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Written by Courtney @ A + Life (originally published in April of 2015)
My Natural Birth Plans
I don’t have plans to take these to the hospital with me. I’m not going to be the girl who shows up with a bullet point, high lighted, step by step birth plan….. mostly because my plans are “hands off, please”. But, that’s easy enough to say, and not necessary to be printed out on a piece of paper.
I remember when I got pregnant with my first daughter, Abigail. Even though it had taken us a year to get pregnant with her, I was still fairly blissfully naive when it came to all things baby. First time parent, ah quite youthful, and just a bit uninformed. It was well into my 6th month or so, I was almost in third tri, when I was in Virginia to be a bridesmaid for one of my very best friends. We all got to talking about labor and delivery, and up to that point, I had planned to do whatever my Dr. told me and OBVIOUSLY get the epidural. Mostly, because I just hadn’t given it much thought. But the more we talked, and more and more of the women shared their stories about home birth, zero interventions, refusing induction and epidurals, the more I got to thinking….perhaps I should do some research myself?
Keep in mind that this was 2010, so it was basically the technological dark ages.
I got my hands on a copy of Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth and it completely revolutionized the way I thought about childbirth. From that point on, I knew that I was going to have a intervention free delivery and made all of my plans based off of that choice.
And if the years of praying and waiting for our second gift, Mabel, and the years of being a mama and taking care of a little one have done anything for me, it has been this: the pendulum of “crunch factor” has way swung and I only continue to up the ante on myself as I have choices.
The first time I read Ina May I totally, totally got her points. They made absolute sense to me, but I was like, DANG these people are weird as all get out. But rereading it this time around? I’m like, how can I get to “The Farm”(her “commune” for those of you who aren’t familiar with her) and live in a cabin and give birth there. Like, today. So, as I’ve said, it’s fairly obvious to see that I’ve continued down the all natural road and have no plans of putting the brakes on it anytime soon.
So, here is what I am already doing:
(This is all from consultations and advice from my naturopath)
- Prenatal + Iron
- Vitamin B Supplement
- Vitamin D Supplement
- Probiotic
- Tons of water
- Sitting on the birthing ball for a few minutes every evening
- Rereading my birthing books(bonus if it’s while I’m on the birthing ball!)
- Drinking Red Raspberry Leaf Tea
- And I’m starting to select birth affirmations and bible verses to start meditating on to prepare my heart and mind for labor and delivery.
The Plans For Me:
- Refusal of all pre-labor cervical checks
- Refuse any and all induction- obviously, to a reasonable extent. My first daughter, Abigail came on her due date, so I have no reason to think that this should be an issue. But, I’m perfectly ready to go up to 42 weeks if Mabel needs it.
- Once labor begins, labor at home for as long as possible. On the birthing ball, in the tub, eating and drinking, staying calm and composed.
- Once labor progresses to the point where we think it is wise to head to the hospital, then we will head that way.
- Once at the hospital, no IV(will concede to a heplock), no constant fetal monitoring(if possible), and laboring how it feels best.
- And that is basically it! I ended up wanting to push while reclining, that felt the most comfortable to me and my water didn’t break until completion so those were two non-issues last time that I hope will be the same again.
I mostly just want to be left to labor with Jim, my Mom, and my good friend who is a doula.
For Mabel:
To me, this is the section with the biggest changes from my previous delivery. I didn’t do a ton of research as far as what baby goes through and what the standard procedures are in the hospital after baby is born with Abigail. Obviously, it all turned out just fine, but there are certainly things I want to do differently this time around.
After Mabel is delivered, if all is well:
- I want her to be immediately placed on my chest for skin to skin and nursing.
- Delayed cord clamping
- Delayed bath
- Refusal of eye ointment
- Delaying the Hep B shot until a later pediatrician appointment
- Requesting that any and all checks, vitamin K shot, or other things be delayed until after the first nursing session or while she is on my chest.
- If possible, not use pitocin to expel the placenta and let it deliver when it is ready.
- And of course, keeping Mabel in the room with us at all times. Jim can go with her if they need to take her anywhere.
