Posts
So, this is a facebook thing, but since I don't "get" facebook, I am going to do it here. And besides, I can do this one-handed, which is all I have right now. H/T to Sherri for this.
Apparently the BBC reckons most people will have only read 6 of the 100 books here.
Instructions:
1) Look at the list and put an 'X' after those you have read.
2) Add a '+' to the ones you LOVE.
3) Star (*) those you plan on reading.
4) Tally your total at the bottom.
1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen X+
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien X+
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte X
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling X
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee X
6 The Bible – X
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte X
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell X
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman *
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens X
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott X
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy X
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller X
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare X
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier x
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien x+
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger X
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot *
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell X++
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald X
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens X
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams X
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh *
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck X
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll X
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame X+
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy X
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens X
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis X+
34 Emma - Jane Austen X+
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen X+
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis X (was this not included in 33, though?)
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini *
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden *
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne X+
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell X
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown X
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving X (ugh)
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery X+
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding X (also ugh)
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert X (eh)
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen X+
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens X
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley X
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck X
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov X
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas X+
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding X+
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville X
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens X
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker X+
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett X
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce X (only b/c I love Ireland...)
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens X
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert X (but I don't remember it. odd.)
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White X+
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Alborn
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle X+ (all of them!!)
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery X+
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas X
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare X
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl X+
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo X+
Total: 58
You can do this if you like. No pressure.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
Adventures in babywearing
**Updated on 4/10/09 to link this to Stephanie's babywearing carnival!
Apologies (or royalties, not sure which) to Stephanie for the title of this post!
So, what does one do with a five week old other than nurse all the time? Well, anything one wants or needs to, as long as you can have more than one hand free.
With my first child, I was content to nurse him for 45 minutes at a stretch and then let him sleep in my arms. I didn't get a whole lot done, but I wasn't worried. I bought a sling and a Moby wrap and settled on the latter for occasional use. I tried the sling, but the baby didn't like it, and I couldn't get it to work to my satisfaction. And in any case, for the most part, the baby bucket and a stroller sufficed nicely.
However, now that I have two kids, the luxury of cuddling the baby undisturbed is nonexistent. And I never have two hands free until the evening when at least one child is asleep. And this empahsizes that which I have suspected for a while. Casual baby-wearers become rabid baby-wearers with the birth of the second kid. It is a matter of survival.
Take this weekend. I took both boys to church by myself as my poor husband was quite sniffly and sick. And the baby was asleep so I took the bucket in with me from the car. Phew. Bucket and baby, toddler and diaper back-pack, purse. Oh yes, and I did have the foresight to pack the sling. Phew. We barely made it into the church and to the nursery, what with the toddler losing his shoes and all when he fell on the sidewalk. Anyway. Somewhere in the middle of the worship, Thomas awoke and needed to nurse, so I slipped out to do that. And then put him in the sling in the hopes that he would go back to sleep. And so he did. And it was quite freeing to go get Jonathan from the nursery in time for communion and even be able to carry him on my hip with the baby in the sling on my front. We did quite well for the rest of the service and the reception that followed. The trouble only started when I needed to strap the baby into the bucket to leave. And trying to chase down Jonathan while carting the horridly UN-ergonomic bucket was decidedly NOT freeing.
So, my husbands choice du jour is the Moby. Mine is the sling. For now. The ergo will be back in use as he grows since that is less fiddly than the wrap. I am really tempted by some of the beautiful woven wraps out there, and those who are better at the baby wearing thing than I am (hi Sherri!) sing the praises of the versatility of a woven wrap.
That might be something I explore in the next few months. But, all I have to say is, my back is happy that the sling and the Moby work. Phew. And, I have sortof figured out how to nurse in the sling, which might make that easier, too. I haven't figured out my bad configuration of a laptop, which means that, whenever I am holding the baby in any way, I am required to type one-handed. So, the babywearing doesn't help with that. But still.
Babywearing? Life-saving.
Apologies (or royalties, not sure which) to Stephanie for the title of this post!
So, what does one do with a five week old other than nurse all the time? Well, anything one wants or needs to, as long as you can have more than one hand free.
With my first child, I was content to nurse him for 45 minutes at a stretch and then let him sleep in my arms. I didn't get a whole lot done, but I wasn't worried. I bought a sling and a Moby wrap and settled on the latter for occasional use. I tried the sling, but the baby didn't like it, and I couldn't get it to work to my satisfaction. And in any case, for the most part, the baby bucket and a stroller sufficed nicely.
However, now that I have two kids, the luxury of cuddling the baby undisturbed is nonexistent. And I never have two hands free until the evening when at least one child is asleep. And this empahsizes that which I have suspected for a while. Casual baby-wearers become rabid baby-wearers with the birth of the second kid. It is a matter of survival.
Take this weekend. I took both boys to church by myself as my poor husband was quite sniffly and sick. And the baby was asleep so I took the bucket in with me from the car. Phew. Bucket and baby, toddler and diaper back-pack, purse. Oh yes, and I did have the foresight to pack the sling. Phew. We barely made it into the church and to the nursery, what with the toddler losing his shoes and all when he fell on the sidewalk. Anyway. Somewhere in the middle of the worship, Thomas awoke and needed to nurse, so I slipped out to do that. And then put him in the sling in the hopes that he would go back to sleep. And so he did. And it was quite freeing to go get Jonathan from the nursery in time for communion and even be able to carry him on my hip with the baby in the sling on my front. We did quite well for the rest of the service and the reception that followed. The trouble only started when I needed to strap the baby into the bucket to leave. And trying to chase down Jonathan while carting the horridly UN-ergonomic bucket was decidedly NOT freeing.
So, my husbands choice du jour is the Moby. Mine is the sling. For now. The ergo will be back in use as he grows since that is less fiddly than the wrap. I am really tempted by some of the beautiful woven wraps out there, and those who are better at the baby wearing thing than I am (hi Sherri!) sing the praises of the versatility of a woven wrap.
That might be something I explore in the next few months. But, all I have to say is, my back is happy that the sling and the Moby work. Phew. And, I have sortof figured out how to nurse in the sling, which might make that easier, too. I haven't figured out my bad configuration of a laptop, which means that, whenever I am holding the baby in any way, I am required to type one-handed. So, the babywearing doesn't help with that. But still.
Babywearing? Life-saving.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Breastfeeding is not for wimps.
So, what have I been doing with myself since my last post two and a half weeks ago?
See the title to this post.
Seriously, if I wanted to blog, I would have had to have given up sleep or typed it with one hand while nursing. Seriously. I have a child who wants to nurse all the time, and only sleeps in snatches. I have been actively trying to write something since Wednesday of this week and have not had more than five minutes. Thomas is a good sleeper at night though, at the moment, so I am not really complaining.
Ok, onto the subject of the post, since that is my life right now:
Breastfeeding is a rewarding activity. You can feed your child, bond with him, and lessen your risk for all sorts of diseases, all at the same time. And it is a miracle, that a mother's body provides everything that a baby needs, from the moment of conception, through at least the first six months of life (and longer for some babies who aren't really interested in solids for much of the first year.)
For some women, breastfeeding comes easily. Their milk comes in quickly and without much discomfort; the baby latches correctly and without much pain; neither mother or child is susceptible to yeast or is intolerant of certain foods; the mother has no pressure to return to work and so is spared the need to pump on command. But even in these "best of circumstances", breastfeeding is demanding. There are very few babies, who are exclusively breastfed, who are on any sort of schedule in the first few months. That means that the mother and baby are together all the time. And the second the baby can be diverted away from the breast, the mother needs to do everything that she can, so that when the baby wants more food, she can attend to his needs.
I think that the mothers described above who are the most satisfied with that situation are those that have accepted that their child will be just as attached to them in the nine months following the birth as the prior nine months. These mothers find work-arounds for the inconveniences and embrace their choice.
But these moms are the ones for which things are going well.
For many other mothers, breastfeeding is challenging. Perhaps they have low milk supply (which was/is a difficulty I know a little something about). Perhaps they have over supply (which presents equal and opposite difficulties). Perhaps the baby has a poor latch, or the child is allergic or intolerant of many of the mother's favorite foods. Of perhaps the baby doesn't nurse well for any number of reasons. Perhaps the mother is extremely uncomfortable nursing in public and has a baby who wants to eat often and therefore she feels house-bound. Perhaps there is an illness or a sudden hospitalization. There are any number of reasons for a challenging breastfeeding situation.
Most of these can be remedied in one way or the other, and depending on the mother's (and father's - let's not forget the dads because most women need that support to continue to breastfeed) persistence and desire to breastfeed, those remedies can result in a good breastfeeding relationship with the child.
Breastfeeding is very important. I can't believe that it is even a question these days, whether an infant should receive his nourishment directly from his mother. I can't believe than anyone bought the lie that science trumped nature and that a factory could create a substance better able to nourish a child than the mother. But for a couple generations, women bought that. At the same time, our culture shifted a bit in several different ways. And the result was that it became normal to see breasts in a skimpy bikini at the pool and abnormal to see a woman feeding her child from her breasts. That 'controversy' is enough for a whole other post. The reason that I mention it is that it is part of the problem. We have lost the "institutional memory" of women. The WWII generation of women may have worked in factories, but they didn't breastfeed. So when their daughters were born, they were unable to pass along the knowledge of how to do it. And when their granddaughters were born, there was even less knowledge.
