My Birth Story

Why a Home Birth?

I am not the person who thinks birth is a beautiful thing, that pregnancy is the best shape, or that medicine is weakness.  How I wound up having my baby in my living room with a midwife amazes me!  Here is how Jason and I came to that decision and my personal experience.

All my life I had just assumed that I would have my babies with an epidural, a doctor, and of course in the hospital.  Home birth?  No way... that is for the crazy people.

Well, turns out I am crazy.

The first step was when I decided I wanted to attempt a natural birth.   I think of myself as pretty tough, and figured if my grandma, mom, and aunt could do it then I could too.  I told the doctor at our first prenatal visit that I wanted to have a natural birth, and she laughed and said "yeah, we will see."

It was after that visit that Jason and I started thinking outside the box.  I felt that I couldn't succeed without a completely supportive team around me.  If I had nurses or doctors encouraging an epidural I knew I would eventually accept.  So we started researching other options.

Memphis doesn't have birthing centers, which was  my first choice, so it left us with two options: homebirth with a Midwife or hospital birth with a doctor.  I would have liked hospital with Midwife, but that wasn't an option.  We found a Christian midwife in the area, Lynda Hoskins, and set up an appointment to meet with her.

We went loaded with questions and spent over an hour going through each one.  We were so pleased that she actually LISTENED to our concerns and took the time to address every one.  She had over 300 births under her belt and we had a sense she knew what she was doing.  By the end of that visit we decided to try the home birth route. 

Lynda did all of our prenatal visits- and much to my surprise she had all the medical gadgets!  We heard the heart beat each time, did all of the standard tests (but I got to drink a root beer for my glucose test!) and got the 20 week ultra sound done at a clinic.  I don't feel like I missed out on anything as far as prenatal visits go.  She spent close to an hour with us each and every time we saw her- answering any new questions, informing us about our right to decide on various medical procedures performed on newborns (ex: Vitamin K shot) and so on.  Such a breath of fresh air and exactly what we were hoping to find!  Best decision ever! 

OK, so now that you understand why on earth I had my baby in my house, I will share the actual "birth story."

Water Birth at home

I was 9 days past my due date... 9 very long, large, hot days.  I tried every labor inducing trick in the book (besides castor oil) and felt like I would be the first person to stay pregnant forever. 

Well, thank God, on Saturday morning July 6th around 8:00 I felt the first glorious contraction while I was playing Candy Crush in bed. I had heard that sometimes they fade away, so I didn't wake Jason and just kept playing my game.  After a while I started timing them and sure enough, they were almost exactly 10 minutes apart.  I got up and walked around to see if they would stop and no sir, they kept coming.  I woke Jason up at 9:00 and told him I was having regular contractions.  He was thrilled!  They started coming closer together and quickly became 2 minutes apart.  He called Lynda and she asked if we had called our doula, Emily Hendrickson,  yet.  I didn't want anyone to come, but around 11:00 I finally gave the ok for them to start heading over.  I was sure it would be a long labor and didn't want them sitting around.

Lynda came, along with her assistant and apprentice Kimberly, around 12:30, I think, and I was 4cm.  She said "you're going to have a baby today!"  but I didn't really believe her.  She suggested the pool, but I wanted to stay in bed.  I got in the pool a while later and she was right, it felt awesome.  I kept breathing through contractions, which were hard but not that bad, and a few hours later I was at 8cm.  Heck yeah!  This wasn't so bad after all!

WRONG!!!!!

After that the contractions slowed down for a while, but then the dreaded transition stage started and holy smokes... it was insane.  I lost track of time.  The contractions scared me and I was losing control of the pain.  If you ask Jason to show you the face I was making as I tried to "relax and breath" through the contractions, you will be in for a treat. I tried my best to manipulate him by begging him to "help meeee" thinking maybe he would intervene and whisk me off to the land of epidurals.   Didn't work.  At one point I needed an oxygen mask because I had worked myself up so much that my hands were numb.  That was scary.  But Lynda never lost her cool.