I’ve had a few different talks with my OB about my plans and she has been nothing but sweet and understanding about my ideas. Thankfully, I am a 100% low risk, textbook patient, so there isn’t any reason to worry much about how things will go. She also delivered Abigail and is aware of my previous labor and delivery, which I think helps keep our communication open. The hospital where I had Abigail has since closed it’s birthing center, but a brand new hospital just opened in March, so I should be using all new state of the art equipment and have been told that their birthing rooms are very similar to my previous experience(labor, deliver, recover all in the same room + room in with baby).
As my OB and I talked through my “plans” she just suggested that anything I say to the nurses about my desires to preface it with “Dr. B and I have already discussed this and she is aware of my wishes” or if she is present, just have Jim or my doula remind her of my plans(such as delayed cord clamping) so that we can achieve a great birth together.
So, at this point, in these last few weeks of waiting, I’m really just trying to prepare my heart and mind for what is coming. With Abigail, I was fiercely determined. And not so much nervous. This time, I feel anxious and scared because I can remember it hurting so badly. But, I know that it is what is best for me and for Mabel and I’m happy to choose it and do it the same way as I did with Abigail. I just need to get my head in the game before hand!
One verse that has particularly stood out to me that I have been memorizing in preparation for her delivery is a verse that showed up during this semester’s ladies bible study(we’re studying 1st and 2nd Thessalonians):
“We give thanks to God always for you all, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know, brethren beloved by God, that He has chosen you.” 1 Thessalonians 1: 2-4
Did you have a birth plan? What did it look like?
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Written by Courtney @ A + Life, Contributing Writer
December always has a way of sneaking up on us, doesn’t it? I know for our family, with homeschooling, November birthdays, and Thanksgiving, before you know it- December is here! And if we aren’t careful, it can be really easy to get swept up into the massive consumerism of the holiday season and completely miss out on the opportunity to share with our girls the REAL reason we celebrate in the first place.
Jesus, of course! So here are four things that our family does to make sure to keep Jesus at the forefront of all of our celebrating.
4 Ways To Celebrate Jesus
Celebrate Advent
Is there anything more beautiful than celebrating the advent season? We make sure to have our family present in church every Sunday during the holiday season. Our kids sit in the service with us, so they get the chance to see our candles being lit, hear the progression of the Christmas story, and the beautiful worship music all preparing our hearts and minds for the wonderful celebration of the birth of Jesus! We also count down to Christmas with…..
Truth In The Tinsel
Have you ever heard of Truth In The Tinsel? It is a wonderful program for the 24 days in December leading up to Christmas to help teach the Christmas story to our littles through hands on crafts and stories. Each day gets a verse, a craft, and an activity to help them remember all of the special details that happened before our Savior was born. We have done Truth In The Tinsel for the last few years and it has been such a blessing to our family! I recommend it to every family I know who has small kids. They love it!
(PS. If you don’t want to do a craft every day, they have an option to just buy a pack of coloring page style ornaments. So you can still teach the story but have an easy craft to do! Perfect!)
Operation Christmas Child
OCC has been such a blessing to our family! We really want Abigail (and Mabel as she grows!) to learn to GIVE to others, especially those in need. Taking the focus off of themselves and the things that they want or can get, it helps them to turn their eyes to others instead. And as Christian parents, there is almost no better and more tangible way for us to teach them the concept of “loving your neighbor” than through OCC! We love to shop year round with those sweet kids in mind. It has been really neat to listen to Abigail talk about mailing “the little girls” gifts and to go shopping and see her thinking about what they might like. We shop for little toys and craft supplies, toiletries, and other fun things little girls like Abigail would like. Every year we also choose to track our boxes so we can find out where our boxes are going. Last year they went to Mexico and the year before that they went to South America!
Three Christmas Gifts
Another way that we keep Christmas from becoming completely overwhelming and about the presents- we only do 3 gifts for each of our girls. As they get older, we plan to incorporate more of the symbolism of Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh into their actual gifts. But, for now, we simply choose three items we know they would love or need to represent the 3 gifts the wise men brought to Jesus. Abigail loves that and we love the opportunity to have just one more way to point her to Jesus this Christmas.
How do you incorporate Jesus into your Christmas celebration with your family?
