[Sarvi]

Can’t type much as I am on my tablet but just checking to say how nice it is to hear all the birth stories! I went into it with big plans for a water birth, drug free, yadda yadda. Is there a saying about best laid plans? Came out with a healthy and safe mom and baby, no complaints.

[Nicole]

I had a wonderful birth plan for Hugo.

It did not involve PE at 36 weeks…..

I was induced Wednesday morning and he was born 6 am Saturday. At one stage, my Mids came in giggling and told me they had been reading my birth plan.

No drugs, no intervention yup-right!

[cybele727]

Yes, we were all the 27th. Sintocin… hmm I wonder if that is like Pitocin, the induction meds they gave me for A, which I did not react well too.

I don’t know what happened, and why they didn’t get it all. For the WeeGee there was none of this afterbirth type stuff. But for A, I was barely conscious having been wheeled out of the OR into recovery. I just remember the nurse coming in and saying, someone take the baby for a minute while I check her out. Then she said deep breath and before I could do, think, say, ANYTHING, she put her hands in the Heimlich grip and pressed down with all her might on my belly just above my belly button. Knocked the breath and my placenta right out of me. Maybe they missed some. If I had enough strength to hurt her, I would have.

(I actually kicked a doctor in the face who had a problem with respecting patient wishes- mine- and was a bit too rough handling the girly goods when I was in the hospital with the WeeGee. I do believe I made an entire floor of maternity nurses’ week with that move. Apparently this doc was none too popular with nurses and patients alike.)

Nicole, I loved how you told the nurse you were high. I think that would be a given and perfectly ok considering the circumstances. I think what is fascinating about these stories is to hear about how different “standard” practice is in different places. When I was reading your blog, I kept wondering, gas? What kind of gas? Nobody offered me gas! I would have taken anything I could have gotten for the first time with my “failed” labor.

[Tamara]

You know we have the best laid plans before we are initiated into the birth and labour experience. My late sil felt a failure when she had her beautiful boy – her body just didn’t allow her to dilate. I admit I felt a failure too because of my BP going wonky and causing baby to stress out!

But at the end of the day our children are born and they have survived the first hurdles of their young lives and that is accomplishment in my book.

Incidentally that beautiful boy is now 19 and brought a car load of uni mates to our house with him on friday. Such an experience to have these young strapping men around – and they did my dishes and cleaned up for me! I told them they are welcome anytime. This is something I can look forward to as my own son grows – his face lit up when I mentioned the idea of bring a car load of high school mates home for a boarders weekend.

Sorry for the slide to the side comment but I had to share that bit – it made my week!

[jay_1965vw]

I’m also interested in the different experiences of birth in different places. We haven’t decided yet whether to try for baby #3, and if it happens it will be while we are posted to DC (I’ll be 42 when we get back, and I’d prefer not to be having a baby then). The way I go with birthing though, it doesn’t look like I need to worry about what the hospitals do – I’ll be lucky to get there in time.

My birth plan for Audrey ran completely to plan. My birth plan for Josephine… well, when I got upstairs to the delivery suite a midwife came in from the Birthing Suite and said “I’m running a bath for you!”. She seemed a bit put out that I wasn’t going to be using it. I thought a water birth sounded good! I did get my wish for no drugs (no time even if I’d wanted them), skin on skin asap, breast crawl, and physiological third stage.

What a great side note Tamara! I’d be happy to have them around too.

[jay_1965vw]

Audrey and I both have colds, so I’m feeling somewhat under the weather to start with, then last night after the three o’clock feed I lay awake for 1 1/2 hours. Hopefully the little people behave themselves today, I don’t think I have very much patience…

[Masha Richart]

Hello everyone, it has been a few months! After lots, and lots, and lots of traveling, we are finally in our new home. It is a bit strange being back in the U.S. after four years; I didn’t think things could change much in that time but I do feel a bit like a fish out of water. My experience is that the culture shock usually takes six months or so to subside. Our first week back I found myself avoiding store aisles with people in them, it seemed natural to assume that, since everyone speaks English, someone might randomly strike up a conversation with me and for some reason that was a scary thought. Silly, right? Then I had a Russian check-out lady at a store and I was so excited to speak Russian with her – it was the first time I felt “at home” since my arrival.