Before I knew it, it was time to push.  Talk about pain.  I pushed for 20 minutes, the LONGEST 20 minutes of my life, and then all at once the most amazing moment of all time- our son was born. Our TEN POUND son with a 14 1/2 inch head.  Youch.  I didn't need an episiotomy and didn't even tear enough for a stitch. What a blessing.  I ended up getting a few stitches later though, due to a small trickle of blood that wouldn't stop. 

Jason got to "catch" him and I got to lift him out of the water onto my chest.  He cried right away and had a full head of black hair.  He was perfect!  It was over!  I felt like a million bucks!

After everything was taken care of, I got up out of the pool and walked across the house to my bedroom.  The rest is history. 

The experience after Titus Jason was born at 7:08pm was so peaceful and joyful.  Jason got to weigh him and we were never separated from him.  Our parents came to meet him that evening and it was just awesome to be at home.  I had an amazing "high" for about 3 days following the birth.  It was an awesome experience and I will do it again next time!

(This picture was taken by my sister a few hours after we had him)

If anyone is considering an alternate method to the hospital/doctor route- I highly recommend Lynda Hoskins!  (You can check her out at www.chosenbirths.com) She is completely professional and knows what she is doing.  She is accessible to answer questions during pregnancy and after the baby is here.  Most importantly, she loves the Lord and trusts his original plan for birth. I also recommend Emily Hendrickson as a doula.  Such a sweet spirit and very helpful at home or at the hospital. Even though it was the hardest thing I have ever done, I wouldn't change a thing.

Encouragement

It has been a while since I last blogged.  I just haven't had anything important to write about.  I was contemplating about deleting this whole blog.  Blogging seems to give a false sense that people are actually listening to other people's diary of daily things.   Seems weird to me and I don't really like it.

However, I do have something valuable to write about, and if one person reads and learns, fabulous, and if no one even looks at it, also fabulous, because I will have practiced organizing my thoughts for tonight's bible study. 

I am writing about my namesake, Hannah of 1 Samuel.  I find her story to be one of the most encouraging in my life and in the Word of God period.  Such hope! 

I am teaching tonight on the first chapter of 1 Samuel. 

If you haven't read it in a while, or ever at all, click here to read it online.  You won't regret it!
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20samuel%201&version=ESV

Quick summary:  Hannah is a woman who cannot have children.  She cries out to the Lord year after year.  She is provoked, year after year, by her rival and she is described as "deeply distressed."  She can't even eat due to her troubled spirit.  One year she vows to give her son to the Lord if he would grant her one.  He hears her and he gives her a son, Samuel, whom she dedicates to the Lord's service.  God then gives her many other sons and daughters. 

This story is not just amazing because it ends happily for Hannah.  There is a much, much bigger plan being carried out.  And that, my friend, is why I love it!!

In order to see the big picture we have to "zoom out the lens" as my mom used to tell me to do when I was upset.  If we shift our focus out from Hannah, we see God using her to lead the nation of Israel.  Her son, Samuel, whom she gave to be raised in the house of the Lord in service, became a prophet.  God spoke directly and audibly to Samuel from an early age and used him as His mouthpiece to Israel.  Samuel led the nation from the perioud of judges to the period of kings.  Led by the Lord, Samuel annointed the first King of Israel, Saul.  And most importantly, God led Samuel to annoint Israel's second king, David.

King David wrote tons of psalms and was a great leader of the nation of Israel.  That's not why he's the most important, though.  JESUS came from the line of David!  The Savior of the world was in the blood line of this King.  And God chose David through Samuel, who was given to the Lord's service by his mother, Hannah.

Are you smiling ear to ear right now?  I AM!  How incredible.  Takes my breath away. 

See, Hannah went through years of despair, weeping, and agony.  She longed for children.  What she didn't know was that God had to get her to a point where she would vow her first born to Him.  God needed Samuel to lead a nation and for His even greater plan to save the world!

I am sure Hannah didn't know any of this until she made it to Heaven.  That fact makes me so excited because I pray all the time for God to use me, and I may be completely unaware of ways He is doing just that! 

