Placenta Encapsulation: Part II (Guest blogger Daddy)

Somewhere in my obituary, when I die in February of the year 2100, I want it to mention that I cooked the innards of my wife and watched as she ate them.

Maybe not in the first paragraph, but perhaps between “He tried to be a good father,” and “Today the world mourns the death of the last of the Great Lovers.”

This is meant to be a companion piece, if you will, to Kelly’s description of the placenta encapsulation that we did after Jakiah’s birth. Our doula recommended that I share my experience, being the partner and non-devourer of said placenta (those may or may not have been her words exactly). You know, in case there are any partners who are reading this blog and thinking one or more of the following things:

A) My partner wants to do it, but I’m afraid.

B) I don’t like touching raw meat, let alone raw meat that came from my partner’s body.

C) YOUDIDWHATOHMYGODTHAT’SDISGUSTING – but like a car accident or Jersey Shore, I can’t look away.

D) I’m genuinely curious (or, I Have Been Instructed to Read This By A Person Who Shan’t Be Named But Is Carrying A Baby And/Or Lives With Me).

Whatever your mindset, allow me to share my experience with you. Even if you think it sounds terrible, you can tell your partner you read it, and maybe get some brownie points. And you know what brownie points get you, right? Yep, brownies. Mmm, brownies.

Anyway, somehow we hadn’t heard of placenta encapsulation before Kelly was pregnant with Jakiah (which is kind of weird since we’re non-practicing hippies), and even then it wasn’t until we took a Hypnobirthing class. Kelly did a good job describing what placenta encapsulation is, so I won’t bore you any more than I already have by rehashing it. Basically, you keep the placenta after the birth, take it home, cook it, crush it up, put it in pills, and ingest the pills. A tongue-in-cheek (placenta-in-cheek?) way of describing it would be socially acceptable cannibalism.

So after we (Kelly) did some more research on it, we (real we) decided to go all in and do it. The initial response from our parents was the best part of the decision – it was like we were 18 and telling them instead of going to college we were moving to Los Angeles to be musicians. “Oh…uh…right. You’re very talented sweetheart, but isn’t there anything else you’d rather do? Like, ANYTHING ELSE?” The only one of them who seemed unfazed was my dad. When we told him, the first thing out of his mouth was ‘Oh yeah, like mammals. Mammals do that. And you’re mammals.’ Clearly, my father is a scientist.

After Kelly had Jakiah, and subsequently the placenta, they took the latter to a freezer (which in my head looks just like Mr. Freeze’s lab in the mid-90’s Batman animated series) for safe-keeping. For some reason, it had to stay at the hospital longer than we did (we took Jakiah home after two days, but I couldn’t come back to get the placenta for a week). When I finally did come back, it was like a Monty Python sketch:

RECEPTIONIST: Hi, can I help you?
ME: Uh, yes. I’m here to pick up…um…a placenta.
RECEPTIONIST: (stops typing) A what?
ME: My wife had a baby last week and we left the placenta here. I mean, we couldn’t take it. So they told me to come back and get it. I think it’s here. I mean, I know it’s here, but I don’t know where. Maybe in a giant freezer or something.
RECEPTIONIST: (silence)
ME: Or maybe a small freezer. It wasn’t that big. The placenta, I mean. It was a regular-sized placenta. Maybe a regular freezer.
RECEPTIONIST: (silence)
ME: A placenta.
RECEPTIONIST: (silence, then) Let me call someone. Go ahead and take a seat.

I sat down in the lobby with a middle-aged woman who hadn’t heard the fumbling conversation earlier. And then,

LADY: Did your wife just have a baby?
ME: Yeah, a week ago.
LADY: My daughter is in labor now. Are you here to pick your wife and baby up?
ME: No, they went home a few days ago. I’m here to pick up my wife’s placenta.
LADY: (silence)
ME: Yeah, we’re doing placenta encapsulation. It’s this thing where apparently you take the placenta home and eat it or something.
LADY: (silence)
ME: I mean, not raw, you cook it first, with, like, lemons and ginger.
LADY: (silence, then) Oh. (more silence)

Then, a nurse comes out with the placenta in one of those blood-red hazard bags, holding it away from her body as far as her right arm will allow. I feel like she’s bringing me a bag of poopy diapers or a severed head.

