Audrey's Birth Story.... The Midwife's Perspective

Ok, so first of all, a little love for my beloved midwife Tara. She is just... the best. I couldn't have asked for a better person to journey through both my pregnancies and births with. She is kind, compassionate and so full of wisdom. Writing this from her perspective was actually her idea. How awesome is that?

For those that may have missed it, you can read Audrey's birth story (from my perspective) HERE (Part 1) and HERE (Part 2). Also, just to add to the birth story fun, you can read Elliott's HERE.

Ok, here we go... Audrey's Birth Story from the perspective of my midwife, Tara

One of my favorite parts of being a midwife is being able to walk alongside a repeat client for her next pregnancy and birth. Melissa is someone who engages fully in her care and self-educates, and her first birth had been a straightforward, uncomplicated event, and a delight. We midwives tend to see a trend towards second babies being faster and more efficient than first babies, and because Melissa’s first baby had arrived a week before her due date, I expected that this second baby arrival early was a distinct possibility – meaning we were all on tenterhooks for the week or two prior to her due date. However, the mind is a powerful thing, and the baby seemed to know it would be best to delay her arrival due to the difficult circumstances surrounding Melissa’s dad’s accident.

Audrey's Birth Story Part 2

Ok, so where were we? I had just crawled back into bed after getting up with Elliott. It was now probably about quarter after 4. I've had two contractions that felt quite real and I'm laying there waiting to see if I can fall back asleep or if I'll have another one.

And I do. And it hurts. And then Elliott wakes up again.

Crap. crap.

So I get out of bed to see what he needs and he says he needs to go pee. I take him to the bathroom and then back to his room to rock on the rocking chair for another couple minutes. As we're rocking I feel another couple contractions. All I can think is "I need to get this kid back to bed because these really hurt!" I'm quite sure at this point that this is it. I feel excited, yet distracted by this kid that won't sleep! So I put him back in bed and go back to bed. It's past 4:30 now. Chris is awake and says something to me about how he's sorry Elliott keeps waking up. I grumble something back about how I wish he would just go back to sleep. I don't mention the contractions because I'm hoping that if Elliott goes back to sleep I can just labour quietly for a while so Chris isn't too tired when things really start happening. A couple minutes later Elliott calls out again. Chris offers to go this time so I lay there and try to figure out how consistent these contractions are. I'm not timing them, but I figure they are every 7-10 minutes and man they hurt! When I first went into labour with Elliott the first few hours were such a breeze! I could keep talking through contractions for the first bit, and even after they were a bit more painful I could still follow a movie plot no problem as I laboured on the couch. This time I feel like I skipped the easy breezy beginning and I'm in full on active labour. Ow.

Audrey's Birth Story Part 1

What better way to dust off the 'ol blog than with a birth story?

I'll start a couple weeks before my due date. I started experiencing frequent "practice contractions" at about 37 weeks. They would come every night- often as I climbed into bed, as well as in the middle of the night. I would describe them as strong braxton hicks contractions that had no pattern, rhyme or reason to them. They wouldn't interfere with my sleep too much so I wasn't too bothered by them. Given that I had Elliott at 39 weeks and I was experiencing these contractions I fully expected this baby to come early as well. At my 38 week appt with my midwife she also agreed that she wouldn't be surprised if I didn't make it to my next appt.

Then on Sept 16th (38 weeks, 3 days) my Dad fell off a ladder and was rushed to the U of A hospital with a skull fracture and brain bleed. All of a sudden I was praying that baby would stay put while we dealt with this emergency. And stay put she did! I am a big believer that a relaxed body will go into labour much easier than a tense, anxious body, and in my opinion the accident put my body into lockdown. I was fine with it because my focus was all on my Dad. I'm not sure I could have handled having Audrey directly after the accident because that first week-ish was so crazy up and down in terms of my Dad's recovery. Also, each day she didn't come meant one more day I could spend at the hospital visiting my Dad. I was grateful for each of those days.

Now fast forward to my due date. Tues, Sept 27th.

31 Weeks Pregnant

31 Weeks Pregnant

How Far Along? 31 Weeks

Anything making you queasy or sick? 

Nope. I even ate a McDonalds cheeseburger last week out desperation/poor planning and found it to taste delicious!

Food Cravings? Oh, pretty much anything sweet! I decided to give up added sugar a couple weeks ago, so of course that's all I'm craving now. Donuts. (Smelling mini donuts at the farmers markets KILLS me each week) Ice cream. French toast. I just want all the sugar all the time. I am pretty stubborn however, so I've been resisting!

Mood: Pretty good! I definitely have my days where I'm already feeling SO done with being pregnant and want to go hide in a hole by myself until September, but then I get over it.

Symptoms: Mostly just getting bigger and more uncomfortable each week. My pelvis is still painful, and my back has started to hurt a bit, but both don't really bother me until the evening, so I can't complain too much. 

