3 months late, but finally here!

shnoots

My name is Hannah and my son was born 3 months ago on Easter morning. He was 2 weeks late, and after 22 hours of labor he was born in our bathroom at 10 lbs 3 oz. My husband caught him and our midwives showed up 30 minutes later.

That's my super cool birth story in a tiny nut shell

I lost 26 lbs within a week of delivering, and then gained back most of it. My clothes fit better while I was pregnant than they do now.

And that's my super cool reason for joining this group.

I'm a SAHM because my son couldn't handle being apart for the 4 hours I went back to work every other day, and I'm thoroughly enjoying being with him.

RBXChas

Welcome! Your story is crazy, and I'd love to hear more about it!

I am 6 weeks PP and lost 20 lbs initially plus another 10ish by logging. It's coming off slowly, but it's coming off. I am EBFing, too, which hopefully is helping me lose rather than hindering me, but frankly I don't feel like paying for formula like I did last time, nevermind all the other benefits.

I log every day and was just cleared for exercise, so I'm trying to fit that in. I'm home for the time being while our older son goes to preschool (we are self-employed, so I can be flexible about working), but my little guy does not like being put down, which makes working out hard. Plus I live in SC where it is hot and humid 24/7, making it miserable to walk or run outdoors

Feel free to add me if you like! I have a long way to go (and not even "fat" clothes that fit me), which is my super cool reason for being here

ETA that my name is Rebecca. I don't go completely anonymous on here.

shnoots

It seems like every time I try to tell someone about my son's birth I end up making homebirth look even more unappealing than it already is to a lot of people

I woke up at 5 a.m. with contractions, but managed to nap until noon. My husband and I ordered a pizza and watched Terminator 2 until my contractions got so close together it was pointless to keep pausing and unpausing the movie...I still haven't seen the whole thing. My midwives came over around 9 p.m. and I was only at 3cm, which is what I was at the afternoon before. I got really depressed at that point and took some benadryl hoping it'd let me sleep through some more of the labor. They left at 10 or so. My blood pressure was 140/110, which according to their guidelines I should be transported, but it's not like I would go.
It seems like right after they left ****. Got. Real. It was the worst thing I've ever felt in my life. There was a point right before I started pushing where I seriously contemplated killing myself. The pain just wouldn't end and I'd already been in labor for 20 hours. Totally understandable right?
When my body finally started pushing I had no idea what was happening. I was delusional. I thought I was still at a 3 and my body was just trying to torture me further. After 20 minutes or so I figured out what was happening and went with it. Pushed my monster baby out in like 10-15 minutes and then sat in the floor while my husband called my midwife to figure out what the heck he was supposed to be doing.
Long story short: It ****ing sucked. Hardcore. I couldn't stand up straight for over a week. Every time I tried I'd get dizzy. Is that even normal?
So yeah, that's my birth story

I totally hear you on the formula nonsense. I wish I could EBF, but my supply is ridiculously low. I starved my poor kid for a month before we figured it out. He went from 10.3 to 9.7 and stayed there. He didn't even have enough in him to poop. It was sad. Luckily we qualify for assistance, otherwise I'd be broke.

I'm in the same boat on the working out, but I just found out that my son is cool with riding in a stroller so long as it's moving, so walking is at least an option in the late evening.

This is so long >.<

You're son is gorgeous by the way, and I'm pretty sure we have the same carseat!

RBXChas

Ha, I write novelettes on here regularly

Your story wouldn't scare me - it had nothing to do with home birth vs. anything else! Crazy how your labor progressed, though. My first was excruciating like that, and they wouldn't let me have the epidural for several more hours. I literally blacked out - as in I was awake and talking and whatnot but don't remember a thing! But while I was "with it," I literally wanted to die to end the pain. My second one was MUCH better and MUCH faster.

I had major supply issues the first time. My dad is a pediatrician (not local to me, though), and he pushed me to supplement with formula, which led to further supply decreases. I took all sorts of galactagogues with no improvement, so I quit altogether at 3 months. I'm amazed I lasted that long. This time the hospital's policy changed drastically to promote BFing, so we roomed in, had tons of skin-to-skin contact, and had no formula. It took a lot of persistence, but I've succeeded so far. When poops decreased, my dad told me to give him formula, but I was able to wait it out a couple more hours for those poops! As such I have a ton of formula samples and checks. It's a whole different perspective. I'm tired already because I'm on call for 100% of feedings, but last time I'd have given my right arm for it!

Thanks for the compliment! Your son is adorable, too, and it's a great picture! Mine is so little that he still has a bit of that alien look The car seat is the Graco SnugRide 35, btw.

My little guy will sleep in the car seat once the car is moving (most of the time), so I'm sure he would with the snap & go, too, but it's so miserable out. My older one was born in late January, so that was much easier!

Pepper2185

I just wanted to give you a high five and tell you that your birth story is awesome! I have mad respect for women who do home births, I'm so freakin anxious, I'm sure my uterus would stay closed up like a bear trap unless I was in the hospital.

Congrats on your baby! I'm a SAHM currently, too. I can't leave my little guy with anyone yet, I miss him too much.

