Food for Thought: Spanking

Adults are not allowed to hit other adults.

Children are not allowed to hit other children.

Children are not allowed to hit adults.

Why, then, is it OK for adults to hit children?

Discuss!

Ina May is my Hero

Less than 10 weeks until Ryan’s estimated due date. Scary! I am suddenly overwhelmed with all of the things I need to do before his arrival. While pregnant with Katie I read both Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth and Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way – twice.  They were such amazing resources and I give them credit for my beautiful birth experience.  So one of the things I want to do is reread these books.  Why read them again if I’ve already read them twice and had a great birthing experience, you ask?

Because they are full of little nuggets that empower me as a woman and a mother.  Because I want to fill myself up with the knowledge that yes I was made for this, that yes my body can do this, and yes it will be hard, but it will also be the most amazing experience of my life.  Nothing in this world compares to the miracle of growing, laboring, and delivering a baby.  Sorry men, try as you might, you will never understand.

I decided to start with Ina May’s book a couple nights ago.  Last night I read this and thought, YES!

“The problem is that doctors today often assume that something mysterious and unidentified has gone wrong with labor or that the woman’s body is somehow ‘inadequate’ – what I call the ‘woman’s body as a lemon’ assumption.  For a variety of reasons, a lot of women have also come to believe that nature made a serious mistake with their bodies.  This belief has become so strong in many that they give in to pharmaceutical or surgical treatments when patience and recognition of the  normality and harmlessness of the situation would make for better health for them and their babies and less surgery and technological intervention in birth.  Most women need encouragement and companionship more than they need drugs.”

I don’t want to single anyone out, but many women who are dear to me have had what they believe to be unavoidable caesarean sections and they blame themselves or their baby.  It breaks my heart to know that these strong, amazing women see their experience as their  failure and then go on to defend their hospital/doctor rather than demand better for themselves.

I wasn’t just “lucky” with my amazing birth experience, as many think.  I learned my rights, I learned what I and my baby were capable of, and I demanded better from my health care providers.  I didn’t allow the hospital to use unnecessary or harmful standard operating procedures.

Well, I’ll step down from my soap box for the moment.  But I can’t promise I won’t be back   I am even more passionate about natural childbirth now, having been through it, than I was before.  And I want to be more bold in sharing that passion with the women in this area since Michigan’s c-section rate continues to rise.

I could write a blog! I have thoughts!

Those of you who have seen “Julie & Julia” probably recognize the above quote from Julie Powell.  Contrary to the title of my blog and the previous posts, I didn’t actually resurrect this blog so I could talk to you about how exciting it is to clean my house.  I mean it really is very exciting.  But I highly doubt anyone would stick around if that was all I talked about.  My post about cleaning the kitchen was what finally prompted me to start blogging again.

So what sort of shenanigans am I up to?  Well, I’ve been a mom for nearly a year now (scary) and in that year plus the 9 months I was pregnant I have learned a lot about what it means to be a parent.  I have been challenged by fellow moms, research, and my own heart to rethink what little I knew about parenting.  As much as I wanted to be a mom all my life, I can’t say I spent much time thinking about how I was going to parent.  I’m sure there were many times throughout my childhood when I said, “I will never __________ my children.”  But there are so many things you are clueless on until you are right there in the thick of it.

One thing I’ve discussed with Philip is that I want us to parent in a way that suits who we are and who are children will be.  I want us to thoughtfully research and discuss how we will do things with our children.  Though I think both sets of our parents did an excellent job raising us, I don’t believe we have to do things just as they did.

Of course, parenting looks very different in the newborn stage than it does in the toddler stage, which we are slowly entering.  But some of the things I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about are (in no particular order):

Sleep Training / CIO
Discipline
Baby Wearing
Breastfeeding
Car Seats
Circumcision
Childbirth
Cloth Diapering

So at some point in time I’ll likely blog my thoughts on each of these topics.  I’m sure I’ll offend some and surprise others, but I fully welcome any comments or arguments people have in regards to each topic.

OK, off to dry my hair.  Because, yes, I showered, and then left my hair wet.  And now it’s getting all frizzy curly, ew.

Here’s something I hadn’t thought of

You go through a lot more cleaning product when you clean on a regular basis.  I was looking at my half-full Windex bottle thinking, “Didn’t I just fill this up?”  Well, it was probably a few weeks ago, but still!  Looks like I’ll be making my own cleaners from here on out.  Here is a great article for bargain DIY cleaners.

Frugal Spring Cleaning

I’m also going to research non-toxic DIY cleaners and I’ll post my findings here!

