Isabella at 3 weeks old

It's been wonderful 3 weeks with Isabella. The first few days after her birth we took it really easy. We only had immediate family visit the day after and friends visit 5 days later. We wanted to make sure we had our baby moon-time to bond as a family. We kept the lights dim, noise to minimum, played lots of beautiful healing music and enjoyed our sweet little girl. I am so glad we did as those first few days are so precious and you will never get them back. Everyone else seemed to really understand and respect our wish to be left alone. After the first week, we were so much more rested and enjoyed having company. There were family and friends coming daily bearing gifts, and more gifts and meeting our little angel.

Isabella is still on every 3 hour feeding schedule and at this stage we are used to the routine. It was hard at first not to sleep through the night as its our first baby. Armando and I take turns to feed her so the other one can sleep and it works really well. There are nights where she sleeps 4-5hours straight and that is always a very nice treat. Armando took 2 weeks off from work so we could both take care of Isabella. We really got ourselves organized and learned a lot about her. We know that she likes to be swaddled most of the time, she loves sleeping with us and so do we, and she loves to be held and rocked to sleep after she eats. She is a good baby. She barley cries, and for most part is very content.

She is also very aware and alert when awake. There is a deep sense of knowing in her eyes. She can hold her gaze forever on us and is fascinated by lights. She follows with her eyes as we move and is able to lift her head and turn it from side to side. She smiles sometimes but at this point as everyone says its probably gas.

I have taken her to one of the yoga studios so she could meet some of my teacher friends. It was just amazing to be back in the yoga room where me and her did yoga for 9 months. It felt so good, so familiar so right. She gets a lot of attention as many students and teachers are already bonded with her. It's amazing to see that. I love that she is already a part of yoga community.

I love holding her, kissing her and cuddling with her. When I am away from her for a few hours I miss her. My husband and I had our first date since her birth this weekend and we went out to the movies. My mom and step dad were babysitting Izzie. I enjoyed our night out a lot but kept thinking of my little girl and was so happy to get back home and be with her. I also think of her as I practice yoga. This week I have been to 3 yoga classes and kept thinking of Izzie in my savasana :)

I am teaching my first class tonight. I am really looking forward to it. It's been great to get back to my yoga practice. I will write more about that in another post. I wanted to write about my diet and weight as many people have asked me if I thought raw food diet had a lot to do with healthy pregnancy and easy birth. I absolutely think so. Being able to keep my body clean and energized through raw food diet has definitely made my pregnancy and labour as easy as it was.
I also believe it had a lot to do with my fast recovery. I was able to move out and about few days later, got back to my yoga routine 2 weeks later and only had post-partum bleeding for 2.5 weeks.

Here is my weight in:

Pre-Pregnancy weight: 124 pounds
Pregnancy weight gain : 18 pounds (142 pounds)
3 weeks post partum weight: 127 pounds

My baby girl Isabella is here!!!

Born on Saturday, August 29th at 8:30pm at 40 weeks and 6 days. She was 7 pounds and 11 oz. not bad for being 6 days overdue! She is absolutely perfect and doing very well. I can't believe tomorrow she will be 2 weeks old. Every time I look at her I feel so much love and all I want to do is kiss and hold her. The past two weeks went super fast. It's been all about getting to know her, getting a new routine going and loving every minute of being a new mommy. I feel blessed, I feel happy, I feel fulfilled. Even though the adjustment to having a newborn is not a small task, making sure they are comfortable at all times, not getting all the sleep you were used to, taking so much longer to leave the house, etc. etc. it is all absolutely worth it. Before I say any more I'd like to share my birth story. So here it goes:

I ended up having a dream home birth. It was absolutely perfect. It was just like I imagined it to be down to almost every detail. I wanted a short, easy, gentle 6 hour labour and I wanted my baby to be born between 6-9pm. I did end up labouring for 6 hours, felt no pain (only fantastic pressure waves and amazing energy flowing through me) and my baby was born at 8:30pm.

