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As if having a baby wasn’t excitement enough for us, we’re also buying a house. All the cool kids do the baby/house combo so we figured, why be different? We’re in escrow right now on the best house in the whole world. It’s old though, and there are some problems. There is an oil tank in the basement. We were hoping it wasn’t leaky so we’d have time to recover financially from the initial purchase before we had to decommission it and convert to gas, but it turns out it’s leaking a little, which means time is of the essence. The longer we wait, the more expensive clean up will be. The sewer line is also in incredibly bad disrepair. Fun fun. The beauty of this house makes up for these hurdles and considering the age of the house (102 years old) it’s actually in great shape. So wish us luck with all the closing and negotiations and signing away our life kind of stuff. We just saw the house last Sunday and things have been moving very rapidly this week. If all goes well with closing, we hope this house will be ours sometime in March. And if you know of any good moving companies in Portland, drop me a line. Since I’m pregnant, I won’t be moving any heavy furniture.
We had our 12 week ultrasound nucal translucency screening and blood test yesterday. We got a very good, long look at our little one, who seems to think that my belly is a bouncy castle. The kid was bouncing all over the place. Looked fun. The tech said they call it trampolining. She said babies figure out they can bounce around and then it’s like a big party. We were relieved to hear that the ultrasound looked great and we just have to wait a week for the blood test results. I really don’t want to have an amnio or a cvs test if I can avoid it. These tests are non-invasive but they also aren’t 100% guarantees. They drew up a big family tree chart, it was funny trying to fit all of tom’s siblings on a little 8.5×11″ sheet of paper.
It was so great to see the baby in action. It made me feel so much better about the pregnancy and our chances of having a healthy baby in August. And now that I’ve graduated from my first trimester, I have even more reason to feel more secure about this pregnancy. And now I can imagine my baby bouncing around inside. Our new mantra is “bouncy bouncy.” I wish we could have taken some video. They wouldn’t let us. Bummer. I wish I could watch our little fruit cup moving around all the time.
I was easier on myself yesterday with these daily drawings. I need to get caught up and loosen up on my own expectations so I can keep this project going. So I did what comes naturally, doodling. These don’t require source materials or paints (except for the backgrounds on two), just me and pens.
Tom is out of town tonight so I’m going to use the opportunity to try and get caught up some more. So much going on right now.
I’m not going to put these on Etsy because I think they suck.
Drawing #14
Drawing #13
Drawing #12
I had my first “you’re crazy to have a home birth” comments from a friend. It makes me sad that birth in American is considered a dangerous act. Birth is a normal, natural bodily function and midwife assisted homebirth is safe, it’s better for baby and momma, and it’s a much more rewarding experience. You get a higher level of care from a midwife than you do from a busy doctor and they carefully monitor your health to look for any complications along the way. Midwives check urine, blood, heart rate, they order ultrasounds, check uterus position, offer nutritional guidance, and give you emotional support throughout your pregnancy and after the baby is born. Doctors are great for when there is a problem, but they aren’t needed in a healthy birth. Women give birth to babies. We were designed to do it. It is a natural act.
Did you know many health insurance plans, including mine, cover midwife care? Do you think insurance companies would cover homebirth if they considered it risky? Would states give licenses to midwives if they thought it was risky?
Midwifery is an accepted and safe method of care. It is not some weird voodoo witchcraft. Why do people think it is so strange? In many countries, Western ones included, you always use a midwife unless there are complications in the pregnancy. If there is nothing wrong, there is no need to go to a doctor.
I spent the past year weighing the benefits and risks of choosing to have a baby in a hospital or at home with an experienced midwife. For me, the choice was a no brainer. I see more risks associated with hospital births and nothing but benefits from having a home birth. Of course, if there are complications with my pregnancy, I will switch to having a hospital birth. But I’m doing everything I can to eat well and exercise so I can hopefully avoid complications.
Please respect my informed choices, as I respect yours.
Please read the British Home Journal’s report on Home births.