Yet now there is much more science to "prove" that breastfeeding one's child is nearly the best possible thing that one can do to prepare one's child for life. And therefore now women are told to breastfeed, although the wisdom now has to be gleaned in bits, from books, and the internet, and friends, and support groups, and a new line of professionals called lactation consultants.
At any rate, there are plenty of women, myself included, who go to great lengths to breastfeed. And not a little expense. A hospital grade double electric breast pump (which you need if you are trying to build up a flagging supply) is about $75.00 a month; supplements (galactagogues, vitamins, other "helpers") are several dollars a day (I am taking at least eight different pills each morning, noon and night). But the lengths are more than money. A baby can drink a bottle of formula (or expressed milk) in minutes. Most breastfeeding sessions take at least a half hour. Ten or twelve times a day. Several of which take place in the middle of the night. We can all do the math.
Don't get me wrong. Breastfeeding is great. And I am doing my part to give my child the best start to his life. But it is work. And don't let anyone tell you that we are doing the easy thing, or not working. Breastfeeding moms are not lazy, even though they may be sitting down on the job. Parenthood, is, as they say, the toughest job you'll ever love. (I could throw in a couple more cliches, but I will quit while I am ahead.)
Anyway, that is what I have been doing. And I have been reading my favorite blogs, and Twittering (which one can do with one hand), and trying to update my Facebook status with something that doesn't have to do with my baby (which is hard). If you are wondering where I am, give me a call or an email, I will be sitting here, with maybe one hand free.
See the title to this post.
Seriously, if I wanted to blog, I would have had to have given up sleep or typed it with one hand while nursing. Seriously. I have a child who wants to nurse all the time, and only sleeps in snatches. I have been actively trying to write something since Wednesday of this week and have not had more than five minutes. Thomas is a good sleeper at night though, at the moment, so I am not really complaining.
Ok, onto the subject of the post, since that is my life right now:
Breastfeeding is a rewarding activity. You can feed your child, bond with him, and lessen your risk for all sorts of diseases, all at the same time. And it is a miracle, that a mother's body provides everything that a baby needs, from the moment of conception, through at least the first six months of life (and longer for some babies who aren't really interested in solids for much of the first year.)
For some women, breastfeeding comes easily. Their milk comes in quickly and without much discomfort; the baby latches correctly and without much pain; neither mother or child is susceptible to yeast or is intolerant of certain foods; the mother has no pressure to return to work and so is spared the need to pump on command. But even in these "best of circumstances", breastfeeding is demanding. There are very few babies, who are exclusively breastfed, who are on any sort of schedule in the first few months. That means that the mother and baby are together all the time. And the second the baby can be diverted away from the breast, the mother needs to do everything that she can, so that when the baby wants more food, she can attend to his needs.
I think that the mothers described above who are the most satisfied with that situation are those that have accepted that their child will be just as attached to them in the nine months following the birth as the prior nine months. These mothers find work-arounds for the inconveniences and embrace their choice.
But these moms are the ones for which things are going well.
For many other mothers, breastfeeding is challenging. Perhaps they have low milk supply (which was/is a difficulty I know a little something about). Perhaps they have over supply (which presents equal and opposite difficulties). Perhaps the baby has a poor latch, or the child is allergic or intolerant of many of the mother's favorite foods. Of perhaps the baby doesn't nurse well for any number of reasons. Perhaps the mother is extremely uncomfortable nursing in public and has a baby who wants to eat often and therefore she feels house-bound. Perhaps there is an illness or a sudden hospitalization. There are any number of reasons for a challenging breastfeeding situation.
Most of these can be remedied in one way or the other, and depending on the mother's (and father's - let's not forget the dads because most women need that support to continue to breastfeed) persistence and desire to breastfeed, those remedies can result in a good breastfeeding relationship with the child.
Breastfeeding is very important. I can't believe that it is even a question these days, whether an infant should receive his nourishment directly from his mother. I can't believe than anyone bought the lie that science trumped nature and that a factory could create a substance better able to nourish a child than the mother. But for a couple generations, women bought that. At the same time, our culture shifted a bit in several different ways. And the result was that it became normal to see breasts in a skimpy bikini at the pool and abnormal to see a woman feeding her child from her breasts. That 'controversy' is enough for a whole other post. The reason that I mention it is that it is part of the problem. We have lost the "institutional memory" of women. The WWII generation of women may have worked in factories, but they didn't breastfeed. So when their daughters were born, they were unable to pass along the knowledge of how to do it. And when their granddaughters were born, there was even less knowledge.
Yet now there is much more science to "prove" that breastfeeding one's child is nearly the best possible thing that one can do to prepare one's child for life. And therefore now women are told to breastfeed, although the wisdom now has to be gleaned in bits, from books, and the internet, and friends, and support groups, and a new line of professionals called lactation consultants.
At any rate, there are plenty of women, myself included, who go to great lengths to breastfeed. And not a little expense. A hospital grade double electric breast pump (which you need if you are trying to build up a flagging supply) is about $75.00 a month; supplements (galactagogues, vitamins, other "helpers") are several dollars a day (I am taking at least eight different pills each morning, noon and night). But the lengths are more than money. A baby can drink a bottle of formula (or expressed milk) in minutes. Most breastfeeding sessions take at least a half hour. Ten or twelve times a day. Several of which take place in the middle of the night. We can all do the math.
Don't get me wrong. Breastfeeding is great. And I am doing my part to give my child the best start to his life. But it is work. And don't let anyone tell you that we are doing the easy thing, or not working. Breastfeeding moms are not lazy, even though they may be sitting down on the job. Parenthood, is, as they say, the toughest job you'll ever love. (I could throw in a couple more cliches, but I will quit while I am ahead.)
Anyway, that is what I have been doing. And I have been reading my favorite blogs, and Twittering (which one can do with one hand), and trying to update my Facebook status with something that doesn't have to do with my baby (which is hard). If you are wondering where I am, give me a call or an email, I will be sitting here, with maybe one hand free.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
First Day ALONE at home
Well, ok, I had about six hours alone at home.
My husband had to go into work for a meeting that ended up not happening. And my inlaws headed back to Iowa after being here for two weeks. The help that they were with the cooking and cleaning was fabulous, but they will be really missed by our 2 year old. He got to spent quality and QUANTITY time with his grandparents. My mother-in-law especially has a heart for little kids, and she spent time working with him on his Bible stories, and painting, and time outside (weather permitting). He now has another gagillion songs under his belt, and a brand new hobby of painting with watercolors. My FIL brought out a bunch of trains for the train table. And, he found, somewhere, a cache of little "Caterpiller" earth moving equipment models, which have gone over like gangbusters.
Anyway, as you can see, it was one big fun time for Jonathan. And today, when Gramma and Grampa went in a plane, and Daddy had to go to "werk", it was just boring ole' mommy, who spent hours nursing the baby. As I tweeted at some point, it was really strange. Within an hour of folks leaving this morning, both boys had a dirty diaper. The baby had THREE. And the baby suddenly developed a diaper rash. And started hollering, apropos of nothing. And Jonathan wanted to hold the baby so he would "stop crying" and I was suddenly wrestling an octopus as I tried to keep Jonathan from taking the baby out of my arms. (2 year olds are STRONG.) It took a good while to settle everyone down. Thank goodness for videos. And then suddenly Thomas was asleep, and Jonathan was done with his lunch and was rubbing his eyes. It only took one rendition of "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" (his favorite song) for him to go to sleep as well.
And so I got a nap in! Hooray! And, seriously? Praise the Lord.
I don't pretend to think that every day will be a "double nap" day, but a girl can hope. And then, miracle of miracles, my husband was able to come home early.
Phew. And now he is home for a couple of weeks, so it can just be the four of us for a bit, trying to figure out how to be a family of four, instead of a family of three.
On a non-baby related note, my friend Sherri is doing a "read-along" of Rilla of Ingleside. I just have to get the book, and I am going to enjoy that. It is going to be a good long while before I can do a book group in the traditional sense, so this should be fun.
My husband had to go into work for a meeting that ended up not happening. And my inlaws headed back to Iowa after being here for two weeks. The help that they were with the cooking and cleaning was fabulous, but they will be really missed by our 2 year old. He got to spent quality and QUANTITY time with his grandparents. My mother-in-law especially has a heart for little kids, and she spent time working with him on his Bible stories, and painting, and time outside (weather permitting). He now has another gagillion songs under his belt, and a brand new hobby of painting with watercolors. My FIL brought out a bunch of trains for the train table. And, he found, somewhere, a cache of little "Caterpiller" earth moving equipment models, which have gone over like gangbusters.
Anyway, as you can see, it was one big fun time for Jonathan. And today, when Gramma and Grampa went in a plane, and Daddy had to go to "werk", it was just boring ole' mommy, who spent hours nursing the baby. As I tweeted at some point, it was really strange. Within an hour of folks leaving this morning, both boys had a dirty diaper. The baby had THREE. And the baby suddenly developed a diaper rash. And started hollering, apropos of nothing. And Jonathan wanted to hold the baby so he would "stop crying" and I was suddenly wrestling an octopus as I tried to keep Jonathan from taking the baby out of my arms. (2 year olds are STRONG.) It took a good while to settle everyone down. Thank goodness for videos. And then suddenly Thomas was asleep, and Jonathan was done with his lunch and was rubbing his eyes. It only took one rendition of "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" (his favorite song) for him to go to sleep as well.
And so I got a nap in! Hooray! And, seriously? Praise the Lord.
I don't pretend to think that every day will be a "double nap" day, but a girl can hope. And then, miracle of miracles, my husband was able to come home early.
