Bear & Bird

function showInfluensterWidget(data){ document.getElementById('influenster-widget-container').innerHTML = data.widget_html; } var sc_project=8839405; var sc_invisible=0; var sc_security="df8f2268"; var scJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://secure." : "http://www."); document.write(""); Welcome to my life: exciting, humorous, and full of love and TMI. It doesn't get any better than this. 20-something married mama to Bear, Sparrow, and 3 angels. I've been through a lot. Some of you know my story, some of you don't. If you want to get to know me, feel free to just ask. I'm nice, I promise! You can read my About Me tab for all the dirty details you may want to know before clicking that follow button. I follow back moms UNLESS you have given a child up for adoption OR have adopted an infant and maintain contact with the birth mother and post about it, as it is too triggering for me. See my FAQ page for more info. Feel free to reblog personal photos as long as my blog stays the source! < var sc_project=8247015; var sc_invisible=1; var sc_security="e2f56032";

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New blog

I'm starting fresh over at raisingreynolds.tumblr.com

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I’ve given it a few days

since posting last, to see if I missed it. And to be honest I almost completely forgot to come back. So, I think that says it all. This blog will be left up and intact for memories, but I won’t be posting here anymore. This is my official goodbye to Tumblr. 

If you want to keep up with our little family, you can find me 

On Blogger

On Instagram

On YouTube

On Twitter (which I never ever use, whoops)

or

Add me on Facebook (if you do this, please shoot me a message saying who you are :) )

I do miss some of you, always feel free to reach out and catch up. We are still doing Christmas Cards this year, so if you will want one or your address has changed since last Christmas, go on over to www.postable.com/kimreynolds and fill out the form so I can make sure you get a card this year! 

Thanks for all the memories, Tumblr community.

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After a 4 month Tumblr hiatus, I’ve decided I need to post this. Being away from this blog site has honestly been so awesome and refreshing. I’ve been primarily focused on building my doula business, and now that’s going in full swing. Life is great.

Sparrow is 10 months old now. She’s almost walking, she’s got some teeth, she eats pretty much anything you put in front of her, she is still breastfed, and she’s basically the most chill baby ever. 

Bear is almost 4. He started his new school year well, although he misses his old teacher. A lot of the same kids are in his class this year though so he’s pretty pleased about that. 

I’m not sure if I will continue using Tumblr or not. I primarily stick to facebook or instagram, and I also have a blog at blogspot. I’m leaving this blog up and intact, because of all the memories it holds. But I think it just may be time to give a permanant goodbye to Tumblr. I’ll think on it for a few days and then make a decision. I’ve made some marvelous friends here who I still keep in touch with, but the community here just isn’t what it was when I joined all those years ago. But I figured y’all deserved an update.

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6 months old today, holy cow. I can't believe she has been a part of our lives for six whole months! Six amazing months of co-sleeping, cloth diapers, exclusively breastfeeding, and slobbery baby kisses. Six months of having my littlest love in my arms, and I couldn't be happier. She has brought so much joy into our lives. 👶😍😍

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Got my first 2 clients lined up!

Meeting with them each this week to go over contracts, select options for birth packages, and discuss payment plans. I'm so flipping excited y'all. Then the beginning of May I'm meeting with the business lawyer to get my books in order and get registered with the state as an LLC, and grab some liability insurance, and a tax attorney is going to help set up my system for me. This is really happening you guys. I'm finally following my dream!

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how is your friend doing? did you get to visit her?

She's still in the hospital on close observation. I feel so bad for her. She has been in the ICU and I have a bad cold, so visiting would be a bad idea :( FaceTime works though.

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Starting day 2!

I seriously love this. I am SO GLAD I didn't throw away my dream. Starting this journey has only validated to me even more that this is what I need to be doing with my life. This is absolutely my calling, and I can't wait to see where this journey takes me.

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You can birth a baby with just a few certificates?? That's so stupid. You should need a freakin medical degree! I would never allow some chick whose taken a freakin class to birth my baby. Let's be smart about this.

So, clearly you have no idea what the actual role of the doula is. I will NOT be birthing her baby. Not even close. Do some research before you send anons, let's be smart about this.