My labour started with my water breaking at home. An hour later at 2:30pm I was in early labour for 45min and then went straight into active labour. It was a perfect, sunny and warm Saturday afternoon. Armando was at work and when he got home we had enough time to set things up before my contractions went to being every 5min apart. When that happened I immediately went within and started to focus on what my body was doing and my breath. I sat on my birthing ball, did some yoga poses and took a shower. All while listening to my hypnobirthing CDs. I was calm yet so happy and joyful! Finally it was happening.

My secondary midwife Diane arrived (Lucia was off for the weekend) and checked me. I was 4cm so we started filling the pool. At this point I got a little sick and Diane told me women who throw up tend to progress faster. She was right, my surges intensified so I got into the pool. It was heaven. The water felt so soothing and inviting. I relaxed and went more within. We run out of hot water so Armando had to boil water and bring it up in a pot. He later told me he was running up and down the stairs bringing a total of 10 pots of hot water.I had no idea at that time. I was so focused nothing else was really getting registered in my brain. I later realized how time ceased to exist. Maybe it was one of my hypnosis suggestions that every 20 min will seem like 5?

Soon after I started to feel different energy in my body. My body wanted to start pushing.I was surprised as it seemed to be going so fast. I was only labouring for not even 3 hours. As Diane checked me I was fully dilated and started to focus on bearing down.Wendy another midwife was called and as she arrived I was out of the pool and on a birthing stool pushing. I never met Wendy yet I connected with her immediately on a soul level. She was calm, peaceful and radiated love and kindness. Both Diane and Wendy sat on the floor and Armando was right behind me. He was absolutely amazing. He knew exactly what to say in every moment and how to support me. He used all of the hypnobirthing language telling me to go within, connect with my baby, connect with my inner wisdom, inner strength and power. He kept telling me I was doing wonderful, working together with my body and my baby and that we were going to meet our baby soon. It was the best part of my labour.He also made sure I was really relaxing in between surges. If he saw me tense my shoulders he would gently remind me to relax them and gently massage them. One thing which was funny was Diane telling me "Dominique get angry! Push the baby out!" So not in line with hypnobirthing language but fortunately I was able to ignore it. Next time I have to remember to tell my midwives to use hypnobirthing language.

I changed positions a lot at this point as the baby did not want to descend down. I went back into the pool but that just relaxed me too much. I actually did not desire water energy at this point. I needed stronger, more supportive Earth energy to bear down. So we used the stool and my bed. I also got on all fours but made most progress on the birthing stool.I pushed for 2 hours and that is when Diane told me we would have to soon think of the alternative. When she said that I suddenly snapped out of my meditative state. I told her if she meant going to the hospital there was no way I would do it. "I am not having this baby in the hospital! I am having her at home!" I exclaimed and that is when things started to change. My surges became longer and stronger and I loved it. I kept riding the waves and felt the baby descend down. She was past my pubic bone well into the birth canal ready to crown.

This is when I went from the birthing stool in one room to my bedroom. It was so hard to walk but I did. I semi sat on the bed with Armando behind me supporting me from behind.

Soon after a few amazingly strong surges the baby started to crown and I touched her head. It felt so soft and I was so happy! She was almost here! Diane told me to gently push here and I did. She later told me I had amazing control but that's only because I was listening to her directions, which at this point were great. After the head was born the body just slipped out and Isabella was born. I reached and grabbed her and with the midwives' help we placed her on my chest where she stayed for a long while. We welcomed her whispering softly how much we loved her and how great she did. Her body was so soft and she looked so beautiful. She let out a cry without any help and we looked at each other...instantly falling in love. I was ecstatic and felt pure bliss and love as Armando and I embraced our new little girl. At last the three of us together on one side :)

Moments after Izzie's birth. Feeling blissful and estatic. Natural birth is the best!

Fully alert and aware to welcome my baby-another benefit of drug free birth.

Bonding with our baby girl shortly after her birth in our own bed :)

Isabella is a calm and peaceful baby.

