Shortly after I had my oldest, the bouts of lonliness started to kick in. I was a first time mom, staying at home, not knowing what the heck I was doing. Don't get me wrong, staying home was such and blessing and still is, but I really missed adult conversation at times. I needed to connect with moms who were going through the same thing I was. That's when I was introduced to MOPS. I love MOPS!! MOPS stands for Mothers of PreSchoolers. It's a ministry that brings together mothers who have children birth-5 years. I encourage ANY mom to check for a local MOPS chapter. I'm about to start my fourth year of MOPS and can't wait!!
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Monday, August 1, 2011
OBGYN vs. Midwife
I could right a huge post about the differences in OBGYNs and midwives but this video sums it up in two and half minutes.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
August; One Year Ago
August, one year ago, my life changed forever. I was about 32-33 weeks pregnant at the beginning of August. After much tears, regret and foreboding, I had a repeat c-section scheduled for September 20th. I was due September 23rd, my Dr. was going out of town and needed to schedule it before he left, just in case I went into labor while he was gone. I knew at the time that VBAC was the healthiest option for a women with a normal pregnancy. But I was being refused one. I was mourning the day that my son would be born. I felt robbed, I felt sick and I felt guilty. You're suppose to look forward to the birth of your children but all I could do was think of another c-section, where I wouldn't get to hold my child, he would be ripped from me, taken away and sometime later I would get him. It's no secret that babies are more awake and alert their first hour of life, it's the time they're suppose to attach to their mother's; I was going to miss out on that, again. I had prayed the whole pregnancy that I wouldn't have to go through that again, while I thought God had said no to this prayer, H had in fact said, no yet.
It was about this time that I happen to come across, Business of Being Born, a film that will forever change my life. For a quick sidebar, Business of Being Born is a documentary about midwifery and homebirths. As Scott and I sat and watched the film, all I could do was cry, because I knew that I would never get to do that. Scott was so sweet, he held me while I cried and told me that he wished I could get to do that too. I remember praying and weeping to God, "Please, if this is possible, you are the only one who could make this possible!!" I had in fact given up completely on have a VBAC and was just starting to face the fact that I would have another c-section. (VBAC stands for vaginal birth after cesarean.)
Then God sent me an angel, Brandy, whom I had seen in the park at least once a week all summer long, we both liked to go early in the morning with our dogs and our 2 year olds before it got too hot. We had matching pregnancy bellies. I had visited with her before, I knew her dog's name, her daughter's name and her due date. I didn't even know her name!! I'm not generally a shy person but you put me one-on-one and I don't do to good, I guess I was being a little stuck up. Our due dates were in the same week, and for some reason, a few days after watching the film, I asked her where she was having her baby- meaning what hospital. Here I had spent all summer seeing her multiple times and I had never asked!! GRRR, I was kind of mad at myself after I got her answer. She shocked me when she said, I'm having a homebirth. At first I could tell she was really apprehensive about telling me this. How was I going to react? Would I think she's crazy? What thrilled me even more was when she said it was a VBAC homebirth (HBAC). I immediately starting harping her with questions, I wanted to know more!! Where did she hear about this? How does one go about doing a homebirth? How do you get in touch with a midwife? Would it be too late for me? I'm sure she felt like she was on 20 questions or something. First thing I learned, it's never to late until you start pushing, or until they make the first incision. I will be forever gratiful to Brandy for how much she did for me! I could have talked all day about it but the day was heating up and so we had to go. But she did tell me to google, ICAN, International Cesarean Awareness Network.
I tried for a week to get ahold of someone in the local ICAN chapter, everyone was on summer vacation. My giant belly was like a ticking time bomb, I had a doctor's appointment in a week and I did not want to go! Finally, after emailing everyone I could find online, I was eventually connected to Anita, one of the most, compassionate, caring and amazing people I know. She was a Certified Professional Midwife, who miraculously had an opening in September. She was willing to meet me and learn more about what I want in a birth. (That's right, what I WANTED!!)
More to come in future posts.
