Whole 30 Day 3: Give me sugar or give me death...

Or some such nonsense. I have had a few moments of craving sugar today, mainly with my coffee, but overall not as bad as I thought it might be. Fruit, FTW. I have felt more satisfied between meals and am having perfectly wonderful sleepy sleepy times....during the day. So, not exactly a mom-of-four's best benefit, but I am so glad caffeine is ON the compliant list.

Tonight's dinner: balsamic chicken over smashed sweet potatoes with roasted carrots and fresh tomato wedges. A hit with the adults and our oldest. Not so much the younger kids. They are happy I'm allowing additional food items for them that aren't on our list. Now to enjoy movie night with a bowl of fruit! Crazy how much of our lives revolve around food.

Whole 30 Experiment

We started our very first Whole 30 on Wednesday, June 3rd. The very first morning started out quite rocky thanks to a late night up with a sick baby. BUT, we prevailed and made it through the first day and I am determined we will make it through the next 30 days.

In the interest of a real experiment, here is my base line. I'm interested to see what changes are evident in my body after 30 days without processed foods and sugars. I started out at 143 lbs.

So far we have done well. Focusing on the foods we CAN eat, not on the foods we can't. Here are a few of our meals from these first three days.

Day 1: 

Breakfast: eggs & potatoes, brussels sprouts, and watermelon 

Day 1: 

Dinner: hamburgers with fixings, zucchini & eggplant, and baked sweet potato "fries" 

Day 1 Project: Clarified Butter

Because who can go 30 days without butter? 

Day 2: 

Lunch: Chicken and broccoli 

Day 3:

Lunch: a cup of pistachios

Because they are what sounded good.  

Birth Story: Part 4: Rebel

Our fourth child was due on May 25th. We decided even before she was conceived that we wanted to attempt a natural, home birth. I'd never been interested in either option before. I credit my interest and education with watching the TV series "Call the Midwife" and the documentary "The Business of Being Born". I went on to read Ina May Gaskin's "Guide to Childbirth" and became even more confident in my choice. I sought out two midwives who run the only birth center in the town where we live. I immediately felt comfortable with them and continued to see them for my prenatal care.

On Tuesday, May 20th I woke up around 2AM with consistent contractions that were 7 minutes apart for an hour. I decided to go ahead and call the midwife on call as I didn't want to wait until things were imminent. My past birth experiences led me to believe that once things got going it would be a relatively quick process. I neglected to take into account the fact that as soon as I'd come to the hospital dilated 5cm, they had broken my water which sped the process along. The midwife and her assistant came to the house and we watched as my contractions stayed between 7 and 10 minutes apart for a few hours. Finally, we decided to sleep and awoke with the sun to check on my progress. I was 5cm dilated and 80% effaced. Definitely moving along. However, as the day progressed, we tried all sorts of tricks to get my contractions to be closer and stronger. They would increase for a little while then go back to their 7 to 10 minute intervals. Finally around 8pm that evening, my midwife offered me a last-ditch option of going ahead and breaking my water. I felt like we'd been pushing to make labor progress all day and didn't want to break my water only to have labor continue to be slow and then be put on a timetable with more possibility of being transferred to the hospital. So, we decided to call it a night. The midwife and her assistant went home and I got a gorgeous night of rest.

Wednesday and Thursday were much the same, but without the added audience of a midwife. My contractions stayed in that 7-10 minute time zone. Finally, Thursday afternoon at my midwife appointment, I was instructed to take calcium magnesium to try and stop my "unproductive" contractions until my due date so my uterus could get some rest. We then planned to start back up trying to kick start labor on that Sunday. Thursday night, I took my cal/mag and went to sleep. Throughout the night I woke up with much stronger contractions and in the morning was noticeably sore abdominally. I decided to just relax and not worry about when this thing was going to happen. We took advantage of my mom being in town and my husband and I headed out for a date. We enjoyed a yummy breakfast at a neighborhood coffee house and then went to see the new X-Men movie. Again, I was experiencing contractions every 7-10 minutes. After the movie, we came home and I decided to take a nice long nap. My sister came over to hang out for the evening and brought some movies. We hung out downstairs and watched "What To Expect When You're Expecting", ironically. After that movie, we started "Austenland". Not far into that movie I realized I was having contractions about 5 minutes apart. I felt the urge to use the bathroom and had my first real bloody show. As the contractions continued to get closer, I decided to call my midwife. She could tell this was a different scenario as I had to stop to breathe during contractions while speaking with her over the phone. She said she would be on her way and I decided to lay down in hopes of making sure we didn't speed anything up until she arrived. This was about 10:30pm on Friday, May 23rd.

