what's beef...

so here is  thought... how much is too much, when it comes to helping.... most women complain about their lazy, compassion-less hubbies but that is far form my issue... i think that he would breast feed her if he could lol... gosh every since the baby was born i feel like he is tupac and i am biggie smalls... every topic is the open door for a debate...  "what's beef"... beef is when parents fuss over which onesie should go under the baby's outfit... "what's beef" beef is when parents compare baby center articles before laying the baby dow for a nap... yesterday we had a visitor over that encouraged us to make sure to love on each other too... not just the baby... of course we smiled and nodded, but when i consider how funky we have been to each other lately i am sad... i mean i guess how long it takes him to change her diaper, or get her dressed, or calm her down does not really matter... what i should be focusing on is that i have help...  and enjoy the help... i know that we both just want the best for our, not just my, baby... plus he gave me a beautiful sparkley push gift... on april fools day we celebrated 3yrs of covenant love... we are beating the odds and still committed to being the best of lovers and friends... sure its tough, and this is such a new demanding promotion, but i know we can and will make it...

on my own, once again...

who knew that leaving the house would be such a major ordeal... this week my baby turned six weeks old and i turned into a super mom... ok well a super mom in my head at least... i hyped myself up and decided that this week i would leave my bubble and venture out into the world, on my own again... now let me just inform you that i had not driven my car in the last six weeks... i mean for the few times we actually left the house i was the resident driving miss daisy, stationed in the back seat, watching the baby's every move... but my sweet baby and i could not be home bodies forever... we need vitamin d and social interactions other than facebook... and plus i see moms all the time out and about... shoot i can do this...

anyway so i came up with a plan to leave the house...  you gotta be real strategic about a task like this...  the goal is to leave the house without any emotional breakdowns from me or baby... i need to make sure the bag has all the tools needed to handle any random drama and normal baby needs.. (at least i didnt have to worry about packing any bottles cause i am still her human fast food chain...) but hmmm should i put her in her seat first or her seat in the car first...  and let me just say that you gotta be darn near a body builder to carry all this baby stuff... i mean u should see me leaning over like i am in need of a huge V8 trying to carry her, in the car seat, with the diaper bag...

finally we made it on the road... let us all pause and scream.... what the hell is wrong with these drivers... switching lanes without notice, driving like nascar speedsters... dont they know that i have precious cargo on board... ok i had to constantly calm myself down, and convince myself not just to turn around and go back to my safe home...

so we made it to Ross.. i love Ross, something for everyone, mainly me... i needed a couple of new things for the spring that were not maternity but can still hide the remaining evidence of my baby bump...  i get the baby out of the car and inside the store... but now another obstacle... how do i put this car seat on the buggy... after a few minutes of trying and praying that another mom would walk into the store and i could spy on her skills, the security guard came over and helped me... hehehehe, ok now time to shop... the baby was sleep and i was relaxed... this was short lived cause while strolling through the aisle i i run into a former co-worker who asks me the two worst things that you can ever ask a new mom... #1 "have u had the baby yet" and #2 "he is so cute"... what!!! you gotta be kidding me, sure i have a few more pounds to loose but the last time you saw me i was as big as a house  plus my baby is the most girly baby in the land... besides her super delicate, feminine face -she was in pink from head to toe... so you cant be serious.... sigh let me fake smile and cut this convo short before i snap... so i move forward, push on, trying to stay focused on finding a new dress so that i dont think about all the germs and pollen that my new baby is inhaling... all of a sudden i felt my buggy come to a halt.. oh noooo, oh my gosh... when i peeped my head around the buggy i realized that i had just ran into a sweet old lady... after helping her and picking up the cloths off the floor i realized that my vertical challenges and the baby on top of the buggy was now a  safety hazard to others... plus once the shopping cart stopped moving my baby became hysterical... i mean turned red and loud... you know what that meant... time for me to go back home asap and rethink things...  hahahaha cute can turn real ugly, real quick

you make me feel, you make me feel... (the homebirth story)

