The rule of 15s

I am slowly starting to live by what I call "The rule of 15s." I first got the idea from my oldest sister, Thawivann, when she came to help when Lucy was born. Spending nearly a week in my house she found all different ways to organize my house, and brainstormed suggestions to help me maintain order with two little girls. She organized my utensil drawers into categories and then placed them in their own containers. They are still in the same containers with the labels she created. =) So anyway, the rule of 15s. The name is something I made up, but it was inspired by her. She suggested that each day or evening I spend x amount of time picking up toys, x amount cleaning up clutter, and so on. Each alloted time period was no longer than 10 minutes. Her thinking behind this is that the house would be able to maintain some order, and at least at the start of the day we would have a fresh start.

It took a while for us to implement this idea. In the fall when I was watching Stella I tended to do this tidying up at the beginning of the day. Let me tell you, as someone who has occassional bouts of depression, beginning the day having to clean from the day before does very little to keep depression at-bay. By early winter I decided to do the cleaning at night. It is very easy for me to get out of hand, once I actually decide to start cleaning. Taylor is always willing to help, but he needs some focus. So I decided to set a timer, we started out at 12 minutes. We would clean for 12 minutes. When the timer went off we could do whatever we wanted. Having a timer really helps get your butt in gear. Taylor and I are both easily distracted, perhaps him more than me, but having a time limit, and a short one at that, made it easier to stay focused, because we knew we didn't have the stay the course that long.

I tell you, it makes a world of difference to come down the stairs in the morning to a de-cluttered living area. Now I'm sure if anyone else were to come over in the morning they may not appreciate the "cleanliness or declutter." But for us, it's clean and liveable. So, the rule of 15's: spending time in 15 minute increments cleaning. Until recently I really just applied this "rule" to nighttime. But now I am going to try to apply it a second time during the day. I recently found a blog in which a mom said you could keep a house clean by spending only 15-20 minutes a day. I'm all about clean, but in a way that requires very little of my time. So you know I was all about reading what she had to say. Essentially you pick a part of your house or a particular chore and spend 15 minutes on it. Everyday is something different. Basically this is how I have applied "the rule of 15s" to the rest of my day: day 1) upstairs bathroom, 15 minutes. day 2) downstairs bathroom, 15 minutes day 3) tidy TV room Day 4) tidy Evie and our bedroom Day 5) vacuum upstairs Day 6) tidy Lulu's room Day 7) mop downstairs. Every day only spending 15, 20 minutes tops. This is something I can do. Eventually I may add dusting. I did not include sweeping downstairs, I tend to do this anyway at least 2 times a day.

So "the rule of 15s" applies not just to cleaning but also to working out. Let's be realistic, I won't make it to the gym very often. But I can spend 15 minutes (not much, I know) doing some kind of working out. I recently downloaded apps on our kindle for free leg, arm, cardio, and abs work outs. The workouts can be as short as 5 minutes and it's a video, so I am doing it with someone else. I can do 5 minute increments. It ain't much, I'll be the first to admit that, but I gotta start somewhere.

In order to help me maintain "the rule of 15s" I created a dry-erase goals and menu board in my kitchen. I plan out each week what my cleaning 15s will be each day, other goals that I have for the day, and I plan to also map out what I will eat (from morning til night, including snacks). For someone who is trying to either lose or maintain their weight I have found that one of the biggest road blocks is not knowing what to eat. Planning it out prevents over eating, eating the wrong thing, or at times not eating enough. I also think that by planning the week's meals out I can better manage our monthly budget for groceries.

Weight Watcher Meal Planning Part 1, on a budget

I am trying to be get back on track when it comes to shopping with a budget, meal planning, and weight watchers. I've found some great meal planning tools on pintrest, some are very involved.
http://clairsfairytale.blogspot.com/2012/01/ultimate-menu-board.html and http://robbygurlscreations.blogspot.com/2011/05/asian-recipes.html. If I want to stay on the WWs train then I need to pick my recipes, rather than just follow what these girls came up with. Also, my budget is different from theirs.