I'll stop before I start rambling. I have a tendency to write novels, too

chickybuns

Your birth story is amazing and you are a badass! I would have liked to go the home, or at least widwife route, but i'm really glad I didn't. I had a c-section that resulted in some pretty severe complications. My son was born at 3am and I didn't get back into the room until after 8am, so I missed a lot then and I couldn't bf for 24 hours after. Anyway, congrats on the baby of course and don't worry about it being 3 months, at least you're donig something now! I found that walks are great and I usually do my workouts at night after MIles is in bed, so I'm working out at 9/10pm. It kind of sucks, but morning is not an option for me...because I can't get my butt out of bed early enough. I work full-time and it's challenging, but it's important. Anyway, good luck on your weight loss, this is a great group of ladies, feel free to add me as a friend. Your son is a cutie! and my guy MIles is 7 months old, the pic is when he was about 6 weeks...time flies!

shnoots

Your story wouldn't scare me - it had nothing to do with home birth vs. anything else! Crazy how your labor progressed, though. My first was excruciating like that, and they wouldn't let me have the epidural for several more hours. I literally blacked out - as in I was awake and talking and whatnot but don't remember a thing! But while I was "with it," I literally wanted to die to end the pain. My second one was MUCH better and MUCH faster.

...

Thanks for the compliment! Your son is adorable, too, and it's a great picture! Mine is so little that he still has a bit of that alien look The car seat is the Graco SnugRide 35, btw.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who wasn't contemplating death. Honestly, it was making me feel a little like I'd somehow gone about everything wrong. I was expecting it to be all empowering/joyous/orgasmic propaganda they push at homebirthers. I mean, I plan to do it again, but with an entirely different frame of mind.

And I was off on the carseat. We have the same brand and color though I thought the head support was maybe an add on.


And seriously thank you ladies for commenting. I tend to be a thread killer >.<

stellcorb

Definately a "super cool" story! I have 2 with COMPLETELY different birth stories... each with thier drama, misery and joy... First was an unplanned C-Section b/c my son (now almost 4) is the most stubborn little man in the world! I was induced and he said no by holding his heart rate hostage so I got to get cut open. I was fat when I got pregnant and gained 50 lbs w/ him... so ended up much fatter and my C-section recovery was terrible. I also had trouble nursing him, but not b/c of supply, but because he kept falling asleep! 3 Boob nazi's later, a low weight scare and 3 weeks of almost non-existant stools and he (we) finally got the hang of it... and I nursed him for 15 months! I joined MFP when he turned 9 mos and I was still 20 lbs over my pre-preggo weight still. Lost 65 lbs in 6 mos, got active again, started running again and felt great... and figured we'd try again.
I was training for a half marathon (I had done 2 already but I was slow) and was doing great, then on one run... I felt like my hip disclocated and I couldn't walk right for weeks... running didn't work either. Tried PT and X-rays but nothing worked and oh yeah, my body must of heard my husband and I talking about another baby, so I was pregnant within 2 weeks of quitting my BC... and it was the fist time we did it w/out protection.
This was a much nicer pregnancy... worked out until the end gained just 30 lbs even with the hip (still did elliptical and sorta logged on MFP). I went for VBAC on my second and ended up with an unplanned natural labor (well, I had nubain, but no epidural). They had trouble getting to my cervix to check (TMI, I know!) and tried to send me home at 2 AM (I had been there since 10 PM) saying I was still in early labor. Yelling and vomiting commenced (did NOT handle the pain well at ALL) and they admitted me finally at 3 AM... she was out at 5:28 AM, 2 and a half hours later... so I very well would've had her on the bathroom floor if I had listened and left! But my husband wouldn't be capable of catching... he's usless without sleep.
She was great at nursing but would do it non-stop and screamed from 6 to 10PM nightly unless I had a boob in her mouth... she grew out of that in 3 months (thank God!).
For some reason I was in a much larger size and didn't lose very fast. She just turned a year on 6/15 and I'm still btween 6-10 lbs above my prepreggo weight and almost a full size larger. Oy yeah, and I ended up getting a hip arthroscopy in Feb of this year to pin my cartilidge back on the bone... and was on crutches for 6 weeks... just had my last PT appt last week.
Sooo... that's my story... novel more like... so welcome to the mommies of MFP family!
Christina

farrah_eliza

Congratulations!!
Love hearing stories like that.. I had a VBAC baby in April, he was 10 lbs 8 oz, 2 weeks late.

shnoots

Yay for big babies! Oh, and congrats on your VBAC. The only hospital in my area refuses to allow for VBACs >.< ...Random trivia...

stellcorb

Yay for big babies! Oh, and congrats on your VBAC. The only hospital in my area refuses to allow for VBACs >.< ...Random trivia...

Really! Then it seems you made a good choice with a home birth! VBAC definately turns into a soap box issue w/ me... I promise to refrain though
I'm glad my doctor was positive about it (I picked her w/ that in mind).. but I still had to sign a sheet of paper that stated I was agreeing that the risk was greater to my child than me... nothing like the risk averse medical system..