Birthing a New Birth Center

      You may not be seeing as much of Maureen Darcey, CNM around the birth rooms in 2012, but that doesn’t mean she’s not as busy as ever!  Starting in January, Maureen is going to be shifting her role at WBWC to help adjust to the changing needs of our growing birth center.  She’ll still be catching the occasional baby as back-up midwife during weekday business hours.  However, her new duties will be primarily administrative.  Additionally, she’s ready to focus her full attention on her long-standing goal: building a new birth center.  “My new job will be birthing the new birth center,” says Maureen. 
  This is no small task, and would be impossible while also continuing the 24-hour on-call shifts that our midwives work.  As you may know, the search for land on which to build the new facility is underway.  There’s still an enormous amount of work to be done in the way of fundraising, planning, and logistics over the next several years.  With her years of experience and her passionate vision for the birth center model of care, Maureen hopes to guide WBWC through this transition period into an even stronger future.   

Maji: The Gift of Life

(Maji: Kiswahili = water)

by Kerrie Kurgat

Deep inside of me, a stirring. Undulations. I didn’t know who, just as I hadn’t known for my previous two births. We would embrace a son or a daughter: joys, challenges, idiosyncrasies and all.  

I had requested gender anonymity from the sonographer, who remained neutral, even in the ultrasound report which stated: “gender - normal.” Despite my protests, the test was requested by a midwife to confirm gestational age. It was more detailed due to my age (over 35 years), and I was grateful for the reassurance and levity that Dr. Wolfe proffered: “Can you believe they think you’re ‘old’?!”

            It was the evening of October 5, 2010, my due date. I had taught my ESL classes as usual until two in the afternoon. Our children were already asleep while my husband and I prepared for bed. The painful contractions I was experiencing were not new; they had been percolating for weeks – precursors of the intense pressure that would thrust my baby into, I hoped, the warm water of the birthing tub.

           

            I lay in bed and jotted down the intervals of the contractions on yellow post-it notes: 11:56pm, 12:17am... In the early morning hours on October 6, I contacted the on-call midwife. “I’m having contractions – nothing longer than 25 seconds. Just wanted to let someone know.” She listened dutifully as I recited my contraction frequencies. “Why don’t you drink some tea and take a bath? Then try to get some sleep,” she suggested. I took her advice about the tea, but skipped the bath. At long last I slept.

           

            For a stretch of over an hour I felt no tensing or tightening. Then, rogue contractions periodically. Back to sleep. Jolted by pain in my lower back, I called WBWC and spoke with Allison. Though the labor was prodromal in nature, she validated my labor contractions. I asked her opinion about whether or not I should teach that morning. She supported the idea of canceling classes. Since I tested GBS positive, she recommended I come in early for a round of antibiotics.

            At 11:45am, my husband and I were ushered into the blue room on the first floor. Sun streamed through slats in the blinds. Helen, the nurse, bustled about readying birthing equipment.

     Five years ago, my son Nicholas had been born in the same room to the cadence of a February rain shower. A swift, intense birth that began when I walked into the room at 11:30; I cradled him in my arms by 11:59am.  

**********************************************************

On that occasion, my labor had commenced around 8am. I had stoically gone to work enduring the ever-more-frequent pain by standing up and holding my chair in the privacy of my small office. I was of the mind then, as I am now, that there was no reason for me not to go to work up to the last moment. My colleague insisted on timing my contractions until they were five minutes apart.

Ironically, I worked with two OB/GYN’s who were in the office that day. I called the WBWC and spoke to Jan. I could come on over, she said. “Go and have a wonderful birth,” imparted one of the physicians with a warm embrace. I switched into high gear and started for the door. I happened to work a quarter mile down the street from WBWC and was actually intent on walking there. Just then my colleague bounded out of the elevator and into the parking lot (post knee-replacement surgery!) with her purse flying on her arm. “You’re not going to walk. Let me drive you,” she intervened with foresight. The difference between the blue room and the birth center parking lot!

