#heidibirthssofia

#heidibirthssofia

One of my favorite parts of this "job" is to assist empowered women on their natural birth journey. I got the honor recently to assist Heidi for the second time and I am pleased to share her story. Please read and share so that others may benefit from positive birth stories! The following posts are from her accounts of her births... 

Crystal

Heidi Gagliardi’s 2^nd Non-Medicated Birth

36 Weeks – Doctor appointment - 0cm dilated, 0% effaced.  Had inconsistent practice surges, LOTS of them especially on our 2 day trip to Disney (Practice Surges = Braxton Hicks in Hypnobirthing language).

37 Weeks – Doctor appointment - 2cm dilated, 50% effaced!!! Progress!!! I was shocked and thought labor would happen within the next day or two and at the latest over the weekend.  Still had lots of practice surges with a few night of being up from 2am-6am with consistent surges. HYPNObirthing relaxation

38 Weeks – Doctor appointment – 4cm dilated, still 50% effaced…I’m still pregnant, lol, but more progress!!! Yay!  And yes, still having many practice surges.  I was beginning to get a little confused on how I was going to tell when I was really in labor because I was having them all the time.  My friend/doula continued to reassure me that I would know when the real time was here.  Acupuncture sesh

39 Weeks – Doctor appointment – 4 almost 5cm dilated 70% effaced.  OMG, I am in disbelief that I am still pregnant!!! But yay again for more progress!  Acupuncture

39 Weeks 2 days –

Saturday 4/11 - 3:00am - Waters start to release (waters release = water breaking in Hypnobirthing language).  Was not 100% sure that’s what was happening yet.

All Day – My mind began to wonder and fret about the timeline of events.  If my waters were releasing, I was going to need to birth the baby within the next 24-48 hours for safety reasons for us both.  And not wanting meds, I knew that if I didn’t have consistent contractions, I would need something such as Pitocin to get labor going.  After talking to Crystal about my fears, I made up my mind that was the worst case scenario and that I would still have Pitocin without an epidural if need be to get contractions going.  Also because of Crystal and her encouragement, I would force myself to go back to thinking, this is going to work Heidi, don’t fret.  Your body is slowly prepping for labor and you will birth in the appropriate amount of time.

All Day – Waters continue to release with other pre labor discharge (so gross, lol)

6:00pm – Acupuncture at my house with Crystal Fedele.  Total relaxation and natural high.  I had not experienced this with acupuncture before.  My mother in law was there and she said I began to talk funny and act loopy.  Hahaha!

8:30pm – Was sitting in bed, got up and waters released in a large amount.  Confirmation that my waters had released!

10:30pm – Some surges started (surges = contractions in Hypnobirthing language)

11:45pm – Woke up to surges that were noticeably stronger, but still very inconsistent time wise.  I did not get excited because of the last two weeks and being teased with practice surges/labor.  I asked my husband Mike, to assist me to the restroom.  I wanted to get rid of bowels just in case I did go into labor.  As I was sitting on the porcelain throne, consistent contractions about 1 minute apart starting coming on strong and hard.  I felt as though I was stuck on the throne!  It was awful and my husband was concerned for me!  I told him I wasn’t sure what was going on and that we may need to call Crystal soon.

Sunday 4/12 - 12:45pm – Finally was able to get off the porcelain throne and was traumatized for a bit.  My practice surges became real and they came on strong and hard every 3 minutes apart. 

2:00am - I made sure they were consistent before calling Crystal to come over.  Mike and I were concerned that maybe we should just meet her at the hospital.  I decided we would wait for her to assess me and then all decide together.  Mike was super helpful during each surge.  I did not have all back labor this time, but did have some and he would press my hips together to relieve surge discomfort.   Mike and I need to throw some stuff in the car, so I would waddle behind him and yell at him, “I’m having one, drop it” so he could come over to press my hips.  I also, labored standing on the floor at the edge of the bed in our room squatting through the surges, while he pressed my hips.  I began to lose it, telling Mike, I can’t do this, this hurts so bad.  In my mind I was beating myself up for choosing this type of birth and not getting an epidural.  I knew I had to stop thinking this way.  I told Mike, “Tell me something good, tell me I can do this”.  He then reminded me that I had done this before and that with each uncomfortable surge I was getting closer to meet my Sweet Sofia.  I then, began to talk to Sofia during each surge, telling her that I was excited to meet her.  This helped so much in my struggle with the discomfort.  It’s vital during this time in a natural birth to find your stride, your comfort zone.  For each person that will be something different.  For me, it was talking out loud to my unborn baby, wanting to work together with her to get this done.

