pregnancy

It’s A Girl! The Birth of Ingrid Rose

4 Comments

Monday June 26, 2017 was just like any other Monday. 

12pm: After lunch I put the kids down for their nap and decided to lay down myself. I was hot, tired and just not feeling great. I was looking forward to a nap but Edith and Alder had different plans. They decided that a nap sounded like a terrible idea and spent “nap time” talking and jumping and tossing things in their room until I finally waved my white flag and said go watch a show while I lay here and rest.

12:45pm My body also had other ideas. Shortly after that I started to feel a bit crampy and had a bit of low back pain. I didn’t think much about it at first since I had been experiencing both for the past few days but then something clicked and I started to notice that the back pain was coming in waves, mild, but waves nonetheless.

1:25pm: I told Neil he should head home just in case this turned into something.

1:45pm: I decided to call my midwife to let her know what was going on. She said she would get her things in order, call Joy (the student midwife) and be over shortly.

1:50pm After I got off the phone with her I felt a wave of panic rush over me as I looked around our messy house. I headed straight to the kitchen and unloaded and loaded the dishwasher. I then went around the house picking up things off the floor and attempting to get things in a semi-clean state.

2pm: Neil arrived home and Joy showed up just a few minutes later. Together they got right to work on getting the birth pool set up and ready for when I needed it. I decided to grab my phone and head out for a walk. Walking has been my preferred way to labor with all of my births. As I was heading out my midwife pulled up and she told me to wait while she brought her things into the house and that she would join me on my walk.

2:30pm: We started with a walk around the block. We did one loop with ease and then I stopped for a pee break and to let our sitter know that I was in labor but if she was up for it we would still like her to come to help with the kids [if you remember from my last post we were supposed to be having a date night.]

3pm: We head out and do another loop. Things are starting to progress and I have to pause a bit during contractions but they are pretty easy to work through. After we walk for a bit I bring up that I am feeling a bit more pain near my right hip than on my left and my midwife says it might be that the baby just is still working on getting in position as they drop and that if we could go do some stairs that it might help with things. We walk over to the school near our house and we do the short set of stairs over and over and over and over. Up and down and up and down, again. During each contraction I pause and step my right leg up a bit higher so that I am in a lunge and circle my hips to help encourage the baby to get into position. After about an hour of walking and stair climbing I’m ready to return to the house for some water and another pee break.

4:15pm: I decide not to return to walking and move to the birthing ball, you might know it in the fitness world as a Swiss ball. I sit, bounce, rotate my hips and work through each contraction as they come. At this point they are coming on a bit stronger but I am still able to talk through them…that is until I’m not. At this point the timeline starts to get a bit blurry. My contractions start to get stronger and I find myself needing Neil to press on my lower back during contractions. Eventually I find myself banging my hand on the coffee table during a contraction as they get stronger. Once this starts to happen Joy and my midwife check in with the second midwife who is to attend my birth. They let her know things are progressing and that she should make her way over. I continue to labor with the contractions getting a bit stronger each time.

5:45/6pm[ish]: At this point I have finally decided to labor in the birthing tub. Our sitter arrives and takes over with the kids. At this point, I am well into laboring and haven’t been checked but I am sure that I am in transition or more likely even past. Contractions are getting more uncomfortable and I find myself leaning over the side of the birth tub and biting down on a towel that has been draped over  the side while Neil puts pressure on my back. At this point I am also in need of someones hand to hold and squeeze during each contraction.

At some point with all this happening my second midwife shows up and takes over as hand holder. I remember having this one incredibly strong contraction that just doesn’t seem to want to end and I’m asking ‘why isn’t it stopping, why?’ and eventually it does. At this point I still haven’t been checked so I am not sure where I am at or when pushing will start but am feeling a ton of pressure like I might need to push. I tell my midwives that I feel like I might need to push and they say go for it. I try to push but my body just isn’t quite there and so I work through one more contraction and then that urge to push I thought I was feeling intensifies and I know its really time to push. I push through one contraction and then again. I move my body a bit and push twice more (I think?) and then I feel her leave my body and I reach down and bring her to my chest.

Immediately after Ingrid was born – a bit blurry but what a moment

6:29pm: Our baby is born. I was told after that I pushed for approximately 6 minutes, although it felt more like twenty.  

During the entire birth Edith was right by my side watching it all unfold just like she had almost three years before with Alder. Since we had chosen not to find out the sex I invited Edith over to be the one to reveal whether she had a new brother or sister and to her delight she was able to announce to everyone that we indeed had a girl. 

After I birthed Ingrid it was time to birth the placenta, take a ton of photos and cut the cord once it stopped pulsating. Another special moment for Edith who was able to help Neil cut the cord. We invited Alder to help as well but he was content to sit on the couch and eat crackers with hummus. 