Phew. And now he is home for a couple of weeks, so it can just be the four of us for a bit, trying to figure out how to be a family of four, instead of a family of three.
On a non-baby related note, my friend Sherri is doing a "read-along" of Rilla of Ingleside. I just have to get the book, and I am going to enjoy that. It is going to be a good long while before I can do a book group in the traditional sense, so this should be fun.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Update
So. We have a new president. I have a new baby. The latter is more important, and all-encompassing. Feeding the baby takes up, strangely, and inordinate amount of time. And since I nursed Jonathan until he was nearly two years old, you would think that I would be prepared for this. Ah well. Good thing my inlaws are here helping with food and keeping Jonathan occupied.
Anyway, I have nothing to report except that I added two photos to the "birth story" post. One is the C-section birth itself (which is not really gross, I actually find it kindof interesting.) And the second is Thomas being weighed. Just to let you know how he looked just after birth.
Oh, one of the aspects of the birth that our doula told us when she came to visit this week was that by the time of the surgery, Thomas had slipped around to an "occiput anterior" position, which means that he was lying with his back against my back (not unusual after someone has had an epidural) and therefore was "sunny-side" up. Which might explain some of the back labor I was experiencing. Anyhoo....
We have his two-week appointment tomorrow, and will know more about his weight gain, etc. then. And then, for your reading pleasure, I will have a dissertation-worthy post about breastfeeding. And maybe a rant re: same. We shall see.
Anyway, I have nothing to report except that I added two photos to the "birth story" post. One is the C-section birth itself (which is not really gross, I actually find it kindof interesting.) And the second is Thomas being weighed. Just to let you know how he looked just after birth.
Oh, one of the aspects of the birth that our doula told us when she came to visit this week was that by the time of the surgery, Thomas had slipped around to an "occiput anterior" position, which means that he was lying with his back against my back (not unusual after someone has had an epidural) and therefore was "sunny-side" up. Which might explain some of the back labor I was experiencing. Anyhoo....
We have his two-week appointment tomorrow, and will know more about his weight gain, etc. then. And then, for your reading pleasure, I will have a dissertation-worthy post about breastfeeding. And maybe a rant re: same. We shall see.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Pics of the boys.
So, it occurred to me that perhaps I should post a couple pics here, since I put them on Facebook.
So, the first one is Thomas in the bouncy seat with Jonathan. And shortly thereafter, milliseconds actually, we realized that the bouncy seat is too bouncy to have the baby in while the toddler runs around.
The second one is one of a precious few of Thomas with his eyes open.
The third is what I spend my days doing. Ahem.
So, the first one is Thomas in the bouncy seat with Jonathan. And shortly thereafter, milliseconds actually, we realized that the bouncy seat is too bouncy to have the baby in while the toddler runs around.
The second one is one of a precious few of Thomas with his eyes open.
The third is what I spend my days doing. Ahem.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
First full day at home!
Well, home is different from the hospital. The beds are more comfortable, for one. On the other hand, the food, while marginally better than hospital food, doesn't magically arrive at your bedside.
But we are well and happy.
Jonathan likes Thomas, calls him either "the baby Thomas" or "my baby". He likes to "hold" him on the sofa and sing to him.
A friend of mine took Jonathan this morning to her house to play with her son while we went to the doc for a well baby appointment. Thomas has started to regain some weight, which is good and no one right now is worried about the jaundice. For those of you who know my history, you know this is a huge thing. Of course, his days and nights are mixed up. He sleeps all day from about 10 until 5 and then mostly wants to be awake all night for the same time frame, oh yes, and nurse all night. Bleck. 'Twould be fine if I could be on his schedule, but not with a toddler and not in the real world. Thomas nurses all the time. I won't bore you with the gory details. Suffice it to say, "Ouch."
We got Chinese food tonight. And I made a calculated misjudgment and suggested that my husband take Jonathan to the basement and put together a toy for him. So, of course they were downstairs when the doorbell rang. I was up here nursing the baby. I had to struggle first to unhook myself from the strongest latch in the world, and second to get out of my squishy sofa. I am so distracted that I just signed for the food, baby in my arms. When the guy said, "do you want to leave a tip?" I didn't really hear him and I said, "no, I don't need to." Then I saw his face and tried to recapture what he had said. Egads.... ack. Needless to say, he got a bigger tip than his services warranted.
But we are well and happy.
Jonathan likes Thomas, calls him either "the baby Thomas" or "my baby". He likes to "hold" him on the sofa and sing to him.
A friend of mine took Jonathan this morning to her house to play with her son while we went to the doc for a well baby appointment. Thomas has started to regain some weight, which is good and no one right now is worried about the jaundice. For those of you who know my history, you know this is a huge thing. Of course, his days and nights are mixed up. He sleeps all day from about 10 until 5 and then mostly wants to be awake all night for the same time frame, oh yes, and nurse all night. Bleck. 'Twould be fine if I could be on his schedule, but not with a toddler and not in the real world. Thomas nurses all the time. I won't bore you with the gory details. Suffice it to say, "Ouch."
We got Chinese food tonight. And I made a calculated misjudgment and suggested that my husband take Jonathan to the basement and put together a toy for him. So, of course they were downstairs when the doorbell rang. I was up here nursing the baby. I had to struggle first to unhook myself from the strongest latch in the world, and second to get out of my squishy sofa. I am so distracted that I just signed for the food, baby in my arms. When the guy said, "do you want to leave a tip?" I didn't really hear him and I said, "no, I don't need to." Then I saw his face and tried to recapture what he had said. Egads.... ack. Needless to say, he got a bigger tip than his services warranted.
Monday, January 12, 2009
How Thomas Maher came into this world.
Once, about ten months ago....oh, never mind that bit.
For the men in the room, or people that don't want every single detail, I recounted the basic information in this post. Look no farther. If you go below the asterisks, it is at your own risk.
****************************************
If you want the background to this pregnancy, you can go look here.
Ok. So, as many of you know, my official due date was January 1, 2009. I rebelled against that and asserted in many ways that I was going to have the baby by the end of the year, and I picked December 28. I actually did have reasons to think that 12/28 was a better date, and you can ask me those reasons if you like.
In any event. Christmas came and went. December 28 came and went. January 1 came and went. Now we were beginning to get cranky. Marcus and I are planners. And as said before, Jonathan's birth was planned. So this waiting thing was hard. My Friday OB appointment on January 2 was disappointing.
Saturday, January 3, I woke up and started having contractions! Yeah!! They were fairly short, 20-30 seconds, but relatively frequent, for four or five hours. Then they stopped. Then they started. So my sister came over for dinner and the spend the night, to stay with Jonathan in case we had to make a run to the hospital in the middle of the night. We all went to bed and the contractions stopped.
Not many on Sunday.
Sometime on Sunday evening I felt the baby move and shift out of a head down position. So, I decided to take a wander to the doctor's office in the morning to see. By the time the morning came around, I had started having the contractions again, and still felt that the baby's position was off. Not wanting any surprises, I called the doc very early and he told me to head to Labor and Delivery. We rousted the troops to come watch Jonathan, again. Our plan had been just to take him with us to the doctor, but then we envisioned Labor and Delivery with a toddler, and opted for the other plan.
So, that is how I wound up in the hospital for six hours on Monday, January 5. They sent me home because I was only 1 cm dilated and the contractions had slowed. However, because things seemed to be happening in earnest, we decided to have my mom come and take Jonathan to their house (two hours away) for a few days. And so she did. Of course, essentially the second she drove away, the contractions stopped. And nothing happened.
All week. I tweeted and left Facebook status updates informing people that NOTHNG was happening.
Thursday evening I went to bed and thought labor might start. There was nothing I could point to, I just felt off. I warned the doula and Marcus.
Friday, 1:30 a.m. I started leaking, and small contractions started. At 2:30, my water broke and there was no mistake. Labor had actually started. Aimee arrived at about 3:30 or so, and I was having fairly regular, not horrid, contractions that were about 10 minutes apart. Enough that I couldn't talk or walk through them. By 5:30 I was in the aqua doula (labor tub) and the contractions were coming closer together and lasting for at least a minute.
The only position that was slightly comfortable was if I was on my hands and knees, resting my cheek/chin on the edge of the tub. And
By about 8:00 a.m. they were about 4-5 minutes apart. And right about that time, I "gave back" all the tiny bites of food that Marcus and Aimee had made me eat. Good thing I had a two quart sauce pan as a catch basin.
But about that time, 8:30 or 9:00, the contractions started to space out. So, I got out of the nice warm tub, and walked around a bit. Some inside, some outside. In my nice fuzzy long nightgown. Things weren't speeding up, and the contractions were about 10 minutes apart again, though undoubtedly they were labor contractions.
Aimee suggested that we try to sleep. Sounds weird, but Marcus got a heating pad, like a Bucky. I lay on my left side on the bed and he lay right behind me and pressed the hot pad against my back. That way, when I had a contraction, he could apply counterpressure to my lower back like he had in the tub.
We actually were able to sleep. Which was a blessing, although irritating because it meant that my contractions were still spaced out. Making my life difficult, but not being productive in terms of labor progressing.
After about an hour of sleeping/contractions, at about 12:30 p.m. we tried walking. If you were driving around Vienna on Friday morning and thought it odd to see a pregnant woman out for a walk in a red robe, that was me. Oh, and brown mammoth crocs. With black socks. Stylish. The walking helped a bit, but not as much as she had hoped.
And so we decided to go to the hospital. The thought was that perhaps a little bit of pitocin might bring the contractions faster. Also, she wanted me to wait for an epidural, based on how she had seen me dealing with the contractions I was having.
