Maternity Pictures

Pregnancy, though stressful and unpredictable, is a special time. I wanted to have some pictures done to document this time, and luckily I have an amazing photographer friend who could do some for me. I thought I would share these, especially for my grandma and grandpa M, who read my blog but haven't seen them on Facebook.

 

Breastfeeding Reading List

We have chosen to breastfeed. There are many great reasons to breastfeed, which I'm sure have been fully expounded upon before, so I won't go into those here. I feel extremely lucky to have a sister who I can call and ask questions to, as well as my mom. My mom breastfed all four of us kids, and I am really glad that I will be able to ask her questions if I have trouble. Still, I'm one that likes to prepare. As usual, I headed to the library and picked up a few books that I thought would be helpful. Most pregnancy books include a short chapter or two on breastfeeding, but I found a few that dealt completely with breastfeeding. Here's the rundown:

Breastfeeding Made Simple: Seven Natural Laws for Nursing Mothers by Nancy Mohrbacher and Kathleen Kendall-Tackett- I liked how this book really went into the scientific dynamics of breastfeeding but in a simple way. It has several very helpful charts about what a baby needs, how many diapers to expect, etc.  Also helpful were sections at the end of each chapter called "When the System Breaks Down" that troubleshoot problems. In some ways it got repetitive, but I actually didn't mind because I'm still learning, and the more things are repeated, the better you know them. The only other thing I didn't like was that it kept comparing humans to animal nursing practices. I know of course there are similarities to point out, but it seemed very evolutionary. Still, it was a thorough book on the topic.

New Mother's Guide to Breastfeeding by Joan Younger Meek- This book is put out by the American Academy of Pediatrics. It wove throughout the how-to chapters stories of mothers and breastfeeding, which was an interesting feature (not sure if those were just example scenarios or true stories, but still helpful). I liked that it had many black-and-white sketches to illustrate various ideas, and Q & A sections for common questions in each chapter. Basically the same ideas as the previous book, so reading either/or would cover the same ideas.

Ina May's Guide to Breastfeeding by Ina May Gaskin- Just like her Guide to Childbirth, this book is excellent! I love how the author focuses on how natural breastfeeding is meant to be, although it can have rough starts and sometimes complications. She mentions that some of these complications can come from birth choices- medications at birth, not enough skin-to-skin time or rooming in, stress of the mother from a room full of people, etc. Not that any of these factors will make a mom unable to breastfeed, but just that it can be more difficult. Especially interesting were the chapters on Shared Nursing, Wet Nursing, and Forgotten Lore and Nipplephobia. An excellent choice if you only have time to read one.

On Becoming Babywise by Gary Ezzo and Robert Buckman- This book focused on developing good nursing routines that can lead to the baby sleeping through the night. Contrary to what I have heard many people say, I do not feel that it is cruel to the baby at all. One of the strongest points in this book is that the baby needs to get the rich hind milk when he empties the breast for the nutritional value. While the other books mention it, Babywise explains why it is so important. So, the idea is that the baby is full at eat feeding, and thus eventually is able to spread out the feedings, and drop the nighttime feeding (more rest for mommy sounds good to me!) The book does not advocate starting a routine in the first few weeks, but letting the baby feed when they are hungry, which was another concern I heard with this book, but did not find to be true. I also hear concerns that this method would leave you unable to produce enough milk, but the book is pretty clear on how to troubleshoot that problem if it does occur (probably trying to spread out feedings too soon).

All of these books were helpful, but I am sure that in real life things will be different! I will have to figure out what works for me and my baby, as each mother does. Hopefully we get off to a good start and he is feeding well through the summer. The next challenge will be transitioning to pumping when I go back to work in the fall. Not looking forward to that... I'll tackle that when I get there. Right now, my goal is to get started and breastfeed at least through six months, at which point we can hopefully introduce solid foods to supplement breast milk. I think it will just depend on how everything is going if I continue to nurse after the six months, so we will see. Hope this list was helpful to someone out there! I'm sure there are other great books too.

Our Ideal Birth Essay

For our Bradley Method birthing class, one of the exercises was to write your ideal birth story. I thought I would share it here, for the sake of memory, and in case anyone else was interested in it as a reference for their ideal birth story essay. Of course, I'm completely sure the REAL birth story won't be the same- the time of day, pace of contractions, ect... But it will be interesting to look back and see after the fact. So I'm putting it up here. Please, no birth horror story comments. This is just the best way that it could happen for us, though we know things will turn out in their own unique way. Three and a half weeks to go before we can write the REAL birth story.

            After a typical Friday night of relaxing with a movie and some cuddling, we crawl into bed around 10:00 PM. In the wee hours of the morning, I awaken to some light contractions, much like the Braxton-Hicks contractions I had been experiencing occasionally over the past few months. But my due date is here, so I pay attention and notice that they are definitely coming regularly, though they are still 20- 30 minutes apart. Since it’s only 3:00 AM, I change positions and try to relax and rest, hoping that the contractions pick up and today is the day to meet our baby boy! Around 6:00 AM, the contractions are coming steady at 15 minutes apart, and I go ahead and get up. Justin makes some scrambled eggs and whole wheat toast with orange juice for me.

