Fourth Child (Micah's lengthy gestation followed by a speedy delivery)

I guess little brothers want to be like their big brothers.  As in Zade's birth "process," Micah decided that I needed **lots** of practice contractions. As early as three weeks before his due date, I was experiencing sections of the evenings (and into the night) of hard contractions, five minutes apart that would last for a couple of hours.  I'd get Pete concerned, take a shower, go to bed and wake up still pregnant.

Once we were within days of the due date, the contractions slacked off.  We passed due date.  Contractions still almost non-existent.  After about a week after due date, they began coming back pretty fiercely.  I would text my midwife to give her a heads up "tonight may be the night!" only to go to bed and wake up still pregnant.

I ate eggplant parmesan two or three times. With Zade it seemed to work, but not for Micah.  I walked.  I prayed.  I cleaned.  I let the house get dirty (to tempt Murphy's Law).  And I cleaned again.  I went to the chiropractor. I painted the hall bathroom (shout out to Mythic non-toxic paint).  We hosted students for dessert, we had staff meetings, I waddled up to church to take the girls to G.A.'s (Girls in Action, Baptist girls missionary group), choir practice and to ride their bikes. We had family come to visit, we let family leave with no results... we even let Zade visit my parents for a few days while we waited.

Nine days after the due date, I took Gracie to proof for a memory award with Classical Conversations (two complete subjects, 100% verbatim, 24 topics).  She did it!  I was so proud!  We needed to celebrate!  I suggested a Chick-fil-A milkshake. Faith heartily agreed. However, it was Gracie's achievement and she wanted to go to the Science Center.

Since it was Spring break, they had all the cool "Saturday stuff" all week and to Gracie's delight we ended up there as they were feeding the snakes.  I have to say it was one of the coolest things I have seen.  Faith also thought it was pretty interesting.  We also saw "Kats, the Meerkat Musical" which was both lame and hilarious.  During the meerkat program, I started having contractions.  I did my best to track them on my phone (free app) without alarming the people sitting directly behind me.  *this is not a subtle app, huge button that says "start timer."

By the time the final song was sung, the contractions had stopped and we headed home.  Pete's sisters had offered to pay for me to have a massage.  My chiropractor recommended a lady who was certified in pre-natal massage who sometimes worked with him at his office.  I called her and she had a space available that night. So Pete handled church and G.A.'s while I headed over to get a massage.  It was really good - but no contractions.  I came home all relaxed and Pete and I watched TV and ate cake.

After some down time, Pete went downstairs to work (midnight-ish) and I went to bed.  Pete came to bed around 3:30 a.m.  I started having contractions.  I knew he was exhausted so I got up and went to the living room as I waited to see if this was "it."  I was hungry so I heated up some eggs and made toast.  I turned on the TV and was "happy, happy, happy" to find reruns of Duck Dynasty.

About thirty minutes later, I felt really strongly - these things are not messing around.  The contractions were anything but textbook.  Not progressive (some only 2 minutes apart, others 5 minutes apart) and varying in length (35 seconds to over 2 minutes long).  *But* they were hard!  I began muting the TV while the contractions came because it became irritating to me.  Since I've already given birth three times, I knew that concentration to get through contractions was an absolute here-it-comes, real-labor-is-here sign.

Here's how things went down from there...

So I texted my midwife.....and then I texted the other midwife (R).....and I went upstairs and let Pete know that his entire night's rest would consist of one hour.  Pete heads downstairs to add more air to the birth tub that had been sitting inflated for the last 15 days.  I hadn't yet heard from my midwife so I decided to call her.  My texts had not gone through!  She was out of town and that very night the other midwife's cell phone had taken a bath along with her toddler.  My contractions are definitely saying "here he comes!" and we need a midwife on the way!  I turn on the computer and begin playing the birth worship music I had found a few weeks ago.

Pete fills the tub (talk to him about the rigging required to get the water down the hall into the den).  I patiently wait - leaning on the ottoman - making guttural sounds through each contraction.  I head to the bathroom and my water breaks at 6:17 a.m. (Pete makes a note).   Pete helps me into the tub and I feel the urge to push.  I tell Pete.  He says, "Please don't!" When the color returns to his face, he fumbles for the phone to call our midwife.  She says R should be there by now but that she can talk us through this if necessary.

She advised trying to breathe through a couple of contractions without pushing.  I tried, but couldn't not push...  I just didn't tell Pete at the time.

Gratefully just a few minutes later, R came dashing down the stairs and said, "I'm here, go ahead and push!"  R noticed the water was a bit cooler than body temperature and Pete tried to warm it up, but the water heater couldn't keep up.  So (stereotypically) Pete was sent to boil water.  It was around 6:30 a.m. and Pete went to wake the girls so they could watch.  Both Gracie and Faith stood at the end of the pool while I pushed out their brother.  At one point Faith covered her ears.  I guess my "sounds of labor" are a bit loud. ;-)

This time around I was acutely aware of every stage of the descent (apparently that's common after the third birth).  The music was great - it helped to focus my attention away from my natural tendency to think "help! I don't like this!" and focus on thanking God for each contraction.  While I was very tempted to just push with all my might and get him out, R reminded me to slow down, don't hold my breath, gently let him come.  Oh, how hard that was!

