Skincare: My Newest Crunchy Obsession

As I am really giving 40 the side-eye, I've started focusing more and more on my skin health. I have mixed feelings - On one hand, I want to do ANYTHING to not have wrinkles and age spots or look old. On the other hand, I don't want to do anything that can give me cancer, ha. 

Right now I have a mix of clean and dirty products and am working my way to more and more clean products with the hope that I can really take care of my skin and always look 10 years younger than my age, ha, with the cleanest products possible.

Bodywash - I currently use either Young Living or Dr. Bronner's bar soaps. I'm happy with the clean factor of these products but they definitely aren't anti-aging or anything. Not sure if I care if my elbows look old or not? BUT I do know age spots will start on my hands and my decolletage {romance novels for the win here} so maybe I should care more?

Shampoo/Conditioner - I rotate between different versions of Young Living. They are 2- and 3-rated on EWG, so it's not the top rating {which you'll see below in some other products}, but I'm happy with that.

Facewash - This is where I get a big, fat F. I have oily-skin and even at 39, I'm prone to acne. I use a Neutrogena face wash that is a 10 on Think Dirty {an app that tracks how clean, 1, or dirty, 10, your products are}. SO BAD.

BUT there is hope here! I just bought a Beautycounter charcoal cleansing bar that is for oily skin. [Beautycounter are insanely clean products, like everything is EWG verified, and I'm really excited to trying out their skincare and make-up. The problem is...they aren't cheap. So I can't just do a 180 and get everything from them, which is what I'd like to do.] I'm starting out slowly here and using it just at night. If I don't break out, I'll increase to mornings too!

Lotion - Our whole family uses a Young Living body lotion, but we don't use lotion too often as it's got a higher rating for a YL product [4]. A lot of times I also use coconut oil for the kids mixed with an essential oil - for example coconut oil mixed with lavender oil is great for Trent's winter eczema.

Wrinkle Cream/Eye Cream - I currently use a couple of Young Living products - one is a daytime lotion and one is a wrinkle cream that is a little thicker so I use it at night. As far as I can tell, they both fall in the 'good not great' range, so I will be slowly moving these over to Beautycounter as well. I just got 1 Beautycounter product in their Countertime line {their anti-aging line}, so it's too soon to tell what I think, but my BFF has the whole line and LOVES it.

Deodorant - Another one from Young Living [2 rating on EWG], but I have others I want to try with the top pick being Native. I think this is something you just need to switch around ever so often, and I'm excited to have several clean options. Years ago I used to sweat SO bad, I have a really funny story that I might share here one day that highlights how bad my sweating was in college. Well, a friend of mine told me about Certain Dri and how amazing it was. I tried it and sure enough, it COMPLETELY stopped me from sweating. I used it a couple of times a week and it was magic. You know why? It's CHOCK FULL OF ALUMINUM. I seriously used this for probably a DECADE. Now I don't sweat to the same degree I did in college - and I'm hoping it's not because I've somehow poisoned myself so badly my body can't recover - but I'll gladly take some pit funkiness over...you know...cancer.

Makeup:
Foundation - This is where I majorly struggle! I love using a mineral powder but my 2 favorites - Bare Minerals and a Neutrogena one from Target - both rate a 7 on Think Dirty sooo...not great. I switched to a Young Living version, rated a 1 on EWG, but I don't love it. It seems to need twice as much to provide decent coverage, which I'm not crazy about. I've heard good things at W3LL PEOPLE, so I want to try it soon. Beautycounter doesn't have a mineral foundation currently, but I'm hopeful they might someday!
Lipgloss - I use Burt's Bees Wax constantly, I am 100% addicted to it. Luckily it's super clean. When I want some color, I add Jane Iredale lipgloss which is also super clean. I bought some at my annual Lake Austin Spa trip with my mother-in-law 2 years ago and then this year I bought another color and also tried their mineral foundation - I figured if the lip gloss was super clean the powder would be too...nope, ugh.
Blush/Eyeshadow - I found ones I REALLY like from Young Living that are a mineral powder, yay! And rated 2s on EWG!
Mascara/Eyeliner - Is it bad that I don't care about these 2 at all? Any grocery store or pharmacy brand works for me, ha.

I might do a post after I've been using Beautycounter for a while {or other products I try that are known for being 'clean} to see how they stack up. I know Young Living and Beautycounter have representatives and are MLM companies, but I just want to use clean products!

Was this interesting or terribly boring? I find this stuff fascinating and love learning about clean products, so hopefully I didn't bore anyone...and if you made it to through this long and rambly post, I owe you a prize!

Let's Talk Vitamins!

**NERD/HIPPIE POST AHEAD...READ WITH CAUTION!**

As we roll into month 2 of school and fall is quickly approaching {HOLLA!}, I've been stepping up my game with the kids' vitamins. We majorly slacked off in the summer, oops! I wanted to share what I give my kids most days - probably 3-4 -  and see if anyone has other good ideas. I REALLY don't want to repeat the Flu-Strep Apocalypse of 2018!

As a reminder, this is what my vitamin regimen looked like after Drew and Paige!

