Felix Ames: Birth Story

Contractions! The perfect time to snap a pic ;)

This moment...wow.

Felix Ames Bushong

1/26/15 @ 2:30pm

7lbs 9oz

Home Birth: Success. And wow...it's been sort of hard to describe just how amazing of an experience it was to have our little boy at home. Very personal, loving, and natural. It sounds cheesy, but it was just so special and all about us and bringing our babe earthside. Now that I've experienced both a natural hospital birth and a home birth it's really crazy how different the two were. The hospital was very business like. I was a name on a list of people to be seen. I tell yah, after this home birth experience I would love to do it again (but I am not crazy sooooo) ;)

Now, onto my little guys story. After a night of absolutely zero sleep due to our loving little toddler, we were up for the day at around 6am. I don't know what it was, but I just knew. I knew it was going to happen on a day when Silas chose to go buck wild at night and not let us sleep a wink. And there we were. Around 6:30am I had my first "holy shit" contraction. Now, with Silas I had horrific back labor so this felt like a minor little blip on the chart compared to things with him. But I knew it was the real deal so I told Nick I didn't think he was going to go into the office that day. So, what does he do? He goes ahead and starts getting ready to go to the office. After my "WTF are you doing look?" he took me seriously. I decided to get into the shower to alleviate some of the pain and once I was in there Nick definitely knew that this was going to happen. We called my midwife Heather and put it on her radar that it was going down! Nick started setting up our birth tub and I chilled with Silas and kept track of my contractions every so often. Around 11am I put Silas down for a nap. Yes...ME. It was sort of hysterical because I was willing him with my mind to fall asleep ASAP while clutching his headboard during my contractions. He actually fell asleep pretty fast and after that I finally felt I could relinquish control to my labor and I think that's when it really started getting intense.

There are two things that I tell myself during contractions. 1) Allow yourself to feel this pain. This is normal pain. Accept it. 2) Don't fight it. I really try and allow it to spread over my body and do it's thing. Every contraction gets me just a little closer to seeing my baby. And every contraction has a purpose. I really believe in positive affirmations. It's amazing how much your mind set can affect your labor.

Of course, this is hard to do when you feel like you can't take it anymore, but that is why I cannot stress enough how important it is to have people on your support team. We had two doulas; one for Silas when he woke up and then one for myself. Between those two ladies, my two midwives, and Nick, I could not have asked for better support. Yes, I said out loud a few times that I couldn't do it, but I was reassured that I was doing it and it was what I wanted.

Around 11:30 my midwives and Doulas showed up and set up their supplies, monitored the baby and myself for a bit, and then I was told I could get in the tub. I was in active labor now so the water was absolutely glorious. Let me mention that it was a blue sky, gorgeous day at 63 degrees. So we had the window open above the birth pool and between the breeze flowing over my face and the water I could not have asked for a better way to manage my pain. And this is where it ends kids, it went fast. At 2:27 my water broke and holy sh*t if that baby didn't just fly out. Seriously, I immediately needed to push. I pushed for exactly 3 minutes and at 2:30 I lifted our sweet little angel out of the water and held him for the first time. It was the craziest, best experience of my life. When Silas was born I was so exhausted at the end and this time I felt so alive and energetic. It was truly amazing and special.

Baby Boosh // 40 weeks

Ahhhhhhh. Let's make this happen. I am SO ready to not be pregnant anymore. Well, I go back and forth. I wouldn't mind not having this bulging belly out in front, but I am so nervous for two babies and for Silas that sometimes I want to cry. I just keep looking at Silas's little face and praying he won't hate me. We are so close to D-Day (the 23rd) so I am starting to try and get things moving as much as I can with some acupuncture. If I do go past Friday I might try a few other things, but ultimately it is up to this little dude as to when we wants to make his debut and that is fine with me. Silas was 12 days late and honestly, he could not have been more perfect so I know that when Felix is ready he'll make it happen.

How far along: 40 weeks ( 39w4d)

Total weight gain: 35lbs

Maternity clothes: Yes & Yes. I am burning these leggings after this.

Stretch marks: Yup.

Sleep: Hardly. Insomnia has a tight hold on me right now along with contractions.