I finally got his head out and it seemed like a long time (maybe 5 minutes) before I had a hard enough contraction and energy to push his shoulders and body out.  R made some adjustments to his position, a good contraction came and finally Micah was born at 6:51 a.m.  Did you do the calculations?  Thirty four minutes from water breaking.  Yes, Pete almost solo-delivered our son!  He is extremely grateful he didn't have to.

I held Micah close to me for several minutes while we were still in the tub. R kept handing me warm, dry towels to warm him up.  As a family member pointed out, please note that the pink towel was simply warm and available at the time.  He has been exclusively in masculine or gender-neutral colors for all blankets, towels and sleepers ever since. ;-)

Gracie and Faith both pitched into help (putting towels in the dryer to warm them, holding Micah, even making calls to family and friends to share the good news).  R said they were excellent assistants!

After the placenta was delivered, the cord was cut and we were out of the pool - everyone was checked over.  Once again, Praise God - no tearing for me.  Micah was weighed and measured.  This little ruddy, round-headed bundle of sweetness was 8 pounds, 7 ounces and twenty-one inches long.  He nursed very well right from the start.  Although Pete almost had to deliver his son, he managed to stay completely out of the birth tub this time, LOL!

After the birth, my wonderful husband made turkey bacon and grits for me (which is really out of his cooking comfort zone).  As we all enjoyed the delicious breakfast the feeling of "wow - this is over and I'm sooo tired" hit.  Micah and I were doing well so R packed up and headed home (she would come check on us the next day).  The girls sacked out on the couch to rest and watch TV while Pete went to find another hour or two of sleep before the grandparents and Zade arrived.  Micah latched/nursed really well and then we both slept as well.

I've now had four births, the last three being water births.  Each birth story has its own unique mark of God's grace and provision.  For the last several years, we have felt God leading us to have four children... and there is a sweet "completeness" to our family.

Love, Carra

20 min and $20 can save a baby's life

New Zealand did a campaign (beginning in 1998) to encourage parents to wrap their baby mattresses. If you look at this link, there’s about 8 facts that show the history of their campaign: (http://www.babymattresscovers.com/crib_death_summary.html)

Over 190,000 babies sleep on wrapped mattresses in New Zealand.  There have been 0 deaths in of babies sleeping on a wrapped mattresses.  In other words, for over 10 years, wrapping mattresses has been 100% effective in saving babies from SIDS. 

If you research SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) you’ll find that some experts say that breastfeeding and sleeping with your baby helps prevent it, other experts say it increases the likelihood.  In 1994, the American Academy of Pediatric launched a campaign to encourage parents to have babies sleep on their backs.  The response to that was a dramatic drop in SIDS deaths.  But they didn’t go away.  If you look at a graph showing the drop of SIDS, you’ll see that while it dropped in response to back sleeping, it has leveled off.  Deaths from SIDS have not decreased since 2001 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Back_to_sleep_plot.png). 

There are still approximately 2000 babies that die in the US every year due to SIDS.  It is the leading cause of death for babies under one year and typically occurs between 2 and 4 months of age.  So babies sleeping on their back helps, but there must be some other reason. I believe that it is the foam and fire retardant chemicals that slowly off gas and break down coming from the mattress.  Older babies usually are fine because their lungs are more developed.

There is something we do which is not mainstream but totally easy, cheap and potentially life-saving.  It can be done in 20 minutes and never have to be done again and will provide protection for your sweet babies for the entire time they sleep on their baby mattresses.

My posts about it including how to wrap a mattress:

• Baby mattresses (my post)
• DIY Mattress Wrapping (my post)
• Prevent SIDS
• Divergent View (another passionate mom convinced we can pretty much eliminate SIDS.
• Cot (Brit way of saying mattress) life 2000 (the deepest research available)

So maybe you are on the fence about the validity of this. I know I'm a bit on the passionate side...  But really, what's the harm?  It's $20 (less if you split a roll of plastic with someone) and takes so little time.  We buy baby monitors, plug protectors and set up baby gates over stairs.  We protect our babies from what's obvious.  Why not protect them from something not so obvious?

Love, Carra

Confession #21 - I'm a Diva (periodically)

If you are a guy and have found your way to my post today, may I invite you to surf elsewhere?  I mean, if you are totally fascinated by the cyclical nature of women and the products they use... be my guest.  But don't say I didn't warn you!

So you know I've shared about our natural birth control, natural makeup, etc.  Continuing along the vein of natural "personal life" -- I want to tell you about the most amazingly cool invention for women!! - the Diva cup!