We arrived at the hospital at about 2:30 p.m. on Friday. Got myself settled in with a saline I.V. The FOURTH poke in a week, but at least this one took the first time. We waited to see my doctor, who is the chief of obstetrics at the hospital rather than electing to see one of the residents. There are all sorts of reasons why, but the result was that he did not come to see me and check my "progression" until 6:00 p.m. So I had had a chance to get back into a good rhythm with the contractions. He did not think I was as dilated as we had thought, but in any event, I was in active labor and wanted to wait to see what progress would be made.
Let me jump ahead for a second and say that, because I never dilated beyond 4 cm, that I never was in active labor. However, the descriptions of the various stages of labor (early, first stage, active first stage, transition, second stage (pushing), etc.) indicate that I managed to make it through the transition stage. I don't know what the answer to that is, except to say that I have decided that obstetrics and midwifery is as much an art as they are a science. My doula certainly thought I had made it through transition and was actually suggesting that I "bear down a little" with the contractions. And she also gave me some "pushing" pointers because she thought that the pushing phase would be quite short. So, there was something weird about my labor.
Back to the progression, or lack thereof. Between 6:00 and 9:00 p.m. I was severely uncomfortable, to put it mildly. The contractions were just miserable (and all y'all who have been through it are saying, "yes, yes, they were for me, too.") According to our doula, herself a former Bradley teacher, and my husband, I was "doing all the right things" to manage the pain: breathing, relaxation, etc. However, I did not feel like anything was being managed. And I was a sniviling, snotty mess. I could not stop shaking, toward the end, and I was done. If I could have just taken a breather, perhaps I could have done it, but that really isn't an option. So, approximately 18 hours after serious contractions had started, and about three hours into 'active labor' (or whatever....after that weird transition thing...) I asked for, and got, an epidural, at about 9:00 p.m. or so, Friday night.
Shortly after that, my doctor came and checked again and said that I had made not progress. Still 4 cm dilated, though I was fully effaced, and the baby was still high up in my pelvis and had not moved. He suggested that we all, including him, take nap. Four hours later, my contractions had slowed a bit, and when he checked me at about 2:30 a.m. Saturday morning, he said there had been no change. He was reluctant to give me any pitocin, because he suspected that there was a reason that the baby was not descending and allowing me to dilate. So, I had another C-section. Thomas James Maher was born at exactly 3:30 a.m. 10 pounds even. 22 inches long. Full head of straight dark brown hair.
When asked if he could see any reason why the baby didn't descend, he said that the head just wasn't quite properly positioned, and that the baby was just spinning around trying to figure out what to do, but just wasn't doing it. So. Nothing any of us could have done. Would laboring longer have given him more time to figure it out? Perhaps. And there was a era in which there would have been no other option and I would just have had to struggle through. And the end result might have been other than a happy, healthy baby boy and a happy, healthy (and tired and sore) mother.
My purpose in attempting a VBAC was not to make some grand point. There are points to be made: I do believe that the C-section rate is unnecessarily high; that women often take what is perceived the 'easy' way out, etc. I also believe that the culture and mindset around birthing needs to shift to a non-medical model of care. And I could get really passionate about the issue and do some "activist" work. But that wasn't the point here, I just wanted the best for me and my baby. I believed that was a vaginal birth. And, I think, it was.
Since I did go into labor, I know that Thomas was ready to be born (as he should have been at 41 weeks and 1 day late). I know that he and I both benefited from the labor hormones. My body was able to shift from pregnancy to post-partum in the fashion that was intended. There are so many amazing things that happen in the mom and the baby during labor and immediately after delivery, and they happen best in a particular order. Physcially, I am more tired and sore after this birth than my first, scheduled C-section. That would be from the two extra nights of no sleep and the work of labor. However, emotionally, I feel much better. I feel like the labor worked out a lot of the stress hormones or something.
So now, we are off and running. Thomas is nursing well, my milk has started to come in, a bit earlier than previously. Breastfeeding will still be a challenge, but it is one that I am expecting. A bigger challenge will be balancing the needs of Jonathan as an almost 2 1/2 year old and the newborn needs of Thomas.
What have I learned in this whole process? The big lesson is that I cannot control most of the important things in life. This really was one of the few situations that drives home that point. For those of you who have watched me wait and pace and wait some more, you have witnessed some of the frustration. Didn't God (and this baby) understand that there were tax advantages to being born before January 1? Didn't they understand health insurance premiums and the difference one day would make? Didn't they understand that I was so very very tired of being pregnant? It was helpful that people kept reiterating to me that 'babies come when they are ready.' More importantly, however, was me learning to trust God in new ways and learning a little about what it means to wait.
p.s. I know, I know. Y'all want pictures. Fine. Just give me a day or two.
For the men in the room, or people that don't want every single detail, I recounted the basic information in this post. Look no farther. If you go below the asterisks, it is at your own risk.
****************************************
If you want the background to this pregnancy, you can go look here.
Ok. So, as many of you know, my official due date was January 1, 2009. I rebelled against that and asserted in many ways that I was going to have the baby by the end of the year, and I picked December 28. I actually did have reasons to think that 12/28 was a better date, and you can ask me those reasons if you like.
In any event. Christmas came and went. December 28 came and went. January 1 came and went. Now we were beginning to get cranky. Marcus and I are planners. And as said before, Jonathan's birth was planned. So this waiting thing was hard. My Friday OB appointment on January 2 was disappointing.
Saturday, January 3, I woke up and started having contractions! Yeah!! They were fairly short, 20-30 seconds, but relatively frequent, for four or five hours. Then they stopped. Then they started. So my sister came over for dinner and the spend the night, to stay with Jonathan in case we had to make a run to the hospital in the middle of the night. We all went to bed and the contractions stopped.
Not many on Sunday.
Sometime on Sunday evening I felt the baby move and shift out of a head down position. So, I decided to take a wander to the doctor's office in the morning to see. By the time the morning came around, I had started having the contractions again, and still felt that the baby's position was off. Not wanting any surprises, I called the doc very early and he told me to head to Labor and Delivery. We rousted the troops to come watch Jonathan, again. Our plan had been just to take him with us to the doctor, but then we envisioned Labor and Delivery with a toddler, and opted for the other plan.
So, that is how I wound up in the hospital for six hours on Monday, January 5. They sent me home because I was only 1 cm dilated and the contractions had slowed. However, because things seemed to be happening in earnest, we decided to have my mom come and take Jonathan to their house (two hours away) for a few days. And so she did. Of course, essentially the second she drove away, the contractions stopped. And nothing happened.
All week. I tweeted and left Facebook status updates informing people that NOTHNG was happening.
Thursday evening I went to bed and thought labor might start. There was nothing I could point to, I just felt off. I warned the doula and Marcus.
Friday, 1:30 a.m. I started leaking, and small contractions started. At 2:30, my water broke and there was no mistake. Labor had actually started. Aimee arrived at about 3:30 or so, and I was having fairly regular, not horrid, contractions that were about 10 minutes apart. Enough that I couldn't talk or walk through them. By 5:30 I was in the aqua doula (labor tub) and the contractions were coming closer together and lasting for at least a minute.
The only position that was slightly comfortable was if I was on my hands and knees, resting my cheek/chin on the edge of the tub. And
By about 8:00 a.m. they were about 4-5 minutes apart. And right about that time, I "gave back" all the tiny bites of food that Marcus and Aimee had made me eat. Good thing I had a two quart sauce pan as a catch basin.
But about that time, 8:30 or 9:00, the contractions started to space out. So, I got out of the nice warm tub, and walked around a bit. Some inside, some outside. In my nice fuzzy long nightgown. Things weren't speeding up, and the contractions were about 10 minutes apart again, though undoubtedly they were labor contractions.
Aimee suggested that we try to sleep. Sounds weird, but Marcus got a heating pad, like a Bucky. I lay on my left side on the bed and he lay right behind me and pressed the hot pad against my back. That way, when I had a contraction, he could apply counterpressure to my lower back like he had in the tub.
We actually were able to sleep. Which was a blessing, although irritating because it meant that my contractions were still spaced out. Making my life difficult, but not being productive in terms of labor progressing.
After about an hour of sleeping/contractions, at about 12:30 p.m. we tried walking. If you were driving around Vienna on Friday morning and thought it odd to see a pregnant woman out for a walk in a red robe, that was me. Oh, and brown mammoth crocs. With black socks. Stylish. The walking helped a bit, but not as much as she had hoped.
And so we decided to go to the hospital. The thought was that perhaps a little bit of pitocin might bring the contractions faster. Also, she wanted me to wait for an epidural, based on how she had seen me dealing with the contractions I was having.
We arrived at the hospital at about 2:30 p.m. on Friday. Got myself settled in with a saline I.V. The FOURTH poke in a week, but at least this one took the first time. We waited to see my doctor, who is the chief of obstetrics at the hospital rather than electing to see one of the residents. There are all sorts of reasons why, but the result was that he did not come to see me and check my "progression" until 6:00 p.m. So I had had a chance to get back into a good rhythm with the contractions. He did not think I was as dilated as we had thought, but in any event, I was in active labor and wanted to wait to see what progress would be made.
Let me jump ahead for a second and say that, because I never dilated beyond 4 cm, that I never was in active labor. However, the descriptions of the various stages of labor (early, first stage, active first stage, transition, second stage (pushing), etc.) indicate that I managed to make it through the transition stage. I don't know what the answer to that is, except to say that I have decided that obstetrics and midwifery is as much an art as they are a science. My doula certainly thought I had made it through transition and was actually suggesting that I "bear down a little" with the contractions. And she also gave me some "pushing" pointers because she thought that the pushing phase would be quite short. So, there was something weird about my labor.
