Essential oils during Pregnancy and Labor

I have thought a lot about this post and about how I exactly want to write it. I still have no clear decision so I have just decided to sit down and write it :)

First off, let me say, this is not a sales pitch but rather a way to account MY experiences and possibly help someone else who might be interested.

I LOVED my experience using essential oils during pregnancy and labor and delivery. I am excited to continue using them. I fall in love with them the more and more that I use them!

PREGNANCY:
-Lavender literally saved me with contractions. I would take a lavender and Epsom salt bath when my contractions were super bad and it calmed them down 95% of the time. Life saver.

-LifeLong Vitality Supplements-I started taking these around 20 weeks (I wrote a post about it previously) I was recommended these by some midwives and I was hesitant at first. They also literally saved me. These lessened my contractions immensely (although didn't take them completely away) and they gave me more energy, I was happier, and I feel just an overall healthier feel.

-Deep Blue Rub- This helped a ton with my lower back pain. I also have a pinched nerve in my shoulder that comes and goes as it pleases and seems to flare up while pregnant. This was the ONLY product that has EVER touched the pain (other than Deric literally punching me in the shoulder)

-DigestZen- this helped a lot with my nausea and morning sickness which was prevalent in my first and third trimesters.

-Lemon-I loved this in my water and felt like it helped keep me "regular". I noticed a difference when I didn't take it for sure.

-Terrazymes-This were AWESOME for my heart burn

-Immortelle- amazing for stretch marks!

-Citrus Bliss- Loved to diffuse to help keep my calm and curb my raging hormones that were always up and down. I also put this in yogurt and used as a dip for apples and other fruit on a regular basis

-On Guard- If I felt like I was getting sick, I would pop a beadlet in my mouth and it would do wonders! I was VERY blessed this go around not to get sick (colds, flus, etc) I did not have to use this much, like twice :)

-Serenity- helped me sleep at night. I rubbed it on the bottom of my feet or diffused.

-Vevitier- Also used for sleep. It calmed me right down.

***** NOT ALL OILS ARE RECOMMENDED OR SUGGESTED FOR PREGNANCY. If you want more information, I can definitely get it to you. I used ALL of these personally and didn't have any problems. This is MY account and does not mean it's for everyone. Please use discretion and decide for yourself if you are expecting. Get all the information you can!*******

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*I have posted a link above that has some recommended oils NOT to use during pregnancy*

LABOR:
I was super nervous/excited to try and use oils to help assist us during delivery. I wanted a natural birth and I felt like this was the best option to have the experience I envisioned for us.

I regret that I only took a small keychain bag with a few samples and my bottle of deep blue rub with me to the hospital. In hind sight, I wish I would have used more of the options available to me. (diffusers, lotions, etc)

I used Serenity on the bottom of my feet to help calm me during those painful contractions
I put Breathe on my chest and was able to really focus on the smell and aroma to inhale during contractions.
I used Deep Blue Rub to help with my lower back pains and aches during the whole process
I used Citrus Bliss and Elevation to inhale as well. These are what I consider to be "happy oils" and really helped me be positive about the experience. (Don't get me wrong, I was THRILLED and EXCITED to have a baby, but lets me honest.. it's a painful process) *These were also Deric's favorites and he rubbed a drop or two in his hands and inhaled as well*

**This is particularly where I wish I would have had a diffuser on hand. I had all plans to take one but never got around to putting it in my purse (I didn't have my hospital bag yet). I was bummed I hadn't at least put it in my car to have on hand when I wanted/needed it. Especially since I do have a smaller/travel size diffuser that can run off of batteries and would have been perfect!**

POST LABOR:
I had a friend recommend using clary sage (which is often used to help progress labor) for the post delivery uterine contractions. I didn't have clary sage on hand but I used Clary Calm and LOVED it!! I, myself, have HORRIBLE after birth contractions and they have gotten worse with every pregnancy/child. This being my 8th pregnancy and my 4th delivery, they were massively painful. The Clary Calm really helped alleviate the pain. It was my lifesaver bottle for sure! I would rub in on my stomach every hr or so (more frequently if needed).

