and just like that...

...our family grew by two {tiny} feet, our hearts grew two sizes {at least} and our love, collectively, could power the earth {and more}. thank you, wee one, for the great gift of YOU.

our sweet baby boy was born at home friday evening, may 7th. he is a lovely little package weighing 8 pounds and 5 ounces. i will share more of him and his entrance into the world with you very soon, perhaps after we decide on a perfect name for this perfect being.

Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body. ~ Elizabeth Stone

happy mother's day, dear friends!
erika

the unnecesarean

think you can't birth that big baby? think again! check out this great new site dedicated to educating and informing families about the myths of giving birth to large babies (babies weighing more than 8 pounds 13 ounces). you just might see a familiar birth story there!

the unnecesarean

idiot box

it was brought to my attention through the local cloth diapering group that i belong to the the dr. phil show is currently seeking horror stories about midwife attended births. here is what the show's website says:


DO YOU REGRET HAVING A HOMEBIRTH?
Did you have a child at your home?

Did you want to have a soothing experience where you were in control and could bond with your child?

Did it not go the way you planned?

Do you regret having a home birth?

Do you regret using a midwife instead of going to a hospital?

Did you have your second child the traditional way in a hospital?

If you or someone you know regrets having a home birth please tell us your story below.

Be sure to be specific and include details!

i am absolutely appalled, but i can't say that i am surprised. so apparently there has been a plea floating around natural parenting message boards and forums asking those who have had positive out of hospital births to send their stories to the dr. phil show. homebirth midwives are asked to share their experiences with the show as well. or how about hospital horror stories? do you or someone you know have regrets about an obstetrician attended hospital birth? why not ask viewers to send in those stories?

please send your positive out of hospital birth stories to the dr. phil show and urge them to please investigate both sides of this subject. wouldn't it be wonderful to have this shows format changed to discuss home vs. hospital rather than simply share tales of homebirths gone bad...

the decision that divides us

the girl who did my pedicure on wednesday was really great company. she has a little boy and little girl the same ages as esme' and harper so that occupied our conversation for quite a while. we also talked about relationships, pregnancy and eventually birth. she mentioned that both of her children had been Cesarean births. she then asked if any of my births had been Cesarean. no, all 4 of my babies were vaginal births. then i said something that freaked her out. it made her look at me like i had a third eye. we suddenly lost the connection we had shared through most of my appointment. what did i say to cause this reaction... homebirth.

she clearly thought this was absolutely crazy! did i have a midwife there? yes. what if your baby became stuck or in trouble? then i would have transferred to the hospital. was there pain medication available? no. she had a few other questions and i could tell that she really thought this was an irresponsible choice.

before i left the house to get my pedicure a newly pregnant friend was here and she left with a stack of natural pregnancy and birth books and my copy of The Business of Being Born. she is planning an out of hospital birth and hoped that she could calm the worries of her husband and family. her mom wonders why she can't have a natural, intervention free birth in the hospital. after all, this was the hospital birth she had had. while it is true that many moms have wonderful, natural hospital births it is often a struggle from beginning to end. it is writing detailed birth plans and getting your OB to read and honor them. it is hoping you get a nurse who truly appreciates and supports your wishes. it is making sure your partner and family are ready to be your advocate and step in and speak up needed, which is usually not well received by hospital staff.

one of the most common questions i get from people is why? why did i choose to have my baby at home? so here is my response~ i had a healthy, low risk pregnancy. i made responsible decisions and a conscious effort to take care of my body while my baby was growing inside. i made educated and informed choices throughout my pregnancy regarding my care. i was going to give birth, quite possibly the hardest physical thing i would ever do. it would be emotional, raw, and beautiful. the last thing i wanted at this special time was the fight of my life to make sure i was heard and that my wishes were taken seriously. i wanted to remain here, in the comfort of our home to welcome our new, little one.

ultimately i had a hard, rewarding, long, messy, emotional, miraculous homebirth~ and i wouldn't change a thing!

random, random...