A while back I was happily using always, kotex and their cousins every month for a week.  My friend CB said she had started using all natural tampons and said they were great.  That was a good reminder to pay attention to that area downstairs.  I already used 7th Generation diapers on the bottoms of my babies because of the bleach, etc.  I hadn't really thought about what I was using with all those chemicals.  So I bought some and switched.

Happily I was using my natural tampons during the day and wore and 7th gen overnight pad for the night.  I just didn't feel comfortable with wearing a tampon through the night because you could get TSS and die.  I've been trained well to avoid that.

So last year my friend DC emails me and mentions, "you probably already use this but..." and referenced the "Diva."  I had read about it a bit but never knew anyone who actually used one.  So I was skeptical.  Well DC is as hardcore Diva as I am about essential oils so her enthusiasm rubbed off on me.  I researched it, selected the appropriate size, ordered one and waited.  It took a while since I was still nursing Zade.

Well, I'm on my fifth cycle since his birth.  I know exactly how many cycles, how long, etc. because of using FAM.  The first one was a little weird.  You mean, I can leave this thing in like 8 hours???  Yes you can!  It's not like a tampon so it's not holding the "stuff" next to your "areas."  It's actually letting everything flow out, just catching it right before the "exit."

You only have to empty it twice a day (but I do three times just because I'm curious).  And you can sleep in it!  And it is as easy as a tampon.  And it cost $20!  And you don't need anything else!!!  I wear a liner when I work out or I know I'll be moving around a lot. Other than that - I really don't leak.  I used to spend $20 every couple of months for the various pads and tampons.  What a huge cost savings!!!  So ladies, are you ready to try the Diva Cup?  I am.  Really, I am right now.  Now that's a confession!

Love, Carra

Confession #11 - Birth Control, part two

So yesterday I shared my story of discovering that birth control pills could be an abortafacient.  If you don't have strong pro-life positions, that may not be a problem to you.  For me, it was definitely something I didn't want to have to wonder about.

Since I've been pregnant, healing from miscarriage, pregnant, healing from miscarriage, pregnant, healing from birth and nursing....I haven't had to consider my options for "not getting pregnant" for quite some time.  But on one of our last visits, I asked my midwife what would be a good option.  She suggested Fertility Awareness Method.

FAM IS NOT natural family planning (NFP), but it has some similarities (another post with more details here).  I bought the book ($20 which is a lot for my book budget) and printed out some blank tracking sheets.  Let me just say, I have been having periods for over twenty-five years, birthed three children and lost two others. But in the two weeks it took me to read this book, I learned more about my fertility and cycles than all the rest of my life and experiences!

The program is not hard.  You take your temperature and you pay attention to what your body is doing.  It's just a habit.  The first two months were not habits and it was really annoying trying to remember to take my temperature before getting up. But once I got the hang of it - no problem!

And since I learned that I'm only truly fertile a few days a month, we can make choices that don't involve fear or worry about the consequences.   Now no birth control is 100% but if you take the time to learn it, pay attention and track it, it is a fabulous alternative to the standard birth control pill. FAM has also been a huge benefit to those trying to conceive a baby.  Since you "tune in" to your fertile time you can tell when (or even if) you ovulate.

I have recommended it to single non sexually active friends and family (female only of course) to begin tracking just to clue into the curious workings of the woman's cycle.  To know your body well enough to predict your period, etc.-- that's a pretty powerful tool.  Speaking of cycles, later this week...oh yeah, natural ...ahem...y'know... :-)

Love, Carra

Confession #10 - Birth Control, part one

 

My Pill Testimony:

I took birth control pills for several months early  in our marriage (10 plus years ago).  I gained some weight and felt bloated most of the time.  But we didn’t want kids (at the time) and so I  did it.

Pete had just started a new job and became friend with a guy named Rick.  Rick (who boldly brings up personal topics) brought up the subject of us using birth control.  He challenged Pete to research the pill and pray about finding the truth about the dangers of the pill.  We first dismissed it.

But after a while we finally checked into it. I found and read the actual clinical summary published by the pharmaceutical company that produced my “pill.”  Way down the article was one small line that changed everything about my perspective toward birth control pills.

It was a tiny phrase that (sorry I can’t remember the actual wording). It said sthat the function of the pill did all these things to suppress ovulation, thin mucus, etc.  But it also said that in the event of fertilization, it would prevent implantation.  That’s what got me….If we were to accidentally create a life (fertilization), this pill would prevent implantation (in essence, aborting it).  A cold chill went down my spine as I thought about what might have happened in my body.  I never took another pill.

The next time I went to my OB practice I asked about the pill.  One of the gynecologist confirmed that they were a pro-life practice.  I somewhat challenged him with my questions about the actual mechanics of it.  He finally said, “…it only matters if you’re a purist.” ...and I decided that I am.

