DFW Birth Photographer!

pics can bee seen at www.dfwbirthphotographer.com just scroll down till you see her name!!

Happy Birthday Paisley!!!

we had an appt with our midwife at 5:00pm on Tuesday May 26, we went I gained 2.4 lbs and she sounded great, but was still in an odd position, so Kelly (midwife) showed rusty an exercise we could do to try and get her to turn. I never even got checked because I couldn't stand to be dissapointed with an unreachable posterior cervix like last time. We left the birth center and I was having random contractions here and there but nothing that alarmed me, yes I could feel them in my back but I just assumed it was because we were in the car. Its an hour drive home and I even mentioned to Rusty at one point that we needed to get home so I could get a break from these contractions (HA!) and get out of the car for a bit. We got home at about 7:30 and quickly had to get BACK in the car again because rusty was buying a cell phone off of craigslist and the guy was ready to meet right then. Contractions kept coming but I just thought it was because of the car, we got back home about 9:00 pm and at that point I'd noticed that the contractions were still coming. Rusty and Carrson got ready for bed, he gets up at 4:45am for work, so he was tired, Rusty and I did the turning exercise before he went to sleep and I had a few contractions inbetween, so I got out the Ipod Touch and with the contraction master application started timing them just to see if they had a pattern...well low and behold at about 10:00 pm I notcied they were about 8-10 min apart, and I could still talk through them I'd just rather not at that point. I decided I'd better just send a text to Kelly to let her know what was going on and that I was going to try a bath and just get in bed. The bath felt great, contractions kept coming, they were still manageable at that point but I wanted to hurry up and get in bed to get some rest (HA!) at 10:30 I decided to let rusty keep sleeping but called my mom to come over and be with me, by that point I'd moved from the bed to sitting on my exercise ball leaned over on the bed into some pillows, the contractions were still very manageable at this point and not too painful, but it felt better to have some counter pressure on my back. Kelly asked if I wanted her to come, it was about 11:40 at that point and I said that during a contractions i was starting to feel like I wanted her company but inbetween contractions I was fine, so she said she was on her way. I woke up rusty at about 12:30 and told him Kelly was on her way and I needed him with me now. It was thunderstorming in the metroplex like crazy which made AMAZING back ground labor music/noice I loved it, but it added a little travel time to the midwives drive. By the time Kelly got there, at about 1:00am I was having contractions 3-4 min apart and they were to the point where I was starting to hum with some but not all of them. Inbetween contractions we checked my cervix and I was 75% effaced and 5cm dilated and baby was at 0 station, the best news was she was in the RIGHT POSITION!!! I WAS IN SHOCK! my body WORKS! with no IV's and no pitocin OMG! the contractions were still ok at this point and they started filling up the pool.
**time gets a little fuzzy at this point**
Things started to pick up and I was starting to get ticked that the pool felt like it was taking forever to fill up. I WANTED IN!! at some point I asked rusty what time it was and I remember him saying something like 2:30 I got in the pool soon after that, or maybe it was closer to 3:00 I dont remember. The water felt wonderful, I got in just in time for the all wonderful transition stage (whew!) I started saying I can't do this, I wanted counter pressure on my back, but I didnt, so rusty got in the pool with me and pretty much just did whatever I could muster out at the time to tell him to do, mom was rubbing my arms and my hair, which felt wonderful and Kelly was in my ear, keeping me going, all of a sudden I started pushing and Kelly said "are you pushing?" and I was like I think so, so she needed to check me to make sure I was complete first and sure enough I was I couldnt believe it! so I started pushing with contractions and at first it felt great to push like I was doing something, but then my hips started to feel like they were cracking in half so my sister was pressing them together during contractions and inbetween, bless her heart, she is so sore now! But I needed it, after a few pushing contractions I felt like I just wanted a break inbetween and my body was giving me one, thank goodness and during one I just started pushing with everything I had, I was draped around rusty and kind of semi standing, one knee down, one leg up to let gravity help me push, it did the job, didnt feel great so kelly checked me again and a lip of cervix had come back so kelly had to hold it back while i pushed and it didnt feel wonderful but it worked! a few more contractions later with her head at +3 my water broke, with force! it felt like a giant POP! quickly after that she came on down and to feel her head about to emerge from my body was the COOLEST feeling in the world I just couldnt believe it! The next push and her head was out! no tears at that point, next I had to push her shoulders out and i was SO DONE pushing at this point that I didnt care what happened to my va-jay jay, I knew Kelly could fix it ;) so with the next contraction I gave it EVERYTHING I had and rusty caught her and we held her together just so in awe and amazement it was amazing!! Paisley was born ever so gently in to her daddy's hands at 4:16 am Wednesday May 27, 2009. At some point I was threatened to have to get out and get on the birthing stool but I was determined to not leave that water I just couldn't fatham moving so I just pushed with all my might and force and in 2 contractions she was out! It was everything I dreamed my homebirth would be and more, yes it hurt pushing but everything else was just fine, I am just in awe of what our bodies are capable of doing and I wont birth any other way. I needed to have Carrson in the hospital just so I could fully appreciate how awesome and amazing Paisley's birth actually was. She was a loud little thing for the first hour and a half that she was here, but once we got that latch perfected she has been a sweet angel ever since. Carrson slept the WHOLE time and woke up to a new baby sister he was shocked! He is doing ok, he knows she is here but doesnt really have much to say about it, he's been giving lots and lots of extra cuddles today so he knows that just because his baby sister is here, we still love him just as much! I did need some stitches but nothing got to the muscle so they werent bad tears just some nice good skid marks that needed some help and Kelly did a wonderful job fixing me up - yes I got litocaine and plenty of it ;)
You dont ever grow out of room in your heart as your family grows your heart just swells up as large as you need it to. I love my husband so much he was AMAMZING through everything, he was my rock! My mom was wonderful and soothing and comforting everything you want your mommy to be. My sister! GOD BLESS HER! for squeezing the life out of my hips it was perfect! she never complained one ounce even though she was aching! I could'nt have done it with out her! or any of my support team! The midwives were absolutely amazing and I couldnt be happier with the way things turned out!