So I'm no stranger to A LOT of vitamins. {grin}

Ningxia Red

Ningxia Red is a Young Living antioxidant drink that everyone takes but Trent {he refuses ha} instead of a multi-vitamin. It is made from wolfberry and has a ton of benefits. I don't really understand what antioxidants are, but I know they fight free radicals and that free radicals are bad. {grin} I've read information about helping liver function, eye health, stabilizes blood sugar, and immune boosting.

Omega 3

We all take Omega-3! I take it for a multitude of reasons but one of the main reasons is it helps prevent my stye problem caused by chronic dry eyes. Since I started taking a large dose of DHA daily {think 1,000 mg or more}, my styes are almost non-existent, and if I slack on it...poof, a stye!

For the kids, it's really awesome for brain development, it's been linked to helping with ADHD, good for blood fat, Alzheimer and dementia prevention {which my maternal grandmother had}, and so many other benefits!

Vitamin D

We're lucky in Texas to get a lot of sunshine in the summer which provides natural Vitamin D. I don't put sunscreen on the kids unless they're going to be exposed to the sun for a lot of time during the peak hours because Vitamin D is THAT important. The only time we used sunscreen all summer was our trip to Lost Pines with Brent's mom!

But the rest of the year, I try to give the kids 2,000 IU or more of Vitamin D to help boost their immune systems and help prevent all the nasty winter bugs. Maybe they need more after last year? Ha!

Vitamin C

The kids typically eat this like candy, and I encourage it! It's so good for fighting off the common cold and coughs, and I dole it out big time, especially when somebody is yucky. I look for tablets that are at 500 mg each, so the kids get HIGH doses of this one.

ImmunoPRP Spray

Here's my super hippie vitamin - this is made from bovine colostrum and is another immune booster. It actually tastes really good so the girls love when I just squirt it right in their mouths. For Trent, I hide it, ha.

Probiotic

I don't think I'm sharing anything new with probiotics, but I love that it makes me feel proactive about helping the kids' gut health - especially after antibiotics. I do switch this up ever so often, since there are a lot of really good brands that have different strands/potencies. Right now, we're using one from Young Living that is a capsule - Trent can swallow it, but for the girls, I open the capsule and sprinkle it into their daily drink of Ningxia/Omega-3.

Do y'all think I'm totally crazy for giving the kids this many vitamins? Is there anything you use/give your kids I should add to my regimen?? No flu in 2019!!!

An Oils Adventure

I've made no secret of my love for being as natural as possible. Well, my co-worker/friend and I recently discovered something that we are just NUTS about.  Essential oils.

In just a short period of time, I have replaced so many products with essential oils. Have a cold? Diffuse lemon. Having trouble sleeping? Lavender and Peace & Calming to the rescue. Bad food smell in the house? Purification kills that odor! Sore muscles? Pan-away! And my absolute favorite is Thieves that has been scientifically studied and proven to be 99.96% effective at killing germs!! I clean with Thieves {think a SAFE, non-toxic Clorox wipe} and put it on the kids before going to school for an immunity boost. What Mom wouldn't love that?

In one short phrase - This stuff is amazing.

I have had several friends {and my mom too} try it and fall in love. My mom has really bad asthma and has to do breathing tests every week. Since using YL oils, she has had the BEST scores on her breathing tests EVER.

Pretty amazing stuff!

Jenna and I also started a blog about essential oils and plan to do a post or 2 a week talking about all the different oils we're trying as well as information about the science behind them and ways to use.  Check it out HERE.

Let me know what you think about our new blog!!

{Real} Food

So I need to be honest here.  Back in June, I blogged about wanting to eat better. That lasted for all of a few days. Sigh. 

I'm so embarrassed and mad at myself. 

I consume information about our health. I am learning every day about natural ways to treat my kids' illnesses, I am no longer using shampoo, I make my own handsoap, use special detergents/cleaners {or make my own}...yet I eat terrible.

I believe that food is fuel for our body. I believe that food is medicine. If we are eating right, our bodies are strong. Right now, my body is sad. I am tired and lethargic. I use sugar, fat, and {somewhat} caffeine to keep me going. Bad food is my crutch. Now...to be fair to myself...I am going on 8+ months of not good sleep {or maybe just to give myself an excuse}. And sugar and crap food make me happy, ha. #sadbuttrue

I believe that processed food/sugar is so addictive, and I am an addict. I believe GMOs, preservatives, additives, etc. are poison and are making our country sick and fat. Yet I knowingly put them in my body everyday. It is a sickness.

Drew is eating 90% organic food. She is eating {so far} only fruits, vegetables, and eggs. {Except for that 1 Annie's bunny cracker she got off the floor.} Yet I eat candy, cookies, cake, soda, chais, crackers in front of her. What am I teaching her impressionable little mind? We are finally making progress with Trent's food battles, but it has been such a huge mountain to climb. {Yesterday I celebrated him eating 4 baby carrots.}

So...enough bashing of myself and onto my new plan. I am going to take the 100 Days of Real Food pledge by doing their mini-challenge which consists of 14 weeks of mini-pledges. I am going to blog each week what that week's pledge is and my plan. Then I will be accountable for my actions and tell y'all how I did. 

I think part of my problem is it seems so simple yet so overwhelming. I am so scatter-brained normally and 2-kids-husband-job-house-living is just kicking my butt right now. But I think with these mini-goals and some prep I can do it. 