i have been a busy mama this week! there have been several times in the past few days that i have thought about sitting here in my computer chair to blog, but the thought always escapes me as i rush off to my next project or chore. here is a quick update on what is new with me~

i attended a very special birth on Easter Sunday. my good friend and her
family welcomed a new baby boy into the world, peacefully at home. it was
the first birth i have attended since harper was born over 10 months ago. it
was a lovely thing to witness.

i have been knitting like crazy! i am still stash busting and loving it! i have not bought any yarn or knitting related items for 4 weeks now! i am only knitting stash yarn. only 4 more weeks to go... i can totally do this!

harper and esme' and i participated in earth hour last night... well, we kind of participated. it was right in the middle of our bedtime, wind down time. we lasted a good 45 minutes, then the night light and lullabies CD came out!

i dusted off my poor, neglected bicycle yesterday and got it ready to ride. my bike has been parked since i got pregnant with harper. i can't wait to start riding again! i am going to buy a pretty wicker basket for the handle bars first thing tomorrow.

our garden is ready to plant! i already have carrot seeds planted and several seeds started in the house. we are trying rainbow carrots this year. i just hope esme' can leave them in the ground long enough, unlike years past!

this is my latest knitting project, in progress. it is a cute little short sleeved wrap sweater for a little baby girl that a friend of the family is expecting any day now. i might even have enough yarn to knit a little hat... or booties... or both!

MARCH!! (finally!)

i am so happy that march is finally here! how is it that the shortest month of the year can seem soooo looonngg?! as prompted by stephanie at adventures in babywearing here is what i am really into this month!

The Thing I've Been Working On The Most: knitting! i am participating in a stash game with some knitting friends (and fellow yarn hoarders like myself) so my goal for this month is to not make any knitting related purchases and to knit though as much of my stashed yarn as possible. be prepared for plenty of knitting pics this month! my first project should be completed tonight...

TV Show I Used To Love But Now Hate And Refuse To Ever Watch Again: american idol. it just got really old for me a couple seasons ago. my kids still love it though!

TV Show I Sometimes Hate But Really Like This Year: dr. phil~ i am mildly embarrassed that i have been recording his show!

The CD I Can't Stop Listening To: ben harper's lifeline those who know me know my obsession! you can watch one of his videos (or two or three) here! fight outta you is awesome!

My Favorite Blog Entry This Month: big push for midwives~ part 2 this is a topic that remains so, so important to me.

Blog I Am Always Visiting: this varies for me, as i am a blog hopping fool! let's see, last month i couldn't get enough of crunchy domestic goddess, crunchy peas, and the birth book blog!

What I'm Most Looking Forward To Next Month: SPRING!!! i simply cannot wait! we are also looking forward to taking a tiny roadtrip to visit grandma and grandpa, and i have an appointment here next week!

i would love to read what you are really into this month~ leave a comment so i can come and check out your post!

big push for midwives~ part 2

i thought i would post an update to the big push for midwives campaign here in idaho.

on wednesday the House Health &Welfare committee held a closed "print hearing" where they agreed to print our bill. now it will go to the printer, be assigned a house number and be available for everyone in the world to see on the legislative website - http://www.legislature.idaho.gov/. next we will be given a hearing date with the House H&W committee where we provide testimony. when it passes out of the committee it will be heard and debated on the floor of the House of Representatives. once it passes the House we go through the same process on the Senate side.

we are on our way!!

amy at crunchy domestic goddesss wrote a wonderfully informative post last week in an effort to share this message and get the word out to as many people as possible. i encourage you to stop by and check out some of the great links she has provided!

i spent the weekend preparing a letter of support to send along to the House Health and Welfare committee. as i have mentioned in previous posts supporting midwifery and making sure it is always an option for myself and other women is very important to me. i want a midwife's care to be an option for my children, and my children's children, and long, long after that.

visit the big push for midwives to learn more about the big push and see what you can do to help! share your midwife assisted birth stories with anyone who will listen and encourage them to support midwives as an important option for moms and babies! harper's birth story can be read here and esme's birth story was printed in the summer '05 issue of compleat mother magazine. someday soon i will post it here as well.

