Travis & Noelle, Father's Day 2004
We had a great Father's Day yesterday. My family came to our house for lunch - yummy taco salad - and hung out for several hours. The normal plan is to go to my folks (a.k.a. Grandma & Grandpa's) for Sunday lunch, but we've done that the last several weeks only to return home to mass destruction by the puppies. So, everyone came over here for the afternoon so we didn't have to leave the "babies" in their kennel all morning for church and then all afternoon. And they were so well behaved!
Anyway, we had a great time with the family. Got to see the ultrasound for my new nephew-to-be, Myles. (I found out that they are spelling his name with a Y instead of and I - that will take some getting used to). It was so fun seeing that video of such a tiny miracle. I had flashbacks to Noelle's ultrasound and made me excited about having another baby. I've been wishy-washy on getting pregnant again. Not because we don't want more kids, but because I just remember how utterly miserable I was the last 3-4 months I was pregnant. I really thought I would be one of those women that love to be pregnant and I did until I was about 6 months along. Then I swelled and tore a stomach muscle and was hot for just forever. And with Noelle born in October, it was a long, hot summer that include moving, several car trips, and other adventures. All that to say, I'm almost to the point that I'm thinking more about the baby than the pregnancy which seems like a good thing! :-)
Tomorrow Noelle and I leave for Oklahoma to visit my grandparents. I have two left that are living. My paternal Grandad and materal Grandma. This will be Noelle's first meeting with either one so I'm excited about that. It's a 12-hour car ride, so it will interesting keeping her entertained. I may or may not get online and update about the trip, but I definitely will when I get back . . . of course, with pictures. :-) Travis will be home by himself with the puppies for 5 days. I asked him what he was going to do while we were gone and he said "Guy stuff. Be a bachelor!" or something like that. Translated, that means eat lots of cereal (his favorite food I have discovered), read a lot, learn new software on the computer, and play music. Total guy stuff. :-)
And for my fun break before I go resume packing and cleaning the house before the trip, Fun In The Sun:
1. Do you prefer the beach or a pool?
Probably the beach. If I'm going to get hot, sweaty and wet, I'd rather it be someplace somewhat scenic so I can take pictures. And I can just sit and watch waves for hours...
2. What kind of tan are you most likey to get during the summer... a beautiful, bronze, laying out in the sun for hours tan; a gradual, few minutes a day tan; a "farmer tan" from working outdoors; or do you just get as red as a lobster and peel the next day?
Burn and peel. Repeat as needed.
3. Which summertime water activity are you more likely to enjoy the most... boating, jet skiing, waterskiing, swimming or floating down a lazy river on a tube?
Boating.
4. What is your favorite picnic food?
Hot dogs!
5. Do you know how to cook on a barbeque grill?
No. It involved fire and lighter fluid - two things that when combined scare me to death! :-)
Glad you had such a nice Father's Day. Re: your comment about "mass destruction by the puppies", I can totally relate. I still come home occasionally to torn up paper towels, if they find on left out from lunch. But I sure don't miss the days of couch cushion guts every where.
ReplyDeleteRe: another baby, don't worry to much about it. Every pregnancy is different. Ever heard of the Bradley Method of Natural Childbirth?
Have a great vacation with the Grandmommies!!
I have heard about Bradley. We actually planning to do natural childbirth until my Dr. and my 9 lb., 11 oz. baby changed those plans. My Dr. refused to let me try and deliver her because of Noelle's size so I had to have a scheduled C-section. Once my Dr. did the C-section she said that I probably would have been fine going natural so that will probably be our first choice next time around. :-)
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about your C-section! Those are no fun... I wanted to recommend a book that I read called "Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way" by Susan McCutcheon. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0452276594/qid=1087974939/sr=ka-1/ref=pd_ka_1/103-4436983-4865421
ReplyDeleteThat's the link if you want to read up on it. After 4 out of 6 of my pregnant friends had some sort of unpleasant medical procedure I just felt that there had to be a better way. Incidently, the two who had no medical procedures birthed at a birth center near the hospital rather than the maternity ward.
If you feel that any aspect of your birth experience was unpleasant do some research about this subject online. There is SO much good information available out there that you won't necessarily get from an OB/GYN.
Also, do a search on VBAC. This stands for Vaginal Birth After Ceasarian. There is a whole body of research about this topic.
For larger babies they recommend squatting because this tecnique can open the pelvis inches! Sorry, I know that this info is a leetle bit personal, but I was just hoping to give awareness that I know a lot of women wish they had. Never hurts to educate yourself, I believe that God knew what he was doing when he created us, so birth and labor is his creation as well.
If you would like to discuss this more, we can e-mail. I would not mind at all.
We did read that book - and it is good. The midwife that did our natural childbirth training uses a combination of Bradley and another method (which I can't at all remember now). I was all for natural for some of the same reasons that you mentioned . . . but still wanted to deliver at a hospital. (I've heard too many horror stories about home births gone bad even though several friends have had them with no problem). I've heard of the squatting method, too, and that sounds way better to me than laying on your back trying to push.
ReplyDeleteMy Dr. didn't seem to think that I would have a problem having a regular birth the 2nd time 'round, thankfully. Now it will probably just come down to the next baby's size. Noelle was 9'11" at her due date. If I'd gone over any, she would have been 10 1/2 - 11 lbs! We think undiagnosed gestational diabetes was the cause for that so I'm going to keep a lot closer eye on diet the 2nd time around. It could also have been hereditary - my husband and his brother were both 10 lb babies, and his mother, when born, was over 11 lbs. Yikes. Travis didn't tell me this until we're touring the hospital and getting the scoop on their natural birth procedures!
Yeah, I'm not to wild about homebirth either. I can understand why some do, because I know that home would be so comfortable, but I wouldn't feel as secure without some assistance. When my husband and I are pregnant, we are planning to use a birth center, with midwives, which is near a hospital should a life threatening complication arise, but not actually in a hospital itself. I think that is the perfect solution for us. I'm also thinking of becoming a Bradley instructor myself.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised that your midwife instructor combined Bradley with something else. I know that if you are teaching as a Bradley certified instructor, that you aren't allowed to combine methods. So, was she not an actual Bradley teacher? It sounds like she was teaching from her own midwife experiences. Which isn't a bad thing, experience is the best teacher. I'm not critisizing, I'm always interested in the birth stories of different couples. It seems like she provided you with a slightly different resource from Bradley.
Speaking of diet, I know that Bradley classes spent a good amount of time teaching proper diet, for just the reasons you mentioned.
Hey, I found a cool story about a big baby and a little momma that I thought you would like! Here's the link:
http://members.aol.com/shndoa/breanna.html
Sounds like your visit was pretty great! Noelle's toast pic is sooo cute!! I just love her name, by the way. I would love to hear the story behind how you picked it. You could blog about it!