One other beautiful aspect of this passage is that after Hannah gave her only son to the Lord (talk about HARD!) the Lord blessed her with many sons and daughters.  Can you believe it?  God cares about our individual personal desires and dreams.  He didn't just use Hannah to get Samuel, He took care of her and blessed her with her own form of happiness.

Amazing.

I hope this encourages you if you are in a time of suffering.  God cares.  He may be working out a much bigger plan for his Kingdom.  Sometimes we have to "zoom out the lens" to look past ourselves and believe Romans 8:28.  He works all things together for the good of those who love Him.  Hannah's story is one of the best true life examples of just that.

Be blessed. 

Update!

Wow, it has been a whiles since I last wrote!!  A lot has happened since Feb 15th!  Here's a recap:

 This is a picture of Pluto.  We got him around our 1st Anniversary, and raised him from a puppy.  He was the sweetest dog either of us have ever had.  We loved him so much.  He got hit by a car in late March.  It was super tramatic.  Jason had left to take home a few friends from a bible study we had, and I let Pluto out, same as every night, to do his business.  He came back inside and yelped, so I went over to see what was wrong.  The poor puppy had been hit by a car and was very hurt.  I called Jason, who came home immediately.  We took him to the emergency vet and they said he had internal bleeding and his lungs were filling with fluid.  We had to put him down.  I miss this guy, and no dog will ever top him! 

 Before he died, he got to go to the dog park.  He swam in the lake and had a great time playing with the other dogs.  He loved riding in the car, as you can see by the pics.  I didn't realize how much a part of our family he had become. 





Now for some Happy news!  Jason the handy man is building a fence around our huge yard.  It has been a ton of work, but the end result is going to be amazing.  We're planning to have a big garden, and there are tons of deer in the woods behind our house.  We don't want them snacking on our produce!  The privacy is also a huge plus.  We have tons of plans for landscaping :)

Speaking of landscaping...

Our friends, Philip & Savannah, just finished their back yard. They had us out for a fancy 7 course meal to celebrate Philip's bday. It was a fantastic time. Savannah cooked all the food herself! Such a great event! I wish I'd taken a better picture.



In mid-March we went on a youth skiing trip with The Orchard, a fairly new church plant in Germantown.  Jason led the worship for the week, and I sang.  It was both of our first times skiing.  I loved it! 

 I also had my 23rd birthday on the trip.  It happend to come on the second day of our 24+ hour drive to Colorado.  Needless to say, it wasn't the most amazing day :) But the trip was great, we loved the kids and leaders and enjoyed spending time in the mountains.




Here are some new pics of the kiddos I tutor each week. 

 playing "teacher"

I will miss this place next year!  I won't be able to tutor next year because...

I'm going back to school!  I'm super excited about it, too.  Jason and I have kicked around the idea a few times before, and we finally found a perfect program for me.  It's a four semester Nursing program at Southwest Tennessee Community College and I'll graduate as a Registered Nurse.  It's super affordable and quick.  I am one of the strange people who really enjoy school and I'm determined to get straight A's.  I chose Nursing because I've seen a few mom's who can work a couple nights/days a week and still home school their kids.  I know, I'm way ahead of myself :). 





This is Buster:

  

He is a rescue dog that we are fostering.  He was actually on the news several times!  He was at the pound and they were about to put him down because he had a little cough.  A friend of ours mentioned that he needed some foster owners so we took him in.  He is no Pluto!  But he is cute and a jolly little guy.  He may become ours, but he's still on trial :)




One last thing:
We just booked a cruise for May!  Jason and I have been wanting to take his dad, who stays with us, on a cruise for a long time.  Whenever we're on a cruise we think of Alfie and how much he'd enjoy it... so we finally booked one together!  We are leaving out of SC so we will get to stop in and see our sweet Niece/grand daughter on the way.  She turns one year old this week, and Alfie turns 77 next month, so we can have a celebration together, PLUS I can use my new snorkel gear!  YES!!!!


There you have it.  My life is chaos, and I like it.

