Thread: Fiona's Birth (pic heavy - 50+pics) xp2

I didn't want to overload my lodge with pics, so I thought I'd post a seperate thread, hope you guys don't mind.

Much thanks to Allie who took these pics. And much love to her and the rest of my birth team for the amazing support and encouragement they gave me. My heart is forever grateful.



My water broke at 7pm on May 9, 2010 just as I was putting Violet to bed. The first people I called were my sister and hubby. Greg was on his way home from work and Em was just down the street at her home. Contrax started out mild but close so when Em and hubby arrived we called my mom and other sister, Alison to come out. My midwife Carolynn was paged and informed of what was happening and said all sounded good, to call her back when things got more intense.

Not long after we called my other two women, Arty and Allie. Contrax were still mild and spacing out a bit, so we were having a great time with a girly slumber party. Greg was prepping food and water for the birth tub. Emily made muffins.

To get things started I did some walking outside. First with Greg, then with Em. Then at 10pm decided to try and sleep instead. I was in and out of sleep all night between contrax. Early in the morning I didn't want to lie down with them anymore, so around 5:30am went downstairs to rejoin the party. That's when the pictures began:

I rocked on my birth ball for awhile, trying to get the kicky babe into a good position, thinking maybe that's why things were slow going. Violet helped.




I also used my breastpump as much as I could handle to stimulate labour. It was a sunny morning and everyone was in such a great mood!!! It made me feel so wonderful to have my tribe of women there. Including my cutie pie, who was soon to be a big sister. Greg was left to sleep, since he had worked a very full day previously. I needed him well rested.




Checking my facebook status updates between contrax:


and during I'd rock on hands and knees. It felt nice to vocalize.


After a long night Emily and Alison took cat naps upstairs:



But the excitement was hard to sleep through:


and getting hard to talk through:


Alison and I decided to take a walk outside to see if we could get things stronger. We walked through each contraction and they started coming closer together. By the time we got home, they were 4 min apart and definitely stronger. I was hungry so mom made me a fried egg sandwich with cheese and lots of ketchup on a bagel. It tasted like heaven!!



Once that was powered back, I decided to put Violet down for a nap. I figured nursing her would help with continuing the roll my body was on. She fell asleep fast and I had three major contrax while lying with her. I got up, woke up Greg and asked him to prepare, cause I needed him now. We had the heat cranked in the house, so I changed into cooler clothing. My bikini top that I wore when I birthed Violet and some comfy shorts.

Contrax were clearly stronger now and I could feel that things were very different. Much much more different than before I went upstairs to put Violet down. I didn't have to say much before my team sprung to action. Tidying and whatnot. Carolynn was paged. I rocked against the couch for support during my waves.




Asking Carolynn to come on out!!


My team was amazing. Getting the pool filled. Em was on hose duty and Greg and Ariana worked on heating pots of water on the stove.



My mom was a big help, offering great suggestions and support through each stage. And of course saying how much she is gonna miss my cute bump.


Alison was great too. Preparing herself for what's to come in 4 months for herself! and being a dork:


We recorded the sounds of the birth for a documentary. The equipment was lying in wait for me to get into the tub:


Everyone else was having a great time!



You can see my barf bucket, waiting for transition. I didn't need it, thankfully.








Carolynn arrived at noonish. Just when it was really kicking up.



Checking fetal heartrate. 140bpm.





Midwives in Canada bring the equivalent of a level 1 NICU.




Finally moving into the tub at noon. It was heaven.. For about 10 minutes, lol.





Taking my temp.


Violet was amazing. "Mommy's working!"



Keeping my palms spread helped keep me loose and un-clenchy everywhere else.




Starting to get very intense and soon people were a blur and I was in it to win it by myself. I could still feel the positive energy of my team though and I am so very very appreciative of everyone's support.









Greg took her while I got out and dried off. Apparently she spat up on him.







Doing the newborn exam while she nurses



5lb 14oz of teency cuteness!!


The last 10-20 minutes were very intense and I yelled through them mostly. haha. Violet played in the backyard happily with Em til Fiona was born and came inside to meet her right away. She has been wonderful with her little sister ever since!

I'll write up a proper story soon, but wanted to share while I'm still on a high from the awesomeness.

That was beautiful! TFS!

What a great picture documentation of the birth, it will be fun for you to listen to the recording. Congrats on your adorable little girl.

Cindy

Awe! Thanks for sharing -- makes me want to do it all again now!!

That was wonderful, makes me so excited for my birth in december. She's a beautiful baby girl and it looks like you had a fantastic team!

What a great birth story--love seeing it through pictures!! TFS and congratulations again!

Beautiful birth story! Thank you so much for sharing.

So cool to see all the pics.

Your pictures were awesome! Alison did a great job on them! It looks like it was a really beautiful family experience.

Your birth story and pictures are so moving and beautiful, Jordan. Thank you so much for sharing this. It really inspires me for my baby's birth. Thank you!!! Amazing!