Friday, April 1, 2011

A Baby Story

 I understand that home birth is a bit of an unknown or maybe even weird or scary for a lot of people.  I had my first baby in the hospital and all the rest at home.  It works for me, for us.  I like that I am in control, that nobody is telling me how to do something that God made my body to do.  I like that I can have my children there, if they want to be, and that our family can experience a beautiful thing without fear, without beeps, wires, smells, or people we don't know.  It just works for us.  Every birth is a miracle!  This is how we do it in Banmanland...


9:30AM
Feeling the beginning stages of better contractions and determined to have a March baby, I drink the most disgusting concoction. It involved castor oil and verbena.  Gross.  Seriously yuck.



10:00AM
The whole family takes a vigorous walk through the neighbourhood.  



We ran up the stairs, down the stairs...I was the best P.E. teacher I will ever be.  Caleb told me I was such a fun mom, he was loving the fact that I was doing physical activity!


Them's some serious stairs people!


11:00AM Contractions are getting really strong and about a minute apart.


11:40 I have been pacing around the house, still having contractions, making beds, picking things up, just staying active to keep labor going.  The big girls make lunch. I start to feel like things are progressing and I have a little meltdown.  Yikes, I didn't want to do it.  Exploring my other options, I realize this is the only way to get baby out!!

12:00{ish} Tammy, Terri, Grandma Crick and Linda arrive.  Grams has piles of food.  Linda {who works at Mike's office} starts calling the patients to let them know Dr. Mike will not be in for his afternoon shift.  I go in the backyard and pull some weeds, feeling overwhelmed that this is happening I just want to distract myself.

Not sure why I felt so anxious?  I am a firm believer that your mindset is very important.  Around this time I pulled myself together, Tam prayed for me and we set out on a walk.

Terri is 31 weeks pregnant and she came along.  It was not a slow walk and there were hills involved.  It was awesome that she came.

1:30{ish} Contractions are much stronger now, Tam and I did about 15 laps of the park across the street:)

1:47 I text the midwives to let them know it's probably getting close.

2:00 Midwives arrive and set up camp in my room.


The girls get comfy too.  The lady in brown is Anne-Marie, the midwife.   She was at Caitlyn's birth.  This is the first time I have had the same midwife at two births. Terri is taking photos, Tam and Linda are there.  Grams is kind of in and out with Cait.  Caleb opted to play the Itouch in the other room.

There's me, in the pink.  This is how I like to "embrace" a contraction.

3:00PM Feeling close to "ready to push" I get in the birth tub.


Cait stops by for a little kiss:)


Mike is ready to catch a baby!


3:17 Cambria enters the world.  I watched the video this morning, Mike and I are all over moving that cord and trying to see what "it" is...A girl...another girl...a healthy beautiful baby girl!  Not a brother.  Honestly we had a tiny hope that it *might* be that little brother for Caleb.  But how can you deny God's hand in the miracle of  new life?  How can you question that He doesn't know what "kind" of baby is perfect for our family?  We are so thankful!

Cambria was covered in Vernix.  So waxy!  Maddie was just like this when she was born.  It was cool for her to see something that we have tried to explain to her.



Mike cuts the cord and hands Cambria to Anne-Marie.  I think at this point Anne-Marie just took baby to the bed, wrapped her up and then baby got passed around to all the happy family members.


Here she is with Grandma Crick {Mike's Grandma}.  Cait is calling Cambria "new baby".  You can see Maddie is holding her blankie in the far background.  She felt a little nervous so she needed her blanket to comfort her.



Maddie is completely in love.  Cambria is wrapped in the blanket that Maddie made for her.



Mailee gives her new sister kisses.  She is so sweet with her!


4:00 [ish} Cambria gets her first life-giving adjustment.
So important!
{side note: girlfriend has pooped 7 times already!  All systems are working well!!}


Anne-Marie weighs baby.
7pounds, 1 ounce.  Our second smallest baby!  {Cait was 6.15}

5:00PM The midwives leave.  At this point the entire family is in the living room.  Cambria has met Uncle Brian and Jesse and Ethan, Uncle Jay too.  I think there is an important March Madness game on and I am sure Grandma Crick was feeding the crowds some amazing homemade lasagne.

