My Birth Story

by Marlena Torres on May 17, 2012

Today I am finally sharing my birth story with you! Writing it was a bit tiring, but I’m glad I did so. It is really important to me to share this with you so you can see that natural childbirth, while painful, isn’t scary, and is actually very empowering when you make sure that you do things the way that makes sense to you based on all that you know.

On March 22nd around 10:45 I woke up. My primordial labor had started. I woke with a start and felt contractions that were more intense than the Braxton Hicks I had grown used to throughout pregnancy. Since March 23rd was my earliest given due date I suspected that labor was approaching sooner rather than later. I was thrilled. I COULD NOT WAIT to meet Alessandra.

The night of March 23rd and March 24th the contractions continued, steadily growing more intense. Throughout the night of the 23rd, I woke up every 10-45 minutes with contractions (although I got a window of 1.5 hours of a sleep a couple of times) that were intense. I had to kneel on our bed and hold onto the headboard and breath through them. My understanding was that it wasn’t considered active labor until you are having minute long contractions every five minutes, and this is when you are supposed to go to the hospital/birthing center. A phone call to the birth center on March 24th in the morning affirmed this (however, once I actually went to the birthing center I was told that not all labors go that way).

Finally, I called the birth center asking if I could come in to be examined. I was exhausted. My sleep throughout my pregnancy wasn’t great and waking up with contractions throughout the previous two nights was awful! I was getting scared that I wouldn’t be able to have the baby at the birthing center without some type of medical intervention because I was already finding the contractions to be incredibly painful, and I wasn’t sure I would have the energy to push a baby out with so little sleep!

I had my reservations about having Alessandra about the birthing center. I was a c-section baby and I had a big fear that this would be my lot as well. Surgery scared me much, much more than the pain of childbirth. So, in the end, I chose the less scary option. I just have heard too many stories of unnecessary medical interventions with hospital births.

I had spotting starting the 15th week of my pregnancy which was why I was put on a modified bed rest for a month. The reason for the spotting was a subchorionic hemmorage. This means that part of the placenta was not attached to the wall of my uterus, and a blood clot formed. The blood was just leaving the body which was obviously cause for concern. This sort of situation can occur from lifting heavy objects, but most often it is just something that happens by chance. It’s totally fine (you just have to take it easy for a while), and actually happens to about 30% of pregnant women! Of course, I was horrified and felt a bit depressed while it was all happening, but very relieved when everything ended up working out perfectly. Just to be safe, however, I got an ultra sound (from a very resistant OB-GYN) at 38 weeks. I explained to him that it was my first pregnancy and if there was something that looked like it could be a cause for complication I wanted to know about it and just go to the hospital for my birth rather than be transferred from the birth center. Fortunately, everything looked perfect. She was laying low and ready to go!

Now, back to my birth. I arrived at the birth center and was told I was 6 centimeters dilated! This meant I was staying at the birth center and having the baby that night! I was thrilled, and so impressed with myself. At that point I was still laughing, talking, and smiling between contractions. The midwife told me I had already done most of the work. This was a HUGE boost in confidence for me, because I was so scared and tired, and not to mention incredibly eager to meet Alessandra!

38 Weeks - SUPER Preggers!

I continued to dilate to 9 and half centimeters and then it took FOREVER to get that last half a centimeter to be fully dilated. This was thanks to Alessandra’s hand being in a fist next to her head. My genius midwife figured out the issue and had to help me along to become fully dialated (I’ll spare you the details! It wasn’t comfortable, but um, neither is labor…hence the term LABOR).

I had to push for over two hours! That fist really complicated things. This was the most frustrating part. Once we passed the two hour mark, the midwife told me that as part of the birth center’s policy, they had to offer me transport to the hospital, if I wanted it. I felt devastated because I knew that probably meant a forceps birth. I asked the midwife if she thought the hospital was necessary and she said, “Honestly, you’re so close. You’ll end up having the baby on the way there, I think.”

So I stayed at the birth center, and minutes later, Alessandra was born!

