the pech twin homebirth story: one by sea, one by land. one vertex, one breech

the pech twin homebirth story:
one by sea, one by land
one vertex, one breech

oh boys! pandemic babies

before i tell my twin homebirth story, i must preface you with some general insights about twin pregnancies & births. more often than not, twin pregnancies are highly encouraged to be induced several weeks early and most likely require nicu time because the babies are premature. i was warned by every nurse, obgyn and maternal fetal specialist that typically twin births are risky and most times better off just scheduling a c-section. because, why would you push baby A out and risk having to end up getting your breech baby B out via c-section after all that hard work pushing, creating more trauma and a harder recovery? i would also like to clarify that babies who are breech, are absolutely a form of normal! there is so much focus on how complicated breech babies are when really there is a lack of training, experience and confidence in OBGYNs. there is a lot of fear mongering and a push for convenience versus a ‘you can do this’ and ‘take all the time you need’ attitude in hospital settings. with anything, complications can and do arise. there is always going to be risk involved no matter who you are or how many babies you’re having. i’m aware that many women choose to schedule an induction and/or c-section and more power to you! that is why i love informed consent. you have the power to weigh the risks and facts and make choices about your body and your experience to get them safely out 💪🏼💪🏼

although i was and am considered ‘advanced maternal age’ because i’m over 35, i was overall a healthy candidate for a homebirth, which i greatly desired. i didn’t have high blood pressure, i didn’t get gestational diabetes, my glucose levels were fine and i ate protein like there was no tomorrow (a popular diet for twin pregnancy is the ‘brewers diet’) i felt completely confident in my body and it’s ability to naturally do what it was designed to do. i was informed and made all medical choices on my own. some things i flat out refused and other things i advocated like hell for. i had a backup plan if things went south, but more importantly i had entrusted an incredible team of people that were supportive and that i was confident in their abilities, skills, experience and decision making. ok, whew. are you ready for the story now?

on a summer night during a true full moon (and a pandemic 😅), just 2 days shy of my official due date at 39.5 weeks, thunder rolled and lightning clapped while rainfall pitter-pattered on the roof and down the windows.

i awoke suddenly at 4am sharp with a very strong and powerful surge (contraction), another followed and another and i knew it was go time, the twins were coming!

i achingly crawled down out of the bed (i was dealing with major SPD or ‘symphysis pubis dysfunction’ which hurts like hell. i literally was unable to walk the last few days of my pregnancy and had to use a walker!😆) and knelt on all fours rocking and swaying to get through each surge, visualizing and mentally encouraging myself with the mantras i’d been utilizing from birth bubble. using my contraction app to track my progress, i fumbled to enter the stats and hit the timer accurately. the surges were intense and rapid, going quickly from 6 min apart to 3min. i gave luke the go-ahead to alert my midwife at 4:30am and she arrived around 5am. (little did i know that she had just laid her head down on her pillow to rest after getting home from attending to another homebirth. bless you amber!) in the meantime luke started filling the birthing tub with scalding hot water. in the haste of the excitement he forgot to put the liner in and had to finagle putting it in with water already filling up. at this point i was just trying to get through the back-to-back contractions. jude had woken up (from our bed) and was so attentive and encouraging, patting his little hand on me and telling me it was ‘okay’ mom. we had discussed this scenario with him several times in preparation and that mommy would probably be making loud noises and that it was OKAY and totally NORMAL to behave this way when the babies were ready to come out. we had watched several videos of peaceful homebirths with him. he showed no signs of distress, only genuine curiosity and mild concern for his laboring mama.

i suddenly felt the urge to vomit so luke quickly grabbed a wastebasket for me. a brief moment of panic flooded through me, as i had vomited multiple times while laboring with jude in NYC which ultimately led me to be admitted to the hospital for an IV, which then snowballed into several (unnecessary) ‘interventions’ that i was not thrilled with and didn’t have the wherewithal to advocate strongly against at the time.

i did not want that to be the case this go-around. luckily my labor progressed so rapidly that there wasn’t time for that to be an issue. thankfully, i didn’t need to vomit again for the duration of my labor.