Good thing going

About 2.5 weeks ago I woke up and suddenly felt energized.  Motivated!  I started cleaning my house in earnest from top to bottom.  I ended the week with a sparkly house and it was a really good feeling.  As an added bonus, my husband was in a better mood.  It wasn’t until the end of that week that I suddenly realized why I had been so industrious that week.  It’s quite simple, really – I felt great!  For the first time in nearly 4 months, I did not feel the need to lay down and sleep or constantly eat.  It was fantastic!

I realized that with my house now well in hand, it was time to implement a cleaning schedule.  It doesn’t sound as bad as you would think.  I have a severe case of  “Oh, Shiny!” syndrome and have a hard time focusing on one particular task.  I also don’t do well without a plan.   I’m likely to wander aimlessly about the house overwhelmed by all that needs to be done.  So far the plan has been working beautifully.  Even better than I could have imagined.

I have learned a few important things in keeping a daily schedule.  1) When cleaned on a regular basis, things like bathrooms, kitchens, and floors aren’t as horrible to clean.  It almost feels like they clean themselves, because they haven’t had the opportunity to get as gross.  2) When I know that today is laundry day, I know that all I really have to do is, yeah, you guessed it – laundry!  I don’t have to worry about scrubbing the tub or mopping the floors.  3) By keeping myself on task, I actually have more time to play with Katie and work on projects.  Yes, it’s one of those paradoxes in life that will never make sense  – by keeping busy I’m actually less busy.  What?

So, now that I’ve spent a dreadful 3 paragraphs talking about how great my schedule is, I am going to share the schedule with you.  Let me know what you think!  Questions… comments… snide remarks…

Monday
Tidy House
Vacuum – main floor
Grocery Shopping

Tuesday
Tidy House
Project Day – This is a day for me to tackle something that needs extra work.  Or to do something fun!

Wednesday
Tidy House
Vacuum – main floor
Laundry

Thursday
Tidy House
Bathrooms – main floor weekly, basement every other week

Friday
Tidy House
Vacuum – main floor, stairs, and basement
Sweep and Mop – Kitchen and Bathroom

As you can see, there are some things I do every day – like tidy the house.  Every day I clean the entire kitchen and I try to end my day by wiping the counters down with Green Works cleaner.  Every day I put all the “getting ready” stuff away in the bathroom, make the bed, pick up the clothes, put away Katie’s toys, etc.  But when I clean every day, it takes only a few minutes to do it all.  I vacuum every other day because we have a cat and, let’s face it, I probably shed as much as he does.  Plus bits of paper, plastic, food etc get on the carpet from every day use.  I definitely feel it’s necessary.  But I only do the basement once a week because we don’t spend our days down there.

Today the schedule is going great.  I do still have a load of laundry to fold from yesterday.  And I still need to clean the basement bathroom (joy!), but at least the upstairs one is clean, woo!

If you’ve made it this far, you deserve a medal.  I recommend you take a few minutes to get back to reality before moving on with your day as I’m sure I’ve nearly bored you to tears.  Have a great day, friends!

Yup, I hate cleaning

There I stood in my kitchen staring at the mess from dinner saying over and over, “I don’t want to clean.  I don’t want to clean.”  Every inch of my body revolted at the thought of scrubbing pots and wiping down the counters.  I’d much rather Facebook or process photos or cuddle up on the couch watching movies.

So what did I do?  I opened up a new package of sponges and decided to get scrubbing.  Ugh.  Sometimes the only way to get cleaning is to start with a fresh sponge.  I hate old sponges that get all icky and smelly, nothing like a new one for inspiration.  Attacking the kitchen one dish at a time is the next step.  If I look at the kitchen as a whole there is no hope for me or the dreadful mess.

Roughly 20 minutes later my kitchen was shiny and clean.  I even got to wipe down the counters with my Green Works spray and run my dishwasher, which always makes me happy.  And now I am cuddling on the couch watching a movie, Facebooking, and blogging.  See, it all ended just as I wanted.  And the best part is, tomorrow I won’t have to push aside all the dishes to make breakfast.

1 month and counting

I suppose it’s old news now that Katie Victoria was born into the world on May 21, 2010 at 3:04pm at 8lbs 12oz and 22.5 inches long.  This means that she is just over a month old.  Man, time flies.  I haven’t really taken the time to discuss her arrival!

Katie was due on May 14th.  She decided she wasn’t done cooking yet and stayed firmly in my tummy.  My midwife, Sandra, kept thinking I’d go into labor at any moment since by then I was 4cm dilated, 80% effaced, and -1 station.  I had been having Braxton-Hicks contractions for weeks by this point and they were pretty regular, but certainly not labor.