Alessandra about 5 hours after she was born

So many women have told me that once you see the baby, you forget all about the pain of labor. This was not the case for me (although I feel like at this point it’s difficult for me to remember just how painful it was), but when I first saw Alessandra, my mind kind of blanked out! I had never felt so much love for something that was so unfamiliar to me. Apparently I was yelling, “Oh my god, my baby, oh my god!”, but I have no memory of this! The point is, it was such an intense moment that I don’t remember what I said, but I was still hurting. It was definitely a difficult and very emotional experience. How can it not be?

A blurry 1st picture of Alessandra being held by her Papa

I still feel this way about Alessandra: like I don’t know her that well, but I have never felt so intensely about anybody or anything before! The past seven and half weeks have been the most demanding and exhausting days of my life, but also the most energizing. While I have never really been much of a baby crazed person (I went through a phase where I didn’t even want any children), and holding other people’s babies usually makes me more nervous than happy, there is definitely something very different about holding your own baby! I know you’re probably thinking, “Thanks for stating the obvious!”, but really, something major has shifted in me. Even when I’m exhausted and my back hurts from holding her and carrying her everywhere throughout her fussiest days, there’s really nothing I’d rather be doing than holding her and taking care of her.

My realization that Alessandra, at least for now, is reliant upon me for everything, is really what pulls at my heart the most. It’s times when she’s crying in someone else’s arms and then she stops when I take her, or when she knows she is going to eat and she smiles a little, that just makes my heart burst. It’s not because I want her to need me (even though she obviously does at this point in her life), but because her needs are so simple, so basic, and when her needs are met, she feels loved, and she feels safe. Isn’t that what we all want? I guess it’s been a big wake up call for me to see that what we’re all searching for is something that I can make available to her right now just by being a present mom.

Now, Enrrico and I are not sure we’re going to get pregnant again. But, if we do, here is what I would do differently:

1. I would make sure I have the funds for a home birth or change insurance so that my insurance covers it (luckily, the birth center took our insurance, otherwise we would have had to have a hospital birth). The midwife along with a nurse friend both told me that if I had given birth in a hospital it would have ended up being a C-section or a forceps delivery because of her fist being up against her head. I am beyond grateful that I had the midwife I would have personally selected. She was more than amazing. But you get whoever is on call when you go to labor when you go through the birth center. I’m not sure I would have felt as comfortable with a less experienced midwife, or a midwife that I hadn’t seen more than a couple times with my prenatal appointments.

With a home birth I would interview a midwife and pick one that I know has plenty of experience and who I feel comfortable with. Again, I feel so lucky with how things worked out for us.

2. I wouldn’t have stopped exercising.  I really missed it.

3. I would have made naps a priority over all other things – even work. I never realized how little sleep you get with a newborn. I didn’t sleep for more than 15 minute stretches for at least 3 days after Alessandra was born – add that to two days of primordial labor and the poor sleep that comes with it! I’m definitely still trying to make up for all of the lost sleep. It’s slowly getting better.

4. I would have read less about labor, and more about AFTER the baby comes. Labor was so purely physical. I think that there was only one thing I read about in a natural childbirth book that came to use during labor (this was making deeper, moaning noises during contractions rather than screaming at a higher pitch). Everything else just happened on it’s own, and no book could prepare me for that. I remember telling the midwife, “I’m so tired, I can’t do this, give me drugs! I can’t do it.” And she replied, “Oh no, you can do it, you’re already doing it. You’re body is doing it whether you’re tired or not. It’s decided.” She was right. At one point I was falling asleep between contractions, but labor never stopped.

On the other hand, I’m still trying to figure out how to get Alessandra to sleep longer than thirty minutes outside of our arms. I have to brag though, she is currently sleeping in her bassinet alongside me for the longest time yet (it’s been about 25 minutes)!

5. I wouldn’t worry so much about how I looked or my weight gain. I gained much more than I wanted to, but have already lost more than half of it, and I’m feeling really good. While I was pregnant I went through a few phases where I avoided fruits and starches because a few midwives told me that I should. They claimed that sugars and starches make you gain a lot of weight and that they make really big babies. The times where I avoided these foods I felt hungry more often and a little bit of nausea. My body preferred potatoes, avocados, crackers and steamed veggies (and so much fruit), for whatever reason, and I regret not listening to my body as much for those very short periods of time. Eating things because you “should” is just silly.

