My hero

My good friend Brandy gave birth to her second child - a boy named Trajan, who tipped the scales at 9 lbs. 10 oz.(!!) - yesterday at her home.

Her first son weighed 8 lbs., 13 oz. at birth, and we thought *he* was big.

Both births were completely natural and unmedicated, and Brandy is a big believer in Hypnobirthing. It's also worth mentioning that Brandy is only about 5 ft. 2 in. tall and weighs *maybe* 105 lbs. (if that) when not pregnant.

She is my birth goddess hero.

Congratulations, Brandy! You are an inspiration. And you are woman, hear you roar! :)

----------------------------------------
(By the way, I think this is the last of my pregnant friends to be birthing for a while. You thought the string of births was never going to end, didn't you? ;)

Weekend recap

For the most part, it was a very nice three-day weekend here.

On Saturday, the roofers came around 8 a.m. and got started stripping the old shingles off the roof. Ava managed to sleep through all that noise for about an hour and a half before waking up. Lucky. Then I headed to my photoshoot that went pretty well, though - a word to the wise - a three-week-old baby will NOT fit into a belly cast done when mom was 36 weeks pregnant no matter how you try to bend her/him. ;) Thankfully, I wasn't the one doing the bending.
The rest of the day was spent listening to the roofers drop things LOUDLY (making all of our hearts jump), hammering and just making noise in general. I was so glad when they finished around 9 p.m., though wasn't pleased that they saved cleaning up the yard until it was pitch black outside. Go figure that we've found nails out there the next couple days. I think I'm going to ask that they come back out with their big magnet and try to find the rest of the nails. I DON'T want one ending up in either of the dogs' feet or Ava's! The good news is the roof looks great! :)

On Sunday we went to a couple stores looking for the Naturally Playful Sand and Water Activity Center for Ava's 2nd birthday (which is coming up in less than a month!). I was just going to order it from Amazon (cuz they had it on sale), but the shipping was outrageous. We managed to find a store that had them in stock and picked one up. It's going to be hard to NOT set it up before her birthday. Both Jody and I want to play. ;)

Yesterday we packed up a lunch and had a picnic on a blanket at a park in town. The weather was perfect and we had a good time. After lunch, Ava played on the playground there with a couple of older girls who seemed like they wanted to adopt her, and we also spent some time throwing (and skipping) rocks into the lake. I think we're going to have Ava's birthday party at that park. It's really pretty with the lake and great views of the mountains, and it has a picnic shelter, bathrooms, playground, and lots of open space for running around.
After that we came home at watched "Ray," which was really good. And then we had a cookout of Tofurky Beer Brats (which were quite tasty with grilled onions and mustard) and yams for dinner.

In baby news, I had an appointment with my doctor of choice (the one I will be sticking with) last week. We heard the heartbeat again and got the OK to schedule our ultrasound anywhere between 18 and 22 weeks. I'll be 16 weeks on Thursday, so it's coming up soon! It's kind of weird that we haven't seen the baby at all yet, because we'd already had a few ultrasounds at this point with Ava. Of course, the first was because we were under the care of a fertility doctor when we got pregnant with Ava. Then I had a subchorionic tear (bleeding) at 11 weeks with her and we had an ultrasound that day as well as a few after to make sure everything was going OK. So it's been wonderful to have not had to worry about anything with this baby so far (knock wood) and to be having a "normal" stress-free pregnancy. And, while it's nice to see the baby as it grows, I'm glad we haven't had a need for any ultrasounds because I've been reading/hearing more lately questioning their safety. Anyway, the appointment went well, the doctor took her time with me and was sure to answer any questions I had, and I just like her a lot. I'm so glad I took the time to interview her and not stick with the other practice just because that's who I started with.

The roof, the roof, the roof is on...

no, not fire (thankfully), but I have that song stuck in my head. ;)



We're getting our roof reshingled on Saturday thanks to a hail storm last year that caused enough damage that insurance is covering the whole thing (less our deductible).

The shingles and all the materials will be delivered to our driveway on Friday, then work begins bright and early at 7 or 8 on Saturday morning. Zzzzz. It's a bit early for my taste but at least they will only be tearing off the old shingles for the first few hours so that shouldn't be as noisy as all the hammering, right? :)

I have a newborn photoshoot to do Saturday morning anyway so I'll be getting out of the noise for a few hours. :)

We have to take down any pictures/hangings on our walls because they could get knocked loose with all the vibrations so I imagine I'll be spending Friday doing that. Gives me a good reason to dust them all too. Who knows when the last time that happened was.