INTRO

like a natural woman..    and in the words of Chaka... anything u want done baby, i'll do it naturally, o o ooo, o o ooo... the word natural has a whole new meaning now...  i decided early on in my pregnancy to give birth to my child naturally at home... in a time of iphones and skype, this decision was totally against the grain... when the world around me was moving to even faster technology, i was going backwards to the days of my grandmother, hiring a midwife in plans to birth my child in the comfort of my home... each person that i informed that i was having a drug free, hospital free delivery gasped for air and tried to convince me that i was making a crazy, wrong, tragic or just plain weird decision - "girl the pain", "girl the pain", "ooo girl the pain"...  oh well if you know me, you know that just fueled my fire for more research and a stronger stance in my decision... hmmmm but a decision is just a mental paradym until you actually have to put it into action...

LIGHTS, CAMARA, ACTION

on wednesday morning, March 3rd, around 8AM as my husband was preparing for work i noticed a few drops of blood in my urine... with great excitement we stood over the toilet wondering was this the start of the moment we had been waiting for...  the last time i saw blood in the toilet was in may of 2009 and plus by this time my baby was 1week past her due date and i had tried all the natural/home remedies, like sex-walking-spicy food, to start labor to no avail...  it is our first baby, so we had no idea what a mucus plug looked like... so we did what any Milllennial would do... we googled images of mucous plugs online so that we could know exactly what we were looking for...
15mins later shazam part of my plug was in my panties... it was just enough there to make my husband and i dance around the room like it was Christmas morning...
 i knew that soon my childbirth process would begin because earlier that week i prayed to that my hubby would be home with me from beginning to end of the process and that i would have a definite physical sign that the party was starting...  so, with mucous plug confirmed, we informed the midwife to be on alert, my hubby worked from home to be safe, and i rested on the sofa in glee confidently preparing for the task i was about to embark....

RUNNERS TAKE YOUR MARK

around 9pm that night (wed) i started to notice some consistent contractions... i was aware of what my uterus felt like when i was having a contraction from the prior two weeks of Braxton Hicks... my hubby pulled out the stop watch and began to keep track... at this point the sensations were so bearable i would forget to inform him about the start and finish point for accurate timing... i felt like superwoman... i mean, this was just like menstrual cramps... i could handle cramps... no big deal... so i ate well and went to bed, listening to my childbirth scripts that led me through colorful gardens and ocean escapes, knowing that sometime soon, probably in the middle of the night, i would have my baby... perhaps my body would be so relaxed that i would sleep right through the total delivery... i laugh at myself now for thinking this because to my surprise my night was a restless one... my sleep was constantly intterupted by contractions and by 5am that morning (thurs) they were 12-15 mins apart...

so we called our birth team to come over to the house...my personal intercessor arrived first around 5:45am, followed by my mother, to assist as needed... the jr. midwife arrived a little after 7am to check on me... she decided, without a vaginal check, but based on timing of contractions and my response, that i was still in the beginning stage of labor...  so i put on my labor outfit (hehehe) and i tried to just relax by watching re-runs of the cosby show, squating and rocking through contractions... things were going pretty well.. my hubby, mom, and personal helper were working deligently to fill the birth pool with hot water and make the bed/mattress mess proof...  

around 5:30pm (thurs) my sr. midwife arrived... i was so excited to see her, thinking that her presence meant that i must be almost there... at this time my contractions were 5-8mins apart and getting stronger by the minute... i had been working hard to use my birth tools... i was rocking on the birth ball, taking my  deep cleansing breaths, belly dancing to promote gravity pull, allowing my husband to apply counter pressure to my back, snacking on carbs, protein, and liquids plus thinking every positive thought i could... i just knew that i was at the peak of this process... as far as i could tell the contractions seemed to be really close together... i mean, Could it really intensify more than this?... so, with confidence, i asked for a vaginal exam to measure dialation... the first one since my labor had begun.. and i thought that it would probably be my only one cause i was sure i was 10+ centimeters dialated... anyway after the exam she said "you are doing good... you are about 2 1/2 or 3 cenimeters... why don't you get up and go for a walk, get some fresh air,  and i will be back later to check on you again"...