Once the exciting part of birthing was over it was time to get out of the tub and head to bedroom to get checked out. Shortly after this we sent a reluctant Edith and Alder outside with our sitter while I got my checkup and such done.  

Checkup complete and the kids return to see our new baby. We cuddle up and read books and then the kids get ready and are off to bed. Once the kids are asleep I hand Ingrid over to Neil and take shower before our midwife leaves. After a shower I return to bed, our midwife gathers her things and heads out and our Chinese takeout arrives. Neil and I end the night in bed with takeout and our sweet new baby girl. 

Note my recollection of this day is a bit of a blur at points so if you are so inclined I encourage you to head over to Naturally Family and read Neil’s perspective on Ingrid’s birth [I will come back and link his post when it is *finally* live].

How I Prevented Postpartum Sugar Cravings

4 Comments

Immediately after Edith was born my sweet tooth went into overdrive. I just couldn’t get enough sweets and found myself binging on sweets all the time. Neil and I got into a terrible habit of making Oh She Glows chocolate chip cookies and we would easily eat the entire batch in less than a day.

After Alder I am honestly having a harder time remembering what my sugar cravings were like but I do remember a few batches of those Oh She Glows cookies making their reapperance.

This time around I have had no sugar cravings. None. It’s been the strangest thing and I’ve actually just been waiting for the craving to hit but rather than craving sugar I feel in control of it. I had a coupon for a free pint of Nadamoo and one bite into the pint and I was over it. Not because Nadamoo isn’t good – it really is delicious but just had no interest in ice cream.

So how did I prevent these cravings?

I truly believe it’s because I changed my eating habits before baby arrived. At my 36 week appointment I was told that my fluids were high and was put on a semi-strict high protein, high veggie, high plant-based fat diet and was told to avoid simple carbs like pasta, crackers, rice, and breads. If you know me you know that my craving for bread and pasta is real so doing this was a huge challenge but I had to do it for baby.

During my last four weeks of pregnancy I avoided my favorite foods (bread and pasta) and stuck to the plan for the most part. I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t have a bite of my kids bagel on our weekly coffee shop dates or that I didn’t have some pretty amazing pizza from Virtuous Pie but overall six days a week I followed my no pasta/bread diet. I even had my four year old checking in on me and reminding me anytime I did go for bread or pasta that I can’t have it. She is seriously my little mama.

So now here I am 3 weeks postpartum and no sugar cravings. I honestly haven’t had any major cravings for bread or pasta either, even though I am now “allowed” to return to my normal diet. While I haven’t been craving it I have had pasta and bread since Ingird was born but not in the quantities that I was eating them previously.  I don’t find myself reaching for them as easily as I once did. I also have NO sugar cravings at all.

So my tip? Look at what you are eating during your pregnancy. Are you focused on whole foods or are you reaching for processed carbs and sugary sweets? If you are reaching for the latter than consider making some adjustments so when baby comes and your hormones are all over the place and you’re in new parents survival mode you can continue to gravitate towards those foods that will nourish your body. Also once baby has arrived make sure you (or your friends and family) keep your fridge and pantry stocked with healthier options like fresh fruit, sweet vegetables and treats that are naturally sweetened. Most importantly keep yourself hydrated and give yourself a little grace. Life is about to be turned upside down so don’t stress about a cookie or five just do your best and focus on healing, and feeding and bonding with baby. 

PSST…if you are craving cookies why not build your milk supply while you’re at it and try these cookies. 

Eating To Heal The Postpartum Body

4 Comments

Immediately after birth digestion is slower and weaker. All those organs that help to process our food have been squished up to make space for a growing baby and then suddenly they have so much space and it takes time for them to heal and adjust.

To help it is important to focus on easy to digest and warming foods. Foods that can be described as soft, soupy, warm and/or mild are exactly what the body needs to heal the weeks following childbirth.

Soupy foods replenish the body with liquids lost during childbirth, warming foods help to nourish and heal and soft foods are easier on digestion and all of these foods can help to prevent the dreaded postpartum constipation. 

For the first few weeks focus on broth-y soups, mild coconut curry and nourishing lentil soups. Some great options include:

Beyond soups and broths it is important to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. Room temperature and warming liquids are ideal to help heal the body. Great options are water, herbal teas and broths. While you may want to grab coffee or caffeinated tea it’s best to keep those to a minimum at least for the first few weeks.

Additionally focus on healthy fats such as coconut, avocado and olive oil. Healthy fats help to enrich breastmilk and they also are said to boost metabolism, balance hormones and support your mood.

Ultimately the most important thing to do is listen to your body. Your body knows exactly what it needs so listen to it and follow its direction.  

