With the birth of my first daughter in 2013 I thought I knew everything needed to have a natural birth. I hired a midwife, read books, researched, and read more books. None of that prepared me for labor or for my new role as a mother. Little did I know that while my midwife yessed me at every appointment and…
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Surviving a Tubal Pregnancy: A Story of Hope
Disclaimer: A tubal/ectopic pregnancy carries serious risks. This is one woman’s experience and is a rare outcome. Nothing shared here replaces medical advice or reflects any other woman’s experiences or needs or outcomes. I wanted to be a mother from as far back as I can remember. But I suffered from an eating disorder and as such, I had irregular…
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Breastfeeding After a C-Section
There is a general trending increase in C-sections. Some women are choosing to while others have to through necessity. Whatever the reason, childbirth is an amazing experience and should be celebrated whether it is a vaginal birth or a C-section. Can a woman breastfeed after a C-section? The short answer is yes she can. We have come up with a few…
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Postpartum After Miscarriage
A couple of months ago, a picture of the “real side of postpartum” went viral. It was a picture taken by a dad, of the backside of his wife wearing postpartum mesh underwear. Yes, that is a very real side of postpartum fourth trimester life. But that is also a very real side of life after a loss. I’m certainly not…
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Post-Birth Probiotics Crucial for Activating Child’s Immune Response
(Editor’s note: This is a portion of an article found on NaturalNews.com.) According to a recent study by New York University, babies born by C-section should be swabbed with their mother’s germs; doctors think this procedure can replace “missing” bacteria that babies are normally exposed to during vaginal birth. Sharing bacteria during surgery is normally something doctors would actively try…
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Shedding a Stupid Stigma: VBAC Warrior in Shock!
These pictures are fuzzy and blurry but this is my VBAC. This is, “I can’t believe I just did that!” My sister sobbing on my knee and my husband reeling in this moment of “heroism” as he would call it. My childhood dream was being a mommy. That included dreaming of a natural birth. My mom and sister did it.…
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The Births of Henry & Thea Part 2: Stubborn and Taking Her Time!
(Editor’s note: click here to read Part 1 aka Henry’s birth.) I stood in the birthing suite holding Henry, and saw that it had been ten minutes since he came. I was eagerly hoping that Thea would join us soon. My dad took Oliver so we could continue to labor. I handed Henry to William and stripped down so I…
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The Births of Henry & Thea Part 1: Baby in the Parking Lot!
Sunday, July 10th, started off as a lazy Family day. We (me, William – my husband, and almost two-year-old toddler, Oliver) woke up around eight and laid in bed relaxing and snuggling as is our custom on weekends. I was 38 weeks and four days pregnant with our di/di twins. At 8:30 I got up to pee and was surprised…
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Talking High School Mascots After a C-Section
As a mother, I had this sort of primal need to birth my children the way women’s bodies were designed to birth children. My first two children were born after pitocin inductions and epidurals. Their births were special and miraculous, don’t get me wrong, but I always wondered what it would be like to have a baby without any intervention,…