a {home} birth story :: alder chapman

This blog post was drafted this past June, just days before we sold our little Minneapolis house where our boys were both born. The birth photos were taken by my amazing doula Anna Botz and the close up picture of Alder’s face was taken by Rob Morgan, friend and photographer extraordinaire.


He was born over two years ago, but I just haven’t been able to sit down and write out this story. However, I told myself that I couldn’t move out of this house where I birthed my two boys without first getting these words into written form. Our little Alder Chapman, he’s a wild one and he came into the world in exactly the way you would expect a wild one to do. It was fast and furious, beautiful and traumatic all at the same time. That’s partly why I’ve never been able to sit down to write it. There’s processing that is needed to type out these words, but it’s processing that needs to be done as I sit at the very table you see in these pictures, and look into that same living room where I labored. This story is a part of this house. It always will be and because of that, it needs to be told from within it. So, here we go.


Monday, March 11, 2019.

It was a normal Monday with our regular chiropractor visit and food co-op grocery run. Yet, I knew that morning that it didn’t feel quite normal. Something was different. I felt a little strange and our very observant chiropractor knew it too. I could feel my body and mind gearing up. Was today the day?? No. He’s not due until the 23rd. That’s still 12 days away. At the co-op I found myself throwing food into the cart as “just in case food” - just in case this baby is coming. Just in case I won’t be back here myself for weeks. Just in case. Once home I started cleaning like a madwoman. Groceries away. Check. Floors swept. Check. Bathroom scrubbed. Check. My body knew, but my mind was denying it. It can’t be today. It’s still too early. The day went on and I did my normal Monday things, but as I did I was preparing too. Preparing to have others run my home for a week. Preparing to rush Oak out the door to Grandma’s. Preparing all of the lists, food, and supplies that I had prepped for weeks. You see, Oak came early too, but I was not quite ready. His was a marathon birth, but I didn’t have the food on hand that is necessary to sustain a marathon birth. By the grace and strength of the Father, I made it through, but once he was born, I was completely and utterly spent. That was not going to happen this time, so for that, I was prepared. I was ready for a marathon birth - yet, there was a still small voice that spoke to me often throughout my weeks of marathon preparation that I should also prepare for the sprint. And if I’ve learned anything over the past few years, when the Lord says, “Get ready,” it’s wise to listen and do just that. So, as the day went on, I got ready, not knowing if/when our sweet baby would arrive that day.


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I don’t remember the exact timing of the first contraction (one of the reasons I should have written this two years ago!), but I do believe it was around 5:15. I was at the kitchen sink and Dan walked into the kitchen and saw me standing there breathing intentionally. He said, “what are you doing?” “I don’t know. Just breathing, I guess.” “You’re having a contraction!” “Maybe?” I said. I was still in denial. “Yes!” He said, “I’m calling the midwives.” Our birth team was called and shortly after our doula/birth photographer Anna arrived. My mom came to pick up Oak and while I tried to encourage everyone to take their time and not rush, they all quickly picked up on the fact that there may not be time available for the taking this time around. As my contractions intensified, Oak got a little nervous, so we said our goodbyes and he left for Grandma’s for the night.

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By 7:35 both of our midwives had arrived and they checked me and baby as I labored in the living room. I’m not sure how long we were there, but I eventually made my way up the stairs to go to the bathroom. I had the thought as I did so that I probably wouldn’t be back downstairs for at least the next week as I recovered in bed. That was not to be so, but we’ll get to that.

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The next hour and a half included some of the most intense pain I’ve ever experienced. With Oak’s birth, contractions were intense back labor and they lasted for hour upon hour upon hour. This was different. This was like my body hit the turbo button to get this baby out. While homebirth midwives often don’t check for cervix dilation, I think my body must have done most of the dilation in about an hour of time. It was like I could feel my cervix widening with each contraction. It did not feel good and I do believe I used the F word to describe the pain, which is not at all a normal word in my vocabulary. By 9:21 I told my midwives that I felt kind of pushy. By 9:32 our sweet baby had arrived. And he was a boy!! Another boy born in exactly the same place on the floor of our bedroom. Perfectly primal. This mama does not birth in a bed, no. The squat it how I roll.

