I went and got my flu shot today. This used to scream "I'm pregnant" because I stubbornly never wanted to get the shot, and never seemed to need it, as I can't recall ever having the flu (knock on wood). Last year, I called my best friend and told her I got the flu shot, and she knew immediately that I had news to share.
But, as many other habits in my life have changed, I hereby now believe in getting the flu shot. With a baby in my house, I want to take every precaution from getting/spreading illness.
It is an amazingly beautiful day here. I wouldn't want Thanksgiving Eve to be any other way. It's bright, sunny, and crisp outside, but not cold enough to need a sweater (upper 60s... perfect!). Christmas decorations are going up all around the medical center.
So, I thought it might be a good day to walk over to the occupational health clinic for my shot. I'd been putting it off long enough.
The walk to and from the clinic reminded me so much of when I was pregnant with Clyde. The first part of the walk was the same path I took to see the Midwives, every month, then every two weeks, then every week. It became part of my routine. It felt strange not to go and see them the week after Clyde was born. Even weeks after he was born, I was wishing I had a reason to go see them. I would never say this about any other doctor I've ever seen. The Midwives are just awesome. That's all there is to it. I felt like they cared about me, not just as a patient, but as a person. I wasn't just another patient chart in their files. They weren't machines, asking questions per protocol. I looked forward to sitting on that exam table, being poked and prodded, talking about "the baby". So, today, I wanted to change my course and just walk right in and see them. But alas, I was going to get my flu shot. And I'm not pregnant. Hm. Maybe I should make an appointment for a pap smear? ;)
Anyway, there was no wait for the shot, and I was outta there in 1.2 seconds. I decided to take the "shortcut" back to my office. Now, if you know how big this medical center is, you have an idea of how easy it might be to get lost. So yeah. That "shortcut" was no short cut. I ended up taking a detour that was much out of my way.
I took the skybridge across Main Street. The last time I was on that skybridge, Nate and I were walking to our car after an appointment with the Midwives, in which we were instructed to go home, have a nice dinner, and pack our bags to check into the hospital the next day. I remember we were feeling a surreal sense of anticipation.
Instead of forking off to the right (towards the Midwives), I forked left, which I thought would take me towards my office. But when I got to the end of the bridge, I realized I was now inside St. Luke's, the hospital where Clyde was born. This was not in the direction I needed to be going. I hate (hate) hospitals, but instead of back-tracking, I decided to keep going, and just take the long way home. I weaved through the hospital corridors to the front lobby.
The last time I walked in to that hospital, I was still pregnant. The last time I walked out (or, I was wheeled out), I was holding a crying baby. I had such a positive experience in that hospital. And I was remembering every detail of checking in to our room, giving birth, recovery, and going home.
It seems impossible that I will ever have such a positive pregnancy and birth experience again. It also seems impossible to love another child as much as I love Clyde.
So, cheers to getting my flu shot, which took my down memory lane, and made me remember how thankful I am for Clyde, for the midwives, and for such a quality hospital system.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Saturday, November 12, 2011
It all started with the donuts
We've been eating alot around here over the past week. And I'm feeling a bit rotund.
Now just to set things straight, while I may be obsessed with exercise and running, I am not one of those weight conscious, calorie counting, buy-everything-nonfat kinds of people. I think it defeats the concept of enjoying food, as I can always tell the difference between regular vs. nonfat and the latter tastes ick. Artificial sweeteners? No thanks. Not only do they taste terrible, they play with my body and give me terrible headaches. But I digress.
This is not a post about fatness or diet plans, but rather a bemused post about how we've stuffed ourselves to the brim this week with sweets even though we are not sweets people.
It all started with the donuts. I was at the grocery store last week and I was probably hungry. Wait. I'm almost always hungry. Anyway, the donuts looked so good. And the bags had big red stickers on them that said "Buy one, get one free". So I bought 2 bags. One bag of powdered donuts, one bag of chocolate covered donuts.
