Sage's Birth Story

Since its fresh on my mind, and I'm sitting infront of the computer I figured I would write about Sage's birth.  It was pretty bodaciously awesome.  My sweet husband has been calling everyone to tell them what happened.  So here goes!
I'm not exactly sure when to say my labor actually started.  I had been having mild contractions sporadically for a while now, maybe a few weeks.  Nothing really uncomfortable, just notable.  So when I woke up at about 3 that morning with some stronger contractions I wasn't sure what to make of it.  They weren't uncomfortable enough to make me get out of bed, just enough to keep me up.  So for about 3 hours they were about 15 minutes apart.  Then they stopped.  Then around 8:30 in the morning they started up again, but still pretty weak and 10-20 minutes apart.  I sent my hubby off to work, and called my midwife Rachel just to give her a heads up that I might be having a baby.  So that's how it went all day.  Weak contractions that were 10-20 minutes apart.   I called Rachel again to ask her what I could do to get things moving because I just wanted to get on with it.  We just decided that I should nap and maybe take a bath and if things were still slow I would start taking black and blue cohosh.
I was feeling fine, just wanted a break so I could take a nap and a bath, so I called my husband to come home at about 4:30.   I didn't want to wait for him to come home to take a bath, so I asked Vaeh if she could come play in our room with Joby while I bathed alone.  Around 4:45 in the bath I thought maybe baby is scared to come, so I talked to him and told him that I loved him and wanted to meet him very much and that he would be okay if he decided to come.  About two minutes later the contractions picked up in intensity and speed.  Thankfully Aaron got home at 5:10 and took the kids.  It was a little crazy there for a while trying to mother my children while having contractions that I couldn't talk through. 
Now, if you knew me well, I hate inconveniencing people.  At my last birth my midwife Rachel got there about 15 minutes before my son Joby was born.  I'm just never sure if the contractions I'm having are going to pan out or not, and I hate to have anybody drive out just to turn around and go home.  So that's where I was at in the bathtub.  I told Aaron that I needed to get out and maybe we should fill up the tub, but first I wanted to check myself to see how far I was.  For those of you who think that is weird or gross, in my defense I wold rather check myself than have anyone else do it.  Who can argue with that logic, right?  Anywho, before my bath I was at a 4, and after I was probably around 6 or 7 and my water was bulging out.  So that's when I decided I probably needed to have Rachel come.  I think it was about 5:40 at this point. Once I was out of the bath I thought to myself I probably should have called her sooner because the labor all of a sudden got super intense.  I knew from my last labor that once the back labor is that intense baby is soon to follow, and Rachel lives 40 minutes away.
So I'm just hoping that I'm wrong, and trying as best I can to hold things off, but as much as I would like I don't have that kind of super control over my body.  In the mean time, my daughter Vaeh is a pro.  She is helping push on my back while Aaron is moving as fast as he can to blow up and fill the pool.  She is soooo excited that baby Sage is finally going to come, and JOby is just content to be watching How to Train Your Dragon in Vaeh's room coming in every few minutes to see what mommy is moaning about.  No big deal.  I was so concerned that they both were going to be a problem or that they might freak out to see me that way, but I was wrong.  It was awesome to have them there! 
Once the pool has enough water for me to get in (it wasn't full all the way, but there was probably about a foot, which was enough for me) I decide to move from the living room to the kitchen.  As soon as I get into the kitchen I have a really strong contraction that breaks my water.  That couldn't have been more perfect because I would have really hated to have to clean that up!  After my water broke I had a breif relief of pressure which was very much welcomed.  Aaron called Rachel to tell her my water had broken and see where she was.  I was really wanting her their for support.  Aaron is great, but he stresses, so I really love me some woman support.  She was still 10 minutes away.  So Aaron decides to change his clothes so he can get in the pool with me.  And that's when I knew Rachel wasn't going to make it.  I screamed for Aaron to come back in a voice that must have sounded like I was possessed telling him the baby was coming NOW!  For a brief second I freaked and thought I couldn't do it alone, but then I calmed down, and womaned up.  I KNEW that I was going to do it, and that I COULD do it.  So I reached down and sure enough his head is right there crowning.  I provided perineal support so as not to tear and his head was out!  Whew, I did it!  Well, partly.  I reached down and felt his hide while waiting for the next contraction to free me.  I knew he was big, because I did the same for my last birth and his head was definitely chunkier than Joby's.  For another brief second I was worried that his shoulders would get stuck, so as much as I wanted to catch him, I told Aaron to get behind me so that I could get on my hands and knees to push harder.  Sure enough he came out after that contraction welcomed into the hands of his daddy.
Aaron handed him to me, and I freaked a little.  He was a blueish purple color and wasn't breathing.  I had eyes and ears only for him at this point, but Aaron told me later that the kids were right there watching as Sage came out and were laughing and giggling that he was finally here.  I wish I had video of all of this.  Anywho, so I began to do everything that I can think of to help my son start breathing.  Rachel had taught me how to do a rescue breath, so I did that as well as talked to him and told him that I loved him and rubbed him.  After what felt like an eternity, but was probably more like 5 or 10 seconds he looks up at me and takes a big breath and begins to cry!  The world is at peace again.  and then after all is rosy Rachel and her apprentice walk through the door.  They probably missed his birth by 5 minutes! 

