Inspiration
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Birth Stories
Jayden Wolfe
Hello Leslie and Mary Jo!
I attended the prenatal class with Mary Jo on Friday mornings in February. I continued my yoga practice and labor/delivery prep at home. I now know that prenatal workouts and labor preparation are vital for having a wonderful pregnancy and delivery.
I had two due dates, 7/8 and 7/14. My husband and I kept telling everyone that our baby was coming on 7/7/07 because we knew that would be a wonderful day to have our baby boy. On Thursday, July 5th, we had a weekly check up with our midwife, Leslie. We told Leslie to enjoy her Saturday morning and she should plan to meet us at the hospital that afternoon . . . because our baby was coming on Saturday, 7/7/07!
Saturday, 7/7/07, at 10:15 a.m. I was laying in bed and my water broke. VERY EXCITING!!! I did a 30 minute yoga session, ate an Ellwood Thompson wrap, and we were at St. Francis by 1:00 p.m. At 2:00 p.m. I was given a small dose of pitocin. . . just to get the party started.
The first couple of hours (2:00-4:30) I was doing squats, front side bends and hip circles. I went into transition around 4:30, started pushing at 5:30 and Jayden Wolfe was here at 6:11 p.m. We were drug free and no tearing or complications. HALLELUIAH!!! It was an empowering experience. I felt confident and strong. I contribute that to prayer, visualization, and yoga breathing. When people say that pregnancy/labor is a marathon and that mental/physical preparation is vital for positive results. . . they ain't lying!
Jayden weighed 6 lbs, 12 oz and was 18" long. He is nursing like a champ and learned that eating every 3 hours is so great for his momma.
Now that I've been a mom for 3 weeks I would love to finally give some advice. The things that worked for me:
• Eating spinach, apples, and almonds
• Prenatal yoga is a must (the breathing is so helpful during labor)
• FitMomma prenatal workout DVD is wonderful to do at home
• 30 minutes of daily activity (cardio, light weights and stretching) really gets the "kinks" out & helps you sleep
• ICAN (International Cesarean Awareness Network) is very informative
• Read or watch whatever you can about child birth (other women's experiences can motivate)
• "Growing Kids God's Way" or "Child Wise" are great parenting tools
• Connect with other mom's going through the same path
I am so thankful for this incredible journey. Thank you for letting me share it with you.
Ashley