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Last year was our very first year homeschooling our oldest daughter, Abigail. While, both my husband and I were homeschooled growing up, going from homeschool student to homeschool parent and teacher can be kind of overwhelming!
We tested the waters of homeschool pre-k and absolutely loved it. So, this September, we officially started homeschool Kindergarten! Or, Spena School, as we call it. We have been at it for almost two months now, so I thought it would be fun to share some of our favorite things to use in our school days(aside from lots of coffee for Mom, a bumbo seat for the baby to chill out in, and lots of outside time to burn extra energy for Abigail)
Our Must Have Homeschool Supplies:
1. Tons of Crafts
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If there is one thing that makes my daughter happiest, it is the ability to create something with a giant pack of markers and an even more giant stack of paper. Construction paper, markers, crayons, scissors, glue, paints, and tape are all kept close at hand and always readily available to help stretch her big, BIG imagination.
2. Books, Books, and more Books
We finally got our act together and joined our local library! It has been absolutely wonderful for our school year. We go every Thursday for story time, return our books, and check out a whole slew of new books that sound interesting, fun, and coordinate with our curriculum’s theme for the week. (Things like, Nest, Apple, Leaves, Moon, Sun, etc.)
3. Youtube
It is amazing to me all of the knowledge that we have right at our fingertips! As soon as Abigail asks a question, if we can’t find it in our books at hand, all it takes is a quick search to figure out the answer. We listen to all sorts of classical music and learn about the composers, watch videos about animals, and learn new life lessons from video shorts that appeal to both me and her! We love taking a brief break from sitting down to dance around the kitchen to music(our favorite- Eine Kleine) and youtube makes it incredibly easy for us to do that.
4. The Jesus Storybook Bible
My personal favorite book to read through with the girls is the Jesus Storybook Bible. It is written in words that the girls can understand, but it speaks to all of our hearts in incredibly profound ways. At the end of the day, it’s all about Jesus and every single story- as the book says- whispers His name. I love being able to incorporate that into our school days. One of the biggest, best, and most wonderful blessings about doing school at home!
We absolutely love homeschooling and have been so blessed by the gift it has been to our family.
What are some of your absolute must have homeschooling supplies?
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Written by Courtney @ A + Life, Contributing Writer
It is hard to believe that we are already one month into the fall season and that before long (if not already!) we will be bombarded with all things Christmas related. But, today, I wanted to share about some of our very favorite fall things to do with our daughter, Abigail.
This time of year is perfect for being outside all day long! The crisp autumn air, the bright sun, the sights and sounds of fall, all make for a wonderful outdoor experience. There are SO many fun things that you can do, but here are just a few of our favorites! So, without further ado, I give you:
Five Fun Fall Activities For Children
1. Visit A Pumpkin Patch
The one thing we always make sure to do in the fall is to visit our local pumpkin patch! It may be small and quaint, but we love walking around and selecting our pumpkins and mums, taking a small hay ride, capturing a few special moments on our camera, and letting the farmers teach our little girl all about pumpkins.
2. Watch An Outdoor Movie
This has been a new addition to our family fun, but recently my husband, Jim, acquired a small projector to play movies on. We set up a comfy place to sit in the backyard, hang up a big white sheet, and enjoy making our very own drive in of sorts in the back of our house! Projectors are pretty easy to rent and borrow, so I highly suggest getting your hands on one and giving a backyard movie night a try this fall!
3. Backyard Camping
If you’re already in your backyard for a family movie night, why not also set up a tent and have a camp out as well? I’m not much(read: NOT AT ALL) for camping, but if the weather is right and my own personal bathrooms are close, you can get me out there 
4. Play In The Leaves
We aren’t fortunate(or are we? enough to have large trees in our yard capable of being piled up and raked, but Grandma’s house sure does! There isn’t anything more quintessential childhood than running and jumping and burying yourself in a massive pile of leaves.
5. Roast S’mores
And of course, what is fall without a roaring bonfire, toasted marshmallows, and s’mores to enjoy? Getting sticky, sweet, and messy together make some of the most fun memories!
This is my list, but I would love to hear yours! So tell me,
What are some of your favorite fall activities to do with your kids?
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