                Since I’m still feeling good enough to move around, Justin and I go for an early morning walk around the block to help the baby get into position. We get back to the house around 7:30 AM and I decided to get in the shower. The warm water relaxes me as the contractions are now closer together, about 10 minutes apart. As I finish getting ready, Justin begins to check through the bags we are going to take to the birthing center, to make sure we have everything on the checklist, from clothes  to snacks to copies of our birth plan. I eat some fruit, and continue to time contractions, walking around the yard, and the house. Justin stays with me and rubs my back and shoulders to help me relax.

                By this time, it’s about 9:30 AM, and my contractions are about 5 minutes apart. We call the midwife to let her know, as we previously discussed, and decided to go ahead and go to the birth center and get settled. After getting checked in and situated in the room around 10:30 AM, I have to rest more between contractions, but am able to still walk some, pausing to lean on Justin and sway when the contractions come. I focus on letting my body do its work, and Justin gently reminds me to drink and use the restroom each hour. Around noon, I try to snack a little, and lay on my side to see if I can get more comfortable. Justin knows I need privacy to focus, and he asks the nurse to give us time alone to do some relaxation and snuggling while he rubs my back. My contractions are closer now, about 2 minutes apart, and Justin calls the nurse to see if we could try the tub since my contractions are well established.

                As the nurse gets the tub ready, Justin is doing such a great job at helping me focus through some of the pain as the contractions get stronger. He reminds me that we are getting close, and will be able to meet our baby soon. This really helps me focus on the end result. I think back to running the half-marathon last fall, and how those last three miles were so tough, but I pushed through and made it. I can do this too!

                When I get into the tub around 1:00 PM, I feel some tension leave right away. Justin climbs in behind me and supports my back and I try to rest in the minute between contractions. Then the pain increases, and I feel like maybe this is real progress. I realize this might be transition, and sure enough, around 1:30 PM, I begin to feel the urge to push. At this point, the midwife checks and I am indeed fully dilated. The midwife tells me to follow my body’s instinct. Justin reminds me that my body is made to do this, and that I am doing great. I push with the next contraction, and feel the baby moving down. In a few more pushes, the midwife can see the baby crowning, and I know it too because I feel a slight burning sensation as I stretch. I’m so glad I’ve been practicing my exercises and that we did perineal massage to prepare though, because I feel like I can handle it, though it is overwhelming at times. But I am so close!!

                I relax between the next contractions, but I am so excited to see my baby. I know he will come in the next few pushes. After just a few more, his head comes out, and his body soon follows. The midwife gently brings him above the water, and he takes his first breath around 2:00 PM. Though I am tired, nothing could stop me from holding my baby now, and he is put right on my stomach. In just a few minutes, he crawls right up to and finds my breast to nurse. He is a precious, wonderful gift from God. Justin is smiling behind me, and kisses me on the cheek. “You did it!” he says, but I know I needed him here the whole time- I couldn’t have done it without his support. “We did it,” I reply.

                As the cord stops pulsing, it is clamped and Justin does the honors of cutting it. He holds our baby for a moment so I can stand and get out of the tub. I walk with my little boy in my arms to the bed, and have some sweet moments of cuddle time as the uterus continues to contract and expels the placenta, about 20 minutes after my baby is born. Since our baby is breathing well, we ask for some time alone, and bask in this wonderful moment. Justin brings me some orange juice, which gives me energy. Our baby boy is already nursing and quite alert. A half hour later, around 3:00 PM, the nurse returns to weigh the baby, and we give him his first bath. We are so happy to be holding our baby boy! What a blessing.

Hostas and coffee cake

This post is about two completely unrelated items, though both happened today.

First, the hostas I planted last year are starting to come up! So excited! Plants are in investment, so I was really hoping  that would come up good this year. Looks like a great start too, and I can't wait to see what they do in the next few months.

Second, as my husband rushed out the door to go to his classes tonight, he gave me a kiss. So sweet, right? Until I feel his arm moving strangely around my back and hear a fork hitting my plate of coffee cake. Trying to be sneaky... sheesh! (I don't think he was really going to eat it; he was just getting a rise out of me). But it was too funny, so I made him take a picture with his other hand to remember to moment.

It's the small things that remind me of God's hand in my life. My humorous husband, my growing hostas. God is good.

PS. Less than 4 weeks now until baby boy comes!

Before and After: Guest Room

It's been a long time since I've blogged about house projects, and we certainly have done a few. We patched and painted the basement stairwell and stairs, put down wood floors,  put on a new roof, put up lattice to cover the basement crawlspace, revamped the utility room, converted a half bath into a full, and more I'm sure. Sometime, I'll have to blog about those projects.