I went home and ate
We ate pie for dinner after they arrived. And it was good. We had it with Blue Bell Spiced Pumpkin Pecan ice cream. And it was good. Later on in the week I had many more servings of the seasonal and limited time Spiced Pumpkin Pecan ice cream, Peppermint Blue Bell ice cream (another seasonal flavor and the very very best!), and Butter Crunch Blue Bell ice cream. Doh. Yes, I confess we have three half gallons of ice cream in our freezer. Something I don't think has happened to me in my almost-31 years of existence. In fact, we usually have ice cream in our freezer that never gets finished and stays there for 6 months or more. I recently (two weeks ago maybe) threw away a half-full half gallon of ice cream that I purchased during my pregnancy when I was having a hankering for chocolate ice cream... you do the math on how old it was. But it wasn't Blue Bell. If it were Blue Bell it would have been eaten. Just like the three half gallons in our freezer. Hm. Check back with us in a few months.
Around mid-week I baked a pumpkin cake for Nate's birthday, probably while I finished off the donuts. Recipe below. So easy and so good. I ate most of it. And sent the rest off to work with Nate -- except for half the pan--- so I wouldn't devour it all.
The simple fact that my parents were here is enough information to know that we had lots of food in the house. They come and they generously stuff our fridge and pantry full every time. And instead of the cookies that my mom promised to bake and bring, we were gifted with 4 McDonald's pumpkin pies. Nate ate all of those. I hear they were good.
Oh, and the candy. There has been lots of candy around here recently. What with Halloween and all the jumbo bags of candy on sale, it's sort of just sitting around the house. And someone has to eat it. Ever had Milky Way Simply Caramel? So good if you are a caramel lover like me.
Well, now that I'm done with my mug of creamer (with decaf coffee) and slice of leftover pumpkin cake smothered with cream cheese icing (mm mm good), I will go and ponder what to buy at the grocery store for this week... and perhaps schedule in a few extra runs to fight off the rotundity. That is, after I have a bowl of Peppermint ice cream.
---------------------------------
Pumpkin Cake
2c. Sugar
1.5c. Wesson Oil
4 eggs
2c. Flour
1.5c. canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
2 teaspoons baking soda
1. Mix all ingredients together and into a smooth mixture.
2. Cook at 350 for 45min.
Cream Cheese Frosting
8oz. cream cheese
1 stick butter
1 lb. powder sugar
1 tablespoon Vanilla
1. Combine all ingredients and mix until smooth
2. Spread on cooled cake.
Monday, October 31, 2011
A few things I've learned
A few things I've learned since becoming a mom:
- Many tasks which I previously thought required two hands can be accomplished with one (or even with one foot.... never underestimate the utility of your toes)
- If you stay at a hotel with a baby, they will book you a room at the end of the hall without your even asking (sigh of relief)
- More people are interested in talking to "you"... ie talking to the baby. I was at the grocery store last week with Clyde and the sacker kept talking to Clyde and then asked if we needed help out. I answered him and he said "No no, I was talking to HIM". And as I walked away I didn't get a Goodbye or Thank you, rather Clyde got a "Now don't give your mama any trouble today!" I shoulda sent Clyde to the store for me.
- Everything, and I mean everything, is more exciting with a kid around.
- Time goes by way too fast.
- Sleep is overrated.
- Diapers are expensive.
- .... there are more, but baby calls.
- Many tasks which I previously thought required two hands can be accomplished with one (or even with one foot.... never underestimate the utility of your toes)
- If you stay at a hotel with a baby, they will book you a room at the end of the hall without your even asking (sigh of relief)
- More people are interested in talking to "you"... ie talking to the baby. I was at the grocery store last week with Clyde and the sacker kept talking to Clyde and then asked if we needed help out. I answered him and he said "No no, I was talking to HIM". And as I walked away I didn't get a Goodbye or Thank you, rather Clyde got a "Now don't give your mama any trouble today!" I shoulda sent Clyde to the store for me.
- Everything, and I mean everything, is more exciting with a kid around.
- Time goes by way too fast.
- Sleep is overrated.
- Diapers are expensive.
- .... there are more, but baby calls.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
15 weeks
After just 15 weeks, Clyde...
