May 24, 2011
There isn’t all that much to say about Clare’s actual birth. It’s really the months leading up to it and the days following that make any kind of story at all. That said, be warned that this is really, really long.
When we found out we were pregnant again, we started looking for the next best thing to a home birth, because we didn’t think that there was a midwife nearby who would take us. So we looked into the new birthing center at Oschner in Baton Rouge, (actually, we looked at it before we found out we were pregnant…but who’s counting?) and it all looked pretty good. So we had a couple of appointments there, figuring that it was very close to Craig’s parents’ house, and only a tiny bit further from our house than we had to drive for Samantha’s birth. Read more...
February 1, 2011
I will post photos as soon as I find my transfer cable, but Clare Anah was born this morning (early due to a 3am bleeding episode). Mom and Clare are doing well and resting. Thank you for your prayers!
Craig
UPDATE: Thanks to Justin’s IPhone for the first photo:
January 28, 2011
We had one last OB appointment yesterday afternoon. She helped clear up the confusion we were feeling after the ultrasound last week, and really it looks like the previa was worse that we thought at first. So we’re planning on being at Touro for 6am next Friday, the surgery should be around 8 (unless the woman scheduled ahead of me has her baby sooner, then we’ll go in at 7), and should all take about an hour. Then at least 2-3 days in the hospital, if all is well, and back home again. Read more...
January 20, 2011
That is the day our C-section has been scheduled. Apparently the placenta has not budged, and the risk of massive bleeding is too great if I go into labor, so we’re going in at about 38 weeks, which is actually longer than we probably could have hoped to wait if we had any other doctor. Read more...
January 20, 2011
I have to say I’ve been pretty overwhelmed by all the notes we’ve gotten saying that we are in people’s prayers. Thank you all so much!! No matter how things end up going, it has been a great blessing for me to know how many people care about me and our family.
The ultra sound appointment is set for 2:40 this afternoon, then it’s straight to the OB’s office to discuss where we stand, and then if there is time, we’re meeting with the midwife while we’re uptown. And then I’m hoping for a celebratory dinner somewhere… So I’ll update as soon as I can, but it probably won’t be until this evening. Read more...
December 3, 2010
Yesterday I had the appointment with the OB who backs the midwife we’re looking at using, and I am offically certified “low-risk” for home birth! Yay!
I spent 3 1/2 hours at the doctor’s office, and took a tongue lashing, because the OB has had some pretty bad experiences with the midwife we used for Samantha’s birth, but she said she trusts Emmy’s (the new midwife) judgement so much that she thinks we will be fine, even if something should go wrong. So I have an appointment with Emmy in two weeks, and all I have to do now is keep from doing anything that would kick me out of the “low-risk” category between now and February. Read more...
October 23, 2010
Hello, again. I know it’s been a long time between posts, and I have finally been motivated to write again because, of course, I could use a little help.
Everything is going well, by the way. The girls are doing their thing (Samantha has decided to start her terrible twos a few weeks early) and Craig is busy raising ruckus at Shaw, as usual. All signs indicate that baby Oscar is doing just fine. He is quite wiggly quite often. Read more...
October 7, 2009
There is an amazing article in this week’s America magazine. (The Oct. 5, 2009 issue.) It’s called “A Fiery Gift: A spiritual case for natural childbirth.” Susan Windley-Daoust has a deeper perspective on the issue, one I hadn’t considered, and I think everyone (female, or otherwise, and likely to give birth sometime soon or otherwise!) ought to read this. I think she is absolutely right-on. Read more...
August 7, 2009
This is a movie worth seeing. For me, it pulled up a lot of good and bad memories, and I could just watch babies being born all day. It’s really amazing to see. I tend to gasp when this squirming little one suddenly comes out, even though I know it’s coming.
Anyway, if I knew someone who thought they didn’t have time to research birth choices, I would recommend this movie, and hopefully by the end of it they would realize they had to find time to do this sort of reading and research. I found the discussion of the difference between the artificial hormones doctors use to induce labor and the natural hormones women get for and from labor particularly interesting. Read more...
July 27, 2009
Lucy gave us the synopsis of Samantha’s birth this morning. It went more or less like this:
“We drove to that house, and Mommy pooped in the bathtub. You (Mommy) did a good job. And that was Samantha!”
And we laughed.
Later, I heard Craig doctoring Lucy’s scraped knees while I was feeding Samantha. He said, among other things, and over her screams,
“You know, a lot of your pain is psychological.”
And I laughed. Hard. Never a dull moment here!
