I.am.so.excited.to.meet.this.baby.
Reality is setting in - we are really going to have a little baby girl! A little combination of the two of us, that only we are responsible for. We will be raising this little one to grow to love Jesus! It's so overwhelming in a very exciting way to me. Lately I've been day dreaming about watching her newborn crying face, seriously those are so cute! Wrinkled forehead, scrunched nose and curly lips. I can't wait to SMOOCH those curled little crying lips! Ah the sweetness! I can't wait to see whose feet she has. According to the ultrasound photos we have, they look exactly like Brian's! To me at least, he doesn't see it. :-p I picture her being born with a head full of dark hair - or at least I am hoping that's what happens. Dark hair, and her dad's huge blue eyes! We'll see of course, I just day dream all the time about her.
I have been showered with gifts and lots of love this past weekend! My baby shower was gorgeous and so much fun. It ended up being a huge turn out, and I cannot express my gratitude for feeling surrounded by loving friends and family. In such a time as this, too. What a blessing to me! Our maternity photo shoot featured on Tara's photography blog (blog.selaphotography.com). We had so much fun and it was a beautiful day.
And now, I believe it's time for me to make a latte!
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Just an Update
I discovered yesterday that I need to blog more, thanks to my hubby. ☺ He was reading my blog posts and encouraged me to keep writing. He’s sweet and loves to read my thoughts. Plus I haven’t really blogged much lately for some reason – I mean I have time for crying out loud! So here are a few highlights in my (our) life lately.
Maternity Photoshoot: My best friend, Tara, is an incredible photographer and an incredible friend. She photographed me a couple of years ago alone in a white dress at Mento Brown. She photographed Brian and my proposal in June of last year. She did our engagement photos. She photographed half of my wedding (the half she wasn’t in). And so, of course, she photographed me pregnant. We had a blast. If anyone knows me, they know I LOVE fall so much, always have. It’s so endearing to me. So on Monday we went to E.Z. Orchards and did some photos in the apple orchard, corn field, and pumpkin patch. Then more photos at Mento Brown. {I love that place, can you tell?} They will be our Christmas cards this year and I am so excited to see them!
Ruby’s Room: Her sweet little sage green and rose pink room is getting finished. It is coming together and looks so sweet. Technically, she only has half a room, the other half is our closet. We don’t have closets in this little ol’ house, so we put shelving up in the second bedroom, some on and a half walls in her room aren’t very pretty. My mom is amazing! She has supplied every bit of material I’ve used to make projects in Ruby’s room.
She supplied the Cricuit machine for Ruby’s mobile –
She bought the fabric for Ruby’s cute pillows and blankie (and provided the sewing machine and thread for it). –
She supplied the cute patterned papers for Ruby Joy’s name sign –
And of course she supplied Ruby’s (my old) crib –
Yes, it’s a drop-side crib, big whoop. I’ve been scolded enough by friends about how these are no longer legal to sell. Brian and I survived in drop-side cribs, so it’s fine. There are yet a few things that need to be completed in her room, such as a white shag rug and a corner book shelf by her crib, and a few more things on the blank parts of the walls. ☺
Pregnancy: I’m starting to feel it now! I’ve made it my goal to not be a complaining pregnant woman, I can’t handle women who take the gift of pregnancy and complain always about everything in pregnancy. However, I do have heartburn everyday which is lovely and often leads to nausea. I’ve been having Braxton-Hicks contractions a lot lately and possibly a UTI in the works….TMI? Hehe, sorry. So nights are very restless with the mix of heartburn, nausea, Braxton –Hicks contractions, and the urge to pee every few minutes. Yet, I am thankful. I am hoping the heartburn means she’ll have lots of hair like her momma –
The Braxton-Hicks are semi-painful, but I am amazed at the fact that my body knows what it’s doing! How incredible! It is preparing itself for labor and birth which is a miracle in and of itself. I am so grateful for a healthy, well-functioning body. Thank you, Lord!
Baby Shower: I am so excited for my shower! It’s going to be this Sunday afternoon, hosted by my besties – Tara and Amy. Rubber duckies are the theme, so much fun! Looking forward to hanging out with a ton of friends and family and receiving the love in this special time.
Hymns: I am more into piano hymns now than I have been in a while. I listen to the same Chris Rice album “living room sessions” everyday. Brian and I have dually noted to have piano hymns playing on the computer while I’m delivering the baby. So peaceful to my soul.
Proverbs Series: Last but not least, I got an idea today. That idea is to blog everyday next month about something that stands out to me in the “Proverb of the day.” If nothing else, everyday I read a Proverb since there are 31 – one for each day of the month. There’s always a couple of verses that strike a cord with me, and I think I may begin sharing those.