Best moment this week: Seeing my midwives (love them!) and talking about the birth. I can't wait to experience this.

Movement: Always.

Food cravings: nope

Anything making you queasy or sick: No

Gender: Boy

Belly button in or out: out

Wedding rings on or off: on

Mood of the week: happy, nervous, excited

Looking forward to: Going into labor! And meeting our little boy :)

Baby Boosh // 25 weeks

How far along: 25 weeks

Total weight gain: 14+ lbs

Maternity clothes: some tops and my maternity leggings.

Stretch marks: yes, but who cares.

Sleep: Silas has woken up at 4am (along with his regularly scheduled 1,000 wake ups before that) 3 days this week and it's killing me. 

Best moment this week: getting in some good yoga time while Silas naps and I can really tell Felix had a growth spurt by where he's kicking me.

Movement: it's been constant.

Food cravings: nope

Anything making you queasy or sick: No

Gender: Boy

Belly button in or out: out

Wedding rings on or off: on

Mood of the week: happy

Looking forward to: a couple of yoga classes this weekend and taking our babe to the pumpkin patch!

Baby boosh // 22 weeks

              

22weeks & 2 days. His name is Felix Ames (pronounced AIMS or for all my furniture nerds out there...EAMES) Bushong. He likes to karate chop my bladder and sleep on my stomach. He seems like a pretty chill dude ;)

Wow. This is starting to fly by! The nesting instinct has started to kick in, which is really hard to deal with when you have a 17month old running around. I've been continuing yoga and seriously, I feel so much better this pregnancy being active. It's really become one of my favorite days of the week; when I get to go to class. I'm hoping it leads to a really smooth labor! 

So, home birth. We have decided it's a go! I am nervous, but also kind of relieved to not have to figure out what to do with Silas while we go to the hospital. Leaving him was giving me anxiety because I know how much he loves his mama and papa. He just has a hard time being away from us...and if it happened at night and he woke up to us not being there I would feel awful. My midwife Lara was so excited for me when I brought up the idea of giving birth at home. She assured me I was an ideal candidate for it and shared her own experience. I will happily go to sleep in my bed over a hospital bed this time :)

I can't wait to do a little tour of the boys room once I get it all together. We are in the middle of moving things around in our apartment and it's so crazy. Only 18+/- weeks to go!

How far along: 22weeks + 2 days

Total weight gain: 14 lbs

Maternity clothes: I am thinking of doing a personal challenge...how long can I go using a hair-tie to keep my pants closed.

Stretch marks: old ones are getting darker.

Sleep: I don't know what that is...

Best moment this week: deciding on our little boys name :)

Movement: He loves to do a little shake and then settles into a position. 

Food cravings: nothing. He's taken to pressing on my stomach which makes me feel full a lot. Not cool...

Anything making you queasy or sick: nope. Some random waves of nausea sometimes.

Gender: Boy

Belly button in or out: out

Wedding rings on or off: on

Mood of the week: tired. Always.

Looking forward to: meeting our midwives and talking about our home birth!

Baby Boosh // 21 weeks

As my midwife said, "Wow, you officially have popped." Feeling large! And that could be due to the fact that I gained quite a few pounds over the last 5 weeks. My bad! At my appointment this week I brought up the possibility of having a home birth and my midwife could not have been more excited. One of the reasons I totally love her! She was super positive about it (she has had one herself) and told me she 100% recommends it. Soooooo we are in the process of discussing it and possibly moving in that direction. I think the only thing holding me back is not wanting to leave the group of midwives that we are currently with.

How far along: 21 weeks

Total weight gain: 13lbs (ahhhhhhhhhhhh)

Maternity clothes: The hair-tie trick seems to be taking me pretty far so I'll stick with it.

Stretch marks: Nothing new as far as I can see.

Sleep: I feel like I can see the light at the end of the "we haven't slept in 17 months" tunnel. Silas is still sleeping in our room but on his own cozy floor bed and it seems to be helping us.

Best moment this week: Taking out the box of stored away baby clothes and drooling over how adorable and small they are.

Movement: He's an active little guy for sure.

Food cravings: Sweets. So weird...

Anything making you queasy or sick: nope, thank god.

Gender: Boy!

