Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Zachary's birth story

As a full-term pregnant student in midwifery school, I started thinking as Zachary's due date drew closer about the mind/body connection during labor and birth. I thought about how, in Ina May Gaskins Guide to Childbirth, she teaches about how fears can really hinder a mother from going into labor or if a mother is in labor fears have the potential to slow down or even stop the labor. So, I reflected. I went a good 8 days overdue with both Kyla and Avery, and even though being overdue can be perfectly normal, if there was anything I could do to change that possibility this time, I wanted to know because I was getting very uncomfortable! Two nights before Zachary was to be born, Pete and I were sitting on the couch and talking about what it was going to be like to have another baby. I told him that I realized deep down I was scared to have another baby. Not scared to give birth, but scared to have a newborn in the house again. For those of you that do not know, Avery was a very high-needs baby and also colicky. Pete and I really feel that part of the reason Avery was given to us was to keep us humble! From the moment she was born she cried. Little could soothe Avery from day one. Nursing, being held, rocking, bouncing...not much could keep Avery from crying and she slept very very little. The first time Avery gave us more than a 3 hour stretch of sleep was when she was 1 year old. When she was 8 months, we discovered her multiple food allergies. When she was 2 years old we discovered even more food allergies. Between the ages of 1 and 3 Avery had severe eczema that would make her cry and scratch and bleed and interrupt her sleep even more. If you've read this blog, you've read our stories. And now, we were getting ready to enter into an unknown...what would Zachary be like?

Pete reassured me that night as I told him my fears. "Sarah," he said, "remember the meaning of Zachary's name: 'the Lord has remembered'. God knows what we went through with Avery. Zachary will be different than Avery." I was immediately at peace with having another baby and for the first time really looking forward to meeting this little guy and getting to know him.

On Friday, June 11th, my mom came up to take me out to lunch and go shopping for clothes for the girls. It was just the two of us...which was kind of a rare thing, being able to hang out with just my mom. We had so much fun and I really treasured our time together. We had lunch at Panera Bread and then went to Target where I walked up and down those aisles for 2.5 hours. I was so distracted by all the pretty clothes my mom was picking out to buy for the girls. The more I walked, the "stronger" my Braxton-hicks contractions became. But I decided in my head that I would not pay any attention to them, I was remembering what I taught in my classes: it's best to ignore labor until you can't ignore it anymore.

Later that afternoon when we came home I went to the bathroom to find myself loosing my mucus plug (wish we could find a better name for that) :-) It was nice to know that I was probably making some progress, so I gave my midwife a heads-up that something just might be happening. Later that night around 10:30pm or so, my contractions became much stronger, though nothing that I couldn't talk through and there was no pattern to them . I went to bed, but couldn't sleep because of the contractions so I drank a half glass of wine hoping it would make them go away so I could sleep. It didn't. After about 2 hours of increasingly harder contractions that were very irregular I had 2 contractions with the urge to push. I woke Pete up, and Pete called Brynne, one of our midwives. She came over at 1am and found me to be 8cm dilated! I was shocked because I really wasn't even in active labor at this point.

After taking some homeopathic remedies to hopefully pick up the tempo of labor, my contractions definitely became more strong and closer together and I started to really wish we had somehow filled the birth tub up with water, even though earlier on I had told Pete to not worry about it. Now, this is where some of the story becomes a blur. I remember it being dark and quiet. I remember it being so peaceful around me as I labored (even though I was not acting very peaceful!!). I remember kind words of encouragement spoken to me from Pete, Brynne and Deren. There was a respect for birth and the way it happens naturally without interference...that respect permeated the room as I labored in those wee hours of morning.