We decided to use condoms for the time we are most likely fertile. Yes they cost money, but my hormones were mine again and we only had to use them when were “together” rather taking something all the time. --- And it gave us peace of mind.

Just recently I have found the Fertility Awareness Method and I’m sooo excited.  That means for a good chunk of my life I can freely experience being married w/o fear or guilt.  In love, I ask you to consider it.

www.tcoyf.com.

Tomorrow more birth control confessions and how the Fertility Awareness Method is awesome!

Love, Carra

Confession #4 - Boy Body Parts

I know you must be wondering....

We had a boy... Zadok (Zay-dock)...at home

It's a boy...Hebrew name...but you guys are ...all "natural"

So did you circumcise or not?

We are........leaving the boy intact.

Pardon if I don't add a picture LOL!

Love, Carra

Birth Stories, Part Three

I was soooo ready to have this baby...
When I started having contractions on Pete's birthday (Dec 12), I was thinking - yay!  This kid is early!  The contractions on Pete's birthday came every 2 minutes and lasted 30 seconds.  This went on for three hours first thing in the morning. I called my midwife, D.  D said that I should try walking, sleeping or taking a shower and let her know if they increased in intensity. I took a shower...they quit. 

When I started having contractions about a week later, I thought - okay I need to wait until my water breaks before I get too excited.  The contractions kept coming - 2 minutes apart for 30 seconds in duration.  A few days later the contractions were longer and harder intensity but sporadic (some 2 minutes apart, some 5 or 10 minutes apart) - so I tried to ignore them.

Family and friends called regularly to "check the pot" but nothing seemed to make these contractions follow through being the "real deal."  Christmas approached, Christmas passed.  Lots of contractions.  The calls to check were fewer and fewer.  Just as well - I walked and walked and worked and worked and nested and nested.

On Dec. 27, I decided that I really wanted to try that crazy idea of eating eggplant Parmesan,  Honestly I didn't expect it to "work."  I really like Macaroni Grill and who knows - maybe there is an untapped labor induction in the unity of cheese, eggplant and lots of oregano.  I was tired of being pregnant, tired of eating what I had cooked (we had been stuck in the house since the big snowstorm of Christmas Day).  While I waited in the van for Pete to grab the food, I tweeted, "pray for an effective dinner!"

So that night we all enjoyed a yummy dinner and the girls headed off to bed.  I felt pretty good so I asked Pete if I should keep painting the kitchen.  He said, "Sure if you're up to it."  I was having contractions but I had pretty much given up at this point.  (I did not say I was completely rational).  So I painted.  I love to paint.  I was detailing the edges between the cabinets and the walls.  The contractions were getting harder.  Pete said, "please start timing these things."  I reluctantly did.  The usual - 2 to 3 minutes apart, 30 to 60 seconds long.  But these hurt more.  I would paint a line, take a deep breath and lean up against the wall until it passed.  I wanted to believe this was "it" but I couldn't.  Around 2:00 a.m. I was at a good stopping place and really, really uncomfortable.  So I cleaned up my paint mess and headed upstairs.  Pete was constructing the cabinet for over the fridge.  I figured the contractions would stop if I took a shower - so I did.  Pete stayed in the kitchen to finish the cabinet.

After my shower I laid down. By now it was 3:00 a.m.  Pete came to bed and we slept for approximately half an hour.  At 3:30 a.m. the contractions were very, very uncomfortable and I woke up Pete with my "sounds." (and I don't mean the usual snoring).  We were talking about whether this was "it."  He said, Please call D."  I said "My water hasn't broke."  But since I was not able to talk during the contraction, I figured that yes - this could indeed be the time and I quit protesting.  So I called D.  Moments into the conversation I tossed the phone over to Pete to concentrate on handling the contraction.  D (being a great midwife) easily recognized that as a major sign that labor had intensified and none of us would be sleeping any more this night.

She suggested getting the tub ready and begin filling it.  I came downstairs to the "birthroom."  Contractions were intense and I spent most of the time kneeling by the bed leaning over the bed clutching a pillow and making "sounds." through each one.  Gratefully they were still about 2 minutes apart lasting about a minute.  Between contractions I texted my friends, posted my Facebook profile and tweeted, "I'm in labor." It took several contractions to complete the list, but what else did I have to do? LOL!

D arrived around 5:00 a.m. and her apprentice/assistant R soon after.  They set up their equipment and did some checking - the baby's heart rate was good.  I labored in the tub for a while but then decided to get out.  A few hours later I got back in the tub.  My back was really hurting and I asked Pete to give me some counter-pressure.  He was like, "oh no, not another Gracie birth!" (he only pressed on my back for 12 hours for that one).  He put on his swim trunks but really did not want to get in the tub.  So I kneeled in the tub and he pressed on my back, and time went on. The girls woke up around 8:00 a.m.  Pete went upstairs and got some cereal for them and turned on the TV.