2:30am – Crystal arrived at my house.  Her presence is incredible!  She comes in with the calmest energy I’ve ever seen or felt in my life.  I remember sitting there, having strong uncomfortable surges, looking at her thinking… I could never do what she does as a doula.  This is awful to watch women struggle like this.  Obviously, I have/had been contemplating being a doula.  Crystal also informed me that since my waters had released, everything was going to feel more intense with each surge.  This also helped me to cope with what I was going through.  I knew it wasn’t going to subside until I pushed Sweet Sofia out.  Crystal gave the cue and said, “Ok, honey, we need to make our way to the hospital.”  Music to my ears!  I was about to meet my baby!

2:45am – Leave for Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center.  Mike and I called my doctor on the way.  I had not called yet because it was the weekend and I wasn’t sure if my doctor, Dr. Gilmore, was on call.  I didn’t want to get worked up over not having her and I also, wasn’t sure that my waters had released until later that night. To my surprise, Dr. Gilmore was on call!  During a break from a surge, I screamed in excitement, WAHOO!  This definitely boosted my positive mind frame efforts. I also road to the hospital facing backwards in the front seat on my knees holding the head rest with a pillow under me.  Nothing about that ride was comfortable or fun.  I just continued to try to breathe through the discomfort and as Crystal had coached me, through my pelvis, down to my toes.  Really, help each surge reach its maximum potential of opening and softening my cervix.  I saw the beautiful moon and then the hospital was in sight.  We made it, Thank You God!

3:15am – Walking through the E.R. and all the doors were closed to try and get to the 4^th floor birthing unit.  I was familiar with the hospital and was upset at this.  The security guard was caught off guard and I was grunting and being my usual dramatic self through each surge.  I told her, “This is my second baby, I need to get to the 4^th floor and quick.  She ran over and opened the doors to let us through with her badge.  She then followed us and watched me have a surge.  I was grunting through them at this point feeling like I wanted to push.  She said you need to sit in a wheelchair.  I quickly responded, I am NOT going to sit in a wheelchair.  Mike and Crystal chuckled and as she radioed for help (bc she thought I was going to birth there on the floor) we waddled into the elevator and quickly closed to door away from her.  Mike was saying hurry, hurry, she’s coming.  I wanted to laugh but I couldn’t. 

3:20am – We made it to the 4^th Floor Birthing Unit!  They took us into Triage and checked me, I was 8cm and fully effaced.  This is called Transition!  Yay!  This was really going to happen! 

3:25am - We were put in our birthing room and I hated having to switch beds, every movement was difficult.  I wound up laying on my left side and calmly laying through each surge with Crystal’s help.  I was holding her hand and staring into her eyes and truly trying to let go and let my body and baby do the work.  This is one of the hardest things for me to do.  To release my mind and control and surrender to the natural part of birthing.  I asked Crystal a few times, am I doing ok and do I look ok?  She would smiley gently and say yes honey you are.  The wonderful nurse Sharon was telling me to breath through wanting to push because the doctor was not there yet.  I didn’t mind her saying that because she was nice and she didn’t bother me.  She mentioned that she had done natural birthing herself so she was on my side (lol).  I quickly had Mike pass around my birth plan so they could see my wishes with my Sweet Sofia after she was born (that of course had been approved with Dr. Gilmore and signed off on).

