Baby #5

Liquid Prenatal

March 22, 2013 by laceyswartz Leave a Comment

OK, this week has been a bit crazy (in a good way, but just unusually busy getting things ready for our upcoming free teleseminar on probiotics), so it’ll have to be a super quick post here…

Thought I’d just share a fun experience from my journey toward a home birth with a midwife (due mid June)…

My dear friend Sarah, from Real Food Outlaws, made some loose leaf, specially blended pregnancy tea for me when she first heard my baby #5 news last fall. I was super grateful because Sarah really knows her stuff when it comes to herbs. 🙂

What was even more fun though, was when I shared the ingredient list with my awesome midwife, and she said, “Oh yeah, that’s like a liquid prenatal vitamin right there by itself.”

Love it!

I didn’t need any more proof as to Sarah’s awesomeness, but it’s always neat to have such ringing endorsements. 🙂

While I love and respect the OBs who caught my babies #1-4 (I did not decide on a home birth because of any complaint with them), and certainly still appreciate the service they provide when modern medicine is truly needed, it is so uplifting taking this journey this time around with folks who are tuned in to and working in harmony with the abundant provision for all our needs found right within nature itself.

Here is a post from Sarah with a recipe for pregnancy tea.

You can either get the herbs from a reliable source such as Mountain Rose Herbs and make it yourself, or you can order premade from Sarah here on her poppy swap site. She has a ton of other great herbal/medicine teas available as well. Check out her site!

Cheers all! 🙂

Surprise Setup

February 19, 2013 by laceyswartz Leave a Comment

I’m not sure if it’s just that this is baby #5, or the fact that we’ve chosen to take a very different journey this time around with a home birth midwife, or a combination of both, but the time sure is flying, and it’s still sometimes easy to almost forget we’re expecting – even though the belly is becoming a more obvious reminder, along with the little “flutters” of movement.

At this point in all my other pregnancies, we’d had two ultrasounds already – one around 9 weeks and one around 20 weeks. Now, here we are at almost 24 weeks and haven’t had one yet. And I kind of like it that way.

Sure, there’s part of me that wonders if the baby is fine and forming well and such. But, we’re just trusting that all is well, and that if at any point it’s not, that God will alert us to any problems and sustain us through the journey they bring to our family.

Honestly, the “biggest” (most tangible?) reason we opted to skip the 20 week ultrasound with this baby is because we wanted to choose to be surprised this time around, and I knew I’d need to set myself up for that. If we had gone in for the 20 week ultrasound, I’m 99% certain I would have caved and said, “Oh, just tell me!” It’s the “type A” planner in me – it hasn’t been entirely beaten out of me 4 kids later, even though I’m definitely more of a “wing it” person in many ways now.

In some ways, I miss not knowing. It’s hard not wanting to call the baby “it” but not being able to say “he” or “she” really. We always enjoyed talking to and praying for the baby by name…

Even though, “they” were wrong with our #3 and we were totally surprised anyway…

Two confused sisters, learning that they actually had a brother!

Yes, back in 2008, we were told we were expecting a third girl, and then “Lydia” popped out with boy bits and was suddenly Matthew. It was definitely interesting trying to explain that to our oldest, who was not quite 4 at the time. She was so confused. She is now 8 and really wants to know ahead of time if this new baby is a brother or sister, but she seems to understand and be OK with our decision to plan on being surprised this time around.

Overall, I have to say, I think I’m enjoying this intentional surprise setup. And June will be here before we know it anyway. 🙂

Home Birth

January 17, 2013 by laceyswartz Leave a Comment

Aside from my initial announcement that baby #5 is due in June, I haven’t posted much about my pregnancy. In part, because… perhaps sad, but true… It’s #5!

Please don’t misunderstand me. First of all, my hubby and I have always talked about a big family, so no, this was not an “oops.” And we will love this one as intensely and uniquely as each of our first four. But, truth be told, there is not much time to be super excited just yet about someone who isn’t right here asking for something nearly all the time, like his/her brothers and sisters are. Any mama of more than 1 or 2 can understand, I think. 😉

In the first trimester, I at least had the constant reminders of extreme fatigue and a slight “off” feeling (yeah, sorry everyone who has had severe morning sickness – that’s about it… I think God just knows what a wimp I am!). But now that I’m into the second trimester and feeling basically normal, it’s especially easy to semi-forget most of the day until I lie in bed at night and feel that tiniest bit of belly starting. Then I do get a bit excited. 🙂

I also haven’t posted much because we didn’t even make an appointment with a provider until week 13… We were undecided about whether to take the home birth journey this time around.

I am not “anti-medicine” or “anti-hospitals” – I’m grateful these things are here when needed. But, the longer I’m on this natural health and sustainable living journey, the more I realize how dreadfully over used these resources are. No wonder “healthcare” (really, sickness care) is so maxed out and bankrupting this country (among numerous other things).

I love my two OBs who delivered our first four babies, and had positive experiences with all four in the hospital. So my leaning toward a home birth had nothing to do with dissatisfaction with them or prior experiences. More so, just shifting priorities and perspectives on the big picture systems as a whole.

The real kickers for me were this:

1) I kept thinking, “If I can and am willing to do a home birth and support a more sustainable long-term system, knowing that the emergency resources are nearby if needed – unlike most places in the world unfortunately – then why go through the hospital which would cost ‘the system’ probably at least twice as much, even if it’d only cost me a $25 copay?” I’m not one to always look for the cheapest possible deal for myself, but rather, to consider real value – both to myself and society at large.

2) I, along with much of US society, have little to no concept of the ancient wisdom surrounding this incredible experience of childbirth. I want my kids to know that they can trust God through these amazing natural experiences and not have to be so reliant on “the system” the way I have been to date in this regard. I want them to know that this is a powerful option that they have for their own futures if they become parents – especially if there will come a time when any of my descendants might be denied access to “the system,” or if “the system” itself completely crumbles one day and is not available at all.

Sooooo, we decided to do it… We’re taking the home birth journey this time around!

Pretty exciting… when I slow down long enough to think about it. 🙂

Anyone else out there have a home birth after a hospital birth? What was your experience like?