An Excerpt from The British Medial Journals study: “Outcomes of planned home births with certified professional midwives: large prospective study in North America”
Individual rates of medical intervention for home births were consistently less than half those in hospital, whether compared with a relatively low risk group (singleton, vertex, 37 weeks or more gestation) that will have a small percentage of higher risk births or the general population having hospital births (table 3). Compared with the relatively low risk hospital group, intended home births were associated with lower rates of electronic fetal monitoring (9.6% versus 84.3%), episiotomy (2.1% versus 33.0%), caesarean section (3.7% versus 19.0%), and vacuum extraction (0.6% versus 5.5%). The caesarean rate for intended home births was 8.3% among primiparous women and 1.6% among multiparous women.
Wow, things have been pretty hectic lately. Exciting things in the works. Stay tuned for more on that front. It’s all super secret spy stuff at this point. Well, not really, but I don’t want to talk about it just yet.
This week is pregnancy week 12 for me, I am graduating from first trimester! Yesterday we went to my OB and got to hear a strong heartbeat from the little one, who is now the size of a lime. I love the fruit comparisons. It felt so great hearing the heart beat. Everything seems fine and dandy. I feel good, I’m gaining the right amount of weight, I’m going to the gym 4-5 times a week again. In fact, there’s not a whole lot to talk about on the bun in the oven. Things are just peachy. Thursday is the scary first screening where they sit you down for an hour and tell you all the things that could be wrong with your baby. I’m just looking forward to the ultrasound and I’m going to do my best to not get freaked out by their pamphlets and scary statistics.
Our next appointment will be with our new midwives on February 9th. I told my OB yesterday that we had decided to do a home birth and she looked very sad. I was kind of hoping I could see her for the 20 week ultrasound, but she told me to just have my midwife set one up for me. So I won’t see her again for a year or so. She said legally it’s better if I don’t do dual care. I understand but I’m sad that’s the way things are. She’s nice, I’m glad to have found her. But I feel so great about our midwives and I’m being a good girl, making sure my body will be ready for home birth. I had a cherry chocolate shake from Burgerville yesterday though. It was delicious. Baby wanted a shake.
I understand why some regular bloggers become quiet when pregnant. I feel it too. I just feel quiet. Plus I’ve had less energy to get through my day and as easy as writing a blog post seems, some days it’s just too much work. I don’t foresee things getting any easier any time soon either. It’s going to be a busy year. And each day my 365 drawings project gets further and further behind. Baby is already taking a front seat to everything. I may have to lower my standards to get those drawings done.
We had amazing spring-like weather today so I felt like flowers. These are inspired by fabric patterns.
For sale on Etsy
For sale on Etsy
I started out with a recipe I found on the internet but my final product had very little in common with the recipe. So here’s what I did. This fits in my 4 quart Crock Pot.
Ingredients:
1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1 large leek, washed and chopped
1 parsnip, scrubbed and cubed
1 large carrot, scrubbed and cubed
4 cups broth
4 oz of Neufchatel cheese
fresh marjoram, about a teaspoon
salt and white pepper
Serves 3 or 4
Add vegetables and broth to a crock pot and let cook on high for 4+ hours. About a hour before dinner, add the marjoram, salt and pepper. Using a hand emulsifier or a blender, blend the soup until smooth. 10 minutes before serving, add the cream cheese, let it melt and incorporate it into the soup. Might want to use the emulsifier for one last stir.
I recommend serving this yummy soup with freshly baked brown bread and honey butter. To make the honey butter, let 2 Tablespoons of butter soften at room temperature. Add a healthy spoonful of honey. Mash and stir with a fork until incorporated.
I’m thumbing through a pregnancy guide that Mo just left for me and I’m trying to add up in my head all of the food I’m supposed to eat in order to get my daily recommended whateverness. If I tried to eat this much, I would explode. If you simplify the food groups, here’s what it ends up looking like. Of course you have more food choices than this, It’s just easier to visualize this way:
32-40 oz of milk or 2-2.5 oz of cheese
7-8 eggs, 8oz of meat, or 2.5 cups of nuts
2-4 apples or 16 oz juice
3-5 cups raw vegetables or about 2 cups cooked
8-11 pieces of bread, or 3 cups of rice
You are supposed to swallow all this down with one Tablespoon of fat
So seriously, think about stuffing all of this food in your mouth on a daily basis and you will see just how ridiculous the recommendations are. The amount of grains are particularly baffling to me. No wonder women are confused about how much or what to eat when they are pregnant.
