My Pregnancy, Labor, Delivery, Postpartum Experience
Please consult with your healthcare provider, this blog post is simply to tell you what worked for me and my body.
Pre-Pregnancy
- Tracking- I stopped birth control quite a bit before we decided to conceive. I started educating myself on cycle tracking by reading some of the book recommendations below.
- I plan to start tracking again at 6 weeks postpartum (update... haven't started tracking yet! haha)
- Books
- Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler
- The Fifth Vital Sign by Lisa Henderickson-Jackson
- Period Repair Manual by Lara Briden
- Mama Natural
- Other educational resources
- Youtube videos by Bridget Teyler
- Kelly Mom Website for Breastfeeding
- Spinning Babies
- I used the forward inversions starting sometime in the second trimester
- We took 2 classes provides virtually through our hospital:
- Birth & Baby
- Natural Labor Discussion
- Birth Ball for working & laboring at home
- Instagram educational Pages
- @lutz.lactation
- @breezy_babies
- @moveyourbump
- @ebbirth
- @babytalk.birthnurse
- @labor.nurse.mama
- @prenatalnutritionist
- @getmomstrong
- @mamastefit
- @thebellemethod
- @thepostivebirthcompany
- @mommy.labornurse
- @mombrain.therapist
- @psychedmommy
Pregnancy
Exercise-
My workouts during first trimester were exactly the same as pre-pregnancy- progressive overload lifting 3-5 times per week using Physique Development & Emily Duncan’s lifting programs. I also did some cardio varying from HIIT, cycling, elliptical, & stair climber. Daily walks with the pup were another favorite form of moving.
During second trimester COVID hit and all gyms were closed in our area. I started doing Youtube videos from my living room. Here are some of my favorite videos & channels:
I completed these workouts also throughout third trimester up to the day I delivered.
Diet-
Not much changed for my diet during pregnancy. You can see some of my pregnancy meals on my Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/toriswholelife/?hl=en
- First trimester some foods did not sound good. I ate a lot of fruit. Coffee did not sound good at all! Pizza and burgers were also a huge hit!
- Second trimester food was great, still did not eat a ton of veggies like I normally do. Drank 1 cup of coffee a couple times a week. We found a love for coconut water during this time as well & have an Amazon subscription for delivery.
- Third trimester- I could not eat as big of meals during third trimester as baby girl was taking up space in my belly. Still loved all fruit during this time.
- I did not have any random/weird cravings during pregnancy.
- Prenatal- I took Nature’s made Prenatals, but you can consult with your healthcare provider. Some insurances also cover this 100%, so check that out. I took calcium since I am lactose intolerant.
Registry Favorites
- Baby Nail File
- Portable changing mat
- Nipple cream
- Nose Frida
- Honest All Purpose Balm
- Nursing Tanks
- Frida Peri Bottle (I preferred this one over the hospital one)
- Baby Carrier Cloth
- Diaper Bag
- Hatch Sound Machine
- Pack & Play (used as bassinet)
- Pregnancy Pillow
- Reusable Nursing pads (splurge on these because the soft ones feel so much better on your sensitive nipples, these were my favorite and I have about 4 packages of them:
- Diaper Caddy
- Seat I used this a lot when I needed to shower, I just keep it in our bathroom
- Car seat canopy
- Sleep Sack with arms up- we used this a lot for naps in the Snuggle Me Organic
- Long phone charger
- Halo swaddle - used this a lot the first month post delivery
- SwaddleMe- we used these after the first month with Teagan's arms out
- Nested Bean Zen Sack- we sent this to daycare for her to nap in
- Portable Nightlight- great for middle of the night diaper changes & traveling
- Humidifier
- Portable sound machine
- Stroller/Car seat combo: Chicco Bravo Travel System – Indigo & extra base- Target
- Boppy Nursing pillow & cover
- Haaka
- Honest Diapers & Wipes Subscription - Teagan was allergic to certain diapers/wipes
- Infant Optics Video Baby Monitor DXR-8- this one is okay, but I wish the monitor was bigger and more clear. I like this one that my sister has better: Monitor #2
- Teagan had a really hard time taking bottles, we tried Advent glass, Lansinoh, Tommee Tippee, NUK, MAM, and Comotomo. The only ones she would take easily and did the best with are the Comotomo.