I called my husband who met me at the WBWC. When we arrived, we were directed to the first floor. I knocked. Maureen opened the door with a swoosh. “Hi, I had a feeling we’d hear from you today, so I prepared this room for you.” Incredibly, she hadn’t spoken to the staff upstairs. I stumbled in and stripped down. No time for antibiotics despite my positive GBS status. The nurse sauntered in after about ten minutes.

“Hello everyone,” she greeted.

“Get dressed,” Maureen retorted.  
My husband inquired whether he should pick up our daughter from school. Maureen advised against that as a father had missed the birth of his child recently under similar circumstances.

Fifteen minutes and some oxygen later, Nicholas was nursing in my arms. Five years later I was in the same place - time, gray hairs, and experiences between the years.

*******************************************************

Helen mercifully rubbed my lower back and related engaging stories about her family, leavening my labor pains. Allison arrived at WBWC from the hospital at 1:30. She asked my permission to have a student midwife, Daniela, participate in my birth, and I consented.

I was a stranger to Lamaze and ignorant about the Bradley or any other method. I implicitly trusted my midwives and nurses for countenance and management. Both Allison and Daniela guided me through the grist and grit of labor.

Through an amalgam of thoughts, I focused intently on inhaling through my nose and exhaling through my mouth. Rhythm. Until a spasm rocked my uterus. Inertia propelled my baby down. “Ease this baby out. Relax,” chanted Daniela. As he crowned, my water finally broke. Through the plate tectonics of labor, my son transitioned from his protective sac into the water at 3:05pm.

As he suckled colostrum, his nectar of life for the next few days, I pondered over Jonathan’s journey: an answer to the ellipsis that lingered as Nicholas grew older. Vicariously, he had swum numerous times in the community pool. He was pummeled by rip current waves in Lake Michigan. His birth in the water, luminous and ephemeral, brought him full circle, and he was aptly named “Kimibei” of the East African Kipsigis people: “he was in the water" or "there was water.”



New Arrivals



 Top row: Isis Barbour, May Scudellari. Bottom row: Ari Morrow, Atticus Harkey, Jordan Gates



Violet Clove Sterner Miller – 7 lbs., 13 oz. - September 25

May Elizabeth Scudellari – 8 lbs., 8 oz. – October 25

Jordan Langdon Gates – 7 lbs., 8 oz. - November 5

Phoebe Rose Studson – 5 lbs., 5 oz. – November 7

Kieran Leo Marchetti – 7 lbs., 15 oz. – November 10

Atticus Larry Harkey – 8 lbs., 9 oz. – November 11

Seth Smith - 8 lbs., 7 oz. – November 11

Marlow Quinn – 8 lbs., 13 oz. – November 12

Vera Lynn Caron – 7 lbs., 12 oz. – November 14

Zoey Isabella Pilkington – 7 lbs., 14 oz. – November 15

Sydney Devon Bridges – 6 lbs., 4 oz. – November 15

William Lafayette Clements – 8 lbs., 6 oz. – November 17

Isis Avani Barbour – 8 lbs. – November 18

Kahlan Noelle Green – 8 lbs., 13 oz. – November 19

Adlai Escher Naimi – 8 lbs., 10 oz. – November 19

Malachi Liam Davidson – 8 lbs., 12 oz. – November 21

Aram Gatling – 9 lbs., 5 oz. – November 23

Adeline Mae Butler Grover – 8 lbs. – November 23

Aspen Vivian Thomas – 9 lbs., 2 oz. – November 28

Reed Elizabeth Mason – 8 lbs., 8 oz. – November 29

Ari Lincoln Morrow - 6 lbs., 15 oz. - November 30


Welcome to the world, Little Ones!

If you would like your baby's birth announced in the next newsletter, send an email with baby's name, birth date, and weight to missy_swanson@hotmail.com.  You can also include a picture if you'd like!

