Thank you all for your lovely comments and well-wishes regarding my daughters birth and my story about midwifery in Germany. It has been interesting to read about the different situation abroad. In Britain midwifes are automatically allocated whereas in Canada and the United States it seems even more difficult to find a midwife than in Germany. There are parts of the world where an obstetrician is the only choice for women in childbirth.
Danke für die lieben Glückwünsche und interessanten Kommentare zur Geburt unserer Tochter und der Hebammen-Situation in Deutschland!
It is also interesting listening to women who went both ways - having some of their children in hospital under a doctors care and some of their children under midwife care or even at home.
They all tell what a huge difference it makes. I really hope that we can make a difference with our choice - by 'demanding' a midwife. Hopefully, they will become more common everywhere and will get better pay and acknowledgment!
With the help of my wonderful midwife Delia I've made three important discoveries lately:
1. Some babies want to be left in peace once in a while. Crying doesn't automatically mean 'pick me up and carry me'. It might be worth trying to put baby down, stroke her back, talk softly and let her drift into sleep. It works with us!
2. Some babies love to sleep on their tummy - against all advice regarding SIDS. On their back they feel stranded and nervous, even swaddling doesn't help. But turn them over and they suddenly sleep like babies (haha!). Guess what? I have one of them! I let her sleep on her tummy only when I'm close by, otherwise I turn her over once she is fast asleep (after she entered her second sleep cycle).
3. Carrying babies in a wrap or sling makes everyone happy and relaxed - it helps baby to feel secure and soothes all new-born difficulties like tummy aches and 'to much space after being so snug inside mummy'. And their mothers have got their hands free for other children, for eating and cooking and for blogging :-) Plus you babies head is always right in front of you for kisses and sniffing the sweet baby scent! We love it!
Since we've discovered these three 'secrets' we get 12 hours of sleep at night interrupted by three quick half-awake breast feeds. And we hardly experience any crying throughout the days - if baby is awake she is happily watching life out of her little kangaroo bag :-)
WELL, NOW TO THE KNITTING AND READING, right?!
I've been knitting a baby dress in very girly colours :-) It's almost finished and I love the feel and drape of the super soft cotton yarn. I've used needles one size up from the recommended size. Since my knitting tends to be tight and I like a softer drape this turned out exactly like I wished.
With cooler weather and the first autumn storms around this side of the world, our little girl is wearing her aviator hat everyday now and it is a perfect fit! I'm really happy with this pattern as it covers forehead and ears beautifully without slipping off or over her eyes. I will knit up a couple more of them once winter hits us.
Derzeit stricke ich ein Babykleid aus toller Baumwolle in Mädchenfarben und zeige euch auch mal, wie toll die Teufelsmütze sitzt - sie ist nun jeden Tag im Einsatz!
I'm still reading Jack Kornfields book on Buddhism and it gives me loads to think and to ponder - although I'm a bit short of time to really do some practice I admit. But several of the suggested exercises are actually do-able even with a small baby since it is not only sitting meditation.
Knitting is pretty good mediation too, don't you think?
Sorry for talking so much today - now quickly over to Ginny for the weekly Yarn Along!
Take care,
Lena
She is so beautiful and from what you are saying so good. The dress is delightful, I lve the colour combination. Have a good week.
AntwortenLöschensuch a sweetie. You are so right, growing up in Denmark I never realized there was such a thing as OBs, so I was rather surprised when that was the only thing offered to me when I was pregnant with my first here in Canada. With my other kids I called a MW as soon as I found out. In our area they are fairly easy to find but you still have to call early to get in.
AntwortenLöschenI'm glad you found out about the choice to call a midwife. But isn't it a bit crazy that more and more people don't seem to know about this choice? I hope it will become common knowledge again that birth and midwife belong together :-)
LöschenDie Mütze ist toll! Unsere Kleine schläft auch lieber auf dem Bauch...ich versuche mir da auch nicht viel aus den Erfahrungen anderer zu machen, ich möchte einfach das sie sich wohl fühlt. Und mit Ärmchen unter dem Bauch und Po in der Luft mag sie es einfach am Liebsten :)
AntwortenLöschenHi Fränzi, Ja, Po in die Höhe und Knie unterm Bauch, so schläft unsere auch - so goldig, gell? Ich lasse sie jetzt auch nachts einfach gebären und lege mich halt direkt neben sie, so dass ich sie immer im 'Blick' habe. Lieben Gruß von Lena
LöschenI so love that little aviator hat-i'm expecting a wee one in October, I might have to make a couple of these :) And the colours for your dress are lovely.
