Yoga Breaths

As an attempt to keep fit while pregnant, and to spend some one on one time with Jonah, I signed up for a Toddler and Me yoga class. I was skeptical of whether or not Jonah would participate. He hates to be manipulated or physically moved around in any way, and his attention span has diminished to that of a goldfish since he's gained mobility.

To my surprise, he really enjoyed the first class. We both did so well that I signed up for the whole series. Jonah's favorite part of class, interestingly, is the very beginning when we are getting "centered" with our child. We begin by sitting in a very relaxed state of mind with our child in our laps and we sing or chant "om." I felt silly at first, but after doing it a couple of times I realized how calm Jonah had become, and by the second class he began to chant it with me as well. He was actually sitting in my lap for a length of time!

Then we do what the instructor calls "yoga breaths." Jonah loves this. The parents let their child lean against their chest while taking deep breaths, so the child can feel the breaths going in and out of the parents' lungs. While we breath we move the children's hands and arms up and down. Up when we inhale, and down when we exhale.

Because he loves it so much in class, and it seems to calm him like nothing else I've seen, I've tried to use these yoga breaths with him in every day situations. Jonah gets frustrated very easily if he can't get something just the way he wants it. He also gets very excited by things which is when he does what the therapists call "stimming" (spitting into his hands, twitching his face, brushing the side of his head with his hand) I've also noticed that when he gets this excited or frustrated, he can't complete the task at hand, whether it is going up the stairs safely or completing a puzzle. So every time that I saw he was about to get frustrated or excited, I'd say "Jonah, let's do yoga breaths" and take a few deep breaths.

I wasn't sure if he was catching on. But then one day I lost my temper. He was supposed to be taking a nap. Instead, he figured out how to move his bed around the room by rocking it, and he had torn everything off the shelves and out of drawers. I almost blew a fuse when I opened the door and found him sitting in the middle this mess. My patience was beyond wearing thin. But Jonah, upon my yelling "What have you done in here?!?!?!" started doing yoga breaths. And just like that, my two year old reminded me to keep my temper in check. I was still angry, no doubt, but I was better able to address my anger and deal with the situation in a way that was calm and thought through.

Then later in the week, we were running late. And we were behind an idiot driver. My temper is the shortest in the car. Just as obscenities were about to fly aimlessly out of my mouth, I heard Jonah breathing loudly. I looked back in the mirror only to see him raising his arms up and down. Yoga breaths.

He has also started to come to me at random times to do yoga breaths, when he just needs some time alone with me. Having Evie in the house has been an adjustment for everyone, but I think the biggest adjustment has been for Jonah. I think he really enjoys having this special way to come and spend a few special seconds alone with me when he just needs a time out from it all.

It amazes me that such a little and simple thing- taking a few deep breaths- has made life so much more enjoyable for Jonah. And he is able to use it to remind me to slow down and enjoy life also.

The World Debut of Evelyn Clare

I realize that it's been quite some time- over a month- since I've written anything. My readers will have to excuse our somewhat long blogging vacation. What can I say; it's hard work making a new person! Since I last left off, several overwhelming events have occurred from Jonah's being diagnosed with several various disorders and syndromes to the birth of our baby girl. I think we'll rejoin with the latter, and come back to Jonah's diagnosis another day.
***Disclaimer (I make a lot of these, don't I?) The following is a detailed and somewhat graphic account of labor and birth. If you don't want to be exposed to these descriptions then STOP READING NOW***

I began having contractions on Wednesday June 2nd. I was pretty convinced that "this was it." We called the midwife, and told her I felt some changes. Daryl set up the tub. We let "the grandmas" know that we thought it was it. But the contractions never got stronger or more regular. Thursday afternoon I called the midwife to let her know that things hadn't changed much, and she told me to just go about my day and not worry about it, but get plenty of rest too. The worst thing about this part of labor is that I had really bad leg cramps during most of the contractions.

So my mom and I went to Babies R Us to make a return and pick up a water thermometer (boy did that come in handy!!!) We went to a book store and perused the books; I had a few contractions with some leg cramps, but still no changes. Thursday night I actually slept through the night waking up only a few times with severe leg cramps. Friday morning I was very frustrated. My legs hurt and the contractions were just getting annoying. We went out for coffee/bagels with some friends of mine and my mom was bragging to everyone that she just knew the baby would wait until midnight to share her birthday. Her birthday was on Saturday, and my family has an uncanny knack for sharing birthdays.

