Brief Birth Story For Baby #4

 What A Baby Costs

By Edgar Albert Guest

"How much do babies cost?" said he

The other night upon my knee;

And then I said: "They cost a lot;

A lot of watching by a cot,

A lot of sleepless hours and care,

A lot of heartache and despair,

A lot of fear and trying dread,

And sometimes many tears are shed

In payment for our babies small,

But every one is worth it all.

"For babies people have to pay

A heavy price from day to day--

There is no way to get one cheap.

Why, sometimes when they're fast asleep

You have to get up in the night

And go and see that they're all right.

But what they cost in constant care

And worry, does not half compare

With what they bring of joy and bliss...

You'd pay much more for just a kiss.

"Who buys a baby has to pay

A portion of the bill each day;

He has to give his time and thought

Unto the little one he's bought.

He has to stand a lot of pain

Inside his heart and not complain;

And pay with lonely days and sad

For all the happy hours he's had.

All this a baby costs, and yet

His smile is worth it all, you bet."

I normally don't share personal information such as birth stories on this blog, but since I have shared more pregnancy related topics this time around I will go ahead and recount a brief description of the labor and delivery of my most recent child.

This pregnancy was my most difficult pregnancy so far. It culminated in the most easy delivery that I have had with any of my children. It brings to mind this verse from Ecclesiastes:

Ecclesiastes 7:8

Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

Baby #4 was born at 41+3 weeks. I wasn't surprised at all to be overdue. All of my children have been born a week or more past their due dates. I always expect to go late.

I was having contractions through the night, but I was ignoring them and able to sleep pretty well.

When I woke up at 5:36a.m. my waters ruptured. I called the midwife. Then I woke up Mr. In The Mid-west.

The children started waking up. Mr. In The Mid-west was cleaning the house to get ready for people to show up. He was also getting the children ready to leave. I was packing clothes for the children and cleaning the bathroom and brushing Dear Daughter's hair between contractions. I wasn't timing them, but I could tell they were getting close.

The midwife called at 6:37a.m. to see what contractions were like. I timed a few. They were 2 minutes apart and a minute long! She said she would leave her house and head our way. It's an 1 1/2 hour drive, by the way.

Around 7a.m. is when I felt like I was going through transition. Around 7 is also when my Mother-in-law got to our house to pick up the children.

I went to lay down. I usually get really sleepy after transition and experience a welcome respite before the really hard part starts.

The midwife got here at 8:20. She made it! I was starting to do little, teeny tiny, pushes. May be I should describe it as slightly bearing down. But I really didn't want to push. The midwife checked and said I had a cervical lip. I tried a squatting type position for 2-3 contractions. I wasn't holding myself up on my own. Mr. In The Mid-west was holding me up by holding me under my arms and I was just dangling in a squatting position. That worked. The lip was gone and I could push the baby out. I like to be on my knees, leaning into the bed for that part. Baby #4 was born at 8:46a.m! 3 hours of labor. Not bad at all! :) 

I am grateful that everything went well. I am also glad that it is all over. I have been enjoying getting to know our newest little bundle of joy! :)

Recommend Support Belt For Pelvic Girdle Pain

 

This belt has changed my life. I am dead serious. I had been dealing with almost constant hip pain and limited mobility from January until the end of May with my latest pregnancy.

I read this article, which my sister shared with me:

https://www.maternity-belt.co.uk/about/pelvic-girdle-pain/

The article described all my symptoms and gave suggestions to mitigate the pain and flare ups. 

I didn't see a Doctor or seek any professional medical advice.

Please, by all means, and, of course, if you find yourself in a similar situation you should talk to your Doctor.

That being said, if you read the article about Pelvic Girdle Pain and it describes what you are going through, this support belt may help you.

What happened for me at the end of May is that I visited my sister and she let me borrow her support belt. (Insert angelic choir sound.) Immediate relief! I could go up and down the stairs without hurting. I could lift my foot high enough to put my rubber boots on again. I could walk from the van to the house (or down the hall, or out to the clothesline, or anywhere really) without having to stop, wincing in pain, and wait a few seconds for my legs to work again.