... is Smiling
... is Cooing
... is Sucking on his fingers/Self soothing/Signing I love you
... is Rolling over from back to tummy
... has great Head control
... is Patient
... is Well-traveled
... is Wanted
... is Fat
... and among other things, likes to challenge stuffed elephants to duels
... is Smiling
... is Cooing
... is Sucking on his fingers/Self soothing/Signing I love you
... is Rolling over from back to tummy
... has great Head control
... is Patient
... is Well-traveled
... is Wanted
... is Fat
... and among other things, likes to challenge stuffed elephants to duels
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Birth Story
Believe it or not, this is a condensed version of what I have documented in my pregnancy journal, but I doubt anyone wants the nitty gritties (even this may be a little tmi).
I'll start off with a little background. It took us about a year and a half and 1 early miscarriage before I got pregnant with Clyde. We were ready to see a fertility specialist (appointments were already on the calendar) when I tested positive and subsequently (and gladly!) canceled the appointments.
So, I had a year and a half to prepare for pregnancy and birth. During this time I did lots of reading. Through a blog post, a friend of mine indirectly introduced me to Ina May Gaskin, a well-known midwife in the United States who has a birthing center in Tennessee. After some research and reading her book Ina May's Guide to Childbirth, I knew I wanted to have an unmedicated labor and delivery, and that I wanted my baby to be delivered by a midwife instead of my then-current OB/GYN. I immediately switched over to the local midwifery practice, which is a group of 5 certified nurse midwives who are overseen by an OB/GYN (for emergencies), and was with them for at least a year before I got pregnant. Their philosophy is minimal interventions (e.g. episiotomy, epidural, c-section, pitocin, etc). I think that most interventions during pregnancy and delivery are not indicated. That doesn't mean I think they are bad, but that they are usually unnecessary. But in the right scenario, these can be good, it's just they are often used inappropriately.
About halfway through my pregnancy, we signed up for a faith-based childbirth class that focused on natural childbirth in the context of God's design. At the end of this class I was encouraged and virtually fearless. Lord willing, I was going to have a natural labor and delivery, and I was excited.
As my due date approached (May 27 by LMP, June 1 by my charted date of conception), I knew I needed to start thinking about induction if I went too far beyond my due date. Indeed, my due date (both of them) came and went with no sign of labor. The midwives were concerned because my ultrasounds were showing borderline levels of amniotic fluid, and since they were also using the earlier due date of May 27, they wanted to intervene. Grudgingly, I agreed to get prepidil which I went into the hospital for on June 3. This did nothing. After another appointment with the midwives, I was instructed to pack my bags and head to the hospital on June 7 to get cervidil, a cervical dilator. I was very disappointed because I wanted to experience the process of going into labor naturally and getting to labor at home for as long as possible. On the contrary, I was getting artificially "helped along", and going to the hospital before any signs of labor were showing.
The plan was to get the cervidil insert on the night of Tuesday June 7, and then pitocin on the morning of Wednesday June 8. I really hated this because we had learned that pitocin often led to epidurals and unnecessary c-sections. But I put my trust in God and reminded myself that either way, we were going to have this baby.
Aside from Nate, I had invited my good friend Jessica to be with me during my labor. She met us at the hospital that night with a bouquet of flowers. After a relaxing evening, I went to bed early because we all knew the next day would require lots and lots of energy.
I awoke several times in the night. Despite the midwife's recommendation that I take some Ambien, I refused (if you know me, you know I hate medications of any kind), and was constantly aroused by the noises in the hallway, the unfamiliar room, and the fetal monitor strapped around my belly. At one point I heard the commotion of a baby being born and remember it striking a sense of sudden realization that my baby would soon be here and crying too!
Through the night I didn't have much pain, but felt some cramping, which the midwife had told me to expect. By early morning (5 or 6 am), I was feeling more pain, but figured it was more of the cramping. Jessica arrived around 8 with my order of Einstein bagels, but I didn't want them. I needed to use the restroom, but didn't want to take the effort to get out of bed. I finally made myself get up and on my way I lost my mucus plug. I was feeling a lot of pain, and thought to myself that if this was just cramping, then contractions were going to be absolutely unbearable. I felt a little discouraged, and also embarrassed that I was having so much trouble with the pain of cramping.