While we were out with my friends they reminded me that our town has a little festival downtown on the first friday of every month in the summer, and this week was the first one. So I told my mom that I was still pretty comfortable, there had been no change in the contractions, and walking would make my legs feel better, so maybe we should go and have dinner and look at what vendors are downtown.

While I was driving and looking for a parking space, I felt the change in contractions. But I kind of ignored it because we had so many previous "false alarms." Parallel parking a mini van while having a contraction and trying not to let on (also didn't want to freak out my mom) is not very easy! We decided before going to the restaurant, we would look and see what tents were up. I stopped and talked to my old co-workers from the science center, because they had a little activities booth set up, and we looked at some homemade soaps and other little crafts booths.

We stopped at a booth that was selling tutus and hair bows, and of course gawking over them, when I realized the contractions were coming on pretty quickly and I really needed to think about them. I leaned over and whispered this to my husband, and we kind of hurried my mom along saying we were going to take Jonah to see the fire trucks and life flight helicopter. The firefighters were in their full gear and I want Jonah to get to know that they are nice men, so they aren't as scary in an emergency.

Then we went to the restaurant/bar for dinner. This place is one of my favorites because they make all of their hot dogs, sausages, and dressings in-house. I usually don't like hot dogs, but these are seriously amazing. There was live music there, and Jonah was just having a blast dancing to the guitar. I really didn't want to leave because it made me so happy to see him happy, but I had my phone out and was timing contractions through dinner and they were less than five minutes apart. (Anyone who is pregnant and has a droid phone- I highly recommend downloading the contraction timer app!) We got the bill and left; we still hadn't told my mom that I was having these contractions.

On the way back to the car, we realized that the life flight helicopter was about to take off. Of course we had to stop to watch that excitement! It took about 20 minutes to take off though, and the whole time I was just thinking "I need to get home..." So once the helicopter was gone, I told my mom she needed to drive. We had met Daryl there after he got off work, so he had to drive his own car. My mom understood immediately what I was telling her.

We hurried home and put Jonah to bed. It was now 8:30pm. I sat down on our couch and chatted with my mom for about an hour. At 9:30 I went to lay down on the bed and I told Daryl to call the midwife. We told her there was a definite change, the contractions were getting very strong very quickly but were not in a consitent pattern. She told me to get some rest and either call her if we felt overwhelmed or if they started to progress into a pattern.

I told Daryl to get some sleep on the couch, and I went into the bedroom again. By 10:00 the contractions were very intense. By 10:30 I could no longer just hum through them and I could tell that I was getting more vocal and louder. 11:40 I told Daryl to fill up the pool. The contractions were still at random intervals, but I was sure that in an hour I would want the relief of the water. Boy did I hit the nail on the head! 12:40 the pool was filled and I was begging to get in. I was starting to feel a little pushy, but because the contractions were still pretty random I thought it was all in my head that I felt a small urge to push. Humming wasn't cutting it anymore, I was trying to keep my voice in low "O" tones like I had been practicing, but the contractions would really catch me off guard with how quickly and strong they were coming. I really needed the water, but the thermometer said it was 106F!!! Daryl started baling the water into the sink and adding ice. That got it down to 104F. In the meantime he called the midwife and she asked to talk to me. I had a contraction and gave the phone back to Daryl and she said she was on her way, and her assistant would be there before her. He kept bailing and ran cold water through the hose. When it hit 101F, I knew it was still too hot but I couldn't stand it any more, I needed to get in. I got in and INSTANTLY felt better. I could hum again and manage the pain. I'm a little fuzzy on the time after this, so this may be inaccurate as far as times go from here on out. The midwife's assistant arrived around 2:00am, and the midwife shortly after. They unloaded their things from the cars, and just as they finished, the contractions got more intense again, really quickly. Again I felt a tiny urge to push, but denied it because I thought it was happening way to fast. The midwife came over and said it sounded like I needed to push, and maybe I should try with the next contraction. Daryl was surprised too, but accepted that it was "go time" and came to sit on the couch next to the pool. With the next contraction I started to push, but I just wasn't emotionally prepared for how quickly it was going. I started to get a little panicky. With the next contraction, I felt the baby flip and move through the pelvis, and I really panicked. I reached my hand down and could feel the bag of waters. I remember saying the dorkiest thing at this moment "There's a lot happening down there!" I had said something dorky when Jonah was crowning as well: The doctor asked me if I wanted to touch the babies hair and I said "not now, I'm busy!" So there must be something about that moment that makes me not care how stupid I sound.