So I have created a word document and I am making recipe cards. I am going through my WWs cook book and copying the recipes and making changes to the recipes based on our budget, what we typically eat, and changes I usually like to make to the meals. Many of the recipes I go from memory. So I could potentially just put the name of the recipe, but I thought I would include all the information so it could be helpful to others and to help me stay the course with WWs!

This is so time consuming. I've been doing it for over an hour and I only have 10 recipes. My hope is to do all of the recipes that we typically eat. And then I will most likely organize them by category, and then I will create my menu board. Doing all of this should help reduce or at least help control our food budget. One of the keys to not over spending on food is to go to the store a minimal amount of times.

Something else I need to work on with meal planning is thinking beyond just a main dish. Typically the side is an afterthought, if I even have one. It needs to be simple. It would be nice if it's something other than a salad. I do typically have a variety of veggies on hand (broccoli, asparagus, etc) and it's usually easy to roast or steam.

It's after 11pm and I should be in bed. There is still much work to be done on the meal planning. I mean business about this, so I should be back tomorrow to give an update of what I've accomplished! You know what would be great...if I could also include the price of everything. That's a little ambitious. I think for now I should stick to making my recipe cards and then my menu board. The creation of the menu board should be fun as it will entail creativity.

A mother and a crafter!

Since I decided not just to pin what I find on pintrest, but to also create, I've been busy busy! So inbetween changing diapers, nursing, playing, talking with my husband, and making meals I've created quite a bit. And now for your viewing pleasure =)

This is an old t-shirt that I turned into leggings. 1 shirt made two pair, one for Evie and one for Lucy. This pair featured is Lucy's. This set of pants was my first attempt, so the legs are too long and the butt isn't big enough. Evie was excited to try on her "special" pants. The butt part covered half of hers and when she moved they fell. I think putting in elastic will help with that. For all you History Day people out there, does the fabric look familiar? I definitely need to make a new pattern. I took a pair of the girls' leggings and traced it on a paper bag. I didn't do it right, thus the problem with disproportion. But not a bad start!

After I made the pants I moved onto pee-tee-pees. I've been wanting to make these for a while. I had considered buying an in the, hoop design for the embroidery machine. I'm glad I didn't, wouldn't really have been worth the money. These things were pretty easy to make. The hardest part was the drawstring bag. This is a great way to use my fabric scraps! Right now they are made of flannel and cotton. I may toy with doing it with terry cloth, but I'll have to ask moms of boys if that would be good.

The last thing I finished working on today were cloth wipes. These things have been hanging over me for months. Done, finally! I did neutral, boy, and girl patterns. I will be taking them to Angel Britches Friday, a local cloth diapering boutique. Hoping for sales!

Valentines

Having kids, particularly as close together as mine are, is exhausting! BUT, they have so much fun together (when Evie isn't trying to ride Lucy or bit her back (as of recently) and they make me laugh. As soon as Evie wakes she asks for "Lulu." It's sweet.

This morning, while Lucy was napping, Evie and I got into the pain together. i have to admit, I didn't let her have full reign. I knew I wouldn't be able to handle the clean up. But she seemed just fine having one container open at a time. In fact, it didn't take long for her to no

t open one before closing the other. It drove me a little crazy how she dipped a large part of the paintbrush in the paint. Would some say I was too controlling of her artistic experience? Probably. But I keep telling myself I am the perfect mother for my children, and they are the perfect children for me. Evie had fun and that's what matters. Later in the day I put corny valentine phrases on her pictures and I addressed envelopes for all her cousins and grandparents, and of course her daddy. I gave it to her and told her to give it to daddy, she lit up. When Taylor walked in she said, "here daddy. evie's hands." We put it on the wall and put another on the fridge. She was thrilled and kept walking over to the fridge saying "evie's hands. evie did it." So really, does it matter how "controlling" I was? I think not.