So check back on Monday for my first mini-challenge. I promise I will be honest about how it goes - good, bad or ugly. {grin}

Anyone interested in trying it with me?

And because these guys are so much more fun than my mindless ramblings...

How We 'Cured' an Ear Infection

I mentioned that Drew got her first ear infection. After talking with the pediatrician and deciding to 'wait and watch' {due to her being above 6 months of age and not having fever above 102 degrees} and hitting up Peoples, we did the following:

• Alternated breastmilk and garlic/mullein oil drops in her ear
• Saline {xylitol} nasal spray
• Teething tablets, belladonna and Ibuprofen for pain and fever
• Humidifier when sleeping
• Continuned our Probiotic, Omega 3, Vitamin D and Immuno PRP regimen 

And...we beat it! 

I worried a lot {ask B...I think he was ready to smack me a time or two} that I wasn't doing the right thing, but by Saturday {48 hours after diagnosis} she wasn't running fever, her runny nose was clear, and she wasn't nearly as fussy. 

I read several interesting articles that referenced studies that showed 80% of ear infections will clear up on their own and a lot about the science of why garlic and breastmilk help. All very cool stuff.

Point being - I trusted my gut, watched Drew very closely, sought advice from people I trust and avoided the antibiotic! {Sidenote: I am not anti-antibiotics, but Trent is allergic to amoxicillin, so D was already being prescribed something stronger that I knew would tear up her stomach and kill all her good bacteria too - making her MORE susceptible to an illness, and I wanted to avoid that if we could.} 

We had our follow-up today and was told her ears looked 'perfect'. I was so happy to hear that and so proud that I followed my instincts and let her body heal naturally. It should make any future infections easier to treat and be easier on her. I'm really loving more and more all the natural stuff I find out. I have exciting stuff lined up to share soon. {grin}

Nobody Got Time For That

Drew started day care July 1 and began crawling on August 2. It was only a matter of time before her first 'real' infection. 

She got coughed on at a baseball game on Sunday evening by a 14 month old. Might just be coincidence but a stopped up nose began 12 hours later. I kept her home from daycare Monday and Tuesday, but by Wednesday she seemed better. WRONG.

Last night she wouldn't let me lay her down at all. We were up from 10:45 - 4:15 with the exception of an hour. So this morning we hit up our new pediatrician {we switched because our old doctor was leaving the practice we went to and we picked a new place a little closer to home} and got the 'minor ear infection' diagnosis. She didn't push a prescription {although she wrote one} and said I could wait 48 hours to see if it gets better on its own...so that's what we're doing.

I'll be hitting up my favorite pharmacy this afternoon to get some hippie stuff to try and help. Praying she gets better fast because her baptism is this weekend. Yippee!

On another note, Trent started Pre-K this week at his school. Here was his reaction to my attempt at a cute first day of school pic. Thanks, son.

BLW

I briefly mentioned we started Drew on solid foods. I wanted to blog about it a little more since it's a little different than the traditional baby food route.

Trent has had food aversions from the get-go. I don't know if it's because I waited to introduce table food for a long time. {Like his teachers at school told me 'Um, he needs to be eating real food.' Oops.} Or maybe it's his tongue thrust. Or maybe it's just his personality. Or maybe genetics since Brent and I aren't ones to chow down on veggies. {Understatement of the year.}

Um...Drew...you're missing the point here!

Anywho... I don't remember where I read it, but once I read about Baby Led Weaning, I knew it was what I wanted to try with Drew. 

Essentially, you don't spoon-feed your baby purees, you give them table food and let them feed themselves. Since we believe breast milk gives Drew the vast majority of her calories and nutrients, food is just for fun right now. So it's a learning experience for her - what it feels like, what it tastes like, how to get it into her mouth, when she wants to stop. 

And let me tell you, she is having a blast!

I am just now noticing she always uses her left hand... Hmmm...

So far, she has tried bananas, sweet potatoes, avocado, apricot (peeled), scrambled eggs, apple (peeled), grapes, pears (peeled), and carrots. She hasn't turned her nose up at anything! She is also getting better at getting the food into her mouth and chewing. At first, she would just kind of hold it in her mouth and then it would squish out - so funny.

It is super messy {but seriously a baby covered in food is too adorable to mind} but also super easy. I don't have to remember to buy her separate food or take the time to make purees then freeze them, etc. {And our freezer is so full of breast milk, there's not room for purees!} I just pull stuff out of the fridge and give it to her. And the principle is really that you could give your baby whatever you want, but I want to really focus on fruits and veggies with her for awhile to see if we can establish a better relationship than Trent has...

So there you have it. My latest 'hippie' adventure in parenting!

One Week Later

A week ago today I walked into Peoples Pharmacy sobbing {talk about mortifying}. I couldn't get my anxiety to stop. I made employees cry I was so emotional and upset. I left after spending $140 on supplements hopeful that, once again, Kaya would be able to work her magic.

One week later, I feel SO much better. Between my lovely goat placenta and my 'homework' from therapy, I hope we have turned a corner. 