Anyway, after trips to the beach and to my sister-in-law’s wedding we are finally in our house and we have all our things although most of them are still in boxes. We have a lovely sunroom that will do double duty as a playroom and sewing room but it still needs a good table for my machines and a storage unit for my fabric. I’m hoping to have it functional by the end of the month!

You may remember that I sewed flower girl and ring bearer outfits for said wedding – it went great and everyone loved them EXCEPT my husband thought it was a good idea to let my younger daughter – almost 4 – sign the wedding quilt with fabric marker while wearing her pristine dress … which is now covered in green spots. I nearly cried. All that work … ruined.

Oh well. It’s only stuff. That is what I tell myself. Glad to be back – loving the stuff in the Flickr pool!

[Sarvi]

Ditto cybele, I want in on this gas! I also got stuck at a certain point (plus some other stuff) and then they had to start plying me with Pitocin. I didn’t feel like a failure about that part, though, more like I felt so grateful for modern medicine — as a friend eloquently put it, “back when” my husband would’ve gone home from the hospital alone.

On the other hand, “back when” some other moms in the village might’ve nursed my baby when it turned out I couldn’t make enough milk to feed a mouse. Very grateful for formula to fill in the nutritional bit of the wonderful experience of nursing my kid. It was surprising how hard it was, emotionally, not to be able to make enough milk. Felt very jealous of good producers for a long while till I could let go of pointless self-chastisement.

[Sarvi]

Oh no, rtwg, not a fabric marker! Welcome back, and the sunroom/sewing room combo sounds lovely. Another friend recently moved and has a room that sounds similar, a really nice place for a family to be!

[Tamara]

Welcome back RTWG! How we have missed you. Commiserations on the dress – I had a similar experience with my own daughter (not quite three at the time) wearing a smocked silk and organza flower girl dress to my sister’s wedding nine years ago and “helpful” relatives feeding her chocolate and strawberries! Before the photos! I do hope the marker can come out because I had to send that dress for dry cleaning.

I love the sound of the sunroom – not too hot in there is it? My sewing room heats up significantly. All I can suggest is try and get closed storage for your fabrics so they aren’t damaged by the sun.

On the other subject, gas is no fun when you rip it from the wall. It makes you high as a kite and (I can’t remember mentioning this already but) it had me singing down the hallway on the way to theatre!

[needlewoman]

Dear RTWG, so good to hear from you again. Husbands, they really are not to be trusted around children in good clothes, are they? The number of new things my friends’ husbands have ruined in the wash, and in particular, the dryer, is too painful to recount. So glad the wedding and all your work for it was such a hit – as you say, it’s only stuff but I can easily imagine your heartbreak. Good luck with the settling in, and especially setting up your sewing place. How are the children managing? Looking fwd to seeing your lovely work pop up again in Flickr. Such a sweet story about your nephew, T – I like the dishwashing etc such a good example for your boy about what real men do.

[needlewoman]

RTWg, where are you in the US? If you are somewhere that has long cold winter, a sunny sewing room could be just the ticket. Jay, I hope you and little A are feeling better. Can’t add anything to baby birthing stories – never had one – but they sound thrilling and terrifying for a non-mother, and make you all sound heroic.

[Sarvi]

First week of school for us, at last, seemingly much later than most other USA-ers. How’s everybody else holding up? I’m a sobbing wreck. Bit better today.

[Nicole]

Poor you Sarvi, we are nearly at a end of the term so we will have 2 weeks hol’s. It is about time, this term (third term, 10 weeks) always seems to be a sickly term with lots of colds and bugs.

I can’t wait, I love having them all home.

[thejennigirl]

I would love to be sewing, but it seems the past couple weeks have seen to otherwise.

My oldest contracted a severe respiratory virus and ended up in the ICU for 2 days with respiratory distress. He’s never wheezed in his life, and we went from perfectly healthy to dr’s office in 48 hours. He’s home and recovering very well right now, but it was possibly one of the scariest weeks in my life.

The evening he came home from the hospital, my husband dealt with a scary situation at work and then a police shooting occurred across the state and the accused gunman is still at large. It’s brought back a lot of feelings and emotions from when our station had a similar situation and buried one of our own.

This girl is ready for a little less drama and a lot more sewing. Especially sewing my new living room drapes!