Back to the progression, or lack thereof. Between 6:00 and 9:00 p.m. I was severely uncomfortable, to put it mildly. The contractions were just miserable (and all y'all who have been through it are saying, "yes, yes, they were for me, too.") According to our doula, herself a former Bradley teacher, and my husband, I was "doing all the right things" to manage the pain: breathing, relaxation, etc. However, I did not feel like anything was being managed. And I was a sniviling, snotty mess. I could not stop shaking, toward the end, and I was done. If I could have just taken a breather, perhaps I could have done it, but that really isn't an option. So, approximately 18 hours after serious contractions had started, and about three hours into 'active labor' (or whatever....after that weird transition thing...) I asked for, and got, an epidural, at about 9:00 p.m. or so, Friday night.
Shortly after that, my doctor came and checked again and said that I had made not progress. Still 4 cm dilated, though I was fully effaced, and the baby was still high up in my pelvis and had not moved. He suggested that we all, including him, take nap. Four hours later, my contractions had slowed a bit, and when he checked me at about 2:30 a.m. Saturday morning, he said there had been no change. He was reluctant to give me any pitocin, because he suspected that there was a reason that the baby was not descending and allowing me to dilate. So, I had another C-section. Thomas James Maher was born at exactly 3:30 a.m. 10 pounds even. 22 inches long. Full head of straight dark brown hair.
When asked if he could see any reason why the baby didn't descend, he said that the head just wasn't quite properly positioned, and that the baby was just spinning around trying to figure out what to do, but just wasn't doing it. So. Nothing any of us could have done. Would laboring longer have given him more time to figure it out? Perhaps. And there was a era in which there would have been no other option and I would just have had to struggle through. And the end result might have been other than a happy, healthy baby boy and a happy, healthy (and tired and sore) mother.
My purpose in attempting a VBAC was not to make some grand point. There are points to be made: I do believe that the C-section rate is unnecessarily high; that women often take what is perceived the 'easy' way out, etc. I also believe that the culture and mindset around birthing needs to shift to a non-medical model of care. And I could get really passionate about the issue and do some "activist" work. But that wasn't the point here, I just wanted the best for me and my baby. I believed that was a vaginal birth. And, I think, it was.
Since I did go into labor, I know that Thomas was ready to be born (as he should have been at 41 weeks and 1 day late). I know that he and I both benefited from the labor hormones. My body was able to shift from pregnancy to post-partum in the fashion that was intended. There are so many amazing things that happen in the mom and the baby during labor and immediately after delivery, and they happen best in a particular order. Physcially, I am more tired and sore after this birth than my first, scheduled C-section. That would be from the two extra nights of no sleep and the work of labor. However, emotionally, I feel much better. I feel like the labor worked out a lot of the stress hormones or something.
So now, we are off and running. Thomas is nursing well, my milk has started to come in, a bit earlier than previously. Breastfeeding will still be a challenge, but it is one that I am expecting. A bigger challenge will be balancing the needs of Jonathan as an almost 2 1/2 year old and the newborn needs of Thomas.
What have I learned in this whole process? The big lesson is that I cannot control most of the important things in life. This really was one of the few situations that drives home that point. For those of you who have watched me wait and pace and wait some more, you have witnessed some of the frustration. Didn't God (and this baby) understand that there were tax advantages to being born before January 1? Didn't they understand health insurance premiums and the difference one day would make? Didn't they understand that I was so very very tired of being pregnant? It was helpful that people kept reiterating to me that 'babies come when they are ready.' More importantly, however, was me learning to trust God in new ways and learning a little about what it means to wait.
p.s. I know, I know. Y'all want pictures. Fine. Just give me a day or two.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Background to birth story
Well, as many of you know, I had a C-section with my first child, Jonathan, in the summer of 2006. It was a scheduled procedure, timed for when I was 39 weeks pregnant, because Jonathan was a transverse breech, essentially sitting cross-legged, inside me. As surgery goes, it was straightforward and as fine as could be expected. We were disappointed, because we had planned a Bradley birth. But, we trusted that God knew what He was doing, and accepted the situation.
This time around, though, I did not want surgery again. After Jonathan was born, I had a gall-bladder attack again, and had surgery very quickly thereafter, when Jonathan was four weeks old. And to have another Cesarean with this baby would be three major abdominal surgeries in less than three years. And, of course, there is more risk for pregnancy the more C-sections you have. We are happy with two children, but I did not want to deliberately choose to have another C and therefore increase my risks. So, I wanted to try for aVBAC -- Vaginal Birth After Cesarean.
Back in the day, the wisdom was, "once a Cesarean, always a Cesarean." Now, it is acknowledged that there is essentially no more risk to the mother to have a vaginal birth after a standard Cesarean (the current standard, not the past...the incisions were very different.) )For more information on the whole issue, visit here.) Still, many OBs prefer repeat surgeries rather than supporting their patients in attempting a vaginal birth. But there are some great docs out there, and I found a very supportive one. He is the "go-to" guy for VBACs and other oddities. People either love him and are willing to put up with the wait, or they aren't. Personally, I found that I only waited for him to deliver babies, but then again, I made it a point to be the first one in the office every time.
This time around, though, I did not want surgery again. After Jonathan was born, I had a gall-bladder attack again, and had surgery very quickly thereafter, when Jonathan was four weeks old. And to have another Cesarean with this baby would be three major abdominal surgeries in less than three years. And, of course, there is more risk for pregnancy the more C-sections you have. We are happy with two children, but I did not want to deliberately choose to have another C and therefore increase my risks. So, I wanted to try for a
Back in the day, the wisdom was, "once a Cesarean, always a Cesarean." Now, it is acknowledged that there is essentially no more risk to the mother to have a vaginal birth after a standard Cesarean (the current standard, not the past...the incisions were very different.) )For more information on the whole issue, visit here.) Still, many OBs prefer repeat surgeries rather than supporting their patients in attempting a vaginal birth. But there are some great docs out there, and I found a very supportive one. He is the "go-to" guy for VBACs and other oddities. People either love him and are willing to put up with the wait, or they aren't. Personally, I found that I only waited for him to deliver babies, but then again, I made it a point to be the first one in the office every time.
In any case, that was where I started. The next post actually sets forth what happened during labor and delivery!
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Baby is here!!
I am happy.
Thomas James born at 3:30 am.
10 pounds.
22 inches.
Born via second C-section after very weird, and long, labor.
Birth story will be on blog in a bit.
Thomas James born at 3:30 am.
10 pounds.
22 inches.
Born via second C-section after very weird, and long, labor.
Birth story will be on blog in a bit.
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
Is this worth a post of its' own?
To answer my own question, I'm not sure.
But, since I know that the three of you reading this are just dying to know the status of things (what, not everyone can stand to be on this knife edge of anticipation with me???) I thought I would throw up a quick update.
Which is, drum roll please, nothing.
I haven't had any contractions to speak of since Monday afternoon, post hospital. Boy, am I glad that I didn't stay (thank you Aimee, my amazing doula!)
But, because of the unknown, my mom came and took our two year old to her home a couple hours away, for a few days. He loves going to Gramma and Grampa's, so I think he is ok. Mom may be going out of her mind. My own grandparents live with them (86 and nearly 91). And my dad is still working at age 72 in spite of some fairly severe and recent health problems of his own. So, she doesn't feel like she has a whole lot of freedom to come and just hang out here.
In any event, we have had a nice day and a half, though. It has been nasty weather, so we have been mostly inside. Although that "knife edge of anticipation" is hard to live on (maybe more so for my husband since he cannot DO anything), it has been good to rest up and be quiet. In hindsight, I suspect we will look on this time as a gift straight from God, though at the moment the waiting is frustrating.
Part of it is managing expectations. We had everything so organized. On our timeline. Which apparently had very little to do with the real timeline. And our timeline has just been completely shot. Therefore, there is this uncertainty. (Which is coupled with some anxiety about the baby being breech -- which is our experience with Jonathan -- and not knowing what labor will bring -- which feels odd, since this is our second baby -- and trying to do a VBAC -- which we know is completely doable, but which freaks some people out a little, including some of the doctors -- and trying to ensure in the middle of all of this that we are being good parents to our two year old.)
And Marcus took time off from work to help with the baby, time which is slowly being eaten away by this waiting.
But y'all know what would happen if we changed it up, right? As soon as Marcus decided to go back to work for a few days, or we decided just to have Mom bring Jonathan home, I would get slammed into active labor, and I would be scrambling to get Marcus home from the city, and someone to take care of Jonathan, etc. etc.
So, I think we wait.
And pray.
Which explains why I am up at 4:00 a.m.
But, since I know that the three of you reading this are just dying to know the status of things (what, not everyone can stand to be on this knife edge of anticipation with me???) I thought I would throw up a quick update.
Which is, drum roll please, nothing.
I haven't had any contractions to speak of since Monday afternoon, post hospital. Boy, am I glad that I didn't stay (thank you Aimee, my amazing doula!)
But, because of the unknown, my mom came and took our two year old to her home a couple hours away, for a few days. He loves going to Gramma and Grampa's, so I think he is ok. Mom may be going out of her mind. My own grandparents live with them (86 and nearly 91). And my dad is still working at age 72 in spite of some fairly severe and recent health problems of his own. So, she doesn't feel like she has a whole lot of freedom to come and just hang out here.