And that’s it for now. Thanks to anyone who reads my blog for taking the time. ☺
Friday, October 7, 2011
Natural Child Birth and a New Heart
Ah, natural child birth. A topic I am beyond passionate about. My interest in the topic began in 2008 when I met my good friend, Esther, in Kona. We were roommates and she is a midwife from Washington. Babies and pregnancy had always been a huge interest of mine anyway, so meeting a midwife made me want to pick her brain all the time. This I did, and she was happy to share. After becoming friends with her and hearing the natural / wholestic side of childbirth, birth-control etc. I was sold. Upon realizing that it is not necessary to have your baby in a hospital, infused with drugs and constantly being bothered and checked by the nursing staff, I became more and more interested. I decided for a while, then, that I wanted to become a midwife. Then I decided that would be way too much pressure for me and I couldn’t handle it. So, I decided I wanted to become a Doula (childbirth coach). This is doable for me! I took a course, but didn’t really follow through with getting certified. All that to say I am completely sold on all-natural child birth. Some of the reasons being:
~I believe God made woman’s body to do what it’s supposed to do! Women have been giving birth for thousands of years without hospitals, and the earth has remained populated!
~The drugs offered in hospitals have their risks. Epidurals are scary in general – one misjudgment to where that huge needle goes and boom, you’re paralyzed. Epidurals also slow down labor, which most women have gotten induced for in the first place. They get induced with pitocin which speeds up contractions more than your body is prepared to handle, then you have to get an epidural to ease the pain of the dang pitocin. The epidural slows down the progress, which means time to ‘up’ the pitocin. It’s an endless cycle that often ends in c-sections, because the baby goes into distress. Why does the baby go into distress or their heart rate climbs or drops? Because of the pitocin!
~Once you get the drugs in the hospital, you hardly have the option to get up and move. Gravity is childbirth’s best friend! You’re advised not to lay on your back while you’re pregnant because of the lack of circulation, yet that’s the only option you have when you get an epidural. It’s counter-productive! The only reason hospitals have the woman laying down to push is for the convenience of the doctor. Really, though, laying down goes completely against gravity and is the toughest pushing position there is.
~Hospital staff puts pressure on their birthing patients. “You’re not progressing fast enough” is a common saying among nurses and doctors. SAYS WHO?! Is my thought. The hospital has a time limit for their patients, and if you aren’t meeting that then they ‘advise’ you to take further action. This is such a shame. Sometimes it takes a while to progress, that’s your body’s way of preparing itself from trauma. There should be no time limit for women to give birth, it’s just wrong!
~Most hospitals lack the option of letting you bond with your baby right after it’s born. They swoop it away, bath it, weigh it, give shots and whatever other unnecessary things, then a big sense of bonding is lost with the mother and baby. The naturalistic idea of that time after baby’s born is to let it lay on mom’s chest as long as possible. No rush to bathe the baby (most of the time) or weight it right away or anything else. When laying on mom’s chest, baby learns to breathe quickly from the feeling of mom’s breaths. Also, baby is warmed up quickly laying on mom’s bare skin. Nursing is incredible to do as soon as possible, also. Even in those first few moments. It is so good for the baby to eat and it also helps baby get acquainted with how to nurse much quicker than if you first try after a few hours. (Which often is why babies have a hard time latching, and moms give up on breastfeeding right away).
~Oxitocin- when a mom is on drugs during labor, the natural endorphins / hormones that fill moms up with love and a sense of forgetting the pain, becomes blocked. The beauty of going natural is that the natural good feelings come immediately after the birth. This is suppressed quite a bit by drugs.
Okay, so honestly that stuff barely scratches the surface of why I am so strongly opinionated about all-natural childbirth. It can be so peaceful and uninterrupted. More than anything, I am grateful that God designed woman’s body to do such a miraculous thing! Why mess with such a great design if it’s not necessary.
This brings me to my next point. I absolutely am thankful for hospitals. (Might not seem like it after that little speel, does it?) There are absolutely complications that can happen in labor. The big thing that I’ve discovered, though, is that the things that often are considered ‘complications’ really are not, to a trained midwife. But there are scary scenarios where medical interventions are required to save the life of a mother or baby. It is crucial that when deciding to go all-natural, one comes to peace with the idea that they may end up needing to be rushed to the hospital. This happens very rarely, but it happens. I am so grateful for my midwives and the facility that I am delivering our daughter at! They are incredible midwives, who also are grateful for the hospital. They have a great relationship with the Salem hospital and never say anything negatively about it.