::Coffee Talk:: Let’s Catch Up

Leave a Comment

DeathtoStock_Medium3

I’m back! This is the first time in 10 years that I have been away from blogging for this long. This is also the first time in 10 years that I haven’t felt like I had to put out content even though mentally I just wasn’t completely focused. I’ll be real this pregnancy hasn’t been my easiest and most nights I’m in bed with Alder at 7:30pm because my stomach is just not feeling it’s best and while I don’t want to get too political this election took a huge toll on my mind and my spirit. Pregnancy + Post-Election Stress + the Holidays left me with the decision to just take a break until the new year. So it’s 2017 and I’m feeling re-energized and I have so much to share. Side note while I have been absent from this blog I have finally converted over to Instagram stories and I’m super active over there if you want to join me.

So let’s chat about a few things:

First, I’m pregnant.  Yes that’s right baby #3 is on the way. I’m officially in my second trimester and while I have shared this on social media already this is the first the blog is hearing about it. It’s been a bit of a struggle; I’ve been pretty sick this time around and with 4.5 year old and 2 year old pregnancy is just about as easy as it sounds. This pregnancy is also feeling slightly neglected and I guess that’s how third pregnancies go. I’m trying to think of some ways that I could make this pregnancy a bit more special but I’m just coming up blank – any ideas? Also any questions about this pregnancy?

Second, RWT is getting a bit of a content face lift. I am working on a post completely dedicated to this topic so keep your eyes peeled for a post regarding content in the next week or so. Also I’m always interested in hearing what you would like to see more of on RWT so share in the comments below.

Third, I’m just really excited to be back.  That’s it. Oh and I’ll be catching up on replying to comments over the next few weeks.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and I look forward to sharing another year with you. 

Happy New Year! 

Guest Post: Running While Pregnant

3 Comments

Hi! I’m Nicole from Making Good Choices and I’m so happy to be here with you while Lindsay spends time with her little one. I’m a small business owner and health counselor (like Lindsay) so I spend my days working at Pure Bliss Eats (www.pureblisseats.com) and helping people live a healthier life. You can read more about my business here.

I am (as of when I wrote this) 25 weeks pregnant. I’ve enjoyed following along with Lindsay’s pregnancy and keeping track of her experience. It’s so much fun finding pregnant bloggers, especially since I don’t have too many IRL friends who have babies/have been pregnant.

Ever since I got pregnant I have been running anywhere from 9- 15 miles a week. Generally I run about 12. When I found out I was pregnant, I wasn’t sure about a lot of things, but running wasn’t one of them. I just figured I’d keep running until I couldn’t anymore. So far, so good.

Now, let me tell you some days are WAY harder than others. Some days it takes my body 2 miles just to warm up and feel normal running. Those are the days where I stop and start and take lots of walking breaks. I try hard to just be super happy I’m running instead of discouraged I need to stop and start so much. 99% of the time I’m in a positive mindset. 1% of the time I need to get over myself and keep going.

I have been running for years. Sometimes longer distances, sometimes shorter. Before I got pregnant I was running up to 6 miles at a time. I was physically fit before getting pregnant, which is why I kept up exercising and running.

I wanted to share some tips that have worked for me over the past 6 months to keep me happy while running.

Getting out and exercising: In the first tri when I felt awful I would get up to workout and it was the only thing that made me feel better. I took it easy most days, but just getting the heart pumping and blood flowing really helped. If I ever had felt worse I would have stopped.

When I was in the first tri, I would do run/walk intervals. I think in weeks 7-8 I ran 5-7 minutes and walked a couple of minutes and repeated that. Eventually I got back into the groove and now walk 1-2x per run.(Which probably will go back to being 3-4x in the third trimester.)

Allow yourself to walk whenever you want. As long as I’m getting out there, I could walk 1 time or 4, I don’t really care.

Don’t worry about pace. Some people (like Michele) are still super fast. Before getting pregnant I ran about 9:30-10 minute miles when I was just out for a typical run. Now I’m running between 11-12 minute miles and celebrating every one.

Hydrate and go to the bathroom about 10 times before you run. Or better yet, go running FIRST thing when you wake up. I’ve found that if I just wake up and go I am MUCH happier and don’t feel like I have to go to the bathroom ½ mile in. I try to make sure I’m drinking enough water, but I don’t want to drink too much before I run because then I’ll have to go to the bathroom 5 minutes in.

Carry a cell phone and water if you think you’ll need it. I ALWAYS carry my cell phone while running. You never know if you just can’t finish the run, or if you need to picked up.

Listen to your body. If you feel pain or are very uncomfortable, stop.