As labor became more intense, I realized that the contractions were feeling very different than my previous births, I was feeling an intense pain in the front of my abdomen that didn't let up in between contractions. I found out I had a cervical lip. The pain really surprised me...I didn't expect to feel pain like that in between contractions and it felt nothing like a contraction. Contractions were like waves that I could "ride"...but this felt more like a sharp shooting pain that was really difficult to breathe through or find a position that alleviated what I felt. After maybe an hour or so trying to "deal" with this, I realized the only way out of this situation was to have the baby! Brynne told me she could move the rest of cervix out of the way, and we tried once but it was too painful. Then a couple contractions or so later I told Brynne to do what she needed to do so I could push this baby out! She pushed back the rest of the cervix and I finally had the urge to push.

For some reason, pushing caught me by surprise...I felt like it didn't matter what I had read about pushing or the fact that I had pushed 2 babies out already, the intensity of it all overtook me and "pushed" me to the point of complete surrender. I really wasn't "doing" anything, my body was doing the pushing and I knew that I had to get out of the way. I lost all control. (And that's what birth is about isn't it...surrendering and loosing control and just letting it happen). After pushing on my hands and knees some and then flipping over to my side, Zach made his way into the world! I remember after his head came out how BIG his shoulders felt. Brynne said it was because of the way he was holding his shoulders. After his shoulders came out, the rest of him came and Brynne put him on my belly. He was so cute...he was ours :-) Avery had a short cord when she was born, so when I tried to lift her up to see her face, it hurt. So, even though both midwives told me that his cord was long and I could hold him, for some reason I wouldn't reach down and pick him up. That was kind of a funny moment.. I don't know why I wouldn't pick him up...but after his cord was cut, then I picked him up and held him :-) He was so sweet and didn't cry at all. He just looked all around and went right to nursing. He was 8lbs 7oz and 21.5 inches long. Our biggest and longest baby ever. He was born at 6:04am after a 5 hour labor. The girls woke up in their room while I was pushing. Pete told them to stay put and that mommy was having the baby! They were so good and stayed in their room until right after he was born. The girls woke up to their new baby brother!

I cannot be more thankful for our wonderful midwives and for Pete's support. Everyone was so incredible. The girls are in love with their little brother and we are in love with our new son! So far, he's the easiest baby we've had, he rarely cries and sleeps well for us at night. He was born on June 12th, the same day 4 years ago that Pete's mom passed away. He has really lived up to his name so far in more ways than one..."The Lord has remembered".

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Brand new

Only seconds old...being handed to mama :-)

In awe of their baby brother....

Monday, March 29, 2010

Getting ready for the baby...

Time is flying by for our family and this little boy is going to be here before we even blink an eye. It's kind of interesting with having #3 on the way, I realize the "baby" things that we don't need and then I realize so much of what we really do need. We got rid of so much stuff between Avery and this baby, because to be quite honest, for a long time we thought we were "finished" having children. We got rid of the car seat, the crib, the swing (which we never really used anyway), bottles (which also never got used much since the girls never took a bottle of breastmilk until they were well over 10 or 11 months old!), the high chair, and a lot of baby toys. Our stroller is broken in some places and probably won't hold up for this 3rd baby.

So now, we find ourselves needing "big" things this time around, but then there is so much we do have...like baby boy clothes thanks to my sister, a dresser, lots of blankets, a bouncy seat, and some of the cloth diapers (though I think we might need a few more...we're not going to be putting this little boy in pink diapers like Avery wore!).

We've had some friends and family members asking us what we really need, so I finally got my act together and created a registry on Amazon.com, trying to keep it to things that we really need. And, okay, so there might be a few things that would be nice to have but we truely don't need them :-) ...like baby bedding :-)

Oh, and we are almost decided on a name, though it's not definite. We think we're going to name this little guy Zachary Christopher Davis and we'll call him Zach. Zachary means "the Lord has remembered". We love that...in so many different ways, that meaning speaks volumes to our lives and where we have been as a couple and as a family.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Some new pictures...




Here are some new and very overdue pictures of our family! A vintage carosel came to the downtown mall here in Charlottesville for a whole week to celebrate the coming of spring and rides were free! The girls loved riding on it! And here is me, almost 30 weeks pregnant...just about 3 more months to go!


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Wednesday, March 03, 2010

Tell Me a Story...