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What a difference to birth a baby in just 4 short hours! The elation on my face shows exactly how I felt - so proud, so capable, so strong. Birth is amazing. Our bodies can do so much and can tolerate so much. I love how homebirth has allowed me to birth in the ways that my body needed to do so - in the comfort of our home, surrounded only by those I love and trust, in the quiet dimness of our room - the room in which our sweet babies first came to be. I’m so thankful for the ability to birth at home and also for the experienced and wise birth team we had. And while I wish I could say the story ended here with a simple placenta delivery, a delayed cord clamping, a first latch, and a deep, long sleep - it did not. No. Things got a bit hairy from this point forward.

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You see, I had had spotting throughout my pregnancy. It was random and irregular and slightly worrisome, but not too concerning to risk me out of homebirth. An ultrasound in my third trimester found no evidence or source of bleeding and since it had stopped at that point, we moved forward with our homebirth plan. However, once I delivered the placenta, it seemed to reveal the source of the bleeding - likely the placenta was putting pressure on the troublesome blood vessel and once it released the pressure, my body was unable to make the bleeding stop. My midwifes were incredible, though. They administered herbal tinctures and pitocin to help stop the bleeding and they monitored me very closely. At one point they talked to me about the possibility of needed to transfer to the hospital. I told them it would be fine. Ha. It was not fine and they knew it. Thirteen minutes later they called 911. I remember the next 12 minutes very vividly - which is one of the reasons I’ve had a hard time writing this story. In some ways, I remember those 12 minutes better than the actual birth, which makes me sad. Alder’s birth was beautiful and so many times I have wished that we could have just curled up in that bed and begun our week of postpartum/newborn convalescent bliss together. Instead, I had paramedics abruptly enter our sacred birth space, awkwardly figure out how to move me down our narrow 100 year old staircase, and ineptly put me into the ambulance while I laid on a stretcher hardly clothed in freezing weather. While I am incredibly thankful for the paramedic team, they had some less than shining moments during the 5 minutes that they were there. Thankfully, my doula had told Dan that he had to go with me in the ambulance. So, with a 45 minute old baby in his arms, he and his 6’3” self followed the stretcher right on into the ambulance, sat down, and said, “Ok, let’s go.” The paramedic was taken by surprise, but she didn’t argue and so away we went. We were transferred easily and quickly into the Fairview Riverside labor and delivery ward, but the hours after that dragged on. There as a lot of waiting while I laid in that bed bleeding. I don’t know what I would have done had my birth team not been there with me. The resident attending to me was pushing me to approve a manual sweeping of my uterus two hours after I had given birth, rather than a D&C. This would have been incredibly painful as my cervix had already closed most of the way. My midwives and doula were able to explain more fully what the difference between the procedures would be so that I could make an educated decision in the care I received. After I had been there for almost 2 hours, my midwives took my vitals as it had been quite awhile since the hospital staff had done so. I was finally taken back to the OR at 1:16 am. An hour later, they asked Dan for permission to give me a blood transfusion and use a ballon to stop the bleeding. After another hour passed, they let them know that they were finishing up and that I was stable. Dan held Alder through all of this.

The transfer and time at the hospital was traumatic for all of us. As I have thought back over it all over the past two years I have often reflected on the differences in care that I received from my birth team opposed to the paramedic and hospital staff. My reflections are simply that - reflections of the interactions I experience on the night of March 11th, 2019 - they are by no means a reflection on paramedic/hospital staff as a whole, so please read them as such. My birth team was attentive to my every need, to my baby’s needs, and to my husband’s needs. They were present every moment physically and emotionally. They were there to care for us, to support us, and to educate us. They knew us. My birth team could read the expressions on my face - on my husband’s face - because they knew us as individuals. We had walked the past 9 months together. We had birthed before together. They knew us and they were there for us. The paramedics and the hospital staff were there to do a job. I’m so thankful for them because the job they did likely saved my life. However, I did not feel supported by them. I did not feel known. In fact, the morning after my D&C, I was alone in the room with Alder as Dan had gone back home to get the car to pick us up, and even though I mentioned to the nurse that I needed to use the bathroom for the first time, she did not offer to help me. As I attempted to get up, I had to ask for help. This surprised me so much because my midwives would never have let me leave the bed for the first time - even without blood loss - without someone walking beside me supporting me. The contrast of care was stark to me. Midwives are amazing humans, especially homebirth midwives. I’m so very thankful for them.