'Tis the Season to Keep Everyone Busy!

by Claire C. McKiernan

          I’d love to tell you the following advice is from professionals and experts, but I can’t. I’m too busy right now to interview anyone. So here are tips from a mother of four young children (me) on learning to let go a little (I’m a perfectionist, so this didn’t come easy) and, with some luck, getting your kids to cooperate this season. One caveat, you know your kids best, so my age suggestions may not be appropriate for all kids.

Shopping

          If you can’t leave the kids at home, stash snacks in your purse, no matter what time of day you go out or how close to the next meal. Food does wonders! Even better if there are special snacks that they only get when you go out shopping.  I keep baggies of raisins, mini-marshmallows, pretzels, goldfish crackers, or animal crackers in my purse. Lifesavers are good if your children are old enough to suck on one instead of crunching through it and asking for more every ten seconds.

Be on the lookout for surprise freebies, especially in grocery stores, such as cookies, cut-up fruit, and cheese samples. Sometimes things they won’t eat at home are suddenly appetizing when your kids are bored, and the item is presented in a cute little sample cup. 

An important note: in my experience, bribing them with food ("If you're good, you'll get these") rarely works and often gives you a bigger head ache than before. Be pre-emptive and give them a snack while everyone is happy and before the kids get out of hand.

Holiday Cards

          Can’t seem to get the cards done while the kids are awake, and by the time they’re in bed, you’re spent, right? If you enjoy writing out the cards and making them “just so” like I do, then the next bit of advice is going to require some yoga-like breathing.

Let the kids help.

Let your 2-year-old scribble in the cards to your closest relatives who will undoubtedly find it cute. Or just give her a brand new card with which to do whatever she likes. If you’re lucky she will scribble in it and give it to you. If you’re not so lucky, you’ll find it in the toilet.

Let your 4-year-old work next to you making his cards out of construction paper. If he’s making them out to the same people you are, then show him you are adding his card in with yours so he knows he’s contributing. Don’t keep the postage stamps within his reach, though.

Your 6-year-old can put on stamps and address labels. Just be sure to tell her not to seal the envelopes until they’ve all been addressed!

Your 8-year-old can write out addresses, at least to the same relatives who find the baby’s scribbles adorable. This is a great time to tell him why you go through the trouble of writing out cards and let him do a few on behalf of the family. The operative word here is “let,” meaning that you are allowing him to help, not that you are lecturing and forcing the issue. You should only do that if you never want to receive a card from him as an adult because he now hates cards.

Decorating

Have them use construction paper to make decorations for the windows while you’re busy nearby. I love decorating the tree, but other than the lights and the angel at the top, my kids completely decorated our tree this year. The entire bottom half is bare because the baby won’t leave the tree alone. It’s sweet and absurd at the same time and probably the best-looking tree we’ve ever had.

Wrapping Gifts

Let your 4-year-old go to town on grandma’s non-breakable gift with some tape and colorful newspaper (comics and grocery ads) while you do some other wrapping. Your 6-year-old can help tape, cut ribbon, and stick on bows. Your 8-year-old can fill out gift labels.

Cleaning

          Things will never be as clean as when you do it yourself, but enlisting the kids has numerous benefits. You’ll be surprised how well they do with encouragement and easy-to-follow instructions. Everyone except my almost-2-year-old has weekly chores, and even she routinely likes to help out. My kids earn change for their piggy bank for anything they are willing to do beyond what they are expected to do. This works out great for me before company comes.

We listen to their music while we clean, and because we all work at once, it fosters a team spirit. Give each kid his or her own to-do list (draw pictures for the younger ones). Besides helping them to remember everything, lists are more official and important.

Do not put multiple kids on the same job in the same room because it will lead to dusters used as swords, laundry all over the floor, and mopped children instead of mopped floors. Divide and conquer!

The 2-to-4-year-old set are surprisingly good dusters. They can follow you around either re-dusting (no harm there) or dusting things low to the ground that you never bother to dust but really need it. This is assuming you don’t have a lot of breakable knick-knacks. If you do, I suggest you either get rid of the knick-knacks, or get rid of the kids.