6. I would have prepared for the distance I’d feel from Enrrico after the birth. I’m not sure why I didn’t expect this, but the first week or two I felt so distanced from him. I think it was mostly due to lack of sleep and constantly nursing Alessandra, but even after those first two weeks (and currently), things have been difficult. I can easily see how relationships fall apart after babies if the couple doesn’t work at it. It can be difficult to carve out time for just the two of you when there is a baby who constantly needs your attention(who loves to fuss around dinner and cuddle time!), has mom and dad sleeping in separate rooms, and when so many people want to see and be around the baby as well! I’ve realized that now I have my little family unit, and it needs to be nurtured and protected fiercely! If I let my relationship with Enrrico go to shit, that’s irresponsible of me as a wife AND as a mom. Alessandra needs happy, loving, rested parents. We’re super happy and loving (hah), but we’re still working on the rest! ;)

Overall, I would say that this has been the most empowering experience of my life. I feel so proud of myself and of Enrrico for all he did to support me throughout all of it (especially labor which is tougher on fathers than I realized!). I had so many people that I love and respect tell me that I shouldn’t do a lot of things that I did while pregnant and with my birth, and it all went beautifully. It wasn’t perfect, and it wasn’t exactly what I expected, but I have a beautiful healthy daughter, I’m steadily getting my body and life back, and although I know that things will never be exactly the same as they were before I held Alessandra in my arms, that is perfectly fine by me.

Lots of Love from our family to yours!

Marlena

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My Pregnancy: What I Ate

by Marlena Torres on May 9, 2012

Hey healthy friends!
It’s my intention to share my birth story with you in the coming weeks. I originally was going to post that today, but since so many of you were interested in my diet during pregnancy that I wanted to share that first. My pregnancy diet differed so much from how I eat normally. Below I have listed the main ways it changed:
I ate fruit almost daily
I ate grains very often (especially in the first trimester)
I ate more dense foods more often
I had some strange cravings
I totally lost my appetite for chocolate, and even goat cheese at certain points!
I ate throughout the day instead of just having meals.

My craving for fruits and grains started very early on in my pregnancy. I would have a vegetable juice whenever I felt like I wanted it. Some days this was 7am and other days it was around noon! What I ate after that always changed. It totally depended on what I was in the mood for. Most days it was fruit. Early on I loved fresh figs so much I would make extra trips to Miller’s (a 30 minute drive) just to get some if we were out. The most frequent fruit indulgence for me throughout my pregnancy was citrus fruits, especially grapefruits, and also apples (all different kinds). Now I am totally over fruit and don’t want it at all!

After my fruit I would often have a creamy strawberry soup-esque concoction, some days I would want something a bit heavier such as kale chips, brad’s raw chips, a seaweed salad, or a green salad with carrot juice pulp dressed with lemon juice, soy sauce and a drizzle of sesame oil.

Dinners were the same as they always have been for me except that they weren’t always perfectly combined and they usually included some grain.

The first trimester provided my most dramatic dietary shift because things that I used to love like greens, raw carrots with dijon mustard, and chocolate all became completely unappealing to me! If I ate raw carrots, I would actually feel a bit nauseous, and then would only be able to stomach buttered pasta. I was happy that I only experienced 3 days of what we call “morning sickness”, although I just had nausea. I never actually vomited. I never felt sick unless I ate something that I really wasn’t desiring (raw veggies!) For a while I was eating gazpacho and sweet potatoes because they were the only vegetables that I could stomach, while other nights the only thing that would do was quinoa pasta with organic butter, or sprouted grain toast with butter and honey or agave.

After week 9 I got back into salads and was thrilled! I was becoming more and more thirsty by the day because of the lack of hydrating foods in my diet at that point (or at least, the reduction of hydrating foods). The amount of fruit that I was eating helped reduce my thirst but not enough. I still enjoyed heavier foods like lentils, quinoa, and sprouted grain toast regularly even though I was loving salad again.

