Guest Post Breakdown

Please tell me you've read my guest posts from my friend Whitney- if not go do that first!

So my 2 cents.....

First of all, I couldn't be more proud of Whitney! How easy would it have been for her at 22 years old and 7 months pregnant to second guess herself and succumb to the delivery plan that the Doctor wanted?  I think it showed great bravery and confidence to stand up for herself, and seek out the birth she wanted!  I think Part 2 of her story would have had a very different feel and tone to it if she had compromised her wishes to please the Doctor, and possibly would have always carried regret in the back of her mind.  

I think the old school OB's are going to realize that if they don't start meeting the wishes of the Momma's like us, their practice will suffer for it.  

Several things we can take away from Whitney's experience:

- Education is key when considering the details of your birth. The more you know, the more options you have.  If you dont know anything you are limited to the options the Doctor chooses to give you. Some standard procedures of Doctors and Hospitals are mainly for their convenience, certainly not your comfort.

-Its never too late to decide the birth that you want and make it happen. If you hear a "no", there are plenty of places now that will tell you "yes", they are out there! (Um, Hello....there's even a tab at the top of this blog....lol)

-Support from like-minded people is invaluable.(thanks for giving me props Whit :) )  Reach out to these people first to help keep confidence in your plan & yourself.  If you reach out to the wrong people (even with the best intentions) unknowingly they can cause self doubt to seep in and chip away at your confidence.

- Support of your Husband: Whitney's husband stood strong for her when she needed him, he knew how much it meant to her. (ok, need a minute- getting choked up over here) Dustin- WOW, High Five! Know that Whitney will never forget the support and strength you showed that day and every time she thinks of it she will fall in love with you all over again. 

I'm really good at math, so I have mapped out a mathematical equation to show the importance of the Husband's Support:

Invaluable multiplied by a Gazilliontrillion to the 200th power times INFINITY= Husband's Support

Get them involved in everything! Read statistics to them, send them emails with links to articles you want them to read (my blog ;)....tell them there will be a pop quiz, lol. Give them scientific evidence (like my mathematical equation) so they know how important their roll is. They may act all tough but they really do care and want to know.  MAKE THEM TAKE A CLASS WITH YOU!!!! I will say it again  MAKE THEM TAKE A CLASS WITH YOU!!!! (I recommend Birth Bootcamp) Also, the more you prepare them for what to expect the less shocked they will be and therefore more useful and supportive.  ***if you shield them from what birth really is then its only your fault when they freak out on you!***lol.


In conclusion, I'd like to quote the ground breaking epic music stylings of that little redheaded pop star singer Lorde- 

Living in ruins of a palace within my dreams
And you know, we're on each other's team
I’m kind of over getting told to throw my hands 
up in the air. So there...
I’m kinda older than I was when I revelled
 without a care. So there...

Just smile and nod and go with it....Its deep
Sorry, I havent finished my coffee yet this morning.....

Our Boys

We're on each others team, 
~Kellie

 Guest Post  3/10- 
An honest comparison from a Mom about her medicated & unmedicated birth experiences.

Guest Post 3/17- 
A Mom gives us insight to her 2 completely opposite C-Section experiences.

Guest Post- Whitney Part 2

If you missed part 1 you can read it here

Labor & Birth of Baby Max

The next 2 months flew by, and my Husband and I prepared as best as we could. We wanted to take a Bradley class but being an hour away from the closest one made it hard so we decided to do it on our own. Kellie helped me a lot,  her and Beau took the class and she shared encouragement and tips freely.

  My “due date” (which I had come to hate) came and went. The flood of text and calls came in asking “Baby yet?”,  I wanted to scream NO!  So frustrating.  Even worse was when people said, “oh wow, I can not believe they are letting you go over this long”- I was literally only 2 days past.  A whole week went by, and I shed so many tears out of frustration. I had a 2 week window to get this labor started. I walked, I ran, did my stretches, bounced on my ball, bounced everywhere I went. Nothing.

On Saturday we decided to go to out for the evening. Our friends’ band was playing, and I thought maybe some loud music would make this baby want to come out! I did start to feel tension in my belly. Contractions!!!! YAY! I didn’t tell a soul for fear of scaring them away. When we got home I went straight to bed. The contractions had died down, apparently a false alarm. At 2am I woke with the same tension, but a little harder so I woke up the husband. Our excitement was short lived because at 5 am I was not feeling any contractions anymore. DARN! 