Kids 6 years and up can sort clean laundry into piles, fold socks, and put away their folded clothes. I give my energetic 4-year-old one or two pieces of clothing at a time and have him race to put it away and get back to me by the time I have the next item ready.

Fill a clean spray bottle with half water and half vinegar and give it, along with paper towels, to your 4-year-old to clean the bottom halves of windows (where he can reach without a stool and where all his finger- and nose-prints can be found).  If he can’t be trusted with a whole roll of paper towels, fold one into a kid-friendly size and have him come back for more when it’s too dirty and wet. Give your 6-year-old a damp sponge and challenge him to find the true color of the baseboards. An 8-year-old can clean the kitchen table along with kitchen and bathroom counters.

Cooking

Kids can wash dishes or load the dishwasher, but don’t introduce this during the holidays. Kids 4 and up can rinse fruit and veggies and open up cans while you cook.  Don’t get too ambitious! Save anything that’s messy or needs heavy supervision for non-hectic times. When my son was three, he wanted to help decorate his sister’s birthday cake. I caught him just before he used the pepper mill all over my beautifully frosted cake.

One Last Note

Nothing works 100% of the time, and when it doesn't, breathe deeply! Remember, when they turn into little monsters, they feed off your tension, so keep telling yourself to remain calm. Their attitude is often a reflection of your own.

 If you can muster a truly silly act to really throw them off their guard, go for it. Unexpectedly skip through the room with a bow stuck to your nose and sing “I Want a Hippopotamus For Christmas.” Even if they wind up putting you in a padded room for the holidays, I bet you’ll be in there laughing (bonus: you’ll have avoided all the after-holiday clean-up). Just don’t do anything that you don’t want to see them imitate over and over and over (or telling all the guests at dinner).  

Keep everyone busy this season and keep repeating through clenched teeth, "'Tis the season to be jolly!"  And if none of this works, don't blame me. I'm not a professional.

Leigh Ann's Oatmeal Cookies

Leigh Ann Joel, CNM has spent years perfecting her oatmeal cookie recipe, and now she has been kind enough to share it with us.  These cookies have passed her kids' rigorous taste-testing, despite the fact that they contain some healthy ingredients. Enjoy!  And let her know how yours turn out next time you're at the Birth Center.

3/4 cup salted, softened butter

1/4 cup olive oil (not extra virgin, needs to be mild)

1 cup packed light brown sugar

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 large room-temperature eggs

3 cups old-fashioned oats, not quick cooking

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour, plus 3 tbsp all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup milled flax seed or wheat germ

1/3 cup flax seed

1 1/2 cups craisins

2 cups finely chopped walnuts

Cream butter, oil and sugars with mixer until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs and mix on high until combined, then add vanilla.

Combine flours, milled flax, baking powder, soda, and salt. Add to butter mixture.

Add oats, flax seed, craisins, and nuts, and mix by hand.

Drop on parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake. (I use a little ice-cream scoop, maybe tbsp sized.)

A small advantage may be gained in cookie texture if the batter sits for a while. 

Bake at 350 for 9-11 minutes.

Free Classes Offered at WBWC

WBWC Board Update

by Kaaren Haldeman

The WBWC Board of Directors will be expanding in the new year! We are excited to welcome new board members as we energize our efforts to envision and plan for our new space. As part of the nomination process, board nominees will be interviewed by staff representing all strata of the WBWC workforce. Our hope is to have new members voted onto the board early in the new year. Many thanks to you all for your patience in this process. We are so pleased to bring on a highly motivated and diverse group to help us plan for our future. Connie, Meredith, and I would like to wish you all at WBWC a safe, healthy and happy holiday season!

What's New at the Boutique

Like Your Midwives!

Want to support NC nurse-midwives? "Like" NC Nurse Midwives on Facebook. You will stay informed about nurse-midwives and the issues that face them and the women and families they care for. Spread the word!