I'm not sure when I really began to push, but it felt like a long time.  All in all I only pushed for 45 minutes.  I felt like the baby was stuck.  But I remember I thought that with Faith.  But this time, I was right.  This baby was a compound presentation.  The left hand was across the face so instead of just a head, there was a hand and arm coming down at the same time.  Yes, ouch is a good word here.  But D saw the situation and I kept pushing. She didn't tell me about the hand at the time but she was actively making sure this baby came out safely.


We had decided to give both girls the option of seeing their sibling born. We had read some books, looked at photos and watched somel birth videos.  After I had began pushing as little while, we called the girls back downstairs.  Faith came and seemed pretty disinterested.  So she went back up to watch TV.  Gracie was very interested.  As I pushed, she watched.  I heard her say "There's the head!  It has ears!"  She was totally fascinated, not freaked out and not even bothered by my "sounds."  We had prepared her for the fact that I would be noisy while the muscles were opening up the space for the baby to come out.  She knew I wasn't being truly injured so she just apparently tuned me out and focused on the baby - chatting with R and Pete.

Finally (not nearly the easy "pop" that Faith was) the baby came out.  A few gurgles but no solid cries initially. D looked at him (yes a him!) and began trying to get him to clear and cry.  After just a short while, she asked if she could give him some resuscitation breaths.  He was breathing but not well.  I am grateful for those sputters because otherwise I would have been pretty terrified. After five resuscitation breaths with this awesome "made for baby" oxygen thing (sorry I just don't know what it's called).  Then we heard some good solid cries - Praise God!

After that it took over an hour to pass the placenta.  I was sooooo exhausted with only 30 minutes of sleep with a 10 to 11 hour labor.  The little guy was pretty bruised from his birth.  D called the birth traumatic.  I agree.  He had a big bruise on his chin, some on his nose and between his eyes. Both eyes have some capillaries that have left blood spots around his pupils.  He looks wonderful but not so great at the same time.  When I was checked, it was amazing that I was not damaged from the birth (no tearing whatsoever).  That was truly a miracle.

At 9:31 a.m. December 28, we welcomed Zadok Anthony Carl into the world.  It was a tough birth, but he was a healthy baby boy weighing 8 lbs, 4 ounces and was 21 inches long.  

Love, Carra

Like a Watched Pot Belly (and Kitchen Update)

Guess what!  I'm not in labor.  I've been "practicing" a lot.  I'm not sure who to blame - me or the baby - but there was a lot of practice contractions all night long.  I promised a kitchen update earlier, but decided to use the time to have a little more fun with my girls before my "lying in" time.

• Since I was not in labor on Monday, I did a ton of house-cleaning & had/helped girls clean the playroom. That night I was up at 1:00 a.m. scrubbing the bathroom floor.
• Since I was not in labor on Tuesday, I decided to bake Christmas cookies.  That night we took some to our neighbors & sang a few carols (well one carol - Jingle Bells - several times)
• Since I was not in labor on Wednesday, I decided to make a meal plan and go grocery shopping. That night I completed an embroidery project for the baby's quilt.
• Since I'm not in labor today, we are headed to the zoo and museum.

But before I leave, I wanted to show several pictures of the kitchen renovation. 

When we bought the house, there was approximately 17 inches of counter space to the right of the stove. Most of this whole kitchen renovation has been to expand counter and storage while still having a small eat-in area.

Orientation: The stove is still in the same place. The refrigerator was moved to the opposite wall.

New counter tops. By the way, we didn't purchase laminate counter tops, Pete purchased the thin board and then cut and glued and routed, leveled and basically created counter tops.  I'm pretty impressed.

This photo was taken this past weekend.  Oh and you might want to check back with the oldest photos to get the full feel of the transformation of the kitchen.
Last Christmas it looked like this.

 Because of the age of the house, there is a huge likelihood of lead paint.  In addition to completing the counter tops, Pete chiseled the old "what color is this?" ceramic tile off the back splash so I could paint.  Then he smoothed the uneven places and damaged spots with putty, then sanded it down evenly.  To protect me, the girls and the baby, he rigged up some major plastic sheeting.  I reminds me of a scene from ET.

I was allowed to come take a peek at the progress...with the proper safety equipment of course.  :-)

Ta-da!  We'll be changing out the hardware and freshing the white on the cabinets.  And not to forget - the cork floor - yay!

Still quite a project - Pete is building a new cabinet for over the fridge and there are some floor evenness issues that have to be resolved before the cork can go in.  And the old cabinets that are seen here on the bottom right - Pete will be making new door faces so that all of them will match the original kitchen.

Hope to have some baby news soon!

