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Please join us in welcoming the newest member of our family - a son!

William (Gil) Farrell Schellingerhoudt was born at home 3:23PM on February 19, 2010. He was 6 lbs 12oz and 20 inches long.

I had a FAST labour - I thought I was in labour in the morning, but it had quite the pause … in the end, my active labour lasted only 2.5 hours and I only pushed a few times!

We’re doing well - getting to know one another and getting breastfeeding well established. I’ll check in with you all soon with a birth story

I can’t believe we’re sitting here at 39 weeks pregnant and playing the waiting game. My last trimester has absolutely flown by and it’s crazy to think that in just a matter of hours, I could be holding Love Bug on the outside. Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday, I woke up to some very strong Braxton-Hicks contractions. So strong that I was tempted to stay home from a planned outing to Ottawa Street with a good friend to pick up fabrics to make some slings. I ended up going anyways and although I continued to have decent runs of contractions and some intense cervical pain (what on earth was Love Bug doing in there??), there was nothing that was coming with any regularity.

I continued to have strong ones all through the afternoon and evening and Brad and I were pretty sure that Love Bug would be making his/her arrival last night or early on Valentine’s Day - how perfect would that have been? We decided to head up to bed around 10:30 (early for us, believe it or not) and get some rest in case that was it. I fell asleep around 11:30 or 12, wonderfully, but was awake at 1AM with a big contraction. As I laid in the dark and breathed through it, I thought for sure I was in labour. I timed 4 contractions at exactly 5 minutes apart and lasting around 45 seconds apiece which were quite strong and definitely tightening down across my belly and into my back when Gwen woke up.

After trying to put her on the potty and attempting to settle her, the contractions spaced out - between 7 and 13 minutes apart. They picked back up again for a time, but were inconsistent. At about 3:30AM, I was starving hungry, so I decided to go downstairs, have a snack, and call my midwife to get some advice on what to do. Once I got downstairs, the contractions all but stopped. I had an apple and a hunk of cheese, cleaned up my camera’s memory card (fresh memory for Love Bug’s arrival!), and did a bit of web surfing. Since I had only 3 contractions in 45 minutes and they were very short, I decided not to call the midwife and to go back up to bed. I was asleep by about 4:30AM and Brad was wonderful enough to get me some extra sleep in the morning - 10:20AM! - it was fantastic and well needed.

I have had a few decent contractions today, but definitely nothing to get worked up about. I guess we’ll see!

I had my 37 week appointment on Monday and discussed the GBS thing with my primary midwife. She was very supportive of our decision to not use antibiotics and to decline the 4- and 12-hour blood tests and to treat on risk factors. THANK GOODNESS. I feel so much better about things now! And we did end up getting the antibiotic prescription filled, so we have it just in case.

Baby had a nice acceleration in heartrate while we were listening (the student had just palpated positioning and gotten Love Bug all riled up) into the 160’s, but it settled back down into the 140’s/150’s after a minute or two. My primary midwife’s guess is: girl, in the high 7-lb range, born at 39 weeks - which is the 18th/19th … same as my secondary midwife’s guess for timing! We’ll see!

Love Bug’s movements have definitely slowed down some in the past few days. He/she is still moving a lot in the evenings, but the movements are both stronger and slower. I’ve read that the baby often starts moving a little less due to lack of space and conserving energy, but who knows! I’m definitely not concerned about the amount of movement anyways - plenty of kicks and punches and hiccups going on in there!

Um, I’m full term.

Yep, that means I can go at any time.

Yep, that’s a bit crazy/exciting/nerve-wracking.

Read the rest of this entry »

Here is the recipe that my midwife office gives out for postpartum herbal baths.

Ingredients:

• 1 oz uva ursi
• 1 oz shepherd’s purse
• 4-6 cloves garlic, sliced or chopped

Instructions:

1. Put all ingredients in a pot with 4L of liquid.
2. Simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Add 1 cup sea salt to the mixture.
4. Let cool and strain into containers with lids, freeze if not used within 2 days. Makes enough for 2 baths.

I was lucky enough for my first birth to have a friend drop off some extra herbal bath that she made up for her homebirth in April before I had Gwen, so I didn’t have to make it! In the above picture, taken shortly after Gwen’s birth, we’re actually in the herbal bath together. It’s healing for both mom’s reproductive system and baby’s cord and is honestly SO SOOTHING. If you’ve got it frozen in containers, just thaw it in the tub while you’re filling it with water. This time, I’m hoping to make a double batch so that I can have a soothing bath more often!

I can’t believe I could have a baby in 4 weeks. That’s mildly terrifying! Read the rest of this entry »

On Friday, I had my 29 week appointment. According to their wildly inaccurate scales (the one I normally weigh myself on is 10 lbs less than most scales, and that bathroom was out of order, so I weighed myself in the other), I’ve gained 30 lbs. I’m 99.8% sure I’ve gained around 20, so I’m trying not to be too concerned!! Read the rest of this entry »

Sigh.

Over the weekend, I developped a reddened, sore lump on the back on my leg behind my knee. I called the thrombosis clinic that I went to a few weeks ago and they made me an appointment for the next day.

After a quick examination and a compression ultrasound, I was diagnosed with Superficial Thrombophlebitis, which is a clot in a superficial vein. No deep vein involvement, thankfully. Read the rest of this entry »

Just for kicks I checked out my belly pics from my pregnancy with Gwen Read the rest of this entry »