6 weeks

Here is Elisabeth's growth so far.

Birth 7 lb.4 oz 19.5"

One week 7 lb.7 oz

3 weeks 7 lb.14 oz

4 weeks 8 lb.4 oz

1 month 8 lb.8 oz. 21"

6 weeks about 9 lbs.

She is smiling now! She has a really cute open-mouth, sideways smile! I finally feel like I am mentally connecting with her, like she is "here" with us. She is awake for longer periods now, but seems to get fussy when she needs to go to sleep and needs help (why is it hard for her to just fall asleep? or maybe it's staying asleep that is difficult...she mostly needs to be in a carrier so she can stay by me and still not get jostled as I move around. In a carrier, she will sleep for hours at a time!) And still a lot of baby acne...

My weight is about 126 when I eat all raw (cooked food adds a couple pounds, just from the actual weight of the food in my gut). I am using pH drops now, which I started to control thrush (I could tell I was borderline whenever I combined fats and sweets) and it's been effective! I can now eat fats and sweets with no symptoms. But also, apparently increasing your pH helps weight loss. So we'll see. (If you're wondering, I am using Alkavision plasma pH drops) And also I am finally beginning to get active again. I bought a jogging stroller and I have lots of videos also.

My sister visited last week. She has a 9-month old. Everywhere we went, we were wearing our babies - and mostly likely breastfeeding also. It was like we had our own little La Leche meeting going on in Sacrament meeting, plus at my in-laws house! Ha! It is a lot easier when you're not the only one, but then you're even more aware of how odd the two of you appear, sticking out like a sore thumb! (So yes I am nursing in all 3 meetings now! And I didn't even cover up with anything, just clothing!) It was fun to EC the babies together, althogh they are more serious about it than we are. I think you can afford to be more serious about it when you only have one child, as it requires a lot of attention (mostly just remembering to do it--I forget sometimes, so now we're trying a timer to remind me to offer the potty). [I have a photo of the 2 babies going potty together but having trouble uploading...stay tuned!]

Quick update

I must be honest, blogging is sinking under the weight of my higher priorities. I apoligize! I am adjusting to mothering two children, busy days, constantly being needed for something, always having my arms full, and being so tired at the end of the day. I have a never-ending to-do list that I'm lucky if I can jot down, much less accomplish! (No, really. It's so hard just to keep notes of the things in my head...) So come 7 pm when I can get my son to sleep, I am not too far from retiring myself. Meanwhile, my husband is trying to pick up the peices (of our household) as he juggles earning money for the family, cleaning up after us, damage control for everybody's emotional states, and recently, a 15-hour-per-week church calling! It's a precious gem when we actually have time and mental alertness to have an uninterrupted adult conversation, much less physical contact. (No wonder people say sex is something on their To-do list!) Now I am beginning to understand all that hype on Mother's Day.... and I only have 2!

 

Phew!

Ruth Lubic

I thought this story was simply awesome. How wonderful to see some positive commentary in the news about birthing outside of the hospital, even to praise this midwife for both saving lives, and saving the public's tax dollars!

How Crunchy Are You?

I am proud to say I achieved the top category, "Crunchier Than Grape Nuts" with 177 points. http://themoralesfamily.us/granola.htm But I didn't tandem nurse, I can't sew, I shop at regular grocery stores, and yes I actually do shave (gasp!) hee hee And what's this about going barefoot? What the... (I actually enjoy dressing nice, sorry guys I don't appear very crunchy. I am not into earth clothing) But everything else I am full-on crunchy!

A month has passed

You've noticed I don't blog as much lately, there isn't a lot of time, and I don't have much to say. Every day is the same as the last, it seems. My computer time is a quick skim of my e-mail, reading the priority items (personal e-mails, blog comments, facebook) and leaving many unread messages for another time. My igoogle blog subscription is piling up too! I have never been "behind" like this before, so unlike me! But there is always somebody needing my attention, so my time is cut short.

 

Elisabeth weighed in at 8 lbs. 4 oz. on the produce scale at the farm the other day, after picking our own organic tomatos for 75 cents/lb! I spent $15 and I'm ready to return on Monday to pick some more.

 

My diet has consisted of apple/carrot or apple/celery juice, watermelon, pears, bananas, green smoothies, avocados, and flax crackers. I made zucchini hummus and it's taking me a few days to get through it. I am too compulsive to actually measure things when I do recipes, and as a result I often go overboard with the spices. This time it is way garlic-y......I added an extra avocado to dilute that but it didn't work, so now I wasted a good avocado and I won't be finishing the hummus.

