Life of a Gal Named Liv

The post we have all been waiting for! Basil Wilder Lampman arrived earthside August 26th at 3:41am at our home in Moscow, Idaho. A big baby- 22” long, 9.75lbs, and a head full of hair!

For a constant flow of photos, check out our Google drive! If you are interested in seeing the home birth photos, just say the word- I’m happy to share those as well. Text Liv or Phin, or email livlampman@gmail.com for links.

This post is mainly his Birth Story… (which was scary) but stay tuned for a 1-month update on our family coming in September! For now: We are all doing really well so far. When the AQI is below 100, we have been going on long walks with our pups. We have both A/Cs pumping, and 2 air purifiers on high, so our house is a comfy haven. Phin is back at work (remotely thankfully). I’m unemployed- for the first time since I hiked the PCT- but still volunteering a bit for our lab. We haven’t gone hiking YET, but with temps dropping to the 70’s this coming week… we are hoping soon. Basil is breastfeeding really well and has his 2-week check up on Tuesday. All is well 🙂

Pregnant? or know someone who is? Scroll down below to see my helpful hints & what to buy new parents!

Want to get us a gift? Here is our ongoing wishlist for little Basil dude.

I wanted the pay-it-forward since I was gifted so many baby items/ postpartum necessities from friends, family, and my midwives… so here are some links to documents I have put together to help future parents!

Postpartum essentials:

1- What to buy your loved ones/yourself for the postpartum era (with links): Click here

I’d also like to give a shout out to all of our friends, who made us beautiful meals every night for the week and a half following his birth. 10/10 recommend either making your own meal train or having a close friend set one up for you.

Easy, straight-forward gifts for new parents:

Don’t know what to get somebody post-baby? Here is our short list of helpful easy items to purchase that we have been so grateful to be gifted/ or purchased ourselves.

1. DoorDash gift cards
2. Coconut water in bulk
3. Recharge electrolyte drinks
4. Wipes! We are probably going to stick with Pampers Aqua Pure, and up&up unscented strictly based off of the value BUT we did purchase a pack of “fancy” sample wipes that made our first week kind of fun. Not sustainable for parents on a budget, but kind of a special treat!
5. An Overnight Oats subscription: use my link! https://oats.pscrpt.io/9Tgnsq/y32pDD
6. Pre-ground coffee (we are bougie and normally grind it ourselves every morning but that was a quick no-can-do realization)
7. Onesies or sleepers that are 6 Month+ (my favorites so far- Old Navy 2 way zipper Sleep& Play)
8. Burp cloths/ baby washcloths (never can have enough I swear!
9. Ask them what you can buy them at the grocery store & drop it off for them at their doorstep!
10. Loaf of fresh bread, homemade jam, homemade broth, anything that soothes the soul at 2am

& now for the full-on birth story. From the 30-hour timeline of pain levels to the hemorrhoids;puking;seeing my baby blue and unresponsive, I tell it all. It wasn’t pretty, but it’s the story of how Basil came to be.

The Birth Story

I woke up horrified. I had pissed the bed. Had I become incontinent overnight?! I needed to wake up my sweet husband (who had just fallen asleep AND had pulled an all-nighter at work the night prior) to be able to change the sheets. He looked so peaceful, so I just laid my head back down on my pillow and my body back into its temporary abode of piss-ridden linens. I started falling asleep, felt some tightness in my lower abdomen, drifted off again, the same pain repeated only stronger, drifted off, another pain…! (you see where we are going with this right?) I was in that weird in-between of dreamland and reality, so I wasn’t sure if I was just feeling things… or were those contractions?

I decided- I was finally in early labor. After weeks of prodromal labor (which for the record felt EXACTLY the same as early labor) and a PROM scare a couple weeks prior (followed by 3 days of tests, natural interventions, puking up tonics, and a lot of confusion) I was PRETTY sure I was in labor. But after all of that… I was also PRETTY convinced I wasn’t ever going to go into labor & my fate was a never-ending pregnancy. Have you ever looked up “stone babies”? Yup, that was in my search history. BUT -these cramps- were exactly 7 minutes apart and had the “wave” build up I had read about in (what felt like at the time) fairytales. And the pee? Was it FINALLY my water breaking (funny story to later find that actually it wasn’t- just cervical fluid from Basil pressing downwards)?!

As per the midwife handout, I kept my cool and waited patiently till 0700 on the dot to press send on the message – that I hoped would be the start of them finally coming over to deliver this huge baby. I’d made it to over 200 lbs and my athletic build was far from recognizable, my joints ached, and my skin stretched to max.

For the next hour, the contractions got a lot stronger- enough that I had to practice my “relaxation breaths”. I feared things were progressing too fast and the midwives weren’t going to be able to dose me with antibiotics before delivery or anything would work out! Yes, a slight panic moment (or 3) definitely occurred. 

Once the midwife arrived, she gave me the amniotic fluid test and low and behold… another negative. My water still had not broken. Thankfully she was not convinced that I wasn’t in true labor after observing me & baby’s heart rate during contractions and said “well, I’ll see you later tonight I think” as she left my bedroom.