WHAT???
EXCUSE ME??? 3centimeters???
Go foR A WaLk??? WHAT???  YOU WILL BE BACK???
 you gotta be kidding me... i can barely keep my eyes straight.. and she says 3 centimeters... even though we had all clocks out of my sight, my internal timer was ticking and i knew that this process was going way beyond the three hours that i had envisioned...  and then this chick tells me i am not even half way there... talk about a busted bubble... sigh, so as my sr. midwife drove away, my husband prepared me for the chilly walk outside... now take a second to imagine a 10-months pregnant, in-labor woman who can't zip her own jacket so she has on her husband's coat walking down the sidewalk...  but i could not walk two sidewalk squares without crunching over my hubby from a contraction...  oh you need a visual... i need u to use your imagination to see all 154 lbs of me me in the thick of things... sooo pitiful. 

after about ???? short mins later i re-entered my home, took off the coat and laid fetal style on the floor... i was mentally done... i cant believe that i was just outside looking like a runaway slave, hunched over every 3 concrete squares... i mean if i could not even walk the sidewalk outside how in the world was i going to complete this delivery... it was in this moment at 6:57pm that i said "i quit, i can't do it, take me to the hospital"...

MONKEY ON THE BACK

alot of the process is a blur now as i write this entry but i so remember this moment... i remember feeling so done... so defeated... all my prep, prayers, and passion felt like it was in vain... with tears running down my face and my eyes closed... my jr. midwife came to my side and gave the world's greatest pep talk... it was like something out of a hollywood movie about the underdog sports team making it to the championship and the coach has one timeout to motivate his team to glory...she didn't pacify or coddle me, she told me the truth... "you can do this, this is labor, and it feels hard but you are doing it, no one can do it for you, you have to do it yourself, you have to get up... hubby leave her alone, she can do it by herself, she is not sick, she is in labor, and she has to do the work, yes its hard but she can do it... its not easy, you are having a baby, and you can do it, now take a second to pull yourself back together momma and have your baby"...i almost cry just thinking about this powerful moment... i wanted to slap her but i knew she was telling the truth. the ball was completely in my court... i had to make the tough decision, no more leaning on my hubby or depending on my list of birthing tools to rescue me, playtime was over and I WAS GOING TO HAVE TO DO IT MYSELF... my husband made me as comfy as possible on the floor by padding me with pillows and then played this song for me and.. powerful words.. click to listen/watch:



in true dramatic fashion i got myself up off the floor and walked myself, by myself, upstairs as the audience of family members cheered at my bravery... the next several hours was just me and God... i made my bedroom a sacred place... i didn't want help or interruption, just me and GOD... my shower was my locker room... when the "going" got too tough i retreated to the shower for relief, to reamp myself, to get instructions from my heavenly father... when i was ready i would go back to my birth space... "i am with God, and God is with me"  these are the only words that came out of my mouth for the next several hrs... i said it all the way through each contraction, now less than 5 mins apart... i felt a deep peace between each contraction... most of the time i would dose off.. or more like fade out, in between the strong sensations which jarred me awake and reminded me that i was in the middle of bringing life into this world... when it got to be too much for me again and the contractions seemed overwhelming,  i ran to my heavenly Father's arms in the shower... at some point, the jr. midwife quietly entered to monitor me, the baby, and the contractions...  i remember that when i was too weak to finish my "i am with GOD, and God is with me" confession she would complete it for me... she was right by my side, reassurring me with eyes full of confidence that i could complete the task i started... it was at the perfect support at the perfect time..  ( omg i am over here boo hooing, i owe her so much... once again, her confidence at that moment, helped me commit to the process.. and after slowdancing/rocking hips with me, giving me an enema, and not slapping me when i bit her in the middle of a contraction, me and this chick are close for life, lol)