After the midwife arrived, she checked me and I was dilated 7cm and 80% effaced. I started finding comfort in standing while hugging my husband, Rod, and swaying back and forth during contractions. Much more comfortable than laying down for them. We continued in this pattern for quite a while. I was only mildly uncomfortable and in need of focus during the contractions. I continued to listen to my body and what sounded "good" during contractions. As things progressed, I spent some time in the shower with the warm heat on my lower back. As the intensity increased, I decided to get out of the shower and continued with my swaying/hugging technique. All of a sudden, I noticed my pain had moved from being "up" and was localized more in my hips. I told the midwife and she checked me. I honestly don't remember what the verdict was as my contractions were closer, longer, and much more intense. I navigated them the same way I'd done all night: by listening to my body and doing what "sounded" good. Eventually I ended up with the urge to go to the bathroom and while there the midwife heard me making some involuntary pushes and told me to transition to the bed where I'd planned to actually deliver our baby girl. I laid on my side and let my body do it's thing with the comfort of my husband and the midwife and their encouragement. I kept feeling the urge to push and as I did, my water finally broke on it's own and my pushing became productive. It took a little longer to push my sweet girl out as she was full term size. Finally, I heard the glorious words that I'd completed my task and had my girl placed on my chest. The whole pushing stage and when she entered the world was to the soundtrack of "Beautiful Things" by Gungor. Seemed absolutely appropriate. Such a calming experience in the midst of, yes, some intense pain. We marveled at her beauty and at what we, my husband and I, had accomplished together as we waited for her cord to quit pulsing so it could be cut and I could finish my delivery. Rebel Joy weighed in at 8lb. 4oz., 21 inches long, and was born at 1:52am on May 24th. We spent the first three days in rest with Rod and my Mom to take care of us. As we had chosen to birth at home, that meant some tests were not able to be performed at her initial birth. So, four days postpartum we headed to our pediatrician for a more complete check up. As we'd thought, she was perfect. Then the next day we took our bundle to the hospital labor & delivery ward to have the newborn screenings done.

All in all, quite a different experience from any we've had before. The birth itself was much more peaceful and relaxed and my recovery much quicker. It was the perfect choice for us at this time. I do not for one second believe a woman who births at home or without drugs is any more amazing than a woman who chooses to birth any other way. I've done more than one way and believe now more than ever in a woman choosing what works for her and having the support whether it be in the hospital or elsewhere to allow her what she desires.

Birth Story: Part 3: Tobyn

After miscarrying between Gideon and this pregnancy, I entered it with a lot of nervousness. I struggled with wondering if everything was ok and doing all of the "right" things up until he was delivered. The nice thing about being pregnant and having two other children is that they keep you too busy to eat or act unhealthily. The business of taking care of them also makes the time go by so much faster. Tobyn was due on October 17th. The last part of August, Rod and I caught the H1N1 flu. After nights of chills and coughing, I spent two days feeling like I was recovering and then on October 6th, 2009 I felt that labor was beginning. Much earlier than any of us expected. My parents got on the road from Houston as soon as they knew I was in labor. I finally went to the hospital around 10pm that evening. They couldn't get an IV started on me, having three nurses try and then waiting for the "special team", so that I could get my epidural. Since my Mom was unable to be in the delivery room, my older sister joined Rod at my side. Finally, they got the IV started and we waited the allotted time for the fluids to be in my body so that I could get my epidural. By the time the on-call anesthesiologist arrived and was putting my epidural in, I was in the middle of transition. Not fun curving forward in the midst of those kinds of contractions. When all was said and done, Tobyn Valor emerged into the world at 2:29am.

Birth Story: Part 2: Gideon

On May 2nd, 2006, I found out I was indeed pregnant with our second baby, due December 2nd. We were excited and looking forward to a sibling for Zoe. I was incredibly sick for the first trimester of this pregnancy. Spent much of my time lying on our futon in our one-bedroom apartment trying to keep Zoe entertained with Elmo and whatever else I could....in a horizontal position. Thankfully, the sickness abated during the second trimester and I was able to maintain great health throughout the pregnancy. After Rod had lost his job within a month of having Zoe, he'd found a position at Directv and was doing well. We decided it was time to buy a house of our own. We spent much of this pregnancy searching for a HUD house and working out financing. We'd finally found out our closing date in November and had a sign-the-papers date set up for early December. We decided to move out of our apartment and in with my sister and her husband until everything was finalized. November 28th was our big moving day. We spent the day, along with help from siblings and parents, moving everything out of our apartment and into my sister and brother-in-law's home. We finally got everything settled and Zoe tucked into bed around 11pm that night. As we were sitting and chatting with our siblings, I noticed my contractions getting stronger and closer together and told Rod we should head to the hospital. We got signed in and set up in our room and my contractions were staying pretty low-key. I wasn't making much progress. So, the nurses told me to get some sleep and if nothing had happened before morning, my doctor would induce then. We turned off the lights and tried to get some much needed rest. Not long after I woke with a need for the restroom and while there realized I was in the transition stage of labor. After notifying the nurse and being put back in my hospital bed, I accepted my epidural as soon as they were able to get it. An hour later, at 4:11 am, Gideon Benaiah entered the world.