3:50am – Dr. Gilmore arrived.  She was her usual, calm, half asleep, yet happy self.  I felt the urge to push.  I pushed and immediately backed off and in my mind thought, oh gosh, that sucks.  So, I was determined to get her out on the next push no matter what.  I took a solid minute to gather my strength and bared down to push again.  I was able to get her head out and took one more deep breath and birthed the rest of her body out.  Wahoo!  Immediate relief, thank you Jesus!

3:55am – Sweet Sofia Michelle was born 4-12-15 a healthy 8lbs 6oz and 19.75in long.

We took the first hour after birth to bond.  I just starred at her in awe of God’s miracle he made.  The nursing staff wanting to take her and do their normal things, but I said I am going to bond with her for a while, so you may want to come back later.  They were kind and my wishes were granted.  

Pre-Cursor to Heidi’s 2^nd Non-Medicated Birth

            I would like to give a little insight as to why I chose this type of birth twice.  I was fortunate enough to be my younger sisters birth partner in 2010.  She chose a non-medicated birth.  She followed HypnoBirthing®: the Mongan Method and began researching and studying all about it.  I was concerned for her because I was not knowledgeable, but supportive nonetheless.  I did not read the book at this time.  I was really quite freaked out and afraid that she was going against the norm for birth.  I didn’t understand why someone would want to feel discomfort and pain.  I talked to several people close to me about this and they also shared my same thoughts.  Although I did not understand at that time, I felt a strong, raw woman energy and power from her as she spoke about it.  I trusted her intuition as a woman about to become a mother for the first time.  I was in amazement at her strength and lack of fear, it drew me in and I was addicted to that energy.  After seeing my nephew born into the world in a birth center with no medicine that solidified it for me.  It was amazing, it was peaceful, it was beautiful, it was nature at its finest and I was hooked even more than before.  My sister did an amazing job and I was honored to be able to help her through it.  She labored peacefully for 17 hours and birthed an 8lbs 13oz healthy baby boy with no medicine.  She did it and I was there right by her side every step of the way!  Now I wandered, could I also succeed at a non-medicated birth or did I even want to?  Hmmm, that was the question.

            After actively trying, we became pregnant in March 2012 with our first daughter Giana Marie.  I started planning my natural birth by calling Crystal Fedele to see when I should sign up for HypnoBirthing® Classes.  She was kind and chuckled because I was only 12 weeks pregnant at that point. My sister and I had gone to her class together and I was excited to share this experience with Mike.  Choosing this method wasn’t easy, especially with a husband in the medical field.  He did not understand why I would want to feel discomfort and pain (sound familiar?).  He said to make sure that I wasn’t just trying to compete with my sister.  This was a good point because I am extremely competitive in everything that I do.  After doing some self checks, I assured myself that I at least wanted to try and attempt this non-medicated birth.  If I wanted, I could always change my mind.  Yes, yes, I could always change my mind and get the epidural if I wanted.  I am also terrified of needles so this helped in my efforts to try this type of birth.  Through my research and discussions about a non-medicated birth, I learned many things.  Some of the things that truly encouraged me to keep going forward were that people who had opted to get the epidural said it did not take and they felt everything!  In my mind I thought, if that happens to me, then I will at least be prepared for it a little and not be in shock for what I’m about to experience.  Then, I also read that many people had negative lasting effects from the epidural.  Things as little as headaches for a month or longer and other side affects more dramatic like not being able to walk for 6 months.   Again, encouraging to at least attempt without the epidural.