The belt is two pieces. The first part is a Velcro pad in the front to which the second part attaches. It goes on below the belly, around the area of your hip sockets and tail bone. I have worn it both over my skirt and under my skirt. I have not worn it on bare skin. I always wore some type of garment under the belt like a slip or pantyhose. "Pantyhose when your pregnant?!" Well, that is a rabbit trail about varicose veins that I am not going to go down right now.......... 

I wore this support belt everyday during the waking hours. I was able to sleep comfortably at night with the belt off. You certainly can wear the belt through the night, though. My sister mostly wore the belt at night while she slept because that is when she had the most trouble with her hips.

This belt restored my ability to take care of basic household chores. I could squat down or bend over to pick up things off of the floor again. I could take care of the grocery shopping, climbing in and out of the van, hauling children back and forth. 

I have never been so grateful to be able to walk! I have never been so grateful to have relief from pain! Like I said, I had been in nearly constant pain; sitting, standing, walking, kneeling, crawling, laying down, rolling over..... I was so ready for relief!

Prior to reading the article about Pelvic Girdle Pain I had tried to figure out how to avoid flare ups and keep my legs moving easily. I tried stretching and gentle exercises. That didn't help and it seemed to make things worse. I tried supplementing with liquid Calcium, which didn't make any difference. I thought the wonder cure of eating a sugar free diet may help, but, no, it didn't.

After reading the article on Pelvic Girdle Pain I began implementing some of their suggestions. I kept my knees together.  No squatting for me. Whenever I was sitting I would press my knees together. That helped. 

I never crossed my legs anymore. 

I slept on my left side with a pillow between my knees every night. That helped. 

I would go up stairs sideways, one leg at time. That helped.

I stopped carrying things (and children) on my hip or off to one side. That helped.

But, nothing helped as much as the support belt. If I become pregnant again I will be purchasing a belt of my own. The belt costs about $40.00. Here is a link to the website of the company that produces the support belt that has helped me so much:

https://www.optp.com/Maternity-SI-LOC-Support-Belt

I hope anyone out there who is suffering from this type of hip pain can get help. I recommend that you try a support belt like this. It might just be an easy solution that you've been looking for.

How I Got Rid of Leg Cramps

I tried taking a few different types of Calcium/Magnesium supplements when I started having leg cramps in the night. 

This is what ended working for me. Of course, what worked for me may not work for you. Please talk to your Doctor and do your own research. :)

The combination that worked was a Calcium, Magnesium, Zinc, and Vitamin D supplement from Walmart taken before bed along with a teaspoon of Natto.

This Calcium, Magnesium, Zinc,
 and Vit. D from Walmart

Natto? What is that?

Natto is a fermented soybean condiment common in Japan. I buy Natto at our local Asian market in the frozen foods section. 

Natto comes with a piece of thin plastic
over the beans to keep it from drying out. 

Packaging of frozen Natto

Natto comes in packages of 4 small
containers

Why would I take Natto with Calcium/Magnesium?

Natto contains massive amounts of vitamin K2. I heard on Dr. Paul's podcast (Against the Wind) that, while vitamin D3 is essential for the body to absorb Calcium, vitamin K2 is essential for making sure the Calcium gets deposited in the right places; building bones as opposed to arthritis, etc.

I had to take 4 capsules of the Calcium, Magnesium, Zinc, and Vitamin D supplement at night before bed along with a teaspoon of Natto to be free from cramps all night. If I only took 3 capsules I would be on the verge of a cramp all night. If I took 4 capsules without the Natto I would be on the verge of a cramp all night. I needed to take 4 capsules with Natto before bed to have good results.

This is highly anecdotal and not scientific at all. I wanted to tell my experience here. Maybe it can help someone out there to figure out what combination of supplements they need to take to get rid of their leg cramps.

I didn't have to have many cramps to feel desperate to find a solution. They are so painful! And at the moment of muscle seizer one feels so helpless! 

If you have any tips for dealing with leg cramps please leave them in the comments below! :)