In any event, we have had a nice day and a half, though. It has been nasty weather, so we have been mostly inside. Although that "knife edge of anticipation" is hard to live on (maybe more so for my husband since he cannot DO anything), it has been good to rest up and be quiet. In hindsight, I suspect we will look on this time as a gift straight from God, though at the moment the waiting is frustrating.
Part of it is managing expectations. We had everything so organized. On our timeline. Which apparently had very little to do with the real timeline. And our timeline has just been completely shot. Therefore, there is this uncertainty. (Which is coupled with some anxiety about the baby being breech -- which is our experience with Jonathan -- and not knowing what labor will bring -- which feels odd, since this is our second baby -- and trying to do a VBAC -- which we know is completely doable, but which freaks some people out a little, including some of the doctors -- and trying to ensure in the middle of all of this that we are being good parents to our two year old.)
And Marcus took time off from work to help with the baby, time which is slowly being eaten away by this waiting.
But y'all know what would happen if we changed it up, right? As soon as Marcus decided to go back to work for a few days, or we decided just to have Mom bring Jonathan home, I would get slammed into active labor, and I would be scrambling to get Marcus home from the city, and someone to take care of Jonathan, etc. etc.
So, I think we wait.
And pray.
Which explains why I am up at 4:00 a.m.
Monday, January 05, 2009
Labor (or pre-labor?) part two
I am home from hospital.
More work to do here, apparently.
Details follow. If you don't want them, cease reading here.
******************
Went this morning b/c baby was sideways
and wanted it checked and was starting to bleed a
little. Normally this wouldn't bother me, except that
Jonathan was breech and I am a bit wiggy about the whole
thing.
But "checking" with doctor who is an attending in the hospital seems to mean
admittance to Labor and Delivery.
Good news is that am dilated and things are starting
but the baby not engaged in pelvis.
They sent me home after five hours. I wanted to leave, although they would have been happy to have me stay, because of the worry of the previous Section.
And the fact that the baby not engaged.
Without previous C/S they would have sent me home pretty immediately.
Contractions coming frequently but not "labor"
just "prelabor". Whatever. They aren't long enough. But they certainly feel HARD enough.
Hate the hospital. Not that one particularly, just in general.
They were nice. But have three IV holes. Which HURT.
Two attempts, and then a third success. Which will have to be
REDONE when I go back in to actually have this kid.
Wireless there is difficult on itouch.
Will take laptop next trip. Didn't plan on being admitted today.
Beth came this morning then Kristen came to stay with Jonathan.
Mom just came and took him down to Tapp for a day or two.
Supposed to sleet and freeze rain tonight.
Lovely.
My doula sent me home to eat and drink and sleep. So, the first two have been done.
Now, onto the next one.
More anon....
More work to do here, apparently.
Details follow. If you don't want them, cease reading here.
******************
Went this morning b/c baby was sideways
and wanted it checked and was starting to bleed a
little. Normally this wouldn't bother me, except that
Jonathan was breech and I am a bit wiggy about the whole
thing.
But "checking" with doctor who is an attending in the hospital seems to mean
admittance to Labor and Delivery.
Good news is that am dilated and things are starting
but the baby not engaged in pelvis.
They sent me home after five hours. I wanted to leave, although they would have been happy to have me stay, because of the worry of the previous Section.
And the fact that the baby not engaged.
Without previous C/S they would have sent me home pretty immediately.
Contractions coming frequently but not "labor"
just "prelabor". Whatever. They aren't long enough. But they certainly feel HARD enough.
Hate the hospital. Not that one particularly, just in general.
They were nice. But have three IV holes. Which HURT.
Two attempts, and then a third success. Which will have to be
REDONE when I go back in to actually have this kid.
Wireless there is difficult on itouch.
Will take laptop next trip. Didn't plan on being admitted today.
Beth came this morning then Kristen came to stay with Jonathan.
Mom just came and took him down to Tapp for a day or two.
Supposed to sleet and freeze rain tonight.
Lovely.
My doula sent me home to eat and drink and sleep. So, the first two have been done.
Now, onto the next one.
More anon....
Sunday, January 04, 2009
Labor. Part 1 of who knows how many.
Let me start by saying that I now am officially the most boring person in the whole world. My entire world has collapsed into wondering when (and sometimes, "If???") this baby is going to be born.
My husband has been mostly relegated to "toddler duty" and my poor two year old says, not infrequently, "where's mommy?" even though I am right here.
At some point I will get back to posting about things other than this pregnancy. And then it will probably still be mostly about my family. Ah well.
Anyhoo....the following is for the interested few, and for my own records, so I don't forget.
So, Friday morning I went to the doctor. Nowhere near close to labor. Nuh-uh. Nothing.
Friday night, had chili dogs, onion rings and fried mushrooms (can we all agree that I needed more fiber?) for dinner. Got a raging case of heartburn. Course, since I had never had it before, I don't know how 'raging' it was, but for me it was awful. Tried to sleep on an incline with pillows. FAIL.
About 12:30, the baby started going nuts. He hadn't been moving a lot the past few weeks, just little squirms here and there. This was a full-out home renovation. It was clear to me that he DID. NOT. LIKE. HIS. CURRENT. POSITION. And my body promptly reacted by having very strong, and very short and sporadic, contractions. It was like a cage fight in slow motion in my belly.
Went on for about an hour.
Just as I was about to get up and call somebody, everything settled down. I did get up, anyway, for a bit, to eat a little something and see if anything kept going. Nothing. So, about three a.m. I went back to sleep. And got some decent sleep.
Saturday morning woke up and we did the normal morning routine. And then I started having more contractions, of a similar nature to the ones the night before. Uncomfortable, but short and sporadic. Those went on all day. I put the family (and Twitter and FB) on a cautious "alert". Then I made cookies.
We all took a nap after lunch since we are/were still fighting colds. During the nap everything slowed down to a crawl. Post-nap, we thought a walk would help. A walk at the speed of a two year old, which is the only speed I want to go now. Walk didn't help.
But, exactly as my doula/midwife said, just wait for nightfall. At about 7, they kicked in again. 30 seconds or so. Uncomfortable, but also not predictable. Got myself in gear for ramping up. Thought I would try to sleep a little. And did.
And everything stopped at about 11. Until about 8 this morning.
So, we got a decent night's sleep, except for the two hours I was awake in the middle of the night wondering what was happening.
That brings us to now.
More of the same contractions. I shall now go lie down and see if I can spot a pattern.
Thank you. That is all.
My husband has been mostly relegated to "toddler duty" and my poor two year old says, not infrequently, "where's mommy?" even though I am right here.
At some point I will get back to posting about things other than this pregnancy. And then it will probably still be mostly about my family. Ah well.
Anyhoo....the following is for the interested few, and for my own records, so I don't forget.
So, Friday morning I went to the doctor. Nowhere near close to labor. Nuh-uh. Nothing.
Friday night, had chili dogs, onion rings and fried mushrooms (can we all agree that I needed more fiber?) for dinner. Got a raging case of heartburn. Course, since I had never had it before, I don't know how 'raging' it was, but for me it was awful. Tried to sleep on an incline with pillows. FAIL.
About 12:30, the baby started going nuts. He hadn't been moving a lot the past few weeks, just little squirms here and there. This was a full-out home renovation. It was clear to me that he DID. NOT. LIKE. HIS. CURRENT. POSITION. And my body promptly reacted by having very strong, and very short and sporadic, contractions. It was like a cage fight in slow motion in my belly.
Went on for about an hour.
Just as I was about to get up and call somebody, everything settled down. I did get up, anyway, for a bit, to eat a little something and see if anything kept going. Nothing. So, about three a.m. I went back to sleep. And got some decent sleep.
Saturday morning woke up and we did the normal morning routine. And then I started having more contractions, of a similar nature to the ones the night before. Uncomfortable, but short and sporadic. Those went on all day. I put the family (and Twitter and FB) on a cautious "alert". Then I made cookies.
We all took a nap after lunch since we are/were still fighting colds. During the nap everything slowed down to a crawl. Post-nap, we thought a walk would help. A walk at the speed of a two year old, which is the only speed I want to go now. Walk didn't help.
But, exactly as my doula/midwife said, just wait for nightfall. At about 7, they kicked in again. 30 seconds or so. Uncomfortable, but also not predictable. Got myself in gear for ramping up. Thought I would try to sleep a little. And did.
And everything stopped at about 11. Until about 8 this morning.
So, we got a decent night's sleep, except for the two hours I was awake in the middle of the night wondering what was happening.
That brings us to now.
More of the same contractions. I shall now go lie down and see if I can spot a pattern.
Thank you. That is all.
Friday, January 02, 2009
40 and counting
No. Not my age.
Weeks. Actually, let's be accurate here, 40 weeks and one day (or is it two).
Whatever.
NO PROGRESS.
Not only "no progress", but no indication that my body ever intends to go into labor.
Hmmm.
Baby seems fine. But the doc will send me for a sono check and a NST next Friday if I still have not had the wee one. If I go another week, I might go crazy.
Or not. I do think I have managed to do some surrendering to the One who created all of us. After all, I should have this baby by, oh, Valentine's Day, right?
RIGHT?
Weeks. Actually, let's be accurate here, 40 weeks and one day (or is it two).
Whatever.
NO PROGRESS.
Not only "no progress", but no indication that my body ever intends to go into labor.
Hmmm.
Baby seems fine. But the doc will send me for a sono check and a NST next Friday if I still have not had the wee one. If I go another week, I might go crazy.
Or not. I do think I have managed to do some surrendering to the One who created all of us. After all, I should have this baby by, oh, Valentine's Day, right?