 

I am excited to try zucchini noodles and curry sauce next...after the leftovers in my fridge clear out!

 

Elisabeth has some baby acne now. I wonder what is behind that? Maybe detoxing from things I ate when I was pregnant. I had B.O. for a week or two while I ate 100% raw, and now it's gone.

 

EC is fun. I was just having her pee on demand mostly but now I see her cue. When she has to pee, she fusses, arches her back, and gets really squirmy. She has a different cry for needing to nurse, and the only time she ever CRIES is when she needs to sleep--either I tried waking her up before she was ready, or she is ready for a nap and needs me to help her soothe. I think it gets to the point of crying because don't usually devote myself to her sleeping habits until its gotten to that point (like, I may take her off the breast as soon as she starts to doze, before she's in a deep enough sleep, etc).

 

Well I have lost just a couple pounds but I don't care so much. Actually I enjoy having wider hips now, and I don't mind my body. I know my tummy will get flatter with time. I am excited to start exercising to tone up, though. I have many options for videos--a few different yoga videos, including Baby & Mom Postnatal Yoga, a Stability ball workout, pilates, weight-lifting, and some things recorded on DVR like dance workouts. I don't have much extra energy for working out yet though, until nights get smoother.

 

Our nights are pretty good, I stay in bed mostly, and I don't spend much time awake. But it's the continual light-stage sleep, and the constant in-and-out of sleep that gets you. I do wake up refreshed, but I can just tell I didn't get enough nerve energy to be more active than just errands and housework. Oh well, I am fine with that for now. I am actually enjoying being a "good housewife" and getting laundry done, kitchen cleaned, vacuuming, etc. My husband has helped a lot with these things but now his life is busier so I am doing it as much as I can.

Social eating

At the very beginning of my blog, I wrote about how I prefer to eat cooked when somebody is serving us food, for social unity and just plain manners.... well last night I re-gained my "testimony" of this (to use mormon lingo) as I broke the rule. Our friends invited us over for dinner and we accepted. I was commited to staying 100% raw though, so I brought a few dishes to share. Here's how it went, as reported to my co-challenger:

 

"I stayed 100% raw but I actually regret it. I didn't want to break the challenge, but normally when I eat raw I make exceptions for things like this. I thought it would be no big deal because they said BBQ and bring something, so I pictured a casual outdoor get together where nobody cares what you're eating. But we got there and they had the table all set really nice, they had baked some fish and a potato dish, asparagus, and salad. (I brought my stuff too) So it was awkward with me not trying ANY of their foods when she had gone through the trouble to make them all. And it was even healthy stuff too, like maybe she knew that about me being into health foods and had me in mind? Well she acted fine with it but still, I just felt like I owed her an apology or an explanation but I didn't know how far to get into it or how to explain that I am trying to lose weight but I couldn't even eat her healthy foods!! Aaahhh so awkward........ Cuz do you know how that feels, have you ever cooked somebody a meal and then they just pick at it? Or they don't want it? I have had that happen and it hurts my feelings so much. So I wanted to say something to her to explain why. As we left, I said "Oh I want some of that fish in a few weeks, after I lose my baby weight." That's all I said. I hope she kind of understands, but I bet she is thinking "What? Fish is excellent diet food!" or "Why are you starving yourself when you're breastfeeding?" (I say starving because from her viewpoint, all I ate was salads) Geez maybe I'm just paranoid!!"

 

I don't know why I am so self-conscious. I just need to say "I am eating raw, which includes plenty of fats," and then people wouldn't worry about me. In certain circles where people are familiar with raw, I am open about it--it's almost cool--but with other people, I just keep quiet about it. I might say "I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables," or that I eat healthy, or even vegan, but I try to avoid the word raw. And why? I don't know. I need to come to terms with myself.

 

Ideally what I would do in this situation, and what I will do next time, is call them in advance and say "I am so glad you invited us over. Right now I am eating only raw foods though so I will bring my own to share. I hope that's OK that I won't be able to eat your cooked foods, but I'd love to try them another time."

 

What do you think? What do you guys do in these situations?