Today, during homeschool time I asked the girls to tell me a story about their pet fish, Lily and Daisy. (Lily is Avery's fish, and Daisy is Kyla's pink fish) Here are their stories, word for word.

Avery (age 3.5)

"Lily was growing soon but she couldn't grow all the time. She had a dress on when she was a boy fish. In Charlotte, North Carolina we didn't have fish. Okay, she had socks on and cinderella on her dress. Isn't that really cool she had cinderella on her dress? So, she had eyes. Yeah, she had eyes. She had a tummy, she pooped a lot. This is going to be a really funny story."

Kyla (age 6)

"Once upon a time, Daisy used to have a planner. She planned a bunch of stuff and she finished it in one whole day. She finished her book. She lit a candle and then burned the book. Then she got near the radiator and broke it by accident. Then she got a bunch of presents because she broke the radiator. Then she had a dress and a headband and socks and leggings on. "

These stories really cracked me up...and Avery really suprised me with how much she "told" of her fish, Lily. Avery went first when I asked for the stories. I kind of thought if she went 2nd, then she would just copy Kyla's story. But she thought all of this up in her own little imaginative mind :-) I'm going to have to do this more often, it was so fun!

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Snowy day sewing




With all of the snow we have been getting plus with most days not even reaching above freezing outside, we have been spending more and more time indoors. Trying to find ways to make the day a little more creative, a little more fun and interesting becomes more of a challenge with each day that approaches and the weather forcast reads, "Partly cloudy, high 30 degrees".

We're all itching to get outside and be able to stay outside for more than 20 minutes without feeling parts of our body go numb. :-) Thankfully, today we got one of those days! And yesterday we did as well! The high was 45 yesterday and today it is even higher!

Meanhwhile, here's a little of what has been keeping me busy indoors-- sewing some spring curtains to brighten up the girls' bedroom. Also, lots of reading, working on homework, breadbaking and cleaning and organizing. Kyla and Avery spend most of their time entertained with dolls, dollhouses, blocks and books,...also sitting on my lap to help me sew has become a favorite too. We've brought our trampoline inside on a number of occasions to get some much needed exercise inside! They've had fun with that too!

Here's to warmer weather soon! :-)


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Thursday, February 18, 2010

Thinking about names...

We found out we're adding a little boy to our family! We're so excited and the girls are really thrilled at the thought of having a little brother.

Names have been on my mind a lot...I have always had a really hard time coming up with boy names that I just LOVE. I have a long list of girl names that I'm in love with, but boy names just simply come harder to me. Pete and I are having fun thinking of names, letting the name "rest" on our minds a little, testing the name...just seeing if it "fits" our family. Here are some of our favorites so far (okay...and some of MY favorites):

Brayden
Harper
Cameron
Brennan
Dawson
Ezra (a favorite of mine)
Levi (a favorite of Pete)
Noah (a favorite of mine)
Austin (a favorite of Pete)

....And who knows what name will be next to pop up on the list!! What about you? Any favorite boy names that you would like to share with us (as long as you don't mind the thought of us using it? )

Saturday, February 06, 2010

Wednesday, February 03, 2010

So thankful for Kyla






This past weekend is one of those weekend that I would rather not remember. It was definitely one of those weekends that makes you look at your precious children and thank God for their smiles, laughter, silliness, and yes...even their strong wills and arguing. Kyla is the type of kid that never seems to stop moving or talking. She talks almost non-stop all day long and tries to do handstands and gymnastics around the house most of the day.

Well, on Thursday night she woke up in the middle of the night and threw up several times. On Friday morning, simply because it was Friday, and I didn't want her to not be able to see a doctor over the weekend, I took her in to be seen. They ran a strep test and the doctor told us it was just a stomach virus. She threw up for another 48 hours, so on Sunday I called the doctor on call who told us we might want to pay a visit to the ER. Kyla was getting weaker, had not eaten in over 48 hours, and even worse, had not been able to keep down very many liquids in that amount of time. She stopped bouncing around and talking much and just wanted to lay on the couch. Sunday evening, Pete had to carry her to the ER...she couldn't walk. The doctor told us she was
not dehydrated, but the doctor also didn't run any tests on her to make her statement official. No urine or blood tests were done to test for dehydration. She gave kyla a popsicle, (which she did not want to eat) and sent us on our way.