The midwife arrived around 9:30am to remove the cervidil and to check me. We were surprised to find out I was already 5 cm dilated and the baby at a 0 station. Because of my progress, she canceled the plan to give me the pitocin, and I labored on. The "cramps" were actually contractions and I didn't even know it! Looking back we realized that the nursing staff may have missed the strength of my contractions on their monitors because my contraction belt had been sliding around all through the night and may not have been positioned properly for most of it.
The next 90 minutes were pretty intense between sipping apple juice, cold washcloths on my face, and putting my breathing techniques to use. It was clear that I was progressing rapidly, and I very soon felt the urge to push. When the midwife checked me again I was at 9.5 cm and was actively pushing by 11:10. I actually thought the pushing was the most enjoyable part.
55 minutes later, Clyde was born. It was the most amazing thing to feel his warm, wet body against mine immediately after his birth.
It went by so fast. Much faster than we expected--- both Nate and I thought it would be Wednesday night or Thursday June 9 before the baby was born. We even told my parents not to rush on their drive from Dallas, and they barely made it to the hospital in time.
I met my goal of having an intervention-free delivery (except for the cervidil...) with only minor 1st degree tears, and the hospital classified the birth as a spontaneous labor rather than an induction, since I never got the pitocin.
I wouldn't change a thing about the way things went. Sure, it would have been nice to have gone into labor naturally without the cervidil, but the progression of everything was absolutely perfect.
By the time I was ready to be wheeled upstairs to recovery, I was famished (remember, I never ate breakfast) and had lost a lot of blood. I nearly fainted several times getting into the wheelchair. Aside from the two straight catheters I had to get because I absolutely could not urinate even though my bladder was full, my 2 days of recovery in the hospital went really well. Overall, it took me longer to fully recover than I anticipated, but I was running again (slowly) by 4 weeks after the delivery.
And Clyde was (and is!) just perfect. He was jaundiced and we had to do home phototherapy with him as well as some formula supplementing, but he was fine and had regained all his birthweight within about a week. We couldn't believe how big he was at birth. I'm glad I didn't know in advance that he would be that big, because that would definitely have struck fear in me!
I'll start off with a little background. It took us about a year and a half and 1 early miscarriage before I got pregnant with Clyde. We were ready to see a fertility specialist (appointments were already on the calendar) when I tested positive and subsequently (and gladly!) canceled the appointments.
So, I had a year and a half to prepare for pregnancy and birth. During this time I did lots of reading. Through a blog post, a friend of mine indirectly introduced me to Ina May Gaskin, a well-known midwife in the United States who has a birthing center in Tennessee. After some research and reading her book Ina May's Guide to Childbirth, I knew I wanted to have an unmedicated labor and delivery, and that I wanted my baby to be delivered by a midwife instead of my then-current OB/GYN. I immediately switched over to the local midwifery practice, which is a group of 5 certified nurse midwives who are overseen by an OB/GYN (for emergencies), and was with them for at least a year before I got pregnant. Their philosophy is minimal interventions (e.g. episiotomy, epidural, c-section, pitocin, etc). I think that most interventions during pregnancy and delivery are not indicated. That doesn't mean I think they are bad, but that they are usually unnecessary. But in the right scenario, these can be good, it's just they are often used inappropriately.
About halfway through my pregnancy, we signed up for a faith-based childbirth class that focused on natural childbirth in the context of God's design. At the end of this class I was encouraged and virtually fearless. Lord willing, I was going to have a natural labor and delivery, and I was excited.
As my due date approached (May 27 by LMP, June 1 by my charted date of conception), I knew I needed to start thinking about induction if I went too far beyond my due date. Indeed, my due date (both of them) came and went with no sign of labor. The midwives were concerned because my ultrasounds were showing borderline levels of amniotic fluid, and since they were also using the earlier due date of May 27, they wanted to intervene. Grudgingly, I agreed to get prepidil which I went into the hospital for on June 3. This did nothing. After another appointment with the midwives, I was instructed to pack my bags and head to the hospital on June 7 to get cervidil, a cervical dilator. I was very disappointed because I wanted to experience the process of going into labor naturally and getting to labor at home for as long as possible. On the contrary, I was getting artificially "helped along", and going to the hospital before any signs of labor were showing.