The thing that I loved most about how I ate during my pregnancy is how incredibly indulgent my diet was while remaining so high quality. I ate much more than I did pre-pregnancy, but the quality of my meals was top notch. I was able to satisfy all of my desires and every craving with top notch organic, plant based food. Everything I ate nourished me on all levels and also nourished a growing baby.

Weirdest cravings:
If you know me, you know I have a sweet tooth. Well, my sweet tooth went away during pregnancy (for the most part) and I found myself craving salty things! Some of my favorite meals from the past that I found myself craving were chinese take out and pizza! I easily satisfied these cravings. I would make veggie stir fry using soy sauce and maple syrup for the take-out cravings, and for my pizza cravings I would have my favorite steamed veggies with goat cheese (nothing new there!). Almost every day I sprinkled herbamare on top of an opened avocado and just ate it with a spoon. This was something I never did pre-pregnancy.

Supplementation:
Since the idea of eating greens during my first trimester made my stomach turn, I started taking pre-natal vitamins right away. The only vitamins I ever buy are the Innate brand because they are made from raw materials. I wanted to make sure that I was getting enough folic acid into my body and the drastic decrease in greens that I was consuming concerned me.

In addition to the prenatal vitamins, at 23 weeks I started to take floradix daily because my iron became low. This is very normal at this point in pregnancy because your blood volume doubles. Floradix is a liquid herbal supplement that will not screw with your stomach the way other iron supplements do (including the Innate iron supplements, which I purchased but stopped taking after two days).

I used sesame oil because my platelets were also a tad low. I simply drizzled about 1-2 teaspoons of sesame oil over my salads. A midwife at the birth center told me about using sesame oil for low platelets, and I was really excited about this because I had been craving sesame oil for weeks (this was probably my weirdest pregnancy craving)! It’s funny how in tune our body is with our needs, especially when pregnant.

It’s also important to take note that eating healthy, raw fats when pregnant is really critical for baby’s brain development. So indulging in things like avocados, seeds and their butters, and cold pressed oils is important!

Towards the last few weeks of pregnancy I drank a lot of raspberry leaf tea as I was told that this would strengthen my uterus for labor, along with taking evening primrose capsules to help soften my cervix to help labor progress smoothly. You should talk with your doctor, midwife, or doula if you are pregnant and wanting to drink this tea or want to know more about evening primrose oil and how many milligrams of it you should be taking.

I was not nearly as active when pregnant as I was before I was pregnant, unfortunately. A situation that had us concerned between weeks 15-17 had me on a modified bed rest for most of October (this means only move around minimally: no sex, no exercise, no housework, and no cooking big meals or lifting heavy objects). My activity consisted of stretching, walking, and very early on (prior to week 15), riding my bike. After the bed rest period was over I had grown considerably more round and was at the point where I was starting to feel a bit physically awkward. My sleep also wasn’t wonderful throughout the entire pregnancy so whenever I had free time during the day I used it to try to nap, not exercise.

It’s so important that we eat well when we’re carrying a baby inside of us, however, I really encourage those of you who are contemplating having a baby in the near future to take about 6-12 months to really focus on a very hydrating, high-raw and whole food diet before you try to conceive. This will ensure that your cells are as healthy as possible, and your body will be a healthy, clean foundation to grow new life. It will also ensure a more comfortable and enjoyable pregnancy. I cannot imagine going through nine months of pregnancy and childbirth feeling the way I felt prior to learning about cleansing and digestive health. I’m not sure I would have been brave enough to take the plunge and have a baby in the first place!

The greatest thing about my pregnancy diet was that I was able to indulge in the most delicious foods without feeling like I was hurting my baby. Although I ate so differently than the 3 years leading up to my pregnancy, my diet was still almost exclusively organic, whole, and (always) delicious! At about three weeks post-partum, I’m back to my previous way of eating and almost back to my previous way of exercising (I’m back on my trampoline now and walk outside with Alessandra almost daily, I also do yoga during her alert and active time while she lays on a blanket next to my mat, cooing and making all sorts of cute faces! I love it! It’s so much fun!).

