GIVING BIRTH, MY STORY.

Hello my beloved readers!!!

Today I want to talk to you about my baby´s delivery story. before all that, I want to tell you that I had a natural non medicated delivery I was 39 weeks along and also that this was my first baby. Do you want to know how I accomplished? keep on reading...

Baby Leonor was borne on a Wednesday, June 10, 2015, at 1:38 a.m. I’m not sure when the contractions began because I was sleeping at the moment, but I remember in my dreams I felt some stomach cramps and discomfort usually normal for that advance pregnancy stage. So I woke up at 6:30 a.m.  Tuesday morning still in some pain and followed my nurse’s advice about trying to get rid of the contraction and went to pee. Then I headed to the kitchen for a little snack (yogurt and crackers) and some water. After I eat it all, I went back to the bathroom because I still felt some stomach pain and poop just in case I was having a stomach ache and not a contraction, went back to bed and slept for another 3 hours. 

I woke up again at 10:30 a.m. And as I was feeling the same cramps, I went to my mom as she was visiting for the baby’s birth and describe her the pain. She told me that she was pretty sure that kind of pain was a contraction and that we had to start counting to know how much further apart one contraction was from the other. That was 40 minutes apart in that moment.

By 2:00 P.m. The contractions were more defined and they were 20 minutes apart from one another and I started feeling anxious about how effective these contractions were on dilating or if this were just false labor. At 5:30 I was driving crazy about knowing how good I was, so we went to the hospital. My husband and I wanted to have an all natural labor, we studied our options and decided to have our baby in water but the only hospital that provided that option was 50 minutes away from our home. So we went with everything we needed to stay comfortable at the hospital and to bring our baby home. On our way to the hospital, I started having more painful contractions that were uneven. By the time we got there, I was pretty sure I was very far along in labor but I was only 2 c.m. Dilated and We were sent back home with some tips on handling pain and the nurse told me that we only had to go back either when I had already expulsed the mucous plug, bleeding or when the water has broken. We got home at 8 P.M.

The ride was very difficult because of the sitting position and as soon I got home I went to bed because I felt exhausted but the pain felt 10 times worse so I took a bath in the tub. The contractions intensified by 9:30 P.m. And the pressure I felt was like having an urge to go poop so I decided to sit on the toilet to see if the sensation was going to go away. It didn't go away but it helps me to deal with the pain and the pressure reduce considerably. My husband is sitting next to me counting the contractions and keeping a record of them to know how much further apart were one from another. 

I sat there for more than an hour and every time a contraction came, I moved my hips like I was dancing to manage the pain. After a while, my Husband told me I should get up and do something else like walk and leave the toilette again for the last stage, so I could find better release for that moment. As soon as I got up, I realize the mucous plug has come off. I walked around the house and with every contraction, I leaned over my husband and move my hips all over to release the pain. After a while at the end of every contraction, came a terrible urge to push. I was so worried because I thought it was too soon for that, but it was getting worse and it was uncontrollable. So I decided to go to the nearest hospital available. 

We got to the hospital by 12:40 a.m. It was almost impossible for me to come out of the car, my husband an a guy nurse helped out me and sat me down in a wheelchair to get me to the triage room. Another guy nurse ask me a few questions about my labor stage such as: are you bleeding? Or has the mucous plug already come out? How far along one contraction was from another? And the last one and worst one was: what makes you think that you are about to give birth? 

I felt tired, uncomfortable, in pain and for the most part INSULTED! I shouted at the man that I WANTED TO PUSH RIGHT NOW! so hard that the poor man was pale and referred me to the obstetrics department right away. When I got there I was in so much pain, I was ready to ask for some pain relief shuts! 4 ”matrons” receive me at the door, they were so gentle and nice to me, lead me to an Obstetrics room to check how dilated I was. The big surprise was that I was fully dilated and ready to give birth to my baby girl. I asked one of the ladies if I could push already and she said yes, so I did, and broke my water right there. At that moment life came back to my body! I felt awaken and strong again, so in control of my body. 