            The whole pregnancy with Giana, I was active working out 4-5 times a week.  I did cardio and yoga and ate a healthy diet of course treating my sweet tooth as often as I wanted.  I gained 32lbs that pregnancy and felt that was a healthy amount.  I really, really wanted to make it to 40 weeks with Giana.  I felt it was really important to carry full term.  I did make it, made it to 41 weeks!  I then became concerned about when I would go into labor naturally and not wanting my doctor to tell me I needed to be medically induced.  I was dead set against that.  I called Crystal and she prescribed some Chinese herbal tea along with some other homeopathic remedies to help encourage labor without needing Cervadil or Pitocin at the hospital.  It worked!  I went into labor on a Thursday evening and after 36 hours of back labor, birthed my first born daughter on Saturday morning at 2:17am with no medicine.   I did it! Giana was a nice healthy baby.  She weighed 8lbs 9oz and was 21 inches long.  I did not invite anyone into the room family wise.   Only me, Mike, my doula Crystal and the amazing Dr. Gilmore and other hospital staff.   My mom was mad and worried the entire time.  I was not able to communicate well to either side of the family because back labor needed some serious focus and concentration as well as calming from Mike and my doula Crystal! I was also extremely afraid of failing and getting the epidural and did not want anyone else to see that. Although I did not have my mom or any other female family members in the room with me, it was still an amazing experience.  I was so incredibly happy that I had succeeded and accomplished a very important goal.

            Moral of this pre cursor is do not judge a non-medicated birth until you research and become more knowledgeable on the subject.  I learned first hand that knowledge is power and I am forever grateful to have experienced two non-medicated births.  Truly amazing and inspiring events in my life.

Meditation and Brain Function

How Meditation Lengthens Telomeres

Here are five ways that meditation changes the brain, and how those changes lead to tangible benefits for you.

1. Meditation keeps your hippocampus healthy to enhance learning and memory.

The hippocapmus is a small region of the brain buried deep within the subcortex. It plays important roles in learning, emotion regulation and specifically helps with the consolidation of information, from the short-term to long-term memory.

In 2011, researchers at Harvard were among the first to demonstrate that just eight weeks of mindfulness meditation training caused significant increase in the thickness of the hippocampus.

2. Meditation tells your amygdala to chill out and helps to lower stress levels.

The same team of Harvard researchers also found that mindfulness meditation decreases brain cell volume in the amygdala, the part of our brain responsible for fear, anxiety and stress.

These changes matched with the participants’ self-reports of their stress levels, demonstrating how changes in the brain correlate with subjective perception and feelings as well.

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Free Monthly Seminar: Homeopathy & Your Family

Homeopathy & Your Family Series: Part 1  

with Lise M. Battaglia, CCH, HMC, C.GP, C.HP, BFRP

May 14th, 2015 from 6:30-8:00 pm

Home-o-what? The  hard- to-pronounce, easiest to use, fastest growing system of Medicine in the world.   How it works and how it can help your family.

Since 1799 homeopathy has been saving and improving lives.

Exceptional in epidemics and the support of our children's  immune systems:  Homeopathy has cured  folks of  the  measles, the flu, meningitis, hpv, the mumps,  tetanus, meningitis,   typhoid, scarlet fever, polio, cholera, yellow fever and  diphtheria  to name but a few.

Essential for your first aid kit:  These safe, natural, inexpensive, non prescription, remedies help moms stay out of the emergency room, soothe upset tummies, bring down fevers, stop bleeding, and heal bumps, bruises, cuts and scrapes. They ease anxiety, nightmares and bed wetting.  400 million people annually count on homeopathy to stimulate self healing.

 

It is a safe, easy, inexpensive form of medical system on its own or in partnership with conventional medicine.  Midwives, nurses, doctors and mom at home, across throughout the world use these remedies at home for simple and uncomplicated events. With the guidance of certified homeopaths millions experience remarkable results in healing from chronic conditions:  reverse illnesses, diseases, neurological injury, and side effects of modern life and medicines.

Learn how you can start helping your family with homeopathy.

1st Session:

What is homeopathy? How does it work? Why midwifes and moms across the globe swear by it.  Discussion of top remedies for your medicine chest, and

chance to try the worlds #1 remedy for stress, temper tantrums and crises. 

 Holistic Women and Families will be hosting with Lise M. Battaglia, CCH, HMC, C.GP, C.HP, BFRP, here at our office for the first session in her series "Homeopathy and Your Family."  

For 20 years Lise has served as an Integrative Wellness & Health Coach.  She is a Certified Homeopath, GAPS Practitioner, Holistic Immunity Educator and Registered Bach Practitioner.

Be sure to  mark your calendars for this free seminar , it's one you won't want to miss!