I'm sure I'll still have some dark days and maybe even weeks. After all, I'm still scared to have the kids by myself for really long periods of time {grin}. It's hard not to beat myself up with all the 'shoulds' I think, but I'm trying not to. I know everyone is different and when it comes to parenting 'should' shouldn't (haha) be in the vocabulary, but it's hard for me... I constantly think everyone does it better than me or handles the transition easier than me.

All I know is I love my kids, am beyond thankful for my husband and family, and can't get enough goat placenta!

Checking In

Well, friends, I'm not admitting defeat, but I am admitting that things aren't great right now. I feel like my post-partum is getting worse. Brent swears that I'm doing great, and he thinks I'm better, but I don't feel it. I feel anxious constantly and cry many, many times a day. I'm not really sure therapy is helping... I went to see Kaya {homeopath} today, and she added numerous supplements to my daily regimen.

Yummy!

What we've added? Iron, duanewood reishi, GABA...and goat placenta. I'll give you a second to process that. {grin} My placenta pills are out, which I think, in a weird way, proves they worked, so yippee for all these things. I joked with Kaya that I wished there was a market for me to buy other people's placentas, but instead...goat placenta!

What I now take every day...I look like a druggie!

I keep telling myself I have nothing to be sad or anxious about. Trent is the best he's been in almost a year, Drew is thriving and wonderful {she's even sleeping through the night some}, my husband is SO supportive, I still have lots of time at home to enjoy with my baby girl, we have so much family nearby to help...but it doesn't matter. I just can't shake these feelings. It makes me so angry, and I just feel so defeated that, once again, I'm the weirdo that can't adjust to motherhood. I love my children more than life itself, and I so thankful for them, but I can't wait for these feelings to go away so I can ENJOY them.

How I'm Doing...

Drew is almost 3 weeks old and a joy. I am amazed at how easy just having a newborn is {during the day} when you are used to a toddler. She is sleeping good during the day {on me of course} and pretty good at night. Minimal day-night confusion and nursing 2-3 times/night - AH-mazing. I did put her in her room last week which was SUPER  hard for me. But she sleeps in a rock-and-play sleeper by the door which is 3 feet from our door - ha.

Anyway, back to me... I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop but so far I am doing good. Really good.

My happy pills

I don't know if it's already having done this before, the preparation I did before Drew's birth, the vitamins I've been taking for a year, my placenta, or a combination of it all..but I am in a good place. 

Don't get me wrong, I have had my moments of crying for irrational reasons {see moving Drew to her room above...separate post about that later}, but Brent has been so amazing at helping me talk through what I'm feeling and getting it out.

Part of me is waiting for the other shoe to drop, but I'm hopeful that if I feel like this after 3 weeks, I'm out of the woods. I guess time will tell... Prayers are still welcome and appreciated. {grin}

Hard to not be happy with her as my constant companion!

Drew's Birth Story - Part 2

In case you missed it, Part 1 is HERE.

Where we left off, Brent had just pulled up to the hospital. He dropped me off at the entrance and went to park. Walking into the hospital was horrible. I read a sign that said 'Active labor - 2nd floor'. The lady at the information desk pointed me in the direction of the elevators and up I went. I had a contraction in the elevator and am so thankful no one was there when the door opened as I was leaning on the wall and moaning. Ha! I heard Brent come in downstairs and ask about me. The woman at information asked 'Was she wearing purple?' Yup, that was me! She pointed Brent upstairs and I shouted 'Hey' at him from the balcony. I didn't wait for him though - I went into L&D without him and figured he'd find me. I needed a room NOW!

Brent met me in L&D and a nurse got assigned to take us to a room. She asked if I wanted a wheelchair. The thought of sitting down again was absolutely awful. We got to our room, and I got changed into a gown and gave the nurse my birth plan. It was now 12:00 PM. The nurse mentioned her shift being over at 1:00 and a new nurse would be assigned to take us through delivery. Little did she know...

Just a few minutes later, doula Cary arrived. I started laboring on my hands and knees on the couch, and she began coaching me through each contraction. It was wonderful. Her voice was so calming, and she really helped keep me focused on my breathing through each pain.

A few minutes after that, Liane {midwife} made it! She came over and helped Cary get me through a contraction. I will forever love both of these women. Liane told me I needed to be checked, and I know it sounded awful, but I had to lay on the bed. Here was the moment of truth. Would I be a 2 and want to die? Honestly, the 2 minutes I was on the bed were the worst of the whole day. I had 1 contraction on my back and could barely handle it. Cary and Liane kept me together, and then Liane checked me. The way it felt, I knew she was going to say 2. She said '8 cm, 80% effaced, water bag bulging.' Holy sh*t!! Looking back, this is probably why the truck ride was so bad - I was probably going through transition.

Brent said at this point the room jumped into motion. Liane got really serious. People started swarming in, Liane got herself suited up, and I began laboring on the side of the bed. They also tried to get an IV in for antibiotics from Group B Strep, but I accidentally knocked it out during pushing. Oops! I was standing leaning on the birth ball which was on the bed. Cary and Liane kept coaching me through each contraction, and Liane said I had already been through the worst and it wouldn't hurt anymore than it already did. Those were magic words.

Liane then started discussing my water. Given Baby Gurl was 41 weeks, it was highly likely there would be meconium in my water, and if that was the case, we would not be able to delay cord clamping because we would need to get her suctioned immediately. Liane must have a 6th sense because on my next contraction, my water broke and, sure enough, there was meconium in it. 

