Baxter Lee is Here!

Finally, here we are to announce the arrival of Baxter (born Jan 26th 9:30pm), now that he is about 6 weeks old.  (I guess this is our cyberspace version of the old-time practice of "churching" or bringing the baby out after 40 days). I had started on his birth story but I finally realized that was going to take  a while to finish so I should keep on posting in the meantime. Also, our camera is unfortunately our of batteries so we are low on pictures. We're working on that - for our friends and family who are still waiting to see how cute he is. 

I won't go into the whole story now, but his birth was a bit of a challenge in the sense that it was a lot of hard work - 9lb baby boy from little 5 foot me! Yikes! The labor was about 9 hours, pushing for 3.5. Uhg. Powerful stuff! I was so glad to be home and had the wonderful support of my midwife Elayne, our doula Sarah and friend Rachel... and of course Dan and Bea. Baxter is a hearty, beautiful little guy.

So now we have pretty much adjusted to life as a family of four and spring is on it's way. Hooray!

Beatrice's Birth Story

Many folks know that our beautiful little Beatrice was born at home 3 and a half years ago.  I've been meaning to share her birth story here as we prepare for our second homebirth.  You don't hear much about women giving birth at home anymore, but a few of us still do it. ( I suppose you don't hear much about people growing their own food anymore either.... but that is another topic.) I really need to share our story because I feel like the power of birth is like a secret that isn't shared, but should be every woman's birth right. Birthing is so intrinsic to our deepest nature and is one of the most powerful physical, emotional, mental, spiritual events in our lives. My birthing of Bea at home was a wholistic process. I felt safe, comfortable, supported, strong and loved throughout the entire labor.

Here is our story.  My labor began around 12:30 at night.  Dan and I had gone to bed around 10 or so.  My water breaking woke me up and I went to the bathroom to see if there was any more to come.  When I came back to bed I told Dan what had happened and we called our doula, Isa.  Her calm at  being called at 1 in the morning was amazing and she assured us she was on her way.  We tried to go back to sleep, but I don't think we slept very much at all.  The contractions came right away.  Honestly, I don't even remember what they felt like.  I did spend a lot of time on the toilet.  I later told my brother that giving birth was like trying to poop out a bowling ball, because it does feel like the baby is coming out your bottom. Hence, the toilet seemed like the most comfortable place to be.  By morning I had dilated almost all the way and we called the midwife, Joanne, and we all thought the baby would be coming soon.  We had the birth tub (a 150 gallon stock tank from Agway) set up, but didn't think we'd need it.  Joanne arrived and when the baby didn't come right away, I decided I would get into the tub. Meanwhile it had turned into a beautiful July Sunday. Once I was in the tub I couldn't imagine getting out again. The tub was amazing - the water was comforting and I found I could press off the sides of the tub with my legs, arms, back. I was pushing with every part of my body.  I started pushing when I got into the tub and ended up staying there for about 5 hours!  At one point the midwife asked if I wanted to get out and walk around, but I couldn't imagine leaving the comfort of the tub. Everyone was cool as a cucumber and I really had no idea that my situation was a little unusual. I was pretty much pushing continuously  and thought, wow I could really use a break and also that it was "hard work". (At the time George W. was using that phrase a lot and I couldn't believe I was thinking about our president during my labor)  Bea was crowning for what seemed to be a long time, but no matter how hard I pushed, she wouldn't budge. There were no signs of fetal distress, so I just kept plugging away.  Finally she started moving down more and it was a tremendous relief to push her all the way out.  Joanne put her right onto my chest and I fell in love with my daughter immediately.  

I got out of the tub to deliver the placenta while Dan sat beside me holding Bea. Soon we were all snuggled up in bed. I ate a good meal and Bea started nursing. I should have been exhausted but I was on such a high, my body coursing with hormones.  I was elated and in love and overwhelmed with being a new mother. 

Only in hindsight did I realize just how lucky I was to have been home.  If I had been at the hospital, chances are good that there would have been some kind of intervention - because my waters had been broken for over 12 hours or because I pushing for so long (5 hours). I thank God for the wisdom of my midwife and doula, for their experience, strength and belief in my ability to birth my baby.  Not to mention the chance for Dan, Bea and I to bond undisturbed in our own home. 