NURSE: Here you go.
ME: Thanks!
LADY: (silence)
ME: (sprints out of the hospital)

I got home and we kept the placenta in the refrigerator for a while until our friend (and midwife-in-training) Sarah could come up and help me with the preparation. It was fun to pretend we were in a Sunny Delight commercial directed by Tim Burton (‘What do you guys want? We got OJ, Purple Stuff, my wife’s placenta – SUNNY D!’).

Sarah arrived at our house after a few days, and we got to work. First, we had to wash all the blood of the placenta, or at least as much of it as we could. I was tempted to make a joke about that scene in ‘Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday’ where the coroner eats Jason’s heart and then becomes Jason, and then I remembered that movie is horrible and no one would get the reference.

After washing, we stuffed it with lemons and ginger, and steamed it on the stove. The smell was admittedly weird (pla-scental!); not GROSS per se, but not something I’d like to smell on a daily basis (kind of like Cheerios or egg salad in that sense). When it was steamed up good, we cut it up into strips and baked it in the oven. Really, the whole cooking process wasn’t really that different from making dinner. So unless you hate making dinner, it’s no big deal.

After the strips were sufficiently cooked/hardened, they went in the food processor to be ground into a fine powder, and subsequently packed into small pill capsules. I think we ended up with something like 72 pills, which I think means Kelly’s placenta was pretty big. I’m still unsure of whether this is something to brag about or not.

All in all, it wasn’t weird. Or gross. It’s certainly not for everyone, but neither is eating red meat, or being a vegan.I would be happy to do it again, or assist someone else who is wanting to do it. Plus that way I can say I've handled your wife's lady-parts and it won't technically be inaccurate.

And if you're wondering, I didn't try one of the pills.

OR DID I?!?!?!?!

(No.)

Dance Class

For the last 10 weeks, Kalaya took her first dance class. She absolutely LOVED it, once she got used to it. It was more structured than Sports Class. She had to follow directions, listen to the teacher and, most importantly, mom and dad weren't supposed to stay in the room! This is a first for our child. (other than going to the church nursery)

For those that don't know, Kalaya is pretty timid about new experiences. That's putting in mildly. We had talked up dance class BIG time and she had been getting lots of practice at home with her special leotard, tights, tu tu and ballet shoes. But, when the first day came (pre-baby, thank goodness), she wasn't too sure. And, it took a couple of classes before she was completely ready to be in there without mom and dad. She's still working on following directions, but has made huge improvements! Now, as far as a future in dance, we're not so sure about that.....

The class is called Tiny Tutus and it is about a stereotypical girly as you can imagine! Lots of talk of princesses, fairies and lots of cute props like wands, tiaras and fair wings!

Her single favorite thing about the class?

Looking at herself in the mirror.

Seriously.

At least she has high self esteem, right??

This is how they start every class; each girl gets to 'dance' around the circle. Kalaya has one

traveling dance move and this is it!!

And, here is another example of her one move. And how mommy with the camera was a distraction. Note what the teacher is doing and how my child is not doing it...at all....

Gross motor skills are not her strength right now.....

But, all that matters is that we learned something and had fun, right??

Plus, I give her an A+ for cuteness, enthusiasm, and effort!

And, who doesn't love a little girl in a tutu and ballet shoes?!

I admire the teacher for thinking 2 year olds can line up....

Nice try Kalaya....

Good job being a 'mermaid'!

Actually following the teacher....

LEAPS AND BOUNDS from the first day of crying on the floor people!!!

Placenta Encapsulation

So, in our Hypnobirthing class, our teacher brought up the placenta and started a discussion. I had heard of people saving their placenta to bury it, but that's about it. I know that it's consumed in some cultures and by mammals. I had regretted not saving Kalaya's, mainly because it's a pretty amazing thing; we grow this awesome organ that supports the life of our child in the womb!! And then in our culture, we just...throw it away. Not that I think it should be put on display or something. But, it seems kind of, I don't know, dishonorable or something. In the Micronesan culture (which is where Nelson's dad is from), it is buried and a coconut tree is planted over it. I considered doing this with Kalaya, but we didn't own a home and I didn't know where we would plant it.

Anyway, back to our class. Our teacher brought up the idea of placenta encapsulation. Meaning, you process your placenta into pills and, yes, consume it. THEN she said that it's something you can do yourself or hire someone for. She mentioned several midwives in the area that do it for around $300. Another couple in the class spoke up and said that they had done it with their previous birth and that the mother's partner had actually done it herself at home and that it was fairly easy. The mother explained how much it help with post partum symptoms, including enhancing milk production, keeping baby blues away and helping with the fatigue.