Anyways, to wrap up this story. Alder, Dan, and I were able to return home by mid afternoon on March 12, the day after Alder was born. I walked up our stairs, apologizing to my pelvic floor the whole way, and got cozy in bed with my sweet baby boy. Our midwives met us there shortly after and got us settled. And Oak came home to meet his brother, which was a very special moment! It was not the easy recovery that could have followed the easy birth, but I recovered and eventually got my hemoglobin back into normal range (thanks to beef liver capsules and nourishing food!). I believe Alder has had a tighter bond with Dan since that first night because he was held by his daddy for so many hours directly following his birth. He also has a very strong love for the tree-brown blanket I had knit for him that he was wrapped in during those first few hours as well. The kid sleeps with that wool blanket cuddled up by his head whether it’s 10 degrees or 95. Those first moments and hours of life outside the womb matter so much and while I wish ours would have been smoother, I’m so thankful for the loving team that surrounded us and walked us through those early hours and beyond.

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a {home}birth story :: oak alexander

Throughout my pregnancy, I read birth story after birth story and each time I read one I felt more empowered and more capable of the task that was ahead of me.  Each story reminded me that birth is a natural process and one that my body was created to experience and to succeed at.  Each story combatted the fear that our society often places around birth and replaced it with confidence, excitement, and anticipation.  Each story made my own story more of a reality.  So, with that, I wanted to share my story with you, in hopes that it would do the same for you.  


Monday, February 22nd, was just a normal day for me, or so I thought.  I went to work, taught my class, graded a few presentations, and cleaned up my desk a bit in preparations for my final days at the office.  You see, I was scheduled to work through the end of that week and my baby was due the following week, so it was preparation time indeed!  I felt that the baby had dropped that day and I found myself waddling around campus a bit more than usual, but that was to be expected as I was approaching the 39th week mark.  After work that day, I went to my usual Monday chiropractor appointment and then on to my prenatal yoga class.  At the chiropractor, the office staff commented on how my belly was sitting a bit lower than it had the week before and they were all placing bets on when our little one would arrive.  I told them I was pretty sure it wasn't going to be that week...I mean, I had 4 days left of work and I really wanted to wrap things up and walk away with a clean slate.  Besides, I had a prenatal massage scheduled for Saturday, and that sounded so very lovely.  At yoga, I felt so motivated and so strong.  My body had been craving the workout all day and every stretch felt so good and so empowering.  As we squatted and held our goddess poses, I pictured myself laboring and breathing through contractions and I heard the verse that would become my mantra go through my head: "I can do all things through him who gives me strength" (Philippians 4:13, NIV).  That evening at home Dan and I went about our usual business.  I put my tomato and pepper order together for my summer garden, while Dan worked and played on his computer.  It was a low-key and relaxing evening.  

Around 10:30 or 11:00 that evening as we got ready for bed, I had my first sign that labor was nearing.  I lost a bit of my mucus plug along with a bit of bloody show (for those who are unfamiliar with the events of childbirth, I realize this may sound disgusting, but it is in fact a normal part of the birth process).  The sight of the blood brought a bit of a giggle to my lips as I sat in the bathroom a bit shocked and unsure of what to make of it.  I told Dan and also told him that this happens to some women weeks before they actually give birth, so it may not mean anything.  I then proceeded to call my best friend and we giddily discussed what this could or could not mean for the timing of this impending birth.  After getting off the phone with her, I texted my midwife, who promptly called me and wanted me to tell her all the details.  She told me to go to sleep and call her in the morning to tell her if anything changed.  So, with strict instructions to myself to not get too excited and to simply go to sleep, since I had to work in the morning, I willed myself to sleep.  

