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Tag: baby

  • This Sock May Have Saved My Babies Life

    For the people who know that we use an “Owlet Sock Monitor” on our daughter: read this story. For those who don’t know we use it: read this story. For those who have no clue what an Owlet is, but possibly know anyone who’s having a baby or thinking about someday having a baby: read this story.

    To put this briefly, baby girl’s sock monitor may have saved her life last night.

    The Owlet is a pulse-ox monitor that is worn as a sock when she’s sleeping. It will alert when it’s not placed right on her foot and cannot get a good reading. It will alert when there’s poor connection because of internet, or what have you. And it also does a SCARY alert when an oxygen or heart rate level drops too low.

    We initially wanted this item just for a peace of mind— nothing was wrong with her health. It was expensive, so we hesitated (and I get the vibe that any new or expecting mommas that ask me about it feel this same way). I thought, “Is this thing really worth it?” UMMMMM HARD YES. It alarmed us with that scary noise at about 3am last night. My husband got to her first and basically ripped her out of that crib because we were both terrified. She had rolled over in her sleep and was on her belly, face down. But she is OK.

    However, the further we looked into the graphs that the app shows of her breathing pattern through the night, it had gradually started dropping from about 215am on. And at the same time, she was in a deep sleep. So she had no clue she needed to turn her face. Was this a progression into SIDS? We don’t know. But what I do know is I’m thankful for that Owlet so I didn’t have to find out the answer to that! Owlet

    Credit https://www.facebook.com/nikki.king.10

     

  • My Daughter Was Lucky-Parent Awareness Post

    Had a small scare this afternoon with Ms. Molly. What happened was new to me, but apparently not totally uncommon, so I figured I’d share with my fellow parents out there.

    I was with the family over lunch and Molly was cranky and screaming–nothing out of the ordinary. As worked up as she was getting, she started to overheat, which prompted Jess to remove her socks and cool her down. That’s when we saw her toe. This is called a hair tourniquet, which is literally a strand of hair that, while inside a sock, unexplainably wraps around a toe so tight that it can cut through the skin and potentially cut off blood circulation.

    Luckily for Molly, she has a mother with medical emergency superpowers who was able to remove the hair with tweezers and a magnifying glass within a few minutes. This picture was taken about 45 minutes after the hair was removed. Unfortunately, the hair managed to cut all the way through Molly’s skin, completely around her toe, but it could have been worse had it gone much longer untreated, or if the hair wasn’t accessible.

    The doctor told me, for future reference, to always check the toes if the baby is inconsolable. Just an FYI to any parents or care takers out there.

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hair_tourniquet

    Credit https://www.facebook.com/NotTheGovernor

     

  • Don’t Let Me Cry Mom

    Don’t let me cry mom. My lungs won’t grow, I won’t be stronger, I won’t be wiser.

    Don’t let me cry mom. Don’t listen to these comments, your kisses will not hurt me, your chest will not make me depend, I don’t do it to bother you.

    Don’t let me cry mom. I can only trust you, I only know your voice, your smell, I only think of you since I came out of your belly.

    Don’t let me cry mom. Don’t teach me to comfort myself, I don’t need it, because I know I can always count on you. Don’t listen to them. You don’t spoil me when you take care of my crying. I don’t ask you for comfort at night to bother you, I’m looking for you because I need you, because I don’t understand this world we live in, because I just learned to love.

    Don’t teach me to cry, to suffer, to be alone.

    I’ll learn it, I promise. One day I will really cry and my crying will not be for you to take me in your arms or for you to give me the breast, one day my crying will be grown up and you won’t be able to comfort it. That day, I want to remember simpler days. Days when my parents used to kiss me and only with that, I stopped crying. These days don’t come back and if i never had one, I won’t have anything to remember. Don’t let me cry mom.

     

  • You Have To Abort One Baby

    Yup. I’m going here.

    10 weeks. That’s how far along I was when I found out I was having twins.