It was about this time that I happen to come across, Business of Being Born, a film that will forever change my life. For a quick sidebar, Business of Being Born is a documentary about midwifery and homebirths. As Scott and I sat and watched the film, all I could do was cry, because I knew that I would never get to do that. Scott was so sweet, he held me while I cried and told me that he wished I could get to do that too. I remember praying and weeping to God, "Please, if this is possible, you are the only one who could make this possible!!" I had in fact given up completely on have a VBAC and was just starting to face the fact that I would have another c-section. (VBAC stands for vaginal birth after cesarean.)
Then God sent me an angel, Brandy, whom I had seen in the park at least once a week all summer long, we both liked to go early in the morning with our dogs and our 2 year olds before it got too hot. We had matching pregnancy bellies. I had visited with her before, I knew her dog's name, her daughter's name and her due date. I didn't even know her name!! I'm not generally a shy person but you put me one-on-one and I don't do to good, I guess I was being a little stuck up. Our due dates were in the same week, and for some reason, a few days after watching the film, I asked her where she was having her baby- meaning what hospital. Here I had spent all summer seeing her multiple times and I had never asked!! GRRR, I was kind of mad at myself after I got her answer. She shocked me when she said, I'm having a homebirth. At first I could tell she was really apprehensive about telling me this. How was I going to react? Would I think she's crazy? What thrilled me even more was when she said it was a VBAC homebirth (HBAC). I immediately starting harping her with questions, I wanted to know more!! Where did she hear about this? How does one go about doing a homebirth? How do you get in touch with a midwife? Would it be too late for me? I'm sure she felt like she was on 20 questions or something. First thing I learned, it's never to late until you start pushing, or until they make the first incision. I will be forever gratiful to Brandy for how much she did for me! I could have talked all day about it but the day was heating up and so we had to go. But she did tell me to google, ICAN, International Cesarean Awareness Network.
I tried for a week to get ahold of someone in the local ICAN chapter, everyone was on summer vacation. My giant belly was like a ticking time bomb, I had a doctor's appointment in a week and I did not want to go! Finally, after emailing everyone I could find online, I was eventually connected to Anita, one of the most, compassionate, caring and amazing people I know. She was a Certified Professional Midwife, who miraculously had an opening in September. She was willing to meet me and learn more about what I want in a birth. (That's right, what I WANTED!!)
More to come in future posts.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Monday, July 18, 2011
Meatless Monday- YUMMY!
While doing the food overhaul in our home, we for sure have been taking part in Meatless Monday!! When I first heard of Meatless Monday, it was probably a year ago on an episode of Ellen (one of my favorite daytime shows). If every American went without meat and cheese just one day a week then it would be equal to "91 billion fewer miles driven each year".
So what does a family eat for Meatless Monday? While I still need to remove cheese from our menu on this day here are meatless things we ate today--
Happy eating!!
So what does a family eat for Meatless Monday? While I still need to remove cheese from our menu on this day here are meatless things we ate today--
- Breakfast
- pancakes topped with peanut butter and applesauce, milk and orange juice
- Lunch
- For toddler
- grilled cheese sandwich made one whole grain sourdough bread and Swiss cheese (less fat that other cheeses and more calcium), carrot sticks and banana
- For Mommy
- hummus with horseradish spread on organic whole grain sourdough bread, sliced avocado and fresh mozzarella (better for you that 'regularly' process mozzarella cheese).
- Supper
- Here's a yummy link to what I'm cooking right now. :)
Happy eating!!
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Love it!!
In an attempt to remove processed junk and other junk from our diet, we're missing ice cream. It's hot, 105 degrees today, so I've concocted our ice cream replacement.
Fresh berries (whatever I found on sale that week, preferably organic)
Greek yogurt
Frozen fruit (whatever I have, this week its been frozen mangoes and strawberries)
A splash of juice (this week it's been organic grape juice)
Put them all on my Magic Bullet, mix them up and we have a sorbet. It's been awesome!! I've had 2 on some days. It makes a good quick breakfast and a good snack.
Fresh berries (whatever I found on sale that week, preferably organic)
Greek yogurt
Frozen fruit (whatever I have, this week its been frozen mangoes and strawberries)
A splash of juice (this week it's been organic grape juice)
Put them all on my Magic Bullet, mix them up and we have a sorbet. It's been awesome!! I've had 2 on some days. It makes a good quick breakfast and a good snack.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Superfoods?
