to cut out dairy products to see if that makes a difference.
3. She loves her tummy and hates her back. I think she'd sleep for hours on her tummy if I let her! I do when I'm awake and watching her, but at night she sleeps on her side for fear of her spitting up and choking when she's on her back or being unable to breathe on her tummy.
4. She loves a good cuddle, especially on Mommy. She likes to lay on Daddy too, but Mommy has better pillows ;)
5. She's a good sleeper. Yippee! Cross my fingers, knock on wood, this kiddo sleeps for 3-4 hours stretches at night and has since week 1. She had one night of eating every hour the first night my milk came in, but has so far continued with her 3 hour schedule, which isn't so bad.
I'm sure we'll have more to update as Lily is doing more, but mostly at this point, she's doing all those important newborn things - mostly growing! She's finally starting to fit in her clothes better. She's a sweet baby. And of course, here are some adorable pictures of the little princess!
1. She likes to eat. A LOT. The girl literally ate for almost the first 2 hours of her life (with a half hour break or so while her daddy held her) and this verocity for food has continued so far. You can tell she's a Pope ;)
2. She's a spitter. This is a whole new world for Tom and I. Jemma rarely spit up and we never needed extra outfits or burp cloths. It's a necessity with Lily! I'm pretty sure she has reflux and have actually decided to cut out dairy products to see if that makes a difference.
3. She loves her tummy and hates her back. I think she'd sleep for hours on her tummy if I let her! I do when I'm awake and watching her, but at night she sleeps on her side for fear of her spitting up and choking when she's on her back or being unable to breathe on her tummy.
4. She loves a good cuddle, especially on Mommy. She likes to lay on Daddy too, but Mommy has better pillows ;)
5. She's a good sleeper. Yippee! Cross my fingers, knock on wood, this kiddo sleeps for 3-4 hours stretches at night and has since week 1. She had one night of eating every hour the first night my milk came in, but has so far continued with her 3 hour schedule, which isn't so bad.
I'm sure we'll have more to update as Lily is doing more, but mostly at this point, she's doing all those important newborn things - mostly growing! She's finally starting to fit in her clothes better. She's a sweet baby. And of course, here are some adorable pictures of the little princess!
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Jemma dresses herself :)
So the other night, Jemma got to spend the night with Aunt Kari and her cousin Ella. She was so excited she packed her Dora backpack and dressed herself. She insisted on wearing her red Made in Ohio t-shirt, her leggings with stripes and hearts, and her winter boots. She is so stinkin' cute!
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Lily's Birth Story
Lily Elisabeth Pope made her arrival at 6:36pm on April 1, 2011. She was 7 lbs, 10.8 oz and 21 inches long. She was born at Mercy Fairfield Hospital and delivered by Dr. Daniel Bowen. I wanted to share her birth story. It is a little long, but I wanted to preserve my thoughts and memories surrounding her delivery.
When I found out I was pregnant, I immediately started thinking about delivery. Jemma’s birth was not quite the experience I hoped for, and I really wanted things to go differently this time. With Jemma, I said I wanted to try to have a natural birth; with Lily, I said I AM going to have a natural birth. I switched to a different OB, Dr. Bowen, who was highly recommended to me. (His partner, Dr. Wall, was equally as good when I saw him, but Dr. Bowen ended up delivering Lily). Both doctors were very supportive throughout my pregnancy and helped me develop a birth plan to achieve my goal. I decided to deliver at Mercy Fairfield since it was closest to our home, and they have whirlpool tubs in all the labor and delivery rooms. I hired a doula (birth attendant) to help us with support during labor.
Lily’s birth story begins at 34 weeks when she first dropped. I remember thinking how nice it was to be able to breathe again! From that point on, I had inconsistent contractions until 36 weeks when they became more prevalent. At my 36 week appointment, I asked Dr. Bowen to check me and I was 2 cm dilated. Yeah for progress! Contractions continued off and on for the next few weeks. There were a few times I thought we might be heading to the hospital, but the contractions would fade. I was beginning to get a little frustrated. I wasn’t so much uncomfortable, just impatient and annoyed at the constant contractions. So, at my 39 week appointment, I asked Dr. Bowen to check me. I was 3 cm and fully effaced, so we decided to strip my membranes. That was at 4pm. By 6pm, I started having contractions, and they regulated to about 6 min apart throughout the evening and stayed that way overnight and into the next morning. They weren’t painful really, just present. I spent a lot of time walking, bouncing on my exercise ball, and lying on my left side. I called Dr. Bowen around 7am to let him know how things were going, and he said to check back in when contractions regulated to 5 min apart for an hour. I called our doula to put her on call and my mom came to pick Jemma up.