A Midwife's Experience in Panama

by Kate Layman, CNM

On the first day of October 2011, I had the great fortune of joining a medical group in Bocas del Toro, Panama.  The Floating Doctors Team is a nonprofit 501 (c)3 with the mission of delivering healthcare to isolated coastal communities throughout the Caribbean. Before arriving in the Archipelago del Bocas, the group had been active in Jamaica, post-earthquake Haiti, and Honduras.   After weeks of reading their Facebook page, combing the website, and brushing up on my Spanish, I embarked on discovering a new country and delivering healthcare out of my usual role at the Birth Center.

I landed in the township of Bocas, a patchwork of colorful buildings and tributes to the “Irie” existence. Dusty streets lined with hammock-strewn patios, fruit stands, and businesses pulsed with life.   I soon realized the stunning landscape truly reveals itself when you get out on the waterways woven among the islands.  Motorized boats and dugout canoes traverse these thoroughfares. Gazing over the side through crystal clear water, glimpses of stingrays, schools of fish, and a white sandy bottom race by.   My hopes were confirmed for an amazing adventure.  

The home base for Floating Doctors was a 76-foot vessel called The Southern Wind.  Her nooks served as pharmacy, occasional exam room, sleeping quarters, and mission control for the group.  The troupe of volunteers was remarkable and diverse.  We were a collection of physicians, nurses, public health researchers, sailors, a pro-surfer and a midwife.   Life on the boat was a buzz of activity and comedy.  I often felt like I was on a floating medical hostel with moments of The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.  Unfortunately, we were missing the sauna room, but the soundtrack was just as good.    

The population in this area is incredibly diverse.  The presence of banana plantations and proximity to other Caribbean nations produced a mix of West Indians, Latinos, and more recently ex-pat retirees from all over the world.  Various indigenous populations also inhabit the far reaches of the islands and made up the majority of patients we served.   

The group executes two to three clinics a week in the surrounding archipelago.   The most common ailments I encountered were gastrointestinal parasites, respiratory infections, and fungal skin infections, byproducts of the climate and lack of infrastructure.  Public health disparities abound.  Although fortunes from the Panama Canal provide free healthcare services to all Panamanians, a lack of access to care persists.  Few people can afford the transportation from their isolated village only to encounter extreme bureaucracy and prejudice from the system.  As a result, most of the people we met used a combination of traditional healers and medical professionals.

One of my most gratifying experiences was working with the residents of a local nursing home.  The Floating Doctors attend to the patients twice weekly and take the wheelchair-bound residents out for a walk around the village in the early evening.  Before this project was started, some of them had not been out of the nursing home in four years.  The life that breathed into them from waving to kids in the streets and feeling a part of the community was inspiring to watch.  It is not just the very young that thrive on love and attention.  We all need that human connection for survival.

Some of the other highlights of my trip included meeting and talking with local midwives, those who worked in the hospital and village based birth attendants.  Surprisingly, it was not unusual to hear from a woman that her mother or grandmother was the person that helped birth her children.  I enjoyed a homestay with a village baker where patrons started coming to the living room window at six am to buy their morning pastry.   The group was led on a medicinal plant walk with a traditional healer.   A legacy of medicine men, our guide described how he chooses remedies for a patient based on their constitution, psyche, and how the climate might have affected the plant that year.  He was entirely my impression of a holistic practitioner.  

I think about how my trip connects to what we do at the Birth Center and realize that relationships, community, and a healthy respect for nature enrich the experience.  I may have left with more questions than when I arrived in Panama, as if my inner compass was gently shaken and conventional thoughts recalibrated.  I find myself seeing the world and her difficulties with fresh eyes and I feel renewed.  If you have any interest in joining or contributing to the efforts of Floating Doctors, please contact them at floatingdoctors.com or on Facebook.