Baby Sage, looking very wise :)

So that's it.  Aaron is so proud and loves telling everyone that we did it ourselves.  I think he was pretty freaked out, but he knew I needed him and he did AWESOME!  For me, it was awesome to know that I could do it myself.  Very empowering!  Don't get me wrong, I don't EVER plan to do that again, because it was scary.  I think next time I'll just have her camp out while I have contractions all day.  But it was really cool to just have our family there, and my kids giggling, with my husband catching the baby.  It was very intimate, and I wouldn't take it back for anything. 

Proud new mommy!

New Year's Resolutions

Well, its a new year and a time for new beginnings and all that jazz.  I usually don't make new years resolutions because it seems like people just do it for tradition without actually committing to goals, right?  Or maybe that's what I've done in the past so that the way it seems. :)  Anyway, I actually have some goals I am working towards this year, not because its the new year, but because I really do want to achieve a few different things this year.

Now if you knew me well, you'd know I am very flaky, not very organized, I don't operate on a schedule.  I am a very live in the moment kinda girl and do things as they come up.  So, I figured I had better write these goals down so that it is a little more concrete, instead of just thoughts flying around my head.  So here goes.  I have a few different categories.  Body, home, and parenthood/schooling.

So first is body.  I know, I know, everyone has a new years resolution to loose weight, right?  And I'm sure they all generally do want to loose weight, but I am really determined.  Right now I am the heaviest I have ever been.  I know, I'm pregnant, so it doesn't really count.  But my big belly is really starting to get in the way.  My son can't snuggle me like he wants because its in the way, my husband and I can't snuggle because its in the way, I'm slow, I walk like a penguin, and I only have one pair of MATERNITY pants that I can wear.  Not just regular pants people, thats maternity.  I miss being skinny, so I am going all out.  Only three weeks left and then I am determined to get back to my pre wedding weight of 120.  Once this baby is out and charming that pants off all around I am going to get to work.  I am already sorta working out, but there's only so much you can do when you can't move like normal.  So here's how I envision it:

1.  Depending on the weather I will either be walking every morning, or doing a workout video.  Between my sis in law and me we have enough workout videos to keep us interested, hopefully :)
2.  Depending on the weather I will either be running or doing a workout video every night.  In case you didn't catch that I am a baby and hate the cold, so I will be inside until the weather warms up.  So eventually I will be outside once a day running or walking, and inside once a day working out.  The Christmas season brought lots of fun workout equipment including a 70 pound punching bag, Turbo Jam, resistance bands, a few weights, P90x, and 30 day shred(this is between me and my sis in law).  So I will have no excuse to not loose weight.
3.  And of course what is a weight loss plan without some kind of altered diet.  I've been mentally working on this one for a while, but since I love chocolate, all things cheesy, buttery and bready its been difficult.  The goal is to pretty much cut out sugar, or at least limit it to once a week or less.  Right now I'm operating on the need to eat sugar after every meal, and if I don't have some kind of dessert that means I eat cereal(the closest thing to sugary I can find:).  I think that will be the biggest hurdle.  Other than that I plan on eating much more raw food, and by that I just mean fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, and all that jazz.  And last, but certainly not least, if I do eat something cheesy, bready, or buttery I cut my portions in at least half.  When something is delicious its hard for me to stop eating it, even if I am full.  So I plan on eating until I am satisfied, not full.  By the time you're full you KNOW you've eaten to much.
4.  Last on the body list is more a fun goal for me and my husband to work towards together.  A few years ago we trained for a 5k together and it was really fun!  Not just the shared goal, but we ran the Springville 5k and they had an AWESOME raffle at the end.  We didn't win anything, but I figure the odds are one of these years its bound to happen.  So to kick it up a notch and to give me a reason to keep running (since I really don't like to), I've decided to run all the 5ks for South Utah County in the summer.  So that would be Art City Days in Springville, Fiesta Days in Spanish, Salem Days, Onion Days in Payson, and whatever Santaquin's festival is.  I think that will be one a month starting in June.  Hopefully with all those 5ks we'll win something, right?  Maybe a flat screen tv for the bedroom?  That should motivate Aaron to want to run with me :)

Alright, that pretty much sums it up for the body.  Next we move on to my home.  Its still not as homey as I'd like it to be so here are my plans:

1. Build a book shelf for the end of the hallway.  We got rid of our headboard that was harboring all our books and built a tufted upholstered headboard that I LOVE, but now all our books are homeless.  They are just sitting on the floor at the end of the hallway, so I would love to give them a nice place to live.
2. Build an entryway bench to hold our shoes, gloves, hats, and other junk that is sitting in our entry way currently. 
3. Put up a backsplash in the kitchen.  We painted it blue, and now whenever anything gets on the blue paint, it stains, so it needs a backsplash.
4. Shelves in all the closets and laundry room.  Right now we have these giant dressers in our closets that I hate, and really don't have enough room anyway.  So I would like to build lots shelves to organize the closets a little better.
5. And of course we also need to finish up the playhouse.  The house part is finished, now we just need to attach swings.  Hopefully then the kids might actually play on it.

Now for the parenthood aspect.  This is just me really wanting to connect more with my kids and get them more involved in life instead of just tv. 

1.  Go outside more.  Its pretty simple.  The kids want to be where I am and do what I do, so if I am outside and active more so will they.  That's more fun anyway, right?  This will probably involve going up the canyon more and possibly camping more.  We have Santaquin canyon right in our backyard, so it shouldn't be too hard.
2.  We plan on homeschooling our kids, and more specifically a child directed type of homeschooling.  Basically that means they pursue their own interests.  For me that means I need to introduce them to more stimuli.  So whether that be organizing more playdates for them, getting more involved in our local homschool community, or just being more creative myself in having activities for them to do.  I will probably try to do all of the above.  In fact, I'm thinking of staging a small archaelogical site in our backyard if anyone wants to join us.  We will be making pottery, then burying it and digging it back up.  I did that in 5th grade and it was a BLAST!

I guess that's it!  Wow, I guess it seems like a lot, but really this is stuff that's been on my mind for while.  I just needed to solidify it. 

Maybe I should also make a goal to blog our adventures more too :)

Anyway, here's to new beginnings everyone!  Happy 2011!

Love and Peace,
Lyndsey