My friend Rebekah aka Bex of Bexlife.com always says that having four kids means it’s impossible for her to NOT be active. I always had a hard time believing her, but since I’ve recuperated from childbirth I have been MORE active than I have ever been in the past four years! AND it’s never been more fun and light hearted (but my muscles are still sore, and I still break a sweat!).  Alessandra often likes to be carried and bounced around, so I put my iPod on dance around with her. She LOVES it! She also likes to sit in her swing (for short intervals of time) and watch me bounce on my trampoline. She usually smiles and laughs at me as I bounce.

I’m not jogging, or back to bike riding yet. Long walks alone are also a part of my past (for now, at least). I could do these things on the weekends when Enrrico is home from work, but I prefer to spend as much time with him and the baby on the weekends so we can have time to bond. The three of us just hanging out are the most special memories I have from this experience so far.

If you’re a mother, please comment below with your pregnancy cravings and healthy options you may have come up with. If you’re not a mother, what are your biggest concerns about pregnancy and diet? 

I also want to note that I never posted an end date for the stevia giveaway. I haven’t really given it much thought, but I’ll be sure to post the end date on my Facebook page and via twitter sometime this week. Until then, keep sharing your stevia and healthy dessert ideas by commenting below my blog posts, on my Facebook page, and via twitter! The more you enter, the better your chances of winning!

Lots of Love,

Marlena

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Raspberry – Lemon Tea and Orange Infused Chocolate Truffles

May 3, 2012

TweetMy last post featured the Lemon and Orange Stevia giveaway (click here to enter by commenting below the post!), and the amazing folks at NuNaturals sent us samples of lemon, orange, and vanilla stevia as a thank you for hosting the giveaway. If you like my facebook page, then you may already know I’m totally impressed [...]

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Giveaway Monday!

April 16, 2012

TweetHey, Hey! It’s a Giveaway Monday! BUT – first and foremost, I must thank you all SO much for all of the love for Alessandra both on this website and facebook! It was great to see how excited and happy you are for us, and I’m thrilled that many of you are interested in hearing [...]

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Alessandra’s Arrival

April 11, 2012

TweetHey everyone! I’ve really missed writing these past two weeks! I love to write, so when I stop, it’s for good reason. In this case, my two week absence has been for a very good reason: I’ve been preoccupied with this little love muffin: I’ve kept a bit of a secret from internet land since [...]

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I Can’t Keep This To Myself Anymore!!! A Vinete Recipe (Romanian Eggplant Salad)

March 21, 2012

TweetHappy Spring! Today I’m sharing a recipe with you that I intended on saving for a special project I’m planning on completing by mid-summer, but I’ve been loving it so much that I really couldn’t wait that long to share it with you. So here it is. If we chat on twitter, you’ve probably already [...]

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7 Budget Friendly Healthy Eating Tips

March 14, 2012

TweetHealthy eating can definitely rack up a higher grocery bill than mainstream eating. It’s not just that vegetables cost more, but that creating organic treats, raw foods treats, and growing organic produce requires more effort and energy than mainstream foods, and this results in higher costs. I really do believe that you get what you [...]

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Get Inspired! 3 Steps to Making Meal Time More Memorable

March 7, 2012

TweetHappy Wednesday everyone! This weekend I was thinking back to an old post: Confessions From My Kitchen, and I was thinking about how much I love good food but don’t necessarily love preparing it. When you eat a lot of raw veggies a lot of washing, peeling, and chopping takes place on a day to [...]

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Raw Mango Soup, and Cheeseburgers

February 29, 2012

TweetThose of you who chat with me on facebook  know that I have a recipe for this vibrant looking raw soup coming your way today: …but first things first. The Raw Done Right teleclass from last week was great! I’m having so much fun doing these free classes with you. Once again, I had lots of [...]

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The Controversial Topic of Colon Hydrotherapy

February 22, 2012

TweetHey Healthy Friends! As you can see, today I’ve written a post on a very glamorous topic: colon hydrotherapy! My experience both as a person who has been doing regular colonics for nearly four years and as a colon hydrotherapist for 3 years, along with all of the misconceptions about colon hydrotherapy and internal hygiene [...]

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