I started looking more into it and found other friends who raved about it. I brought it up with Nelson and he was all for it; so for it, in fact, that he VOLUNTEERED TO DO IT!!! For those of you who know my husband, this is quite a big deal. The man barely even eats any type of meat and won't touch and that is raw. Yet, he was willing to cook and cut up an organ from my body. What a guy!!

A friend of ours is starting to study to be a midwife and had already completed the process for a friend and wanted to practice some more and offered to help Nelson for free. She already had all of the materials and came by after Jakiah was born to help.

Incase you are wondering, it is not difficult to take home your placenta. We simply added it to our birth plan and Nelson and our doula reminded the midwife after Jakiah was born. We picked it up a few days later and it was nicely bagged up in multiple layers of container and plastic. Though, the bio-hazard stickers make you feel kind of weird. And it's kind of weird to wrap your brain around seeing it thaw out in the fridge....still in the bag and sealed up though.

So, this is what you do. I forgot to take pictures at the end, but I found some online of the same thing. Here goes (note, all materials are used JUST for this, we didn't use our usual kitchen dishes and utensils and everything is clean and sterile):

First, you rinse, rinse, rinse, turning the placenta inside and out to remove as much blood as possible.

(yup, that was in me)

We chose to steam it the 'traditional way' with ginger and lemon.

Next, you steam it with the lemon and ginger, which helps cover the smell, which, incase you're wondering, is similar to turkey giblets cooking on Thanksgiving. The whole process is really more mental than anything else. (I think it was maybe 15 minutes on each side??)

At this point it started to look less like an organ and more like a piece of meat.

Then, you cut it into small strips and dry it in the oven for several hours, similar to beef jerky.

The 'J' is the chord, which we will bury and plant a tree over in our yard, along with the leftover material from the placenta. Kalaya's chord clamp will be buried with another tree, as that's the closest thing we saved.

Here's where I forgot to take pictures. You then pulverize the strips in a coffee grinder, and fill empty pill capsules (you can get them at Whole Foods, New Seasons, etc) and you're done!! I took 3 in the morning and 3 in the evening for several weeks and they made a BIG difference in my tired levels. At first I thought it was just mental, but one day I forgot to take them and WOW, it made such a difference!! And, within an hour of taking them, I felt so much more awake!!

I know this isn't for everyone, but many people asked about it and were curious!

PS. If you are interested, Nelson is more than happy to help partners process!!

Baby Smiles

Jakiah started smiling at around 5 weeks, here are some that we caught on camera. So sweet!!

Here's Kalaya around the same age, they sure look alike!! She had him beat in the cheek department at this point....

Munchkin Sports

So, this winter Kalaya got to take 2 different toddler classes. We are very blessed to live in an area with a FANTASTIC and more importantly INEXPENSIVE rec center. They have an insane amount of classes of all types and for all ages. This time around, we chose 'Tiny Tutus' and 'Munchkin Sports'. She has loved both of them and we've seen a lot of growth in her with both. She is learning to follow directions, listen to a teacher, cooperate and share.

Munchkin Sports is on Friday mornings. It's really laid back and just fun. It's basically free play with all different types of sports equipment (which they change out periodically), an activity to focus on 1 specific sport, a game (usually Red Light Green Light) and light 'coaching'. There are around 8 other toddlers in the class and it's very cute to watch! She started out by basically running around crazily, but now she follows the teacher and listens really well! A drastic change from the temper tantrum the first week, because she didn't want to 'stop' for the red light!!

Now we have to play it at LEAST 5 times every day. Every. where. we. go.

Thanks a lot Coach Kendall.

: )

So much fun equipment!

Lining up for Red Light Green Light

GREEN LIGHT!

High Fives at the other side

Find the right color!

Batter up!

Hula hoop

Mini free throw

Stamps on each hand?? Best part of the class!

And, remember to hydrate afterwards.

Dance class pictures next week!!

Stay at Home Mom of Two: Week One

Well, we're more than halfway through the first week of Nelson being back at work. And, actually, it's going much, much better than I'd expected.

Okay, feared.

Honestly, I pictured Nelson walking in the door at 6, 2 crying children, 1 crying mommy, toys every where, no clean clothes for any of us, dishes piled up, me in the same thing I'd been wearing and slept in for 3 days, no shower, no dinner ready, etc, etc, etc. I had 2 goals for the week: feed everyone when needed and no bloodshed/trips to the emergency room. And, get Kalaya to her dance class and sports class, if possible.

