Introducing Simon!

                                

Simon Peter Fjeldsted was born at home on Tuesday September 3, 2013 at 1:31 am. He weighed in at a whopping 8 lbs 8 oz (the midwives weighed him twice just to be sure!) and is 20 ½ inches long. He looks just like his sisters, but is definitely ALL boy. He is not quite two weeks old and so far has been a wonderful baby. He is a champ at nursing and very rarely cries and fusses unless he is hungry. We love it when he has his “awake” time and he stares at us with his big curious eyes. He particularly loves his mommas voice and will turn his head towards me if I’m talking. We were excited to see those first sleepy smiles and delighted to discover that he has TWO dimples like his Dad. His sisters adore him and currently their favorite thing is when he sits in his swing or chair and they do dance performances for him. Mostly this consists of Chloe singing him made up songs about how he is the prince and she and Mae are the princesses. She bosses Mae around telling her how to sing and dance, and Mae plays along stupendously well, of course. It took the girls a little while to warm up to the idea of kissing a boy (eww!) and of course, those poopy diapers (double eww!) but at the end of the day they sure love their little brother J  

Below is my detailed birth story and a little background on Simon's name

From my journal: September 15, 2013

I spent Labor Day weekend really hoping I would go into labor (no pun intended). Friday of that weekend I had some false labor and was bummed for a day or two afterwards. We tried to keep busy. Saturday we went to Hurricane for Peach days where the girls really enjoyed the parade and building their own bird houses. Sunday was a typical relaxing day and by then I was trying to mentally prepare myself that this baby could easily come a week past my “due date” so I had better change my attitude and accept whatever happened.

Monday, September 2^nd was Labor Day and we decided to go hike at one of our favorite places nearby called Red Cliffs. We had a great time and even found a baby toad to play with along the way. We invited my Aunt Sally and Uncle Bill over that evening to eat Pizza and play games. While we were in the middle of a game of Rook I noticed that I was having some low cramping and Braxton Hicks contractions. It was very similar to my previous “false” labor so I didn’t pay too much attention to it. We walked around the block a couple of times before Sally and Bill left then got the girls in bed and climbed in our own bed to watch our current favorite TV show on Netflix (Merlin). We weren’t quite thru the episode when I felt my water break! I looked at the clock and it was 9:40 pm. I quickly got out of bed and probably spent the first 10 or 15 minutes in a bit of a panicked daze. My water broke! I was going to have a baby!

The girls were asleep, but I didn’t want to worry about them since I was going to be giving birth at home. I called my Aunt Sally who quickly came and picked them up. Peter and I made sure everything was situated and ready for the homebirth. I had also texted my midwife, Laura, who told me to rest if I could (ha!) and let her know when my contractions became close together or when I felt like I needed her.  My contractions were mild for the first two hours of labor which I am so grateful for! It gave me time to think and get things together. Around 11:30 I decided to take a shower and at that point my contractions were getting pretty intense and were close together. After my shower I texted Laura to come. At this point I was pretty uncomfortable when a contraction hit, but in my mind I still had a while to go. I knew that there was a point for most women (transition) where the contractions seemed unbearable and I was kind of waiting for that time to come.

My midwife arrived and Peter was in the process of filling up the birth tub. I was undecided about whether I would do a water birth at this point. I just figured if I was in the water and wanted to stay there for the birth then I would stay. My midwife suggested I get in the tub since my contractions were strong and the warm water would bring relief. So, I changed and got in. The water was HOT (this was my fault, by the way. I told Peter to keep the water hot since it would eventually run out and turn cold. My bad!). It felt really good, initially just like a hot tub on sore muscles.