Challenge day 5

Five days down of eating 100% raw, and it's been low-fat too (I had eaten a cooked meal for 2 days prior to that, but had been eating 100% several days before as well). I got really excited about this. I bought a ton of veggies to use in particular recipes--now, if you've been following me, this is something I rarely ever do!! It's lots of fun but I dread the grocery shopping. Usually what I do is eat fruit all day, and then a salad or just cucumber as my veggies. A green smoothie is the only thing I don't eat as-is. This style is fine with me, but since I committed myself to eating 100% raw, I decided to make it fun so cooked food wouldn't be tempting.

...And I haven't been tempted at all! The recipes I've made have been delicious. Here are some of the recipes I've done.

1. Thai Cucumber Soup - mostly cucumbers and basic soup ingredients, spiced with turmeric and ginger. Yum! It's rare to get ethnic raw foods, so I love to try them when I find them.

2. Pizza Flax Crackers - flax and veggie pulp (especially tomatos) mixed with tomatos, sun-dried tomatos, fresh basil, garlic, onion, and italian seasoning.

3. Apple Cinnamon Bars - apple pulp, apple chunks, cinnamon, raisins, and processed bananas to hold it all together.

4. Cucumber "pickle" salad - chopped up cukes, apple cider vinegar, fresh dill. Easy peasy, and tastes like crunchy pickles!

5. Green smoothies every day - my two favorites lately are chard/banana/strawberry, and spinach/pear/banana.

6. And MY FAVORITE so far, Caponata, from www.goneraw.com. It's the #1 recipe and now I see why!! It is so delicious. Might be a bit rich for those doing 80/10/10 so just use half the recommended oil. The sauce is similar to marinara sauce - and I don't even like sundried tomatoes usually, but I guess the way it combines with the ACV and herbs makes it simply delicious!

Next up - Dillicious soup & Curried zucchini noodles.

I have also gotten my juicer back out, after a long hiatus (I couldn't stomach veggie juice during pregnancy, and I'm delighted that suddenly carrot juice is delicious!) especially now that apples are practically free at the local stands off the highways. So I am doing daily carrot/apple juice. YUM!

Also trying to take advantage of watermelon as the season winds down. Watermelon is an excellent weight-loss food, as it flushes the organs, removes salt, and is so filling and easy to digest! And then there are PEARS, which are also 10/$1 at a local stand, so I have my years supply :)

My weight is down to 127. I don't really have a goal, just trying to get back in my regular clothes. My hips are still wider than normal though, I wonder how long that takes to go back? Oh well, it's not so much about weight loss as it is FUN!! I am so glad I am doing this!

Health care

I realize that as a religious person and as a republican, my views are frowned upon in this crowd (Although I am quite surprised that my readers don't believe in natural hygiene). My intention is to share my thoughts, not stir up a contentious argument. For this reason, I am censoring the comments. If you write a respectful, rational response that doesn't involve name calling, I will post it.

I hesitate to get into politics on my blog, I don't want to stir up controversy. And honestly I don't know much about politics. But there is one issue I am passionate about, Guess which one?? I am very much against socialized "health" care. Some may say I am cruel, denying care to somebody who can't afford it - But that is just the problem right there. Our conception that (1) medical care is valuable, (2) that there are no other options, and (3) that health care is some commodity that one needs to pay for. These are all misconceptions and only show how far our culture has strayed from a reasonable worldview.

(1) Conventional medical health care is expensive. There are statitstics comparing various countries' money spent on health care in ratio to actual effectiveness--and we come in at (or very near) the bottom. Our health care is the most expensive and saves the fewest lives. If you have cancer and you go to see a M.D. you have a 15% chance to reverse it. If you see a naturepath, your odds are 80%. Nauropaths are much for efficient in their work and dont' require expensive lab tests or procedures, so they are much less expensive. So it's hard for me to support a system that hides them under the rug while promoting the private sector of conventional medicine.

(2-3) There are lots of other options. Besides natural healing, there is simple rest and fasting--don't underestimate these jewels! But not many people know of them because of the way our society has idolized the medical system and taught us that we need drugs to be healthy. I don't believe that drugs promote health, nor that a person without medical attention is deprived. God did NOT give us disease and leave us high and dry. There is a simple option which is FREE, simply taking care of yourself, which prevents AND reverses most all disease. By taking care of yourself I mean more than eating your token veggie, avoiding transfats, or exercising. Again, the American public is missing valuable information. We don't know what it really means to care for ourselves! If you follow the laws of natural hygiene and avoid harmful substances, your body will heal itself. We need a government that will allow this information to be heard so that we can really learn to be well.