Belly Button in or out: Out

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Labor Signs: Braxton Hicks all the time lately. Mostly at the end of the day or if I am taking Silas for a walk.

Mood of the week: Excited! I can't wait to start putting the boys room together and re-doing ours.

Looking forward to: finalizing our decision on whether or not we want to have a home birth!

Baby Boosh // 20 weeks

Its a boy! Our ultrasound was this week and it couldn't have gone better. This babe has a "text book perfection" umbilical cord and is as healthy as can be. He was quite stubborn and seemed to find a comfy position and not want to budge so it took until the end of my appointment to be able to see the sex. I can't believe I'm going to be the mama to two sweet boys! I am so excited to meet him, he was pretty damn cute ;)

How far along: 20 weeks

Total weight gain: 5+lbs (not exact, definitely more than 5lbs)

Maternity clothes: I think it's time to cave in...

Stretch marks: Nothing new as far as I can see.

Sleep: I've had an awful cold all week so I've been really congested which isn't so great for sleeping...

Best moment this week: seeing our sweet little baby and hearing that everything looks absolutely perfectly healthy!

Movement: all the time!

Food cravings: nothing! My mouth is so sensitive right now (damn hormones) and it's just not really fun to eat.

Anything making you queasy or sick: nope, thank god.

Gender: baby #2 is a boy :)

Belly Button in or out: It's out!

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Labor Signs: Braxton Hicks every now and then.

Mood of the week: happy and relieved that we have a very healthy baby.

Looking forward to: organizing the boys room and of course...buying this little babe some cute clothes!

Baby Boosh // 19 weeks

No choice but to selfie this crap. Silas needs to get some camera skills.

Wow. In the beginning of this pregnancy I found myself wishing it to hurry along, it felt like it was going too slow. Now, I am singing the opposite tune. How are we almost half way there?! It's crazy and stressing me out. This week begins the baby prep. Not like we have too much to do right now, I definitely learned a lot from last time and am not putting much emphasis on things like the nursery, clothes, etc. More than anything I want to de-clutter and organize. We are switching up the bedroom situation and I have a "wish list" of furniture that I need to get in here before this babe comes. I am SO excited for our ultrasound. Feeling a little pressure about the sex of the baby so I am trying not to put much thought into what I think it might be. Everyone is saying "Girl" and I feel like I have to deliver (no pun intended) on that! But hey, it's not up to me kids. Just looking forward to seeing that little face and hearing "everything looks great". 

How far along? 19 weeks

Total weight gain: 5+lbs (not exact, definitely more than 5lbs)

Maternity clothes? Still in my regular jeans. I decided not to buy anything new until the weather changes up.

Stretch marks? Nothing new, but I am sure there will be. To be honest, I don't care either.

Sleep: Silas slept through the night for the first time and of course I didn't sleep at all that night. Such a missed opportunity considering the night after that he was up constantly. We have him on a futon mattress in our room in the hopes that it will cure our sleeping woes. Fingers crossed.

Best moment this week: I can see movements a little bit on the outside. 

Movement: Yes! Still not consistent though and it freaks me out. For some reason I remember Silas as being really active around this time, but I could be mistaken. It's all a blur really, haha.

Food cravings: Salty!

Anything making you queasy or sick: No headaches this week which is amazing. I decided to start taking some magnesium (I take Natural Calm in some hot water with lemon) to help me sleep and keep my headaches at bay.

Gender: Finding out on Wednesday!

Belly Button in or out? Looks the same as always...flat.

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Labor Signs: Braxton Hicks when I haven't had enough water and at the end of the day. Apparently it's all good and normal, but it was freaking me out a bit when they first started.

Mood of the week: Feeling a bit overwhelmed.

Looking forward to: Gender reveal!

Baby Boosh // 18 weeks

Ummmm #badhairday

How far along? 18 weeks

Total weight gain: 5+lbs

Maternity clothes? Jeans are still holding on strong. 

Stretch marks? Still nothing new.

Sleep: Melatonin is my best friend at the moment.

Best moment this week: Baby is getting stronger and there are some definite kicks in there. Especially when I hold Silas which cracks me up.