- Vitamin D drops if you are breastfeeding
- Saline Drops to use with Frida
- Snuggle Me Organic
- Baby Swing - Teagan loves to move and this allowed me to sit her down to accomplish things like making my coffee while supervising her.
- Honest Diaper changer/carrier
- Health Record Book
- My favorite burp cloths- buy more than you think you will need, I literally have stacks of burp cloths in every room of the house
- Window shades for car
- Pumping bra- order more than one so you don't have to do laundry as often, this was handy when I started back to work and Teagan went to daycare
- Bottle Bag for Daycare
Hospital Bag
Let me just say, I don't recommend any of those lists from Pinterest. I feel like I followed them some what and I did not need more than half of what I packed. Here is my list of what I will pack the second time around:
- Flip flops
- Socks (the hospital also has some, so not necessary)
- Zip up sweatshirt
- Comfy shorts
- Robe- I honestly wore the hospital gown most of the time
- Toiletries: face wash, lotion, toothbrush & paste, hairbrush, hair ties/clips, deodorant, shampoo/conditioner, & body wash
- Nursing bra/tank- I didn't wear a bra the whole time in the hospital (milk was not in yet either, so no leaky breasts)
- Snacks- lots of snacks
- Water Bottle- not necessary as the hospital will provide one
- Phone + long phone charger
- Birth plan- I honestly did not get mine out as our Doula knew our plan
- Personalized swaddle blanket- not necessary, but makes for cute pictures
- Nursing pillow (if your hospital allows, we couldn’t bring it due to COVID)
- 1-2 baby outfits for going home
- Gum
Labor & Delivery- Birth Story of Baby Girl Clifford (part of this written by my lovely Doula)
Tuesday
Mom has trusted her body and done the very best throughout pregnancy. She has eaten dates (6 dates per day starting at 36 weeks), worked out 5-6 times weekly, and received Chiropractic care alongside her OB care. Chiropractor was Anchor Health Chiropractic in Noblesville- Webster Technique. OB was through Community Health North in Indianapolis. My doula was through Community Health as well- Shelby Hicks.
3:25am – Mom feels a gush of something while she is laying in bed. She touches base with her Doula. No contractions yet so she is going to try to go back to sleep. That is easier said than done because she is so excited that she might soon get to meet her baby
5:30am – Contractions have started but they haven’t felt too bad yet, similar to period cramps. Still a slow leak of fluid and some mucus plug too. The mucus plug was similar to a big snot ball with spots of blood. Mine fell out in parts throughout the morning.
9:30am – Contractions seem to be coming every 4 minutes or so. Mom gets in the shower but it doesn’t seem to slow them down much. She is concentrating on breathing and staying relaxed during each contraction. We used a contraction app to count the contractions.
10:30am- Contractions are getting more intense and harder to relax. Doula calls mom and senses a change in her voice. Mom has been swaying on the birth ball and closing her eyes through each contraction.
11:30am – Mom and Dad are thinking they would like to head to the hospital. The contractions on the way to the hospital in the car were a challenge to get through as mom couldn’t get into positions that she wanted.
12pm- Mom and Dad arrive at the hospital and mom is wheel chaired up to triage. Mom and Dad have to wear masks due to COVID.
12:15pm – Mom and Dad are in triage. They have done so well at laboring at home. Mom is 5cm/100%/+1! She is over halfway there now. The nurses tell mom that she is breathing so well through the contractions. Dad tries to scratch mom’s back, and mom said, “That does not feel good!” Dad was such a trooper.
1:00pm – Settled into Room 5117 Mom gets her first does of antibiotics due to being GBS positive. Mom is sitting on the labor ball at the bedside and concentrating during contractions. We request that the tub be brought into the room. While we wait for the tub to be set up and filled, Mom alternates between standing and swaying with contractions to resting her legs by sitting on the labor ball. Contractions are getting more intense and harder to breathe through. Mom keeps telling herself, “get through this one contraction” & “you can do this, moms gave birth naturally all the time in the past.” Mom tried to picture each contraction as a bell curve and getting through the peak of the contraction with breathing in the flowers and blowing out the candles.
2:25pm – Into the tub, Mom spends a little time trying to see what works best for her. She decides on hands and knees until her back begins to hurt and then lies on her side. Dad turns on Mom’s playlist specifically created for this occasion. This was the point where my contractions really started to intensify. I felt more pressure in my bottom area with each contraction. The birth team kept telling me that I was doing so well and that they could hardly tell I was in labor. I kept telling them that it hurts so bad and “I am so tired.” The birth team (nurse, doula, and husband) kept encouraging me.