My contractions stayed about 6 min apart until about 11am and then they started increasing in frequency and intensity. I was starting to have to really focus to get through them. By 1pm, they’d been 5 min apart for an hour, so we called Dr. Bowen and said we’d like to head to the hospital. The contractions were strong but not unbearable. I could talk through them if needed, but they felt better if I focused on breathing and staying relaxed. We went to triage, I got checked, and was 6cm dilated! I was so happy to hear that. We were admitted to our room and our doula, Nicole, arrived shortly after. I think that was around 3pm or so. My nurse was wonderful. She encouraged me that I could have a natural labor and kept me on the monitors the shortest time she could. I truly appreciate her support. I was on the monitors for 20 minutes of every hour. The first hour I spent my 20 minutes of monitoring bouncing on a ball, and then got in the tub. The water felt so good and really eased my contractions. After 30 minutes in the water, I felt like I was getting overheated, so I opted to get out and sit in a rocking chair. I stayed there through the next 20 minutes of monitoring and rested between contractions. I was feeling tired and the contractions began to get fairly uncomfortable towards the end of the last monitoring session. Nicole gave counterpressure at my hips and pelvis during each contraction, and that helped ease them. As soon as I was off the monitors, I hopped back in the tub and had Tom add more hot water. At this point, I was really going into transition and the contractions were very strong and painful. I remember feeling overwhelmed and wondering whether I could really pull this off…maybe I was crazy for thinking I could go natural. Then I would realize that I was in transition, and remind myself that I could do it! Tom held my hand and Nicole massaged my back for the next 40 minutes while reminding me to stay relaxed. I suddenly felt the urge to get out of the tub and stand up, which ironically occurred at the same time I was due for another round of monitoring. It took 2 contractions to get across the room, during which Tom pretty much held me up. I couldn’t bear the thought of sitting, so my wonderful nurse said I could remain standing while she put the monitors on. At the next contraction, I felt the urge to push a little, and I couldn’t stop my body from doing it. During the next 3 contractions, I pushed more and more, and I think the nurse went to get Dr. Bowen and forgot about the monitors because I don’t remember them being put back on! On the last contraction, I felt a pop and my water broke – all over Tom’s pants and shoes I might add. I felt a burning sensation, which was apparently Lily crowning. They got me on the bed, Dr. Bowen came in, and I think about 3 pushes later Lily was out. I felt a little bit like superwoman.
They placed Lily on my chest and Dr. Bowen helped Tom and I feel where her cord was still pulsing. Tom got to cut the cord, and we rubbed Lily to warm her up and she stayed on my chest. Dr. Bowen helped me deliver the placenta and then showed us all the parts of it, which I thought was just amazing. I never saw Jemma’s placenta. I started nursing Lily while Dr. Bowen stitched me up (I had a second degree tear I think). I ended up having to have pitocin to help with the bleeding afterwards, but that was the only real intervention I had. I didn’t even get checked after my initial admission! I felt so good afterwards. It was such a different experience from Jemma’s birth, and I am so thankful for all the support from the amazing staff, Dr. Bowen, my doula, and most importantly, my loving and caring husband. I could not have asked for a more perfect delivery. It was amazing to be able to feel my daughter come into the world. Thank you for letting me share.
When I found out I was pregnant, I immediately started thinking about delivery. Jemma’s birth was not quite the experience I hoped for, and I really wanted things to go differently this time. With Jemma, I said I wanted to try to have a natural birth; with Lily, I said I AM going to have a natural birth. I switched to a different OB, Dr. Bowen, who was highly recommended to me. (His partner, Dr. Wall, was equally as good when I saw him, but Dr. Bowen ended up delivering Lily). Both doctors were very supportive throughout my pregnancy and helped me develop a birth plan to achieve my goal. I decided to deliver at Mercy Fairfield since it was closest to our home, and they have whirlpool tubs in all the labor and delivery rooms. I hired a doula (birth attendant) to help us with support during labor.