    11 weeks is when I was guaranteed I wouldn’t be having twins. “Baby B is not going to make it and your putting Baby A in serious jeopardy the longer you wait to terminate.” They must have thought I was crazy. I didn’t cry. I didn’t even hardly react other than to very adamantly stick with my gut. Appointment after appointment…doctor after doctor….boy did they put the pressure on. Almost as if they would receive some sort of commission. None of that mattered. I was pregnant with 2 LIVING babies. I sure as hell wasnt going to just cut the chord bc it sounded like a good idea.

    Now don’t get me wrong. It was pure torture. I was basically waiting for my baby to die. No one knew. People just knew that I was pregnant with twins but talking about it was hell. When someone would bring up what my future was going to look like, it was all I could do to not crumble bc what they didn’t know was that one and maybe even both of my babies were going to die. After all, the drs assured me this. More than once.

    But then. Day by day…week by week we made it to THIRTY FOUR weeks. And the scariest day of my life arrived.

    I delivered two of the most beautiful, perfect babies I’ve ever laid my eyes on. Baby A tipping the scales at 4lbs 15oz and Baby B – the baby who “will never ever make it”…the baby in utero with 0% chance of survival – defeated all odds and proved a strength I wouldn’t believe if I didn’t see with my own eyes, blessed this world at 2lbs 9oz and not only never needed a ventilator, but ONLY needed oxygen and a feeding tube.

    Baby A spent 16 days in the NICU and Baby B spent 29.

    And here we are. Almost 2.5 years later.

    To think of how different my life could have been had I listened to any single one of those doctors.

    To think the day I delivered them I could have STILL made a different choice?! I can’t understand. And I don’t want to.

    #forevermybestdecision #twinsforthewin #whathappenedtohumanity

    Credit https://www.facebook.com/kaidensmommy1107

     

  • Cute Gender Neutral Names

    With so many parents choosing to raise their children as gender neutral we have compiled a list of some of our favourite baby names which are perfect for all genders.

    Avery
    Bailey
    Cameron
    Devon 
    Erin
    Francis
    Gwen
    Harley 
    Indy
    Jesse
    Kelly
    Logan
    Morgan
    Nelly
    Owen
    Perry
    Quinn
    Reese 
    Sydney
    Taylor
    Umer
    Val
    Wesley
    Xavier
    Yara
    Zion

    What are your favourite gender neutral names?
    Let us know in the comments.

  • Stop You Don’t Need To Purple Push Your Baby Out

    🚫STOP! YOU DON’T NEED TO PURPLE PUSH TO GET YOUR BABY OUT🚫

    What if I told you you don’t even need to push?🤫 Did you know your body is capable of pushing your baby out all on its own without extreme effort and/or hours of pushing? Ever heard a mommy say “I just couldn’t stop pushing and suddenly my baby was out!”. It’s called The Fetal Ejection Reflex!❤️

    This is true for all humans as well as other mammals. So why are women told to purple push?🤨 Purple pushing is what we have accepted as normal in a medicalized world. Imagine a woman laying on her back while everyone in the room is telling her to hold her breath, put her chin to her chest, grab her legs and push for 10 second counts. All while at least 2-3 people are yelling “push push push push”.

    That’s what we call purple pushing and/or directed pushing. It is not the most effective, comfortable or natural way to give birth. The fetal ejection reflex happens for women when they are fully safe, supported, and allowed to birth in peace. This can be rare to be seen or experienced in a birth filled with interventions, inductions and medication. What is the normal process for the fetal ejection reflex?🤔 How can you increase your chances of experiencing FER(fetal ejection reflex)?🤔 What are the benefits of FER?🤔

    📌It is very common for a mother to experience labor to begin at night and progress rather easily in her home when it is dark and less people are around with less stimulation. Mommy feels it’s time to go to the hospital, she gets there, is surrounded by bright lights, loud sounds, a new environment with strangers which all raise her adrenaline levels and suddenly her labor slows down or will stop completely. This is a normal response to over stimulation and “flight or fight”. The neocortex of the mothers brain has been stimulated further preventing the mother from accessing her parasympathetic nervous system necessary for the primal state of giving birth. This is when hospitals start intervening the birthing process.