Recipe: Easy Energy Bars

These bars are great if you're in a hurry and can't have breakfast, as a snack to give a boost during the day, or even for dessert, topped with sour cream or créme fraîche.

This post is sponsored by the Paleo Recipe Generator, which features over 700 Paleo recipes personalized to meet your unique needs.

Type of dish: Breakfast, Snack, Dessert
Servings: cut to desired size. should be about 3/4 inch thick
Equipment: skillet, baking dish lined with plastic wrap

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22 Tips of a Primal Favorite: Eggs Made Easy

22 Quick Tips from Marks Daily Apple

Primal eaters like eggs and eat many of them. What’s not to love? Highly bioavailable protein. Extremely nutrient dense. A good source of fat, including omega-3s if you pick the right type of egg. Versatile; good for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It even comes in a tidy little package that travels well. And eggs are inexpensive, especially for the amount of nutrition and enjoyment you get. Yeah, eggs are good. Real good.

We don’t want to squander this precious gift from the feathered gods. So today, I’m giving you my top 22 tips, tricks, and guidelines to make the most of your eggs.

How to know if they’re spoiled. Place your eggs in a bowl of cold water. If they sink, they’re good. If they float, they’ve gone bad. If they start to float but keep one end on the bottom, they’re good but not for long. Also works for determining the guilt of suspected witches.

How to boil eggs to desired doneness. Place eggs in a pot or pan and fill with water until it reaches midway up the eggs. Remove the eggs and set aside. Bring the water to a boil at medium/medium-high heat (4 on a scale of 6). Return the eggs to the now-boiling water and cover the pot. For soft-boiled, remove eggs after 6 minutes 30 seconds. For medium-boiled, remove eggs after 8 minutes. For hard-boiled, remove after 10 minutes. After removing eggs, place under cold running water for at least 30 seconds. Drop the cooking time by 30-45 seconds if your eggs are room temperature.

Softer yolks are better for you than harder yolks. The harder the yolk, the more oxidized cholesterol (which coincidentally may not be huge issue for people who eat just a few eggs occasionally, but the more eggs you eat the more it matters). Softer yolks are just better, period.

How to peel boiled eggs. Tim Ferriss has a nifty trick where he cracks both ends, blows into it, and out pops the egg. I’ve had mixed results with this method, but if it works for you, it’s definitely the quickest way. I prefer to let the egg come to room temperature, either using cool water or time, and roll the eggs along the counter to create a web of mini cracks. This seems to separate the white from the shell and make peeling easier. Also: the fresher the egg, the more difficult it is to peel.

How to “boil” eggs and make them easily pop out of their shells. Use the steam setting on an electric pressure cooker, like the Instant Pot, for two minutes (for soft-boiled), three minutes (for medium-boiled), and four minutes (for hard-boiled but not overdone). Place in ice water for a minute and the peel should slip right off.

How to eat boiled eggs. Two ways: kosher salt and kelp powder; or kosher salt, black pepper, and turmeric.

How to cook an omelet. Got 20 seconds, two eggs, and a tablespoon of butter? Do it like Julia Child, the master.

How to cook an omelet stuffed to the gills with several pounds of ingredients. You don’t, unless you like a huge ordeal and leathery eggs. If you want eggs with tons of ingredients, make a scramble.

How to scramble eggs. There are two acceptable ways. First is Gordon Ramsay’s method, which involves lots of whisking, lots of butter, and creme fraiche. Scrambled eggs this way come out soft and slightly wet. Another method is to heat butter (or olive oil) on a stainless steel pan over medium high heat, crack whole eggs into it, and let them cook a bit – as if you were doing sunny side up eggs. Right when the bottom begins to set, go to work with your spatula, chopping and cutting and breaking up the eggs. Scrambling, in other words. As with Ramsay’s method, take the eggs off before they fully cook.