Lily’s birth story begins at 34 weeks when she first dropped. I remember thinking how nice it was to be able to breathe again! From that point on, I had inconsistent contractions until 36 weeks when they became more prevalent. At my 36 week appointment, I asked Dr. Bowen to check me and I was 2 cm dilated. Yeah for progress! Contractions continued off and on for the next few weeks. There were a few times I thought we might be heading to the hospital, but the contractions would fade. I was beginning to get a little frustrated. I wasn’t so much uncomfortable, just impatient and annoyed at the constant contractions. So, at my 39 week appointment, I asked Dr. Bowen to check me. I was 3 cm and fully effaced, so we decided to strip my membranes. That was at 4pm. By 6pm, I started having contractions, and they regulated to about 6 min apart throughout the evening and stayed that way overnight and into the next morning. They weren’t painful really, just present. I spent a lot of time walking, bouncing on my exercise ball, and lying on my left side. I called Dr. Bowen around 7am to let him know how things were going, and he said to check back in when contractions regulated to 5 min apart for an hour. I called our doula to put her on call and my mom came to pick Jemma up.
My contractions stayed about 6 min apart until about 11am and then they started increasing in frequency and intensity. I was starting to have to really focus to get through them. By 1pm, they’d been 5 min apart for an hour, so we called Dr. Bowen and said we’d like to head to the hospital. The contractions were strong but not unbearable. I could talk through them if needed, but they felt better if I focused on breathing and staying relaxed. We went to triage, I got checked, and was 6cm dilated! I was so happy to hear that. We were admitted to our room and our doula, Nicole, arrived shortly after. I think that was around 3pm or so. My nurse was wonderful. She encouraged me that I could have a natural labor and kept me on the monitors the shortest time she could. I truly appreciate her support. I was on the monitors for 20 minutes of every hour. The first hour I spent my 20 minutes of monitoring bouncing on a ball, and then got in the tub. The water felt so good and really eased my contractions. After 30 minutes in the water, I felt like I was getting overheated, so I opted to get out and sit in a rocking chair. I stayed there through the next 20 minutes of monitoring and rested between contractions. I was feeling tired and the contractions began to get fairly uncomfortable towards the end of the last monitoring session. Nicole gave counterpressure at my hips and pelvis during each contraction, and that helped ease them. As soon as I was off the monitors, I hopped back in the tub and had Tom add more hot water. At this point, I was really going into transition and the contractions were very strong and painful. I remember feeling overwhelmed and wondering whether I could really pull this off…maybe I was crazy for thinking I could go natural. Then I would realize that I was in transition, and remind myself that I could do it! Tom held my hand and Nicole massaged my back for the next 40 minutes while reminding me to stay relaxed. I suddenly felt the urge to get out of the tub and stand up, which ironically occurred at the same time I was due for another round of monitoring. It took 2 contractions to get across the room, during which Tom pretty much held me up. I couldn’t bear the thought of sitting, so my wonderful nurse said I could remain standing while she put the monitors on. At the next contraction, I felt the urge to push a little, and I couldn’t stop my body from doing it. During the next 3 contractions, I pushed more and more, and I think the nurse went to get Dr. Bowen and forgot about the monitors because I don’t remember them being put back on! On the last contraction, I felt a pop and my water broke – all over Tom’s pants and shoes I might add. I felt a burning sensation, which was apparently Lily crowning. They got me on the bed, Dr. Bowen came in, and I think about 3 pushes later Lily was out. I felt a little bit like superwoman.
They placed Lily on my chest and Dr. Bowen helped Tom and I feel where her cord was still pulsing. Tom got to cut the cord, and we rubbed Lily to warm her up and she stayed on my chest. Dr. Bowen helped me deliver the placenta and then showed us all the parts of it, which I thought was just amazing. I never saw Jemma’s placenta. I started nursing Lily while Dr. Bowen stitched me up (I had a second degree tear I think). I ended up having to have pitocin to help with the bleeding afterwards, but that was the only real intervention I had. I didn’t even get checked after my initial admission! I felt so good afterwards. It was such a different experience from Jemma’s birth, and I am so thankful for all the support from the amazing staff, Dr. Bowen, my doula, and most importantly, my loving and caring husband. I could not have asked for a more perfect delivery. It was amazing to be able to feel my daughter come into the world. Thank you for letting me share.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)