Love, Carra

The Tub and the Timetable

As promised here is a picture of the birth tub.  Yes, that's a Foosball table behind it.  Actually that's a good indicator of the the size of the birth tub.  The Foosball table was a surprise early birthday gift for Pete (He just doesn't get excited about slipper socks like I do.).  I was out at 3:00 in the morning on Black Friday and that table was among my top five items to get.  See I took a picture of my prego self by the clock to show the fun insanity of shopping at that hour :-)

Yesterday really, really seemed like it was "the day."  Contractions were two minutes apart. (yes I said TWO).  But they were only lasting 30 seconds long and never intensified.  I had a few that took my breath a bit, but nothing like the sustained "real deal."  I called my midwife who suggested I eat, drink water, sleep if I could and see if anything changed...nope.

After a sleep (a few hours later) they contractions waned.  The rest of the day they would start up again, I'd get sleepy, fall asleep and they would quit.  So that is my story so far.

I do think the birth is close because I am losing my mind.  I was so tired yesterday but Pete put the stove back in place and the last coat of paint was on the walls of the kitchen.  I cleaned the items off the dining room table that belonged in the kitchen, loaded the dishwasher and then cleaned the bathrooms.  Yes, I was on my hands and knees wiping the bathroom floor at 1:30 a.m.  So I had every reason to believe that today would be the day.  But apparently not :-)

I do have a funny prediction - doubt it will come true.  I sure I'll laugh if it does... Both Gracie and Faith started their journey down the birth canal on each on a Monday morning.  If you've read Gracie's birth story, you know she did not complete her journey until the next day!  However Faith was in a better position and she was willing to make the exit about 11 hours after she began.  Both Monday mornings my water broke in the area of 5:00 or 6:00 a.m..  I'm due Wednesday and tomorrow is Monday.  I'm going to bed early just in case.

If you are looking for baby news (labor, birth, etc.), pay attention to my Twitter feed (on the left side bar).  This will be the most updated because I can text a tweet from my phone.  As you know I won't be involving my computer to produce an entire blog post during my resting time.  I'll see if Pete will post a picture as least - otherwise, check facebook profiles, etc.  So I hope there won't be any new posts from me for a little while.  But in case this baby is shy like Faith, I plan to post some kitchen pictures tomorrow.

Love, Carra

Belly & Birthroom

As requested, here is my rather large belly (although I am smaller with this pregnancy than either Gracie or Faith).  I'm totally excited about the birth.  Right after I had Faith, I said - any future babies - if God allows, I will definitely have them at home in a birth tub!  I am at 39 weeks and after these last year(s) of being pregnant, losing the two babies and now at the end of this pregnancy - I am soooo ready to be holding this baby in my arms!

So getting ready for a home birth is definitely more involved than just packing a bag for the hospital.  It's interesting that I'm preparing for the birth, the rest time and the actual care of the baby all at the same time!

I have been gathering items for a couple of months.  Some are things that are specific to my midwife, others are things that I noticed I'd like to have from Faith's birth (like books and a TV in the laying in room).  I won't bore you with the details, but I found a list on a random midwife website that has quite a list - peruse it - you'll get the general gist of what I'm talking about.

And here is a snapshot of the room I'll be birthing in and sharing with this little one for it's first three weeks outside my womb.  The birth tub is fairly large (I'll snag a shot of it once we set it up) so we won't bring any more items into the room until after baby is born and the tub is taken down.  I have a co-sleeper that we really love.  Pete will bring it down and set it up soon after birth.  The baby and I will be sleeping in the bed together for the most part, but I love having a place I can reach him or her and still have the bed to myself on occasion.

One more comment on the bed.  This is a mainstream futon mattress so the first thing in preparing the room was wrapping the mattress.  After that, lots of soft cotton bedding, and then a painters drop cloth.  On top of the drop cloth some older (but clean of course) bedding for immediately after the birth.  It is a water birth so I'm pretty likely to be wet and there are some other elements that might soil the bedding LOL.  So after I get dry and situated, Debbie or Pete will take off the top layer of bedding and the drop cloth and the baby and I will be all snugly down in the fresh, clean bed for a good long rest!

Love, Carra

My Rest-imony

I'm tired.  I need more naps, more sleep at night and just general rest.  There's something in me that cries out, "that's not a good use of time - inefficient! Think of all you could accomplish in those hours."  I war with myself about rest. I have too much to do to rest. But I'm so tired and so slow because I'm tired so not efficient anyway.

So since I have pregnancy and childbirth on the brain, I thought I would share with you my experience and my plans for this birth regarding rest.

When my second baby was born, we had her in a birthing tub in our house.  It was awesome.  I said afterward that if God gave us more children and allowed - I would have all my babies in water!  Since I had a traditional birth with Gracie (my first) I was expecting to rest a day or two, then get back into the swing of things.  When she was three days old, I was at Old Navy looking for a pair of stretchy pants that would fit.  I knew lots of moms and everybody was back at church or out and about within a few days.  So I was just like my friends.   ......tired.

I felt tired for months with Gracie - she was my first baby.  She was a good sleeper and nurser but I was so tired and the weight just hung on.  When she was a year old, I was still three sizes bigger than I was before I had gotten pregnant.