  

News from the Board

by Kaaren Haldeman

It was great to see so many WBWC staff, families, and supporters at our birthday party! Despite the chilly weather, we had a wonderful show of love for all of the hard work our midwives, nurses and other wonderful staff have done to give us another great year. Happy Birthday, WBWC!  The Board has been busy with board development, and we hope to have some new faces to introduce in the new year. We're excited about what the next year will bring as we march along toward our goal of a new building. Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Ever Wonder About Our Logo?

By Claire C. McKiernan

            Take a glance at the artistically rendered WBWC logo. What do you see? A womanly figure as the stem of a flower? Step back, and do you notice the vague shape of a uterus and fallopian tubes? Certainly, it’s both feminine and clever, but it’s much more than that, too.

            The woman is self-explanatory, but what of the flower? The flower featured in the logo is an iris. The iris grows, is cultivated, and is renowned for its beauty and greatly varied colors all over the world. Symbolism of the iris includes references to wisdom, faith, hope, friendship, valor, passion, royalty, trust, purity, courage, and admiration. Whew!

            Additionally, this ancient plant has a rich historical background. According to Greek mythology, Iris was the messenger goddess of the rainbow (in Greek, "iris" means rainbow). She traveled between the lands of gods and humans to deliver the messages of the gods. Since the rainbow’s arc in Greece could be seen from the clouds to the sea, she was also believed to supply the clouds with water to replenish the Earth.

            The iris is symbolized in the fleur-de-lis of France, where it has been used since the 12th century, became synonymous with the French Monarchy, and is the national symbol of France. Fleur-de-lis literally means “lily flower,” but the iris was known as a lily until the 19th century and the emblem is, in fact, an iris. The fleur-de-lis is seen extensively in the artwork of France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Canada, and America.

            Most likely originating in Africa, the flower was a symbol of power in ancient Egypt and was placed on the scepters of rulers and on the Sphinx. The three petals represented faith, courage, and wisdom. In China, the iris is seen as a dancing spirit similar to a butterfly. In Sri Lanka, it is noted for its elegant beauty and represents faith, hope, and wisdom. In Japan, the iris is an expression of heroic deeds. The Israelites used it as a source of perfume and a symbol of purity.

            The iris has religious meaning as well. Medieval paintings are rich with the symbolism of the iris. In Christianity, the iris, along with the lily (often used interchangeably with the iris), symbolizes the Virgin Mary. The three petals can also be seen as the sign of the trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Ghost), as well as symbolizing faith, hope, and charity. In Hebrew, Iris is a commonly used girl’s name and refers to purity. Some references indicate that the Muslims brought the iris to Spain in the 8th century.

The fleur-de-lis or the iris is used as an emblem, in the coat-of-arms, or in the flag of regions in France, Italy, Spain, England, Scotland, Belgium, the Ukraine, Bosnia, Jordan, and Croatia. In Canada, it is on the coat of arms or local symbols for the provinces of Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. Here in the U.S., the fleur-de-lis is in the flag or seal of the cities of St. Louis, Louisville, Detroit, New Orleans, and Baton Rouge and the states of Louisiana and Missouri. The iris is the state flower of Tennessee. Additionally, the fleur-de-lis is used on symbols for sports teams (i.e., New Orleans Saints), fraternities and sororities (i.e., Kappa Kappa Gamma), universities (i.e.,Washington University in Missouri), cars (i.e. Chevy Corvette), and even in the US military (i.e., 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team). It is used as the World Scout emblem, as well as by mariners in the compass rose, where it points north. 

            Clearly, the iris has universal appeal and as such helps bring us all together. It has wonderful symbolic meaning, and for some it has religious, ethnic, regional, or even specific organization or club significance. So, next time you notice the WBWC logo, think not only of your experiences at the birth center and the wonderful midwives and staff that help you, but also of the deeper and more individual meaning that the iris symbol may have for you.

HUG Your Baby

Are you interested in finding ways to calm and connect with your newborn? Do you want to learn important skills to help your baby eat and sleep well?