The other thing I have to report that Evie did was that she got a hold of small paper plates the other evening and

set the table. I think she was talking to someone imaginary, just like I do when I do housework. She then proceeded to scoop rice off her own plate onto the other plates on the table. Then she came to me and asked for my rice. I knew she had stopped eating so I said no, but I had not realized what she had done with her rice until much later in the evening when I was cleaning up from the day. All I could do was laugh. My little hostess.

Last night I did my first project that I found on pintrest: reusable swiffer cloth. I showed it to Melissa. She says it's too complicated and I should simplify it in case I want to sell it. Is it wrong that just about every craft I choose to do is determined by whether or not I think I can sell it? Anyway, here's a picture of the swiffer cloth. Don't judge me. I was not going for pretty points, just trying to get the thing made. And after 1 or 2 uses it's going to nasty anyway, so does it really matter?

pintrest and birth control, there's no cohesion

I discovered pintrest last night! Hours of browsing and pinning made for a very late night! I found all sorts of cool crafty things for me to do myself and with the girls. But that's just what I've been doing as of late, simply gathering ideas. Today I decided to actually put those ideas into action! I finally made cloth wipes that have been hanging over me since Thanksgiving! What a relief! I just got finished making a reusable swiffer wipe, a pintrest idea. (I'm not with it enough to have pictures to correspond, plus putting pictures on here drives me crazy!)

The last few days I had some things to write but I couldn't muster the energy to do it. Tonight, I mustered up the energy but my brain feels like mush!

So I'm watching the Daily Show right now and he just brought up the "contraceptive controversy." If I understand it correctly now insurance will cover birth control? It's about damn time! If people don't want to keep supporting families who are unable to make ends meet then perhaps they should be willing to support their choice to limit the size of their family to one that each family can support themselves. Birth control is expensive, but babies are much more expensive! Would the government, insurance, companies be willing to provide a few bucks for birth control or several hundreds/thousands for another baby (maternity leave, drs, etc).

Lucy's Birth Story. A triumphant VBAC!