Since I had never had a homebirth before, there were a number of surprises that came along with Faith's birth.  One of the biggest was my assignment from my midwife after Faith was born.  I was instructed to spend 10 days in the bed, 10 days on the bed and 10 days near the bed. what???  That's a month of rest - how could that possibly work?

But I am a rule-keeper so I had to do it.  Gratefully my mom, dad, sister, mother-in-law, father-in-law and sister-in-laws all were on board.  For the next month basically my mom and Pete's mom took turns staying a few days at a time - cooking, cleaning and taking care of me, Pete, Gracie and newborn Faith.

It was hard.  I was bored (no TV in the room, no books set up, no computer).  But Pete set up the laptop so I could watch videos online and books were brought up to me (as well as all my meals). Faith had some trouble getting the latch down for nursing but I pulled up websites that helped tremendously.  After 30 days of rest, I was finally able to get back to "life."

I felt great.  I was truly rested.  My body dropped the weight so fast.  I could hardly believe it - you would have thought my muscles would have atrophied, but I was able to go right back to the gym and my stamina was amazingly high.  I cannot speak highly enough of a good solid rest after childbirth.  I didn't need to go find new pants - I was in my nightgown a good bit of the time. I was blessed to have the help I needed to take the rest I was assigned.  I am so grateful.

So what's on schedule for this birth?  Debbie requires 7-7-7 so about three weeks (instead of four) I'll be in, on or near the bed.  This time I know what's coming so I have books already prepared, we're birthing in a room with a TV (hello more HGTV and Food Network overload) and a futon that folds into a bed.  My mom and Pete's mom are already making plans for tag-teaming the function of the house.

Since I'm already so tired - I'm actually looking forward to my after birth rest.  Seriously - I'm yawning right now.

Love,

Pregnancy update and belly picture

Last Sunday after church I was preparing lunch.  Of course I had definitely thrown off the shoes.  So there I was...all dressed up but barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen.  Pete thought that was an opportunity not to be missed.  I posed and he snapped the photo. This is the belly at the end of the second trimester.

I saw my midwife this week. Everything is looking great with the pregnancy - even my iron levels!  The main thing I have to do is to walk.  I'm trying to walk for 30 minutes everyday.  I have been really slack on walking. It feels like I've has so many things going haywire that consistency has been tough.  I'd appreciate prayers for me to focus on getting this walk in.  Two different midwives have told me that apart from any other exercise- the absolute best indicator of an easy labor and delivery is walking.  Two miles / 30 minutes a day minimum.

Three weeks ago I developed some gall bladder pain.  I certainly recommend being kind to your gall bladder - that pain was tough!  I had to employ my "labor mindset" once again to help get through them. Gratefully with more diet changes I had been able to more or less live pain-free (except for two bad days in the middle where I was a little too bold in my food choices).  Once the baby is born and life re-balances, I plan to try a natural cleanse.  Since that's several months out - I haven't decided which one to go for.  Anyone tried a cleanse for gall bladder issues?

Love,

PG-13 Breastfeeding Advice

Not everyone who reads this blog is a pregnant lady. Some of you are, hoping to be, hoping never to be LOL. I originally rote this for my cousin who just had her first baby. Regardless of your state (or unstate) of motherhood, you may find some of my thoughts interesting. If not, see you later!

1. You have to train your baby to breastfeed. You will be training that kid to do stuff his whole life and it starts at birth. Babies have a natural inclination to suck, but they need your help to get it right. This website is awesome (and graphic!). Dr. Jack Newman has videos of proper latch technique, how to correct a poor practices and lots of choices of position for your comfort. I was really, really helped by this site after Faith was born – she was a tough kid to get latched correctly.

2. DON’T WORRY! Your body was created for this. The milk is great even from day one. People say the baby might not be getting enough milk because the milk hasn’t “come in” yet. Phooey! If diapers are getting wet, then liquid is going in. Listen for regular swallowing – that’s a good indication. If you use the epidural, then the baby will get that medication. So she may need to “come off” the meds before she’s vigorous enough to get into nursing.

3. Speaking of Breasts…

• After each time your baby nurses, rub lightly some of your own breast milk onto your nipples. Then let them “air out” until they’re dry. Never underestimate the healing power of light and air on these sensitive areas.
• When you shower (even now) don’t allow soap to get on your nipples. It dries them and messes us the oil glands (those little bumps on the areola).
• Wear loose clothing (even no bra – even though you’ll drip- just use a burp cloth to catch it) and of natural fibers (100% cotton, etc)
• Avoid “pulling” her off the breast. Be really gentle when breaking the suction. (One little finger pressing into the breast should ease her off.)
• After your milk comes in (usually six days or less), if you are suffering from painful fullness (and the baby’s not taking enough to relieve you), you can put cabbage leaves in your bra. This was a huge help.
  

Hope these tips and experiences are of benefit to you (sooner, later or never). So if you see me a few weeks after my baby is born, you may wonder... "Do I smell cabbage?"