Sunday we went to church, a little tired and defeated. Sunday night was an early night for us, and again at 2am I wake with contractions and this time they don’t go away, Oh baby! This is the real deal. By 6am on Monday we were still able to time the contractions regularly to about 15 minutes apart. I called the doctors office as soon as they opened and let them know we were on our way!!  Before we left we went to our favorite breakfast spot to get some doughnuts, I thought it would be awesome to have a yummy sugary treat after I birth this baby! Everyone asked how we were, and I casually told them “oh, just having contractions right now.” Every single one of them freaked out. Come on people it’s not like the movies! This baby is not going to just shoot out of me (but that would be nice, could that happen please?).

I went in at 10am and no joke, we pulled up and the contractions STOPPED. Are you kidding me!? We were supposed to do the stress test and see how baby boy handles himself during the contractions, and I am not having any contractions! For the 45 minutes I sat there only having one faint contraction, and one a little stronger. Obviously we were sent home. On the way back home my labor starts again. Thank you! Excitement picks up again. I'll never forget the best advice I received that day when I texted Kellie to ask, “should I go out and walk him down?” She said, “TAKE A NAP!” So I listened. Little did I know how much I would need that precious nap!

I awoke with the labor getting stronger and more rhythmic. I just relaxed around the house and watched a little TV.  Evening rolled around and I noticed I wasnt able to focus on the show during the contractions, which were about 7-8 minutes apart.  My parents came over to bring us dinner but I didn’t have much of an appetite.

The Doctor told me to call when the contractions were about 5 minutes apart and were good and strong. I worried if that would give us enough time to drive the hour to the hospital, HA! I could’ve waited till he was crowning and made it on time, lol!  Around 8pm we decide to head out.  The ride there was awful, so uncomfortable!  My husband (being the good citizen that he is) just could not bring himself to speed so we arrived there around 10pm. I settled in and was still able to speak between contractions and laugh or relax. By the time we made it to our room my parents arrived as well as and my husband's family. After about 5 minutes of them being in our room I chased everyone out. I needed to focus and their laughing and talking was getting in my way.

Then there were two. My wonderful husband sat with me all night. He showered me, he rubbed my back, my feet, my hands. He took the heat when he wasn't quick to give me another ice cube or wipe my sweat off. As the morning rolled around I wanted to give up, I was so tired. The hubby kept pushing me, never losing sight of our goal..... So I kept on trucking. About 5am I wanted to push. I was still a 9 so they told me to go with it but just let my breath out as I did a half push. I did this for an hour. At 6 it was time to really dig in. It hurt so good to push. My actual OB was there at this time and she never left. I have heard so many stories of the Doctor coming in at the last second to deliver but not mine, she coached me the whole way, and I was so thankful for this coaching. As much preparing as we did at home it was nothing like the real thing. The pure adrenaline and drive that goes through your body during this time is like nothing I have ever felt and she helped me channel it.

After pushing for an hour and a half my contractions started getting further apart. My bag of waters had not ruptured yet so I told her to do it and then we got back on track! Thirty minutes later he was crowning! YES! The moment I had been thinking about for 9 months, finally I get  to meet this little person God has put in my care. God, I am scared.  Back to reality, Okay,  another contraction, deep breath. HOLD IT. 1-2-3-4 I start grunting. 5-6-7 I start screaming all the way through 8-9-10. She says he is almost here.... one last push, I hear, “open your eyes, Whitney!” The most beautiful precious baby is lying on my chest. All the pain is gone and I am in euphoria. At that moment I shed the first tear throughout this whole process, and then the waterfall started. My husband was crying and holding on to both of us, and we prayed.  I looked back down at our baby, and he was so peaceful. He looked right into my eyes, and I never wanted that moment to end. After about 3 minutes we cut the cord and he attempted to latch. Being the photographer I am,  I tell the Hubs to grab my camera so I can start photographing. Meanwhile grandparents (who had been waiting all night) are busting the door down to see our little miracle.  The only thought going through my head was, Thank you, Lord! How did I deserve this?

