Newborns

Be sure to read Part 1 of this story, right here. Ankyloglossia is also known as tongue tie. It is a congenital oral abnormality that limits the mobility and function of the tongue because of a short or tight frenulum. I have learned over the past 16 months that most physicians receive little to no training in breastfeeding mechanics, including pediatricians, dentists and ENTs. Over time as society has made a few different shifts from primarily breastfeeding infants, to then primarily bottle-feeding and now back to an increase in exclusive breastfeeding, much wisdom in regards to “normal” breastfeeding has been lost, or simply forgotten. Many new mothers are told that the first 6 weeks are the toughest which gets translated...

Two years ago I was expecting my fourth baby, another sweet girl. The 41 weeks and 3 days I was pregnant with her were not what I planned for. After suffering for 22 weeks with Hyperemesis Gravidarum, then preterm labor symptoms, heart issues that lead to a diagnosis of pregnancy induced Supra Ventricular Tachycardia (SVT), I was left waiting on a baby who decided to push the limits of the homebirth laws by waiting until close to 42 weeks to make her arrival. In the early morning of August 14, 2013, Clementine was born about 5 minutes after my midwife arrived at our home. It was an incredibly quick labor and delivery; nothing short of a whirlwind. I put baby...

Every time I have a baby, I am asked questions that make me scratch my head. But with the birth of my latest baby, I have been asked questions that just down right confuse me. I get that people don’t understand how it sounds, but really people, listen to yourself and see how crazy the question is! Here is a list of my favorite ridiculous questions. “Is she a good baby?” Well, that depends… What is a GOOD baby? What is a BAD baby? Are you asking if she sits peacefully and never cries? Does she nurse well? What? What IS a good baby? Being asked this question after my first two, I never thought anything of it. They were “good”...

Last month, my husband and I took our baby to the beach for the first time. Almost every summer of my life, my family has spent a week on the Gulf Coast, usually in the Orange Beach/Pensacola area. We rent a condo and spend the week relaxing, swimming, reading, cooking, going out for dinner, and shopping at the outlet mall. It is a week that everyone looks forward to, and this year was particularly exciting because we brought along a new addition: our four month old son, William. I was very, very nervous about taking him. He had never slept anywhere but our house and I didn’t know how he would adjust. He had also been going through a bit...

   My birth story begins at my 12 week ultrasound for my second pregnancy. We brought our 15-month-old with us to see her brother or sister for the first time. Imagine our UTTER surprise when the ultrasound tech said, “Looks like you’ve got two in there!” In a few short months, we would be welcoming our sweet TWINS into the world! We were in shock and pretty freaked out, to be honest. The following months included lots of planning, purchasing, and ultrasounds. We learned that we were expecting a boy and a girl and discussed delivery options with my OB. He was very open to attempting a vaginal delivery if baby A (the baby closest to the birth canal)...