    📌Often times, once mother is reaching the FER on her own, her labor will naturally slow or stop. This is the spot where hospital, again is wondering why labor is “stalling”, further introducing interventions like more pitocin or breaking your bag of waters. When in reality your body is resting up and building adrenaline to finish birthing the baby, and giving you an extreme amount of adrenaline and oxytocin to have you wide eyed and bushy tailed when your baby is born. It is not harmful to you or your baby to wait for your body to start laboring again. THIS IS NORMAL!

    📌FER causes large amounts of adrenaline which in turn makes mommy seem uncontrollable. She might start to say things like “I can’t do this”, or “I’m gonna die”. This is a natural response to FER beginning. Hospital staff at this point works hard to try to get mommy under control or tell her she needs an epidural or narcotics to “calm down”. THIS RESPONSE FROM MOMMY IS NORMAL AND SHOULD BE MET WITH NOTHING BUT KIND WORDS AND ENCOURAGEMENT TO KEEP LABORING!

    📌We are taught in a hospital setting that once we reach 10cm, it’s time to purple push. This can lead to hours upon hours of heavy duty pushing that can be ineffective, cause more vaginal tearing, cause stress to mother and baby and lead to a cesarean if mommy doesn’t push her baby out in a timely fashion and/or use of forceps for delivery. This is when we start to hear “your pelvis is too small”, or “baby is stuck”, or “baby is too big to come down”. Baby will come out on it’s own with patience and the understanding of how a woman’s body is meant to give birth!

    📌During FER mommy experiences each contraction allowing her body to move baby down on its own until finally a large amount of Oxytocin is released and baby is ejected with only 3-4 strong contractions/pushes. Mommy will guide her own baby out with just listening to her body and using none to minimal effort. This reduces stress, vaginal tearing, and allows the delicate dance of perfectly balanced hormones to begin. Perfectly bonding and guiding mother and baby. It’s truly a magical sight and experience 😍

    💜THINGS YOU CAN DO TO INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF FER💜

    ➖Meet anyone and everyone who could be delivering your baby

    ➖Get acquainted with the facility you will be giving birth in

    ➖Don’t allow everyone in your family to your birth. The less amount of people watching you birth, the better.

    ➖Make your birth intimate by lighting candles(if in a hospital you can use flameless candles). Bring essential oils and/or oil diffuser. Dim the lights in the room as much as possible. Ask everyone to use soft voices and only talk in between contractions. Lots of massages by your partner. Slow music to help you relax. Familiar items from your home, like pillows, blankets and a few favorite items of yours.

    ➖ONLY AGREE TO INTERVENTIONS IF THEY ARE ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY

    ➖Make it known that you do not want directed pushing/purple pushing

    ➖With the epidural, FER can be hard to come by but it’s still achievable with a well placed epidural and if you wait till you have the deep overwhelming urge to push.

    ‼️I AM NOT A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL AND AM NOT ADVISING YOU OF ANYTHING. PLEASE SPEAK TO YOUR PROVIDER‼️

    PhotoCred: Monet Nicole – Birthing Stories

    -Reposted from Badassmotherbirther

     

  • Ghost Baby In Bed With My Son

    So last night I was positive there was a ghost baby in the bed with my son. I was so freaked out, I barely slept. I even tried creeping in there with a flashlight while my son was sleeping. Well, this morning I go to investigate a bit further. It turns out my husband just forgot to put the mattress protector on when he changed the sheets 😂😂 I could kill him.

    Credit https://www.facebook.com/maritza.elizabeth.73

  • Stop Giving Your Baby Rantidine

    ATTENTION ❌❌❌

    What an absolute joke of a morning! All parents that are giving there babies RANITIDINE please stop! Me and my sister Becki Lauren Smith have had a nightmare of a morning with this.

    Basically all chemists are still giving this product out still with the uncertainty of having the drug NDMA which links to cancer.. after a few phone calls to the chemist and one to ROSEMONT! And After a irate phone call with rosemont (the company which provides this product) they basically said they are testing the batch that is still being released for the NDMA drug and this could take months.. I asked the question

    “So while your testing this product, why have you not recalled from all the chemist? And what if it comes back positive?! My niece has been having this medication!”

    There response was “it’s up to you if you want to stop the medication but we are not recalling it’’ I told them ‘’ if this product comes back positive I will be suing the company’’

    Her response ‘’that’s fine’’

    which I think is very unprofessional! All these babies being left vulnerable! To now being told ALL RANITIDINE HAS NOW BEING RECALLED as of the past half an hour!