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Day One

of Doula Training went SO FREAKING WELL. Holy crap. So much information, a ton of hands-on stuff like massage and acupressure techniques for various types of labor, basic aromatherapy, rebozo techniques, supportive pushing positions... and we talked about Scope of Practice, Ethics, HIPPA, contracts, birth plans, personal bias, etc. It was awesome. 

One of the things I loved was that our teacher, Ruth, had so many supportive and encouraging things to say. It was so personal and honest, and we all really connected. We talked a lot about our own vulnerabilities, and our own struggles with certain types of births. There’s 3 of us in this seminar, one of the women is uncomfortable attending planned c-sections and attending births where there’s more than 2 other support people also there. The other is uncomfortable attending a birth where there is any suspected drug use during the pregnancy (including prescription pill addiction and marijuana). I spoke up that I am uncomfortable attending births where the baby will be placed for adoption, but I would gladly refer the person to other, excellent doulas. The best part of that, was that Ruth explained that everyone has “those births” that they just can’t/won’t take, and referring a client away to another reputable caregiver is absolutely ok, and it is the better thing to do. So that was cool to feel validated on, she explained that everyone has their own boundaries and emotional journeys, and to stay healthy and be the best doulas we can be, we have to respect our own personal boundaries when taking clients on. 

We talked about how to deal with being a doula at a still birth as well, and it was very emotional. Ruth has had to do it a few times, and she says it shakes her up for days, but the mama really needs that extra support in times of loss. I pray to all the gods that I NEVER get a call from a client like that... but if I do, I pray I can be strong for the mama who will desperately need the peace. 

We talked about the importance of having 3-4 possible on-call childcare options, and having 2-3 backup doulas that you can work with in case you are sick or out of town, or at another birth. 

It was an incredibly long, 10 hour day, but I am absolutely LOVING IT so far. Can’t wait for tomorrow!

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Bestie is back in the hospital.

I didn't get much on the phone (her husband was freaking out and he has a VERY thick Jamaican accent) but I guess she had some sort of heart failure? To do with the fluids from the IV during delivery... Idk I'm going to go up there later if it's alright and see what's up. I'm worried about her :/

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Currently uploading today's video!

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I wanted a midwife birthing center birth this time around, but because I was in and out of the hospital with Gideon and my BP got so high , my husband has basically refused to think about it. Is there any way to make my hospital birth more homelike?

Tagging rewritingnormal because she’s recently started looking in to giving people the births they want after her experience.

I’d suggest bringing in your own pillows and things from home.

Can anyone give any advice?

- D

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Hire a doula! Labor at your home as long as you can, where you are most comfortable. Tour the hospital and ask questions, like do they allow walking around/ movement during labor? Do they allow you to drink water? Do they require IV or is a hep lock allowed? Are there rooms with big whirlpool tubs for pain management? Is pushing in any position other than your back allowed? Do they require continual fetal monitoring? All these little details are important, because you may have to structure your birth plan around hospital policies.

Try revisiting the topic of the birth center again with your husband, see if he will at least do a meet and greet with the midwives and tour the center. They may be able to calm his fears about it.

If you do have a hospital birth, Bring your own pajamas/ chill clothes, your own pillow, a favorite blanket. Create a birth plan, and a backup birth plan, in case of induction, or high bp. Have an "in case of emergency" page, just in case. Have a SUPPORTIVE TEAM at your back.

You deserve to have the kind of birth you want!

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I broke every rule in the book and broke out my breast pump tonight and pumped at around 35 weeks. And this happened. And my boobs FINALLY feel relief and hopefully I won't wake up drenched in milk tonight. I pumped almost 4 oz in 10 minutes. I have so many questions. Is this normal? I mean...3.5 oz is a lot. And I know tons of moms who would kill to be able to pump that much after baby. Let alone before. Cont...