HOME STRETCH

at some point in the middle of the night (thurs) i requested my second vaginal check... at this point a day  had passed, and i was ready to cross or at least see the finish line... the check confirmed that i had progressed... i was 8 cenimeters dialated... but exhausted... physically and mentally spent... my husband and i entered the birth pool to try to relax and release the baby further down... i was having the urge to push, because of all the pressure, but it was too soon... after a while without further dialation i was instructed to exit the water and to try to walk around to dialate those last 2 centimeters... so i got out, it took all i had in me just to walk from my bedroom to the baby's room... during one of my many trips i made a pit stop at the bathroom and i called for my husband... while sitting on the toilet i looked him dead in the eye and in my right, non-emotional mind i said... "ok that is it, i am not doing this anymore, i am finished, take me to the hospital, i am tired and can not go any further, i quit, take me to the hospital NOW"!
 i could see that he believed me this time, and went to tell the midwifes of my decision...
while he was away i tried to plan the escape route just in case they tried to pep talk me out of this agian... i thought to myself "ummm i probably would not have time to get dressed and run downstairs to my car before my next contration.... ummm driving naked and in labor probably is a crime... ummm well they leave me no choice but to call the police and act like i am in a hostage situation... shoot i know my local police would break up this birth party with the quickness...". but my plan failed because i could not find my phone before i was back on the floor, breathing through a contraction, lol...

when they returned in the room i was 9 3/4 dialated and it was time to push... ooooooo yes, finally.... this was my favorite part... for the next three hours i rotated through a series of positions, including squatting, all-fours, rocking both inside and outside of the birth pool to push my baby into this world... i finally ended up sitting up in my bed, where after forty minutes of my baby's head playing pic-a-boo, my sweet 8 lbs, 8 ozs, 21-inch sweet baby girl was born into this world... after a minute of being in a strange, slow motion, dreamlike, almost high state... the reality set in, and with my baby in my arms, tears in my eyes, and indescribable joy, i said "I DID IT"...

(sigh) - what an amazing experience... sure it was a whole lot different than i imagined... but immediatley Love erased all the pain, Love made me forget that i saw the sun's full revolution during this process... Love invaded me and consumed all my self doubts... i finally had my Love in my arms and her life was beautiful... God had granted me the desire of my heart... the healthy delivery of my child, completely natural, at home... thank you, Lord...lol i felt closer to Jesus than ever after being in labor one hour for every year He walked the earth..lol i love you my little Love... u were sooo worth it all...

hey readers for more details and info about my natural pregnancy/birth view my march 20th and august 31, 2009

meet me in the trap...

lol ok so this is my second week home alone on mommy duty.. and we are getting into a rhythm now... i know her cries and how short my windows of opportunity to bathe and eat are... i had to take this sec, when i could fake a nap, to write this entry...  ok so i wonder how many other moms can relate to this... today my baby played with her toys for the first time... i laid her on her back in her Bright Stars Play Place so that i could run to the kitchen and clean my breast shields and pump supplies... while i washed them i heard the sound of a rattler shaking... i thought to myself OMG the playplace has collapsed on her head... but to my surprise when i looked over the counter i saw my baby girl playing... reaching, bumping, trying so hard to open  her fist so she could grab the dangling toys... it was just like that moment in Kill Bill when Uma was moving her toes... lol gooo baby McLove you are growing so fast... and after a few more tries she got it... i bust into cheers like she won an olympic race...

ok so next on the schedule after individual play is face time with mommy... which usually leads to a diaper change, the occasional nose picking, and a feeding... which then usually leads to a nap... well today she was a little restless while nursing due to the sound of her own farts startling her, which causes her to tighten her grip on my nipple and shake her head in frustration... not cool at all... plus i knew she was really tired since she woke up prematurely from her earlier nap when i slammed the dryer door...