Throughout the course of the day, I timed, I documented, and I tried to convince myself labor was truly imminent. Phin and I got last minute chores done, paid the bills for September, and tried to not get too excited knowing labor would most likely take a while. 

I remember trying to pay our car loan, forgetting the login, and trying to reset the password during a rather intense early labor contraction… and realizing I really needed to finish because I would to be able to handle it much longer or I was going to throw my computer in a fit of rage fueled by the physical pain. So, the contractions were definitely to the point of being “distracting” enough.

We turned on a live showsof my favorite band- Khruangbin | Austin City Limits Music Festival 2024 | Full Set & I intensely bounced on my yoga ball to the beat. I did circles, figure 8’s, rocking back and forth…anything to distract from the feeling of labor progressing. I turned off all the lights and tried guided mediations…I had Phin tell me how excited he was to become a dad… really a wide array of tactics to get through labor in a peaceful manner!

I ate super well all day: broth made fresh from loving friends, vitamin packed mini meals, roasted carrots and whole grain pasta, fresh produce, and lots of coconut water. I was on-track to have the exact home birth I had practiced and planned for.

But birth? Never goes as planned. No matter how many hours of J-breathing you practice, how many herbal supplements you take, the amount of books you read… sure it all helped (I think?), but damn I was in for a much wilder ride than I had mentally prepared for.

Around dinner time Monday night, I started feeling clammy. Then the puking and inconsolable shaking arrived. Then came the fever, and the rushing of midwives to come back over. I wanted to break down in tears. I knew this wasn’t a good sign. Common, but not something you can easily manage during a homebirth. They forced me into a cold shower with my husband hosing me down (pretty sure he had some fun with this because he knows I HATE cold water and we constantly argue over our shower temperature). But as miserable as that was, my fever cooled down quickly & shaking ceased shortly after that. And then for some fantastic news- I was 7cm dilated! Over halfway there!

Since I was GBS positive, I had to start receiving antibiotics through an IV at that point. Thankfully, I’ve had to have my blood drawn once/2 weeks AND Phin has given me shots every Monday/Thursday the entirety of my pregnancy so I’m more than used to needles (This is due to having an underactive thyroid and thus needing progesterone supplementation). I will say though, that staying still while getting an IV during a contraction is not the easiest thing haha. I have no idea how people have had natural births in hospital settings where they don’t let you move out of the bed. That would not have worked for me. I was basically doing constant yoga moves throughout the evening until Basil popped out! Thankfully I had read and practiced positions for birth/ coping through contractions. For the super gnarly contractions I had Phin pressing as hard as he could on my lower back as I yelled “harder”… (whoops… sorry neighbors… super cringey… haha)

For me, rolling on the ball in a modified puppy pose and letting out primal moans really did the trick.

The pushing phase was 2.5 hours, but funny enough I could have sworn it was 15-30 minutes. There was a sense of relief when I got to it- progress was happening. I was finally allowed in the freshly filled birthing tub- my first true warm bath in what felt like years. The relief that came with that 30 seconds was something I’ll never forget. Just for a moment I felt calm, comfy, and ready to fully relax. I snapped back into reality when I was hit with another wave of intense contractions, and I opened my eyes to see unfortunately my current situation was NOT being surrounded by zen candles. No, I was naked in a birthing tub with my husband and 2 midwives staring at me haha! These contractions were different, and I could finally feel my body making progress on moving him down the birth canal (very weird feeling! Kind of like when you feel a bowel movement coming on just multiply that by 100x). For the first bit (in my head 5 minutes to 10 minutes – so probably 1.5 hours- I had a sense of calm in between pushing sensations where I could breathe deeply, gear up for the next round, and take a quick bite of Perfect bar with honey on it (this was the ONLY thing that stayed down past early labor). But, shortly after that, there was absolutely no relief for me. They said “relax in between” and online I had read about the wonderful oxytocin flow between contractions… yeah, that didn’t happen for me. It was full-on bear down and push as hard as you can, a desperate gasping in of air, and repeat. It was by far the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. And yes, I pooped… everyone poops during labor…even if you poop RIGHT before something will force its way out. Thankfully I mainly pooped -out- of the tub, but I thought it was quite hilarious- they had little fish nets ready to be deployed for “code browns” in the water.

When I was in the tub I had one arm gripping Phin’s forearm so hard I’m surprised he didn’t have a purple handprint on it the next day. In the other hand I had this spiked silver ball to distract myself with another form of pain- pretty sure the midwives were nervous I was going to pop the tub with them haha! When I was on the birthing stool it didn’t feel quite right, so I had poor Phin basically holding me up and was pushing with all my weight down on his forearms. He later told me he was in A LOT of pain, but felt like he couldn’t say anything because I was literally birthing his child. (Fair, but I do feel a little bad)

Then came the ring of fire. Truly a ring of FIREEEEE. Pushing that big noggin out (37 cm, 97th percentile for the record) was something I’d rather never do again. This is when it gets really blurry for me… All I know is that the midwives got really amped up and started yelling to push harder and started groan-yelling with me (all of us at the top of our lungs…around 2am in an upstairs apartment on a Monday night). I figured that this must be it? Was the head almost out? Part of the body? I didn’t know, but also did not have the capacity to think about it much less ask them. We were in the TRENCHES…full on battle… the match of a lifetime. It was very animalistic… while this was by far the most painful part, it was one of my favorites. Felt like we all really bonded during this. & I sure wish I had this on film. Can you imagine?

