How long were your labors?

Kid #1, 22 hours.
Kid #2, 5 hours.
Kid #3, 11 hours.

See a pattern there? Nope, me neither.

How did you know you were in labor?

Kid #1, contractions that woke me up at 3 a.m. I tried to go back to sleep but (a) I had to focus on breathing through the contractions, and (b) I was too excited!
Kid #2, water breaking.
Kid #3, water breaking.

Where did you deliver?

Kid #1, hospital.
Kid #2, hospital.
Kid #3, at home, in the birth tub.

Drugs?

Kid #1, spinal/epidural combination after 16 hours of labor. At the time I was very grateful for the relief, but with my second labor I realized that when the pain got bad enough that I wanted relief, I was getting close to delivering! For me, that’s when the really good progress is being made, and if I could just keep that in mind, I could go without pain medication. With kid #1, the epidural slowed down labor for two hours, and the nurse was about to suggest pitocin when she rolled me on my side and my water broke, speeding things along.
Kid #2, a failed epidural. I asked for the epidural, had trouble sitting still for the necessary IV (duh, because I was ready to push! No one checked me for dilation!) So five minutes after I got the epidural, the OB/GYN showed up and said, “You’re ready to have a baby!” I growled back, “I know!” Three pushes and an episiotomy later, my daughter was born, and I happened to look on the floor and see the tube for the epidural, disconnected and dripping on the floor. So I’m calling that an unmedicated birth, even though I caved and asked for the drugs
Kid #3, no drugs.

C-section?

Thankfully no. With #2 and #3, I was diagnosed with placenta previa. Fortunately, both times subsequent ultrasounds revealed that the placenta had moved away from the cervix as my uterus expanded.

Who delivered?

#1 Three teaching hospital residents I had never met. They threatened to give me an episiotomy and told me to push like I was having a bowel movement, resulting in a fourth degree tear. Luckily one of them felt so bad about that that she spent an hour stitchin’ me up!
#2 A doctor who was so embarrassed about being late to the delivery that he refused to see me for my 6-week follow-up appointment. He sent in another doctor even though I had made the appointment with him. Chicken.
#3 A midwife and her assistant, both of whom I knew and trusted.

Your turn

Play along and leave a comment!

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

1. Never having to get in the car during labor or soon after the birth.

2. Getting to (being encouraged to!) eat and drink during labor.

3. Being able to open the windows for fresh air.

4. Resting completely undisturbed after the birth. No one woke me or the baby to check vital signs or for any other reason.

5. The baby was never separated from me (as my other children had been for a bath, a blood test, or a hearing screen).

6. No one ever tried to offer my baby a pacifier, glucose water, or formula.

7. My baby did not get dehydrated from the dry hospital air, and in fact she regained her birth weight in 3.5 days rather than the typical 10-14 days.

8. My older children got to participate in the birth and never had to be separated from me or my husband.

9. No one questioned my choices about vitamin K injections, antibiotic eye ointment, vaccinations, or co-sleeping.

10. I knew every person who interacted with me and the baby during labor, delivery, and the post-delivery period. I felt comfortable (and, well, at home!) throughout the entire experience!

For those who have had a home birth, what do you see as the advantages? Were you happy with your experience?

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

First up in my investigation of hospitals: seeing if there are any Baby-Friendly Hospitals near me. Unfortunately, while 17 of the 64 U.S. hospitals and birth centers designated as Baby-Friendly are in California, none are close enough to me to be practical.

Next I check the breastfeeding rates of local hospitals. Luckily the California WIC Association issued a California Hospital Breastfeeding Report for 2007. The report notes:

More than 86 percent of California mothers breast-feed or provide breast milk for their infants during the hospital stay. Unfortunately, only half of these babies—43 percent of all California infants—are breastfed exclusively; that is, breast milk is their only food.

Clearly it is important to choose a hospital that has both a high breastfeeding initiation (”any” breast milk) rate and a high exclusive breastfeeding rate. Oh my goodness, I just compared the two hospitals closest to me. Which would you choose, the one that has an 88.3 percent initiation rate and a pitiful 8.9 percent exclusive rate, or the 86 percent initiation rate and 49.5 percent exclusive breastfeeding rate? Or maybe it’s worth driving another 10-15 minutes for the hospital with a 90.3 initiation rate and 62 percent exclusive rate? I’m thinking that last choice is the best. It also happens to have a high level NICU and a tunnel to an excellent children’s hospital, should that be necessary.

At any rate (ha ha), please keep your fingers crossed for me for a safe and smooth home birth, with a 100% breastfeeding initiation rate and a 100% exclusive breastfeeding rate!

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

Please take a moment to vote in the new poll!

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

To see the results of the last poll, click here.

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

During that short window after the birth where the baby is alert and awake, it is so wonderful for mother and baby to have the time together to get to know each other and to start the breastfeeding relationship in a positive manner. The colostrum boosts the baby’s immunity, and the mother receives the satisfaction of knowing that she is helping her tiny baby in that way. The baby gets the ultimate form of comfort after the naturally stressful experience of being born.

Soon the wheels of supply and demand begin turning, and the more time the baby spends at the breast, the better and more satisfying the relationship. Those first nursing sessions not only help the mother’s milk come in, but they also act as practice sessions for when that milk finally does start flowing. It’s a lot of work for both mother and baby to learn how to position themselves and how to latch on properly.

The mother is so vulnerable during the first days to pressures to formula-feed and to use artificial pacifiers. When faced with a crying baby, a mother may worry and wonder whether she has enough milk to meet her baby’s needs. If the mother is able to soothe the baby’s crying at the breast, and to have positive nursing sessions before and just after the milk comes in, then she is well on her way to having a satisfying relationship. On the other hand, if she is told to leave her baby in the nursery, to let the nurses bottle-feed her baby so that she can rest, to supplement when the baby seems fussy even after a nursing session, to pacify with an artificial nipple–that can start a dangerous downward spiral that undermines the mother’s confidence in her ability to breastfeed.

It takes a surprising number of people to get the breastfeeding relationship off to a good start – the mother, the baby, the birth attendants (doula, midwives, nurses, doctors), partner or spouse and other family members, lactation consultants and La Leche League leaders. All of those people have the power influence whether the mother and baby get the proper time together to establish a good relationship and an adequate milk supply.

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3