Prenatal Yoga at 9 months

It's the final month were most of us feel so ready to hold the baby and be done with being pregnant. Yet the baby has its own schedule and there is not much we can do to control the outcome (if we are taking the natural route.) Yoga is still a wonderful tool we can use in the final month even though the practice may be entirely different by now. You may find that the word "modification" has a whole new meaning, you may discover that your range of motion is more limited and your speed is that of a turtle. But turtles are beautiful animals and we can learn so much from their grounded, calm and laid back approach to life. Now I never owned a turtle in my entire life but I feel a new found compassion for these creatures. I have regressed a little so let's go back to yoga. Modify your practice. It is so easy now to get tired and very hot half way through your session so make sure you drink lots of water and stay with your breath. Always go to a resting pose if you need to such as child's pose or any seating pose or even lay down on your side.
Listen to your body and practice "ahimsa" or non-violence towards yourself and your baby. Be realistic where you are in your practice.
You may find that your forward folds and twists are not as deep as when non pregnant. Any forward folds you do will directly impact the baby and you don't want to compress them. So give yourself more room whether you are in down dog or standing forward fold. Give your belly space and keep your spine nice and elongated. This is also a great time to use all the props available: blocks, straps, pillows, blankets and bolsters. If you are doing your own practice at home start with centering and gentle warm ups such as cat and cow, lunges, and arm stretches.
Then do a few prenatal sun salutations and standing poses. Then come down to the floor and go through some seated poses for the hips like bound angle, wide angle and open rotations for digestion such as head beyond the knee and simple seated twist pose. Always finish with 10-15min Savasana. You want to be well supported so you are not laying directly on your back. A nice option is to lay on your left side with a blanket in between the knees and a pillow under the head. Enjoy your yoga practice as it may be the last one with the baby in the belly practicing with you :)

I will upload a short prenatal yoga video as soon as I get myself organized with the camera, cables and all that stuff. Meantime I wish you and your baby a peaceful, gentle and joyful yoga practice.

Day 8 on the Raw Food Cleanse at 38 weeks/2days pregnant

I almost feel guilty for feeling this good! Again as always my 7 day Raw Food Cleanse has turned into another 7 days. It feels way too good to eat all raw to stop now. For anyone wondering if there is a difference between eating 85% raw and 100% raw there is a big one. Firstly, there are no cravings at all for cooked, sugary or junk foods. Your system is so clean that you end up craving only raw foods. Your energy is even higher and you feel even happier and better on all levels. So why stop now? My goal is to go into labour with no junk food clogging my system as it will just slow my body down and perhaps change the birthing experience. I want to go into labour with clean and energized body and mind.

Few days ago I met my mom for lunch at the Apricot Tree Cafe in Mississauga. Its one of those places that make everything from scratch and use organic ingredients. We both ordered their signature salad. It had crisp garden greens topped with dried apricots, blue cheese, shredded carrots and toasted almonds in a citrus Apricot tree dressing. It was so deliscious especially the citrus/dill dressing, which they were selling and we both ended up taking some home. I have been making similar salads at home varying the ingredients because that's what makes it more fun. I just love raspberries and apples as it makes it taste fresh and summery. It was good to see my mom and catch up. She is very encouraging especially about natural childbirth. She had me and my brother without any drugs.

This made me think about labour pain. In my hypnobirthing studies the pain is referred to as pressure waves or surges. Whatever you want to call it and no matter how much you prepare yourself mentally you still wonder...what kind of sensations are there? How can you classify the pain? Is it similar to period cramps (dull and achy?) or is it more piercing and sharp like a toothache?

I find it helpful to remember that childbirth pain is like no other pain. It serves a purpose-it is not there to injure you but to bring the baby out. For instance, toothache or a nerve pain is unproductive as it doesn't bring you anything at the end. So the more you embrace the sensations in labour, the more you stay aware, the more you breath through them and focus on them the easier it gets. We all know about fear-tension-pain cycle and that is what we want to avoid.

I find it interesting how everyone classifies childbirth pain differently. When I did my research asking around, reading different forums, etc. there is as many opinions as there is women. Nobody's experience is exactly the same but there are some common threads in all. From what I gather perception and mindset plays a big role. So do other factors such as how much you prepared for labour and birth during pregnancy, what kind of support system you have, where are you going to birth and what your intentions are.