Sleep? Sleep? What sleep? Ok, I exaggerating. I fall asleep fine, but then wake up at least once to pee and at least one other time because Elliott needs me to "read him one more book" Thankfully it takes less than 5 minutes to get him settled again, but then I go back to bed and lay awake- it's hard to turn my mind off, and it's even harder to get comfortable with the now-awake baby kicking away. The past 3 nights Elliott (and I) have been sleeping the whole night without waking up. It's been glorious! Praying it continues!

Movement? Oh yes. Quite a bit. Baby is head down (and hopefully just stays that way now) and so most of the movement is higher up these days. Not quite in my ribs yet, but I imagine it won't be long..

Best moment of the week? A week or so ago we had a really nice Saturday where we had fun, but didn't jam pack our day with too much stuff. My favourite part was playing with Elliott in the front yard while I weeded the flower bed. He kept running up to both Chris and I and exclaiming "This is fun!!" before running back to his bike or somersaults. It was so adorable and totally melted my heart!

Looking forward to? Getting the nursery closer to finished (again.) We have a really cool feature wall planned and I just want to paint so badly!!

Belly Button in or out? In and no noticeable changes

Nursery Progress? There's been some real progress in clearing out the room in the past week, and I'm hoping to finally get it painted in the next two weeks. We have everything ready to move in once it's been painted. This time around I'm waiting until baby is born to finish decorating- I have distinct differences to how I want it to look for either a boy or a girl, so I'll do everything I can until we know who this baby is, then finish off the last details after he or she arrives!

Baby Loot: I have almost everything checked off my list! In the last couple weeks we've acquired a sound machine, some Aden&Anias blankets, a side table for beside the glider, and even a package of newborn diapers. THAT felt crazy to buy already. Man those things are tiny. 

28 Weeks Pregnant

28 Weeks Pregnant

Sorry guys. No picture this week!

How Far Along? 28 Weeks, 1 Days

Anything making you queasy or sick? 

Still McDonalds (wouldn't be the worst thing if that continued after pregnancy!) and I ate a gross soggy wrap from Sobey's yesterday (well, two bites of it) so right now the idea of a wrap is pretty much the worst thing. 

Food Cravings? Not that I can think of.  

Mood? The past week has been a lot of ups and downs. These hormones are starting to get the best of me, and having a toddler who has decided to wake up in the middle of the night again doesn't help!

Symptoms: Well the pain in my pelvis is still a pain in my butt- mostly in the evening once I have sat down on the couch to rest for a while. When I try to readjust my weight or get up it can be pretty painful. Oh well. Right now I'm just thankful it doesn't give me too much trouble throughout the day. 

Lots of Braxton Hicks. They feel a bit uncomfortable at times, but I wonder if it's because I don't have the option of just not moving while they happen- I have a toddler and I run a dayhome. I move a lot, and that doesn't stop just because I'm having a little Braxton Hicks!

A week or so ago I had some trouble taking a deep breath for an entire two days. It was horrible and I'm thankful it went away. (And am praying it doesn't return!) 

Sleep? Sleep? What sleep? Ok, I exaggerating. I fall asleep fine, but then wake up at least once to pee and at least one other time because Elliott needs me to "read him one more book" Thankfully it takes less than 5 minutes to get him settled again, but then I go back to bed and lay awake while the soccer player in my belly settles down. I suppose the Lord is preparing me for what is to come!

Movement? Oh yes. Quite a bit. Most of the kicks are still quite low in my pelvis. I'm guessing that will change when baby turns head down. 

Best moment of the week? We took Elliott to the Calgary zoo a coupe days ago, and it was just so much fun! It was so sweet and wonderful to watch him get excited about the animals. Such a fun day!

Looking forward to? Getting the nursery closer to finished- hopefully we'll be painting soon!

Belly Button in or out? In and getting more shallow each week!

Nursery Progress? We have been very slowly getting the room ready to paint. We moved a bit of stuff out of there, but still have more to move. Funny how much less time you have to do these things when you both work full time and have a two year old. 

Baby Loot: We scored a dresser and a glider off Kijiji just this past week. I'm so excited to get the room painted and move it all in there!!

24 Weeks Pregnant

How Far Along? 24 Weeks, 2 Days

Anything making you queasy or sick? 

The only thing I can think of is McDonalds. Right from the start the idea of a McDonalds burger has completely repulsed me, and that seems to still stand. Any other fast food burger is fine, but please please keep the McDonalds far from me!

Food Cravings? A couple weeks ago I had a wicked craving for Olive Garden salad. We went and it was everything I dreamed it would be. 

Mood? Good! I spend a huge portion of my day outside either at the park or in the backyard watching the dayhome kiddos play. Often it includes a latte and/or a book to read. It's pretty wonderful!