One more thing is the corruption and conspiracy going on between the medical community and the government. There is a reaon alternatives to medical care aren't even discussed. And there is a reason it's so expensive, there is a reason they don't let on how ineffective their treatments are. It's not about our best interest and it never was.

Right now, lots of Americans are sick and dying not because they lack medical care but because they lack INFORMATION. Currently, some type of welfare program is certainly valuable, but ideally I would hope for a government that truly supports our wellness and allows us the freedom to seek our own health and prosperity.

As a republican, I believe less government is more. Many of you disagree with me, I am sure, but in my mind, it's just not appropriate for the government to get involved in the private sector and promote a certain business in the health industry. On a political level, this issue is about personal responsibility for one's health instead of handing it over to somebody else. That is not a republic, that is socialism. A government's job is to protect freedoms. It's job is not to take away our personal responsibility and live our life for us! A person needs to take responsibility for their health. I would consider socialized health care if there were stipulations, like if you want an expensive treatment, you need to do your part and improve your diet. But as long as a person can soak up my tax dollars on the most expensive, least effective treatment plans, and continue in their lifestyles which causes the disease in the first place, I will not pay for their health care, and I will NOT support a corrupt government that encourages this.

3 weeks

The past 3 nights I haven't gotten out of bed. Phew!! I have been in bed about 12 hours, and then I am sleepy during the day because I "slept in" relative to what time I went to bed! (I go to bed early, in case we have a long night) So this morning I just got out of bed at 5 am to avoid this.

 

Hopefully we'll be weighing Elisabeth in the next few days. I am curious.

 

She is getting more alert and aware every day. It's fun to play with her, it seems she is paying attention now and almost getting into it. She gets her daily "exercise" when she lays on the floor and scoots herself around. Sometimes we prop her up on the Boppy and she can climb over it! (Just by straightening her legs and inching around) and Rychen is still doing really well, being a great helper when I am tied down.

 

Having a baby means lots of laundry. Basically, all your clothes stink. Spit up, pee and poop, breastmilk squirting all over the place....and It's not just baby fluids either - it's pretty much everything. You are holding a baby while you eat, so you spill food all over yourself. You can't get your toddler to obey normal rules, so his drink is on your pants too. Basically, anything you usually come into contact with and keep off your clothes, is now all over yourself, just by having a baby in the house.

 

We hardly need any of the clothes we were given. She basically hangs out in a tee shirt all day, bare bum. Then we change the tee shirt every time there is a spit up (just once a day usually). I need to find some baby stockings or leg warmers to keep her legs warm as the weather cools down... and she needs some tights to wear under her dress on Sundays.

 

Some women from church are putting together a baby shower for me. I mentioned I would like a jogging stroller... we'll see if that wish comes to fruition :)

30-day Challenge

I am starting a 30-day Challenge with my friend Sherah to get back in our "Before Baby" clothes. We're accountable to each other... Here's how my commitment is broken up.

 

Sep. 10-20  eat 100% raw

Sep. 21-30  no more than 3 cooked meals weekly (whole foods vegan)

Oct. 1-10 same as above and add in workouts 6 days a week

 

I even took my starting measurements to make it official :)

 

Sherah is eating 100% 80/10/10 raw vegan, plus exercising 6 days a week, Go Girl!!

Quick raw sandwiches

Here's an idea I had to use eggplant as slices of "bread" for a veggie sandwich. Slice the eggplant crooswise to form thin discs. Spread with avocado and your favorite salad dressing (mine is lemon juice, olive oil. ginger, and garlic). Here, my toppings are tomato and parsley. I left these open-faced.

So this is infancy

Last night I slept 8 hours. Sounds like a good night's sleep, you say. Ah ha ha, may I correct you!? Here's when I slept.

 

8-10 slept

10-12 awake with Elisabeth (nursing, etc.)

12-3 slept

3-4 awake with Elisabeth

4-7 slept

 

And woke in the morning as if I had not slept at all..... obviously there is more to it than total number of hours unconscious.

 

So around 11:30 I hit a wall and had a sort of meltdown... she was kicking away, happy in bed. I had gotten up to put some warmer clothes on. I stopped in my closet, sat down, and had a good cry. Here I was, milk soaked through down the front of my shirt, spit up running down my neck and back, pee on the side of my pants. My bottom had been feeling sore and I had fresh blood from my should-be-healing-itself tear. I had been tired all day and had consequently yelled at my son too many times. I .. cannot ... do ... this ... anymore ... But what is there to do?