And then suddenly the “push harders” and the comradery of yelling together turned into a very serious matter (me, not knowing what the heck was going on)… you see, the body only has a few minutes to come out after the head is delivered or the transfer of oxygen from the placenta can be interrupted and cause major damage (we learned after the fact). They hauled me out of the tub and one of the midwives threw my leg up and over her while the other pulled Basil out (the manual removal with a human arm felt like my lower half was going through a meat grinder- BIG ouch). But the physical relief of his body being out? Wow that was something. I instantly felt lightweight and empty, but then a huge knot developed in my throat as I realized that I didn’t hear crying.

All I could hear was one of the midwives… “come on baby, come on” in a desperate tone and then “get the oxygen”. I looked over and my baby was blue, limp, and unresponsive. My worst nightmare had become a reality.

I can’t tell you how much I’ve stressed about this moment. Ever since I had a miscarriage in Spring of 2024, I’ve felt doomed as a mother. I didn’t think it was ever going to happen. I didn’t think my body could bring life forth. As hard as it is to say, I truly didn’t think Basil would be born breathing….and he wasn’t.

I felt numb. I felt weak. I lay there on my living room floor in a pool of my own blood. My baby’s cord still attached to my insides, my baby lying flat and limp while receiving breathes. It was the worst moment of my life. Those 3 minutes felt like an eternity.

I can vividly remember the dull living room light above my head, getting swarmed by little black bugs. The AC; a dull drone. My baby’s perfect profile blue and unmoving as though he was a stone statue. The midwives attempting to revive him. My husband with so much pain in his eyes, speaking to 911 on the phone. The silence.

All I could do was say “come on sweet Basil, come on, you are so strong… you can do this” over and over. I didn’t believe it, I really didn’t think he would come to. So, when he did I was truly in shock. I couldn’t even cry, I was so shaken up. I had no words. All I could do was close my eyes and feel his warm body pressed up against my chest. Him wailing, arms flailing, in a full fit of fury.

My baby was alive. I have never been so happy to hear a noise in my life. His wails overtook the cold sunken feeling of ice that pulsed through my veins. He had all of his fingers, all of his toes, a full head of hair, beautiful big eyes, and some strong lungs.

The next moments of my life were a blur. Phin cut the cord, The EMTs who were on standby left, I received Pitocin for the excess blood loss, the midwives helped me off the floor and into our bed, I bled a lot, and my sweet husband held me- both of us absolute train wrecks. That was horrible…

While the midwives cleaned and disinfected our entire living room, we lay in bed with our little one naked on my chest. These were the moments I never believed were going to happen. The bliss of my child looking into my eyes, the feeling of pure love and understanding when my husband held my hand.

I still haven’t fully cried; it will come in time. Life is so fragile. I’m still so shaken.

Our sweet Basil is here, and he is a beautiful light in this world already. I can’t wait to see all that he will do on this earth and appreciate every single moment I have with him and Phin. Gratitude truly overfills my soul.

He is a happy, healthy, and has the best little personality. I truly can’t get enough of him. Even when he wails at 2am, I’ll take wailing over that unshakable silence any day. I love him so much, and I wish his entrance was less terrifying… but he is here, in good health, and that’s all I could hope for.

After the bloody cleanup, the midwives stitched me up and evaluated both Basil and I. For me, bedrest was the main prescription, other than the icing of my gigantic hemorrhoids and super swollen perinium. “Don’t worry if you have some clots pass, just let us know immediately if they are bigger than a peach” (…oh, god.)

At first, they thought Basil had a heart arrhythmia but thankfully that resolved on its own. Then they thought his shoulder may be broken (from getting stuck on my pelvic bone) and 2 days later we confirmed with a pediatrician that it was fully in-tact and perfectly strong. Next up was jaundice- which resolved after his first 5 days. Then there was the hypoglycemia- common for big babies…& fixed thanks to the 30ml of colostrum I had pumped in 1ml sized syringes prior to his birth.

Let the parent anxiety begin! Yes, we have sent diaper pics over text to the midwives.. Yes, we thought his shoulder blade may be a cancerous lump…Yes, I count his respirations daily AND record every single minute of feeding… from what we have heard this is all just a part of the journey… Hell, I’m fine with that.

And here I am, laying in between my cozy yellow fleece sheets with a heating pad over my deflated belly; ice packs between my legs where Basil made his oh, so grand entrance into this world; my boobs adorned with silver nipple cups; my eyelids drooping as I gaze at the most beautiful little human I have ever seen, my sweet Basil boy.  Oh, I adore you. 

Cheers to sleepless nights, lactation cookies, fresh ‘lil newborns, and to a lifetime of adventures (as a family of 3) on this beautiful planet.