Movement: It's not consistent yet, but this babe is on the move and I'm noticing his/her sleep pattern. It seems pretty consistant with mine so crossing my fingers that this baby sleeps through the night.

Food cravings: Nothing really, I actually haven't had much of an appetite as of late.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Ugh, yes. I almost barfed the other day and I have another headache which I am going to guess is caffeine related.

Gender: Less than 2 weeks until we find out. More than anything I am looking forward to seeing a healthy baby!

Belly Button in or out? Looks the same as always...flat.

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Mood of the week: Stressed and tired.

Looking forward to: Our ultrasound and some one on one time with my hubby this weekend for our anniversary! 

Fit pregnancy

Now, I am in no way preaching about this topic. I am simply putting my experience out there of having an "unfit pregnancy" and a "trying to be fit pregnancy". You know, I look back at my pregnancy with Silas with a slight tinge of bitterness. "I hated being pregnant" is what you could most likely find me saying about it. And really, it was my fault that it was how it was. I gained an extreme amount of weight with him. By the end of my third trimester I was unbelievably swollen, Silas was facing the wrong way as a result of my laziness, and during labor I had high blood pressure. Now, whether that had to do with the weight gain...I'm no doctor. But deep in me I know that it possibly could have been a little more enjoyable had I focused a bit more on the physical well being of my body. I could list off a bunch of excuses on why I gained so much; living in a new city, winter weather of -10 degrees, etc., etc. But really, that's all a bunch of crap. I knew with this pregnancy I wanted...needed to feel better about myself. I mentioned to a girlfriend who had just started working at a new yoga studio that if they needed someone to clean in exchange for free classes I was so down. I have always been envious of my girlfriends who practiced on the regular and had attempted throughout the years to become somewhat of a yogi myself. It never stuck because I was always "busy". Well, here I am cleaning a studio two nights a week in exchange for unlimited access to classes and I am hooked. I have actually never felt stronger or more flexible since my high school cheerleading days. And the crazy thing is, I've only been at it for 5 weeks.

It's been an awesome experience fixing my "mistakes" from the last pregnancy and I am just really enjoying myself this time. It's also nice to get out of the house and spend some time working on me. Motherhood doesn't always allow you the privilege of that very often and I am relishing in it.

Here are a few of my tips:

*Don't overdue it or start something that is extreme. Know your body and its limits. One reason I love doing vinyasa is that it allows me to take it as far as I feel as I can. Or con the contrary, hold back when I need to.
*Find someone to work out with. My friend Rikki is an amazing little yogi ( Hi, Rickles!). We take usually one class a week together. She is definitely more advance than me, but I love having my mat next to hers because it's 1) inspiring (I want to do crow, dammit!) and 2) seeing her flexibility and knowledge of the poses pushes me to be better at it.
*Talk to your health care provider about what is best for you. Now, i see a midwife who is all for my yoga practice. But, I know that there is probably more than a few OB's out there who would say "OMG YOU'RE GOING TO HARM THE BABY!". Whatever the case may be, you should make sure that what you're doing is safe and that you don't have anything going on medically that would prevent you from whatever exercise you've decided on.
*Know your limits and don't push yourself to the extreme. Remember, you are pregnant. Things are different. Listen to your body. Today, I stopped about 5 times to sit and skip a pose and sip on some water. It's OK to take breaks and go easy. Little bits of exercise are better than nothing!

Baby Boosh // 17 weeks

*Disclaimer: Hubs is never home so this is as good as it's gonna get. A bare belly, post yoga, weird, bump pic. Sorry, kids.

How far along? 17 weeks

Total weight gain: 5lbs

Maternity clothes? Still haven't pulled the trigger. Waiting until I'm desperate. Ha.

Stretch marks? No new ones, but my old ones are a little more noticeable (sad face).

Sleep: Silas is currently cutting molars. So none.

Best moment this week: Hearing this little ones heartbeat and chatting with my midwife. Love her! She gives me the best advice and is just so funny and awesome.

Movement: Baby likes to move! The movements are more distinct and if you stare at my belly you can actually seem him/her rolling around.

Food cravings: Sour candy. Still. My tongue almost fell off the other night from eating some sour patch kids. Definitely no more.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope, still getting some headaches though.