I am in the bed eating my reward, the Uncle Harry's bagel sandwich, texting/calling my family in California.  Oh, I maybe check facebook once or twice...I had a few messages:)

Cambria pops in to see me and is followed by a few sisters.  Cait is a fan of "new baby".  Maddie is over the moon, she asks like 5,000 times if she can hold the baby.


7:00{ish) Grandpa Don pops in to meet his 9th grandchild.




He is always so cute with a newborn.
So proud, so thankful.



Tammy and Linda offer to have the kids over for sleepovers.  It was optional but they all decided to go.  I requested one family picture before they all left.  I love this shot, taken by Jenaya, of the "setting up".


Before he leaves, Caleb asks sweetly, "Is it my turn to hold her yet?"  Sweet boy had been patient all afternoon for his turn!


He was so cute holding her and I am certain that although she is not that brother to share a bunk bed with, he will love her just fine!


Mikayla gets one last snuggle before she leaves.  Mikayla and Mailee were so curious, interested, and supportive all day long.  They were by my side, they were excited, they came to check on me even when the whole family was hanging out in the living room. They both expressed in grown up ways how happy they were that she was here and how they felt about the birth.  I love how they are growing into sweet, caring, wonderful "little women" before my eyes!




Here she is this morning.
8:00AM
Wide awake.
So sweet!!
What a little blessing to add to an already over-blessed family!  
I can't believe that this little person is ours.  She is perfect and precious and I am so very thankful!

47 comments:

Deborah Feijao said...

Colleen! I´m so happy for you, Cambria is such a beautiful name! Even though I never comment, I always read your blog, and I´m a big fan of you and your family. Congratulations!!! Kisses and hugs from your Brazilian reader and fan! :)

Unknown said...

Okay seriously, I'm in tears! That was beautiful, amazing and incredible! Thanks for sharing how you have a baby in Banmanland!

Jen Johnson said...

You did awesome mommy and I am so thankful she is here safe and sound. What a blessing and glad you have a few hands to help hold her. Hope you get some time with her too, he, he he.

Love you.

H-Mama said...

Such a beautiful birth story. She's blessed to be born into such a loving family. If only I'd been educated in natural health before my babies were born. ;) Congratulations!

Stephanie said...

What a blessed family indeed! Huge congrats from the Wiebe family!!

Our Levi was born exactly 3 hrs after that same verbena concoction ...although I was thankful for it, it was gross:(

You are a beautiful family!

Alana said...

Congrats to you all! I love your tub shot to birth shot. You make it look like a sinch! lol! You could have posted one grunting picture just for reality...lol!

Anonymous said...

I'm so excited for you and your family! She is so cute, what a perfect addition. You are an inspiration! Love you!

Jeanette

sbcollection said...

Wow, I felt like I was there. The tears were flowing..you have such a gift of great expression.Thanks for sharing the story Col. I feel so much love.

You are an amazing woman and your family is so beautiful.

I love you guys. xo

Jennifer H. said...

What a lovely birth story! I'm thrilled you are sharing it with everyone. I delivered all five of mine at home with a midwife (the same one!) and I count them as the best experiences/blessings of my life. I never had to drink a concoction as my births were generally no longer than 90 minutes (had a few deliveries alone before the CNM arrived). I would love for women to know this is an option and that they can be in control of their birthing destinies, within the hands of God. Blessings to you and yours!

Anonymous said...

Collen you are truly an amazing woman!!!!!!To be so organized so soon, your my heroine
God Bless
Linda Scott-McDonald
P.S she is lovely

Anonymous said...

Its such as you learn my thoughts! You seem to understand a
lot approximately this, such as you wrote the ebook in it or something.
I think that you simply can do with some % to pressure the message home a little bit, but instead of that, that is wonderful blog. An excellent read. I will definitely be back.

Also visit my blog post - exercises to improve vertical jump

Anonymous said...

Pretty nice post. I just stumbled upon your weblog and wished to say
that I have truly enjoyed surfing around your weblog posts.
After all I will be subscribing in your rss feed
and I am hoping you write again very soon!