Lately I go to these websites if I have any questions or if I want to read up on birth stories:

http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/childbirth
http://www.waterbirth.org/

Find it helpful and fun! I hope you do too :)

And finally here are my stats:

Week 1-8: 124 pounds
Week 8-12: 124 pounds
Week 12-16: 125 pounds
Week 16-20: 127 pounds
Week 21: 127 pounds
Week 22: 127 pounds
Week 23: 130 pounds
Week 24-25: 130 pounds
Week 26-28: 132 pounds
Week 29-30: 135 pounds
Week 31: 137 pounds
Week 32: 138 pounds
Week 33-34: 139pounds
Week 35: 140 pounds
Week 36:143 pounds
Week 37:144 pounds (started to feel a bit too heavy here)
Week 38: 142 pounds (back to this after 7 day Raw Food Cleanse and feeling great)

Total: 18 pounds gained

~*Day 6 on the Raw Food Cleanse and 38 weeks pregnant~*

I feel amazing on the Raw Food cleanse and again I can't believe I didn't go on it earlier. I feel so energized, happy, light, and in touch with my emotions and my body. It gives me so much confidence and makes me feel so empowered. I am in touch with every single emotion I feel and every single thought that I have. I can hear my intuition-that inner voice so much lauder and clearer. Today I had: smoothie, fruit cup at Ikea and another smoothie, huge green salad, hummus with veggies, fruit bowl, tons of water and a cup of green tea. I also taught a Restorative Yoga class and it was great. It's my favourite class to teach right now as it doesn't require much energy and is very meditative. I am so grateful for being able to still teach yoga at 38 weeks pregnant. I just feel great! Having said that on Friday my girlfriend Roseanne and I went to see a movie "The Ugly Truth" and we ended up getting small popcorn and water. I thought that was the healthiest option and I did not end up feeling yucky after. The movie by the way was hillarious and we both laughed so much throughout the enitre time.

Being on the raw food cleanse made me feel much better than the week before. I find it amazing as my belly is not as heavy, braxton hicks not as intense, pressure in the pelvis not as crazy, and the little back pain I had is gone. I felt a bit of loosening in my SI joint, hip joints and pubic bone but not to the extend of being in agony. Just enough to notice it. I keep reminding myself that all these sensations are there for a reason-getting ready for the big day! And having a clear mind I can focus on the positive so much easier.

So today I celebrate being 38 weeks and honoring my baby and my body as they know when to go into labour. All I have to do is get out of the way and be patient. It's a piece of cake :) I'm just kidding actually. It's quite challenging to observe the emotions, which can be all over the place, and not react to them. I try to remember to see positive in every situation and love that Roseanne is a constant reminder of living according to that truth.

I am so lucky that my husband, my friends and my family are all so very supportive of me. My husband rubs my belly and talks to our baby girl. He tells her to come out so he can play with her! So sweet. My parents are kind and especially my mom is so excited and can't wait to baby sit, bless her. My friends tell me that if my water breaks while I teach or something all I have to tell them is to breathe and they will get me to where I need to be (in this case my house). It's good to know people are there for you no matter what. We are all excited and all waiting for this new little being to come and join us here on this side :)

This is a picture of me trying to stay positive and smile through the waiting game. It won't be long from now!

7 day Raw Food Cleanse at 37 weeks pregnant

Ohhhh feels so good to be going on the raw food cleanse. My body has been strongly requesting a cleanse and I feel its a perfect time to do it. I have been about 85% raw for months now and I want to increase it and get rid of non raw items in my diet. This means things like popcorn, rice chips, and any other "healthy" junk food that I have been snacking on. There are tons of wonderful fruits and veggies in season now and the farmer's market is a great place to be. I have done some shopping and have gotten: cherries, watermelon, blueberries, lettuce, sprouts, tomatoes, cucumber, red peppers, carrots, bananas, etc. I also got "ready to eat" and raw: tomato salsa, guacamole, hummus, and mango salsa. So yummy and perfect for the hot weather. There is this store in Burlington called Sabores Latinos that does organic, raw foods as well as healthy raw food alternatives like quesadillas (made with gluten free flower) and hot tamales. Great place if you want to eat well and have no time to make food at home.

I am drinking tons of water with lemon, tons of smoothies with almond milk, and snacking on nuts. Today is Day 2 and I already feel so much better. I am looking for more energy as at this point the belly is quite heavy. I want to cleanse my system so I can be in top shape for birth and delivery.