Speaking of dusting, I've been on a major cleaning streak since we got home from CA. Today alone I cleaned the upstairs bathroom while bathing Ava (hooray for baking soda as a cleaner so we weren't trapped in there with toxic fumes), vacuumed the upstairs, the stairs and the main floor, bathed the dogs outside in the yard (gosh, they were stinky), as well as played with Ava outside for quite a while, did a little yardwork and made dinner (veggie burritos w/ guac). Oh, I even watched the season finale of LOST (online) while Ava napped because I missed it the night before. What craziness that was! It was a good productive day.

The whole roof construction is only supposed to take one day (hooray!) so we'll still have Sunday and Monday (Jody has the day off) for some peace and quiet. Maybe we'll just sit outside and admire our new roof. ;) Hmmm, probably not. But it is nice to be getting it replaced inexpensively, especially since we've been talking about trying to sell our house in the next year or so.

Our trip to California (super long, with oodles of pics)

Long post ahead. Here's what we did on our trip to California, along with tons of pics (click the pic to view it larger). I tried to save you by not posting too many "scenic" pics, but mostly pics that had us in them. I honestly didn't take *that* many pics on this trip and didn't get artistic with any of them. It was hard not having my camera of choice with me. ;oP

(Also, a disclaimer to all my veggie readers... I figure some of you probably missed the post where I said that I'm no longer vegetarian so I wanted to say it again so it doesn't come as a shock to you all that I'm eating poultry and fish. I decided to follow what my body tells me I need with this pregnancy. I'm still cooking primarily vegetarian meals at home, but if I'm at a restaurant and I want chicken or fish, I order it.)

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

We caught our flight at 5:22 p.m. from Denver to San Jose. Ava did great on the plane. We sat next to a very nice, friendly woman who enjoyed talking with and entertaining Ava for a good part of the flight. The view as we flew over the Rockies was amazing.


We picked up our rental car but the agent had trouble finding the right size carseat for Ava. She finally tracked one down but it didn’t have all the parts and, because of this, we weren’t able to fully secure it in the car. Arg.

After some confusion with our room at the Hotel Avante in Mountain View, we got checked into the right room. By that time it was after 9 and we hadn’t yet eaten dinner so we headed out in search of something. I spotted a Baja Fresh (Mexican grill food) and remembered reading good things about it on Julie's blog, so we stopped for dinner. It was really good and reminded us a lot of Wahoo Fish Tacos (but better because they had fresh guacamole and avocado slices, mmmm).

Thursday, May 18, 2006

Jody got up early to go into work at Google for a few hours before they went out for a team building trip horseback riding, with a tour of a vineyard and dinner.

Ava and I got up and ready and went out to breakfast at Denny’s. After that, we went to Shoreline Park where we went for a walk, watched geese and Ava threw sticks and rocks into a lake.








Then we picked up some lunch and headed back to the hotel for a nap.

That evening, after Jody got home, we went out to dinner at Frankie, Johnny, and Luigi’s for some awesome pizza. We stopped at Baskin Robin’s for some shakes on the way back to the hotel.

Friday, May 19, 2006

Jody went into work again, while Ava and I slept in. Then we got up and ready for the day. I packed up our things and we checked out of the hotel. Then we drove up to the “Googleplex” to join Jody for lunch in the cafeteria. It was a bit overwhelming. There were so many foods to choose from. I ended up having a big salad (loaded with avocados) and some Indian food.

Then Jody took us on a little tour and introduced us to some of the people on his team and in the area he works while out in CA. The campus is so big, your first time there is kind of like being a freshman back at college. Ava wowed everybody with her cutiepie charm.

Jody went back to work for a little while, and Ava and I headed over to a Trader Joe’s to check it out since I’ve heard many good things about them. I don’t know it they are all pretty small, but the one we found was on the small side (IMO). It seemed like a great store though and definitely reasonably-priced. We bought some organic strawberries and ate a few in the car.

Then we picked up Jody and started our drive to San Francisco. Traffic was horrendous at 4:30 p.m. (go figure). Unfortunately, Ava was really tired at that point and was having a hard time falling asleep in the car. She did get to nap for a little while, but not as long as she (or we) would’ve liked.

Jody dropped us off at the Argent Hotel while he went to take back the rental car. Ava and I got checked in and went up to our room on the 26th floor. The room was very nice. We had a lovely view of the city and could see the Bay Bridge from our window, as well as a little bit of Alcatraz.