at some point, the rest of my incredible midwife team had quietly arrived. i was surrounded by a calm quiet energy in a cozy environment. soft dimmed lights. no cold sterile hospital equipment glaring or me having to (gasp) wear a mask while laboring (um yeah, hell to the no on that!)

just me and luke and jude and the midwives around me.

by 5:30am my water had not broken yet and with contractions back to back, someone suggested getting into the birthing tub and i could not have been more elated at the thought! i needed assistance and a step stool due to my SPD. for those that don’t know (i sure didn’t!) symphysis pubis dysfunction (SPD), or pelvic girdle pain (PGP), happens when the ligaments that normally keep your pelvic bone aligned during pregnancy become too relaxed and stretchy soon before birth (as delivery nears, things are supposed to start loosening up). this, in turn, can make the pelvic joint — aka the symphysis pubis — unstable, causing some pretty strange sensations, including pelvic pain. the most common symptoms are difficulty when walking and wrenching pain (as though your pelvis is tearing apart). 😣😖😫

the day before i gave birth with my sexy walker 😅 grinning through extreme discomfort with my SPD!

i felt instant comfort and relief slipping into that perfectly warm water enveloping my whole body. i laid slightly sideways on my left backside after trying a few (painful) positions because of my pelvis issue. i closed my eyes and surrendered to each wave of my body contracting. jude was quite insistent to get into the ‘swimming pool’ too! i said sure whatever makes him comfortable and happy 😅 he quickly got his swim trunks on with luke’s help and hopped into the birthing tub with me. he was very sweet and curious, just standing next to me. he eventually got out (which is a really funny story for another time)

we knew that baby A was head down for the whole duration of my pregnancy and i could feel that he had started making his way out, still en caul (inside an intact amniotic sac) we have it on video thanks to one of the midwives (which i’ll probably never share because boy was i a noisy birther! i guess i could dub it with music) before his head slipped all the way through, the sac tore open and the rest of him just burst right out at 6:35am. i wasn’t able to catch him myself because of the SPD, so Amber handed him right to me and they covered him with a warm wet receiving blanket. he seemed so tiny and fragile and...slippery 😄 i held him up briefly to double check that he was in fact a boy lol i held him close in the water and we left his umbilical cord as i wanted delayed cutting (some people are confused, as was i, of the order of how things come out. so typically baby A comes, then baby B, then both placentas follow. not baby A, placenta, then baby B, placenta. does that make sense? placentas come out at the end! 🤷🏻‍♀️), but i started contracting again almost immediately and i could barely hold him so we cut his cord and i quickly but carefully passed him off to luke while i got into position again for baby B!

baby A, born vertex in the water

one down guys, one to go 😅 are you still with me?

at this point, jude was by Luke’s side, standing and watching next to the birthing tub, curiously admiring his new baby...

before i knew it, the surges were back-to-back again and we knew that baby B was on his way out, breech! he had flipped to vertex halfway through my pregnancy, so  both babies were head down at one point, but he eventually flipped back to breech and decided to stay there! cozy. comfy. upside down 🙃 again, my midwives were comfortable and experienced in delivering breech babies so i was confident in the outcome. they have studied and been trained by dr. ‘stu’ as they call him or dr. stuart fischbein an expert OBGYN in educating safe ways to deliver breech babies, VBAC, vaginal twin births and normalizing breech deliveries. he is highly sought after in the LA area! his story is really awesome if you ever look him up.

anyway, so i could tell baby B was coming, the only problem was, i no longer had the urge to push. like, all of a sudden, i just didn’t feel like i could anymore. the water was still nice and warm and i was encouraged to just wait until my body told me to push. pretty quickly a foot popped out! then a leg, then another foot and leg and then...boop, a little tooshie appeared. so literally half of baby B was out in the water, kind of swimming about 😅 quickly after, his torso and arms were out in the water. i was encouraged to stand up (with assistance because...SPD) and as soon as i did, gravity did its thing and out popped his head, body and all at 6:56am, free at last in mid air!

baby B, born breech partly in the water

i held him close and he looked snd felt much bigger than baby A. we left his cord attached for awhile and one of the midwives handed baby A to me so that i was holding both of them (awkwardly!) together in the birthing tub. i was in a mystical daze! what had i just accomplished?! was this real life?!