So that is my personal story. While yes I am a little atypical, some might say a crunchy organic farmer or whatever, but I am not flaky.  Nor am I naive. My own miscarriage and the loss of a good friend's full term baby have made me painfully aware  that things don't always go according to our expectations.  Nevertheless, the facts are plain and simple about the safety of midwifery care.  For more info please check out this recent piece from the LA Times by Jennifer Block, author of Pushed: The Painful Truth About Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care. 

New Info for Moms

I've come across a few things lately that I thought I would share. First there is a pretty interesting website & blog called Spinning Babies.  It is by a midwife in Minnesota about the importance of fetal positioning for an easier birth.  The blog has interesting entries about midwifery, doulas, etc. 

Whenever I see previews for films about birth I tend to get very emotional and even teary.  There is a new film coming out about fathers and their experiences in the birth process called The Other Side of the Glass.  Looks very eye opening, especially for first time dads.  The mission of this film is to empower fathers to be an involved participant and protector during the birth of their children. Check out the preview here.

 The Massachussettes Friends of Midwives has started monthly Birth Circles at the NOAH Center in Great Barrington.  The next is on November 2cnd at from 7 to 9.  Come to share info on prengancy, midwifery, parenting,  & hear positive birth stories in a supportive environment. 

For more info contact Sarah at www.berkshiredoulas.com.

Labor Day Pot Luck

My goodness, summer certainly is flying by. I've been estranged from my computer. And now I'm not quite sure where to start. So I'll throw out an invite to come to our farm for a "Labor" Day Pot Luck. Yes as a homebirth mom, I mean Labor in the birthing sense. I guess you could call this the first official event of the Motherhouse Homebirth Network. This is a gathering for moms
(current & expecting) & families in our area to meet each other, share birth stories, share resources, support, hang out and eat some good food while the kids run around the farm. While my hope is to raise awareness about homebirth, I could also easily say midwifery, natural birth, water birth, alternative birthing etc. My intention is not to exclusively promote homebirth, but to get together with other women who see birth as a inherently normal process.

As an off shoot, let me know if you are interested in a mom's group along the same ideas - including nursing, cloth diapering, attachment parenting, etc....

I suppose the time as come to mention that yes, I am pregnant again. Approaching the half way mark! I've been a little reluctant to make such a public announcement as here on the blog. This pregnancy seems more private somehow, but in light of the above events and considering that word is certainly getting around, it seems appropriate to write about it here. I'm sure I'll have much more to say on the subject as time goes on.

I could go on and on, but Dan has taken Bea to the farm so I will take advantage of a little solo time!

Farm Family News

Big news for the family...Beatrice is going to be a big sister! In September. Most of our friends sarcastically say, "Oh, good timing!" But compared to Bea's birthday in July, September looks great. We will have a great crew of apprentices and workers who will be old timers with farm work by the time September rolls around. By some divine miracle, Patches was bred in late December. This means we'll dry her off (stop milking) in August so she gets a 2 month break before she calves in October. We couldn't ask for better timing. A break from milking before & after the baby comes will be like a little gift of time. We'll probably be suffering from dairy withdrawl but we'll have to deal with that when it comes.

Over the course of the next year, besides pregnancy, I'll probably also be mentionning homebirth quite a bit. We had a really wonderful homebirth with Bea with a midwife and doula. We had a water birth and it was a blessing to be able to labor in the tub. (Not in our bath tub. We used a new stock tank from Agway - the kind for watering cows & horses or in our case washing vegetables.) After I got in I couldn't imagine getting out. I won't launch into her birth story now but I will say it confirmed by belief that home was the best place for me to have my baby. And so we're getting ready for our next one! We've already met with our midwife Elayne and are really excited.

If you are interested in homebirth there are some great resources out there. Mothering Magazine and their website is a great place to start (see sidebar link). Ina May Gaskin the great & inspiring midwife has written several books including Spritual Midwifery and Ina May's Guide to Childbirth.
Also there is a new film out called The Business of Being Born. It will be showing at the Triplex in Great Barrington this month on Sunday February 24th at 11 am. This is sure to be a powerful film about the medicalization of birth in this country and the alternatives. Check out the trailer on their website! Just the trailer is moving!