Symptoms: Heartburn from time to time still, but nothing major. The pain in my pelvis is a daily struggle, but I'm learning my limits- there have been days I have done too much and then in the evening I can barely readjust my body weight on the couch without wincing. Most days it's a moderate annoyance but not debilitating by any means. I've been feeling quite a few Braxton Hicks- I'm sure it's started earlier than with Elliott, and they seem stronger as well. Bring 'em on, I say! Let's get ready for the main event!!

Sleep?  Pretty darn good lately! This baby kicks more at night than Elliott ever did, but the kicks still aren't strong enough to mess with my sleep. 

Movement? Lots of movement! A difference between this pregnancy and my last is the location of my placenta- with Elliott it was in the anterior position (front of my belly) so everything was somewhat muffled in the front and I felt most of the stronger kicks on my sides. This time around my placenta is posterior (at the back of my uterus) and I can already tell a difference in how I'm feeling more movement in the front. I'm looking forward to baby growing and feeling more and more!

Best moment of the week? A couple days ago we were talking about the baby and Elliott said "I want your baby come out soon mommy" It was so sweet and totally unprompted! We rarely talk about how long it will be before baby comes out, (or even much about the baby coming out in general.) It was just the cutest.

Looking forward to? This weekend is our 5th wedding anniversary, and also happens to be the first day of the farmers market. We *love* the market and I'm really looking forward to celebrating our anniversary. I think it will be a great weekend!

Belly Button in or out? In and getting slightly more shallow. If it didn't pop out last time, I'm guessing chances are that it won't pop this time either...?

Nursery Progress? No change. Talk has commenced of when we should start painting etc. but still no action. Better get on it soon though! Man this pregnancy is going so much faster than the last one!!

Baby Loot: We got a couple big ticket items in the last couple weeks - a double stroller (Britax B-Ready with the stroller board which makes it like a sit and stand) and a crib! 

21 Weeks Pregnant

No fancy picture? I know, I know, but if you want to wait for the picture it will be another week before I post. 

How Far Along? 21 Weeks, 2 Days

Anything making you queasy or sick? 

Aside from our entire week in L.A, nope! Sadly baby didn't seem to enjoy the trip as much as we did. So much uneaten Mexican food... :( It didn't hinder our trip too much- just lots of extra naps, and I was good to go! It really was the weirdest thing though.  I felt completely fine once we were home. 7 days of sick, and then totally normal. What a picky baby. 

Food Cravings? Hmm, nothing too weird lately. I still sometimes crave spicy food but have learned my limits with it. Heartburn is still sticking around and bothersome at times. 

Mood? Great! Now that Chris has graduated and I am done the course I was in for the last 6 months, life seems easy breezy. Not to mention all the outdoor time these days seriously pumps up my mood. I LOVE getting outside with the dayhome kiddos as much as possible. Park every morning and backyard play multiple times a day. As long as we aren't eating, or it isn't quiet time, we're outside in the sunshine!

Symptoms? Heartburn from time to time. Not a huge deal though. 

Sadly, in the last couple days I have realized that my old friend SPD from my last pregnancy has come to stay again. I'm so disappointed and slightly nervous of how to get through the second half of pregnancy (while running a dayhome!) with it. SPD (Symphasis Pubis Dysfunction) is a painful condition where the relaxin hormone released in pregnancy zeroes in on one area in particular- your pubic bone. The hormone is meant to loosen your pelvis in preparation of delivery, but in my case it works overtime, softening the cartilage and ligaments so much so that the bones can move independently of each other with every movement. 

In some cases it feels like they are grinding together. There is discomfort with pretty much every movement, but some create more pain than others- walking up stairs, picking up Elliott (carrying Elliott up the stairs. Ouch ouch!)  pushing the double stroller to the park, lifting one leg higher than the other to walk over a baby gate, or even to put on socks... Or pants for that matter. I have started taking Lecithin which helped quite a bit last time, and plan on seeing my chiro as well. Prayers would be appreciated! 

Sleep? Not too bad. My biggest complaint right now is my allergies keeping me awake! Things will get a lot better once we get air conditioning (Giant perk to having a husband that installs them for a living over the summer!) and we don't keep the windows open throughout the night. 

Movement? Oh yes- tons of kicks and jabs. I can often see my belly move from the outside now, which is really fun. Chris finally felt a kick last night, which is just the best :)

Best moment of the week? Chris feeling the first kick was definitely a favourite moment. I just loved seeing his excitement at finally feeling it.

Looking forward to? It's the long weekend this weekend, and Chris' 30th birthday is on Sunday. I have a couple  things planned which I think will be really fun!

Belly Button in or out? In (obviously)

Nursery Progress? No change. Still an office with a deep freezer in there

Baby Loot: When we were in L.A we went to Target. Oh, how I miss Target!! They always had the best baby clothes. I was so excited to find some newborn onesies and sleepers that are gender neutral- a much harder task than you might expect!