All that said, I need the Lord to change my heart. Here’s why. I am more passionate about the subject of birth than I am most things in life. I get completely worked up on the inside if people disagree with me. It frustrates me 100x more than it should, and that is so wrong. My heart is wrong. I am coming to the conclusion that I need a heart change that only Jesus can offer. On this subject, especially, as funny as that seems. I need to lay down my pride when talking to people who may disagree with me and love and respect them anyway. I am so sad with myself - that I find such an identity with the way I view things like this. I need to be more passionate about people who don’t know Jesus or people who choose not to love Jesus. That is what my heart needs to constantly be worked up about! I love when Jesus points out the things in our lives that do not align with Him. He is so faithful to be refining me and making me love the things He loves.
~I believe God made woman’s body to do what it’s supposed to do! Women have been giving birth for thousands of years without hospitals, and the earth has remained populated!
~The drugs offered in hospitals have their risks. Epidurals are scary in general – one misjudgment to where that huge needle goes and boom, you’re paralyzed. Epidurals also slow down labor, which most women have gotten induced for in the first place. They get induced with pitocin which speeds up contractions more than your body is prepared to handle, then you have to get an epidural to ease the pain of the dang pitocin. The epidural slows down the progress, which means time to ‘up’ the pitocin. It’s an endless cycle that often ends in c-sections, because the baby goes into distress. Why does the baby go into distress or their heart rate climbs or drops? Because of the pitocin!
~Once you get the drugs in the hospital, you hardly have the option to get up and move. Gravity is childbirth’s best friend! You’re advised not to lay on your back while you’re pregnant because of the lack of circulation, yet that’s the only option you have when you get an epidural. It’s counter-productive! The only reason hospitals have the woman laying down to push is for the convenience of the doctor. Really, though, laying down goes completely against gravity and is the toughest pushing position there is.
~Hospital staff puts pressure on their birthing patients. “You’re not progressing fast enough” is a common saying among nurses and doctors. SAYS WHO?! Is my thought. The hospital has a time limit for their patients, and if you aren’t meeting that then they ‘advise’ you to take further action. This is such a shame. Sometimes it takes a while to progress, that’s your body’s way of preparing itself from trauma. There should be no time limit for women to give birth, it’s just wrong!
~Most hospitals lack the option of letting you bond with your baby right after it’s born. They swoop it away, bath it, weigh it, give shots and whatever other unnecessary things, then a big sense of bonding is lost with the mother and baby. The naturalistic idea of that time after baby’s born is to let it lay on mom’s chest as long as possible. No rush to bathe the baby (most of the time) or weight it right away or anything else. When laying on mom’s chest, baby learns to breathe quickly from the feeling of mom’s breaths. Also, baby is warmed up quickly laying on mom’s bare skin. Nursing is incredible to do as soon as possible, also. Even in those first few moments. It is so good for the baby to eat and it also helps baby get acquainted with how to nurse much quicker than if you first try after a few hours. (Which often is why babies have a hard time latching, and moms give up on breastfeeding right away).
~Oxitocin- when a mom is on drugs during labor, the natural endorphins / hormones that fill moms up with love and a sense of forgetting the pain, becomes blocked. The beauty of going natural is that the natural good feelings come immediately after the birth. This is suppressed quite a bit by drugs.
Okay, so honestly that stuff barely scratches the surface of why I am so strongly opinionated about all-natural childbirth. It can be so peaceful and uninterrupted. More than anything, I am grateful that God designed woman’s body to do such a miraculous thing! Why mess with such a great design if it’s not necessary.
This brings me to my next point. I absolutely am thankful for hospitals. (Might not seem like it after that little speel, does it?) There are absolutely complications that can happen in labor. The big thing that I’ve discovered, though, is that the things that often are considered ‘complications’ really are not, to a trained midwife. But there are scary scenarios where medical interventions are required to save the life of a mother or baby. It is crucial that when deciding to go all-natural, one comes to peace with the idea that they may end up needing to be rushed to the hospital. This happens very rarely, but it happens. I am so grateful for my midwives and the facility that I am delivering our daughter at! They are incredible midwives, who also are grateful for the hospital. They have a great relationship with the Salem hospital and never say anything negatively about it.
All that said, I need the Lord to change my heart. Here’s why. I am more passionate about the subject of birth than I am most things in life. I get completely worked up on the inside if people disagree with me. It frustrates me 100x more than it should, and that is so wrong. My heart is wrong. I am coming to the conclusion that I need a heart change that only Jesus can offer. On this subject, especially, as funny as that seems. I need to lay down my pride when talking to people who may disagree with me and love and respect them anyway. I am so sad with myself - that I find such an identity with the way I view things like this. I need to be more passionate about people who don’t know Jesus or people who choose not to love Jesus. That is what my heart needs to constantly be worked up about! I love when Jesus points out the things in our lives that do not align with Him. He is so faithful to be refining me and making me love the things He loves.
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