So far, the reality has been much better.

The truth is, yes, we've had some stressful moments. Of course. And I never feel that I'm quite giving each child as much attention as they deserve. Story of our lives from now on, I'm sure. But, I've been able to feed everyone, keep everyone clean and dressed (multiple times a day...), which has included getting in showers for myself (a luxury I thought I was going to have to wait until nighttime for), the dishes are getting done, the laundry as well, and the toys mess has been kept to a minimum. We've even found time to play outside, get out the play dough and markers, and yes, we made it to dance class today. ON TIME, I might add. I am very proud of this. (it's the little things)

One thing I'm surprised to find out already: I thought that having 2 kids at home would make me even less likely to want to/be able to leave the house. Wrong! I am already kind of going stir crazy. And, I crave adult conversation more than ever. I got really, really used to having Nelson around for 5 1/2 weeks..... I wish so much that we could afford a second car. A mini van to be exact. Nelson graciously took the bus this morning, so that I didn't have to wake 2 kids to take him to the MAX station. Bless his heart, he had to get up a precious half hour earlier. But, we had to make it to dance class on time!! I'm going to try to find another mommy group soon, I miss having that connection!

The biggest struggle? Definitely lack. of. sleep. Holy crap. I don't EVER remember being this tired with Kalaya as a newborn. And, yes, I know it's only day 3. And we'll get there. But, WOW, I have had some times where it literally hurt from being so tired. I'm trying SO hard to keep my crankiness in check with the kids and husband. There's always Cinderella if I want to grab a catnap with Jakiah on the couch, if I get desperate.

The things I have been the most grateful for this week:

1. Our church: Several weeks ago, one of our church ladies called, offering to arrange for meals to be brought to us. I asked if we could wait until Nelson went back to work and I'm so glad we did! I had several meals frozen for when he was home and it worked out perfectly. Yesterday 2 ladies delivered 4 different meals and we ate one last night! Homemade cream of tomato soup and grilled chees; very yummy and toddler friendly too!

2. The Girls: They feed the kid and make free food. 'nuff said.

3. Swaddling: Jakiah is a happy, happy guy when he's swaddled.

4. Baby swing and/or bouncy, vibrating chair: They help me be able to put Jakiah down when needed, temporarily.

5. RING SLING: Honestly, this should probably be number one. When Jakiah is fussy or won't nap, he sits in the sling perfectly content and falls asleep, allowing me to play with Kalaya and get any chores done, except a shower. : )

6. Pacifiers: Kalaya never took one, but Jakiah occasionally will and it helps!

7. A toddler who plays independently for decent stretches of time!

8. PBS, Sesame Street and Word World in particular: When all else fails and I need a break. Plus, they're learning, right??

1 Month old!

***I will try not to say how fast time is going by with 2, every time I do a milestone post, but HOLY SMOKES!!!***

Mr. Jakiah is a happy, healthy boy. We had a week there where every one of us was sick and it was awful. Just AWFUL. Having a 3 week old with a cold is such a sad thing to watch. He'd get stuffed up, couldn't breathe, would choke on phlegm and then would scream and cry. Poor little guy. And Kalaya was much, much more sick than he was. Thank goodness his was just a stuffy nose. Kalaya had a fever, a hacking cough, really irritated throat, congestion, snot, etc. She was a miserable little girl. Thank heavens that Nelson was off during that time. I dread the day that both of my kids are sick at the same time, which yes, I realize will probably be every time one of them starts out sick from now on!

Now that the sickness has passed (for the time being....hopefully for quite awhile...), we are kind of getting the hang of this two kid thing. Most of the time. 2 wise friends of mine once said things that sum up being a parent of 2 quite nicely: (1) "The hard days are twice as hard, but the rewards are twice as wonderful." ~That Kind of Mom and (2) "It's not so much that [the older child] has that hard of a time adjusting to the new baby. It's that you're exhausted and your patience for their typical 2 year old behaviors is much lower." ~The Olson Times Both statements are completely right on.