My milk had a hard time coming in. I wasn't even having colostrum come in after 48 hrs. I was worried about my baby and trying to nurse her so I used Fennel and Basil on my breasts and within hrs my colostrum was in! :) *Fennel should not be used for more than 10 days at a time* I still use a drop or two every 3 days or so right now because I don't feel like my milk is fully in yet. I can definitely tell an increase in flow when I use them.

We all love the post delivery bleeding right? (insert sarcastic face here) Well probably a little TMI but I have HEAVY bleeding after I deliver babies.. just my body I guess. Not pleasant but well those little rugrats are worth it. I have used Frankincense to help with my bleeding and I cannot even express how awesome it has been! Now, did I stop bleeding like the day after? Heavens no. Here I am 7 days post delivery and am still bleeding BUT it is manageable for me. Again with the TMI but let me explain a little. I have ALWAYS had to be completely down, in bed, don't leave the house, run to the bathroom every 20 min heavy bleeding after my babies. This is so not the case this time. WA FREAKIN HOO!

I left the hospital with elephantis feet still and high blood pressure. The dr told me it could take months for my feet and leg swelling to go down. MONTHS. Here we are heading into my favorite season of the year and I realize that all those adorable boots hidden in the back of my closet won't be able to make their debut this year if I don't get the swelling down. I have them propped up as much as possible (with 4 kids that's quite the challenge), tried icing them, drinking lots of fluids (isn't that like an oxymoron?) etc and here's where I found something that truly made a difference. Grapefruit. That's right.. a few drops in my water twice a day and guess what? Today I can ALMOST see my ankles again. :)

I seem to get a case of post partum blues almost every baby. Sometimes worse than others. I wouldn't say I got it particularly bad this go around but I was crrraaaannnnkkky! My hormones are going wild, I'm tired and sleep deprived and realistically struggling with managing 4 young children. Elevation and Wild Orange have been amazing for my mood management. Diffuse into the air, inhale a few drops and I'm good to go!

Now these next couple of items aren't dealing with me particularly but with my family. Our baby came at a time of year where germs are going crazy, colds and flus are spreading and runny noses are pouring. 3 days after I delivered (so on Sunday) my now middle children woke up with nasty coughs, fevers, green monsters and a yucky feeling that seemed to be just in the air. OF COURSE. I immediately gave them some on guard beadlets and started diffusing on guard and breathe into the air.   I used some peppermint for their fevers and rubbed their feet with lavender at night. By Monday afternoon, you wouldn't be able to tell that they were sick. It was great!

What also comes with a newborn? Sleepless nights and exhausted parents of course! Deric was having a rough time working crazy hours (he is covering for a few people this week) and keeping up with our family, trying to help me out, etc. He took a bottle of peppermint beadlets with him to work as well as a bottle of past tense and wow if you could personally see the difference! :) Is he still tired? Well sure he is, but not like he was without them! He could function and function quite well. :)

**I realize this is a crazy long post and probably not really beneficial to a lot of people. BUT in case there is someone who is wondering what my experiences were, I wanted to write them down. If you want more information on how essential oils can benefit your family (and obviously not just with pregnancy/labor/delivery/post etc) please let me know! I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to educate you!*

Peyton's birth story

This is going to be a long post, and probably a little TMI  but I really want to remember everything :)

Background: For 3 weeks I was dilated to a 4, almost a 5 and the dr didn't think I would make it another week. I heard that for 3 weeks straight. I went in on my regular appointment on Monday, Oct 27th and I had high blood pressure. The dr wanted to monitor me for a bit and I was told we were possibly having a baby. We didn't. My blood pressure went down and I'll be honest, I was super bummed. BUT I was told to come back Thursday (when I was 38 weeks). I wanted a natural delivery from the beginning. For multiple reasons: one, an epidural has never worked for me out here. two, I feel like I healed way faster after Ryker (who I had naturally) than my other two. Three, I honestly wanted to try out essential oils and see how they work. (how I used those and how they worked in another post)