Tribute to my Hubs

Yesterday, Feb 15th, was one of the most glorious days in the history of the world, as far as I'm concerned.  The birthday of my biggest blessing:  Jason Wulff-Woesten.  I just wanted to take a few minutes and write about my man and how cool he is.

Jason was born in Argentina.  Which makes him that much cooler.  I always wanted a foreign lover.  Even though his Spanish consists of "Dulce de Leche" and "chou pive"  I still find it sexy that he comes from South America, and he looks the part:  tall, dark, and handsome.  I'm a sucker for those dark browneyes.

Dreamy. 

Oh, did I mention he is a musician?  :) 

JACKPOT!

I was going to write about all the wonderful things he is and has done, but after typing for a while I realized it sounded kind of arrogant or braggy (if that's a word).  So I'll let my words be few...

I ADORE THIS MAN. 

He is beyond anything I asked God for as a little girl.  He is the exact fit to me.  I must give all the credit to my God, the sweet and caring God who loves to bless His daughters and sons.  I also have to say that our marriage is not always lollipops and butterflies- we have our moments like everyone else- yes, dirty socks never quite make it into the laundry basket, and yes, we can be cranky and mean sometimes... but at the end of every day, I feel overwhelmed with thankfulness to have such an incredible man that loves me and more importantly who fears the Lord.  He takes such great care of my heart and all my needs.  I couldn't ask for more.

Best decision I've ever made.

Told ya he was my perfect fit ;-) who else would wear an alligator head?

Oh yeah, and this guy is also my boss.  Taught me everything I know about interacting with customers and selling vehicles.  When I met him I didn't know the difference between Ford and Honda. We eat breakfast, lunch and dinner together every day.  I love it!!! 

Addiction

Ok, I have a confession to make.  I am a vacation addict!  Seriously.  One of my favorite things to do in my free time is to research potential trips... I think I  inherited this trait from my mom and my Aunt Dayle.  Lucky for me, Jason loves to travel as well- and more than that, he loves a good deal.  I make it my life's goal to find irresistible deals to pitch to him :)  Well, ok, my life's goal is and should be to preach the gospel to all nations... emphasis on ALL NATIONS, and I like to traget those with tropical waters to explore.

My most sought-after vacation is any vacation that includes snorkeling.  I am hoping to get my own snorkel gear for my birthday, or any holiday.  Give me some clear water, fins, and a snorkel mask and I'll occupy myself for hours.  I snagged this picture off of google- it's in Thailand... I wish I was that guy!  He looks how I feel when I snorkle... or "Snerkle" as our guide, Ish, said in Belize.  It stuck with me.  "Snerkling!"  Say it, it's fun.

Belize was awesome because we got to swim with TONS of wild sting rays.  With stingers.  #SteveIrwin.  We also so a huge nurse shark, and J and I were stalked by a barracuda.  It ruled.   
We used to go on trips every 3 months.  It still seems to play out that way, though some vacations consist of visiting family in Wisconsin, North Carolina, or Vegas.  Which is fun, no doubt.  I just crave the tropics.  My most frequented websites are hotwire and carnival.com

Cruises seem to be the most "bang for your buck" and New Orleans is a short drive from Memphis. I just found a 5 day cruise for 200 per person.  All inclusive.  Yeah, I know!  Deal!

Well, I just wanted to get that off of my chest.  Oh, one more quick story.

In the summer of 2008, I was planning a trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina as well as a few other stops in America Surr.  The Lord put it in my heart to spend the summer visiting my parents and helping them move in Memphis, TN.  I had never been to Memphis, and didn't really feel the need to change that.  God ended up shutting the door to South America, and long story short, I wound up obeying his call to Memphis.  I had zero friends and cried a lot.  Then, at the very end of the summer, literally one week before I went back to MN for school, I met Jason Wulff-Woesten.  Haaaaallelujah.  Well guess where that stud muffin was born?  Buenos Aires, baby.  And now, almost 4 years later, we're planning a trip to Argentina.  Isn't God such a kind God?  He gave me a million times more than the desires of my heart.  I love Him.  and the man he gave me. 