anyway a fussy baby is no contest for the liquid gold filled boob and she finally falls asleep on my shoulder after a burp... and it was at this moment that i had to make a very critical decision... should i let her remain asleep in my arms on my chest by becoming as stiff as a board, ignoring any calls, barely breathing, and allowing my arm become numb, to loose all feeling... or do i take the risk of her waking up by getting up to lay her down...

well you know i like a dare but i need her to rest... so i pressed play on the yo-yo ma cd and in one quick move i bend at my waist and i lay her in the space directly  between my legs on the sofa... yes... it worked she is sleep and in the cutest position ... just right for me to get a couple of Anne Getty shots before her eyes popped back open... lol i could only smile... she smiled back and then drifted to sleep... but now i am stuck again... afraid to move my legs now... trapped... lol i had to write this whole blog from the side.. and thus a crook in my neck... lol at least i got the chance to blog

go to sleep...

go to sleep little baby... this is a short one... which is better?  your baby having regular, full length naps during the day and night-time wakings every 2 hours... or  your baby having a restless day, full of hearty cries, and night-time wakings every 4 hrs... hmmm i don't know... but i will say that its hard to sleep during the day while she naps.. and sleeping for more than two hrs straight last night made me and my hubby feel amazing... but on the other hand a sleep deprived baby is no fun.. oh well the jury is still out on this one

i believe i can fly...

i believe i can touch the sky... oh yes after giving birth naturally to my child i felt invincible... like i could stand on top of my roof and shout... 'I AM SPARTA'... i mean what could be more challenging than pushing out a 8.5lbs baby... what could be harder... BREAST FEEDING... oh my gosh... you gotta be kidding me... breast feeding is no joke... screw all those mother and child photos that have the baby gazing pass plump breast into the mom's loving eyes...  cause my eyes were full of tears when my baby latched on... but not tears of love, they were full of tears to the heavens asking god to keep me from ripping this baby off my breast and throwing her across the room... i mean can you say OUCH... how could my darling, sweet, gorgeous new baby have full grown piranas living in her gums...  i feel like my nipple is in the middle of a wrench... this is unreal... my toes are curled and my butt tight because this little girl is literally sucking me dry...

with all the focus on a successful pregnancy and labor, i just knew that breast feeding would be a breeze... heck no... instead of a breeze it is more like a hurricane... my hormones are still all over the place... my organs are still trying to find their way back to their original location in my body.. and now my boobs have swollen and are LEAKING... no matter how informed you are about the human body, you still are shocked when you see your once sexy lumps, turn into Elsie....

i am telling you i wanted to give up... first of all, how could i with all my degrees not be able to get a tiny newborn to latch onto my nipple correctly, i felt like a failure, i mean shouldn't this female task come 100% naturally... i wanted to throw in the towel... 2nd of all, everytime she whimpered my husband and the rest of the world was looking at me to whip out my tit and shove it in her mouth... plus my husband insisted on asking me annoying questions like "how much (ounces) did she drink" and "how much is coming out"... i think he was convinced that not only could i produce milk but that i also had ex-ray vision and can see inside my breast... i wanted to punch him... finally i wanted to run to the store and spend my life savings on Similac formula... who cares that i had god-given liquid gold literally running through my veins, this mess hurt

sigh, nevertheless, i hired a great lactation specialist to come to the house and teach me some techniques and postions... she talked me off the ledge and told me that i was not the only chick to feel like this.. thus her fat pockets lol...  it was the best $100 i ever spent on my breast... after a serious breakdown with a hard, lip-shaking cry, a few days later... i decided to endure... i set a short term goal of breast feeding for one month and now i am 7days away from accomplishing it... i am getting into a rhythm which includes pumping enough for the baby to have for at least two daddy-feedings per day... oh well it is getting easier everyday and i will keep you posted... wish me luck

all i need is 1 minute of your time...