 

Gotta commit myself to taking naps, going to bed early every night, and making sure Elisabeth is AWAKE most of the afternoon. I'm going to try sleeping in a different room - I've noticed she doesn't get so squirmy when there is more fresh air and a bit of moonlight (plus I don't have to use my bright cell phone light to get her latched on).  We'll see how that goes.

 

Thankfully, not every night is like this. Probably 2 per week when it makes me so down and onery the next day. We have a few nights through the week when I don't even have to get out of bed. Probably due to how much she had slept during the day. Who can tell? (By the way, my son was nothing like this. He would latch on easily in the dark and I always went back to sleep. I thought I had it made... now I am being humbled!)

milk redundancy

I find the word "Breastmilk" redundant. All milk is breastmilk, where else would it come from? Even if you try to specify by saying "Mother's milk" you haven't helped your cause - do you know any fathers who make milk? (Laura Shanley's husband aside) If you mean the milk that baby humans drink (if they are lucky) you need to call it HUMAN MILK.

 

It's difficult for many of us to accept the fact that all milk, whether cartoned or fresh, store-bought or farm sold, drunk in a bottle or poured over cereal, is BREASTMILK. America is in denial. All the while, making great little sucklings on the boobs of cows. I'm sorry, but personally, I am weaned!

Yay

The weight is coming off. I was at 128 today and my pre-pregnancy jeans fit now. Hooray! Just by eating 100% raw (fruits, greens, 1 avocado), eating as much as I care for. I wonder if eating a ton of raisins made it hard to lose weight the first 2 weeks, or maybe my body just needed time to adjust, to gauge how much milk it would be producing, or needed to get active again. Hmmm, oh well. I hope it keeps coming off but I'm not stressing about it. My "normal" weight the past 3 years has been about 115, and of course I don't fit into those clothes, but I am flexible on that. Mainly I am just glad I have clothes to wear now (I bought these two pairs of jeans when I weaned my son and put on some weight).

Nursing while ECing with no hands!

On Labor Day we all went out to Silver Falls state park for a little nature walk. Elisabeth did great in the car, and slept through the hike, in the Mei Tei. Here's a family picture - Can you guess, I am nursing her! It's awesome to be able to do that as I walk about. Hooray for wraps!


This next picture I took specifically for this blog! I sat in the backseat between the two carseats, and every time we stopped, I would nurse and potty her. I can do them simultaneously now, with no hands! So here we are having a little snack before going home, Elisabeth over the potty bowl (and yes, we emptied it in the parking lot!)

2 weeks

What can I say about our week? Life continues, and it sure is passing quickly. I was nervous to see what our family would be like after my mom left, but it has worked out real well. My son has surprised and impressed me - he is adjusting very well and not acting jealous or even resentful of my limited attention. But I suppose I was like that through pregnancy anyway, so he is used to it. Generally I am on the couch with Elisabeth, and if not, my hands are still full with her, so I am limited in my availability. I am thankful that lately Rychen has grown to where he entertains himself very well, so long as I am nearby (but I can be doing my own thing - this is only a recent development).

 

Elisabeth is a happy girl, and gradually we see more awake hours. She is getting more and more alert, and will now give eye contact, and turns toward noises. Another ability that surprises us is how she can hold her head up and scoot around already. She "scoots" simply by straightening her legs and then bending them again, repeatedly. If she is propped up on the Boppy, she can push herself over it and lay her head on the other side.

 

I realized I hadn't written about a raw baby. Here are some perks I have noticed so far. The biggest one is that she has never had eye gunk, and produces very little mucous. She hasn't had congestion, snot, or much sneezing. Another perk is her clean, soft skin and wonderful complexion. Her skin is very healthy looking.