The plan was to get the cervidil insert on the night of Tuesday June 7, and then pitocin on the morning of Wednesday June 8. I really hated this because we had learned that pitocin often led to epidurals and unnecessary c-sections. But I put my trust in God and reminded myself that either way, we were going to have this baby.
Aside from Nate, I had invited my good friend Jessica to be with me during my labor. She met us at the hospital that night with a bouquet of flowers. After a relaxing evening, I went to bed early because we all knew the next day would require lots and lots of energy.
I awoke several times in the night. Despite the midwife's recommendation that I take some Ambien, I refused (if you know me, you know I hate medications of any kind), and was constantly aroused by the noises in the hallway, the unfamiliar room, and the fetal monitor strapped around my belly. At one point I heard the commotion of a baby being born and remember it striking a sense of sudden realization that my baby would soon be here and crying too!
Through the night I didn't have much pain, but felt some cramping, which the midwife had told me to expect. By early morning (5 or 6 am), I was feeling more pain, but figured it was more of the cramping. Jessica arrived around 8 with my order of Einstein bagels, but I didn't want them. I needed to use the restroom, but didn't want to take the effort to get out of bed. I finally made myself get up and on my way I lost my mucus plug. I was feeling a lot of pain, and thought to myself that if this was just cramping, then contractions were going to be absolutely unbearable. I felt a little discouraged, and also embarrassed that I was having so much trouble with the pain of cramping.
The midwife arrived around 9:30am to remove the cervidil and to check me. We were surprised to find out I was already 5 cm dilated and the baby at a 0 station. Because of my progress, she canceled the plan to give me the pitocin, and I labored on. The "cramps" were actually contractions and I didn't even know it! Looking back we realized that the nursing staff may have missed the strength of my contractions on their monitors because my contraction belt had been sliding around all through the night and may not have been positioned properly for most of it.
The next 90 minutes were pretty intense between sipping apple juice, cold washcloths on my face, and putting my breathing techniques to use. It was clear that I was progressing rapidly, and I very soon felt the urge to push. When the midwife checked me again I was at 9.5 cm and was actively pushing by 11:10. I actually thought the pushing was the most enjoyable part.
55 minutes later, Clyde was born. It was the most amazing thing to feel his warm, wet body against mine immediately after his birth.
It went by so fast. Much faster than we expected--- both Nate and I thought it would be Wednesday night or Thursday June 9 before the baby was born. We even told my parents not to rush on their drive from Dallas, and they barely made it to the hospital in time.
I met my goal of having an intervention-free delivery (except for the cervidil...) with only minor 1st degree tears, and the hospital classified the birth as a spontaneous labor rather than an induction, since I never got the pitocin.
I wouldn't change a thing about the way things went. Sure, it would have been nice to have gone into labor naturally without the cervidil, but the progression of everything was absolutely perfect.
By the time I was ready to be wheeled upstairs to recovery, I was famished (remember, I never ate breakfast) and had lost a lot of blood. I nearly fainted several times getting into the wheelchair. Aside from the two straight catheters I had to get because I absolutely could not urinate even though my bladder was full, my 2 days of recovery in the hospital went really well. Overall, it took me longer to fully recover than I anticipated, but I was running again (slowly) by 4 weeks after the delivery.
And Clyde was (and is!) just perfect. He was jaundiced and we had to do home phototherapy with him as well as some formula supplementing, but he was fine and had regained all his birthweight within about a week. We couldn't believe how big he was at birth. I'm glad I didn't know in advance that he would be that big, because that would definitely have struck fear in me!
Thursday, September 8, 2011
3 months ago
3 months ago, Clyde Stephen was born:
June 8, 2011
12:05 pm
9 lb, 4oz and 20.5 inches
...and he is the apple of my eye.
Stay tuned for more posts about my birth experience, and life since that fine day...
June 8, 201112:05 pm
9 lb, 4oz and 20.5 inches
...and he is the apple of my eye.
Stay tuned for more posts about my birth experience, and life since that fine day...
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