After Isla was born, I struggled a lot with what had happened during her birth. In addition to the fact that everything ended in an emergency c-section, which is a scary situation absolutely no one wants to experience, I felt like I’d been bullied, manipulated, and generally treated poorly by medical staff over the course […]
Ian’s Birth Story
I’m excited to announce that our baby boy is here, and while his birth wasn’t all smooth sailing, we have a healthy little guy and a very happy, healthy mama. As I mentioned in my 40 week update, Braxton-Hicks had started ramping up toward the end of week 39. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night all […]
Hospital Bag Anxiety
I’ve been anxiously thinking about my hospital bag for weeks. Last weekend, I finally started trying to pack it. I pulled out the list our doula gave us at our last prenatal appointment and read over it. I felt uncertain about several of the items on the list and then kind of panicky, so I […]
The Thing About Birth Plans
Isla’s birth was sort of a disaster and absolutely nothing went according to our birth plan. Between then and my current pregnancy, I’ve had 4 years to sit around and stew over all the things that went wrong with her birth, how things might have gone differently, and what if any value our birth plan […]
First Steps Toward VBAC
It’s no secret that my daughter’s birth wasn’t easy. I was induced. The first round failed. They tried again, labor started. 16 hours later, things went haywire, and we had to be rushed into the OR for a crash c-section. In total, I spent 40 hours in the hospital from the time I was admitted […]
Review: Natural Hospital Birth
If I could recommend one book to parents who are seeking a natural birth, but know home birth is not for them, Natural Hospital Birth by Cynthia Gabriel is the book I’d suggest. I loved this book so much the first time I read it, I immediately made my husband read it. And after he […]
Review: Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth
Numerous people have recommended Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth as the quintessential book for anyone hoping to have a natural birth. Because I am hoping to have a natural birth experience with baby #2 (no, I’m not pregnant), I decided to pick it up and give it a read. I was not as impressed with […]
Guest Blogging Open Call: C-Section Grief
My daughter was born by emergency cesarean section, and even now, 17 months later, it’s an experience I have yet to process fully or come to terms with. Sometimes when I think about it, I’m completely overwhelmed by the sadness, frustration, anger, doubt and guilt I feel. This is normal. At all my post-partum check-ups, […]