After chilling in our room for a bit, we walked over to Chinatown for dinner. At the recommendation of the hotel concierge, we went to the Great Eastern Restaurant. Our dinner consisted of egg rolls, vegetable fried rice, sweet and sour chicken and cashew chicken, with orange slices for dessert. It was all delicious. That brings us to the present, where we are back in our hotel room. Chinatown was bigger than I thought it would be, with lots of neat looking shops. I hope to stop back in there another time to browse a bit.

Saturday, May 20, 2006

What a busy day!
We started it off by heading to the Farmer’s Market at the Ferry Building. It’s definitely an impressive farmer’s market.


We walked out to the water and stopped for a peanut butter cookie before catching the trolley up to the Fisherman’s Wharf/Pier 39 area.



We stopped to look at the sea lions (which Ava originally called “dogs” – from all of the barking, of course - LOL).


Then we had lunch at a restaurant - Neptune's Palace - overlooking the sea lions and bay. I had a salad and bread bowl of clam chowder soup and Jody had fish and chips. We also split some crab cakes (which Ava devoured).


After lunch we decided to take a ferry ride that goes around Alcatraz and under the Golden Gate Bridge. By that point, Ava was getting sleepy, but she did ok on the boat.




There was a group of Asian women on the boat who were totally enamored with Ava. A couple of them gave us "treats" to give to her, but if I couldn't read the writing on the package (it was Korean I think), I wasn't going to give it to her. Still nice of them though. There was also an Asian man on the boat ride who was using his electric razor to shave his face while we were out on the water. Strange. I took his picture. ;)

After the boat ride, we had a heck of a time finding a bus that would get us back to our hotel, so we ended up waiting 45 minutes to catch the historic trolley.
Ava was so tired at that point that she actually fell asleep on the trolley, despite it being quite loud with the trolley car driver ringing the bell left and right.

We hung out for a bit in the hotel, then decided to head out for some “American fare” (we got some suggestions from the hotel concierge) for dinner. First we walked over to the Metreon, but none of the restaurants there appealed to us. We did, however, pass a new cream puff place on the way and figured we’d head back there for dessert after dinner.

After walking around way too much and still not finding anything that sounded good, we came across Tad’s Steakhouse. It was very reasonably priced at like $6 a meal, though seemed a little shady, but we decided to stop anyway. We ended up getting a tuna melt and a turkey melt, both came with a baked potato and salad, and it was all, surprisingly, quite good. It was nice to only spend $15 on a tasty dinner after dropping at least $40 on previous meals.

We tried going back to the cream puff place for dessert, but they had closed at 8. So we walked around some more (and saw another guy stick-shaving his face in the middle of the sidewalk - what's up with that?), finally stopping in a 7-11, which was just about the only thing open, for some Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, which we took back to our room.

Sunday, May 21, 2006

We got up this morning and caught a bus over to the Haight-Ashbury area (known for it's huge hippie population in the '60s), where we had a late breakfast at a place called All You Knead (recommended to me by Amy). I got poached eggs covered with avocado slices and Hollandaise sauce on English muffins and Jody got an omelette. Both came with potatoes too. We split it all with Ava. The food was awesome.

After eating, we walked along Haight street for a bit and stopped in a few stores, before it started sprinkling rain on us. We had planned to go to Golden Gate Park, and walked in it for a little ways, because I really wanted to see the Japanese Tea Garden, but the rain kept coming down harder and harder so we decided to head back. By the time we left the park, it was a downpour and we were soaked. Ava had the umbrella over her stroller so she was kept partially dry, but Jody and I were drenched.

We caught a bus into the Mission district, then had to get off there and wait for another 20 minutes for another bus to get us back to our hotel. The wait outside was quite cold and it continued to rain.

On our walk back to the hotel, we stopped at that cream puff shop from yesterday (Beard Papa’s – it’s Japanese) and picked up some cream puffs to take back to the room. They were tasty.

We got changed into dry clothes and Ava and I took a nap while Jody went out and bought himself a Play Station Portable. (I guess I shouldn’t leave him alone when he’s within walking distance of a Sony store. Oy.)

After our naps, we caught another bus to Little Italy where we had dinner at Caffe DeLucci. Jody got ravioli and I got fettucine with seared Ahi Tuna. Yummy! We all split a cannoli for dessert.


Then we headed back outside to catch the bus back to our hotel, I would’ve liked to walk around a bit, but it was raining again. On our walk back to the bus stop, a car came within inches of hitting Ava’s stroller (that she was in) and my leg. They just kept on driving too like they didn't even see us. Thankfully, we were OK, but it was pretty scary.

Monday, May 22, 2006

(Ava playing in bed before getting up for the day.)