Preface:
When I was pregnant with Evelyn her due date was a Monday. I
stopped teaching the Friday before and that night I went into labor. Working up until the due date was definitely
helpful as it preoccupied my mind and I was not counting down the days. I took off 2 weeks before my EDD with Lucy
and that was tough. I thought I would go
into labor the day I stopped work, because that’s what happened with Evie. I’m glad I didn’t. I kept thinking when I finish her quilt maybe
she will come. Maybe when I clean the
bathrooms the baby will come. The
weekend before my due date was the super moon and I was thinking maybe now the
baby will come. So I stocked up on my
labor snacks and made my affirmations.
No baby. At my 39 week appt with
Dickerson on Monday he informed me that he would be out of town Thursday and
Friday for a family event in Dallas. My
husband was working nights part of the week.
Sherri was attending the Preserving Natural Birth Conference in
Lafayette. So if the baby would come on
the EDD, March 23, I had it worked out to the hours of the day on particular
days it would need to happen in order to make sure Dickerson was in town,
Taylor would not be returning from a 12 hour shift through the night, and
Sherri would be able to go to the conference.
To add to that my parents were coming into town on Sunday (March
27). And while there was no expectation
from them that a baby be there, they live in Ohio and it would have been great
for them to see their newest grandchild.
Lucy waited to make her arrival Monday, the day after my parents
arrived, the day I would have my stress test with Dickerson, and Sherri got to
attend the conference. In fact my
contractions started picking up an hour before my husband had to go into
work. My little Lucy knew when the
perfect time would be to make her appearance!
Expecting around the same time as a good friend (Melissa)
was a blessing and a curse. Everyday we
talked about our “progress.” She
definitely had more evident progress than me, I was definitely happy for her,
especially since she had an earlier due date than me, but it was still
difficult. When Sage arrived I was happy
for her, but I wanted to know when our baby would arrive.
The last few weeks were a bit of a mental battle for me, if
you couldn’t already tell. It was
helpful that at the last few appointments with Dickerson he didn’t put a
deadline on things. I didn’t feel like
he was pushing me into a corner. But I
knew that the further I got from the EDD that having a successful VBAC would
become challenging: increased size, harder baby’s head, etc. But I didn’t want to do anything to make
labor happen. The last thing I wanted
was a repeat of my labor with evelyn.
Let the Story Begin…
March 27: Around 8pm or soI started having contractions. They were coming within at least 20 minutes
of each other, so I thought I may as well time them. But I decided I wouldn’t put too much stock
into any of it. They didn’t last
incredibly long, maybe 20-40 seconds and they weren’t really much to “write
home” about. I think around 10ish I
decided I should probably head to bed, even if the contractions continued I
knew I would be able to sleep through them and I knew that would be the best
thing for me. They did continue through
the night but they weren’t really that strong enough to wake me, but I think I
must have known I was having them.
Around 1 I got up to use the bathroom, I had lost my mucous plug and had
some bloody show. A few days earlier I
had some light blood but this time things seemed a bit more realand I had a
sense that things were going to happen soon, but again I knew I should go back
to bed. Then at 2:30 things started to
pick up a bit more. I couldn’t really
sleep through them anymore, I’m not sure it was because they were painful but
because I was excited. I turned the stop
watch on, grabbed my labor notepad and began recording the contractions. Taylor was beginning to stir around 3am
because he would be getting up soon for work.
He was given strict instructions not to move in bed because it made the
contractions harder with all that moving around. In between contractions we discussed whether
or not he should call into work. At
3:45, 15 minutes before he would need to leave he made the decision to call in,
thankfully. He asked if we should call
Sherri and I thought it best to get a longer pattern of contractions to make
sure it was the real deal and wait til a more suitable hour. I rotated between the toilet, the edge of the
bed, and laying down. Everywhere I went
I carried my water bottle, crossword, labor notebook, and phone. At some point I decided to grab the ball and
I set myself up at the edge of the bed with Taylor sitting on an ottoman
applying counter pressure to my back. Every
several contractions I stood up to do my stretches Dr. Cathy recommended to
release tension in my back. That helped
tremendously.

A 6am I made the decision to call Sherri. I explained that I had bloody show, lost my
plug, and had been timing my contractions since around 2:30, they were about
4-5 minutes apart and lasting between 45 seconds to a minute. I had two contractions mid conversation and
was unable to talk, so it was evident that they were relatively strong. Somewhere I think it got lost in translation
that I had contractions through the night.
Once that got cleared up she made her way over to our house.
The three of us spent the next hour in our bedroom, Taylor
applying counter pressure and Sherri gently touching me in various places as a
reminder to relax my body. But she
commented that I was doing a great job of keeping my body relaxed or at the
very least releasing tension when she touched a particular spot. In between contractions I was compiling two
lists: last minute things to put into our suitcase and things to remember to
tell my mom about Evelyn. At this time I
also remember explaining to Sherri why this was perfect timing: my parents flew
in from Cleveland the night before, she was able to attend the preserving
natural birth conference in Lafayette, Dickerson could be with his family,
Taylor had a full night’s sleep, I would get to miss my doctor’s appointment
and the stress test, and Dickerson would already be at the hospital since it
was the work week. Man, did my baby have
everything worked out. Sherri said she
also had a sense that Monday would be the day as well.
As the time neared 7am Sherri commented that I was burping a
lot and my contractions were getting shorter, and I was also nauseaus. Apparently all signs that I was entering
transition. She thought it would be wise
to begin thinking about heading to the hospital so we could avoid a Chinese
fire drill at the hospital while in transition.
I told Taylor to call the assessment center and insist they begin getting
a tub ready and to call Dickerson, because that’s what my charts said to
do. We then headed down the stairs, and
there I was greeted by my mom, dad, and Evelyn eating breakfast. My folks both said, “this couldn’t have been
more perfect timing.” Seconds before
walking out the door I threw-up. I was
convinced that I would arrive at the hospital at least 7cm if not more, and
ready for the baby to arrive. I’m
thankful Woman’s is only a mile or two away because the trip was less than
ideal. It felt like we had to wait an
eternity to turn into the parking lot!

