Almost four and a half years ago my daughter was born. We were living in student family housing at CU Boulder and decided to have a lay midwife deliver our first child at home. Prior to moving out to Boulder, CO I had an OB and was set to have a hospital birth in Milwaukee, WI literally a block and a half away from our house. At the time, a hospital birth was pretty much standard procedure in my mind; the only person I knew that had a homebirth was my aunt who lived in PA and the thought really never crossed my mind. But when we visited the CU Boulder campus, we were able to connect with some friends that lived in SW Colorado and recently had their first child at home. My friend, Amanda, had been studying midwifery before her son was born. Amanda and her husband had spent some time in India and had hoped to go back and do mission work. If Amanda was a trained midwife she would be able to teach others how to safely deliver babies, the idea resonated with me. I began looking into the homebirth option and midwifery. I figured having a homebirth sure would give me an idea of whether or not it would be a good fit for me, as I'm typically a bit squeamish around blood. I checked out several books from the library regarding home birth and got a hold of The Birth Book by Dr. Sears and started thinking about my options as we were moving and I had to find someone new to deliver my baby anyway.
We moved to Boulder in the middle of July, when I was nearly eight months pregnant; that was a long road trip! Shortly after we settled in to our new surroundings, I began my search for a midwife. Prior to moving I had done a bit of research, but wanted to do in-person interviews. God provided us with Judy, we had some crazy connections to missionaries from Wisconsin that had served in Nepal. Judy was a grandmotherly type, not at all like either of my grandmothers, but definitely wise beyond my years. It was Judy who taught me how to make the most amazing and truly healing chicken soup (I'll have to share this recipe some day) and a more natural way to clean blood out of towels, sheets, etc. After the birth when Judy and her assistant Peggy were cleaning up the soiled items, I asked if they needed bleach and was shocked that her response was "No, do you have hydrogen peroxide?" (This was before my natural cleaning product days.) The peroxide worked wonders - not a single item was left with a stain (or bleach spot). We actually had a horrible incident with bleach during our move to CO. For a long time I did not keep it in the house, but my husband kept asking for some to bleach his deer skull, so I eventually gave in and bought a bottle. Then he found an alternative to the "bleaching method" and didn't even use it.
When using hydrogen peroxide on a blood stain it is always best to get to it as soon as possible. Place the soiled item in the sink and slowly pour the hydrogen peroxide onto the stain (depending on the item you may want to do a spot test in an obscure location first). You will see lots of bubbles, just like when you apply it to a cut to disinfect. Watch as the stain magically disappears, then rinse with cold water. Voila - no more stain!
If you would like to read more about my homebirth experience, click here. By the way, I discovered that midwifery was not for the faint of heart - and not for me! Although I am very glad that others are called to it as I appreciate the more individualized care.
This post is part of Simple Lives Thursday. Please check out the link to find more great posts about living simply.
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