Monday, September 28, 2009
Just a day in the backyard
Noah, Ellie and Chaucer (look at his tongue!) in the backyard. Doesn't she look like a California surfer girl? :) A little inspiration from my lovely photographer/friend Danielle and even concrete can look awesome as a backdrop.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
The Birth Story
You can tune out this post if the whole labor thing freaks you out :)
The (absolutely AMAZING) midwife team down here (Sue and Dawn at the Ventura Birth Center) does both birth center births and home births. We opted for a home birth and had Joshua in our kitchen on our couch, haha. Of course, in the kitchen! That's where I love to spend all my time anyway.
I had been in pre-labor for a couple of days (starting Wed or Thurs early AM), having decent contractions every 15-20 minutes apart; just like last time, except the fact that I could still get some rest. The midwives taught Mike to check me, so all that pre-labor got me to about two centimeters dilated. Not bad! Mike's mom had come down from Mammoth and we went shopping for groceries, visited Mike at work, and cleaned the house. By the end of Friday, my contractions were getting pretty intense and a little more regular and I would have to stop during shopping and breathe to get through a contraction (Cathy was getting pretty nervous at that point, haha - no Trader Joes births, please!). We got back home and Mike switched his shift with a coworker so he could come home at 9 instead of midnight. And good thing!
Right after I tucked Noah in bed and Mike got home, they picked up considerably. I had prayed that I would go into full labor at 9pm and have the babe by morning - Noah sleeping all the way. And we did! The contractions were what I've heard some friends call "fast and furious." Mike called Sue (one of our midwives) and told her that they were about 5 minutes apart, but not to rush over since he expected a slower labor (like last time). Come to find out later that Sue had started packing her stuff to come over right then (she heard my moaning in the background and knew it was going fast, hehe). About 20 minutes later, my contractions were more like 3 minutes apart and really intense. I couldn't handle them unless Mike was giving me a lot of lower back pressure and I had a very cold wash cloth on my face/neck.
Sue arrived at around 12:30 and checked me. I was then at 4 cm. Davie (her awesome assistant) arrived with the cherished birth ball (like a work out ball) and they had me hop in the shower. I sat on the ball in the tub and worked through the crazy contractions. They were incredibly easier to deal with when I was in the shower. Amazingly the hot water lasted an hour and Sue had me out for another check. 6 cm dilated. I wanted in the birth tub, NOW. And there was the pivotal point. I was laying on the couch for the 6 cm check. WHOA! I needed to PUSH, NOW! I was thinking, "I can't be pushing, I'm only at 6?" Mike's staring at me, wondering what the heck is going on and why I'm making that noise. Sue casually strolls over to the phone and calls Dawn (my other lovely midwife), saying "Dia's making pushing noises, it's time to come on down..." Mike's in shock, "PUSHING noises? What?" Then, I'm freaking out when Davie leaves to make the compress cold again because I need her NOW (haha). I push for 6 minutes. Scream a couple of times (which Mike described as a very "respectable" scream - doesn't wake up Noah or Jacob and Kim, who's room is right above ours). Then he's catching Joshua and I have a baby on my belly. WHOA. Did that happen?
So, all told, active labor clocked in at about 4.5 hours. Noah woke up to a new baby brother. My mom arrived while we slept in the early (early!) am and took care of Noah and the house. Cathy came by later in the day and loved on the babe, us, and Noah (and found the placenta pan that was still full of my blood on the counter and almost lost it, poor thing).
All in all, it was an AMAZING experience. The midwives came and did a check up the next day. It was so much more peaceful. I didn't have to worry about when to leave for the hospital. No in-car contractions. No carefully bundling a day old baby for a car ride. Just home, sweet home :)
Highly recommended!
The (absolutely AMAZING) midwife team down here (Sue and Dawn at the Ventura Birth Center) does both birth center births and home births. We opted for a home birth and had Joshua in our kitchen on our couch, haha. Of course, in the kitchen! That's where I love to spend all my time anyway.
I had been in pre-labor for a couple of days (starting Wed or Thurs early AM), having decent contractions every 15-20 minutes apart; just like last time, except the fact that I could still get some rest. The midwives taught Mike to check me, so all that pre-labor got me to about two centimeters dilated. Not bad! Mike's mom had come down from Mammoth and we went shopping for groceries, visited Mike at work, and cleaned the house. By the end of Friday, my contractions were getting pretty intense and a little more regular and I would have to stop during shopping and breathe to get through a contraction (Cathy was getting pretty nervous at that point, haha - no Trader Joes births, please!). We got back home and Mike switched his shift with a coworker so he could come home at 9 instead of midnight. And good thing!
Right after I tucked Noah in bed and Mike got home, they picked up considerably. I had prayed that I would go into full labor at 9pm and have the babe by morning - Noah sleeping all the way. And we did! The contractions were what I've heard some friends call "fast and furious." Mike called Sue (one of our midwives) and told her that they were about 5 minutes apart, but not to rush over since he expected a slower labor (like last time). Come to find out later that Sue had started packing her stuff to come over right then (she heard my moaning in the background and knew it was going fast, hehe). About 20 minutes later, my contractions were more like 3 minutes apart and really intense. I couldn't handle them unless Mike was giving me a lot of lower back pressure and I had a very cold wash cloth on my face/neck.
Sue arrived at around 12:30 and checked me. I was then at 4 cm. Davie (her awesome assistant) arrived with the cherished birth ball (like a work out ball) and they had me hop in the shower. I sat on the ball in the tub and worked through the crazy contractions. They were incredibly easier to deal with when I was in the shower. Amazingly the hot water lasted an hour and Sue had me out for another check. 6 cm dilated. I wanted in the birth tub, NOW. And there was the pivotal point. I was laying on the couch for the 6 cm check. WHOA! I needed to PUSH, NOW! I was thinking, "I can't be pushing, I'm only at 6?" Mike's staring at me, wondering what the heck is going on and why I'm making that noise. Sue casually strolls over to the phone and calls Dawn (my other lovely midwife), saying "Dia's making pushing noises, it's time to come on down..." Mike's in shock, "PUSHING noises? What?" Then, I'm freaking out when Davie leaves to make the compress cold again because I need her NOW (haha). I push for 6 minutes. Scream a couple of times (which Mike described as a very "respectable" scream - doesn't wake up Noah or Jacob and Kim, who's room is right above ours). Then he's catching Joshua and I have a baby on my belly. WHOA. Did that happen?
So, all told, active labor clocked in at about 4.5 hours. Noah woke up to a new baby brother. My mom arrived while we slept in the early (early!) am and took care of Noah and the house. Cathy came by later in the day and loved on the babe, us, and Noah (and found the placenta pan that was still full of my blood on the counter and almost lost it, poor thing).
All in all, it was an AMAZING experience. The midwives came and did a check up the next day. It was so much more peaceful. I didn't have to worry about when to leave for the hospital. No in-car contractions. No carefully bundling a day old baby for a car ride. Just home, sweet home :)
Highly recommended!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
More Joshua...
My mom made this awesome hat - haha, he looks like a little warrior!
Just some cute sleepy shots:
Noah, all grown up...
Noah just said as she and Mike were leaving to the store, "Call me if you need stuff." Presumably just in case I remembered something while they were out... :)
Monday, September 7, 2009
We have a son!!
Wahoo! Baby Joshua Courage Becchio was born on September 6 at 2:17am. More details to come.
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