Come to a free HUG Your Baby class!
   
Jan Tedder, a FNP from UNC Family Medicine with thirty years of experience, teaches her HUG Your Baby parenting class at WBWC free of charge. Classes meet the second Thursday of every other month, from 6:30 - 8:00 PM.

The next classes will be offered Thursday, December 8 and February 9, 2012.

For more information, give us a call or check out http://hugyourbaby.com.

Elisabeth Jane Shyshnyak

 by Amy Shyshnyak

My birth story starts out as many do.  I had a dream of having a little girl, and that dream was coming true. We took a Bradley class, prepared as best as we could, saved money so I could stay home with her, and visited the WBWC for all of our prenatal visits. My pregnancy went great. I was healthy, and aside from aching feet and incredible heartburn, I really felt like it was an easy pregnancy.

Christmas rolled around, and all of my family was in town, hoping I would go into labor while they were still here. Two days after everyone left the time finally came. December 30, 2010 was the night. I began to have contractions about 10 pm, and I crawled into bed next to my husband Max. We talked about how this could be the last night it would be just the two of us in that bed. It made me kind of sad, but it also made me excited because we had been waiting for so long!

Things began heating up rather quickly. The contractions were coming fast and furious, and I was so confused. I was thinking to myself, “This can’t be the real thing! It is happening way too fast!” At 1 am, we called Leigh Ann. She told me to take a hot bath, take a Benadryl, crawl into bed, and try to get some sleep.  I crawled into the tub and couldn’t stand it. The contractions were coming so hard and fast I just wanted to be in my bed. At 2:30 my husband, who had paid close attention in our birthing class, recognized I was reaching time to push. He called the WBWC and told Leigh Ann we were on our way! She couldn’t believe it!

Off we went. I had 2 more contractions before I could reach the car. We live 35 minutes from the birth center, and I began to wonder if we were going to make it.  We were so glad it was the middle of the night, because I-40 was completely empty.  Max went 100 mph all the way down I-40 with his flashers on. I just kept yelling that I wanted to push, and I think it made him drive faster. We made it to the birth center in less than 20 minutes!

Forty-five minutes after we arrived at the Birth Center, Ellie joined our family. It was such a relief to have her in my arms. My first thought was, “We did it! We did it!”

During the physical assessment, Allison noticed that Ellie had a connected frenulum all the way to the tip of her tongue, also known as tongue tie. I had no idea what that meant. Max then told me that he was tongue-tied, as were as his brother and father. Little did I know what the next 3 months had in store for us.

Ellie was unable to latch properly. When she was able to latch the best way she knew how, she could not transfer milk well. Many kids who are tongue-tied are never able to nurse. She was sucking for 45 minutes to an hour and getting almost nothing. She was so hungry those first few days, and all she did was cry every time I took her off the breast. We had no idea what was going on. She lost over 10% of her body weight those first few days. When Kim came on day 3 for our home visit, she gave us donor milk.  She showed us how to feed her through a syringe using our pinky finger. Ellie was so happy to finally get some milk! I began pumping and taking supplements to try and make enough to keep her satisfied. I was pumping after each feeding and then supplementing her with what I pumped. This went on for almost 2 months. I was totally exhausted, but I wanted to nurse so much.

After multiple trips to see Dr. Hedgepeth, our chiropractor, and a Speech Therapist, Ellie finally began transferring more milk. Dr. Hedgepeth was able to do adjustments on certain spots around Ellie’s jaw, neck, and head muscles to help enable her to suck more efficiently. She worked with her soft palate and sometimes her back. Our Speech Therapist taught us exercises to do at home, which also helped Ellie’s suckle. She explained the different bottle types.  She showed us we needed the simplest type and kept us on low flow nipples so Ellie would work harder to get the milk out of the bottles. This in turn strengthened her suckle. It took a lot of patience and time, but in the end it all helped. I am so glad I didn’t give up, because now she is 10 months old and eats like a champ. I am off all supplements and plan to nurse until she is ready to wean. It has been such a comfort for her, and I have enjoyed it so much. I am thankful for all of the help from Ellie, our LC, Nancy, and the continued encouragement from Leigh Ann and Kate. Although Ellie never has latched like other kids, she gets what she needs and is so happy and healthy. Now when I grab my pink Boppy pillow and say, “Do you want mommy’s milk?,” she smiles and laughs and starts crawling all over me. I love it!