How to fry an egg. Let the pan get hot over medium heat. Don’t rush it. Don’t be impatient. That blue stuff flickering down below the frying pan? That’s pure unadulterated fire. It’s really hot and it won’t be long until the pan is hot, too. If you don’t wait, the egg will stick to the bottom and you’ll have to soak it to get the egg off and the yolk will probably break prematurely and it’ll be a whole thing. Once a drop of water sizzles into nothingness against the surface, add the fat, let it melt. Crack in the eggs. Let a shape start to form, then you have a few options. 1. Drop in a tablespoon of water and cover the pan, steaming the egg. 2. Flip the egg and turn off the heat, letting the pan cook the other side. 3. Turn the heat down and let the egg continue cooking through to the other side. Oh, and the pan should be cast iron and well-seasoned.

How to poach an egg without ruining it. Poaching eggs is annoying, time consuming, and often messy, but you can’t deny that it’s impressive and delicious when you get it right. Forget the swirling vortex, the poaching contraptions, the agony, the heartache; poach your eggs in a mesh strainer. And use the freshest eggs possible.

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Chris Kresser: All About Coffee

The bulk of the research suggests that coffee consumption is beneficial, but as always, whether it works for you depends on a whole bunch of different individual factors. Find out what considerations you should keep in mind.

I can say I drink coffee for three reasons: One, because it’s delicious and I love the smell and the ritual of it. The whole preparation that I go through is a ritual, and I really believe in the importance of those kinds of rituals, and I think we lack them in our culture. Number two, coffee is associated with numerous health benefits in the scientific literature, and that may come as a surprise to some people listening. And number three, when I drink it, it doesn’t interfere with my sleep or HPA axis function.

In this episode, we cover:

2:00  What Chris ate today
6:52  The research on coffee
16:50  Coffee intake considerations

Links we discuss

• Prostate cancer: lower risk of prostate cancer, inverse association with advanced prostate cancer.
• Breast cancer: caffeinated coffee intake may be associated with lower risk of postmenopausal breast cancer.
• Liver cancer: habitual coffee drinking is associated with a significantly lower risk of liver cancer in Japanese population.
• Other cancers (gastric, colorectal): varied results; but often complicated by higher rates of smoking in coffee drinkers.
• Cirrhosis of the liver: 1-2 cups of coffee per day protects against cirrhosis.
• Parkinson’s: higher coffee/caffeine intake is associated with a significantly lower incidence of Parkinson’s.
• Weight management: coffee consumption reduces weight gain and improves blood sugar control.
• Type 2 diabetes: increasing coffee consumption by 1.5 cups a day reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes.
• Metabolic syndrome: coffee consumption is negatively associated with metabolic syndrome.
• Periodontitis: coffee consumption is inversely associated with severe periodontitis.
• Inflammation: coffee consumption has beneficial effects on inflammation and HDL cholesterol.
• Oxidative damage: coffee consumption is associated with lower oxidative damage of DNA, in part by decreasing body iron storage.
• CVD and all-cause mortality: drinking coffee is a significant benefit, especially in women. Women who drank more than 3 cups per day had a 55% lower risk of death from CVD and 25% lower risk of death from all causes. Other studies found similar, though less dramatic results, ranging from 12-20%: http://1.usa.gov/1B1oNqS and http://1.usa.gov/1zJFT7D.
• Depression: depression decreases with increasing caffeine consumption.

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How to Make a Roasted Red Beet Salad

Red beets are right at the top my list of foods that everyone should aim to eat at least a few times a week. Per ounce, few other foods are as dense in nutrients that prevent cardiovascular disease, all types of cancer, and neurological damage associated with high homocysteine levels.

Red beets are especially rich in folate, which is why they are useful for lowering blood homocysteine and reducing risk of birth defects.

If you have a problem with constipation, red beets and their green tops are likely to provide significant relief. Both are rich in fiber that can help keep waste materials moving through your gastrointestinal tract at a healthy pace.

Red beets are abundant in potassium and magnesium, while beet greens are an excellent source of beta-carotene, iron, and calcium. All of these nutrients are essential to maintaining the health of your digestive tract lining and the smooth muscle fibers that create the waves of contractions within your colon to produce bowel movements.

Click this link for the recipe

We hope you enjoy!