This weekend we invited over just about everyone we know in Portland. I made quiches, biscuits, and two kinds of coffee cake. We had a great turnout and all the food was gobbled up except for a few slices of cake which I’ve wrapped individually and put in the freezer for those emergency cake needs. It’s so nice to have a home big enough to have parties, our SF apartment was so cramped and hot. We had that big cement backyard, but the San Francisco fog would always cut our parties short. Of course everyone congregated in the kitchen at first, but soon people were spread throughout. Roger and Jen brought their dog Iris and Mississippi was tolerant. I’m not sure she liked the competition for food but she seemed to do pretty well. I heard reports that Liam, the 3 year old, was giving her bacon bits all day. Lucky dog. That night, after everyone left, she continued to whine for food, I think we stretched out her stomach.
I’m 11 weeks pregnant now and the challenges of the first trimester are fading quickly. I am not as tired. I’m not sure I could have cooked all that food a few weeks ago. I still feel like I got off pretty easy in my first trimester. Not much nausea, and the being tired wasn’t all that bad. It’s strange how fast I’m getting bigger now. With less symptoms, I don’t feel pregnant until I look in the mirror and see my profile. I thought the getting bigger part would be scary but it actually makes me feel more calm. As long as I keep growing, I know the baby is growing.
There were tons of kids and babies at the party. I got some hand me down maternity things and Liam got some hand me down boy’s clothes. I love hand me downs. I’m excited at the prospect that some day it will be by turn to hand things down.
After the party, I was understandably tired and the next morning my back was killing me, I might have overdone it a bit, but today my back in feeling fine. More gym time today then an interview with some midwives. Next week is my 12 week checkup and my genetic screening. Hurray for almost being done with the first trimester.
Watercolor and Goauche on watercolor paper
7 x 9.5″
Drawing #9 of 365 in 2010
Yes, I’m behind, just trying to keep things interesting.
I got my fitbit today! I’m so excited. I was feeling kind of crappy today but I had to go to the gym at least for a little bit to get some brownie points on my fitbit. If you haven’t seen one, they are like the body bug that they use on the biggest loser. You wear them all the time and they track movement and rest. The beauty with the fitbit is that 1. they have kick ass calorie and activity tracking software on their website, 2. their software is available on the Mac and it actually works 3. the fitbit is so small you can clip it to your bra and it never gets in the way. 4. it’s super cute, the display is really nice. There’s a flower icon that represents your activity for the day, it starts off short and as you exercise, the stem grows longer. The fitbit syncs automatically whenever you are near your computer (it has a base station). It charges up within and hour and the charge lasts 10 days. It’s only $99 whereas the body bug is $199 but they make you pay for other stuff. Fitbit, everything you need costs $99.
I didn’t mean to make that sound like a commercial. I am just really stoked. Hopefully I’ll continue to love it as much as I do today. Mississippi should be loving it too, I took her for an extra walk today.
So yeah, I went to the gym but I’m feeling kind of hot today, I’ve had a headache all day. Sometimes working out helps, but it didn’t today. I just felt more crabby. I walked for about 10 minutes, got crabby, went upstairs and used all of two nautilus machines before I realized I was too crabby to lift weights, then went back downstairs and worked out on the elliptical machine for 10 minutes and called it a day. I just wasn’t into it today. I came home and took the dog out. That way I got some nice, fresh air and was able to fart at will. Yeah, still totally full of gas.
Speaking of gas, I went to yoga last night. This was week two for me and I love that class so much. I got a big pop out of my back, right where my floater rib injury is and consequently my back didn’t hurt when I slept. But as we were doing squats, the very pregnant girl in front of me accidentally farted. She just went about her business and so did I. I’ve been a little afraid I’d be the one doing the tooting but lucky for me, farting is just part of the deal for everyone with baby on board. So fart away pregnant women of the world, I will not judge.
Have I told you lately how much I love being pregnant? Yeah, I love it, I even love that my belly is popping out and it looks like I eat a pint of ice cream every night before I go to bed. I can’t wait until I look officially pregnant, ok well, I guess I can wait. No rush there, belly, ok? Seems like I’m getting bigger faster than expected, but as I said, I checked my weight and I’m doing fine.