Kalaya has done pretty well over all. If she hadn't gotten sick, it would have gone better, but she did, so that is what it is. She has had some unbelievable meltdowns in the last couple of weeks, has spent a lot of time in time out and her back talking has been driving us crazy. But, those things had been happening long before baby brother arrived. (they do call it the 'terrible twos' for a reason, right??) With her brother, she is incredibly sweet, gentle and fascinated. She is so affectionate and kind to him and always, always glad that he's around. Sometimes almost too much so, to the point of being too much in the poor little guys personal space bubble. It's been a big change, topped off with having Daddy around all the time, from whom she's used to getting his complete attention. She's learning. And, luckily, she doesn't seem to resent Jakiah what-so-ever. (knock on wood)

At the risk of jinxing myself (please God, PLEASE don't let that happen...), Jakiah is a pretty mellow, laid back, 'easy' baby. VERY different from newborn Kalaya. I wouldn't change anything about Kalaya as a baby. That's who she was and I loved every second of her. I actually loved that she needed me so much and that she was so dependent on me. And, she grew out of it and turned out just fine. But, it is very nice to have a baby who actually naps for awhile on his own, doesn't need to be held every single second, doesn't use me as a pacifier all the time and doesn't HAVE to have a breast to go to sleep. It's nice, because I'm able to give more attention to Kalaya than I feared I'd be able to. But, if he becomes more challenging and needy, I know how to handle it. He eats well, sleeps most of the time, is easy to meet his needs and just a sweet, happy, snuggly boy. I love, love LOVE having a baby boy!!

Toddler Obsession

We have a new obsession at the Sigrah house. Oh. My. Goodness. I thought Elmo was a big deal. I thought that having to sleep with him every night, wear the shirt with him every day, spot him in every store, every where, reading his books, listening to his song over and over and watching him every chance we got....

That was NOTHING.

The evening before Jakiah was born, we thought that we might be having a baby very, very soon. We decided to have a special family night with Kalaya and let her watch her first full length movie. We, of course, own many, many Disney movies. Surprisingly, the list isn't very long as to what we will let a 2 year old watch. The only one that didn't have any weapons, scary creatures, death, etc was Cinderella. Seems innocent enough. So, we watched it together as a family. After that, there was no turning back. Kalaya was ENRAPTURED. It was unbelievable. Her eyes were glued to the screen from the first second until the end. And, she comprehended every. single. second. For the next 2 days, she was home with my mom (while Nelson and I had a baby...) and she reported that Kalaya told her the plot over and over again in great detail. Everything. The broken dress, the fairy godmother, Gus Gus and Jaq, the stepmother, the ball, the prince, the glass slipper, EVERYTHING.

Now, this may have faded in time, but, of course, Jakiah was born and then everyone in our house got sick. Kalaya was pretty sick and was pretty tired and miserable. Nelson was tired and miserable too and in attempts to regain his sanity, played Cinderella for Kalaya over and over again. Sometimes 2 times in a row, so he could get a 2 hour nap on the couch, waking only to start the DVD over. I blame him. But, desperate times call for desperate measures.

Everyone in our house is feeling better these days, so we're trying to wean her off of demanding Cinderella 50 times a day. She has watched it once in the past 5 days or so. Nelson and I can recite it for you, if you're interested.

But, the obsession has taken on new levels. Holy CRAP. She talks about the plot all day. She insists on wearing tutus or dresses every where and only wears shoes that can easily slip on and off (no sneakers these days....) so that she can 'go to the ball Daddy!' at a moment's notice, with a glass slipper ready to fall off at will. Every dress is 'so beautiful!', including nightgowns, church dresses, even shirts with long hems. She drags Daddy around the house to 'go to the ball' multiple times a day and acts out every. single. detail. Seriously, go watch the scene at the ball and notice everything that Kalaya acts out: the 2 of them watching the water and touching it on the bridge, the almost kiss, the clock striking 'midgoodnight' (LOVE THAT!!), the dialogue of the prince and Cinderella, the loss of the slipper. She knows it ALL!

Not that I'd expect anything less from my daughter.

Guess we'd better start saving up for that Disneyland trip soon....

2 Weeks

At his 2 week appointment yesterday, Jakiah was 8 lbs, 3 oz and has grown 3/4 of an inch. Not surprising, he likes to eat!! Our pediatrician declared him 'perfect' as we already knew of course!

(Did I mention that a month ago I got a letter in the mail from Kalaya's pediatrician, who we LOVED, telling us he was retiring ON MY DUE DATE??? Long story short, we asked around, got recommendations and some how managed to get our first pick and we really like her!)