My husband and I have spent many a Sunday afternoon watching documentaries on Netflicks Instant Watch. This last Sunday we watched Food Matters, it proved to be thought provoking, insightful and full of life altering, empowering knowledge, just like a good documentary should. :) If you haven't seen it I highly recommend.
The basic subject of the movie was "You are what you eat". If you eat junk, you're going to feel like junk, look like junk and eventually you're body is going to give up on fighting against the junk. If you eat good, you're going to feel good, look good and your body will be so much better for it. It sounds so elementary BECAUSE IT IS! But we live in a society where we treat everything with a medicine instead of just changing what people put in their body.
One of the subjects discussed in the film was superfoods. I believe I had heard the term before and thought of broccoli, lentils, spinach, etc. I was so far of base! They named some that I had never heard of! Spirulina, raw cacao, wheat grass, and their website named many more! Superfoods have amazing nutrients packed in a small punch! For example, spirulina has 70% complete protein, while a cooked steak has 25% plus, spirulina is almost completely digestible and easily digested while as steak - - just isn't.
Some of the opinions of the film I don't 100% agree with, such as, if you eat perfect and good your whole life, you'll never have a chronic disease. While nutrition is probably 50-80% the cause of many of our illnesses and diseases, they didn't mention genetics, and other environment factors that are our of our control. Plus, I know our world will never be disease free until Christ comes again. I know of people who have followed this type of diet to the T and they still have had diseases invade their bodies.
What made this film even more fascinating to us was, we've been toying with the idea of becoming vegetarian, with the occasional chicken. ;) This film has just solidified our decision to change. I'm not going to pretend that I'm excited, because I'm more scared than excited. I don't think I'll miss meat, I've been without it before, no biggy. I'm more scared of 100% getting rid of processed food. How pathetic!! I'm not going to lie, I occasionally like my handful of chips or my processed, packed chocolate chip cookie. No more sugar cold cereal for breakfast, we get that about every other month as a treat. But in return, we will have our energy back, weight loss and soooo much more!! I like to think that I'm pretty organized with our menu but now it has to completely go through an overhaul, which is intimidating for me. Wish me luck! I welcome any tips and recipes!!
The basic subject of the movie was "You are what you eat". If you eat junk, you're going to feel like junk, look like junk and eventually you're body is going to give up on fighting against the junk. If you eat good, you're going to feel good, look good and your body will be so much better for it. It sounds so elementary BECAUSE IT IS! But we live in a society where we treat everything with a medicine instead of just changing what people put in their body.
One of the subjects discussed in the film was superfoods. I believe I had heard the term before and thought of broccoli, lentils, spinach, etc. I was so far of base! They named some that I had never heard of! Spirulina, raw cacao, wheat grass, and their website named many more! Superfoods have amazing nutrients packed in a small punch! For example, spirulina has 70% complete protein, while a cooked steak has 25% plus, spirulina is almost completely digestible and easily digested while as steak - - just isn't.
Some of the opinions of the film I don't 100% agree with, such as, if you eat perfect and good your whole life, you'll never have a chronic disease. While nutrition is probably 50-80% the cause of many of our illnesses and diseases, they didn't mention genetics, and other environment factors that are our of our control. Plus, I know our world will never be disease free until Christ comes again. I know of people who have followed this type of diet to the T and they still have had diseases invade their bodies.
What made this film even more fascinating to us was, we've been toying with the idea of becoming vegetarian, with the occasional chicken. ;) This film has just solidified our decision to change. I'm not going to pretend that I'm excited, because I'm more scared than excited. I don't think I'll miss meat, I've been without it before, no biggy. I'm more scared of 100% getting rid of processed food. How pathetic!! I'm not going to lie, I occasionally like my handful of chips or my processed, packed chocolate chip cookie. No more sugar cold cereal for breakfast, we get that about every other month as a treat. But in return, we will have our energy back, weight loss and soooo much more!! I like to think that I'm pretty organized with our menu but now it has to completely go through an overhaul, which is intimidating for me. Wish me luck! I welcome any tips and recipes!!
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