Day of: So we had the Fall Festival for our ward (which I was in charge of) on Wednesday night and I had a million things to do. I hoped that we would have a baby on Thurs  but didn't want to get my hopes up. My apt on Thurs was a 1 p.m. and I had a lot of things to do that day including a Halloween party for Bryson and other errands and things to do. I was kinda stressed and running like crazy but such is life. I dropped the boys off at Steffanie's house and told them I would be back soon. Steff told me I wouldn't be back. She must've known :)

I went to my apt not thinking anything special BUT my blood pressure was high again. I had retained MORE water than Monday (like my legs looked like they were going to pop). Dr W asked where my kids were and when I told him a sitter he said, "Great, let's go have a baby". Basically my body had stopped progressing (he thinks it's cause we have stopped labor for so long that it missed the memo that it was ok to have a baby now). I was still at a 4 and hadn't changed once again other than my blood pressure was high and I looked like a sad case of elephantitis.

So I went out to get admitted and tried to call Deric only to find that after 20 minutes  I couldn't get ahold of him. I called Steffanie and my mother in law to arrange sitters for the boys and got admitted.

FINALLY got ahold of Deric who had left his phone in the truck while going in for a meeting with a customer (who does that when your wife is 38 weeks pregnant?) They hooked me up to Pitocin to get my body moving and we waited. And waited. I was surprised I hadn't seen the dr to break my water but we figured he was finishing clinics.

At 5 p.m. Dr Williams broke my water and I was STILL at a 4. He told the nurse that once I hit a 5 to call him asap because my history is that I go fast once I get to a 5. Well we waited and the contractions were definitely getting stronger. I will definitely agree that contractions on pit are WAY harder than regular ones.

At 6:30 the nurse came in to check me and I was at a 6 (shift change was at 6) I was super disappointed that I was only at a 6 after the amount of pain I had been in through the contractions. I used essential oils to help me through the pain of contractions and so far had done pretty stellar if I do say so myself :) The nurse left to get me some ice chips and forgot something and came back in. (literally gone maybe 2 minutes). When she came back in I had the sudden urge to  push and I told her that I needed to. She was great and asked if I wanted her to check me again. (she was probably thinking I was crazy because it was literally 4 min since she checked me the last time) but sure enough she checked and there was Peyton's head. She hollered at Deric to call the other nurses to call the dr and get him there NOW. I couldn't hold off the urge to push and so we started the process.

Luckily Dr. W made it just in time to help deliver Peyton. He teased that he only broke a few laws to get there in time. :) He probably made it within 4 minutes.  The cord was wrapped around her neck and I couldn't stop pushing so it was quite tricky there for a second so Deric didn't get to cut the cord. The nurse was still doing up his gown when Peyton came. She came fast and furious! Her shoulder was turned down so I tore pretty bad but she was worth it :) She also came so fast that she didn't scream right away. It freaked me out. I will say that there is absolutely nothing like birthing a baby naturally and I'm SO glad I did. Sure it hurt like heck, but it was also the most amazing feeling ever! haha they teased me because she basically shot out like a football. Dr Williams said he was very glad he was sitting down. She came out so fast.

Peyton Lin Winterton was born at 6:42 p.m. on October 30th, 2014 weighing 7 lbs 1 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long. We are absolutely in love!!

We did skin to skin with her right after she was born and I LOVED it. It's such an amazing experience to be a mom and I think I looked at things differently with planning on her being our last child. We held her for almost 2 hrs before they came and weighed her and such and it was a great experience with just Deric and myself and our new sweet baby girl, straight from heaven. I truly thank my Heavenly Father for sending her sweet spirit into our home. We are so blessed. It was a long road to get her here, and I'm glad that part of our life is over, but it was also so worth it.

I'm sure I will post more details and other items along the way but for now, enjoy some pictures of our sweet baby girl!