The next contraction I didn't do anything and I felt her crown. This hurt much worse than when Jonah crowned, and I was still panicking because I wasn't prepared for such a fast delivery. I was still on my hands and knees in the tub and the midwife couldn't reach to deliver the baby. She was still in her bag of waters but her head was out. I hate how negative I was during this part of the delivery; I had wanted it to be serene and peaceful but I was panicked and screaming. The midwife tried to move my leg up on the side of the tub, but that didn't work so she told me I had to get into squating or come out of the water because my legs were too close together for the baby to come out. I worked it up as much as I could to get to the side of the pool and hang onto Daryl while I squatted and I literally screamed that baby out. I really didn't push at all, my body did that. I felt her come out and I turned just in time to see the midwife bringing her up out of the water. Again, not what I had planned (I wanted me or Daryl to bring her out of the water) but I was so panicky that I couldn't and Daryl was focused 100% on me. I sat in the tub holding her for a few minutes and then realized that we didn't know for sure that "she" was a she! I asked the midwife and she said "We didn't look, that's for you!" so I looked between her legs and she was indeed a girl.

They helped me out of the tub and to our couch so that I could nurse. She latched on like a pro and nursed for an hour! I delivered the placenta while she nursed, which is the part that scared me the most because of how Jonah's hospital birth went from this point on. If there was a time we would be transferring to the hospital, this would be it. But it delivered smoothly and I lost very little blood.

I had lost track of the time at that point so I asked what time the baby had been born. 2:38 am on June 5th (my mother's birthday!) We weighed her and she was 8 lbs 15 oz, 21 inches long. The midwife cut the cord (DH is squeemish) and the grandma's came down to make sure everything was okay. We got to see the placenta, which they thought was amazing. Then I was taken to the bathroom, cleaned up, and tucked into bed with my princess and a glass of water.

I'm still trying to figure out why I panicked so much, and why I was so negative while pushing her out (screaming "No, no, just get her out!") I really feel badly about this and it bothers me. I did not want her born into such negativity, and it bothers me that I was screaming no, as if I didn't want her when in fact all I wanted in the world at that moment was her. The way I reacted makes no sense to me, even from a psychologist's stand point. Especially since with my first child, I didn't make a peep while pushing. In fact, I told the doctors to get out because they were making too much noise. I suppose that every birth is unique, and therefor we react in unique ways to each one. With Jonah, I pushed for two and a half hours. He came out very gently, and the moment was much anticipated. With this birth, I had only three or four pushing contractions and she came out much faster than Jonah. That is the only thing that I can attribute my being panicked to.

I can't imagine having gone to the hospital. This seemed like such a natural part of the day. Go to coffee with some friends, spend the day with my mom, have a family dinner out, have a baby, call it a night. It really was the perfect way to bring a baby to the outside world.

Evelyn Clare, born 2:38am June 5th
8lbs 15 oz, 21 inches long

Trial Run of the Birth Tub

Last week, the midwife brought the birthing pool and other birth kit items to our house. I had a choice of a couple of pools, and I chose La Bassine. I chose this pool because it is a bit smaller and only requires 100 gallons of water (opposed to 170ish that the other tubs require.) But even while using less water, it seemed deep enough that I will get the benefits of buoyancy. This way we will not tax our hot water heater too much, and the tub fits on the small space of tile in our apartment.

We decided to set the pool up as if I were in labor, just for practice. I highly recommend doing this to anyone who is planning a home waterbirth. Daryl wasn't happy about doing what he considered needless extra work. But I reminded him that it will be his responsibility to know how to inflate the tub and fill it with the proper temperature water, at the proper time. If there was anything wrong, and the tub doesn't get filled in time because he doesn't know what he is doing, then I would hold him personally responsible for depriving me of my choice of pain management!

So he "humored" me and did the practice run. I'm very glad that he did. The adapter to attach the hose to the sink did not fit onto any of our sinks. We had to go to Lowe's to get one that did. Lowe's did not have the correct adapter, so we spent a long time trying to figure out how to create one out of what they did have available.