Gender: Less than 3 weeks :)

Belly Button in or out? Looks the same as always...flat.

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Mood of the week: Tired and missing my husband. Same as always...

Looking forward to: Possibly getting some sleep once Silas is done with this round of teething! And of course, finding out the gender.

Baby Boosh // 16 weeks

How far along? 16 weeks

Total weight gain: 5+ lbs (not sure of exact)

Maternity clothes? It's time to make the switch. I've picked out a few pieces on asos.com that I am thinking about pulling the plug on and purchasing.

Stretch marks? Still using avocado oil/coconut oil to prevent new ones.

Sleep: None whatsoever. It's really making things difficult around here.

Best moment this week: While I was holding Silas the baby kicked him because he was pressing on my belly. The jealousy has already started!

Movement: Lots and lots

Food cravings: Sour candy. Which I caved and bought some today. Immediately felt awful.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing really. Eggs made me a bit queasy the other day.

Gender: 4 more weeks and I  can't wait.

Belly Button in or out? Looks the same as always...flat.

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Mood of the week: Blah. My husband is working so much so I've been feeling super sad about not being able to spend any time with him. Miss my boo!

Looking forward to: My appointment on Wednesday and finding out if we are team pink or team blue!

Baby Boosh // 15 weeks

How far along? 15 weeks

Total weight gain: 4+ lbs (I don't own a scale, so I'm going off my last appointment)
Maternity clothes? Nope. Still able to squeeze into my jeans, but it's been so hot that dresses are my go to.
Stretch marks? Using avocado oil every night in order to prevent any new ones from popping up.

Sleep: Still no sleep due to my sweet little angel boy...hoping we get there before this babe arrives though. I can't imagine going through labor feeling this exhausted.
Best moment this week: So much more movement! Nothing really distinct, but a lot of tumbling. I sort of feel like my belly popped out a bit too.
Movement: Yup!

Food cravings: So gross and weird, but I want some ramen. The packaged kind. Filled with MSG and weird things...so gross. And sour candy...I am disgusting! (I haven't had either though...)

Anything making you queasy or sick: I had the mother of all migraines this week. Puked all day Monday and could not stop crying. It was awful. The baby tumbling around also gives me a little motion sickness.

Gender: Not yet!

Belly Button in or out? *sigh* that sucker will never look the same...

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Mood of the week: Still so emotional over the tiniest things. Hoping it eases up for the sake of my poor hubby.

Looking forward to: Hearing the babe's heartbeat at our 17 week appointment and then finding out the gender :)

Pregnant and lazy

I was about 34 weeks pregnant here! Photo by the oh, so lovely Christy Cassano-Meyer.

Pregnancy...oh man. I know, it's a blessing to be able to be pregnant and I love this little nugget to death already, but my god it makes me want to sit on the couch and nap until week 40 rolls around. Especially now that I am running around after a 15 month old, my energy is on empty which makes it really hard to find the energy to get a good workout in. When I was pregnant with Silas, I gained an enormous amount of weight. It was winter, I was in a city with no friends, the list of excuses goes on. Everyone tells me that they didn't see it, but the scale does not lie people. It made for an extremely uncomfortable 3rd trimester and even though I lost all of the weight + some (due to breastfeeding) the outside just does not look the same. My midwife "diagnosed" (<---that seems like a rather intense word to use for this) me with diastasis recti. My muscles never healed on my abdomen from being stretched. This is fairly common, but tends to get worse with subsequent pregnancies. My goal this time around is to keep the weight gain at a healthy number in order to lessen the chance that I make the diastasis worse. After baby boosh #2 comes I'll head to a physical therapist to help me heal and lessen the gap in between my muscles. I've also been looking a lot into belly binding. Interesting enough, our culture is one of the very few that does not bind postpartum. Binding the belly after pregnancy really helps heal your muscles, organs, and bones after months of stretching. I can't wait to try it! In the mean time, I've decided to challenge myself to yoga 3 days a week. I am determined to get stronger this pregnancy and there is no time like the present. I've taken up a gig at a new spot downtown cleaning 2 nights a week in exchange for all the free yoga my heart desires. Not a bad trade. Namaste!

More about diastasis recti here
Yoga studio here