Book #11 and Exciting New Developments

A couple of days ago I finished Henci Goer's A Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth. I would definitely recommend this book, or something like it, to every pregnant woman whether it's her first or her fifth pregnancy. Unabashedly (sp?) pro-natural childbirth, the author systematically reviews the medical literature and the pros and cons of almost every childbirth intervention from C-sections to IV's. While I really wasn't suprised by the information given in this book, it was a little sickening at how nonchalantly the majority of OB/GYN's handle the complications of their own interventions. Also, I truly cannot complain about the OB/GYN's I've seen in the past. Both of my prior pregnancy/childbirth experiences were very positive, but I could see a clear difference between the OB's and the one midwife at the practice, and I strongly preferred the midwife. I understand the differences between the obstetric model and the midwifery model better now. I firmly agree with the midwifery philosophy that childbirth is not a hazard to my health or a medical disaster waiting to happen, rather, that it is a natural process that my body was specifically designed for.

I'm still not 100% convinced I can do it without an epidural though! :-) I know the potential complications of epidurals, but I also know I couldn't handle labor without them the first two times. However, because my labor stopped and Josiah's heartrate immediately dropped as soon as I got my epidural with him, I've decided that if I'm already 8 or 9cm dilated when I get to the hospital this time I'm doing without. I've told Keith, my mom, and both of the midwives I'm seeing now the same thing, so they can remind me what I said when I'm writhing in pain!

Couple exciting things for Isaac...he pooped on the potty all by himself on Monday! He got 10 Smarties and a juice box, and we called daddy, Wella, Pappy, and GaGa to tell them right away. Of course, he hasn't done it again since, but I believe in him! Also, he slept in his toddler bed for the first time last night and did great! He slept all by himself all night long!

We finally sold all of the furniture we wanted to sell, and had the yard sale we needed to have, so our house is less cluttered now and we're better prepared to get Josiah's new bedroom ready and make room for baby #3! We also bought new dining room furniture (table, chairs, buffet and hutch) and new kitchen table and chairs. I can't wait to have them delivered! This will be the first time I've ever had nice, new, matching dining room and kitchen furniture!

Josiah is as wonderful as ever, waving bye-bye, clapping, blowing kisses, saying "uh oh," and doing "so big!" He'll have his one-year pictures taken next week at Penny's, followed by his first haircut! He's so adorable. Also, I finally got his medical records transferred from his old pediatrician to a new one, and we just made his one-year well-baby appointment with the new one today! I was so worried the old pediatrician wrote something bad about me in his chart so that no one else would ever see Josiah! That relationship definitely spiralled downward fast. I'm so relieved.

Keith had his yearly review last week, and came home with good news, ok news, and bad news. The good news was that he had an excellent review and got another raise. Yay! The ok news was that he will not be travelling to China in October (when I'm due to give birth). The bad news is he does have to go to China for two weeks in September AND December! One week in Japan was a little tough, two weeks in China in the final weeks of my pregnancy when I will be largest and most uncomfortable, then again when the baby is only about 6-8 weeks old will be a whole new ballgame. But I'm up for the challenge!

Book #10 and the Toy Rotation System

One of the books Mary Pride referenced a lot in All the Way Home was The Truth About Diet and Drugs During Pregnancy: What Every Pregnant Woman Should Know by Gail Sforza Brewer and Thomas Brewer, MD. For me, this was more of a historical look at how doctors used to manage swelling during pregnancy. I really don't think anyone prescribes low-salt, 1000-calorie diets anymore for pregnant women who gain more than 24 lb. Apparently, however, this was quite a common practice, along with prescribing diet pills, diuretics, and blood pressure medications for what we today term pre-eclampsia/eclampsia, as recently as the 1980's. The original copyright for this book is 1977, revised in 1985. Its aim is to enlighten women and encourage them to educate themselves on pregnancy nutrition and not blindly follow the doctor's every recommendation. It also highlights the fact that physicians need not take a course in nutrition to graduate from medical school; a fact that, sadly, is still true today I'm afraid.

While this book was interesting, because I do not believe such things are common medical practice anymore, I wouldn't necessarily recommend this book to another mom-to-be. Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems to me most people, men and women, physicans and non-medical people alike, know that a pregnant woman needs a balanced diet including all of the food groups, a prenatal vitamin, and should not be on any kind of calorie-controlled diet, or taking any diet pills.

Now, for the best idea I've had all year...the toy rotation system! The clutter of toys in our house was getting out of control. It was absurd. Yet, I didn't have the heart to throw away or donate any toys yet. I guess I want my kids to be old enough to decide which toys they're ready to part with, without me forcing them to part with something. They actually do play with just about everything they have. So, I decided to just keep out a few toys in the family room, and put the rest away where they can't see them. This idea actually stemmed from something I read in the Duggar's Twenty and Counting book. We have a rubbermaid container that's functioning as a toy box in the family room right now. I chose a few (probably about 4-5) toys for each of them to keep in that rubbermaid container, plus 1 "big" toy for each of them (Isaac's tool bench and Josiah's Laugh & Learn Home). I also left out Josiah's Retro Rocket (something he can ride on), and Isaac's weedwacker. Those would be medium-sized toys. The rest of the toys (the giant blow-up thing filled with balls, the Thomas the Train tent, all of the cars/trucks/buses/fire engines, etc. are currently hiding in the spare room. The boys haven't even noticed I put anything away. Well, Isaac hasn't said anything at least. They're perfectly happy to play with what I've left out and my family room isn't a disaster zone at the end of the day. My plan is to rotate toys about once a week so that they don't get bored playing with same things, nor do they "miss" any of their other favorites. They still each have toys in their bedrooms too. I am not depriving them in any way. Just keeping my sanity.

Book #9 and A New Pregnancy Symptom

Just finished All the Way Home by Mary Pride last night. It was a fantastic read about every aspect of being a family. I got Keith to start reading it. She's a big homeschooling author too. This is another oldie but goodie, copyright 1989. Some of the info in the chapter on childbirth is a little outdated, but for the most part is remains relevant. This is a great book not just for stay-at-home moms but for fathers too!

I never realized how many feminist notions had gotten into my head before reading these last two books!

And the new pregnancy symptom is that I cannot drink any caffeinated beverage without experiencing very painful cramps. This is disturbing because sometimes I would just about kill for unsweetened ice tea. Plus monthly mochas are such a treat. It's milk, water, and juice for me from now on.