my little dumplings

ahh...this! THIS is what i had dreamt of and imagined and quite literally manifested into existence. this moment of peace and gratefulness and a huge HELL YEAH I JUST FREAKING DID THAT, TWICE!!! my body had created and nourished and birthed these two perfect little living breathing humans. no drugs, no interventions, no tearing (hallelujah!), no stress, no negative energy. it was raw and messy and wonderfully magical. 

did it hurt? you bet your aunt fanny it hurt pushing them out! (hello ring of fire times two!) not going to sugarcoat it and tell you it didn’t. 

would i do it again, 1000% yes! 👊🏼

womb-mates!

💟 6:35am Thomas Whitney

6lb 1oz 19inches

vertex, water birth ‘by sea’

💟 6:56am Winston Patrick

6lb 12oz 20inches

breech, 1/2 water birth, 1/2 ‘by land’

so many things aligned for these babies to come earthside in the manner that they did. i ditched my OBGYN and my MFM once i felt pressured and backed into a corner during the pandemic and because i was having twins. i stopped telling literally everyone that i was planning a homebirth. it was a sacred choice. i felt strong and able. healthy. determined. confident. at peace.

i did it! love this keepsake birth bubble card

eternal thanks to kara and julie from the midwife partners, gloria and jana and the incredible amber walla of sacred song. also to dr. stu for his advocacy in normalizing safe breech births. 🙏🏼 

thank you to the universe for these incredible gifts of life!

JUDE'S 2nd BIRTHDAY: MILK & COOKIES

Our little dumpling Jude, turned 2 last month and I wanted to share his humble Milk & Cookies party we hosted in our Brooklyn apartment. Per last year's birthday tradition, I baked him a cake from scratch using this recipe (my go-to chocolate cake, it's amazing!) and this frosting recipe. I also tried out a new (to us) cookie recipe that was such a success, we have since made them again. I'll share it below! We invited a few of his best friends for a morning celebration from 10am-12 Noon. Many thanks to my good friend Terri for braving the windy streets to deliver 20 helium filled balloons to our door! We didn't plan any games or activities other than playing with his already existing toy kitchen and all the balloons on the ground and in the air. Of course, we had milk and cookies and since this is Brooklyn, we had offerings of whole milk, almond/coconut milk and oat milk 😅.  Chocolate cake with coffee, mimosas for the parents and a little spread of bagels and lox (smoked salmon, tomato, red onion, capers and cream cheese) to munch on. Thank you to our dear friends that were able to join and celebrate with us. We miss living near our other close friends and family, so taking the time out to spend with us on these special life occasions is very much appreciated!

~Gluten Free Oatmeal Cookies~

(This is straight from the Trader Joe's rolled oats bag)

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 butter

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/4 tsp baking soda

1 cup peanut butter 

3 cups rolled oats

1 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, (I use my kitchenaid mixer) combine sugar, brown sugar and butter until creamy (I never have softened butter, so straight from the fridge is fine). Add eggs, vanilla and baking soda and mix well. Add peanut butter and mix (I've used creamy, chunky and almond butter. anything you have is fine) Stir in oats, chocolate chips and nuts (I omit the nuts if I don't have them on hand. Alternatively, you could use raisins or dried cranberries instead of chocolate chips) Place a teaspoon full of dough (I use a small cookie scoop) about 2 inches apart on a lightly greased cookie sheet (I just use parchment paper) Bake for 10 minutes until lightly brown around the edges. Do not over bake! They may look slightly underdone but this is what you want for chewy cookies. I cool them for a few minutes on a cooling rack and then I slide the pan out from under the parchment to continue to let them cool completely. Enjoy! Great for breakfast on the go if you don't mind giving your kid sugar 😬

What have you done for your kids parties?! I'd love to see! Feel free to link below in the comments or post a picture. I think you can't go wrong for kids parties. Simple or extravagant, a party is a party and every excuse to celebrate is alright with me. Life is all about milestones and every day is a day to celebrate in my book!