Faske Photography

God gives us so many blessings. As women, we get to carry, grow and birth a human being! WOW – take a bow, ladies.  Yes labor is painful; God brings us things we think we can’t handle, but He also brings us through it..... and at the end of 28 hours of labor and 2 hours of pushing I never felt better and more alive in my life. So trust that God has given you the body that will get you through this. He did not fail and neither will you. ~Whitney

Amanda Gail Photography

Whitney Faske is a very talented photographer , you can see her work at  www.faskephotography.com.  I am very excited that she will be photographing the birth of my son when he makes his arrival!  Book in the month of March she will give you 10% off!

Tomorrow's post I will talk about my friend Whitney behind her back...just kidding!  I want to discuss why she is an inspiration to me and what we can all take away from her story!

~Kellie

Guest Post- Whitney

Ya'll meet my friend Whitney!  She is very brave...and very wise beyond her years! I hope her story inspires you, as it does me!

~Kellie

Part 1- The Search

At 22 years old there wasn't much about pregnancy and childbirth that I claimed to know. In fact, I knew nothing. The first OB was chosen out of convenience, he was the closest of the 2 we were looking at. My husband of 3 years and I walked into his office and when he came in I immediately got “the creeps”. After speaking with him for all of 5 minutes, He took me into an exam room without my Husband- This was our first mistake. Knowing what I know now, after that first impression, we should have gone home and discussed our feelings and moved on to another OB. But now we were locked in their system and it was that much more work to switch.

Fast forward to the next Doctor. This man came highly recommended by many of our friends.  They loved his morals and mannerisms, (not to mention he was a looker, which is what a laboring woman needs, right? A handsome man up in your business, lol).  Everything I was told about him was true, so he was our pick.  Now that the quest for finding a suitable OB was over I was ready to learn, so I asked about reading material. He recommended reading “Natural Childbirth: The Bradley Way”, but quickly added that I shouldn't listen to everything it says, as it would be “a little far from your roots.” Whatever that meant?

So I ordered my Bradley Book, and when it came in the mail I was so excited that I read it in one day! My husband then read it, and he completely supported the idea! I couldn't wait for my next appointment to tell my OB thank you for leading me to this wonderful method, and go over all the wonderful things I wanted to do for my baby and myself.  At 7 months along, my Husband and I sat in the exam room giddy with excitement. The first thing I said when he came was " I absolutely loved the book!  I want a labor and delivery described in all the stories I read!  I don’t want an IV so I can move around, I want to be able to wait until I go into labor, and I don’t want an epidural".  I noticed he turned very serious at this point, and his whole attitude changed. He told me "First, you must have an IV no questions asked. Next, you will not be allowed to go past your due date, there is too much risk involved." (I was considered low risk / completely healthy). The last thing he told me, with a chuckle: “oh you are going to want that epidural!” At that point I was furious. I sat in defeated silence as we listened for my baby boy's heartbeat.  I wanted to ask him WHY? But he was in such a hurry he told me he would explain it all at the next appointment. As soon as we walked out, my Husband and I looked at each other and said, "there wont be a next appointment".

At 7 months we were back to the drawing board, but this time I KNEW exactly what I wanted. I googled natural birth OB’s in the Austin area and contacted my friend Kellie to see whom she was using. I told her what happened with my current OB and she was appalled. She helped to calm my nerves and get down to business. The name I pulled on google was Christina Sebestyen, MD FACOG at OBGYN North. I read review after review and I thought this place is definitely worth a shot. I was worried that being so far along in  my pregnancy would make it difficult to switch practices, but the ladies at OBGYN North were terrific.  We walked into the office and I had my questions ready. There was a very homey quality to the place with hand-made quilts hung on the walls and smiling faces everywhere!  We waited all of 5 minutes to be seen, nice! I like quick! One of the midwives saw me that day. At that time there were 3 Doctors and 3 midwives working together, but they have since upped their staff. I asked my questions like I did with my previous OB and she smiled and said the magical words "you can do whatever you want, this is your body and no one knows it better".  Angels sang in my head at that moment. Someone understands! She went over how labor and delivery typically go for their natural Momma’s in the hospital. Other than needing to check baby's vitals every 30 minutes I would be left alone to do my thing. She requested for me to type up a birth plan to post for the nurses to see so they would be on board too. I was so happy. I was home. 

Whitney Part 2- 

Labor & Delivery of baby Max will be posted tomorrow!