Paisley Madison Dean Martin
7 lbs 4 oz 20.5 inches long
long fingers and toes
black hair-not long but its there!
and perfect as pie!!

Paisley Madison Dean Martin born in the water into her daddys hands at 416 am May 27, 2009 7lbs 4oz 20.5 inches long

still pregnant

i know, i'm past my due date, but i'm not going to explode :D i'll be ok...i still feel great, and i'm even losing weight now...wierd...but anyway she still is doing wonderful, although completely sunny side up :( , and still growing beautifully. yes i know the tricks, walking, sex, spicy food, all of it is pointless if she isnt ready anyway, and only she knows when that is, she can't read a calender, so we are just being patient and waiting on her :D she is worth it! i'm not going to go forcing anyone out of their home that isnt ready to leave yet :) I WANT HER HERE! dont get me wrong i want her here so bad right now! but she isnt ready and well i just cant make her so....we wait! my next appt is tuesday, they are pretty uneventful at this point but none the less we check her growth and listen to that precious little heart beating away, i'll update more on tuesday!

39 weeks!

I'm 39 weeks and ready for her to be here! I'm not ready to start trying desperate measures or old wives tales to get her here but i'm excited to know that she is coming soon! Physically I feel fine, so long as i keep getting adjusted at the chiro I think I'll be in good shape and besides being a little bit more emotional lately about stupid things (crying over the DUMBEST things!) but i'm still hanging in there. Rusty is really ready for a vacation from work (he's taking 4 weeks) but were are just waiting on little munchkin before all that can start, then i'm sure it will just all go by too stinking fast anyway so part of me is in no hurry at all, just excited. I'm so excited to have a newborn in the house again, those tiny little diapers, little snuggle bunnies, and sweet baby cries :) but it will come soon enough. Until then...she is still cooking!! I have another midwife appointment on Thursday so I'll update more then.

oh p.s. I got the pedicure yesterday from my moms lady and she was WONDERFUL! I've never had a rub down like that :D I really enjoyed it!

38 week midwife appt.

The appt went great! I gained NO weight! Baby is measuring well and doing great as well, she is estimated to be 7 lbs next appt is Thursday the 21st!

38 week update! Looooooooooong!

38 weeks! I'm hardly believing it, but I must admit its getting a bit more real now, she is so active it hurts! but amazingly enough I love it! she is in my hips and out my sides and all up top all at the same time its an amazingly wonderful feeling but part of me is nervous! how big is she? well I hope big enough so that I have something to push against when it comes time to push her out! Which I'm getting so darn excited for! I know to some its crazy that I'm excited for pain but I'm not thinking of it as pain I'm thinking of it as hard work that my body knows how to do to get her out here to the world safely! I can't wait! I've been watching lots of Natural homebirth/waterbirth videos lately and they all seem to go about the same calm and collected until transition (stage right before pushing, where women often "lose it") and then they all make some sound of their choice while pushing, some scream, some moan, some grunt, some flap their lips like a horse, i'm sure I'll have my own birth song but as soon as its over these women are pain free! and then whats even better is reading the birth stories and seeing how all these women WILL ADMIT that yes it hurt but it was the best feeling of their life and they would do it over and over and over again. I can't wait to have a birth story of my own! and YES I had an epidural with my first people GET OVER IT! I've learned so much about my self and my body and what we are capable of since Carrson's Birth, With him I knew NOTHING just nada, I was scared out of my mind and just wanted someone to knock me out put me under and give me him when they were done. But I've grown so much from that place and that way of thinking and I'm SO excited to have this journey and this amazing and natural process happen just the way god intended it, I can do it! YES PEOPLE I CAN DO IT!