NYFW RALPH LAUREN COLLECTION: An Afternoon at Ralph's

New York Fashion Week has come and gone and I've been meaning to post about my experience viewing the Ralph Lauren Collection. Typically it's very difficult, nearly impossible even, to get invited to any fashion show during NYFW and they're never just open to the general public, let alone free. You either need to be in the industry as a model, have a press pass in media or production, or be a known influencer with a pretty significant following to receive an invitation. 

Instead of a traditional runway show, Ralph shook things up a bit by giving attendees an experience. He transformed the first floor of the women's flagship mansion on Madison Avenue into an elegant and intimate cafe setting for 3 days, 'Ralph's Cafe' (normally this is where the accessories are displayed). After the official and truly exclusive run-through show with editors and buyers and influencers, he then released a very limited amount of reservations to the public for an 'exclusive' cafe dining and viewing experience of the collection. I was lucky persistent enough to snag a reservation for 2 (via Instagram!) and invited my friend Noémie. We both took a break from being moms for the occasion. Thank you to our husbands for giving us the afternoon off as it was really quite a treat! 

We dressed in our RL inspired Sunday best and were warmly greeted upon arrival. After a short wait beneath opulent chandeliers and having our coats checked, we were seated below a palatial staircase with an exceptional view of the cafe. Models casually and effortlessly cat walked throughout the guests as we sipped our lattes and nibbled inhaled our tea sandwiches and desserts. The collection consisted of a simple gold, white and black palette with mix-and-match separates to evening wear with hints of military flair. If you watch my video above, you'll see a floor-length gold cape that was certainly made for a glamorous superwoman! After the grand finale, we freshened up in the ladies room and made our way upstairs to shop the upper levels.

Thank you to Ralph Lauren for an impressive experience that exceeded my expectations. Bravo on a beautiful and tasteful collection as well!
Did you know that Ralph has his own coffee? I loved it! You can buy it here.

Have you ever been to fashion week, in the spring or fall? Would you go if you had the chance?!

-Angie

✌🏼

FOREVER MY SPRING BABY

In two weeks, Jude will be two years old. I'm still trying to wrap my head around that and the fact that he will no longer be a 'baby', but officially a thriving toddler. 

This magical photoshoot was taken two springs ago when he was two months old, in Riverside Park on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. At the time, I could barely squeeze into this skirt with my still-new-to-me post-pregnancy body (it was so tight that I had to leave the zipper undone in the back, hence the last minute long duster I threw on over to hide it) Poor Jude's face was breaking out and peeling like crazy and I remember worrying how it would look in the photos. We took an Uber from Brooklyn and it was about a 45 minute ride. Our session was 20 minutes and Jude fussed a little bit, but was overall a champ! I had never booked newborn photos so this was our first experience and being that it was outside proved to be very calming. There was a simple cloth backdrop with sweet lilac branches hanging above and a basket filled to the brim with peonies, not to mention, the park cooperated beautifully with freshly fallen cherry blossom petals everywhere. So dreamy! Many thanks to Stephanie who was so sweet and patient and quick with the camera to capture Jude and I, and to Mari for having such a beautiful eye and making necessary adjustments so we looked and felt comfortable and natural. I'd love to make this a tradition every year!

Have you done a similar session with your baby and what was your experience like? 

Link it below, I'd love to see!

PHOTOGRAPHY by Stephanie Sunderland

STYLING by Mari Spiker 

✌🏼
-Angie

H&M LAUNCHES KIDSWEAR COLLABORATION WITH ARTIST NATHALIE LÉTÉ

For those of you that know me, you might remember when I met one of my favorite Paris-based artists, Nathalie Lété here in Brooklyn a few winters ago. I've admired her creations and designs since I was first introduced to her beautifully painted ceramics while working at Anthropologie.

I'm so delighted to share with you her latest collaboration, a childrenswear collection with H&M! This capsule collection was just released today in the U.S. (other countries were lucky to shop the collection a few weeks ago) and definitely got me excited for spring weather. I may have ordered Jude a few pieces first thing this morning and a few items are almost sold out!

What do you think of these designs? Would you buy them for your baby or kids? Let me know in the comments below and feel free to share this post with anyone you think that might enjoy!

Read more about this collaboration here and click here to shop!

✌🏼

-Angie

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