Dream: Unassisted Footling Breech Homebirth by Surrogate

Sleep deprivation can do some very strange things. Including give you a homebirth.

WHAT?!

Yep. Sleep deprivation gave me a homebirth the other morning. With the biggest twist EVA!

I'd been up late the night before, as in all night. I caught about 2 hours of sleep after getting the kids off to school with Hubby and woke up from the most vivid, realistic dream I think I've ever had.

So what did this dream involve?

An unassisted homebirth (no midwife or doctor).
In someone else's home, not mine.
Oh, and baby was a footling breech.
And did I mention that I was a surrogate for my long-time friend, Ashley?

Let me walk you through the weirdness that is my subconscious:

Dream: Unassisted Footling Breech Homebirth by Surrogate

New Beginnings

When I started this blog, I was looking for an outlet. I'd always been a writer and, more importantly, a voracious reader. One of the best ways I process information is by writing my thoughts out. So it is only natural that after many years of neglecting this side of myself that I really NEEDED to return to writing. Not professional writing, but cathartic writing. THAT is what I loved doing in the past. Writing to work out and analyze literature, but also writing to work out my own thoughts on my life.

Monkey's pregnancy and birth really took an emotional toll on me, opening my eyes up to a new world that I was not aware of before in many different aspects of my life. I had never fathomed attempting an unmedicated birth, breastfeeding for longer than 6 months, babywearing, delayed vaccinations, cloth diapering, etc. NONE of these things were even on my radar. So the entire experience not only opened my eyes, it changed my entire frame of reference, giving me a new perspective on life in general.

10 Parenting Principles I Wish I'd Known: Episode One

Each of us can look back on our lives and wish we had known something "back then" that we know now. I had read a quote not to long ago that was along the lines of "Better to get the information before the decision instead of getting the information after the decision and regretting the choice that was made."

That got me thinking. I'd already posted before about my perspective on my parenting past. I have no regrets, only experience. But what if I had made different decisions because I had access to different information? What do I wish I had known "back then" that I know to be true in my heart now?

No Regrets, Only Experience

Yesterday, I was finally using a gift certificate to a salon from my birthday and started making small talk with a stranger. She asked why it had taken me so long to use the gift certificate and I explained that it had been a very busy year since Monkey was born and that I had just not made the time to schedule an appointment.

As many conversations go when children are mentioned, we started talking about my children and that while the stranger did not have any children yet, she shared some details about her nephew. She mentioned how difficult it was sometimes for her sister to have a night out because she was nursing her young baby, which led to me mentioning the monthly Breastfeeding Cafe that I attend and how much it has helped me to have the support and education that it offers.

Monkey's Birth: The Beginning of My Crunchy Journey

My Monkey's actual birthday is tomorrow, but my labor actually started on January 3, 2011. So here is my birth story, explaining what I went through last year on this date and the journey that got me there, culminating with Monkey's birth. Prepare yourself. It is LONG.