Around 12:30 am I woke up to my first contraction.  It felt like a strong menstrual cramp, a feeling I know well, and a feeling that I hadn't felt in over 9 months.  (I didn't realize until later that the full moon peaked over our house within 15 minutes of my first contraction! I LOVE this, as last spring I had really been trying to sync my cycle with the moon cycles!  The fact that my labor started at the peak of a full moon tells me that my attempts were at least somewhat successful!!)  I slept off and on through continued light contractions until around 5:00 am when I felt that they were getting a bit more regular.  At that point, I downloaded an app and started timing them.  After an hour of contractions that were lasting about 30 seconds and coming every 5-7 minutes, I figured it was time to wake Dan and let him know that our baby was probably on the way.  He was so calm as I told him, which didn't surprise me as he is always calm in situations like these.  We got out of bed a bit later and he made me a big bowl of oatmeal with raisins, walnuts, and molasses to give my body a bit of energy for the events ahead.  I then proceeded to email work and tell them that I would not be teaching my classes that day--or the rest of the week--as I was HAVING A BABY!!!  I talked to my midwife around this time as well and she told me to stay active, rest when I needed to, and eat.  That all sounded good at the time, but within an hour or so the contractions were reaching a level of intensity where I was ready to move upstairs and stay there.  I had anticipated and somewhat worried about this moment.  I knew that once I was ready to go upstairs that I would stay there for at least a week (more on my postpartum convalescence in a later post), and I worried that when the time came I wouldn't want to commit to going up those stairs.  However, when the time actually came, that thought was nowhere to be found.  All I could think about was that my back was hurting with each contraction and upstairs sounded far more comfortable than the couch.  So, up the stairs I went and stayed.  I think this was around 10:30 or so in the morning of Tuesday, February 23rd.  

I proceeded to labor and work through contractions upstairs while Dan got the birth tub ready and a few of the other supplies pulled together.  With the baby coming a week early, we were mostly ready, but not quite.  Dan had to run to the hardware store to buy a hose and faucet adapter for the birth tub and there still were a few things that I hadn't checked off the birth supplies list.  It all worked out in the end, though, and we realized later that there was no need to rush any of these preparations as we were in this thing for the long haul! 

One of my midwives stopped by mid-afternoon with a missing piece for the birth tub and while she was there she checked my vitals.  All was well with me and Baby and so she left me with instructions to try a few different positions and to rest as I could through contractions.  The midwives told us to stay in touch and they would return when the baby was closer.  By 4:00 pm or so, Dan and I felt that things were picking up quite a bit.  Our doula came about 4:30 and Joanna, our apprentice midwife, came around 5:00.  Once Joanna was there, she once again checked my vitals and listened to the baby's heart.  After confirming that all was well, she knelt down in front of me to break the news to me that neither Dan nor Anna, our doula, knew how to tell me---Jeanne, our other midwife, had to attend another birth and she was sending a backup midwife to us in her place.  At this point, tears began to uncontrollably stream down my face.  I logically knew and told myself that everything was going to be OK and that I wasn't actually that upset by the news.  However, my body and emotions were acting separately from my mind and the tears continued to fall.  I knew that it wasn't worth my energy and effort to dwell on it, though, so I said, "OK," and continued laboring on.  

My labor was not easy, really at any point.  I had been having back labor all afternoon and around the time that our doula arrived, the back labor intensified.  We found that the only thing that relieved the pain during these contractions was to have either Dan or Anna push on my hips throughout the contraction. It was amazing how much relief this gave me!  As labor continued, Dan and Anna took turns helping me with this (for which I was so very grateful!!).  Shortly after the midwives arrived, they had me get in the birth tub.  They hoped it would be a pain reliever and also get me moving in a different position.  I had hoped for this as well, but was unfortunately surprised to find that because of the back labor, the water did little to relieve the pain.  It was hard for Dan to push on my hips during contractions while I was in the tub.  Because of this, I spent a lot of time on my hands and knees while in the water, which was only somewhat comfortable.  Around 6:30, my wonderful chiropractor paid us a visit.  My emotions got the best of me again as I heard her voice in the entryway and saw her face when she got to the top of the stairs.  There was something so comforting about having her there with me, even if it was only for a short time.  She had seen me more than my midwives throughout this pregnancy and she knows my body so very well.  It comforted me so much to know that she might be able to help my baby come faster, safer, and maybe with less pain.  After her adjustments, my contractions intensified for a bit.  Baby and my body were trying so very hard to progress, and they were, but rather slowly!  

