Friday, March 16, 2012

7 Things Learned with the Fifth Baby


This might have been our fifth birth, but I learned a lot of new things, like:
  • When I feel sick and tired (especially during the first trimester), I will feel even more sick and tired if I try and muscle through instead of giving in to a nap.
  • Eating a high (good) fat, real food diet, low in grains, actually made me gain less weight than any other pregnancies.
  • Pregnancy prep herbal tea works.  I avoided pregnancy teas with my other four because every ingredient was a uterine contractor and can send early pregnancies into miscarriage, but I did some reading this time around, and learned it's best to start drinking it at 31 weeks, working up to three to four cups a day.  The tea linked above has alfalfa included in it which is said to help prevent hemorrhaging after the birth.  All I know is I bled remarkably less with this pregnancy, and doctors told me women are more likely to bleed out the more babies they have.  I continued drinking it after the birth and I'm having a really smooth recovery.  Yay for alfalfa!
  • When you are speed walking around the trampoline with your kids to encourage labor and your parents are watching, your dad might get video footage of it and forever hold it ransom.  Be warned.
  • Staying vertical as long as possible can help speed labor up.  When I had hospital births, I always got so frustrated that contractions seemed to slow way down or even stop once I had to lay down so they could hook me up to the monitors.  With this labor, I was standing, walking, or sitting on a birthing ball until it was time to push, and I went from zero centimeters to holding my baby in four hours; much faster than the other four labors.
  • Having a home birth really brings things... home.  My oldest son ran to the kitchen sink to wash his hands so he could hold his new baby brother, only to find a placenta in a bowl, sitting in the sink basin.  All the color rushed out of his face and he quiveringly whispered, "Is that like... blood or something?"  A half hour later he said, "I'm finally not woozy anymore from that... I can't even say the word.  The 'p' thing."  That day's homeschooling lesson was entitled, "Hands-On Childbirth."  Just kidding.
  • It really is easier having a newborn with older, capable siblings eager to help with the baby.  Moms of big families assured me of this when I was "in the trenches" with three kids three and under.  I know what they mean now.  Many hands makes the work light.  And happy.
You might think I'd have it all figured out by the fifth child, but it goes to show you can learn something new with every new baby.

31 comments:

  1. Wow,it seems like you got this all right.I enjoyed my seven at each turn and yes they are all a new bundle of surprise and wonder.You are wise and this blog is SWEET!

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  2. Love it. I'm a mama of nearly three-year-old triplets and expecting my fourth this June! They're just starting to get to the "helpful" stage, but I think they are going to love having a baby around. And by the time we have #5, they'll be pros! :)

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  3. i say amen to the alfalfa! i have always taken herbal stuff with alfalfa (well, at least the most recent 4) and it makes such a difference. it is also rich in iron. i do wish that we were able to have a home birth this time for so many reasons, but i know that this one will work out just as God has it planned. it is true that you learn something new every time! i also agree that having older kids to help really does help!!

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  4. Your comment on having older kids and newborns makes me think of the show 19 kids and Counting.
    Great, informative post!
    God bless and have a wonderful weekend. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yay for faith babies and learning new things! We are still learning and out fith is almost 3!

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  6. I do have that video for the highest bidder! ;)

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  7. hahaha, poor Levi!!

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  8. I'm pregnant with #5, and I'm planning on having this one at home. My others were all hospital births so this will be different (but I am SO looking forward to it!) I never heard of that tea before but thanks for the link, I'm going to look into it.
    Also, I'm making a mental note now *don't put placenta in the sink. :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. LadyofthehomeschoolMarch 21, 2012 at 5:17 AM

    I'd love more info on you thoughts experience with whole foods/high fat/low grain, etc. During pregnancy.
    I am anticipating that I may very soon find myself expecting our fifth (lord willing!) and I am trying to prep a bit ahead of time. I have been slowly trying to move us to 100% whole foods with a high percentage of raw for me and my husband.
    I tend to get bad morning sickness that lasts to some degree the whole pregnancy, with the sickness I tend to only want to eat simple carbs- bread, pasta, cereal- so despite the sick I sometimes gain a lot of weight. I'd like to have more of a plan to avoid that this time, I don't think super clear once I am pregnant :o)
    I'd love a whole post on nutrition/pregnancy both what you did and what you have learned. Also links to articles, sites that you found helpful.
    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Beautiful! I also have five, and I love that 'five' means 'grace'. Boy do I need it! I think with each child I just earn how to relax more, trust God more, and surrender my rights again. I love how you waited to name him, thats fabulous!

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