Review my site ... workouts to increase vertical jump

Anonymous said...

Informative article, totally what I wanted to
find.

my blog - exercises to jump higher exercises to improve vertical exercises to improve vertical jump exercises to improve vertical leap exercises to increase vertical exercises to increase vertical jump exercises to increase vertical leap exercises for vertical exercises for vertical jump exercises for vertical leap workouts to jump higher workouts to improve vertical workouts to improve vertical jump workouts to improve vertical leap workouts to increase vertical workouts to increase vertical jump workouts to increase vertical leap workouts for vertical workouts for vertical jump workouts for vertical leap vertical jump exercises vertical leap exercises vertical jump workouts vertical leap workouts

Anonymous said...

It's fantastic that you are getting ideas from this piece of writing as well as from our argument made at this place.

Feel free to surf to my blog ... http://www.bequineapproved.co.uk/groups/some-workouts-that-can-improve-your-vertical/

Anonymous said...

Today, I went to the beach with my kids. I found a sea shell and
gave it to my 4 year old daughter and said
"You can hear the ocean if you put this to your ear." She placed
the shell to her ear and screamed. There was a hermit crab inside and it pinched her ear.

She never wants to go back! LoL I know this
is completely off topic but I had to tell someone!


My blog: http://getsmarq.com

Anonymous said...

Wonderful post but I was wanting to know if you could write a
litte more on this subject? I'd be very grateful if you could elaborate a little bit more. Thank you!

Feel free to visit my page - workouts to improve vertical

Anonymous said...

Thanks for one's marvelous posting! I really enjoyed reading it, you're a great author.
I will be sure to bookmark your blog and will often come back
later on. I want to encourage you to continue your great
work, have a nice holiday weekend!

Look at my homepage exercises to increase vertical jump

Anonymous said...

Pretty section of content. I just stumbled upon your site
and in accession capital to assert that I get actually enjoyed account
your blog posts. Anyway I'll be subscribing to your augment and even I achievement you access consistently quickly.

Feel free to surf to my web page; exercises to improve vertical

Anonymous said...

Why visitors still make use of to read news papers when in this technological world everything is existing
on web?

Look at my page - fandomaccess.com

Anonymous said...

This post presents clear idea designed for the new viewers
of blogging, that really how to do blogging.

Feel free to visit my web page ... http://Klaniny.pl/tiki/tiki-index.php?page=UserPagerubylash

Anonymous said...

It's hard to find experienced people about this subject, however, you seem like you know what you're talking about!
Thanks

Also visit my website ... bed intruder

Anonymous said...

Pretty! This has been an incredibly wonderful article.
Many thanks for providing these details.

Look into my blog exercises to improve vertical jump

Anonymous said...

Hello, just wanted to mention, I loved this article.
It was funny. Keep on posting!

Here is my web blog :: Cultursol.Net

Anonymous said...

You've made some decent points there. I checked on the internet to learn more about the issue and found most people will go along with your views on this web site.

Look into my blog post; how to jump higher fast

Anonymous said...

What's up i am kavin, its my first time to commenting anyplace, when i read this paragraph i thought i could also make comment due to this sensible post.

Also visit my web site :: 50-87-72-80.unifiedlayer.com

Anonymous said...

I relish, cause I found exactly what I used to be having a look for.
You've ended my 4 day lengthy hunt! God Bless you man. Have a great day. Bye

My web page - workouts to improve Vertical jump

Anonymous said...

Hello! I've been following your web site for some time now and finally got the bravery to go ahead and give you a shout out from Huffman Texas! Just wanted to tell you keep up the excellent job!

Also visit my page; workouts to improve vertical

Anonymous said...

you're truly a just right webmaster. The website loading velocity is incredible. It kind of feels that you're
doing any unique trick. Moreover, The contents are masterpiece.
you have done a wonderful task on this subject!


My webpage - exercises to jump higher

Anonymous said...

Wonderful, what a webpage it is! This website presents valuable facts to us, keep it up.


my homepage; workouts for vertical jump

Anonymous said...

This is really interesting, You're a very skilled blogger. I've joined
your rss feed and look forward to seeking more of your fantastic post.