Sunday night was Kyla's 4th night of throwing up. She threw up about 5 times that night. The next morning I took one look at her and new something was seriously wrong. She was so pale, so thin...I could see almost all of her little bones. She couldn't hold her head up and wouldn't talk to us. We had to carry her everywhere. I managed to get her to eat 1 pedialyte popsicle and then eat 2 pinches of a banana which she (thankfully) kept down. We went at 10am monday morning to her doctor's office.

The doctor and nurses were surprised by our ER visit and lack of attention Kyla received there. Her doctor ran blood and urine tests that showed she was severely dehydrated. They gave her 1 liter of IV fluids, which she screamed on Peter for 1.5 hours through the 3 hour process. Then she fell into a nice deep sleep while the IV finished. I entertained Avery in the waiting room for those several hours because poor Avery was upset from hearing Kyla scream like that. The doctor told us she needed more fluids (probably another half liter) because she did not really perk up that much after the 1 liter that she received and it took her 1 full liter of fluids before she even needed to pee.

At 2:00pm after the IV was finished, the doctor told us that he wanted to admit her to the hospital, but if we were able to have her drink about a half liter of fluids before 8pm then she could stay home as long as she didn't vomit anymore. He prescribed Zofran to settle her stomach too.

We took her home, she drank and drank whatever we forced upon her...and it really did seem like forcing! She also ate 4 saltine crackers that day and little bits of banana here and there and I gave here several teaspoons of honey to keep her blood sugar up. She didn't throw up anymore on her own, and we gave her Zofran that night just in case. She woke up the next morning walking out of the bedroom with a smile on her face saying, "Mama, I feel better" and gave me a huge hug. It was so great to see her smiling and walking and talking again!

It's Thursday now, 1 week from when this all started. Kyla is back to herself eating pretty much anything. I'm having fun giving her foods to fatten her up again, as she is still really skinny. She lost almost 4lbs in 4 days. And, if you know Kyla, she doesn't really have much weight to loose!

She was trying to argue with me today about not wanting to clean up toys because she was still playing and I was honestly thankful that she was feeling good enough to try and argue :-) Today is also the first day that she had a bit of bounce back in her step and talked a lot most of the day. Sometimes, the non-stop talking gets a little tiring for me...but today I was simply thankful for who Kyla is: my sweet, and very bubbly almost 6 year old!

I was thinking through all of this how so many children in so many countries suffer from dehydration on a daily basis and how life-threatening it really is. I saw a little of this while I was in the Philippines last summer. I am so incredibly grateful that our children are healthy on a normal basis. I'm also so thankful that God healed Kyla before she had to go to the hospital!


In the pictures above, the first two are of Kyla celebrating her birthday a month early with her friends in Charlotte, NC. The last 2 pictures are about 2 days after Kyla started feeling better from her illness. In between the time...Kyla got a haircut too!

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Tuesday, January 05, 2010

Blizzard of '09



These days, blogging has unfortunately become last place. I love blogging and would love to do it daily or even weekly, but somehow there are so many other things that have taken priority. Homeschooling, teaching childbirth classes, being a wife, a mommy, a doula and trying to keep the house running at a somewhat smooth pace all seems to preceed blogging. Add on top of that being pregnant again and beginning to start midwifery school, things can get a little crazy around here!
We have really been enjoying our new home in Charlottesville. Recently, we especially enjoyed the 24 inches of snow in December that the blizzard of 2009 brought to our little town. It was so beautiful and it was so much fun being snowed in for a whole week!
I hope you created wonderful holiday memories with your family and had a wonderful new year :-) We're looking forward to what 2010 will bring!
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