Sigh.

What a blessed life it is to follow God, even when it seems like the biggest sacrifice ever... and seems that way for months (zero friends/crying all day/110 degrees/NO LAKES)... his ways are higher than our ways and He loves to bless us.  Trust Him, He knows what's best for you, just like a good dad knows what's best for his baby girl. 

Over and out.

New Leaf

Well, I must admit, I have already lost motivation for morning running.  I was strong for 2 weeks, but then our beautiful niece, Charlee, and Jason's sister Amy came to visit and I took a break.  I realize now that taking a break means the end for me.   I wish it wasn't so.   However, allow me to dote on sweet Charlee for a moment! 

She is the cutest 9 month old I've ever seen.  And the smartest, too.  We all wish they lived closer!  Charlotte isn't too too far, but it sure would be nice to see this cutie more often.  We had a great time hanging out with her and her mama. 

she LOVED uncle Jason!

Following in the Wulff-Woesten tradtion- Benihana.

yep, she's the cutest.

Well, we sure had a nice time having Charlee around.  Now that it's back to just us, I am trying to wake up with enough time to read the Word each morning, and I plan to start back running/walking soon.   We are turning over a new leaf in our diet- well more like returning to an old leaf. We've cut out sugars, breads, and almost all meat.  We did a straight raw veggies/fruit diet a while ago, and felt amazing!  We watched the documentary "Forks Over Knives" last night and considered going Vegan... but then I had a mini break down over not eating yogurt, cheese, eggs, or milk... so we'll wait on that one.  I don't know if I could survive without dairy.  And I have no idea how to cook quinoa!!

Anyways, this blog was pretty all over the place.  I'll blame this dreary day. I wish I was able to stay in bed all day.  Oh well, don't we all...

Resolutions

Happy 2012!  I got my wisdom teeth pulled on Friday the 30th, and Jason being the sweetheart he is, watched movies with me Saturday evening, and we ended up falling asleep for the actual new-year-moment.  This isn't the first time we've missed it and I'm sure it won't be the last. 

Resolutions.  First of all, I have really never made a die-hard new years resolution.  That still hasn't changed.  However, I do have something to say.


This may very well be the lamest little bit you've read in quite some time, but it is true for me.  So last night we watched the movie Warrior.  For some odd reason, I love UFC-type fighting movies.  This one has a particularly great plot, I recommend it.  After the movie, I was all fired up and wanting to fight Jason.  This happens from time to time, and I get the idea I could probably take him if I really tried, but as always he pins me in about 3 seconds and I beg him to let go because it hurts. 

Anyway, as I was praying before bed, I prayed that God would make me a sort of spiritual UFC fighter like Tommy or Brandon in the movie.  Tommy would walk into a fight and knock someone out in no time flat. Brandon was actually a physics teacher and took a pretty strong beating at the start of each fight, but he'd pull some great move and get the guy into a submission hold and the guy would tap.  So- I had this awesome vision of Spiritual Warrior Hannah whooping demon's butts and advancing God's Kingdom... then I realized that these fighters spent ALL DAY in the gym, or running hills, or patching up wounds. 

Ah-Ha.  Training. 

If I want to be UFC-Spirit Warrior I need to train like one!!  Get in that Word, exercise my prayer life, walk in the Spirit, deny my self/will, and be brave enough to boldly share truth.  And I'll most likely get pretty beat up out there, but there is nothing like that moment at the end of a hard fight, when the ref holds up the winner's exhausted arm and declairs vicotry.  I have always pictured God to be like on a rocking chair with open arms saying "Well done, my good and faithful servant" but what if it's more like a fight victory!  The angels go wild and God is amped up and everyone's going nuts as he holds up an exhausted warrior's arm and announces WELL DONE! 

Chills just thinking about it. 

I'm going to try... starting with getting up an hour earlier to read the word and run while praying.  Gotta start somewhere... and now that my wisdome teeth have some-what healed, I'll set the alarm clock an hour back tonight.  Yuck.   But worth it.