Also, I have shared your website in my social networks!


Review my website :: exercises to increase vertical leap

Anonymous said...

I think this is one of the most significant info for me.
And i am glad reading your article. But should remark on few general things,
The website style is ideal, the articles is really great : D.
Good job, cheers

Also visit my page; workouts to improve Vertical

Anonymous said...

Hello, I enjoy reading through your post. I
like to write a little comment to support you.

Feel free to visit my blog post; http://www.jobvargas.com

Anonymous said...

Wonderful website. A lot of useful information here. I am sending
it to some buddies ans also sharing in delicious. And of course, thank you
on your effort!

Also visit my web-site; funjet vacation deals to las vegas

Anonymous said...

It's really a great and helpful piece of information. I am satisfied that you just shared this helpful information with us. Please keep us informed like this. Thanks for sharing.

Here is my weblog ... exercises to improve vertical Jump

Anonymous said...

I think this is one of the most significant information
for me. And i am glad reading your article. But want to remark on few general
things, The site style is ideal, the articles is
really nice : D. Good job, cheers

Here is my site vertical leap exercises

Anonymous said...

Just desire to say your article is as astounding.
The clearness on your submit is simply nice and that i could think
you're a professional in this subject. Well together with your permission let me to seize your RSS feed to keep updated with drawing close post. Thanks 1,000,000 and please continue the enjoyable work.

Take a look at my web-site :: Www.bikersowned.ca

Anonymous said...

Hi would you mind stating which blog platform you're using? I'm
planning to start my own blog in the near
future but I'm having a difficult time choosing between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal. The reason I ask is because your layout seems different then most blogs and I'm
looking for something unique. P.
S Apologies for getting off-topic but I had to ask!


my web blog; Www.Gfc.Edu.Co

Anonymous said...

What's up to every one, since I am in fact keen of reading this web site's post
to be updated on a regular basis. It consists
of good material.

Also visit my website :: exercises to jump higher

Anonymous said...

After I originally commented I seem to have clicked the -Notify me when new
comments are added- checkbox and from now on every time a comment is added I get four
emails with the exact same comment. Is there a means you can remove me from that service?
Thank you!

Also visit my website; workouts for vertical

Anonymous said...

Link exchange is nothing else however it is only placing the other person's web site link on your page at appropriate place and other person will also do same in favor of you.

Have a look at my blog post ... web.s-tet.ru

Anonymous said...

Yes! Finally someone writes about how to zero a scope in arma 2.


Feel free to visit my web-site gobookface.com

Anonymous said...

Hello friends, its fantastic paragraph regarding cultureand fully defined,
keep it up all the time.

Also visit my homepage; gosselding.de

Anonymous said...

Oh my goodness! Incredible article dude! Thank you
so much, However I am encountering troubles with your RSS.
I don't know why I am unable to subscribe to it. Is there anyone else getting the same RSS problems? Anyone that knows the solution can you kindly respond? Thanx!!

My web-site - workouts for vertical

Anonymous said...

Have you ever considered publishing an ebook or guest authoring
on other sites? I have a blog centered on the same topics you discuss and would love to have you share some stories/information.
I know my readers would enjoy your work. If you are even remotely interested, feel free to send me an e-mail.


my website :: workouts to increase vertical

Anonymous said...

In other words, they go against the grain of the careers their parents had.
Popular prizes include sports tickets, cash and vouchers for drinks, food - and dollars off of
tabs. The Bull's Head Pub, Bangkok.

my web blog - clever pub quiz names

Anonymous said...

Hello, i think that i saw you visited my web site thus i came to “return tthe favor”.I'm trying to find things
to enhance my web site!I suppose its ok to use a few of your ideas!!


My homepage m88

Unknown said...

Wow thank you very much for this creative content, this has really helped me a lot,specially first post of this site.
i was at this confused point in my Unlock Her Legs but after reading,this gave me more idea about how better my life could be.
Thank you very much for the effort and kindly keep posting something like this every time, it goes a long way to help people like us.
I also got help from another cool site Respack The Romance like your too called Perfect Respack The Romance which describes a lot about handling health. Thank you very much and I am gonna be here often.