I proceeded to walk to the reception desk to work through a
contraction. I’m sure the old woman
meant well but she kept asking me to sign in mid-contraction. Umm…hello?
Taylor informed them we had called in already and that we were to skip
the assessment center and go right up to labor and delivery (little white lie
never hurt anyone). The next thing I
knew I was in the little receiving room, they wanted me to fill out paper work. For real?
Dickerson met us down there and explained all the rooms were full but
one big enough for a tub should be ready for us in 30 minutes, so we would hang
out in the assessment center. Shortly
after we left we were instructed to go upstairs. Sherri and I were both confused, but we did
as we were told. As we exited the
elevator the nurse on the 2nd floor looked just as puzzled and
sherri and I both felt. “You’re not
supposed to be up here for another 30 minutes, we don’t have a room ready for
you.” Sherri responded, “that’s what we
thought, but they sent us up here.” So
we made our way back down stairs and the nurses in the assessment center gave
us a bit of a hard time for disappearing on them.
Once inside a room the nurse checked me. “You’re three centimeters, maybe I can fit
one more finger there. Your baby is way
up there. And your bag is bulging.” Wow lady, thanks for the encouragement. Needless to say I was discouraged. I thought I was displaying signs of
transition at my house. And after 30+
hours of labor with Evelyn I only made it to 4cm. I was trying not to cry or let it play with my mind too much because
I figured my mind could be my best friend or worst enemy. Of course she checked me on my back and of
course a contraction came. I cried out
to Taylor to help roll me to my side. The
nurse wouldn’t let me get off the bed while I was being monitored and she said
there was cause for concern because the baby’s heart tone’s “dropped” to
112. Once she left I asked Taylor and
Sherri to set me up on the ball. And
wouldn’t you know the heart tones got right back to normal. I knew 112 wasn’t something to be of concern
but I’m glad it got the nurse out of there.
Finally the time came to make our way up to my room. The aid refused to let me go upstairs without
pants on and not in the wheel chair.
That was not about to happen. So
please her I said if I put pants on under this gown can I walk, she asked for
permission and we were on our way.
Although she didn’t seem all that pleased to have to stop periodically
for me to ride out a contraction and neither will she be getting an award for
encouragement!
We were told that the tub would be set up by the time we got
up to the room. It was good thing I was
only 3cm because there wasn’t even a tub in the room. Needless to say my first hour or two at
Woman’s was less than impressive! The
nurse put in the heplock for the first round of IVs because I was GBS positive
and wanted to get heart tones. I
questioned the necessity of this as I was just on monitors not 3 minutes
prior. I also made her confirm several
times that I could be mobile or submersed in water with the monitor. I must say that I did a pretty good job of
advocating for myself. I’m sure I was
also coming across as a bitch but I wanted to make sure they knew what I wanted. Things were not very calm in the first hour I
was in the room, 3 nurses and Sherri were working to set up the tub and I was
hooked up to a monitor and an IV pole. I
just wanted to start focusing on the labor.
Once the monitors came off we decided to walk the halls, it
was just easier that way. Sherri had her
Doppler, so she could check me at any point anyway. One of the first things we heard in the halls
was shouting, “PUSH! PUSH! HARD!” Sherri
leaned over to me and said, “That will be you soon, but it won’t sound like
that.” All three of us were surprised by
how many people stopped to ask if I was ok.
I could hear a bit of annoyance in Sherri’s response, “She’s in labor
she is just having a contraction.”
Another nurse thought I was a visitor and again we informed her that I
was in labor. Another nurse reprimanded
us for being in the halls and insisted we get into my room. We let her know we would clear the halls once
this contraction stopped. It was evident
to me that the staff was not used to people actually experiencing labor.
