Eva Violet has arrived!!

Well between my last post and now, I am sure you assumed that I had the baby and no, I am not a month late :)

Eva Violet at just a few minutes old! 

My little miracle baby decided she wanted to arrive five days before her due date then at the last minute thought that she should take her good old time making her way down that birth canal. So some 72 hours after my contractions started, little missy was born. Not in the way I had (fully) hoped but she was born healthy and happy and that is all that counts!

So here is the birth story: My contractions started on Wednesday, January 2 at midnight and continued throughout the night at 15 minute intervals. We waited until the morning to check-in with my midwife and doula. I was prepared for a home birth and had everything set! My midwife and doula arrived at my house Wednesday evening and I was dialating and my contractions were closer together and much stronger.

I labored all over my house...in the kitchen, in my living room hunched over furniture. On a birthing ball, on the toilet and in a kiddie pool in my living room. We really thought we were getting close and by around 2 am on Thursday we thought she was coming out soon. I got into the pool and I guess it was just too soothing bc the contractions slowed and not much happened. About 90 minutes later I was out of the pool and still in labor but no baby yet. She was making mommy work!

At some point in the early morning hours I got back into the pool but still nothing was moving forward. Things seemed to be stuck. All was fine with both our vitals so we continued to try other things. I laid in bed for a while and got a  little rest. Then I was back up swaying from side to side in my kitchen...saying "down and out" over and over again. I was using my hypnosis that learned from Hypnobabies throughout all of it. I was in the "off" position or "center" and really working on pointing the anesthesia where it needed to go! I was all about the "peace" cue and that got me through a lot of it.

I was also listening to the Hypnobabies recordings...fear-clearing, deepening, birthing affirmations and pushing the baby out. But this particular baby did not want to come out just yet. But I didn't want to give up on my hope for a home birth. So I got a second, third and fourth wind and pushed through. I was determined to make this work.

The rest of the day on Thursday just sucked but I did whatever I had to to get this baby down and out! But she had other plans and it did not involve a home birth. So by Thursday night, after my water had been broken for more than 12 hours and I was actually regressing (went from 8 centimeters back to 5-6) we had to make the decision to transfer to the hospital. I was dehydrated and hadn't slept in two days and after two days of labor without pain meds, you could say I was beat.

I was still having strong contractions about every 2-5 minutes so off to the hospital we went!! I was lucky to be going to the hospital with the lowest C-section rate on Long Island. I met another midwife there and she was awesome! They got me into a room right away and then an epidural and then I was in La-La land. I needed to sleep and rest and that is what I did for the next 24 hours. Yes, that's right. I still had to wait another 24 hours for this little petunia to be born!

So while resting all day Friday I dilated and was all ready to push by Friday night. Two hours of pushing and little miss cone-head was born at 9:47 p.m. She is just perfect and still is!!

There is a part of me that is disappointed that my home birth didn't happen and that i ended up at the hospital doing the things I didn't want to do. But it's a small part that gets smaller everyday and is trumped by the fact that I am lucky enough to have this beautiful, precious baby girl in my life.

Full term

Well...I've made it to 37 weeks and its astounding that I am here. By this time, woman are considered full-term, which means this baby's organs should be fully developed and ready for the outside world. So look out world, this baby is getting ready to arrive!

My baby belly with my newest niece hanging out!

The anxiety is building...I am excited and scared and happy all at the same time. Most of all, I am beyond grateful. I can honestly say that a moment has not passed during this entire pregnancy that I have not felt grateful. It's the one constant. I know the hard choices women make going through infertility  I've seen it first hand with my friends. I haven't had to go beyond one IVF and that makes me beyond grateful. I am humbled. I will never look at pregnancy, children, parenthood or infertility the way I did before we ventured into this territory more than five years ago. I will never forget what I have learned about myself, the strength of the amazing women I know and how inspired I will always be by all of them!

Today when I hit 37 weeks, I sent a text to my hubs letting him know that our baby is the size of a Swiss chard. I asked him if he ever thought we would get to this place? I think he is going to miss my big belly.

I haven't written in so long...time really flew by. I had the most amazing baby shower that was so filled with love and goodness that I want to relive it all of the time. It was one of the best days I've had. The generosity of my family and friends was astounding and just how much it meant was beyond words.

I hope to pass all that goodness onto to my next friend who is expecting a baby!

As for now, I am totally focused on the birth. It will be at home where we will be surrounded by women who have supported our birth plan from day one and have been wonderful - my midwife and doula. I am working hard on my hypnosis...and am feeling confident about it. Hypnobabies was one the best choices we made along the way of having a natural childbirth.

Our classes were taught by the amazing Lesley Levine from Hypnobliss Birth. I cannot wait to put it all into action!

The birth plan...diving on in

I have been planning this for years and it's so great to see it all coming together!! I always wanted to go with a midwife and try my best for an au-naturel birth. So that is our plan and we are sticking to it.

My nephew was born at home with a midwife and as my sister-in-law tells it, it was a wonderful and amazing experience that trumped her previous two births in a hospital setting. I wrote about that almost two years ago on this blog and also about the documentary, The Business of Being Born, check it out if you haven't already. You can read that post here.

The hubby and I were all set to do a waterbirth at a hospital with our midwife but the more we talked about it the more we wanted to do it at home. So we changed the plans and Baby C will be delivered in my living room, or bedroom :) We will get a big tub/pool and do it all at home. I am super psyched!!!

I actually feel like a weight has been lifted. I won't have to stress about when to go to the hospital and mess up the good flow I will have at home with my doula. I am also excited about my doula...we all clicked when we met with her. We knew she was the one.

Water has long been used to ease the discomforts of labor and by using a midwife where you are not strapped to a bed and hooked up to machines and can walk around and eat, etc, women can tune into what their bodies need and allow the powerful birthing energies to flow, while keeping the non-productive stress hormones to a minimum.

Waterbirths allow a woman to dialite more quickly, which can result in a shorter labor.


By using a midwife, the C-section rate is drastically reduced as well as rates of episiotomy and the need for interventions.

I am under no illusion that this will be a painless experience but I am confident that doing it this way is the best way for me. Our bodies are made for this and there is no way I wanted to be rushed during this process and have a doctor push induction or a C-section just so they can get home faster. I am confident that my body knows what to do and how.

The hubby and I are also taking a hypnobabies class starting in Sept -- it's hypnosis for childbirth.

There are two hypnosis-style birthing classes. One is the traditional hypnobirthing and the other is hypnobabies, which uses hypnobirthing techniques and tweaks it into a more comprehensive class. I decided on that one and am pumped to start the classes.