 

But we do have one problem - genital thrush already!! I had yeast throughout pregnancy (except when following 80/10/10) and so it makes sense that she has inherited that constitutional weakness. It has been bad the past couple days, I think from wearing a couple diapers per day. I've had her in a diaper at night because I don't do EC well when I am half-awake. But now I need to try keeping her diaper-free as much as possible. I am also rinsing her bottom with hydrogen peroxide, since that is our favorite topical treatment that doesn't burn. But there really isn't much else I can think to do, I'm not going to give her anti-fungals, can't do a suppository of course, and she can't swallow acidophilus or yogurt... But perhaps I could put some probiotic powder on my nipples when she nurses? Hmm... I will see how she responds to no diapers, and go from there. Just trying to keep her dry at all times. And I wonder if she would respond to EFT, maybe through me, or if I say the words for her and tap her? By the way, I have been eating 100% raw, 80/10/10, so my diet isn't the culprit (unless she is sensitive to something that I'm not). Also noteworthy is the fact that my own yeast went away as soon as I wasn't pregnancy anymore.

 

Anyway now on to my own well-being. I have been out 4 days so far, and after a busy day I will usually need a day or two of rest. My perineum is still healing although it's not sore anymore, but my tear hasn't come together yet. The midwife says it heals from the inside out, so I am still hoping to see it repair itself. If not, maybe we'll try Rixa's superglue idea (or is it too late? anybody know?). I still have my lovely pooch, of course, but I am wearing my normal size small tees. Pants, not so much. I only fit in the things I wore during pregnancy - those jeans that I bought for my third trimester (size 9) and some stretchy shorts. I weigh 130 right now, and haven't dropped anything yet with my 100% raw eating. Oh well, I have accepted the fact that it will take some time. In the meantime, I've decided to buy some shorts that fit me instead of waiting around for it (Before I was pregnant, I would always see diet results the NEXT day, but then I remembered that when I first started dieting, I was only losing 2 lbs per week, so I am still not giving up my diet).

 

I am eating 100% raw - one day fruitarian alternating with an avocado on the other day. I don't feel quite comfortable with 80/10/10 right now, I'd rather be safe than sorry as far as Elisabeth's brain development! I am going crazy with green smoothies with flax, bananas, melons, apples, and pears. Not worrying about calories at all, I am still eating all day long! I never limited my food intake, and I am not fond of those sorts of diets. (I still have an emotional connection to food and constant snacking!)

 

I didn't know how I'd be able to buy enough fruit post-partum, but we've been blessed to have some friends buy groceries for us. One woman from church keeps asking me what I need everytime she goes to Costco (she hasn't yet asked what I do with all this fruit!) so I am sure thankful for that. Also, hip hip hooray for Sue the goat milk lady, who is now selling apples and pears for 10 cents a peice! I am glad to buy some fruit that lasts. So I bought $20 worth (200 peices of fruit, whoa!) which is actually just two small crates. And I am going to the farmers market twice a week for greens, lettuce, melons, and veggies. I got a bunch of zucchini and some dill, so I can pickle it. I love doing pickled zucchini, and it's a great way to use up all that extra squash!

Sneak preview

Here's a sneak preview of my article for this month's Pear....

 

It's July 1, 2005. I am laying on the floor next to the kitchen reciting my times tables. "Six time seven is forty-two. Six times eight is forty-eight. Six times nine is fifty-four." I am using my brain in an effort to stay awake, because I'm afraid of passing out and needing a hospital transfer. I try to ignore the needle in my arm, passing IV fluids into my vein.

 

In the bedroom, my husband is with the baby as the midwife does the newborn exam. Of course, I am missing it. After laboring for a day and a half, I saw my baby for about 5 minutes before the hemorrhage began and the room started spinning around me. Those five minutes were the scariest five minutes of my life, as the midwife hurriedly snapped the umbilical cord and grabbed my baby from me so that she could stimulate him and get some oxygen flowing.

 

Needless to say, that was not an experience I wanted repeated. I knew I needed to get in better health, lose weight, and take better care of myself next time around. After a couple months, I started dieting, and not long after, I found raw foods. Thus began a three-year transformation of myself from the inside out. Seventy pounds later, God gave me another opportunity to prepare myself for a better birth: Information started coming to me about natural childbirth physiology, including a better understanding of preventing and handling birth complications. And I was led to a circle of peers who trusted birth in its most natural sense, and who supported me in my quest for a normal, sweet birth experience. The answer: to take responsibility for my own health throughout pregnancy, following my instinct and God, and to give birth without medical assistance.

 

Fast forward to August 20, 2008. I had spent countless hours preparing for this, researching, gathering supplies, doing visualizations, praying, taking walks and doing yoga, and eating a  high-raw, low-fat diet throughout my pregnancy. My pregnancy was much easier than the previous one. I had only minor nausea, heartburn, and fatigue; absolutely no swelling, no stretch marks; and I only gained 25 pounds instead of the 60 I had gained before.  And now it was time.  

