Okay, so not homebirth related. But I have a new office!!! A home office, of course, where I study and work on building my doula, placenta encapsulation and childbirth education classes. I am so stoked. It's whimsical, it's me and it's the one spot in my house I DO NOT HAVE TO SHARE.
It's the little things, right?
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Saturday, January 10, 2015
I Did It, I Had My Homebirth
So two weeks ago we had a birth. A beautiful birth where the mama (a ultrasound tech) who was very unsure of herself totally rocked her birth. It was a great birth. And the first one I have attended with my preceptor by myself in the entire year we have been working together. I arrived a few hours before my preceptor did and got to do all the vitals and assessment. This isn't the first time, but it was the first where a mom was so far into labor.
I remember responding to her text that she was 25 minutes out with "Good! She's really close" or something along those lines. I knew this mama was in transition as soon as she moved to the pool. I was not wanting my first catch to be without my preceptor! (Someone pass the towels... I'm afraid to drop a baby!)
I felt really empowered by my preceptor, as she would silently suggest things to me to have the mom do, instead of directing herself. She suggested we get mom up and move around or sit on the toilet to the mom initially. The mom didn't bite, so we tried some counter pressure and clary sage and that really perked things up. After this again came the silent suggest (I love these!!) to get her up and walking. As soon as mom stood her membranes ruptured. Which was amazing, because in my gut I felt like that is what we were waiting on.
We moved to the toilet and got baby the rest of the way down. Within in 45minutes or so of ROM, mom was in a supported squat-like position with myself and dad holding her up. Her beautiful baby girl came out in a handful of pushes and was just as beautiful as can be.
I learned so much from this birth. I learned new skills and got to have my first fully hands on experience as an apprentice. I learned how to guide the placenta out, monitor mom and baby postpartum, did the newborn exam and did discharge information. It was a very empowering experience all around, summed up by the sentence. "I did it. I had my homebirth."
I remember responding to her text that she was 25 minutes out with "Good! She's really close" or something along those lines. I knew this mama was in transition as soon as she moved to the pool. I was not wanting my first catch to be without my preceptor! (Someone pass the towels... I'm afraid to drop a baby!)
I felt really empowered by my preceptor, as she would silently suggest things to me to have the mom do, instead of directing herself. She suggested we get mom up and move around or sit on the toilet to the mom initially. The mom didn't bite, so we tried some counter pressure and clary sage and that really perked things up. After this again came the silent suggest (I love these!!) to get her up and walking. As soon as mom stood her membranes ruptured. Which was amazing, because in my gut I felt like that is what we were waiting on.
We moved to the toilet and got baby the rest of the way down. Within in 45minutes or so of ROM, mom was in a supported squat-like position with myself and dad holding her up. Her beautiful baby girl came out in a handful of pushes and was just as beautiful as can be.
I learned so much from this birth. I learned new skills and got to have my first fully hands on experience as an apprentice. I learned how to guide the placenta out, monitor mom and baby postpartum, did the newborn exam and did discharge information. It was a very empowering experience all around, summed up by the sentence. "I did it. I had my homebirth."
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