    Me and Becki finally got to the bottom of this and our work is now done!

    P.s if your child has been given this, in the past few weeks then go to doctors and they can prescribe omeprazole depending the babies weight

    PLEASE SHARE SHARE SHARE!!!!!!!

    Credit https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008501924586

  • Premature Babies Were Put In Entertainment Sideshow

    Thousands of premature infants were saved from certain death by being part of a Coney Island entertainment sideshow.

    At the time premature babies were considered genetically inferior, and were simply left to fend for themselves and ultimately die.

    Dr Martin Couney offered desperate parents a pioneering solution that was as expensive as it was experimental – and came up with a very unusual way of covering the costs.

    It was Coney Island in the early 1900’s. Beyond the Four-Legged Woman, the sword swallowers, and “Lionel the Lion-Faced Man,” was an entirely different exhibit: rows of tiny, premature human babies living in glass incubators.

    The brainchild of this exhibit was Dr. Martin Couney, an enigmatic figure in the history of medicine. Couney created and ran incubator-baby exhibits on the island from 1903 to the early 1940s.

    Behind the gaudy facade, premature babies were fighting for their lives, attended by a team of medical professionals.To see them, punters paid 25 cents.The public funding paid for the expensive care, which cost about $15 a day in 1903 (the equivalent of $405 today) per incubator.

    Couney was in the lifesaving business, and he took it seriously. The exhibit was immaculate. When new children arrived, dropped off by panicked parents who knew Couney could help them where hospitals could not, they were immediately bathed, rubbed with alcohol and swaddled tight, then “placed in an incubator kept at 96 or so degrees, depending on the patient. Every two hours, those who could suckle were carried upstairs on a tiny elevator and fed by breast by wet nurses who lived in the building. The rest [were fed by] a funneled spoon. The smallest baby Couney handled is reported to have weighed a pound and a half.

    His nurses all wore starched white uniforms and the facility was always spotlessly clean.

    An early advocate of breast feeding, if he caught his wet nurses smoking or drinking they were sacked on the spot. He even employed a cook to make healthy meals for them.

    The incubators themselves were a medical miracle, 40 years ahead of what was being developed in America at that time.

    Each incubator was made of steel and glass and stood on legs, about 5ft tall. A water boiler on the outside supplied hot water to a pipe running underneath a bed of mesh, upon which the baby slept.

    Race, economic class, and social status were never factors in his decision to treat and Couney never charged the parents for the babies care.The names were always kept anonymous, and in later years the doctor would stage reunions of his “graduates.

    According to historian Jeffrey Baker, Couney’s exhibits “offered a standard of technological care not matched in any hospital of the time.”

    Throughout his decades of saving babies, Couney understood there were better options. He tried to sell, or even donate, his incubators to hospitals, but they didn’t want them. He even offered all his incubators to the city of New York in 1940, but was turned down.

    In a career spanning nearly half a century he claimed to have saved nearly 6,500 babies with a success rate of 85 per cent, according to the Coney Island History

    In 1943, Cornell New York Hospital opened the city’s first dedicated premature infant station. As more hospitals began to adopt incubators and his techniques, Couney closed the show at Coney Island. He said his work was done.

    Today, one in 10 babies born in the United States is premature, but their chance of survival is vastly improved—thanks to Couney and the carnival babies.

     

  • Stop Saying At Least It Was Only Early

    Please stop saying “at least it was only early”

    Please stop saying “it wasn’t the right time”

    Please stop saying “you can always try again”

    Please stop saying “everything happens for a reason”

    Please stop saying “at least you weren’t THAT pregnant”

    Please stop saying “you are so young you can just try again”

    Words hurt.

    Whether you lost your baby at 6 weeks.

    Whether you lost your baby at 12 weeks.

    Whether you lost your baby at 16 weeks.

    Whether you lost your baby at 20+ weeks.

    Your pregnancy loss matters.

    Your grief matters.

    Your tears matter.

    You matter.

     

    📸 Photo Credit: Emily Newman Artist