wow... a second to write... i can't believe it... i have fed and  bathed the baby, even washed and dressed myself... i feel great... last night i slept alot... well a lot considering that i am a living cafeteria... she breastfed at 1am, 3:30am, i pumped and facebook chatted at 5am and then she ate at 5:45am then slept until 8:15AM... my baby is 21days old, three weeks... so amazing to see her grow and change everyday... i feel like we are getting a rythem... starting to know each other... i am a mother.. me, me... i am a mother... like i have a child... the other day i left her with my parents for 2hrs so that i could get my hair done... talk about seperation anxiety, i cried in the salon chair for the first 15mins and then called to check on her every 30mins to check on her... it was such a reality check that the human being that i had been nurturing and growing within me, every second for the last 10+months was really detached from me now... no longer were we physically one... in each others presence... sigh:( ... but we are still seriously connected... my breast filled up and told me when she had awakened from her knap and was ready to feed even though she was miles away... i love her more everyday... yesterday we fell asleep together in the same spot that i took a many of pregnancy knaps... when my eyes opened to see her beautiful face pressed up against me i calasped deeper in love with her... my sweet little baby mcLove... oops there she is... i hear your call baby.. bye bye blog

"Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You" World Premiere Baby Best!

Facebook Friends Q&A

Charity Pj - ok having trouble writing the blog about the birth... so much to say... well ask me a question about what do u want to know about my natural home delivery and i will answer it on my blog. got any questions? Wed at 2:33pm · Comment · Like

Q -Jessica Oglesby-
Did u use a doula along with your midwife? Wed at 2:39pm ·
A- No doula, I had a great birthing team including two midwives, my hubby, and a personal assistant. Plus my family prayed for me downstairs in our “waiting area”… my mom and sis-in-law came in room once I started pushing


Q - Erica Henlee-
How was the clean up ..I mean on those baby shows it can be messy-side note I have no kids :)Wed at 2:50pm ·
A - Lol, yes it was messy, but we were well prepared. We put a waterproof cover on the mattress and just discarded the sheets we used afterwards. Everything else was pretty easy to manage with towels. My home looks like nothing even happened

Q - Nicole Butler-Davis- When I get preggy I want to use a birthing as well...explain that whole experience from when contractions started and the underwater birth! Did the water alleviate the pain? Wed at 3:07pm
A- The water did help. I found that my body/muscles/mind were able to relax more in the water.

Q - Ashley Johnson and Maurice Cobb - Were you in water?
A - Yes i was in the water alot, but she was born in my bed.

Q- Jerome Schley-
What did your husband do. LolWed at 3:51pm
A - Jerome you are silly.... you know my man is a perfectionist so he was the ultimate coach, he was very well prepared and a great help and encourager the whole time, except when he slept on the couch for a few hours, but he needed the rest… he watched the entire birth, all of it, and was in charge of holding my left leg back, cutting the cord - and he cried afterwards... sooo sweet

Q - Amanda Crump Rate the pain. March 17 at 3:54pm ·
A - I can't really even describe the pain... it is something that you cant place... it was intense and repetitive... like a huge wave, surfs up.. lets just say I sounded like a strange animal mating in the woods.. lol… the best news is that once it's over you kinda forget all about it... some women actually have a completely pain free experience.. i think the mistake i made was thinking that it would only be a vagina experience but the reality it that it was a whole body experience... the day after ever muscle in my body was sore as if i ran three marathons. the privilege of birthing life came at a cost for me, but it was worth it to get the priceless gift

Q -Amanda Crump Did you have a moment where you seriously considered going to the hospital? March 17 at 3:55pm ·
A- yes mam... i was looking for a way out by any means... an easier way... but the truth is that there was no easy way out.. no short cut home... (rocky fans will understand) girl i was trying to drive myself to the ER, lol can u imagine.. I asked my midwife to just reach in me and pull her out… and I was dead serious… lol