Liane told me to let her know when I felt like I needed to push. The next contraction I started to feel the urge to push, so I climbed up onto the bed and leaned over the back of it (it was elevated) and began pushing when the urge hit. These contractions didn't hurt anymore, but the feelings were so intense. That's the only way I can think to describe them. It was overwhelming how my body took over and just made me push.

I started to lose control a little and was saying 'I can't, I can't' over and over again. Cary kept encouraging me that I could and I was. She said every time 'She is almost here. You are right there.' Brent told me {I didn't hear this or don't remember} that Liane told me to stop talking and use that energy to push. Ha. Brent said he almost got in my face at that point to pep talk me, but I got myself back under control.

At this point, Liane wanted me to turn onto my side to push to give Baby Gurl more room to come out. It took me a little bit of time to move into that position, but once I did, I looked down and half of her head was out! On the next contraction, I pushed with everything I had and out popped her head! Liane then worked her body out and she was here!!!! The time was 1:02, 1 hour after we got to the hospital.

She came out screaming which was awesome because that meant she didn't have to be suctioned and we could delay clamping her cord. Happy mama!

Wow! What a day!

We did not expect labor to go that quickly, but I'm so thankful I was able to labor at home some and wasn't at the hospital very long. We had an amazing team, Brent thought Liane did a great job too (he doesn't give out praise often).

We pretty much got our ideal birth and have a healthy, beautiful baby girl. We are beyond blessed.

Drew's Birth Story - Part 1

The plan was that if Baby Gurl wasn't here by 1/2/13, I would go back to work and life would resume from the holidays as 'normal' until she did arrive. So my in-laws kept Trent Tuesday night (1/1/13) since he always stays with them on Wednesdays. Brent took him over there, got a hamburger with some friends and came home. We talked about the plan for the next day - we wanted to go see Brent's best friend who had had a baby on 12/27, eat lunch together, run some errands and then have our appointment with the OB at 3:00 PM.

Wednesday morning I woke up a little before 7:00 and willed myself to go back to sleep. I dozed for a bit and then felt something. Hmmm... I looked at the clock - 7:24 AM. I tried to doze some more and felt another something. I proceeded to feel little surges every 5-10 minutes. They weren't painful but they were definitely something. I decided I'd give them at least an hour before I woke up Brent to make sure there was consistency. I mean, at 41 weeks pregnant, it has to be labor, right? I was sure hoping so but didn't want to get too excited. I got something to eat and sat down to read and watch the time. The surges continued.

At 9:00, I went and told Brent what was happening. At 9:30, I asked him if I should call the OB and doula group. We decided it couldn't hurt since I was still contracting less than 10 minutes apart. Things still were not painful at this point...but they were definitely there. I also texted a few girlfriends to say we might be in labor! That was fun.

At the OB's office, Liane {midwife} recommended I go ahead and go to the hospital since I did test positive for GBS. I was a little surprised by that because the OB {Dr. C} had said originally that I could still labor at home for awhile even with a positive test result. I called the doula group and Cary was the doula of the day. She agreed I could probably labor at home for a little bit since I was still feeling okay, could talk through my contractions and WANTED to be at home. She said she could meet us at home or at the hospital, just to let her know. I also talked to my mom, my MIL and my sister. Everyone was very excited!

I decided to get in the tub for a bit and I started timing my contractions with an app. I wanted to see if they were closer together like I thought or if it was my imagination/hope. I filled the tub up super full and climbed in. 2 contractions later I was OUT. I did NOT enjoy those contractions in the tub and just couldn't get comfortable. {Later Brent told me he was like WTF when he saw me get into the tub, he wanted to go to the hospital!} I started timing contractions at 10:06. They were on average a minute long and about 3 1/2 minutes apart - definitely moving in the right direction and starting to be painful. 

I got into the shower at this point because I wanted to be clean and fresh at the hospital. Brent took over timing the contractions. At this point they were definitely getting worse. I was using visualization and prayer to get me through each one. I ran the 400m in high school which is about a 1 minute race. I kept thinking about each contraction like a 400, kind of funny. I said lots of Hail Marys too and realized they were starting to get bad when I couldn't finish the prayer because I couldn't remember the words.

When I got out of the shower, I still wanted to fix my hair and make-up but Brent was really pushing me to get my bag finished so he could get it in the truck. I got dressed and realized there was no way I could get ready with as quickly as the contractions were coming and as painful as they were getting, so I pulled my wet hair back and threw everything else we needed into the suitcase and Brent started loading the truck.

I randomly remember paying for the placenta encapsulation service (Cary laughed at me about this later because she saw the email come through with my payment info) and answering an email from a co-worker (No, sorry I can't chat today, having contractions...ha). 

At this point, I was having to moan through each contraction to keep myself loose and relaxed. Scared the crap out of Brent though to walk back into the house and hear me moaning in our bedroom! Sorry, honey, it felt SO good!

I took one last bump picture, called Cary to tell her to meet us at the hospital and out the door we went!