The Tuesday after my due date I went in for an non-stress test, growth ultrasound, and amniotic fluid index.  Turns out I had an excessive amount of fluid and a large, though healthy baby.  They were gently pushing for inducement.  Though I had my  misgivings about it, I figured at a very large 41 weeks pregnant with favorable progress, my chances for success were high.  We went ahead and scheduled for Friday.

Friday morning we checked into the hospital at 7am.  We settled into our corner room and they hooked me up to the monitors.  I was having contractions about 10 minutes apart at this point and I was still 4cm and 80%.  Sandra came in around 9 and by 9:30 she broke my water.  It was a very odd sensation having all this warm liquid gushing out.  I actually started to laugh and with each laugh more came out, which I guess was helpful.  Sandra said it was the most fluid she could recall seeing.  Awesome.

Once my water was broken I went immediately from a 4 to a 6.  Then it was business time – I had to get my contractions going so they wouldn’t need to administer Pitocin and I could have the natural labor I so strived for.  Phil and I walked the halls for about an hour before I had to go back on the monitors.  By then contractions were at about 7 minutes, but still not painful.  At 11am I told Phil he’d better go get lunch if he wanted it, just in case things got going.  While he was out I had my first true contraction.  I felt tons of downward pressure and I knew this was the real thing.

By the time Phil got back I was having contractions about 5 minutes apart.  They put me back on the monitors and they started to become very painful.  Phil was a great coach and support through them.  Once I was done on the monitors they finally let me get into the jacuzzi tub.  That was just about the greatest thing ever.  Laying in the hot swirling water felt so good and really eased the pain of the contracations.

After about an hour and a half of sitting in the tub the contractions were about 1 minute apart and extremely painful.  I called for Sandra and the Nurse so I could get out of the tub and move to the bed.  When I got to the bed the Nurse checked me and I was about a 7 to 8.  Only a few minutes later I told them that pushing would feel really good right about now.  Sandra checked me and I was complete!

Sandra and Phil coached me through pushing.  Sandra counted for me and Phil encouraged me.  I couldn’t believe just how painful it was.  Part of it was her head pushing through, part of it was a fear of tearing, part of it was the sheer effort put into it.  But Sandra and Phil talked me through it all and after 20 minutes of pushing, she was born.  There was my baby girl, safe in my arms.  She stayed there on my chest for an hour while Sandra stitched and cleaned me up.  Then they bathed, weighed, and measured her.

It was such an awesome feeling knowing that after 3 and a half hours of very intense, very quick labor she was born without any drugs.  A lot of people said I couldn’t do it.  A lot of people said I shouldn’t even bother trying.  But I knew I could do it – I was bound and determined.  I’m not usually one to say “I told ya so!” but I feel it is well deserved in this instance. 

After labor and delivery I told Phil it would be a while before I wanted to do it again.  But it really is amazing how quickly the memory of it fades.  Every once in a while I wince when I think about it, but it’s more the intellectual memory of it, than the physical.

Now, a month later, everything is going great.  I have a healthy baby girl who is great at breastfeeding, she’s putting on weight like a champ, and she lets me sleep from time to time.  It’s fun watching her grow and change and I’m just so glad to have her!

Home Stretch

Well, it’s been roughly a month since my last post so I’m definitely due for another!

I’m sitting here at work, wishing for a food coma nap and a cool fan blowing on me.  I’m very warm right now.  Time to switch to flip flops at work.  This will accomplish two things – make me cooler and prevent me from bending over to tie my shoes.

Speaking of bending over, it is becoming increasingly difficult.  I am finding that, much to my delight, I am growing entirely out front.  This is great because from behind I actually don’t look pregnant (woot) and it means I’m not putting on superfluous weight.  How this has happened, I couldn’t exactly tell you.  I’m certainly not the most unhealthy pregnant woman I’ve ever known, but I could also do better.  However, this growing out front is a double-edged sword.  It means I have little room to bend over.  When I do, I basically can’t breathe.  And then I get light headed.   So it’s definitely time to nix the tie shoes.

The other issue I’m running into is that I have to either lean back in my chair or sit up really straight.  Otherwise I, again, can’t breathe.  There is this very large rock in my stomach, otherwise known as a uterus containing a small baby, that pushes into my lungs.  Quite an interesting phenomenon, actually.

Speaking of the small baby in my uterus, she is quite the little gymnast.  I never grow tired of watching my stomach move as she scoots around in there.  Phil also loves to watch and put his hand over my stomach and feel little baby Kate move around.  I had my first rib kicks earlier this week.  They were, well, uncomfortable.  But generally speaking, not overly unpleasant.  I really love feeling her move.  If it weren’t for the occasional “Ow!” I’d never grow tired of it!