Finally back home, it took Daryl a little while to figure out the air pump to inflate the pool. Once we got the pump going, the pool inflated within just a few minutes.
Then it was time to test out our hose adapter. To make it easier to fill with warm water, we are running our hose from the bathroom sink into the pool. Some people regulate the temperature by boiling pots of water to add to the tub, but that would be very impractical given our living arrangements and location of the birth pool.
Luckily our creation fit both the sink and the hose! I am not sure what we would have done if it had not fit either ends. It leaked just a bit, but not too much.
We ran the hose to the pool and began filling it. This presented us with another issue we hadn't thought of before. Our hose had just come in from being stored on the deck. It was dirty. The way we intuitively laid the hose into the pool (the same way we would if filling a kiddie pool) caused the grime and dirt particles to go into the tub, and the water into which our baby girl would be born! So now we know that before putting the hose into the pool, we should thoroughly wash the first couple yards of hose, and lay the hose over the pool edge rather than laying it inside. I used a fish net to clean the debris from the pool. The same fish net will be used during labor to keep the water clean.It took about an hour to fill the tub, from the time we started inflating it to the time the water reached the "fill line." This is important to know, because we don't want to fill the tub too early in labor, as the water will get cold and I am not planning on using the tub until further into labor. But we don't want to wait too long and not be ready when I want to use it. Knowing that it will take an hour to get ready means that we can try to coordinate it to the right time of labor. We also figured out that if we use hot water only to fill the tub halfway, and then use both the cold and hot water for the rest of the way, then the temperature is perfect by the time it is full. Temperature regulation is also very important for the comfort of the mother as well as the safety of the baby.Of course then the big question is, how do we get the water out of this thing? The midwife also provided a pump that our hose hooks into. With the pump, we can drain the water out into our yard or into an inside drain. It took about an hour to drain the pool as well.


The only difference about this practice run and the real deal will be that on Evie's birthday, there will be a disposable liner inside the tub to make it easier to clean, and more sanitary. With everything we learned by doing our practice run, we will be able to fill the pool when the time comes with very little problem.

Spring Park Outing: Wildwood Metroparks

It seems like spring is finally here to stay in northwest Ohio. Our weather has been a little strange, but it usually is around here. A few weeks ago, we had summer-like conditions, with temperatures in the 80's! Then suddenly it took a turn for the cold and we've had a few more frosts and freezes. This week is finally normal May weather: cloudy, but in the 60's.

So, we took Jonah to one of our favorite parks to capture a few pictures of him and our dog, Paddington. Here are some of my favorite from that day:Paddington was a little anxious that day, because of all the maintenance people working on houses in our neighborhood. I thought the trip to the park would mellow him out a bit, but as you can see in this picture he is still a little freaked out. Jonah loves to give the dog hugs, and always says "awwww!" when he does it! He knows he's cute, the little stinker.

At this point, I came to realize the frustrations of taking portrait-type pictures of an energetic toddler. They won't hold still, and for the two seconds that they might be still enough, they look away. I tried to remedy these problems by giving him something to look at. It worked for the two seconds it took me to get this picture!These two pictures bring tears to my eyes. Notice first off, that he is not wearing his casts. The doctor wants him to be out of his casts for much of his playtime so that his tendons don't get too stiff. This is a big milestone for children with orthopaedic castings- to be able to go part of the day without them. It is heaven to us! Next, notice the two things he is doing in these pictures. He is WALKING and CLIMBING. He is completely 100% self-mobile. He is still a little wobbly at times, but for the most part he is considered a full time walker, and up to par with his peers. When other mothers ask me if the casts are worth it, and going to the doctor so many times a week etc. I show them these pictures. For this, yes, it is completely worth it! A couple of months ago, I would have given anything to see my son walk and climb like a normal child his age. The orthopaedic surgeon has been a blessing for us. A tough blessing to handle, but a blessing nonetheless.
Looking at these pictures, it is hard to even imagine that our little family of three is about to become four. Sometimes I wonder how another little body could possibly fit. I know that once she gets here, we won't remember what life was like without her or how we got along with just the three of us. But right now, trying to picture her in these photographs seems a little overwhelming.

And finally, to show that it really *is* spring here, a picture of my absolute favorite part of the season. Lilacs. The lilac bushes in the park were in full bloom and covered with butterflies. I wish I could photograph the smell that was flowing through the gardens from them. It was wonderful

Home Birth and Group Strep B

This week, my midwife came to the home appointment with some news that was a little shocking to me. My group strep B test came back positive. I had taken the test believing that the results would be negative. I was negative with Jonah, and I eat a lot of pro-biotic rich foods like yogurt. I wanted to have the test because in the event that we would transfer to the hospital, they would treat the baby as though I was positive simply because they don't have the test results. This could mean unnecessary antibiotics.