It was a long road but worthwhile indeed.

What's New at the Boutique

Bravado’s Essential Nursing Tank

Mothers often come into the Boutique looking for nursing bras - something they can wear during pregnancy, as well as after; something versatile and affordable. A nursing tank may be just the thing!

Bravado’s Essential Nursing Tanks come with a built-in bra that gives you full support. The high quality cotton/spandex fabric stretches and retains its shape even after washing. They are great for nursing in public, as well as during the night. The tank provides tummy coverage, while the discreet nursing clips allow for easy breastfeeding access.

Bravado Essential Nursing Tanks are available in sizes 34 B/C to 44 F/G. These tanks come in a variety of bold colors like the turquoise above, pastels, as well as black and white.

Come by the Boutique to try one on!

Sweet Potato Burritos

This simple and delicious meal is a favorite in nurse Ellen Shrader’s household. It can easily feed a family of four, and the kids can help prepare it!

4 sweet potatoes
2 cans black beans
2 cups brown rice
1 large onion, diced
1 large red pepper, diced
Juice of one orange or 4 tbsp OJ
4 cloves garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Burrito wrappers
2 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
Pinch of cayenne pepper

• Preheat oven to 350^oF. Bake sweet potatoes whole until tender, about 1 hour. Peel, mash, and add cumin, chili powder, and cayenne to taste.
• Cook brown rice in 4 cups water.
• Sauté onion, red pepper, and garlic in olive oil until tender. Add black beans and orange juice. Let simmer 5 minutes.
• Put 4 bowls out in front of you, one each for sweet potatoes, rice, black beans, and cheese. If the kids want to participate, they can make their own burrito and wrap it up.
• Put burritos back in the oven for 10-15 minutes until cheese melts. Serve with your favorite salsa!

New Arrivals

Sally Louise Uecker – 7 lbs.,13 oz. – September 17 (pictured above right)

Marek Francis Stolka - 8 lbs., 4 oz. - October 2 (pictured above left)

Felix Henry-Gottschalk – 7 lbs., 9 oz. – October 4

Alexandra Mae Lyn McCreery – 6 lbs., 2 oz. – October 5

Zoe Joan Ogallo – 7 lbs., 12.5 oz. – October 10

Oliver Higgins – 9 lbs., 5 oz. – October 12

David Bobbitt – 9 lbs. – October 13

Paige Reilly – 7 lbs., 6 oz. – October 13

Alaina Faith Overton – 7 lbs., 11 oz. – October 14

Dorothy Yonuschot Sexton – 8 lbs., 5 oz. – October 16

Simon Gard – 6 lbs., 12 oz. – October 16

Logan Scott Dice – 6 lbs., 10 oz. – October 17

Caleb Jace Lee – 6 lbs., 14 oz. – October 19

Alaina Grace Zdeb – 7 lbs. – October 20

Clair Angélie White – 7 lbs., 10 oz. – October 21

Karsyn Analee Rice – 7 lbs. – October 25

Bodhi Gabriel Hernandez-Dowd – 6 lbs., 5 oz. – October 26

Ezra Ryan Breakey – 8 lbs. – October 27

Emily Jane Roberts – 8 lbs., 8 oz. – October 31

Welcome to the world, sweet babies! Congratulations to these wonderful families!

 

If you would like your baby’s birth announced in the next newsletter, send an email to missy_swanson@hotmail.com with your baby’s name, birthdate, and weight.  Feel free to send a picture, too!