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Keren Threlfall

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More Waiting and Waterbirth: Kyrie’s Birth Story, Part 4

December 15, 2014

Waiting for Relief (Continued from Part 3) Only this time, I decided to stay in the shower for a longer time. Pushing was growing intense, but I felt like the head had not yet descended, which was rather disappointing given the effort I was putting into each push. I was trying to listen to the “Push Your Baby Out” Hypnobabies track, but the intensity had heightened to the point where I just had to vocalize through the contractions. I got down on my hands and knees in the shower, as that position seemed to make pushing slightly more manageable. By this point, I had been pushing for about 30 minutes, and was growing tired and discouraged.

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Waiting: Kyrie’s Birth Story, Part 3

December 12, 2014

Waiting for Contractions I started my drive home, heart rate definitely higher than normal. I was full of adrenaline and nervousness. First, I needed to actually make it home. Second, I was fearful, because this was exactly how I didn’t want labor to begin this time. Julie graciously reminded me via text that just because my water broke before contractions, this was a new birth, a new beginning, and I didn’t need to think it would be the same as last time, because it wouldn’t. She recommended I start listening to the “Fear Cleansing” MP3, and I had already started pulling it up when her text arrived. I prayed and listened. And I felt at peace, though my hands still trembling from the adrenaline. Meanwhile, I continued to soak our driver’s seat as I drove. Traffic moved steadily, and I never got stuck, thankfully. Thirty minutes later, I arrived home to two excited girls and a happy husband. (Justus was happy, too, he just didn’t quite get it yet. ;)) The girls eagerly asked, “Are you having your baby!?” to which I said, “I think so.” I felt the need to take a shower after riding home in my puddle, and so told Daniel to carry on as normal and then take the kids outside to get energy out, as we weren’t sure what the night would look like. Still no contractions, so I took my time and took a shower to wash my hair, since it had been a couple of days. (I only wash my hair every two to three days. Don’t worry, I shower every night, with rare exceptions. ;)) Then, I tried to take a bath to relax, and Daniel brought up some yoghurt and a banana. Although I wasn’t feeling hungry, I ate them since I knew I needed energy. I continued to listen to the Hypnobabies MP3, and tidied up our bathroom, bedroom, and closet as I continued to wait. Eventually, I started to feel more at peace and ease. At the same time, it was a little odd to venture into this part without Daniel at my side like he had been in past labors. Waiting for Technology Around 6:30p.m., I started to feel the first, mild pressure waves (contractions). Since I wanted to make sure they were coming frequently, I started to download a contraction timing app. (I had planned to do this over…

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Not What I Expected: Kyrie’s Birth Story, Part 2

December 11, 2014

I Have Homework? As I wrote in Part 1 of Kyrie’s birth story, I had been taking the Hypnobabies class with my doula, Julie, as the instructor. The class was somewhat unexpected in that it covered a lot of basic birth information, but that was all a good refresher and I learned a good bit new, as well. I also wasn’t expecting to have so much homework! (Though, in Hypnobabies, it’s called Homeplay. Gotta keep it positive-language and all. ;)) Well, perhaps it wouldn’t be that much if you had no children to take care of, you hadn’t just moved, and your husband (with whom I was supposed to do the homeplay/practice) wasn’t working like crazy to get caught up and ahead on work. Or if I had taken it with a greater margin of time before my due date, or…, or… Instead, I spent the first couple of week feeling guilty and like I wouldn’t be able to make it work. The second week, I was able to practice (reading/listening to scripts) with Daniel like we were supposed to, and then felt a little better. But then I got behind again, and felt discouraged. My midwife encouraged me that even if I just practiced a little and familiarized myself with the scripts, it would help; I didn’t need to perfect it. Wrestling with Fear So, I was encouraged, but still fearful. My last birth included more a more traumatic (to me, personally) experience than I had anticipated, and so I was fearful of similar turnouts and simply of the unknown. Thankfully, many of the Hypnobabies scripts were also available to listen to on MP3, and so even if Daniel needed to go to bed early some nights, I could listen to those. (However, since you are supposed to listen to them in an uninterrupted, relaxed state, that pretty much ruled out the daytime with kids around. :)) Hypnobabies had a track specifically for wrestling with fear about childbirth, and so I listened to that several nights in a row. I was fearful of many things: a long labor, who would watch our kids during the birth (we had a friend who could, but would be out of town through my due date), what if something was wrong with the baby, what I had a bad cervical lip again, what if my water broke before labor and I panicked, what if labor lasted all night, what if, what…

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Kyrie Elise Ann {in One Thousand Words}

November 17, 2014

Kyrie Elise Ann, 9lbs., 1oz., 21 inches, October 10, 10:30p.m. Kyrie, eleison. Christe, eleison. Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Kyrie The words Kyrie, eleison, a transliteration of the Greek Κύριε, ἐλέησον, translated “Lord, have mercy” have been a part of church liturgy for centuries. We chose this theme as a whole for our daughter’s name if she was a girl, with Kyrie Elise Ann as normal-ish names, but sounding and looking much like Kyrie eleison.

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