Throughout the last few weeks of my pregnancy, we had known that Baby wasn't in the ideal position.  At times he had been posterior and other times he was transverse.  It is possible to birth a baby who is in either of these positions, but it tends to make labor harder and longer.  Once labor started, we knew that Baby was still not in the ideal position, so the midwives had me try a few different positions to try to get the baby to move.  Even with all of our attempts, though, he did not move, and labor continued at an intense, yet slow, pace.  One of the positions that I tried was an inversion where I had to lay with my chest and face on the bed, arms back, and butt in the air.  I laid this way for 45 minutes.  Throughout the inversion, and the contractions during the inversion, my kitty Siah stayed right by my side.  In fact, he stayed with me for all most all of the labor and was even in and out of the room during the pushing stage.  He was so calm and peaceful, even during the tribal yells and screams that erupted from my mouth through each contraction.  He was an important part of my birth team and I'm so very thankful for him.  Having him there comforted me and made me so very happy.  

Around 9:00 or 10:00 pm, Joanna told me that Jeanne had finished up at her other birth and that she was on her way to me.  I was so happy and relieved!  She arrived around 11:00 and her presence was another source of comfort.  I got in the tub again after she arrived and at one point, between two very intense contractions, I remember looking back at her, longing for some sort of reassurance that I could do this.  She locked eyes with me and gave me a gentle nod.  It was what I needed, and I continued on.  While I was in the tub, the midwives checked my cervix for the first time.  I was fully dilated and mostly effaced and I was having pushing urges.  They had me get out of the tub and lay on the bed on my side.  I hardly remember this part, but I guess I pushed on the bed for about an hour.  They then had me move down to the floor at the end of the bed and into a squatting position.  This baby was having a hard time coming out and they wanted gravity on our side as I pushed.  I proceeded to push for about another hour in this position.  While I was pushing, Jeanne worked to help the baby descend as he was still in that less than ideal position.  Babies usually crown at the back top part of their head, but our baby was crowing on the front right side of his head.  This made his head seem a bit larger as it tried to come out, which required more of my body.  As he started to crown, they had me kneel with one knee and put my other leg up with my foot on the ground in order to open my pelvis up a bit more.  This gave Jeanne more room to work and gave the baby more room to make his entrance.  It was at this point that Anna got my best friend Jada on FaceTime.  Jada and I had wanted her to be at the birth, but she lives in Texas and wasn't planning to get up to Minnesota until the following week when the baby was due.  Having her on FaceTime was the next best thing to having her there.  They all expected the baby to arrive shortly after this point, but it was almost another hour before he did.  This last bit of pushing was so very hard.  I was extremely exhausted and was in need of nourishment.  I had eaten chicken and barely soup in the afternoon, but had thrown it up in the evening.  Anna had also fed me most of a banana and a few juice cubes during my second time in the birth tub, but other than that, I hadn't had anything else to eat.  Looking back, this was a mistake as I needed the energy from food.  However, I don't think any of us expected things to take as long as they did and so until Jeanne got there, food just wasn't on my radar.  In order to give me energy while I was pushing, Anna fed me spoonfuls of yogurt and honey between my contractions.  My legs were so weak and Dan held me up as I kneeled and squatted at the end of the bed.  As I kneeled, my feet kept falling asleep and so I had to switch which leg was up every few contractions.  However, since I was so weak, Dan and Anna had to help me switch legs.  In spite of my exhaustion, I was alert enough to ask for water between almost every contraction, yet I was also exhausted and relaxed enough to fall asleep between contractions.  I don't remember this at all, but supposedly I would fall asleep enough to start snoring!  The body is an amazing thing!  It was around this time that my water broke, and after that, in order to keep me going at two different points, Jeanne had me reach down and feel my baby's head as it crowned.  Dan later told me that when I did that my energy and determination grew so much right afterwards.  

Throughout the labor, I don't remember ever saying that I couldn't do it.  I remember saying that I wanted to be done and that I wanted and needed the baby to come very soon, but I didn't say that I couldn't do it.  I knew that I could and I knew that I had to.  In my mind there wasn't another option.  After he was born, someone asked me if I was worried at any point that I would have to transfer to the hospital due to the long labor and my exhaustion.  This thought had not crossed my mind.  I trusted my birth team to know what to do, but I also was never afraid that I couldn't do it.  As I said before, Philippians 4:13 was my mantra.  Throughout my 28+ hours of labor I said, "I can do all things," over and over and over again.  Between contractions, that is what came out of my mouth, along with things like, "come on, Baby!" "I can do this!" and "Move into the right position, Baby!"  I knew that my body and my baby could work together to do this, and that Jesus would give me the strength we needed to do so.  