 

Contractions started around 11 am but I didn't recognize it as labor until around noon. These cramps in my lower abdomen didn't last long, and weren't very intense, but they kept coming every couple minutes. So I called my husband telling him to come home at his convenience. In the meantime, I gathered my birthing supplies and arranged the scene. I kept myself busy in the kitchen, cutting up fruit for myself, and preparing several snacks for my son. By the time my husband came home at 1:15, I was ready for him. I quickly explained where everything was, and we reviewed how to handle possible complications. He started a hot bath for me while I danced to a Josh Groban CD. The contractions were stronger now, but I still felt most comfortable staying upright and active.

 

Around 1:45 I got in the bath. My goal for labor was to stay positive, thinking encouraging thoughts, keeping my mind calm and my body relaxed. My husband watched for signs of physical tension and reminded me to relax. I kept vocalizing every thought that entered my mind, which was mostly emotional, spiritual insights. I felt so very alive as I tuned into the Holy Spirit and experienced the pinnacle of God's creation: Holy childbirth between a man and a woman, the zenith of the sexual experience. I felt so much love for my husband and knew so strongly that being a wife and mother was the most important thing in my life.

 

Not long after, I began to feel that familiar uncomfortable feeling which could only be relieved as I bore down. It was incredible for me to feel my baby's head descending and myself enlarging. Then, suddenly, a baby shot out under the water! It was 2:27. I was yelling now, "Oh! Oh! Oh!!" and immediately scooped her up and instinctively began rubbing her back and urging her to clear fluid from her airway. I took herbal tinctures to help the placenta come out and prevent hemorrhage, and within 20 minutes we were resting in bed, nursing in ecstasy. I couldn't believe it - I did it! I birthed my own baby! My body worked perfectly, exactly as I had visualized, and now only 3 hours later, with no pain, no fear, no panic, I had a daughter - Wow!

 

This birth experience was everything I wanted, the most incredible, wonderful day of my life. Having a dream fulfilled after years of preparation is the ultimate thrill and joy. I don't have to tell you how dramatically different Elisabeth's birth was from Rychen's. You wouldn't believe the same body had such opposite outcomes. I guess that's because my body is not the same, and neither is my mind or spirit. I have grown so much and overcome the weakness that caused a regretable experience, and now had a truly ecstatic birth experience in its place. This was true healing, and real validation of my new self. Hooray!

For the full birth story and photos, as well as a detailed journal of my pregnancy, please refer to my blog at http://pullingdaisies.blogspot.com. Thank you to my blog readers for all the encouragement and prayers! I am blessed to have a community of supportive, like-minded people in my life.

When you say you love me

Today in the car, this song came on. I was filled with emotion as I thought back to Elisabeth's birth. This song was playing as I neared the very end of labor. We also danced to it in the middle of the night when she was only a couple days old. It's a sweet song. A few lines are appropriate for us, such as "I feel like I could fly" (with the ecstasy from birthing her) and "I know why I'm alive." While in labor with her, my whole life came together and every peice of me was united in the single purpose of birthing her. And since then, I have been solely focused on my mothering and meeting her needs. I am totally, helplessly, head over heels in love with this little girl. I am glad to have a special song to remind me of these precious feelings I have with her as my newborn. Everytime she or I hears this song, it will bring sweet memories and a special peace to us.

Catching on to EC!

We had a great EC day. I caught most everything, and that is really saying something because we spent very little time at home today! We were at the church for a couple hours while my husband set up his classroom (to teach seminary) and during that time, she peed twice on demand in the real toilet. Also, we took an outing with my mom to Silver Falls state park. Elisabeth peed and pooped in a bowl in the car as we arrived and left. I got two poops today! I think she is catching on herself, because she will now poop when she goes pee, generally when she wakes up. Also, she goes so quickly as soon as I hold her over the toilet that I wonder if she is already learning to hold it, waiting for me to help her out.

 

We are using some newborn size cloth diaper covers, which are too small for a prefold to fit inside. So I bought some washcloths to use. I don't care how absorbent or efficient they are, since I am trying not to put them to use, and if I do, I would change it right away. But another thing we do, around the house, is use a prefold and a Snappi without a cover - this way I know immediately when she has gone. So I do this if I have her in a wrap, or if my husband is holding her. But generally she is either in pants or naked over a prefold.