All of our things are ready, all I have to do now is go to Sams and stock up on some freezer items so we dont have much to think about when it comes to dinner for the first few weeks, and we'll be making that trip this Saturday. Oh and I have one more pedicure promised to me by my wonderful mother by HER lady, (no one else has gotten the privilege of using her when we get our toes done, only my grandmother) and I'm so excited! I told her to brush up on her labor inducing skills so when I get there she can put me into labor, lol, she said she'd see what she could do :). Its more real now to me that there is a baby in there and she is going to come out, maybe its cause i KNOW and can FEEL her running out of room and we are going to have her at our house (no pun intended) and she will be all ours! We'll get to nurse (i'm so excited!) and change her diaper, and her clothes, and we'll get to have a newborn again! Thank you lord for blessing our family again! We are so thankful!

We had our home visit last Thursday and it went well, they found our house no problem, so they know where they are going now when I give them the REAL call and we talked a little bit more about my sciatic nerve thats been bugging me so bad and causing me so much leg pain, well I buckled down and took their advice and saw the chiro they suggested that they've seen do right by pregnant women :) and she is AWESOME so I went on Saturday and it felt wonderful, I was a little sore walking out of there, like i'd had a good workout at the gym or something, and then we came home took a nap and I woke up feeling great, and now I'm back to the sore feeling again, but she showed me a stretch too that I can do to make my leg feel better and it works, the pain is at least tolerable and I'm going back again on Saturday just to make sure my body is all aligned and hips/pelvis etc is all in order and ready for upcoming birthing and i'll just continue to go every week until I deliver.

As far as feeling 38 weeks pregnant I'm pretty lucky I guess I feel as good as I think I should given the extra poundage I've put on my body and so while naturally I've slowed down a little, and its hard to get up, or change positions etc. I feel like I'm getting along just fine if you have a few extra seconds to let me catch up :D I'm sleeping great (rusty said he caught me snoring the other night) so I feel good in that area Thank God for the HUGE maternity pillow that wraps the entire way around my body. It looks like a huge U so its the same on both sides and it works wonderfully! I'm having some digestion issues, not "heart burn" because it doesnt burn but its taking a little bit for food/drink to go down, I have to make sure I sit up in the upright position for a while after a meal other wise it gets burped back up, reminds me of Carrson's acid reflux really but at least mine doesnt burn, just uncomfortable. Rusty and I are taking Carrson to a Ranger Game tomorrow so a little family date before Paisley gets here will be nice for us. We are going right after our prenatal so its going to be a long afternoon but I'm excited for it! I'm not getting checked because I have no desire to know how effaced/dilated I am cause all it does is make everyone anxious and like I've said before it has no direct relation to when I'll go into labor.

Mothers Day was wonderful we all went and had a picnic at the park. My entire family and Rusty's family also my brother in laws family all went to the park and had a barbeque cooking hamburgers and hot dogs and such and it was fun! The whole family got to be there and everyone had a great time! The Kids were pooped! Then my sister mom and I went to play Sunday Night Bingo and that is fun as always, would of been better if we won, but we didn't :( Maybe next time!

I probably wont get to update again until Wednesday but I'll let ya know how the midwife appt went! Have a great week!

xt from my phone like I'm doing now until then see ya tuesday! 38 weeks tomorrow whoo hoo!!

Modem went out.....great! At&t has to send us a new one maybe tuesday or wednesday, if there is any baby news (don't hold your breath) I'll update via te

Finally! A bra that fits!! Thank you Motherhood Maternity!

Testing mobile blogging :)

is it really almost time?

Is it really almost time to have this baby? Part of me "gets" that but the other part of me doesnt. I'm excited to meet her but sad that this time in our life (me being pregnant with her) is going to end, yes of course it will be exciting to open a new part of our lives together with her here, but you never get these precious moments back! you never get any of them back! time flies way too fast so i'm enjoying every kick, every ache and every elbow in my hip ;) its cute and i know i'll miss it like crazy when she isnt in here. I've also been planning and researching and looking forward to this homebirth for SO long i'm scared for it to be over, i'm excited still waiting for it with anticipation and excitement! its like waiting for graduation and then bam its over, and then planning a wedding and then bam its over, so i know its going to be BAM over soon but i'm enjoying the time just being patient and waiting for it.

I got a pedicure today and it was wonderful! I'll probably get one more before she gets here and then this coming friday I'm getting my hair done for the last time before she gets here so I'll be all set :)

Braxton Hicks contractions are increasing in frequency and intensity so thats good, i'm still trying to find a happy medium with my leg hurting so bad, some things make it hurt so bad and others not so much and other times it just has a mind of its own so whatever i'm just dealing with it and moving on. Acid Reflux has kicked in, it doesnt hurt it just "is" does that make sense i can just feel things hanging in my throat and taking longer to digest and i guess my digestive tract is just on slow mode which is normal at this point...just annoying. I've also noticed that my feet are feeling a little more "plump" i wouldnt say swollen just tight feeling so thats odd for me, so now i'm dealing with the tightness in my fingers/hands and my feet. Which is all new to me, I never got any of this with Carrson. I also can't really bend over if anything falls to the floor i HAVE to squat to get it, I dont have a choice getting in the car or bending over to get something i'm reminded quickly that i can't do it lol its just an odd feeling that makes me go, yikes can't do that any more, it doesnt hurt or anything just feels odd.

Midwives come to our house on Thursday! I'm excited!! I'll update more then!