Love,

Eight Babies die every night of SIDS - just in the U.S.

It hurts to know that on average, eight babies die every night from SIDS.

I am on a mission to make as many people as possible aware of the danger. SIDS is largely preventable! I have so much compassion for families that has lost babies to this shocking "unexplainable" death. It is for that reason that I share that SIDS is largely explainable AND preventable!

I have read pages and pages of research on this. Those experts that refute the studies have very little to stand on compared the avalanche of science that show a link to SIDS deaths and the chemical composition of our mattresses.

Simply summed up, the fire retardant chemicals create a chemical reaction to normally harmless fungi that puts a layer of heavy gas that "sits" on the top of the mattress. Physiologically adults are not susceptible. However, SIDS is the leading cause of death among infants over one month old.

We buy life insurance, we put up baby gates, we get immunizations (well, some of us LOL), we try to minimize any risk of hurt or death. We choose to spend money with hope - the hope that our efforts will see fruit. Wrapping a crib mattress is about $25. Is that a good investment?

In New Zealand, where all this "stuff" was nationally promoted, mattress wrapping was publicized as much as "Back to Sleep" here in the U.S. Results? Since 1994, tens of thousands of babies in New Zealand have slept on properly wrapped mattresses. Of those properly wrapped, there have been ZERO deaths to SIDS. Not everyone wraps in NZ, but of those that do, that is 100% effective. My baby gate doesn't promise that. My immunization documentation certainly doesn't promise that. Is it worth $25? It certainly is to us.

Love,

What next?
Why aren't you hearing this from your doctor, etc.?
Where you can buy a wrap for baby mattress...
Where you can buy a wrap for an adult mattress...
How to wrap your own mattress (instructions - scroll halfway down)
Heavy research - Cause of SIDS
What we have done in our home (an inventory of all our beds :-)

Midwife Visit

I want to invite you to one of my first visits with my midwife (Debbie). She also helped me through the two miscarriages earlier this year - so this wasn't the first visit, but the first visit of this pregnancy.

Debbie is great for many reasons - one of which is that she has grown children. Many midwives are also mothers of young children, so for prenatal care, you go to their house. Debbie has said she feels like as a service and blessing to the home birthing mommy, she comes to my house. (Here we are in our living room.)

Prenatal care for home birth is very similar to mainstream OB care. Debbie will see me once a month for the first several months, then every three weeks in third trimester, every other week, then every week as we count down to the last few weeks.

She brings fetal scopes, Doppler, tests my blood for sugar, iron and tests my urine for about 8 different things. [aside: I hate getting my finger pricked - in the doctors office or at home - I'm somewhat of a baby when it comes to that.] She also checks my blood pressure and asks questions about how I'm feeling.

The video below shows me laying on my couch in the living room right after Debbie found the heartbeat. After the two miscarriages this year - it is one of the most beautiful sounds!

The whole visit lasts about an hour and a half (that's all interaction, not reading "Parents" magazine in the waiting room LOL). It never feels rushed. It is prenatal care but its also a "visit" from a very knowledgeable friend.

Love,

Out of Hiding...

Wow, it has been over a month since I last posted. Sorry I have left you un-blogged for so long. To catch you us on my life right now, let me share a few pieces of my world and what's been going on...

1. I'm pregnant again - that would be the number one reason I haven't blogged. I typically have challenging pregnancies (lots of nausea) and then my iron levels drop and I have headaches and lethargy.

2. The pregnancy is at 14 weeks today. My first miscarriage was one year ago this month and I also had a miscarriage in January. I have struggled to hold my baby in an open hand. And though I have heard the heartbeat and past the milestone 12 weeks - I know that there are no guarantees. In some ways I have held my breath waiting for the confirmations. I think I kept this pregnancy so private is that if we did miscarry... I just didn't want to have to say that again. We even kept the news from our families until was saw a heartbeat on sonogram.

3. This is a very rare summer that we are not traveling. Every summer we are assigned to either take seminary classes (we have a total of 11 required as a part of our work with Campus Crusade for Christ) or to help lead a student summer mission project. Since we were due July 31, Pete was assigned to be here at home and coach new staff interns and those going on one year mission trips. Since there's more flexibility in our summer schedule, our goal is to complete the kitchen renovation.

So I'm feeling better (albeit tired) and my grand intention is to blog more regularly (at least as regularly as I used to LOL). Upcoming topics:

• Preparing for a Home Birth (I'm going to let you in on my midwife appointments, health issues and preparations)
• Kitchen Renovation (and some other renovations I'm working on) - we're trying to go as healthy green as possible in this reno so I'll share as we go along
• Catch you up on some more wild things I'm learning about in Nourishing Traditions and otherwise.

I look forward to spending more time sharing with you my friends. And in the meantime, does anyone have any good beef liver recipes with do not involve onions?

Love,