It took me a few minutes to actually get into Brent's truck as contractions hit me. He just wanted me IN THE TRUCK so we could get going! In the truck, I called my mom and the OB to let them know we were heading to the hospital. By this point, it was 11:30 AM.

The drive to the hospital was pretty brutal (and only 15 minutes). Contractions every 3 minutes sitting were not pleasant. I remember cursing the bumps in the road. I wanted to be turned around backwards hugging the seat but was just trying to manage each contraction as best as I could until we could get to the hospital.

Finally, Brent turned onto the road the hospital was on. In between contractions, I voiced a fear that I NEEDED to be at a good number. I wasn't sure I could make it if we weren't. Brent told me to not worry about a number, we'd be where we'd be and we'd make it. Love that man.

And with that, we made it to the hospital!

Part 2 coming soon...I need to feed a hungry girl! {grin}

D Day

Today is my due date! We made it 40 weeks. At this point in my pregnancy with Trent, I was DONE. Emotionally and physically DONE. I cried on and off my entire due date because I just knew our baby would be early. And he wasn't. And I was huge. And tired. And oh so ready.

Thankfully, this time around, I'm a wee bit smarter and am actually thrilled {mostly} we are still pregnant! There is SO much development that occurs in the last few weeks. Selfishly, I didn't want Trent to be a 'big baby'. Again, how silly I was! I grow big babies who like it inside their mama! And I'm proud of it!

Now, don't get me wrong...I don't want this pregnancy to last TOO much longer. I hope she's out before 12/31 (yes, as a CPA, I want that tax deduction!), but I wouldn't do anything to get her out before she's ready.

At our 39 week appointment, Brent and I discussed with Liane (our midwife) what we would do should she decide she still likes it inside at 41+ weeks. So we have a tentative plan in place, so she won't cook any longer than 42 weeks. Hopefully it doesn't come to that because I SOOOOO want to do this naturally. I feel like I missed out on a lot of the experience with Trent. I have no idea what a real contraction feels like or what early labor is like. Our experience with him was so sterile and clinical. Some people think I'm crazy for wanting to know. And they don't mind expressing their opinions to me. Lucky for them, I don't fire back too harshly. {grin}

I have a whole post in mind for WHY I want to want a natural birth and why I think it's better...but I'll save it for another day. Maybe after I accomplish my goal.  Hee hee.

I am looking forward to the end of this journey but am soaking up the last few days of Trent being our only child. We had an amazing Christmas where he got too many toys, watched too many videos, ate too much crap...and it was wonderful. My mother-in-law got me a massage as a Christmas present, so I might be trying to squeeze that in today. 

I think I should celebrate reaching my due date!

Do...Do...Do...What?

Today was another step on the natural birth journey. I went to a 'tea' with the doula collective I hired to meet their wonderful doulas, one of whom will help during our delivery of Baby Gurl!

What is a doula? A birth doula is a trained professional who provides physical comfort measures, emotional support, and information to help parents make informed decisions during labor and birth.

Essentially, given Brent and my's 1 experience at childbirth was medicated and very clinical, we're pretty much dumb when it comes to natural childbirth. I really felt unsure how to handle the experience without some help from someone who knew what they were doing. Ashlee and Heather, who both had natural births, talked about how key it was to have a support person. So I asked my midwife what she thought, and she agreed that it is essential to have someone whose sole job is to ensure you get the birth you want {or as much as it's possible}. She recommended Get Babied. I spent just a little bit of time on their website and was hooked, ha. They have several opportunities throughout the month to get to know them, and tonight I went to their tea. It was awesome! What was funny was I was the only mommy there without their partner. And I wasn't wearing my wedding ring. I felt so awkward, haha.

What is so amazing about a doula is their job is to help you have the birth experience you want. Whether it's a natural or medicated birth, a c-section, a hospital or home birth, their job is to support YOU!

So one more thing checked off our list!

The Day I Fought the Law

Tomorrow I am going to court. I've got my paperwork notarized and all my motions prepared. No, I didn't get a ticket. I'm not suing anyone.

I am going to claim my placenta!

***Pause for you to read that again.***

Okay, you with me?

I have blogged pretty openly after having Trent about suffering from postpartum anxiety. That was a really awful period. Was I over-the-moon about having a wonderful new addition to my life? Duh. Was I also beyond paranoid that something would happen to him to the point where I couldn't sleep and was barely functional? Yes. 

In one word - it SUCKED.

Before getting pregnant with Baby Gurl, I randomly started hearing about placenta encapsulation. I didn't really pay much attention to it, until I read this post by an amazing hippie mom who I am happy to say is now a bloggy friend. After reading that post, it clicked. I knew I NEEDED to do this whenever Brent and I had another baby. 

To say I was nervous to tell Brent was an understatement. He might go along with most of my hippie stuff, but I was worried this would be too much for him given I would EAT my placenta. I had my whole argument prepared. I asked my psychiatrist, my old OB, and my homeopath. All agreed it couldn't hurt. I ended up chickening out and sending Brent a link to the website saying I wanted to do that.  His response? 'Whatever you think will help.' When I asked him about it, he said he remembered that time too and anything that might help he was all for. That goes to show you A) I have an awesome husband and B) that time really sucked for everyone.