I met my friend Nathalie for lunch and we had lovely thai papaya salad, mango salad, and raw spring rolls. Nat organized our lunch at her house so there we were, two pregnant ladies eating deliscious raw food dishes and drinking iced water. Not to mantion talking pregnancy, yoga (Nat is also a yoga teacher) and of course babies. We did some shopping at the Kushies getting lovely baby things such as crib sheets and receiving blankets all super cute and cuddly. It's great to get excited about things like blankets now. I never thought they would bring so much joy!

36 weeks pregnant

In two days I will be 37 weeks pregnant, which means I am considered full term and the baby can come at any time now. Every day I wake up I think "ok I am still pregnant and still teaching" lol. Being active feels good and I am enjoying all of my classes even though I am verbally instructing most of the class. I had my midwife appointment the other day and had my Group B strap test done and we discussed managed vs. natural 3rd stage. Gave me a lot to think about. 3rd stage of labour is when you deliver placenta and you can either do it naturally or get an injection of an oxytocin to help the uterus contract, expel placenta and control bleeding. It seems a bit weird to get drugs after a drug free, natural birth. Also it seems a bit of a shame to use it for every woman regardless of whether she bleeds heavily or not. I think its good to have on standby if you have risk factors like long labour, previous managed 3rd stage, twins, etc. There are some side effects to it too (headaches, dizziness, vomiting) not much fun when you are trying to bond and enjoy your new baby. I decided to give my body a chance first and wait for 1 hour max to deliver placenta naturally and then reassess the situation before I go for the oxy shot. I feel good about this decision.

Sleep wise I have been doing good, getting good sleep for the most part. Using a pillow in between the legs feels really good as it also supports the belly. I do have to wake up to pee 2 or 3 times a night but I am able to fall asleep right away. I do get nights where I toss and turn and can't seem to get comfortable but then usually I listen to a hypnosis session and it helps me to relax.

Diet wise for the entire week I have been eating a little more cooked/junk foods than I'd have liked. I have had cravings for french fries and ate some at least on 3 occasions. I can't even think about fries! I also had some rice chips and rice crispy squares- junk foods that are good for nothing. So fell out of a wagon for a little and definitely can notice a change in my mood/energy level. I think I may go on a raw food cleanse to get these things out of my system.

My stats so far:

Week 29-30: 135 pounds
Week 31: 137 pounds
Week 32: 138 pounds
Week 33-34: 139pounds
Week 35: 140 pounds
Week 36:141 pounds

Total weight gain: 18 pounds

Physically I have been feeling good, my body has adapted well to the baby's weight and I have been really listening to what my body needs. There are times when the baby starts moving around my pelvis. Her head presses on my bladder and now also on my cervix and pubic bones, which feels like she is going to pierce her way through-lots of pressure and intensity, which makes me stop and breath through it or at least slow down if I am walking. Again the birthing ball helps so much with this as it draws all the pressure down and out. The braxton hicks have been so intense that last week I thought I was going into labour lol. My naturopath suggested I take homeopathic remedy Caulophyllum to help me tone the uterus for labour and birth as well as to manage braxton hicks. I had to wait to my 36th week to take it and as soon as I did I felt like million bucks. Instead of getting practice contractions all over my uterus the remedy localized it more so now I feel it in one spot at a time, they are less intense so that I can actually go about my day without having to stop and breathe through them. Good practice I know but not very convenient when you are trying to enjoy your meal in the restaurant or trying to get your shopping done. This remedy is also used right in labour to make the contractions more efficient (I can see how) so I had to make sure its not going to make me go into labour! Carissa my naturopath and two other homeopaths I see gave me a green light explaining that the remedy can not override the body and when my body is ready then its ready, the remedy itself won't bring on the labour.

I also got an acupuncture treatment as a way to prepare my body and uterus for labour and birth. I loved it as its super relaxing, helps the energy to flow better, calms the nervous system, etc. It takes about 25min so when I was just laying there I decided to use self hypnosis to relax even more. Half way through the doc came in to check on me and he thought I was sleeping! He told me after how peaceful I looked and that he didn't want to disturb me. I really love how peaceful and relaxed hypnosis is and how you can use it at other times if you need extra comfort. I can't wait to use it at my birthing time.