And that is exactly what happened.

At 4:47 am on Wednesday, February 24, our baby's head was born and at 4:48 his entire body followed.  He came out crying a muffled cry, as he had the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck three times and once around his stomach!  They later said that my umbilical cord was unusually long and straight and so even though it was wrapped so many times it was not pulled tight.  This was also one of the reasons that he had had trouble getting into the proper position.  The umbilical cord prevented him from moving the way he needed to.  Within a few seconds of him being born, Jeanne had that cord off and his cry became strong and very loud.  As I was so weak, they helped me slowly turn around and sit down on the floor so I could hold him.  I'm sure this all took just a minute, but it seemed like an eternity.  I remember having to carefully maneuver my weak legs and feet around the umbilical cord which was on the floor in order to sit.  It seems like such a funny thing to remember so distinctly, but I was very concerned and focused on this in that moment.  After I was seated Jeanne placed our baby in my arms.  A few moments passed before I realized that we didn't know if our baby was a boy or girl, so I reached my hand down to investigate!  Dan and I were rather certain that this little babe of ours was a girl, but to our surprise, I found that the babe in my arms was indeed a boy!!  Our baby boy was here!!!!!  He was healthy and strong!!  And and my labor was over!!!!  (Well, besides that pesky placenta!)  

After checking the baby's and my vitals, they got us up on the bed.  I was bleeding a bit and was extremely exhausted and weak.  In order to stop the bleeding as soon as possible, since in my exhausted state they didn't want me to lose any more blood, they gave me a shot of Pitocin.  They then examined me to see how badly I had torn.  Since Baby had crowned in the wrong position, it was a lot harder for my body to stretch like it was supposed to.  As he had descended and crowned, my midwives knew that I would likely tear, but they both did their best to keep it as minimal possible.  At this point, I think the three of us were all a bit concerned about what they would find.  I figured I had torn and I knew that if the tear was really bad, I would have to go to the hospital to be stitched up by an OBGYN.  The tear was bad, but thankfully, not bad enough to require a transfer.  For this we were all thankful; as I was so weak, the thought of moving was a bit unfathomable.  

Around this time is when we told our birth team what our beautiful baby boy's name was to be.  Oak Alexander Rodriguez.  Oak, like the tree, for it's strength and ability to withstand harsh conditions and Alexander for Dan's little brother who passed away back in 2001.  In Oak's few short weeks with us we've seen him live up to his name.  With his difficult birth, challenging first few days, and his ability to hold his head up from the beginning, we've seen this little boy of ours display great strength in spite of challenges, and we are so very thankful for that.  

Back to that pesky placenta...it took about an hour for it to come and after pushing a baby out for 3 hours, I found pushing the placenta out to be rather awful.  I had read that this was the easy part...but my body strongly disagreed.  Those final contractions made my whole body shake as my exhausted stomach muscles gave what little was left of them to push that thing out.  Once it was done, what little adrenaline and energy I had left quickly vanished.  The midwives moved me up to the head of the bed, where they did a comprehensive newborn exam on our little one.  He was a big boy measuring 8 lbs, 8 oz, and 22.25 inches long!   Then then cleaned up and set me all up with herbal teas and compresses for the hours and days ahead.  They left about 4 hours after Oak was born, knowing that my mom would be over within the hour to take care of us, as we all needed to be taken care of! 

Looking back at my birth now, I'm so incredibly thankful that we made the decisions that we did.  My labor was not easy.  In fact, it was very, very long and very, very hard.  However, because it was at home, it was peaceful, comfortable, and completely natural.  I knew my body was capable, but I needed to be allowed to labor at the pace my body and baby required.  If we had planned a hospital birth, I may not have been allowed to have a natural, vaginal birth.  There likely would have been interventions, and possibly a C-Section, due to my long labor and long pushing stage.  I didn't want this and so I'm so very thankful for the experience that I did have.  It was not easy, but I did it!  And because I did it, our baby was welcomed into this world surrounded by people who loved him, who cared deeply for us all, and into a home that was peaceful and welcoming.  This is what we wanted and we are so very thankful that it was what we got.  

Welcome, my precious little Oak.  You are so very loved.  