3:10pm – Mom is out of the tub and back to the ball at the bedside so she can be monitored to make sure baby is doing well…and she looks great on the monitor! Mom is feeling those contractions in her back so Dad and Doula do some counter pressure. The counter pressure is literally what got me through this point in labor. Mom started moaning more in the tub and the counter pressure took her mind off it. Breathing through the contractions was easier with counter pressure.
4:00pm – With each position change, the contractions intensify and get harder to focus. Mom tries hands/knees on the bed to see if that helps with her back. Dad is still applying counter pressure. Doula suggests a modified version of the “Texas roll” using the side table. After doing two contractions on the right and two on the left while Dad is still applying counter pressure (he is really good at it) Mom is exhausted. Nurse Emily asks Mom if she would like to be checked, Mom says yes as she is starting to lose motivation. Birth team helps mom to the toilet to empty bladder before being checked. Mom feels an intense urge to push. Doula tells Mom to breathe through the contraction and not push yet.
4:44pm – Nurse Emily checks to see what kind of progress Mom has made and it turns out that all of her hard work has paid off. Mom is complete! 10cm/100%/+1. Mom can finally push! Doula tells Mom that she no longer has to breathe through the contractions, she will need to push as hard as she can and take a deep breath and continue to push through the contraction until it ends.
4:52pm – Mom starts pushing and we all know right away that she is a super strong pusher. Nurse Emily calls Dr. Amodeo to come ASAP. Mom pushes for about 20 minutes and gets to feel baby girl’s head twice throughout pushing. Mom finally feels relief knowing that Baby Girl will soon be here. It was the motivation she needed to get through the natural birth.
5:14pm – Teagan is here! Happy Birthday little lady. She weighs 7lbs 7oz and is 19 ½ inches. Dad got to cut the cord. Mom and Dad both got to have skin to skin contact. Baby girl’s bath was postponed to the following day so that parents could bond with baby & Mom could breast feed.
Postpartum Care Kit
- perineal ice/heat packs- I took extra from the hospital *
- disposable underwear- I took extra mess undies from the hospital *
- larger/overnight pads- stock up on more of these than you think you will need, I went through 4-5 packages in 2-3 weeks postpartum*
- smaller pads
- nipple pads- I like the washable ones
- ibuprofen/Tylenol
- prenatal vitamins
- stool softener
- pain relief spray*
- Tucks pads *
- cleansing bottle/peri bottle- I like the Frida one *
- snacks- lots of snacks!
- water bottle- again the hospital one works great*
- nipple cream
*all items that were provided by the hospital as extras to take home, but it was nice to have a few more on hand.
Postpartum Experience & Reflection
- Start looking for childcare as soon as you find out you are pregnant if you are going to need childcare for work, we found that many places we started looking at (around 8-12 weeks pregnant) already had waitlists way out. We ended up finding one and putting a deposit down in the second trimester
- check with your insurance to see if they will cover a breast pump. Mine covered my Spectra breast pump 100%. My insurance company had recommended suppliers and my breast pump showed up 4 days after placing the order. They will need to confirm you are pregnant with your health care provider.
- Anytime I traveled I would take my Medela Manual pump with me. It is so much easier to transport and works like a charm for me!
- Listen to your body, I worked out 5-6 days per week before conceiving and carried that routine throughout my pregnancy. I believe that is what helped me have a pretty easy pregnancy. I stopped doing ab work around 20-22 weeks and modified some exercises once my belly got in the way.
- The haaka spills very easy, mine slipped off my boob multiple times. I am now using it with a pumping bra so that it stays put (update- about a few weeks after my milk came in my supply was very high and boobs felt super full. Once my milk regulated I stopped using the haaka so that I wouldn't keep having an oversupply. More stimulation = more milk production)
- Use the lactation consultants as much as you can in the hospital. Everyone will give you different tips and tricks. They all have different ways of doing things.
- I did not realize how tired I would be while breast feeding. The night feedings are the hardest. I feel like my body got more used to not sleeping as much after the first week. The first month was the hardest for me sleep wise.
- The first 2 months postpartum I walked a lot, I did not necessarily have a specific workout routine. I am now starting to get back into the swing of things, but I am taking it slowly!