I’d sure like a full night’s sleep, other than that, I can handle the farting as long as Tom doesn’t move out. The first three months has been pretty easy for me so far.
I did a couple drawings in between this and #7, but then I sold another drawing today and because of that, I decided to not take this project lightly. Maybe I can really make a whole bunch of good to great drawings by the end of the year if I apply myself. I wasn’t happy with the other two so I’m not going to count them in the 365. Which means I’m behind. But it’s ok. I can catch up.
It’s week 10 of my pregnancy and I have a baby the size of a kumquat inside me. I’m starting to pop out, it’s definitely getting noticeable. I was really worried I had been gaining too much weight, because from the books it sounds like at 10 weeks you aren’t really showing yet. Turns out I haven’t gained anything, so it really is just baby hardware. Crazy. Tom noticed it too yesterday while I was in my snug long johns shirt and boxers. He had an ear to ear grin. I think it’s going to be ok getting big as a house. I’m trying to stay calm and just deal with it. I’m certainly not the first person to go through this. I went into one of those fancy maternity shops where all the clothes are made for short skinny people and I realized this is just not where I’m going to shop. I saw some ok stuff at JCPenney maternity yesterday and there are always the plus size shops. I bet I can find some maternity stuff there with pants that will actually be long enough and with shirts big enough for my expanding boobs. I think this summer is going to be all about baby doll dresses.
I’m doing good. I feel like I was pretty lucky in my first trimester. I don’t know if it’s because I’ve been trying to exercise, or if it’s the great prenatal vitamins I have, but I haven’t been very nauseous or anything. I have been less tired but this weekend I went to a sewing circle and then a dinner party. Sunday I was exhausted. We went to the mall to get me a big flannel shirt to use as a robe at the gym, so I don’t have to feel so pregnant and naked after my swims. Just going to JCPenney was exhausting.
A friend asked me what it felt like to be pregnant. Although I of course know there is a baby in my belly, my pregnancy at this point still feels a little more like something is happening to me rather than that I am with child. Does that make sense? I don’t know if I can explain it really. I’m just tired, I feel like my body is working really hard and like marathon training, I mostly want to eat really high protein, high vitamin rich food. But I also want a couple spoonfuls of ice cream because it’s so delicious. I also have incredibly bad gas, but I already mentioned that in a previous post. I’m so excited about my 12 week check up, when I can see a fully formed baby with kicking limbs. I think I will feel much more secure about this pregnancy then.
I’ve been a little nervous to keep up a daily exercise routine because I had some spotting. My doctor didn’t’ think it was anything, but it still made me nervous so for a while I’d been going to the gym every other day and just really taking it easy. I haven’t seen spotting for a while now, my cold is all gone, and most days I have pretty good energy, so I think I’m going to try and start going every day again this week. Wednesdays are prenatal yoga. I love the class. I’m going to go to that every week for sure.
My drawings a day are falling behind a bit. I was just busy or tired this weekend. I’ll knock out a few today and ease up on the subject matter a bit. The important thing is to keep up, if some of them are ugly, it’s ok.
I definitely dropped the 52 audio sketches for 2010 idea. I just realized this pregnancy and birth is going to take up lots of time. Plus I went to the apple store and they could not help me fix Garage Band. They told me I would have to start over from scratch, scrub the hard drive and reinstall the OS and Garage Bang. I think the guy i taled to was incompetent and couldn’t admit he didn’t know what was wrong. He didn’t even bother to launch Garage Band and look at what was happening, He just flat out told me I had to start completely over. What a tard. With work being so busy right now, I don’t have time to track down the problem. I wasted $200 on Garage Band and a Jam Pack. I love Apple, I’m angry this happened. If I have time, I’m going to try another Apple store and another “genius”, someone who will actually give me the time of day. In the meantime, I could use Tom’s set up downstairs, but it’s not as convenient. And frankly, right now, I’m tired.
We have another appointment to meet midwives next week. These ladies came with a direct recommendation from a friend. I really loved the first midwife we met so no matter who we pick, I think we are in good hands.
This is the beginnings of a birth plan, and just things that are important to me when planning for the next few months.
- I want to give birth in my own home, with people I trust and love.