The amazing birth photos were taken by our friend and doula Anna Botz.  Our midwife was Jeanne Bazille with Peacefully Born Traditional Midwifery.  Also, a big thank you to my dear husband.  He was my strong and steady partner through the whole birth and I'm so very thankful for him.  

birth blends

I apologize to all of you readers out there who are not interested in all of the baby things that I've been posting lately...but they are consuming my thoughts and life and so there has been little else to post about!  Ha!  As we prepare for birth and to welcome this little one into our home and arms, I wanted to make a few essential oil blends that would aid us in that process.  As I've mentioned before, I love essential oils, but I'm not a fan of the hype that often surrounds them.  They have fabulous uses, but I like to keep it on the simple side and I buy brands that are readily available and affordable to me.  You can read a bit more about my take on essential oils here.  With that being said, I also love to make my own blends!  It's so fun to learn about all of the different oils and then to blend them together to make just the aroma that I'm looking for.  So, for baby and myself I made two different blends.  

The first one I made I called Sleep, Baby Sleep.  It's a calming blend that promotes sleep, calm, and peace for the new little one (as well as us).  I have a feeling that a few drops of that in the diffuser will likely become a regular bedtime ritual in our home.  

The second blend I called Mama Love and I plan to diffuse it and possibly use it topically during labor, birth, and in the weeks following.  The blend is very similar to the Sleep, Baby Sleep blend as it also promotes calm, rest, and relaxation.  However, it also includes Clary Sage which is a good oil to promote labor and lactation.  I also plan to use this blend in the future for a mood lifter and pain reliever during that trying time of the month.  


Sleep, Baby Sleep

50 drops lavender

40 drops rose geranium

30 drops bergamot

30 drops lemon

30 drops sweet orange

20 drops roman chamomile

20 drops ylang ylang


Mama Love

25 drops bergamot

25 drops clary sage

25 drops lavender

25 drops sweet orange

10 drops lemon

10 drops rose geranium

5 drops roman chamomile

5 drops ylang ylang


How about you??  Are there certain essential oils or blends that you love to use for these purposes or other purposes?  I'd love to hear about them!

baby bump butter

With this little one on the way, I've been busy making and thinking up body care product recipes for both me and Baby! As this belly of mine expands, I figured the first recipe that I should focus my attention on should be a belly butter that will help my skin stay moisturized as it stretches and grows to safely house this baby for another few months.  For the past couple months, I've been using a homemade Shea moisturizer and a coconut and neem oil moisturizer off and on.  I've had great results with both and my stomach has yet to show signs of being overstretched.  While it may be too early to know for sure, I still thought it would be good to make a belly butter just for this occasion.  The following recipe has a luxuriously creamy butter texture and the smell is absolutely divine!  The added rose water and essential oils not only add a lovely fragrance, but all of them are also good for skin elasticity and overall skill health.  Most of the ingredients below can be purchased through Mountain Rose Herbs, or found at your local health foods store or food co-op.  The Shea that I used was by Everyday Shea, a fabulous company that does quite a lot of good in Western Africa.  


Baby Bump Butter

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons Shea butter

1/2 cup almond oil

1/2 cup rose water (or distilled or boiled water)

2 tablespoons coconut oil

7-8 ounces beeswax

20 drops lavender essential oil

20 drops Vitalize blend essential oil (a citrus blend by Melaleuca, The Wellness Company, you can easily substitute lemon, grapefruit, mandarin, orange, or a blend of these)

10 drops ylang ylang essential oil

Melt the Shea, coconut oil, and beeswax in a double broiler.  Once it has melted, add the almond oil.  In a separate sauce pan, warm the rose water until hot to touch.  Add the essential oils to the rose water and adjust for desired scent.  Pour the melted oils and water mixture into a glass jar and use an immersion blender (I have a special one that I use just for making soaps and lotions, but a you should be able to use your kitchen version and just clean it well) to emulsify them until it reaches a lotion-like consistency.  Continue to blend it every few minutes until the mixture has cooled.  At this point, it will still have more of a lotion-like consistency, but as it cools completely it will turn buttery.  Put a lid on the jar or transfer the mixture into another container for storage.  This recipe fits nicely into a pint-sized mason jar.  To use, apply liberally to belly and breasts (or all over!).  Use within six months for best results (both in moisture and freshness).