Baby Milo - March 12th
"We still are in disbelief and astounded that all our hard work paid off and we got the easy birth we worked so hard to manifest. We are both convinced that all the prep I/we did this time - prenatal yoga twice a week, walking for exercise, countless squats, Tracy's class, the Hypnobirthing technique and eating 6 dates - a day really paid off. "
Milo Xander Jorgensen
March 12th at 12:04am,
9lbs 13oz and with a 15 inch head
Milo arrived 4 days early. He made his debut after a 5 hour labor of which I only pushed for 8min! He came so fast that Dawn, our midwife, made it to our house with only 20min to spare. And her assistant, Rhonda, walked in just after he was born. It was amazing! We still are in disbelief and astounded that all our hard work paid off and we got the easy birth we worked so hard to manifest.
Now for the details!
At 7pm, my water broke. At that exact moment, Mikael and our son, Kaj, were arriving home with some new friends, whom we had planned to have a dinner party with. I ran into the bathroom and as soon as they all walked in the door I called to Mikael. We agreed to call Dawn, who told me to go ahead and have the dinner party, but to get to bed early and call her in the morning. Our friends couldn't believe we wanted to continue dinner, but we remembered "real life" and I had not started having contractions yet so there was no reason for them to leave.
At 7:40pm, I had my first contraction and they continued through dinner at about 15-20min apart. It was actually great to have people over because it got my mind off the pain, which helped me relax.
At 9pm, our friends left and Mikael put Kaj to bed.
Between 9-10pm, I lost my mucus plug and the contractions went from 15 min apart to 4 min apart. I texted Dawn and said "I'm pretty sure this baby is coming tonight." She still insisted that I get some rest, but said she would be ready to go.
Around 10:15pm, things got really intense. The only thing that felt good to me was to crawl around on all fours in our bedroom. Mikael was trying to get the house ready, but at that point I would not let him leave my side.
At 11:08pm, I told him to call Dawn and tell her to come right away. I was still present, but I could feel myself transitioning. And then all of the sudden I felt the overwhelming need to poop. I knew that meant the baby was coming. I put my rear in the air to slow things down, but knew I could not do that for very long.
At 11:27pm, Mikael texted Dawn again to find out how close she was. Then, he ran to unlock the front door and returned to help me to the bathroom where I sat backwards on the toilet, which seemed like the perfect thing at that moment.
At 11:44pm, Dawn finally arrived. As soon as I heard her voice, I asked if someone could go fill the tub (which I did not know was not even inflated), but she wanted to check me first. She confirmed that I was fully dilated and the baby's head was right there. She calmly said, "We don't have time. You are going to need to go ahead and push now." I turned around to face Mikael, grabbed onto him, verbally acknowledged the "ring of fire" with a few choice cuss words and in 2 pushes the baby's head was out. He coughed and took his first breath and in 2 more pushes the rest of his body followed. As a bonus to the fast labor, Mikael got to catch him.
He was born just after midnight and a few min later Rhonda, Dawn's assistant, walked in the door. She missed the whole thing, but he came so fast, there is nothing she could have done anyway. Afterwards, I held Milo for about 5 min. Then they got me into bed and about 20 min after that, I birthed the placenta. Dawn and Rhonda did all the appropriate examinations on me and Milo, tucked us all into bed and were both on their way home by 2:30am. Milo spent his first night on my chest and I, of course, could not sleep a wink. I just stared at him until the sun rose. Pure Magic!
This birth was light years better than my first. Even though it was our second, which are typically easier, going from pushing for 12 hours to 8 min was a remarkable difference. Especially, since this baby was 12oz bigger than our first. We are both convinced that all the prep I/we did this time - prenatal yoga twice a week, walking for exercise, countless squats, Tracy's class, the Hypnobirthing technique and eating 6 dates a day really paid off. I highly recommend you all take the time to prepare your bodies and minds as much as possible beforehand. You never know what could make the difference.
It was also good to not be attached to anything. We had so many things in place - aromatherapy, a play list, candles, a birthing ball and a birthing tub. I am glad we had every thing at the ready, but we didn't use any of it and that was ok. It also felt good not to be attached to the due date this time. I know this one is hard for most moms. I was so disappointed when our first son was two weeks late and I've seen so many friends go through the same let down. For this baby, I just let all those expectations go and low and behold he came 4 days early.