- After giving birth, I want to be home with my husband and baby, not in a hospital.
- I want to be mindful of the foods I eat. I want to eat wholesome foods and limit empty calories, without going overboard. I think a ginger beer or a cheeseburger and fries every once in a while is good for the soul. I will be careful to make sure the majority of foods I eat are nutrient rich.
- I want to be physically and emotionally present at my own birth. I want to be in charge of bringing my baby into the world, along with strong support from trusted, experienced midwives who can help guide me through the journey.
- I want to avoid pain medications and instead want to rely on more nature forms of pain management.
- I want to train for my birth physically. I want to make sure I keep going to the gym, yoga classes, and working out at home as long as my body is comfortable doing it.
- I want to train for my birth mentally. I’ll looking at techniques like hypnobirthing. I am reading Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth. I am reading about and watching videos of other home births to help prepare me.
- I want my birthing process to be as long or short as my body wishes it to be, as long as I am not endangering myself or my baby.
- I want my husband to play an active roll in my birth. I want him to experience it with me as much as possible. I’ll spare him the pain part.
- If I am unable to give birth in my own home, I want an advocate with me at the hospital who understands my wishes.
- I want an caregiver who will get to know me personally before the arrival of my baby and who will support me after birth
- I don’t want to give birth in the presence of strangers
- I want to hold my baby immediately after birth
- I want to breastfeed my baby
I went to a prenatal yoga class last night at Zenana spa. It was really comforting being in a room full of big bellied women. The class was great and I’m going to start going regularly. There were people there up to 38 weeks. There was lots of sharing and caring. It was really nice to be out in the world with people. The working from home business has been really getting to me lately. It’s so dark and cold outside and that just adds to the gloom. When I was sick, I stopped going to the gym. Now I’m better and I need to start making the gym a daily priority again. It helps so much with my mood. I think it helps me feel better physically and emotionally. Now that I’ve had a prenatal yoga class I might sit in on the regular class at the gym and just take it easy. I’m starting to feel more confident that the baby isn’t going to just pop out accidentally.
Today we meet with a midwife to see if it’s a good fit. If all goes well, I want to have a home birth. I haven’t had very many friends who’ve had home births so I feel like I’m in uncharted waters a bit. But I’ve spend a great deal of time reading and watching home births so that makes up a little bit for lack of real world experiences. I love my OB/GYN so I hope she’s understanding. I haven’t brought the subject up with her yet.
Quiche is good food. It’s quick and easy to make when you don’t know what to cook for dinner. We had a wild mushroom pack that needed eating and I just got some fennel in our weekly CSA. I use a store bought whole wheat crust. They are too handy to pass up and are very delicious. I get mine at New Seasons. It’s a local company. When choosing a baking sheet to collect any spills, don’t be a goof like me, choose a baking sheet with sides. I put mine on a flat sheet last night and our oven will now forever smell like burnt eggs.
Ingredients:
1 whole wheat pie crust
4 eggs
1 cup milk
1 leek, washed and chopped
about 1/2 cup mushrooms. I used oyster and shitake
2 thin slices of prosciutto, diced
1 cup cheddar
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
Preheat the oven to 375°. Pierce the crust with a fork and cook for 7-10 minutes, let cool. In a large mixing bowl, add eggs and milk, whisk. Add remaining ingredients. Place pie crust on a baking sheet and carefully pour quiche ingredients into the pie crust. Bake at 375° for 45 minutes or until the center of the quiche is set. Let cool for 10 minutes. Server with salad or a side of green veggies.
I feel like 52 audio sketches might be too much this year. I can’t imagine making a multitrack recording while taking care of a newborn, or with an 8 month big belly. Maybe I’m putting too much pressure on myself about what I want them to sound like. I’ll have to keep thinking about it. The drawings have been wonderful and I want to spend time on them. The drawings I can see finding a way to get them all done, despite the impending sleep deprivation. I’m tempted to move the audio sketch down to more like 12 this year. Seems like I’m spreading myself too thin. Doesn’t help that my GarageBand is totally broken. Tom found some bulletin boards with multiple people complaining of the same problems but there were no solutions. I’m bringing my laptop in on Friday to have it looked at.
And then this morning I was daydreaming about 365 carrots in 2010.
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