Once we were back in the room I spent some time on the ball
which was fantastic! It felt great to be
supported but still feel like I was letting gravity do its thing. At one point Dickerson had one of the nurses
bring in the birthing stool. I tried
that for a contraction or two and that was it.
It was too hard and provided too much pressure. The next time the stool came in handy was as
a foot rest while I was on the toilet!
Periodically Taylor asked Sherri if I could get into the tub, and I
think I kept telling him I’m not ready for it or I don’t want it. Several hours into laboring in the room
Sherri thought the tub would be a good idea.
I told Taylor I was afraid of the tub.
I got in much too early with Evelyn and I didn’t want to stall out. Even if I didn’t stall out I didn’t want the
psychological battle. Sherri said we had
two options 1) get in the tub, maybe things slow down, but I could get some
relief and rest and have the strength to birth the baby 2) keep walking around,
labor progresses, but I exhaust myself and potentially not have the strength
when I needed it. A minute later I was
in the tub. Immediately I felt relaxed. Imagine that!
It was easier to move from position to position, but there wasn’t much in
terms of support. And applying counter
pressure was a bit difficult I would imagine.
It was at this time that I also started the honey sticks. It was like picking assorted chocolates out
of the box, some were great and some well….went to my husband to finish! They provided a great source of energy. But each one needed to be followed up with
some water. By this time I think we were
nearing the end of the work day. I had
the thought in the back of my mind that I wanted my water to break, but I never
voiced it. Coincidentally Sherri
tactfully brought up the possibility of Dickerson breaking my water. She explained that it would relieve a fair
amount of pressure and depending on how far along I was could really pick
things up. At this point I didn’t need
to be convinced that this would be the best next step. I told Taylor I’d been waiting hours for
someone to suggest this! Dickerson came
into the room shortly there after.
Sherri began talking with him about breaking my water and Dickerson then
wanted to be sure it was what I wanted. I don’t think he got more than 2 words
out when I said, “YES! Do it!” I made my way out of the tub and insisted
that if he check me I not lay on my back.
That was probably a given. Laying
on my side, Sherri held up my leg (which felt amazing) Dickerson checked me and
said I was 7. Triumphantly I said,
“That’s 2 times further than I made it with Evelyn!” He confirmed again that I wanted my water
broken, “Yes! Yes! Do it!” I cried and laughed simultaneously while he did
it. It felt so good, it relieved
pressure and psychologically I felt like I was in 7th heaven. Later, Taylor told me that he started to tear
up.
Once my water was broken I thought we’d have a baby in no
time, it would be another 6 hours or so.
Sherri suggested I lay on my left side, apparently one side of my cervix
had more than the other and laying this way would help open things up. Shortly after switching sides I started
having trouble breathing. Not sure how
long it lasted, but felt like at least an hour.
She had my sit up to help me feel like I could get my breathing under
control. I was really out of it. My eyes rolled to the back of my head. Sherri started to get concerned and said
something to the effect of, “I’m not going to lose you.” I really think I wanted to pass out, I wanted
it to be over, and this seemed like a respectable way for it to be over and for
me to get the baby. I “rolled” over to
my right side to get some better.
Thankfully things returned to normal.
We thought it may have been a result of all the honey sticks.
Eventually I got back into the tub, who knows for how
long. I was starting to feel an urge to
push. Sherri didn’t want me pushing
until she knew I was 10cm. Every few
contractions I also felt a burning sensation.
Around this time a Dickerson had asked the doctor on call to check on
me. I told her she could check me but
not on my back. The raised the head of
the bed, I leaned against it while on my knees.
10 Centimeters! I DID IT!!!! I MADE IT!!!!