To quickly list the benefits:
-Balance your system
-Replenish depleted iron
-Give you more energy
-Lessen bleeding
-Increase milk production
-Help you have a happier postpartum period

But...this has not been an easy process. Whether I agree with it or not {and I don't}, the law states that once the placenta (really any organ) leaves your body, it becomes medical waste. It isn't yours anymore. So even though a hospital just throws it away, I have to go to court to get permission from the state to be able to take home THE ORGAN MY BODY CREATED!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you can't tell, this irks me to no end. {If Brent had relented on my plea to have Baby Gurl in a birth center, this wouldn't be an issue.}

Luckily, living in Austin {hippie central}, I was easily able to find an encapsulation specialist through Placenta Benefits. The woman who is encapsulating my placenta has been so helpful. She had all the forms I needed and step-by-step instructions for how to go about the court order process.

So tomorrow, I hit up the Travis County Courthouse and ask them to kindly give me back my placenta. Oh, and I give them $240 too. {Boo on that.}

Wish me luck!

Changing OBs

Warning: This is a long, rambling post. Read at your own risk.

Very often Always, I am a typical little sister. When I don't know what to do, I ask my big sis what she did. And if it was good enough for her, it is good enough for me. So when B and I got pregnant 4 years ago (almost exactly! just realized that!), I went with the OB she had picked. (The OB Patty and I saw in college and our early married years stopped doing OB, so we needed a new doc.) I had a very normal, low-risk pregnancy and a pretty normal delivery. At the time, I thought my delivery was all complicated and crazy and how happy I was to not end up needing a c-section. Since having T, I have learned that my situation was all too common.  

Oh? You're 40 weeks? Let's induce that baby! We'll put you on a Pitocin drip, we'll break your water, we'll get you an epidural. And maybe you can have your baby vaginally...but probably not.

I now know how lucky I was that my delivery ultimately ended the way I wanted.

Fast forward a few years, and I've learned A LOT. {If B is reading this, I know he's rolling his eyes.}  I used to be so mainstream (which is not a bad thing), but the more I learn, the more un-mainstream I become. And I'm proud of it! So I found myself knocked up again.  And still with the same OB. And confused about what I wanted out of this experience with Baby Gurl. I've been watching a lot of documentaries and learning a lot about the practice of obstetrics in the US compared to other countries. I've been learning about hospital births vs. birthing centers vs. home births. {Yes, I would deliver in a birthing center. No, Brent will not go for that. To quote him: 'I am a regular guy who goes along with all your hippie requests. This is 1 request too many.'}

I've also felt ignored at my doctor's office. Yes, I'm low risk and healthy, but when EVERY appointment is at a minimum 30 minutes late (and sometimes closer to an hour and a half) and my doctor is always rushed (if even at my appointment), it's hard to not question the level of care being received.

When you combine those 2 things together, I've felt very conflicted the last few weeks. Part of me feels like things worked out with Trent, and I'm smarter now and can use that to my advantage and why rock the boat. But part of me feels like I don't have a doctor who cares as much as I'd like and is a little too mainstream for my taste. And it was stressful thinking about that and closing in on the 3rd trimester.

So I contacted a few other local mommy friends and got a recommendation for a new OB and got assurances that it wouldn't be bad to change doctors this late in a pregnancy.  I had a meet-and-greet with the practice (they have a very small practice of only 1 OB and 1 midwife) and spent more time with them in my meet-and-greet than with my old OB my entire pregnancy with Baby Gurl. I was able to talk with them about my 'typical' delivery with Trent and what I hoped would happen this time around.  When the response was 'That's pretty much our normal protocol', I knew I had found my new doctor.

New OB recommended I sleep on it and wait a few days before making a decision, which I did. However, when, 2 days later, my 28 week appointment took an hour and 20 minutes for me to see my doctor for 4 minutes, that was the final nail in the coffin. The very next day I 'fired' my old OB and set my 30 week appointment with my new OB. And I am beyond thrilled. I cannot wait for my next appointment (which I already know is designed to give me 30 MINUTES with the doctor or midwife).  I have a ton of questions! And am writing a birth plan (which I totally rolled my eyes at with Trent)! And can't wait for one of these 2 amazing ladies to delivery our daughter!

So there you have it...the whys behind my decision to switch OBs at 28 weeks. Hopefully that somewhat made sense! I still have a few things to talk over with B - including him...you know...meeting the new doctor, but he has been completely supporting of me switching doctors, and I honestly finally feel so at peace!

Homemade Goodness Part 2

I blogged over a month ago about my homemade laundry detergent.  Well, that's not all I've made.  I also made glass cleaner and an all-purpose cleaner.

Just a few ingredients (who doesn't love that!) and recycled spray bottles

All-Purpose Cleaner
Ingredients:
-1/2 water
-1/2 vinegar
-Essential oil
THE END!

*I just mixed water and vinegar until my spray bottle was about half full and put enough essential oil in (still Lavender from our experiments with T's sleep) to cover the vinegar smell.  I use this all the time and love it!*

Glass Cleaner
-1/4 cup vinegar
-2 cups water
-1/2 tsp. Dr. Bronner's Castile soap {I originally thought you had to buy this at Whole Food's, I have since found it at Target AND H-E-B.}
-Essential oil

*I think I made a 1 1/2 batch due to how big my bottle was so it's easy to experiment and get the right amount.  And again, just use enough essential oil for the smell, but Dr. Bronner's smells great too so you don't need as much of the oil as you do for the all-purpose cleaner.*

Both of these products have worked great so far, and I feel great about using them!

