webjockey

I am a very lucky lady.

For the past four days or so, I have been having contractions anywhere from 20 to 7 min apart for about 30 sec to 1 min for at least 4 hours at a time. Just when I thought I was ready for action, things would then go caput. It was frustrating, but with my history of going closer to 42 weeks, I tried not to be so discouraged.

Yesterday I made homemade bread and took it out of the oven too early. I was gummy and unedible. I think that was the universe's way of telling me to chill out.

Midwife came by to do a home visit and to do some sort of hip shaking technique to coax baby into optimal position.

So late last night I finally had some progress and contractions progressed to 5 min and 1 min long, which is when my midwife wanted me to call her.

Thanks to crappy AT&T service, she didn't get the first message.

Hubby was awesome and set up the birthing tub, ozonated the water, and basically it was just him and I handling things with only the sounds of nature and my grunts in the background. After four or five pushes with a break in between He caught the baby, and...

It's a girl!

Carmen is her name. 7lbs. 9 oz. 19.5 inches long. No complications.

I admit that in my head I was a little panicky about not having the midwife there, but my hubby provided the confidence I needed to get through it.

Midwife rolled up minutes afterwards and took care of the rest. She was awesome.

Placenta is on its way to be ground into capsules.

All is good. I am sore but happy and feeling very blessed.

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anonymous_22139

Wow, great story. You are awesome too.

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Like.Australia

Wow! Congratulations! Pictures please!

Question on the placenta encapsulation if you don't mind - did you have to get out of the pool/tub to deliver it for them to "collect" it properly? Have you done this before with other pregnancies? Did you notice a difference in how you felt with taking the capsules?

webjockey

I can't figureout how to post photos from my iPad. When I get to a computer (hubby's sleeping and I need to watch the boys) Ill post. Since I didn't know how to handle that part, I wanted to wait for the midwife.

I delivered the placenta on dry land. After she inspected it, she put it in a large ziplock bag and waited until it stopped doing its duty to cut it from the baby. I think she then put it in the freezer.

I buried my first and ate the second one. I did have some baby blues but not huge ppd my first which is why I decided to eat the second one. The capsules also have ginger in it. And frankly, the last thing I want to do is chowdown on placenta casserole.

I had no ppd with my second. I just don't want to chance it.

Im also doing herbal baths, taking a special postpartum tea and a tincture to help with uterine contractions. Breastfeeding is doing a number on my uterus.

Sources Texas Medicinals
Tub was http://www.aquaborn.co.uk/

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Like.Australia

I'm considering the encapsulation, but haven't decided yet, so thanks for the info. I'm not sure if the placenta woman (not sure what her title is...) my midwife uses adds ginger or not. I'll ask her next time I'm there. I actually just got a tincture called "Afterease" that's supposed to be good for after birth pains. Is that what you're using?

Hope all continues to go well for you and the new baby girl.

webjockey

Yup. I am using after ease. I also took some ibuprofen.

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nynaeve77

Congratulations, Webbie! I love the name Carmen. You and your hubby are awesome.

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Sigi

Congratulations!

webjockey

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DarkAngel

Congrats and welcome to baby Carmen. She is just beautiful.

Have fun learning all about being mom to a girl after two boys!

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"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." -- Theodor Seuss Geisel

Like.Australia

Beautiful! Congratulations again!!

SarahMarie

Congratulations! She is beautiful!

rileyb

Congratulations!

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cosmicfly

Oh wow, congratulations! What a beautiful baby!

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Jess the Mess

What a perfect little baby girl. Congrats!!! Happy everything went good.

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Starmie

Congratulations, sweet looking little girl.

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ruralcurls

Congrats! She is beautiful.

webjockey

thank you, everyone.


@Like.Australia

I didn't know if you were doing the placenta encapsulation for PPD or not, but I wanted to mention that my midwife recommended me to take lots of vitamin D to help with mood and other stuff, and that there have been studies about african american women specifically having significant vitamin D deficiencies after giving birth.

I haven't had a chance to verify this on my own but wanted to throw that out there for ya.

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CGNYC

I am just seeing this. Congratulations, she's lovely!

Like.Australia

I've just been reading about placenta encapsulation and it was mentioned at my birth class, as well as at my birth center, so it's available to me. I just can't decide if it's "for me" or not. My midwife said I can pretty much decide at the last minute if I want to do it, so if I haven't decided for or against it by that point, I guess I'll either give her the yay or nay on the spot. This is my first pregnancy, so I have no idea if I'll be affected by PPD. From what I've heard/read, it's more common than most people think though. I've been taking D3 all throughout pregnancy as rec'ed by my midwife, but I wasn't aware that it was beneficial for mood. I'll have to read up on that. Thanks for the added info.