here are a few photos from harper's amazing waterbirth at home~

your sister in birth, erika~ the inspired mama

"if you don't know your options you do not have any"~ diana korte

i am coming back to edit this post because i got to thinking that a lot of moms and families can probably benefit from hearing about my 2 hospital births too. i was very fortunate and had fairly natural, intervention free hospital births. i was not nearly as educated about my options back then nor did i have the wonderful support i was blessed with for my last two births. i will work on getting those birth stories written up, to the best of my memory!

big push for midwives!

it is freezing cold outside but that didn't stop us from bundling up and going down to our capital building to support our local midwives. i ran out the door and forgot my camera so we had to take pictures of harper and esme' when we got home. they were warmer (and esme' was much happier) here at home anyway!

and, today is my birthday!! i can't think of a better way to spend my afternoon than supporting something very improtant to me and my family. i am very fortunate and blessed to have had births attended by midwives and my hope is that the women and families of Idaho will always have that option.

We, the residents of Idaho, want legilature to :

* Protect women and families’ personal freedoms to choose the maternity care provider that best fits ALL their needs

* To continue to recognize the profession of midwifery as a practical health provider option for pregnant women

* Provide voluntary licensure for midwives so they might continue to provide safe care and exceptional outcomes WITHOUT the fear of prosecution

* To recognize that obstetrics and midwifery are different models of care and to recognize midwifery as an autonomous profession capable of self-regulation

Welcoming Harper Corrigan

I woke at 8:30 am Sunday May 12th with mild cramping. Being 41.5 weeks pregnant I was sure I was going to be pregnant forever, so I dismissed the idea that labor had started. Tony had been home from work for several days and was returning that morning. I got up and made breakfast while Tony got ready. At 10:30 am, just before Tony was to leave I started to notice that the cramping did not go away... in fact it had become a little stronger and more regular. I timed a few. Sure enough they were coming every 5 minutes. Tony made a quick call to work to let them know he would not be coming in, then got to work filling the birth tub. We had a feeling it would take quite awhile and we were right!

I labored throughout the day, spending most of my time on the birth ball or sitting on our rocking loveseat. The contractions started getting pretty strong at about 2:00. I tried to nap a little but was only comfortable for a half hour or so. I really wanted to be in the water but the tub was still filling. We would fill until the hot water ran out, then wait an hour, then fill again. It was a slow process. Finally at aproximately 3 pm I moved to the birth tub. It felt great even though it wasn't quite as warm as I would have liked. After spending an hour or so there I decided to move to our bath tub so we could cover the birth tub and let the heater heat the water a little. We had planned a water birth and I wanted to make sure the water was warm enough for Baby.

It was around the time that I moved to the bath tub that we decided to give our midwives a call. They arrived at 5:35 pm. I was in laborland at this point, working very hard to stay on top of each contraction. After a quick blood pressure check and a listen to Baby they started boiling and microwaving big pots of water to pour into the birth tub. It was funny to me that they were actually boiling water for my birth! Isn't that what they always tell someone to do in the movies! When the water was nice and warm I gladly moved from the bath room back to the birth tub. I spent the next hour or so kneeling and leaning on the side of the tub.

I was having long contractions close together, most of them double peeking. My membranes had still not ruptured and I remember thinking that if my water would break that my Baby would be right there! I was just getting ready to ask one of the midwives to please just break my water when POP! ruptured membranes! I immediately felt the Baby move down. The next contraction I was pushing~ finally! I started pushing at 7:40 pm and his head was out within 4 or 5 pushes. My midwife checked for the cord around Baby's neck. The cord was indeed there but she could not unwrap it. She had me push a little but baby did not move. She had me get onto my hands and knees and push while she helped him out. At 7:59 pm our beautiful Baby was born! I immediately turned to see my Baby and saw a BOY! I was so surprised and happy at the same time!

We weighed our little guy about 2 hours after the birth~ 9 pounds 8 ounces! Not so little after all! He is a happy, gorgeous boy. He nurses like a champ, sleeps great, and loves to snuggle! We are truely blessed to have little Harper in our lives, and can't wait to watch him grow!

We love you Harper!