This weekend Phil and I plan to finish up the nursery.  We have to paint the closet and put the shelf back up, hang the book shelves, hang the paper lanterns, and then we should be done!  I have two showers coming up (yay, fun!) and then we’ll be organizing all of that awesomeness into the nursery and into our lives!

Speaking of babies and awesome, my best friend Kellie had her baby boy, Zachary Michael on Saturday March 6, at 8:06pm.  He’s a sweet little dude with a head full of hair.  I can’t wait to spend more time with him!  And I can’t wait to see our little ones play together someday.

Also in the world of babies, my cousin Cherie had twin boys yesterday morning.  William and Robert were born at a healthy 7lb 13oz and 6lb respectively.  A very happy time for babies

Yesterday I had my first wedding photography consultation.  Though I’m not looking into shooting weddings full time (I prefer families, children, BABIES), I am looking to get experience and knowledge in all areas.  Who knows, maybe I’ll love it better than anything!  The consultation was fun and I look forward to shooting their wedding in July.  I’ll be helping with another wedding a couple weeks later, as well.  The website is coming along slowly, but surely.  I should be ready to launch it before I go on maternity leave.

I have a couple other entrepreneurial (I have to point out that I spelled that right the first try!) endeavors I’m pursuing in addition.  Anything I can do to bring in extra money!

OK… time to get back to work.

4 months later…

So I never made an official announcement on this dear old blog about the fact that I’m pregnant.  And I suppose this still doesn’t count much as an announcement considering anyone who reads this already knows.  So rather than an announcement, how about an update?

I’m roughly 26 weeks along and just under the 100 day mark.  It’s hard to believe so much time has passed, yet I don’t feel it has been going to quickly.  I also am not impatient for the end.

We found out that I was expecting on September 4 – at roughly 4 weeks.  Yes, we found out right away.  In fact, it was so soon I wasn’t so sure the test would come up positive, but to my delight it did!  We were so blessed to have that lovely little plus sign so quickly.

Week 6 through 14 had many rough spots filled with nausea, vomiting, exhaustion, crazy hunger, moodiness… the usual.  But since then it’s been pretty easy sailing and I really love being pregnant.

Around week 18 I first felt my little one move and a few weeks later Philip could feel occasional kicks.

My wonderful sister and mother hosted a lovely shower for me at week 20.  It was such a wonderful time to catch up with family and enjoy the glow of pregnancy.

At 21 weeks we found out we are having a baby girl and we settled on her name shortly there after – Katie Victoria.  I’ve been working on her nursery and having far too much fun with it (I’m being told that it’s nesting…).  Once it’s complete I’ll post some pictures, but there is still some work to do!

I started doing a prenatal yoga video a few weeks ago.  It’s nothing spectacular, but I really enjoy the stretches.  It’s great at relieving pregnancy aches and pains and there are some great stretches to prepare for childbirth.

Speaking of childbirth, I must plug Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth to all expectant moms.  Even if you have no desire to go the natural, med-free route, I highly recommend this book.  I’ve read it twice and wouldn’t be surprised if I pick it up again closer to May.  Ina May is so empowering to women and their ability to give birth.  I am so excited to give my baby girl the gift of a natural and unmedicated birth.  My only worries about childbirth at this point are her being breech (c-section, yuck!) or coming later than 42 weeks (inducement, yuck!).

Another way I’m preparing for the arrival of baby Kate is by researching make ahead meals.  I know the first couple weeks can be rough and another mom-friend of mine recommended freezer meals.  I’ve found some good website resources and I’m going to start compiling a list of recipes to make a couple weeks before my due date.  I’m hoping for much success in this realm because I’d like to plan weekly menus with a combination of make-ahead and fresh meals.

In the world of photography, I’ve done a few more photo sessions and still love it.  Philip got me the Canon Speedlite 430 esxii for Christmas and it has been such an awesome addition.  I really hate to use flash, but when used right it really does make indoor photography so much better!  We are working on my website/blog and hoping to launch it soon.  Once that is done, I’ll be able to really get my “studio” going.  I’m so excited!

I’ll also add that I did not finish out my Project365.  Once morning sickness, exhaustion, and dark evenings set in there was little in me to keep it going.  I had planned to pick it up again, but it just hasn’t happened.  I will do some sort of photography project with baby Kate once she arrives.  Part of it will be building a portfolio, but I may do a 52 week project.

I also recently opened an Etsy shop where I am selling some of my images.  I haven’t sold anything yet, but once I have a few more images up (maybe 20 or so) I plan to do a Grand Opening sale.  So keep your ears open and spread the word!

There isn’t anything else to report at this point in time.  And I certainly won’t make promises about future posts here.  But I’ll try…

Nummy Food

This is kind of a cop out post, but I found this recipe and I really want to make it.

OTB Chicken Tortilla Soup