Lastly, Dr. Soffici told us, over the course of 3 ultrasounds that our baby had six fingers, a possible chromasonal abnormality and a possible heart condition. Also, because of my age (38) and size of the baby, he said I should really consider an epidural if not a c-section. I am sure he is a good doctor, but in our case he was off on all counts. I only bring it up as an example of how medical professionals are not always on the money. Trust your instincts above all else. :)
Cheers,
Cassandra, Mikael, Kaj and Milo
March 12th at 12:04am,
9lbs 13oz and with a 15 inch head
Milo arrived 4 days early. He made his debut after a 5 hour labor of which I only pushed for 8min! He came so fast that Dawn, our midwife, made it to our house with only 20min to spare. And her assistant, Rhonda, walked in just after he was born. It was amazing! We still are in disbelief and astounded that all our hard work paid off and we got the easy birth we worked so hard to manifest.
Now for the details!
At 7pm, my water broke. At that exact moment, Mikael and our son, Kaj, were arriving home with some new friends, whom we had planned to have a dinner party with. I ran into the bathroom and as soon as they all walked in the door I called to Mikael. We agreed to call Dawn, who told me to go ahead and have the dinner party, but to get to bed early and call her in the morning. Our friends couldn't believe we wanted to continue dinner, but we remembered "real life" and I had not started having contractions yet so there was no reason for them to leave.
At 7:40pm, I had my first contraction and they continued through dinner at about 15-20min apart. It was actually great to have people over because it got my mind off the pain, which helped me relax.
At 9pm, our friends left and Mikael put Kaj to bed.
Between 9-10pm, I lost my mucus plug and the contractions went from 15 min apart to 4 min apart. I texted Dawn and said "I'm pretty sure this baby is coming tonight." She still insisted that I get some rest, but said she would be ready to go.
Around 10:15pm, things got really intense. The only thing that felt good to me was to crawl around on all fours in our bedroom. Mikael was trying to get the house ready, but at that point I would not let him leave my side.
At 11:08pm, I told him to call Dawn and tell her to come right away. I was still present, but I could feel myself transitioning. And then all of the sudden I felt the overwhelming need to poop. I knew that meant the baby was coming. I put my rear in the air to slow things down, but knew I could not do that for very long.
At 11:27pm, Mikael texted Dawn again to find out how close she was. Then, he ran to unlock the front door and returned to help me to the bathroom where I sat backwards on the toilet, which seemed like the perfect thing at that moment.
At 11:44pm, Dawn finally arrived. As soon as I heard her voice, I asked if someone could go fill the tub (which I did not know was not even inflated), but she wanted to check me first. She confirmed that I was fully dilated and the baby's head was right there. She calmly said, "We don't have time. You are going to need to go ahead and push now." I turned around to face Mikael, grabbed onto him, verbally acknowledged the "ring of fire" with a few choice cuss words and in 2 pushes the baby's head was out. He coughed and took his first breath and in 2 more pushes the rest of his body followed. As a bonus to the fast labor, Mikael got to catch him.
He was born just after midnight and a few min later Rhonda, Dawn's assistant, walked in the door. She missed the whole thing, but he came so fast, there is nothing she could have done anyway. Afterwards, I held Milo for about 5 min. Then they got me into bed and about 20 min after that, I birthed the placenta. Dawn and Rhonda did all the appropriate examinations on me and Milo, tucked us all into bed and were both on their way home by 2:30am. Milo spent his first night on my chest and I, of course, could not sleep a wink. I just stared at him until the sun rose. Pure Magic!
This birth was light years better than my first. Even though it was our second, which are typically easier, going from pushing for 12 hours to 8 min was a remarkable difference. Especially, since this baby was 12oz bigger than our first. We are both convinced that all the prep I/we did this time - prenatal yoga twice a week, walking for exercise, countless squats, Tracy's class, the Hypnobirthing technique and eating 6 dates a day really paid off. I highly recommend you all take the time to prepare your bodies and minds as much as possible beforehand. You never know what could make the difference.
It was also good to not be attached to anything. We had so many things in place - aromatherapy, a play list, candles, a birthing ball and a birthing tub. I am glad we had every thing at the ready, but we didn't use any of it and that was ok. It also felt good not to be attached to the due date this time. I know this one is hard for most moms. I was so disappointed when our first son was two weeks late and I've seen so many friends go through the same let down. For this baby, I just let all those expectations go and low and behold he came 4 days early.
Lastly, Dr. Soffici told us, over the course of 3 ultrasounds that our baby had six fingers, a possible chromasonal abnormality and a possible heart condition. Also, because of my age (38) and size of the baby, he said I should really consider an epidural if not a c-section. I am sure he is a good doctor, but in our case he was off on all counts. I only bring it up as an example of how medical professionals are not always on the money. Trust your instincts above all else. :)
Cheers,
Cassandra, Mikael, Kaj and Milo