AntwortenLöschenI'm in Canada, and have had a midwife for all three of my previous births, and will for this one as well. I'm in a pretty populated area, so we have 4 midwifery practices in or near our city. But there's still a waiting list-if you don't get in before 8 weeks gestation your hopes of getting a midwife are pretty slim :/ And other areas of Canada there are very few or no midwives, which is discouraging.
I love having a midwife, I hear the birth stories of friends who have had obstetricians instead and they mostly seem very formal, full of unnecessary routine procedures and lacking in the intimacies that should be present for the birth of a new life.
Everything you wrote about the pros of birthing under midwife care is so true! I'm glad you found your midwife. Congratulations on your pregnancy and all the best!
LöschenMy baby was so happy on her tummy. It's the only way she would sleep. And 19 years later she still sleeps that way! The baby dress is so pretty - I love the colors you chose.
AntwortenLöschenHi Donna, that is so sweet - they are what the are :-)
LöschenBeautiful colors in that dress! Your baby looks so peaceful and cozy in that little hat :)
AntwortenLöschenLove the aviator hat.
AntwortenLöschenOh, your baby! So so sweet!
AntwortenLöschenEvery baby is different. My son and daughter couldn't have been more different. My son napped for hours at a time and slept through the night fairly quickly. My daughter, my second child, rarely napped and then for only 20 minutes at a time. She didn't sleep through the night until she was almost 2 years old. She also did not like to be cuddled. Unlike my son who loved being in your arms. She is just as independent at 23 years old as she was then. Sigh... it goes by so fast. Enjoy your baby and your knitting. Your dress is very pretty.
AntwortenLöschenThat is so true! It can be even harder to understand the needs of the second one since you go back to what worked with the first, don't you think? Well, they teach you eventually ;-) I had a lovely neighbor back in Sydney how used to say 'they are what they are and they stay that way even web they grow up' that is quite apparent in retrospect. It certainly holds true for my first daughter. But it is sometimes a bit of trial and error to find out what they like when they are 'brand new'. I love discovering all the differences and to explore each baby's individual personality!
LöschenI loved having my son is a baby carrier - I kept him there until he was one. We used to go shopping together like that.. And I cannot wait to do it again. That was the best part of my maternity leave. Glad it is all going well!
AntwortenLöschenIsn't it beautiful how much joy you can feel just by carrying your baby?!
LöschenWhat a beautiful baby.When I had my first I put baby to sleep on her stomach and she slept like a little log. Years later advice changed and we where told babies must sleep on their backs, that second chid never slept without waking throughout the night from day one . In fact she never slept a single night until she was five. I firmly believe she just didn't feel safe.
AntwortenLöschenEnjoy all that cuddling while you can, time flies by, my eldest is 26 and my youngest 20.
When I had my first daughter and told my mother about the advice to put babies on their back she said she had learned the opposite. 30 years ago all babies including me and my three siblings were put on their tummies. But apparently statistics show lower SIDS rates since babies are put on their backs... I think it really depends on various factors such as close supervision, not smoking, not putting blankets and cushions around baby's head etc. My first child was happy on her back, this one is happy on her tummy AND VERY UNhappy on her back, therefor I just let her be.
LöschenRegarding the flying time: I can feel it already. My big girl went out of the house this morning with her school bag and sooooo grown up, I thought 'she will be moving out tomorrow' ;-)
So precious!! I've had 2 babies in hospital here in Australia with midwives allocated by the hospital, and my third baby was born at home with a private midwife. After experiencing both, I would only choose Homebirth again (unless medically necessary to go to hospital). The situation in Australia for midwives and Homebirth is not good, but women are pushing hard at the government to ease up restrictions.
AntwortenLöschenI had my first child in Australia with 'shared care' - my family doctor and the midwives at the RHW in Sydney looked after me throughout pregnancy. I experienced a beautiful birth with two midwives - Alison and Sarah - allocated by the hospital. But I felt very much on my own afterwards - even with my doc and the family health centre round the corner. With my second child which was born in Germany I did shared care again but my midwife came to my house every day after the birth. That one-on-one care made such a difference! It is so good to have one person you know and who you trust looking after you! It gives you so much more privacy, security and intimacy I think.
AntwortenLöschenI would love to choose home birth for another child but my husband is scared and I believe you can only do it if everybody feels happy and safe. Good on you pushing for easing up restrictions on homebirths!
We didn't leave our little babies to cry by themselves, on the theory that they don't have object permanence until they are around six months old, but we didn't always pick them up. We'd talk to them or rub their backs. We also had our babies sleep on their stomachs. All but one of them preferred it from the beginning. They all had good head control, were nursed, we neither smoke, take illegal drugs, abuse prescription/OTC drugs, or are drunks, so we figured our risk factors were pretty low. All eight who were born alive are still alive and doing well.
AntwortenLöschen