Whatever you thought about running before, throw it out the window. It’s important to be FLEXIBLE and to do what you’re body needs. If you need to stop and start or take a break do it. The important part is that you are getting out there and moving.

Don’t give up! I’ve had many runs where the first 20 minutes are awful, but the last 20 are amazing and I’m on top of the world. I can usually tell if it’s a head game or if I’m just off that day. Push through and keep going! (Unless something is really wrong, then obviously, stop!)

Have fun! This isn’t a time to be super serious about your running. Enjoy the fact you are running!

Note: I spoke to my doctor about the fact that I run and he said that as long as I was doing it before, I was fine to continue. Speak to your doctor before you do anything!

Thank you for letting me share my running while pregnant experience with you! I hope you’ll visit my blog as I talk about food, fitness, health and being pregnant!

Prenatal Fitness: Making A Splash

1 Comment

Almost all of my prenatal fitness has revolved around walking, prenatal yoga and Summer Sanders’ workout videos, that is until I finally found swimming. Back at the end of May, Neil and I went to get anniversary massages at a spa which allowed us full access to their facilities including their pool. Since we had the entire day I decided that I should pick up a pregnancy friendly bathing suit since all of pre-pregnancy ones were much too small. I didn’t want to spend a ton of money so I ended up buying one for $20 from Old Navy (non-maternity). It’s a bit big in the chest and the bottom due to the the need for it to fit around my giant baby belly but it works.

After our massages we took advantage of the pool and it was glorious! We did lap after lap sometimes jogging from end to end and other times swimming and it felt amazing. Being in the water really relieved the pressure on my hips and legs and I still got in a great workout. It felt so great that I couldn’t wait to go swimming again. Since then we have only had access to outdoor pools and the lake but have made an effort to get out and enjoy both when the weather and time allows.

We are so lucky that Neil’s work has an arrangement with a local tennis club that has an outdoor pool. We are able to use the pool throughout the week after 5pm and all day on the weekends. We went this past Monday and got a nice swim in. Swimming has easily become my new favorite pregnancy activity. I really recommend that you pregnant ladies get out there and do some swimming this summer because it feels so good and is low impact but a great workout- especially on the arms- you will be carrying around a baby soon so need to strengthen those arms of yours!

What is your favorite workout right now?

{Pregnancy Update} 36 Weeks

Leave a Comment

How far along are you: 36 Weeks!

How big is the baby:

Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. She’s shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement.

At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.) Most likely she’s in a head-down position. But if she isn’t, your practitioner may suggest scheduling an “external cephalic version,” which is a fancy way of saying she’ll try to coax your baby into a head-down position by manipulating her from the outside of your belly. (source)

Baby’s Gender: We both think it’s a girl. <—change

Baby’s Name: We have a name for a boy or a girl.  Choosing a boys name was easy for us and was decided upon months ago but the girls name has been a little more challenging but we finally decided on one.

Weight Gained: 25 lbs ish?

Clothes: Mostly just wearing dresses as they are the most comfortable.

How are you feeling: I am feeling pretty good.  I actually over did it a little this past weekend because I was feeling so great. Sunday we went for a long walk, swimming, to the market, to a museum and to get a snack which left me a little worried because baby wasn’t moving around as much. I ended up calling the midwives to panic that there was reduced fetal movement but was reassured that if I had felt s/he move at least three times in the last hour things should be fine and that because I was so active that was why the baby wasn’t moving as much.  Apparently my walking, swimming, etc is similar to rocking the baby so they felt pretty content to just relax.  Monday morning I woke up to lots of movement and this baby has been crazy active since.

What do you miss: I miss the desire to eat normally- I am getting to the point where I am having slight food aversions or just no desire to eat (don’t worry I have had no problem eating just lack of desire).  I miss running more and more but I think it’s because I know that soon I will be able to get back to it so there is combination of missing and anxiousness.

Symptoms: ,

Cravings: Green Lemonade (greens, apples and/or carrots and lemon). Blueberries. Amy’s refried black beans.

How are you sleeping: Sleeping has been a little more challenging, lately my hips have been bothering me and I’m finding that I am sore in my pelvis now too.

Workouts: This week I went swimming twice, to prenatal yoga and on a few walks.  Let me tell you I should have started swimming earlier, it is amazing during pregnancy.

Things I’m looking forward to: Finishing my last two weeks of work. Getting this house in order for the babies arrival. Touring the birth center.

In other news:

We launch Naturally Family!

If you haven’t stop over to our family blog, Naturally Family, then head over now and Meet The Family.  We have been discussing this weeks pregnancy ups and downs, our baby bucket list, my labor and deliver fears, what we learned in birthing class, a recap of our babymoon, 10 must-dos before labor and a so much more.

You can also check us out on  Facebook and Twitter.