Can I continue to pump and stockpile? I don’t believe it’ll cause preterm labor. It doesn’t even cause me to have Braxton hicks. Orgasm are said to cause labor too but that’s only if your body is ready in the first place. I’d only want to once a day, before bed, so I don’t wake up at night drenched in milk. Any advice and help would be awesome. Thanks.Well you’ve decided you don’t believe it, but I’ve never spoken to a doctor who recommended it. I don’t think you should do it honestly. Doctors don’t even recommend pumping before six weeks. I’m 9 weeks PP and I still wake up drenched in milk, it’s part of the process. I can’t tell you if its normal to pump that much during pregnancy because I didn’t. It does sound like a bit much, I was only able to pump a little more than that when my milk first came in.However as anyone will tell you, pumping can make engorgement worse, and I don’t think there’s much nutrient value in the milk produced before colostrum. I just… don’t advise this. It sounds a lot like you’ve made up your mind, but I just don’t see why. Talk to your OB or Midwife, at least, get their ideas on it. -Q

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I know several people who pumped from 33-35 weeks till delivery, just once or twice a day, and stockpiled what they were able to pump. Only one of them went into labor and had a preemie at 34 weeks 4 days, but her previous 2 pregnancies were preemies too, and she knew from the beginning she likely wouldn’t make it to full term, or even 35 weeks. She was able to use what she had pumped while her babe was in the NICU, and he never had to have a drop of formula, which was pretty cool. Talk to your doctor of course, but pumping for 10 minutes shouldn’t cause much as far as labor. Plus, the hospitals around here will give you a pump right after delivery and tell you to pump away so you can start building a stash and bringing in your supply. Best advice would be to ask your doctor, but occasionally relieving yourself with 10 minutes of pumping once a day is probably fine. In order to really “start labor”, they say to pump 15 minutes on one side and then switch, and keep doing that... so only 10 minutes total shouldn’t cause anything. Just my 2 cents.

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Went and hung out at the hospital today, and got some sweet baby snuggles! 

It was a little bit triggering when I first got there, the L&D intake desk is RIGHT next to the big doors leading to the OR for c-sections, and as I was checking in/ getting my visitor badge, a nurse ran in with a cart of stuff, and the doors swung open. It was sort of like a flashback, the sterile smell came pouring out and I got a glimpse of the big lights and I had a mini panic attack. I held it together mostly, but man. I never wanted to see that room again.  

But poor Michelle is still in a Labor and Recovery room, she hasn’t been moved up to the Mother and baby floor. She’s still on a magnesium drip for her blood pressure, and they were going to move her up later tonight. She’s in crazy pain today, and she still hasn’t been able to get up out of the bed because of all the monitors and IVs, and she’s still got her catheter in. But she was in remarkably good spirits, all things considering. She got her tubes tied during the c-section, which honestly sort of surprised me, but I understand why she did it. Her husband was able to get video footage of the whole c-section, and they showed me the part right after they pulled her out, and they were cleaning her all up and putting the hat on her and stuff, it made me cry.

Baby Milia Anna is basically her mini-me. Holy crap. She’s so cute! Full head of hair, perfect eyebrows, and so sweet and tiny. She’s got Michelle’s nose and lips, and Milton’s eyes. She’s going to be so freaking cute as she gets bigger. I’m so happy she’s finally here.  

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THE BABY HAS ARRIVED!

She wound up with a c-section, she went in for contractions, and stayed because her blood pressure was 185/110. So they induced yesterday at 4 pm, low dose of everything since she was already in early labor, and dilated to a 1. Even after cervadil and pitocin, by 7 pm today (27 hours later) she was still only 1 cm. Her blood pressure was all over the place, and baby was starting to have decels. So they made the call. 

She arrived via c-section at 8:27 pm, weighing 7 lbs 1 oz. I’m going to spend some time over there tomorrow, and get a meal chart organized for once she’s home, so she doesn't have to worry at all about cooking.

Michelle is super bummed about the birth experience, of course, but she says the staff tried their best to be sympathetic, and that helps. Aahh I can’t wait for some sweet newborn snuggles! 

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Bestie is still in labor. Holy guacamole. 24 hours and counting since she was admitted. Haven’t heard anything in over an hour, I’m really hoping they don’t pressure her into a c-section!

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This is not a drill.

Best friend is in labor!!! Oh man. So excited!