Therapy - Session 1

Well, session 1 is done!  I promise I won't write a recap to every session, but I will post as we progress.

Up first - OT!  T worked with Ms. Maggie today.  She was not the therapist who evaluated Trent, so she and I spent about 5 minutes hitting the high points of our areas of concern, and off she and Trent went to play in the gym. She said she wanted to do more observation with him to see which direction she wanted the therapy to take which makes perfect sense.  After 45 minutes, they were back to talk me through what she had seen.  We are going to work a lot of his self-regulation skills and we already have some homework and things to try.  
1) We bought a sensory brush.  We will use this multiple times a day to help relax/redirect him.  I have some literature to read, and I am so excited!

2) We are going to work on removing the word 'No' as much as possible when talking with him  As that is a big fit trigger, we are going to work on setting expectations (which I feel we do) but then when he asks for something outside that, for which we do need to say 'no', we'll work on using different words to explain what the expectation we set was and just focus on what we need to do.

Next hour was speech/swallowing.  We were supposed to see Ms. Megan who evaluated Trent (and he loved her), but her water broke for a baby not due until November, so our thoughts are with her!  We saw Ms. Julie instead and focused a little more on his food/swallowing issues because his speech needs are more clearly defined.  I actually sat in on this session as it was a little unexpected for Julie to be his therapist, and she hadn't reviewed his file yet.  She was extremely helpful and positive and said we're going to take this very slowly to keep his trust up in us and not make mealtime a challenge.  It may be months before we see results, but it's nice to know we're not going to be fighting over things!  We have several things to bring next week and also a homework cooking assignment (he likes sweet potato fries, but she wants us to make our own w/ coconut oil and serve twice...the second time adding carrots!!!).

Overall, I am so optimistic about what this is going to do for our family and specifically for T.  Baby Gurl isn't due for almost 4 months, so we have a good amount of time to really focus on him, and for that I am so thankful!!

Because, seriously, doesn't this kiddo deserve the best?

Book Overload!

Within the last 48 hours, I've read parts of 3 books.  Not THAT unusual for me to have multiple books going at 1 time, but what's totally weird is that all 3 of them are technically non-fiction. And all 3 insanely good in different ways.

Busy reading!

I don't want to turn this into a long 3-part book review, but I find my topics right now amusing.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks - It's essentially about a woman who died of cervical cancer in 1951.  Doctors took her cells (standard procedure) and were able to get them to grow in a culture.  These cells were a part of hundreds if not thousands of scientific discoveries.

The Vaccine Book - written by a pediatrician presenting a lot of information about each vaccine. I don't think I want to get into a vaccine discussion here because I know it's a hot topic for a lot of moms.  But I wanted to make sure I was informed this time around.  With Trent, my post-partum had me too scared to even think about what I was doing.  I regret that a lot.  It was the place I was in at the time, but this time I around (especially given my more natural {weird according to B} tendencies), I wanted to make sure I know what I'm doing.

The Monster of Florence - about a serial killer in Florence, Italy who has never been caught and the disastrous police investigation to solve the crimes.

See?  Totally random, right?  But I highly recommend all 3!  {I guess I couldn't get away from there being a little bit of a book review after all.}

Homemade Goodness Part 1

I've talked many times about trying to be more natural.  I annoy Brent because he thinks I'm a weird-o.  But the older wiser I get, the more I am concerned about what I put into my body {although I fail miserably at this more than I'd like to admit} and into the earth.  And especially what goes into Trent as we try to raise him 'right'...even though that kid only wants to eat goldfish.

One thing I mentioned was wanting to make my own cleaning products.

What I've made so far is glass cleaner, all-purpose cleaner and laundry detergent.  All recipes I found came from Edible Perspectives.  I want to put a lot of information here, so I've included links to all the ingredients so you can read about what makes them 'good' products for your home and the environment.  I'm also going to make it a couple of posts to make them not quite so long!

Laundry Detergent

Ingredients:

1 c. Borax

1.5 bars Castile soap

1 c. Baking soda

1 c. Super washing soda {This was the hardest to find.  Sold mostly at Ace Hardware stores, but the closest one to me was 20 miles away...which i drove to just for it to be sold out.  My dad suggested a local store that did have it!  Score for dad.  So local peeps, go here.}

All my ingredients ready to go!

Steps:
1. Grate the soap bars.  I used a cheese grater.  {I also increased the recipe by 33% to use the full 2 bars.  Yes, I'm an accountant and like math.}

I used Almond and Peppermint and the combo smelled AH-MAZING!

And it looks like cheese, huh?  Don't eat it!

2. Mix all ingredients together.
3. Use approximately 2T per load of laundry.

Bottom line?
It's good for your clothes.
It's good for the environment.
It's cheaper than store bought detergent because everything but the bar soap will make SEVERAL batches - and each batch can wash about 30-40 loads.  I spent less than $20...so do the math.

I've washed a lot of loads and think my clothes come out great and even a little softer! #hippiemomwin