Playing

Happy/Sad

Vaginal Breech Birth vs. Cesarean Section

I just finished reading Breech Birth by Benna Waites. She is a British clinical psychologist who birthed a breech baby vaginally. She wrote the book analyzing all the research studies done on breech birth, both vaginal and cesarean to help other women who find themselves with a breech baby at term. Rixa of Stand and Deliver Blog write a review of this book as well as New Zealand midwife Maggie Banks' book Breech Birth Woman-Wise. Since both my babies have been breech (one born by elective c-section and the other born vaginally after a successful External Cephalic Version, the topic of breech is close to my heart. To say that I "chose" to have an elective c-section with my first implies that I felt I had options which is not how I felt. I didn't feel like I had any other good and reasonable choices. Considering the fact that supposedly only 3% of babies are breech at term and I have had two, I feel that I need to prepare to deal with breech in future pregnancies as well.

I am going to order Maggie Banks' book plus an extra copy for my doctor as well. You have to order from her website or bookstores in Australia/New Zealand so I want to have it well before I get pregnant again. Also, book of these books are good to have in my library since breech doesn't become an issue until the end of pregnancy when you don't have a lot of time to order books and make decisions.

Benna Waites' book is a must-read for a those who find themselves with a breech baby. If vaginal breech birth is something you might be interested in, the analysis of the studies and different approaches to managing breech will be extremely helpful and confidence-building to making your decisions. While there are no clear-cut answers, there are important considerations such as provider experience/confidence and managed vs. hands-off approach to vaginal birth. Additionally, measures to turn a baby are also covered along with the potential benefits and risks of planning a c-section but waiting to operate until after labor starts on its own.

EC Update #5

We've continued to do Elimination Communication (EC) part-time since Eva was 7 months old. Lately, Eva has been waking up with a dry diaper overnight. It isn't every night, but it is more nights than not. Today, she went into the bathroom when she had to go and walked right up to the toilet. That is a break through. I hope she continues to do it and it was not a fluke. I have had more baby sitting recently so we haven't worked on it as much, but I am going to try to keep her diaper-free as much as possible when we are home. It makes it easier for me to tell when she has to go and she will make the connection better. So today, I got her on the potty quite a bit and she took herself once. She also peed on the floor a few times, but I don't mind. It is very easy to clean up. Every time she did, I took her to the potty and set her on it while I cleaned it up.

Sick Baby

Eva had a cough and fever two weeks ago. She went in for a follow-up doctor visit and the doctor thought she might have a sinus infection so she gave us an anti-biotic. She said if Eva was better the next day (Saturday), she didn't need the anti-biotic. The next day she seemed much better. On Sunday, Ian threw up and we thought he had food poisoning because it looked like raw meat in his vomit. We went to the ER and they said it should pass in 12-24 hours. It did. He had a fever on Monday but no vomiting. By Tuesday, he was totally fine. Then Tuesday night, Eva puked big time! She had eaten a lot and IT WAS IN THE CARSEAT! Gross! She threw up a few more times that night and then a few times the next afternoon. She seemed to be fine after that. But she puked again last night in bed. If she does it again we'll probably go back to the doctor to see what is going on. For now, we are just doing lots of laundry!

Pig Tails

Somebody's Not Quite Ready to Get Up...

For the Grandparents and the Great-Grandparents on Mother's Day

The Birth of a Doula

On Thursday morning at 4:58 am, a doula was born. That was when I received a phone call from a woman I had met last week. She was in labor. She hadn't officially hired me and I wasn't sure she was going to, but when labor started, she called me. I had the honor of attending a birth in January as a shadow doula/co-doula. While, it was an unforgetable experience, I did not have the full responsibility, I just followed the leads of Amy (the doula) and the couple. I was amazed at how instinctive it was to help meet their needs, but I did not feel comfortable calling myself a doula. But after this experience I can say,"I am doula."

Thank you, L family, for trusting me to protect your space and nurture you through this amazing transition to parenthood.

Kanzius Foundation Finishes First in the Pepsi Refresh Everything Contest

Erie-native John Kanzius had a dream to create a non-invasive cancer treatment using radiowaves. The idea is ready for human trials, but they need funding. Thanks to everyone who voted. To learn more about the Kanzius Foundation's work or to contribute to the research, visit the website. What I love most about this story is that Kanzius was not a doctor or scientist, just a man with an idea. Anyone who has known someone going through cancer treatment knows that the treatment and after-effects are often as bad as the disease. If the treatment doesn't kill you, you may have lasting side effects like lymphedema as both my cousin Micki and friend Marci have as a result of cancer treatment.