It's been busy at the Sigrah house for the last 2 weeks. (duh!) We've had some visitors, gone a couple of places, but mostly just stayed at home and tried to get this family of 4 thing figured out. I am SO GRATEFUL that Nelson has 6 weeks off. I cannot imagine him going back to work already. I am seriously terrified of the day he goes back to work in March. Obviously, I know we'll be fine, but he is so amazing right now. He is completely devoted to entertaining and taking care of Kalaya and some how is keeping the house cleaner than I ever manage to!! He's helping with Jakiah too, of course, but diapers and letting him sleep on him are his main ways of helping right now. (can't feed him, for obvious reasons!!)

Jakiah is pretty mellow. He is a BIG sleeper!! Maybe Kalaya was like this in the very beginning, but I don't remember it if she was. He seriously sleeps like 22 hours a day!! He wakes up about every 3 hours to nurse at night, more often during the day, but then goes back down pretty quickly. He has 2 times in the day where he's awake for 45 min-an hour, but that's all for now. He sleeps on us a lot of the time, sometimes in his swing or bouncy seat and is doing pretty well sleeping on his own too. He sleeps through wet diapers, but hates having his diaper changed. He is a sweet, snuggly little boy and I am over the moon in love with him!



Kalaya is adjusting pretty well. She looooves her little brother. She is fascinated by him, always wanting to know what he's doing, kiss him and report observations about him; 'He's awake!' 'Look at his tiny ears!' 'He's nursing' 'He wants to go in his swing' 'It's okay buddy, we're almost there!' 'He's hungry' 'What's he doing?' She is very, very protective of him, she prefers only mommy or daddy holding him. She gets worried when grandparents or anyone else holds him. She doesn't get upset by his crying, just says very matter of fact that he needs to eat or that he's talking, doesn't want to be in the carseat, etc. But, she has definitely been acting out otherwise, you can tell that she's dealing with the change, but probably can't put it into words. When she's cranky, it's more so than normal and the temper tantrums that started a few months ago are still going strong. Again, god bless Nelson, thank goodness for 2 parents around, one who can give his full attention and take her places as needed. We're trying to give her lots of attention and praise, giving her special time with each of us as often as we can and letting her do as much as she wants around and with her brother. Unfortunately, she's come down with a cold in the last few days and it has made her SO CRANKY and short about everything. We're trying to be understanding. The hardest part is trying to keep her from sneezing, coughing, etc on Jakiah, but not making her aware that she could get him sick and hurt her feelings.

My recovery is going so well. I honestly don't know why anyone would ever choose a c-section over a vaginal birth. Granted, my delivery was about as 'easy' as it could have been, but it just feels completely different. With the caesarian, I felt as though I was a patient recovering from major surgery (which I was!) and like I'd never feel normal again. This time, I have to remind myself to take it easy, because, other than being sleep deprived, I feel really good! I notice it if I overdo it, but I almost feel completely back to normal already.

Jakiah's Birth Story

Our story starts on the morning of January 24th. I was exactly 39 weeks and had a routine appointment at 8 o'clock that morning. I was measuring at 2cm and was 90% effaced. Our midwife offered to strip my membranes and we had already decided that we were ready to take that step. With a VBAC, we were told that anything to help start birth 'sooner and naturally' would help us avoid the OR.

I had some minor cramping the rest of the day, but hardly noticeable. I had a feeling something was starting, but didn't want to get my hopes up. We had a special evening with Kalaya, because something told me our days as family of 3 were rapidly coming to and end. : ) We watched Kalaya's first movie (Cinderella) and had a special dinner. I went to my pregnancy fitness swim class around 8 and then when I got home, Nelson and I did my belly cast for Jakiah and watched a movie together. I had taken a long nap with Kalaya that afternoon and didn't go to bed until around 12:45.

Around 2:15am, I bolted out of bed to the bathroom, feeling my water break. From that point on, I had very intense, close together contractions. I tried to lay down, relax and breathe, but it didn't last long. I had to be up and moving. With a VBAC, we were told to get to the hospital once my water broke, so Nelson called our doula, the hospital and my mom (our babysitter) and started getting everything into the car.