For now, I thought I would post about the guest bedroom. It is a small room and was very bland, with carpet that was different from every other room in the house (all of the carpet in the house was removed before we moved in). The room itself was finished soon after we moved in. In fact, we slept in the guest room until our master bedroom was finished. This renovation was relatively simple: paint and flooring. We painted (Copen Blue by Sherwin Williams' Rustic Refined palette) when we first moved in, and flooring came about 6 months later. I already had the bed and cabinet, our neighbor contributed the picture and lamp, and my mom sewed the curtains. I really like the colors in this room and the way it turned out.

Before: Nasty carpet, no color

After: New flooring and color!

 

 

Survey Says....

A few weeks back, I put out the baby name survey for friends and family to comment on. And boy, were there some funny responses! Mostly the survey confirmed things I already had in mind, but it was just fun and interesting to read each of the responses. I thought I would summarize some of them now. Hope you get a laugh out of the first question.

What's the first thing you think of when you hear the name....
Alton: an alter, Brown (food network), Elton John, alternator, old, Walton, the movie Clueless, Altoids, Dalton, how is it pronounced?
Ansel: Adams the artist, hammers, my lake friend, Hansel and Gretel, a wicked witch and a candy house, Eisel, Hansel from Zoolander,
Brenton: is that a real name?, interesting, thought it was a little highbrow but could get used to it, Brendon, Yuck, nothing comes to mind
Carver: meat, president, knife, sandwich from Boston Market, wood, peanuts,  beef
Cooper: a dog, Bradley Cooper, spunky, mini cooper car, my dog, my mom's dog, rowdy, pooper, tire, Winey Cooper from the Wonder Years
Everett: a bird, Washington, mountain, old fashioned, I like it- the outdoors, old man, an egret, Mt. Everett, Mt. Everest, vampire, some kid I knew in school with no hair
Gareth: ehhh, earth, unusual, a warrior, good name in a Gothic novel, trying to hard, garish, Garett, nerd, he care-ith for me, shareth, knighthood/garth, too old, ...., what?!?!? lol, never heard it before
Garrow: very different, ehhh, a ditch, arrow, Celtic warrior, "Old Irish" story, Robin Hood, bone marrow, doesn't really seem like a real name, Eragon's father/uncle, wheel barrow, narrow, gallow, what in the world?, tomorrow, never heard of it, a vegetable
Matthew: classic, Bible, Matt, saintly, traditional, solid, Mark Luke John, strong
Roran: a lion, a dino, fantasy hero, ?, loin, Vikings, character from an action movie, odd, sounds like a made up name, roaring lion, hard to say, Eragon brother/cousin, Irish-ish?, roarrrr
Silas: ehh, sidekick, Marner-classic, old bald man with a cane, Bible, manly, Silas Magee, remind me of a silo, Siruis from Harry Potter, annoying kid I knew, love it, Duck Dynasty, jail
Thorin: Thor, a thorn, superhero, mythical god, roman, strong, unusual, comic book name, god of thunder, hulk, the Hobbit, Oakenshield, Norwegian god, ouch,
Trey: cute, Vahn, the third, athletic, tray, fun, poker, modern, gangster movie, DOG KILLING, Ohio State player, three, for my food, rapper

What's your favorite name based on the following choices?
Matthew and Silas tied at 16% each
Everett, Cooper, and Brenton tied at 13% each
Trey had 11% of the vote.
Other names were under 10% of respondents

Indicate how many people you know personally with the follow names:
Over 80% of respondents didn't know anyone with the name Alton, Ansel, Carver, Gareth, Garrow, Roran, or Thorin personally.
About 40% of respondents knew 6 or more people with the name Matthew personally.
Between 15% and 50% of respondents knew 1-3 people with the name Alton, Brenton, Carver, Cooper, Everett, Matthew, Silas, and Trey personally.

Indicate how many people you know in popular culture with the following names:
Over 50% of respondents didn't know anyone with the name Alton, Brenton, Carver, Everett, Gareth, Garrow, Roran, or Thorin in popular culture.
At least 50% of respondents knew 1-3 people with the name Alton, Ansel, Cooper, Silas, and Trey in popular culture.

What name has an intellectual vibe?
Matthew and Everett ranked the highest (36% of respondents each), with Alton and Silas following close behind (33%). Brenton came in close after with 30% and Ansel with 25%.

What name has an adventurous connotation?
50% of respondents said Cooper was adventurous, and 41% said Thorin was adventurous.

What name gives off a creative, artsy vibe?
Ansel won this category easily with 63% of respondents saying the name was artsy.

What name has a masculine connotation?
Matthew (54%) and Silas (45%)  topped out this list, with Everett and Roran following after (37%).

What name sounds virtuous and trustworthy?
Matthew (77%) and Silas (37%) were at the top of the list again, and I'm guessing it's from the Biblical connotation associated with the names.


So, are we any closer to picking a name? I think so! But we won't tell until he's born, sorry! I really appreciate all of the responses though, they were very helpful!! My readers are the best!!