Birth Story: Part 1: Zoe

My current pregnancy and labor experience has brought back lots of thoughts and memories about my other labor experiences. So, I've decided to write them out as a way to pass the time of this long early labor stage.

My first pregnancy was probably my hardest. We were living on very little income and had made a choice to live on my in-law's property in order to save some money. My husband was working multiple jobs and I spent a lot of time alone. We had a lot of fun times, but much of what we both remember is lots of extra driving, problems with housing, and me being alone. Of course, I slept quite a lot due to the growing life inside of me, didn't exercise much, and ate as cheaply (and unhealthily) as we probably ever have. I took the idea of "eating for two" and ran with it. I was underweight starting out, but ended up gaining about 70 pounds by the end of my pregnancy. Three weeks before my due date of January 27th, I went to my regularly scheduled appointment with my in-hospital midwife (thank you Sooner Care). My blood pressure was not good and she was concerned I was pre-eclamptic. So, they gave me a wheelchair ride from the office part of the hospital to the triage part of Labor & Delivery. After watching my blood pressure for a while, they decided it was time to go ahead and induce. My desire leading up to labor was to have a natural birth, but I pre-ordered the epidural "just in case". I got my snazzy hospital gown on and got set up in the bed to start labor. Pitocin, that evil drug, started dripping in through my IV. I was doing ok at first, Twila Paris' "Bedtime Lullabies" playing in the background, until the Pitocin actually started kicking in. It seemed like torture. I remember wondering how long my labor could be, especially after knowing the general time-frame most first time mothers experience. I wasn't sure I could take 8+ hours of Pitocin. So, I gave in (in my mind) and asked for my epidural. What sweet, splendid relief it was after having that in. My husband said I went from being a monster in that hospital bed back to his wife in no time. I spent the rest of my 9 hour labor in peace. Unfortunately, when it was time for the pushing stage I was having oxygen issues so they hooked me up with a lovely face mask full of oxygen while I attempted to push my baby girl out. Unsure if I was lacking the appropriate ability to sense anything as the epidural had rendered the lower half of my body almost unmoveable, eventually a Doctor was called in to use the vacuum to help Zoe enter the world. As much as I hate all of the interventions that happened and the issues I had, I would do it again for that sweet girl to be part of our life. I held her for a few minutes before they took her aside to clean her up and became concerned at a noise she was making (we would find out later it was just her cry) and so she spent a few hours in the NICU. We had so many friends and family come see us at the hospital and welcome Zoe Love into the world. I remember packing up a day early to leave for home as there was a winter storm rolling in and thinking how unprepared I was for this job. Realizing it was just going to be me and Rod taking care of her was overwhelming. It's been our privilege, though, for the past nine years and while it hasn't always been easy...especially with her bilirubin being off and having to deal with a bigger case of jaundice in the first week of her life...we've gotten into the rhythm of this parenting thing. 

You know you're an adult when sleeping in on your husband's 3 day weekend results in waking up, right on time, at 7:30AM. Enjoyed some hot tea and reading in bed together before starting the day. Cleaning, dishes, lawn-mowing: the really fun stuff. After a late brunch, we headed out to see the new Spiderman movie. This re-booting: total win in my opinion. Much better story. Much better characters. Much better actors, for that matter. Fun way to spend the early afternoon.

The man then dropped me off at Wal-Mart, land of a million choices, and took the kids to play Ingress while I shopped. Good grief. Seems as if that place is just one never-ending, marathon-like-length walk-a-thon in my current state of pregnancy. Will be fully 37 weeks tomorrow. In my parade about the store, increasingly uncomfortable (read painful) Braxton Hicks were my company. As I stood in line to check out (finally), I pictured myself having ridden all the way to the top of the highest drop of a roller coaster. Preparing to plunge with vicious speed into the work that is labor. These fun Braxton Hicks are just the tip of the experience. Had that momentary "what was I thinking?" that I've experienced with all of my pregnancies. My consolation: this work I'll be doing will bring me my girl I've been anxious to meet. Here's to my first natural labor! May it be quick. 4th baby, 5th delivery: should equal a cut in my usual 3-4 hour labor, right? And with the most recent, successful two labors were all natural up until about 1 hour before they were born (darn you enticing epidural). Renewed with this thought process at one of the reasons I chose to go this route. I'm ready to see what I'm made of and experience this full throttle.

Came home to lay down and hydrate. Read some more of my current book, "Jesus Feminist". The man and kids worked on cleaning up the garage and playing outside. Feels good to end the day with a dinner of pancakes, turkey bacon, blackberries, and cantaloupe with a side of Futurama.