RIGHT?
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Goodbye 2008
I guess this little boy isn't going to be a tax deduction for us this year.
Ah well. I am, somewhat, being able to lean on God, and trust that He knows what He is doing.
Bright and early on New Year's Eve morning, I blew into the chiropractor's office. And I do mean "blew". Goodness gracious, it is blustery, cold and windy here. Gale force winds. Whew.
Anyway, got a good adjustment (and maybe some baby clothes!) from the chiropractor. And then I waited and the acupuncturist fit me in. Stuck some needles in certain points of my hands and feet and hooked me up to the electrodes. Supposed to start labor. Maybe.
I did feel quite a bit of movement. Which then stopped the instant the needles were removed. Oh well.
And so this evening we moved back to spicy food. Indian this time. Oh, and a good foot rub by the husband on all those pressure points.
We shall see!
Happy New Year's everyone!
Ah well. I am, somewhat, being able to lean on God, and trust that He knows what He is doing.
Bright and early on New Year's Eve morning, I blew into the chiropractor's office. And I do mean "blew". Goodness gracious, it is blustery, cold and windy here. Gale force winds. Whew.
Anyway, got a good adjustment (and maybe some baby clothes!) from the chiropractor. And then I waited and the acupuncturist fit me in. Stuck some needles in certain points of my hands and feet and hooked me up to the electrodes. Supposed to start labor. Maybe.
I did feel quite a bit of movement. Which then stopped the instant the needles were removed. Oh well.
And so this evening we moved back to spicy food. Indian this time. Oh, and a good foot rub by the husband on all those pressure points.
We shall see!
Happy New Year's everyone!
Monday, December 29, 2008
...Or Not.
So, the baby is still comfortably ensconced inside me.
I am determined not to be annoyed. God knows when this baby needs to be born.
I have packed the bag, talked to the insurance company, pre-registered at the hospital, etc. Friends and family are all prepared to come running at the phone call.
We have packed little presents for our toddler to open when he comes to see the baby.
Now we wait.
Mexican food Saturday night, Cajun last night, Thai tonight. If this baby doesn't come, we are bringing out the big guns and having Indian tomorrow night.
I have been admonished by more than one person to trust God in all of this, especially regarding timing. Ok. Ok. I get the message.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
This is the day!
Well, at least in MY mind. I have decided that today I am going to have this baby. I don't know what he has planned, but that is what I have decided.
And, generally, in spite of the lack of sleep, and the toddler being up several times, for long stretches, last night, I have a surprising amount of energy, emotional if not physical. Some of it has to do with the Christmas season. We had a glorious Advent, and our church has some lovely Christmas traditions. We went to the Family Service on Christmas Eve, because of the time, and the fact that there was child care. It was really nice. And we had a really low-key Christmas Day here, just the three of us. Jonathan doesn't really "get" Christmas yet, and since none of the rest of the family were here, there were only a few presents to open, so it wasn't the chaos that some experience.
I did bake a ham, which, when pulled apart, is apparently going to feed us well into the baby's second year. And then we went out to the Festival of Lights at Bull Run. It is a bit overrated, but we knew that Jonathan would enjoy seeing all the different things, and, indeed he did. And, shockingly, he fell asleep on the way home, and we just put him in bed when we got here. At 6:30 p.m. Did you see that, people? My hubs and I got a surprising Christmas present....several HOURS in the evening all to ourselves. Nice.
And we have run all of the pre-baby errands that seem to need to be run: Costco, Babies R Us, the grocery, etc. All of the people who are on-call for labor are back in town, clothes are being washed as we speak, etc. I think we are as set as we are going to be for this new arrival. We went to church last night for Lessons and Carols. What a worshipful time it was for me. Just what I needed.
And now we wait. I am not as anxious as I was, probably because everyone has been praying for me. And, as I said, I have a shocking amount of emotional energy. Not that I am going to channel it into cleaning bathrooms or anything, egads. (Oh, speaking of bathrooms, our master bath toilet decided to start leaking like a sieve on Christmas. Lovely. So, we have the water turned off. Good thing we have other bathrooms in the house.)
Actually, my emotional energy is high enough that I almost titled this post "Good Morning, Good Morning, Good Morning" and started the body of it off with "It's time to rise and shine..."
Does anyone remember that from the 70's? Mom used to come into our room and chirp that to us to wake us up. Needlesstosay, we found it annoying at best. But that is the chirpy mood I am in. Which may change on a whim.
So....I will post the birth story stuff here.
If you want a more timely announcement of the baby, you can follow me on Twitter, or send me an email, and I will put you on the "announcement" email.
As Tigger would say, "TTFN: Ta Ta for Now!"
And, generally, in spite of the lack of sleep, and the toddler being up several times, for long stretches, last night, I have a surprising amount of energy, emotional if not physical. Some of it has to do with the Christmas season. We had a glorious Advent, and our church has some lovely Christmas traditions. We went to the Family Service on Christmas Eve, because of the time, and the fact that there was child care. It was really nice. And we had a really low-key Christmas Day here, just the three of us. Jonathan doesn't really "get" Christmas yet, and since none of the rest of the family were here, there were only a few presents to open, so it wasn't the chaos that some experience.
I did bake a ham, which, when pulled apart, is apparently going to feed us well into the baby's second year. And then we went out to the Festival of Lights at Bull Run. It is a bit overrated, but we knew that Jonathan would enjoy seeing all the different things, and, indeed he did. And, shockingly, he fell asleep on the way home, and we just put him in bed when we got here. At 6:30 p.m. Did you see that, people? My hubs and I got a surprising Christmas present....several HOURS in the evening all to ourselves. Nice.
And we have run all of the pre-baby errands that seem to need to be run: Costco, Babies R Us, the grocery, etc. All of the people who are on-call for labor are back in town, clothes are being washed as we speak, etc. I think we are as set as we are going to be for this new arrival. We went to church last night for Lessons and Carols. What a worshipful time it was for me. Just what I needed.
And now we wait. I am not as anxious as I was, probably because everyone has been praying for me. And, as I said, I have a shocking amount of emotional energy. Not that I am going to channel it into cleaning bathrooms or anything, egads. (Oh, speaking of bathrooms, our master bath toilet decided to start leaking like a sieve on Christmas. Lovely. So, we have the water turned off. Good thing we have other bathrooms in the house.)
Actually, my emotional energy is high enough that I almost titled this post "Good Morning, Good Morning, Good Morning" and started the body of it off with "It's time to rise and shine..."
Does anyone remember that from the 70's? Mom used to come into our room and chirp that to us to wake us up. Needlesstosay, we found it annoying at best. But that is the chirpy mood I am in. Which may change on a whim.
So....I will post the birth story stuff here.
If you want a more timely announcement of the baby, you can follow me on Twitter, or send me an email, and I will put you on the "announcement" email.
As Tigger would say, "TTFN: Ta Ta for Now!"
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Almost Christmas!
Well folks, I have been tired. I have about a week (give or take) to go in this pregnancy, and I am tired. And, my 2 y.o. is sick. Coughy, snotty, can't breathe, can't sleep kindof sick. And so, we generally haven't been sleeping, any of us.
Somehow last night it all caught up with us, and we all slept, including the sick toddler. He slept for nearly 12 hours. Groaned once or twice, and we heard a couple coughing fits over the baby monitor, but he never really woke up. My husband actually went in and got him up just before he left for work. Poor little guy.
But this post isn't really about sickness, though that has figured prominently at the house recently.
This post is about cuteness.
My son, who is two months shy of being "Two and a HALF", loves Christmas carols. All music really, but Christmas carols figure prominently in his repertoire. His favorite is "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing". I have been singing that to him as one of the lullaby rotation, since he was born. He now knows the entire first verse, and some of the other ones. He sings it atonally, but at the top of his lungs. We, of course, think it is terribly cute. No one else really knows about his penchant for carols, but check out what he received for an early Christmas present from a friend of mine: a plastic snow globe that plays Christmas carols at the press of a button. For five days he has carried it everywhere with him, on errands, into bed for naps, etc. To nearly all the carols, he sings the words to "Hark". Except for Jingle Bells, to which he sings at least part of the first verse. All of this is quite funny. We have a video for posterity. One of these days it might actually get downloaded to the computer!
Another vignette:
My husband puts Jonathan to bed at night. Once he was weaned, Marcus took over. First there is the bath, then the bedtime stories, then the prayers and songs. It all takes about 45 minutes. I am so pleased that Jonathan and his dad pray together. Marcus told me last night that for several weeks, after the obligatory "Now I lay me" prayer, he does a general, "God, please take care of Mommy and Daddy and Jonathan" prayer. And Jonathan has been adding names (and things, like cars) to the list for Marcus to pray about. But last night, Jonathan made it very clear that daddy was not to pray, that "Jonathan [would] do it." And this is the prayer that Marcus recounted to me, "God, take care Jonathan and Mommy, and Daddy and Mommy. And the peoples, and the girls and the girls and boys. And the cars and the fire engines. And Miss Judith (babysitter). Amen."
Priceless.
I don't scrapbook, so this blog will have to do for some memories.
Christmas for us is going to be very low key. We did go to a living nativity the other night, so that we could see the "baby animals". We have a Christmas tree up, and a winter wreath on the front door, and a small nativity scene. And that is it. Jonathan has enjoyed the large-ish Mary and Joseph and Baby Jesus scene at his preschool. We are looking forward to the Christmas Eve service at church. We may get take out for Christmas dinner. There are some presents for Jonathan, but we are saving most of those for when the baby comes. Some of this is the theory that we don't want to train him to expect presents at Christmas. Part of it is sheer laziness/tiredness on our part. We want Christmas to be about the Christ Child, and about family, not "stuff."
