Tag-Archive for » Nicu «

Happy Birthday D!

Awesome, you came back!! Thanks for visiting!

Today the big D-Meister turns 3. As a matter of fact it wlll be exactly 3 years to the minute as I write this post. Man, how things have changed since his birth.

It’s been a long haul so far. So much to learn, so much to change, so much to celebrate. Before I had children I would always tell Matt that I wanted 17 kids. I would think of my mother and how she had 6 kids and thought I could do that too, no problem. Now that I have two little boys my want for 17 kids has dropped a little to a more manageable number. I still think of my mother and how things make more sense, yet I don’t know how she managed.

While childless it never occurred to me just how much work it took to do your best. How often you fall short of ideal. How selfless you have to become. In all honesty, it has been hard. When I crack my eyelids in the morning, before the sun, because Rowan is giggling and trying to stuff Legos in my ears I long for the days that I could sleep until 2 o’clock in the afternoon. After spending a full day cleaning, cooking three meals and nursing non-stop all I want is a long hot bath, by myself. But Declan doesn’t like the water too hot and Rowan can’t stay in too long or he gets too prune-y.

But there are so many priceless moments that I would never want to miss. The feeling of pure euphoria when your baby finally comes home from the NICU. The first steps. The first time you hear Mama. When he runs past other people crying because he wants comfort from you. The little feeling of dreadful butterflies when he does something so amazingly grown up and the thought of how big he’s really getting. Being awestruck by how large his mental capacities have become in 3 short years.

There is so much growing that goes on with children about, not their growth but mine as well (and not just the size of my butt). My heart has truly grown.

Happy Birthday Declan Pierce. I love you so much, baby. (This is where he would say "I’m not baby. Declan is big boy. Rowan is little baby!"  :-) )

Declan - Just seconds Old

Declan - In the NICU - Poor Guy has an IV in his head

Declan - 4 months - All dressed up

Declan - 7 months - So Happy!

Declan - 1 year - Eating dirt at the Zoo

Declan - 1 year - YODA!

Declan - 15 months

Declan - 17 Months

Declan - 2 Years

Declan - 23 Months - Posing

Declan - 3 years!

Declan - 3 years old

What? Hospital = Death?

Okay, so some of you know this already, but I am 1000% for what I call "natural" parenting. To me this means homebirths, breastfeeding, intact gentalia, limited immumizations, etc etc. I feel that we’ve made it this far, thousands of years, without all the interventions and place a lot of trust in our bodies and the complex internal systems that keep us alive.

Photo licensed under Creative Commons to Idiolector - Via Flickr

Every now and again I’ll run across something that just totally solidifies me in my want to avoid all interventions when possible. Here are some exceprts from "10 Homebirth Facts No One’s Telling You" on Indiebirth.com by Maryn Leister. Please read the full article here.

 

2. The US has the highest obstetrical intervention rates of any country. (1) The US is currently ranked 28th for infant mortality (that means 27 other countries have a better rate of infant survival than we do). 

  • How is it that medicine is one of the most advanced countries, in the world, yet our babies die in such numbers?

4. You are very likely to have a c-section if you chose a hospital birth. The WHO concluded that there is no reason for any region of the world to have a cesarean rate of more than 10-15%. As of 2004, the US has a 29.1% c-section rate. This rate is up from 27.6% in 2003. (2, 20) (3) C-section infants also are four times more likely to die than those born vaginally. 

  • 4 times! 4 times more likely to die!! Granted a C-Section is a major abdominal surgery but still. Why would anyone be okay with a C-Section that wasn’t absolutely required?

Photo licensed under Creative Commons to Drake LeLane - Via Flickr

Both of my boys, arrived early and were hospital births because of it. My oldest son spent two weeks in the NICU becaue the doctors felt that my womb was not the best place for him. They felt that they could help him better than I could. In the end, the doctors were wrong and should have left him alone.

Photo licensed under Creative Commons to ukjohnd - Via Flickr

My youngest son was just in a hurry to get here. I was 2 days, maybe it was 4?, from being able to birth at home. Had I stayed home any longer he would have been and if I remember correctly (oxytocin has a tendency to make you forget anything coming from someone over 6 months old) my midwife stated she would not have sent us to the hospital. Although he was early, he was strong and healthy. The hospital kept him in the NICU for a week "just to make sure", fed him formula and pumped him full of medicine prophylactically. Had they known my water was broken for 10 days prior to delivery they would have flipped a  lid.

Photo licensed under Creative Commons to cupcake butt - Via Flickr

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that any and all of my next childbirths will be attempted homebirths. You’ll only find me in a hospital if something is actually wrong and medical intervention is necessary. Sometimes I struggle to keep my mouth shut but in the end I also respect a mother’s right to birth how she wants, granted that it was an educated decision.

What were your childbirth experiences like? Is there anything you would change?

Category: Parenting  2 Comments

Bad Behavior has blocked 194 access attempts in the last 7 days.

Runaway October is Digg proof thanks to caching by WP Super Cache