While this was happening, I was in our bathroom, with the lights off, just reacting to what my body wanted me to do. I was most comfortable sitting on the toilet between contractions to rest and standing up, bracing myself with my hands on the wall, rocking side to side while the contractions were happening. The breathing techniques from our class helped me slightly, but the main thing was just saying in my head, 'each time is bringing Jakiah closer to getting here', 'everything is in God's hands', etc. There really wasn't enough time for CDs or candles. : )

The car ride was the most challenging part of this phase, since it was difficult to get into positions that were helpful. And, at this point, the surges were SO intense and close together, right on top of each other, that I was getting nervous. I remember very clearly saying to Nelson, "I am aware of what I'm saying, I am able to make a decision right now: when we get to the hospital, I WANT AN EPIDURAL." The main reason was that I was terrified I was only going to be at 4cm (or similar) and was going to be doing this for hours and hours. I was already feeling the urge to bear down and push, so I was praying I was close to being ready.

Once in the parking lot of the hospital, I told Nelson, "I have to push NOW, I'm ready!!" He was calm and told me to go with what my body wanted, helping me brace myself against the wall when the surges came, while guiding me toward the place to check in. (this was around 4am) I remember shooing people away firmly, but then apologizing for not letting them help me. (including Nelson and our doula!) Everyone was really helpful and let me go with whatever I was needing at the time.

I was deep in the 'Zone' at this point. I was acting on instinct and didn't want anyone within a 5 foot range of me. I just waved people away and directed them to Nelson. They wanted my to get on a scale (for 'anesthesia purposes') and I was NOT having that. Somehow I remembered my weight from the appointment that morning and she accepted that! I was directed to a small room to be examined, since I was telling them I was ready to push, a nurse quickly checked my cervix and, sure enough, said, "Yes, you are ready! 10 centimeters!"

I was SO RELIEVED and at that point just completely let go. (at that point, I couldn't have had an epidural, even if I wanted to, but I knew that I could get through the pushing at this point, I was READY!) I was directed into the birthing room and the nurses and midwife just let me do what I needed to do. For me, that meant up on the bed, on all fours during contractions, leaning back on my heels to rest between. When anyone would get to close, I became aware of them, but mainly, I just gave into trusting my body, breathing, guiding and pushing Jakiah closer to emerging. Nelson said later that he couldn't believe how calm I seemed. I was pretty loud during contractions and he said I looked bored in between. He'd try to tell me I was doing great, etc and I'd just wave him away. Since it was a VBAC situation, I did have to have a monitor on at all times and have an IV port put in. I had tested positive for Strep B, so I had to have antibiotics in my IV for half an hour as well, but I barely remember that, other than getting irritated at the nurse that kept trying to touch me during contractions for the IV.

While I was pushing/breathing Jakiah down, I remember every second of it, and yet, it went so quickly, it didn't seem possible to take an hour and a half. I was in the room, allowing him to move down by 4:30 and I delivered him at 5:44am. It was very, very fast!! I am so grateful that it went as quickly and as successfully as it did. However, we didn't have much time for all of the things we'd practiced in class, though when I look back, I know that my confidence and trust in my body and the process were because of a lot of the things we practiced.

Did it hurt? Abso-friggin-lutely. Power to those women who say that they didn't hurt much, maybe their bodies don't go from 2-10c, so quickly, I don't know. All I know is that once my water broke, I was ready FAST!! And, yes, I remember being in pain during contractions and when he was coming out, but honestly, I've already forgotten actually feeling the pain. I wouldn't change anything, even not having the epidural. I did have one small tear, but that was all.
When I had been pushing for awhile (real life time, around an hour or so), I started to get frustrated, wondering why he wasn't out. I knew he was 'right there' and it was agonizing not having him out! In my head, I told myself, "Okay, four more BIG pushes, I can do this, and he'll be OUT!" Sure enough: four contractions: the second push his head emerged, then shoulders (let me tell you, the longest wait was for the surge after his head, but before his shoulders!!) and the last push, I looked down and THERE HE WAS!!!

Jakiah (Juh-ky-uh) Gabriel Sigrah was 7 lbs, 9 oz, 20 inches long, with a 14 inch head. Our hospital was incredibly conscious and compliant with everything we asked for in our birth preferences; everything was delayed that we wanted, the chord stayed attached until I delivered the placenta, no pitocin was used for the placenta delivery and Jakiah latched on to nurse almost immediately after delivery. He is a beautiful, healthy boy and his big sister is doing so great with him already!!

We are so grateful and blessed that our birth went so quickly and so well. It was world's different from a c-section and though we would have been happy for any outcome that resulted in a healthy baby and healthy mama, we don't think we could have asked for anything to have gone better. It was a beautiful, wonderful birth!!