We are still in our own personal "advent", waiting with expectation for the arrival of this second baby, and that has eclipsed most Christmas preparation, especially since all of our family will be elsewhere, and not making a special trip until the baby comes. Also, we tend to celebrate Christmas, starting Christmas Eve, and continuing for the twelve days following. This year that nicely coincides with the expected arrival of the baby, so celebrations will be had later.
I will be trying to update this blog when the baby begins his arrival, so y'all can check here. I will also send an email. And, if you are desperate for real time info, you can follow me on Twitter. Merry Christmas everyone!
Somehow last night it all caught up with us, and we all slept, including the sick toddler. He slept for nearly 12 hours. Groaned once or twice, and we heard a couple coughing fits over the baby monitor, but he never really woke up. My husband actually went in and got him up just before he left for work. Poor little guy.
But this post isn't really about sickness, though that has figured prominently at the house recently.
This post is about cuteness.
My son, who is two months shy of being "Two and a HALF", loves Christmas carols. All music really, but Christmas carols figure prominently in his repertoire. His favorite is "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing". I have been singing that to him as one of the lullaby rotation, since he was born. He now knows the entire first verse, and some of the other ones. He sings it atonally, but at the top of his lungs. We, of course, think it is terribly cute. No one else really knows about his penchant for carols, but check out what he received for an early Christmas present from a friend of mine: a plastic snow globe that plays Christmas carols at the press of a button. For five days he has carried it everywhere with him, on errands, into bed for naps, etc. To nearly all the carols, he sings the words to "Hark". Except for Jingle Bells, to which he sings at least part of the first verse. All of this is quite funny. We have a video for posterity. One of these days it might actually get downloaded to the computer!
Another vignette:
My husband puts Jonathan to bed at night. Once he was weaned, Marcus took over. First there is the bath, then the bedtime stories, then the prayers and songs. It all takes about 45 minutes. I am so pleased that Jonathan and his dad pray together. Marcus told me last night that for several weeks, after the obligatory "Now I lay me" prayer, he does a general, "God, please take care of Mommy and Daddy and Jonathan" prayer. And Jonathan has been adding names (and things, like cars) to the list for Marcus to pray about. But last night, Jonathan made it very clear that daddy was not to pray, that "Jonathan [would] do it." And this is the prayer that Marcus recounted to me, "God, take care Jonathan and Mommy, and Daddy and Mommy. And the peoples, and the girls and the girls and boys. And the cars and the fire engines. And Miss Judith (babysitter). Amen."
Priceless.
I don't scrapbook, so this blog will have to do for some memories.
Christmas for us is going to be very low key. We did go to a living nativity the other night, so that we could see the "baby animals". We have a Christmas tree up, and a winter wreath on the front door, and a small nativity scene. And that is it. Jonathan has enjoyed the large-ish Mary and Joseph and Baby Jesus scene at his preschool. We are looking forward to the Christmas Eve service at church. We may get take out for Christmas dinner. There are some presents for Jonathan, but we are saving most of those for when the baby comes. Some of this is the theory that we don't want to train him to expect presents at Christmas. Part of it is sheer laziness/tiredness on our part. We want Christmas to be about the Christ Child, and about family, not "stuff."
We are still in our own personal "advent", waiting with expectation for the arrival of this second baby, and that has eclipsed most Christmas preparation, especially since all of our family will be elsewhere, and not making a special trip until the baby comes. Also, we tend to celebrate Christmas, starting Christmas Eve, and continuing for the twelve days following. This year that nicely coincides with the expected arrival of the baby, so celebrations will be had later.
I will be trying to update this blog when the baby begins his arrival, so y'all can check here. I will also send an email. And, if you are desperate for real time info, you can follow me on Twitter. Merry Christmas everyone!
Sunday, December 14, 2008
New Post......
Ok people, I have been so bad at posting this week.
The breech baby is no longer breech!
I was scheduled for a 'version' this past Wednesday, in the early afternoon. I went to the chiropractor in the morning for my regular (in this pregnancy) adjustment. She was happy about the version since it would improve my chances for a VBAC.
Anyway, after I left, I felt odd. Just different. I couldn't have told you exactly what was different, but I described it to my doula as feeling looser as well as fuller.
Hmmm.
So, went to the hospital, got myself admitted. Thankfully the OB ordered the sonogram before the I.V. Lo' and behold, the baby was vertex!! Thank God. Seriously. There has been so much prayer surrounding this issue. And, I am very happy with the chiropractor, too!
He flipped on his own. And, as far as we can tell, he is still head down! I know this because I am much more uncomfortable. And I can't bend over at the waist. So, aside from the complaining, we are very happy! It is very good that he turned on his own and the doctor didn't have to encourage him. So now we wait.
Seventeen days and counting.
Meanwhile, there are good posts up at the Advent Blog from our church. Go read and be blessed!
The breech baby is no longer breech!
I was scheduled for a 'version' this past Wednesday, in the early afternoon. I went to the chiropractor in the morning for my regular (in this pregnancy) adjustment. She was happy about the version since it would improve my chances for a VBAC.
Anyway, after I left, I felt odd. Just different. I couldn't have told you exactly what was different, but I described it to my doula as feeling looser as well as fuller.
Hmmm.
So, went to the hospital, got myself admitted. Thankfully the OB ordered the sonogram before the I.V. Lo' and behold, the baby was vertex!! Thank God. Seriously. There has been so much prayer surrounding this issue. And, I am very happy with the chiropractor, too!
He flipped on his own. And, as far as we can tell, he is still head down! I know this because I am much more uncomfortable. And I can't bend over at the waist. So, aside from the complaining, we are very happy! It is very good that he turned on his own and the doctor didn't have to encourage him. So now we wait.
Seventeen days and counting.
Meanwhile, there are good posts up at the Advent Blog from our church. Go read and be blessed!
Monday, December 08, 2008
About being pregnant...and cuteness from the toddler
When one is in the last month of pregnancy, it is really hard to think of anything else other than being pregnant. Seriously. Even though Christmas is almost upon us, and there are a million things that I could/should be doing, this all about being pregnant.
So, I tried to "turn" the baby myself last night by doing some pelvic tilts on the floor, with some support. They say to get your hips 9-12 inches higher than your head. Doesn't sound like much, until you do it. ACK. Couldn't breathe. Said to hold position for at least five minutes, not more than 15. Not bloody likely.
Anyhoooo, so I was thinking about what I like and don't like about being pregnant. The latter list will be longer.
What I like:
1) Good hair, skin and nails. Really good. And that is important, because when you feel like a whale, it is good to know that you glow. (And thanks, S, for the compliment today...sorry I totally brushed it off.)
2) Ability to eat more than usual (though not much, because there is no room in the belly.)
3) Excuse to sit. I know I am supposed to exercise more, but I count chasing Jonathan as enough exercise for anyone.
What I don't like:
1) The constant urge to find the nearest restroom, only to find that the result did not warrant a special, emergency trip.
2) The inability to turn over in bed, or get out of a couch, without ropes and pulleys.
3) The sieve that my brain has become.
4) The disinterest in this holiday time.
Both lists to be continued.
*****
Funny Jonathan story.
Yesterday, he and his dad were "working" in the basement. Jonathan was playing with a portable radio, and using it like a phone. And this is what I heard, verbatim, from the top of the stairs:
"Hell-wo Little Bear. I am going to pick up acorns and sticks outside. Yes, I am fine. Now I will talk to Mother Bear. Hell-wow Mother Bear. I am going to pick up sticks. Goodbye Mother Bear. Now I will talk to Father Bear. Father Bear, I am going to pick up acorns and sticks outside. Yes. Thank you. Ok, Good-bye. *kissing noise* Good-bye."
The boy is only 27 months old.
So, I tried to "turn" the baby myself last night by doing some pelvic tilts on the floor, with some support. They say to get your hips 9-12 inches higher than your head. Doesn't sound like much, until you do it. ACK. Couldn't breathe. Said to hold position for at least five minutes, not more than 15. Not bloody likely.
Anyhoooo, so I was thinking about what I like and don't like about being pregnant. The latter list will be longer.
What I like:
1) Good hair, skin and nails. Really good. And that is important, because when you feel like a whale, it is good to know that you glow. (And thanks, S, for the compliment today...sorry I totally brushed it off.)
2) Ability to eat more than usual (though not much, because there is no room in the belly.)
3) Excuse to sit. I know I am supposed to exercise more, but I count chasing Jonathan as enough exercise for anyone.
What I don't like:
1) The constant urge to find the nearest restroom, only to find that the result did not warrant a special, emergency trip.
2) The inability to turn over in bed, or get out of a couch, without ropes and pulleys.
3) The sieve that my brain has become.
4) The disinterest in this holiday time.
Both lists to be continued.
*****
Funny Jonathan story.
Yesterday, he and his dad were "working" in the basement. Jonathan was playing with a portable radio, and using it like a phone. And this is what I heard, verbatim, from the top of the stairs:
"Hell-wo Little Bear. I am going to pick up acorns and sticks outside. Yes, I am fine. Now I will talk to Mother Bear. Hell-wow Mother Bear. I am going to pick up sticks. Goodbye Mother Bear. Now I will talk to Father Bear. Father Bear, I am going to pick up acorns and sticks outside. Yes. Thank you. Ok, Good-bye. *kissing noise* Good-bye."
The boy is only 27 months old.
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