Within minutes of getting in the tub my labor changed, and I’ll be honest it freaked me out! I was feeling the weird sensation to push, but in my head it was not time for that yet. I hadn’t reached transition yet (or so I thought) and I preferred the contractions to this crazy sensation anyways. Well, this baby was coming out, and fast, whether I liked it or not. I really liked that the tub relaxed my muscles, but I didn’t feel “grounded” if that makes sense. While pushing during the contractions I didn’t feel like there was anywhere to plant my feet, but I didn’t have time to get out or change positions and Peter didn’t have time to get in and help me; not to mention I had his arm in an iron grip and wasn’t about to let go.

My midwife Laura with Simon

Assistant midwife Kristy with Simon

The assistant midwife, Kristy, was here by then and her and Peter were on either side of me outside of the tub trying to support my arms. Laura was pouring ice cubes in the tub trying to cool down the water, but it wasn’t working. I’ll admit I wasn’t as “graceful” during this last phase of labor as I hoped I would be. I may have screamed once (or twice). I kept saying things like “I’m so hot!” and “Laura can you get him out?” Laura reassured me that in a few pushes he would be out and she was right. She had me reach down and feel his head at one point and then with the next contraction he was out and Laura grabbed him and laid him on my chest. I was so relieved he was OUT of me, but mostly overtaken with a great joy and love for my baby boy the second I saw him.

My first thought was how much he looked like his sisters, but such a boy! He was born at 1:31 am Tuesday morning, just shy of 4 hours after my water broke. I really only had two hours of active labor. Peter and the midwives quickly got me out of the hot water and carried me and Simon to the bed where I finished delivering the placenta and the midwives checked out both Simon and I thoroughly.

I LOVED my homebirth experience. I loved that I got to hold and nurse my baby for about an hour before they cut his cord and weighed, measured, etc. I LOVED that I got to climb straight in my own bed and that throughout the next week my midwife came into my home to check me and the baby. I loved that Peter was by my side from the beginning, and afterwards he was my “nurse” getting me food, helping me to the bathroom, etc. I wouldn’t want it any other way. Also, there is nothing like a (good) midwife. Laura went above and beyond to answer questions and be there for me; before, during and now after my pregnancy. I healed so quickly this time around. My body bounced back much quicker than my births with Chloe and Mae. Simon has done exceptionally well in every area and is growing like a weed! (9 lbs 4 oz a little over a week old).  I realize that homebirth isn’t for everyone, but this time around it was the right choice for me and for our family. I am so grateful to the role models who’ve gone before me to do homebirth and for those who supported me in my decision to birth my baby at home.

Naming Simon:

From the time we knew this baby would be a boy I started researching names and decided boy names were HARD! I don’t know why it was so hard for us to get a list together, but it was. In general we prefer names that are traditional—easy to say, spell, etc. But we also like to be unique so that there are not multiple kids in their class/school with the same name. We still had differences of opinion in deciding on a name. I had a short list of names compiled, and Peter only felt so-so about pretty much all of them. Well, Peter is one proud Dad because he is the one who came up with the name Simon. I was moaning and groaning one night about how hard it was to find a good boy name, and pretty much out of the blue Peter suggested Simon. I initially did not like it, however Peter pointed out some things. First, we could call him “Si.” We both liked the name/nickname Si already, so this was a huge plus. Also, Peter and his two brothers (Paul and Thomas) have Bible names (obviously), as does his Father, John. So, it did seem fitting that Peter’s first son would have a Bible name as well, and be named after Peter.

Well, over time, Simon Peter grew on me. I told Peter I would add it to our “list” but I certainly wasn’t making any promises! As his due date came closer I had a feeling we would end up naming him Simon, but I wouldn’t commit until after he was born. Tuesday afternoon after we got some rest we went over our list of names and narrowed it down. For a while we were deciding between Simon and Oliver, but ultimately Simon was the winner! We think it fits him nicely, and right now instead of just calling him “Si” he gets called “my little Si guy”, or “little guy” J It is so fun to have a boy in the family. Welcome to the world Simon Peter! We love you! (Refer to the Bible: Luke 5: 1-11 for a little history of Simon’s name)