So when the midwife sat down and told me that the test came back positive, I was a little surprised and taken back. Now we have something to consider. In a hospital birth, I would be given antibiotics through an IV during labor to prevent the bacteria from spreading to the infant. This is a choice with some midwives, but isn't with mine.

Group Strep B is a normal bacteria found in some women's vaginal or rectal areas. Like all of the other bacteria that humans carry on our bodies, group strep B typically is harmless. However, in labor and birth, it could cause an infection that may cause serious problems for the infant. Not all infants who come in contact with the bacteria get infections, and there are some situations that seem to put the infant at higher risk. There are plenty of medical websites out there that you can look up all of the statistics etc, so I don't feel it is appropriate to list them all here.

One of the main risks that could lead to a GSB infection would be if my water breaks more than two hours before the baby is born. Because of this, we will try to keep the bag of waters intact as long as possible during labor. We will not break the water to help labor go faster. I am also taking extra vitamin C which is shown to strengthen the bag of waters to prevent a prolonged rupture.

In addition to the vitamin C, I am taking garlic capsules and eating probiotic rich foods, to help kill the GSB bacteria and keep the good bacteria around. During labor, I will have minimal to no vaginal exams, to prevent the transfer of the bacteria through the birth path. I will also be using a wash called Chlorhexedine, which in Europe has been shown to be just as effective as IV antibiotics.

And finally, Daryl and I have decided that it is best to give the baby a shot of antibiotics once she is born. This is a personal choice, and one we did not make lightly. We heavily weighed the risks. The fact is, our daughter will be coming into contact with bacteria that could potentially cause a lot of problems for her. We feel that giving her the shot of antibiotics will help protect her from preventable illness. I will be taking the test again, because even though the bacteria is found one week, it may not be there by the time birth comes. Especially with the precautions that we are taking to ensure that the bacteria is at a minimal amount.

Don't Trust a Toddler When you Find Him Sitting in the Dark

It was about 6:30pm, and I was relaxing with my family in the living room. I was tired, and assumed that Daryl, or one of the other four adults in the room, was keeping track of Jonah. I closed my eyes for a few moments, when my mother-in-law piped up "Where is Jonah?"

I found him sitting alone, in the dark, in the bathroom. Strange, but he was just sitting there so no harm done (or so we thought.) We went about the rest of our evening, put Jonah to bed, and I started the diaper laundry. I like to use the upstairs bathroom after Jonah goes to bed, because the bathroom in our apartment is right next to his room, so it sometimes wakes him up. It was 11:00 at night when I journeyed up to the bathroom with a full pregnant bladder, turned on the lights, and was faced with this:Let me help you tally the objects in this toilet, because it's kind of hard to tell from the picture. There is a basketball, a sock that had previously been missing that day, and the knob to a thermostat. Yes, you read that last item correctly. Your guess is as good as mine!

Oh boy, toddlerhood is proving to be some fuuunnnnn times!

The Sewing Machine: Part II

As it turns out, there really was a sewing machine inside that box! I opened it up, and of course decided that the best course of action would be to read the instructions first.Seeing as to how I have not sewn anything since junior high home economics class, I had no reference point for reading these directions. They may as well have been written in Japanese. Daryl's mom came down and "showed" me how to wind the bobbin and thread the needle (in other words, she did it while I watched) but I'm not really confident that I truly learned anything from that.

As I was putting Jonah in the car to go to our diaper swap, where I had someone lined up to show me the basics of diaper sewing, Daryl's mom came out and told me she wanted to go too. I didn't mind this at all. Except, she doesn't really know a lot about modern cloth diapering. I have explained to her quite a few times the different fabrics needed and the different types of diapers, but she always seems as though no one has told her a thing about it. She even seemed clueless about BumGenius, and pocket diapers, which are the diapers that I always put out for her and anyone else to use when we are going out. In fact, they are our main diaper right now, so she sees them quite a bit!

So, instead of focusing on actually sewing cloth diapers, the time was spent explaining to her all of the diapers and fabrics. I'm glad that she went with me, because she is an experienced seamstress, but at the same time I wish we had spent a little more time sewing. We did not actually attempt to sew a diaper, because we ran out of time.

We did have the opportunity to buy a lot of cute fabrics, and one of the moms was kind enough to cut out some diaper patterns that I could practice on.I've been reading online about sewing diapers, and I think I'm ready to give it a try. The only thing that really confuses me is adding the elastic. But, we'll get there. For now, I'm focusing on winding the bobbin by myself.