Q -Amanda Crump - What was exactly the way you expected? What was different than what you expected? March 17 at 3:57pm ·
A- heck no... by no means.. i just thought that i would spend about three hours doing my thing... give a grunt, and hold my baby... but it was so much more... it was a journey in loosing control, in not being the ring-leader of my circus... re-surrendering my life to Christ, in falling into him, not just leaning on him, and fully trusting that his words were true.. it was a life-changing, beautiful experience.. where i realized that promotion requires sacrifice, that i am strong and capable only because allow God to reign in me... no matter how much i wanted to speed up the process, i was not in control... my body knew exactly what to do and when to do it.. I just had to wait…
Q -Kristin Moore - Wow great questions...I wanna know how many pushes b4 she came out? March 17 at 4:04pm ·
A- sigh, girl you gotta be kidding me... wow, cant count the number of pushes during three hours.. they kept saying "i can see the top of her head.. look at all that hair.. keep pushing her head is almost out".. i was like dang how big is this child’s head cause ya'll been saying this same thing forever lol

Q - Maurice Cobb- The baby came out in the water? can she breathe underneath there? Did you choose this just for you and the process or does this way have a better effect (mental, emotional, physical)on the baby then going to the hospital? March 17 at 4:28pm
A - yes babies can be born underwater, it is perhaps a smoother transition since they have lived in water for the entire nine months... they take their first breathe once you lift them out of the water... i chose to have a home birth because i did not want to have a medical experience that kept me confined to a room, on the timetable of hospital staff, hooked up to machines, and on meds that might cause me to miss this amazing rites of passage... i wanted to be alert, to feel the emotional euphoria of accomplishing childbirth.. but you should read my earlier blog titled " i'm every women" from august 2009 for more details of why

Q - Jaine Dhoe- How did you select your midwives team? what room did you have the baby in? have you left the house yet? do you think the water aerobic classes prepare you? did you freak out when she was swimming in the water? or did they allow her to swim in the water? Do you suggest natural birth since you've experienced it? March 17 at 7:05pm ·
A - i found my midwife online.. i had only one non-negotiable, i wanted her to be african american... but she was so much more.. she was full of 29yrs of personal and professional experience of homebirths...a wealth of knowledge and support.. I had the baby in our bedroom... only left the house to take baby to her one week check up... my body is still recovering... hmm did the water aerobics help? perhaps with my weight control but i dont think that it really affected the labor.. all the remedies seem to be just myths.. i think everyone's body is different and will respond differently to childbirth no matter what you do.. natural childbirth was the best option for me.. i highly suggest that other women take the time to review the many options available to deliver their babies and then make informed decisions

Q - Cecilia Rutledge Bailey - Heck yeah! Why in the hamfat did you decide to do that anyway? Oh I don't mean to be insensitive but I'm coming through the door asking for an epidural! March 17 at 11:13pm
A- lol lol that was actually the first thing that I said to my midwife once my child was completely out…

Q · Twanna Stevens Turner - Will you do this again for future children? Is it too early to think about? Was there any part of your birthing plan that you would do differently knowing what you know now?
A – blink blink blink… ummm ask me later about the other kids.. but I think so..nope I wouldn’t change the plan, well I would have had a hammer handy to knock myself out lol

CELEBRATE GOOD TIMES, COME ON

Time for celebration... 

after 33 hours of labor during an all natural home delivery... the newest addition to our family and heart has arrived... introducing 

McKenzie Love, 8lbs 8ozs, 21 inches

she is so beautiful, alert, and peaceful... except when hungry... lets just say her lungs work :)

the birth story is sooo amazing, its dramatic-encouraging-good and juicy... but i have not had time to blog yet... i  mean mckenzie is sooo entertaining...but i promise to get the details to you soon