If I wanted to push I could push, but I had to let my body do it. I spent more time laying on my side. Sherri told me not to do the pushing and not
to bare down, but instead take in deep breaths and let out 3 short
breaths. I had to have Taylor do this with
me. I wanted this baby out and I knew
gravity would be the most helpful. I
switched to standing and resting on Taylor.
Of course my right groin repeatedly cramped which definitely “cramped”
my style. If that wasn’t bad enough my
left calf started to cramp as well. I
knew staying in this position would not be the most effective or
efficient. I then went to hands and
knees on the bed, but for some reason what I really wanted to do was
squat. So squat I did. After a period of time the nurse called Dickerson
to let him know I was pushing but that it would probably be a while. Everyone seemed to think that, I tried to
ignore it because damn it I wanted this baby out! =) He
said to call back when they saw the head.
Well what do you know, the next push and my little Lucy started to poke
her head out! Everyone was talking about
how long it would take Dickerson to get here, in between contractions I said it
shouldn’t be too long because he lives nearby.
It felt like an eternity though until he got there. When he arrived he made himself comfortable
on the floor. At that point there was no
way I would get into a position that would be more conducive for a doctor. It was my birth and I would do what I wanted
to do! From Sherri, to the nurses, to
Dickerson, everyone commented on how relaxed I was remaining, how ontop of my
breathing I was, and that my body really knew what it was doing. Sherri would think of a slight change of
position and I would get into it before she had a chance to voice it. Taylor positioned a mirror so I could
watch. To be honest, much of the time it
felt like I was making more progress pushing out a terd than a baby! I remember thinking I don’t care if I rip
from here to kingdom come, I wanted Lucy out.
(I’m glad that didn’t happen). I
was in such a deep squat, that was something else that was surprising to
everybody. Finally Dickerson thought it
would be best if I got on hands and knees on the bed because he was worried I
would collapse if I stayed in a squat any longer. AFterall I had been in a deep squat for
nearly an hour. So with the baby’s head
literally half way out I made my way to the edge of the bed. Several pushes later out came my Lucy! What a sensation that was! Through all of the pushing Dickerson’s voice was
hardly louder than a whisper. He kept
saying, “so smooth. So gentle.” A stark contrast from the doctor we heard
yelling “PUSH! HARD” as we walked the halls.
Words really helped me get through my contractions. I said Lucy a lot, talked to her and encouraged
her to come out. I told her Evelyn
wanted to play with her. I said “I Can”
which then would change to “I Am.” At
times when things got hard out came “I can’t,” but usually by the next
contraction I changed it to either “I can” or “I am.” Another phrase I used often was “Oh Lord,”
and that surely came from the depths of my being.
When Lucy came I was exhausted. Of course I suppose 22 hours of hard labor
would do that to you. But I did it! It took everyone a few minutes to realize I
was still on my knees and wanted to sit, but preferably not in all the blood
and goo. Finally in a resting position
it occurred to me that it wasn’t over yet that darn placenta needed to come
out. The thought crossed my mind for
Dickerson to just rip that thing out so I could be done, again glad that didn’t
happen. Out it came and he took the time
to give me a little tour of it. I needed
one stitch and that was it. Through all
of this the staff kept saying how amazed they were at the birth. They couldn’t believe it was my first vaginal
birth. Dickerson said I made it look
like it was my 6th successful vaginal birth. After the nurse not so gently cleaned me off
she said, “that was inspirational.”
While my preference would have been a slightly shorter birth
=) I don’t think I could have asked for a better experience. The nurse that was with us at the end was
phenomenal. She was like a second
doula. When Sherri had to leave the room
she didn’t hesitate to be a calm support to me.
I couldn’t have asked for a better support team.