The matrons headed me walking to the delivery room, I had one contraction on the way but, being able to push that out was the best way to deal with it. When we got to the delivery room, they put me in a hospital rope an I stand in front of the bed. When I could push my way out of the next contraction, I had such a need to get on the bed and on my knees and I lost my rope in the maneuver. By the time the next contraction came, I was ready to push from a comfortable position. To make this amazing story short after a few pushes I felt this burning pain down there for just a second, it was her little head coming out and the rest came behind so easily.  The matrons passed my baby from behind so I could grab her and finally sit in my back and rest. 

She was crying, she was warm and responsive, she was perfect!

For me, having a natural birth has been the most amazing and empowering experience of all my life.  Did it hurt? Of course, it did! But I think is a little price you pay when you are about to receive the biggest gift of your life. I hope you liked it. Please comment if you want to share your story or ask me any questions, I would love to hear from you. In upcoming posts, I will be talking about the tips and tricks I used for handling pain. 

5 TIPS TO MANAGE TIME WHEN YOU ARE A MOTHER.

TIME

Is the resource that people possesess in big amount, Some don't have it, and some others know just how much valuable it is that they put a price to it. 

I used to waste it in great amount and now it's quite little, but at the same time, I've learned to take full advantage of it. Since I became a mother, I’ve learned to create routines, to make tasks more fast and more effectively and to work hard to make them timely. I used to procrastinate a lot, now I make time for the house chores, dedicate time to my daughter, go to work (part-time job) I even incorporate the writing and illustration of this blog and I still believe I could do a little more if I stay more organize and follow a schedule.

One thing is true and is that in order to get the job done I've had to cut down some hours of sleep. But the making of this blog is a dream I'm finally making time for and having the courage to do. So I feel very motivated and that’s  why I don’t mind resting time of rest.

Don't think I'm the woman with the flawless house, the perfectly dressed child and the clothes folded like it’s all  ironed. But I decide not to focus on the little details that will take a lot of time to make and won’t last long. If you are interested in knowing how I handle the chores being with my baby, let me know and I will write a post about it.

Here are some practical tips and tricks to manage your time and the daily tasks you have to do and to do them faster and effective:

1. As I was saying before, I try not to focus too much on details, when babies crawl or are learning to walk, they need space to play, move and explore. Less decorations will assure your child's safety and you will have less to clean, besides, you won’t be nervous because he or she might break something and get hurt.

2. Mix simple tasks, for example: try to do something that need all your attention with things that don’t. In my case, since the moment my baby was born and until now, I used to fold the clothes while playing with her or watching her play on the floor. You don’t  like the floor? try  on top of a rug or the bed.

3. Take good advantage of the time you have without the baby (nap time, sleep time, the time you have when people take care of the baby for you). This way you can be more focus on doing the tasks that need a lot of concentration like planning next week, answering 

e-mails or do some job's work at home . 

4. Ask for help when you need it, if you do not have it, do not overload yourself with things to do and tasks that do not contribute to your daily life, for example: Before having my baby, I used to help friends and family with things related to the design among other and I also used to stayed until late with my boss helping him with his clients, but since I became a mother those activities simply did not fit in my agenda anymore. You should understand that your rest and your health care is important as well. Being a mother is an activity that takes 100% of the time in your day, every day. So if you do not have any support to raise your child or take care of him, focus on what really matters and do not overlook your health.

5. leave some time for a personal project or some activity  you enjoy doing. It could be reading, drawing or painting. Maybe the pursuit of a dream like in my case. This activity should be motivating to you, so you can make it whenever you feel like it, because more likely that you’ll do it in the little moments you have free.

I think managing time is something that you learn along the way when you become a mother. Do not feel frustrated if at the beginning time runs out and you haven’t done all the things you want to do, because with time you will learn to prioritize chores and make them faster.

Thank you for reading this, hope this is useful and I will see you soon, please, tell me your tips and trick on how you manage time and also don’t forget to follow me in all my social media where I post illustrations about this beautiful adventure of being Mom.

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