We got up and dressed and packed up our things before walking over to a little restaurant called Oh La La for some lunch (which we took back to our room). Jody got a chicken salad wrap and I got a falafel sandwich. We also got some of those "Naked" drinks. They are expensive but quite tasty and mine (which was a protein blend) had something like 37g of protein in it. Wow.

(One last pic in our hotel room.)


After eating our lunch and gathering up our things, we checked out of our hotel and caught a bus to the CalTrain station. We got our train tickets, and caught the train to Santa Clara where we then caught a bus over to the San Jose airport.




Once at the airport, we still had a good 2 1/2 hours before our flight so Ava played a bit in a kids' play area and we got some lunch and let Ava run around.

The flight back to Denver had a lot of turbulence over the Rocky Mountains, but Ava slept for the last half of the flight, which was good - she needed to get a nap in.

It's good to be home and getting back into our routine. :)

---------------------------------------------------------
All in all it was a really nice trip. California is a beautiful state and I can definitely see the appeal of living there (avocados - wink, wink), but I still prefer Colorado. :) While having some humidity in the air was nice out there, I guess I've grown accustomed to the dryness here.

It would've been nice if the weather cooperated the whole time we were in SF, because we would've gotten to see more of the city, but c'est la vie. I am sure we could've spent several more days there and still not seen everything we wanted to. (And we would've gone broke trying! LOL)

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions and help with things to do while in CA. I appreciate it! :)

As an aside, Jody and I were talking about how well-traveled our li'l kid is. Just on this trip alone she rode on a plane, boat, bus, trolley and train (the boat, bus, trolley and train were all a first for her). It took me 31 years to get to the western U.S. coast and Ava's been to both coasts before her 2nd birthday. I guess the world is a smaller place now than it used to be.

We're home :)

We got home safe and sound last night. It's so good to be back in CO. :)
I am in a major house cleaning mode right now (and I have tons of laundry to do) so I probably won't post about our trip for a day or two.

Also, a quick congrats to another friend (Heather) who had a successful VBAC yesterday and welcomed her second son, Cole, into the world! :) Congratulations mama!

Still in CA, but coming home soon

Just a quick post to say we've been having a great time and finding LOTS to do (and good things to eat) in CA. The weather was rainy today, but the rest of the time it was just gorgeous so I can't complain.

The only thing I really feel justified to complain about is that someone almost hit us as we were crossing the street in Little Italy tonight. The car literally came within a couple inches of Ava's stroller and my leg. It is seriously scary to think about the what ifs. Thankfully we were fine, just a little shook up.

I've been writing down what we do each day so I can post it all (along with some pics) when we get back, because I just haven't had the time to check in while we've been here. Plus there were a couple days we were without an internet connection (*gasp*).

It's our last night (Sunday) in San Francisco. Tomorrow we head back to San Jose and, in the evening, we fly back to Denver.

It's been a nice getaway and California is lovely, but it will be good to get home too. :)

Music to my ears

I had a doctor's appointment this afternoon and we got to hear the baby's heartbeat (or as Ava says "heartbeep") for the first time! :) It sounded wonderful and strong and was 170 beats per minute which is normal for this stage in the pregnancy.
We took along a tape recorder and recorded it, and, if I ever figure out how to transfer it from the tape to the computer, I will upload it. :)

All of the labwork they did at the first visit came back normal and my blood pressure today was good, so that was all nice to hear. I am up about 10 lbs. (gulp) from my pre-pregnancy weight, but nobody said anything to me about it and I'm sure it's fine, especially since I started off at the low end of the chart this time around. I was just kind of surprised to see what I'd gained. That's all to report from my appointment.

We leave for CA tomorrow so I will be running around like a chicken with it's head cut off tonight getting ready and packing. Thankfully our flight isn't until the evening so I can still get last minute stuff done tomorrow if I need to (and knowing me, I will need to!).

I'll probably blog once or twice while we're gone since Jody will have his laptop, but we'll see how it goes. Hope you all have a nice week. :) We'll be back to CO on Monday, May 22.

What a great day!

I had a wonderful Mother's Day yesterday. :)

It started off with Jody having breakfast ready when Ava and I woke up in the morning. Then I got some cards from Jody, Ava and my parents. And Jody and Ava got me some nice oven mitts (which I was desperately in need of since mine had holes in it and has been caught on fire, etc.) and a lazy susan (which I really wanted) for all of my spices. Jody said he also wants to get me a gift certificate for a pregnant massage, but he didn't have time to track down someone who specializes in that.

After that we went for a walk around the block to a lilac tree near the park (lilacs are one of my favorite smelling flowers) and Jody took some pictures of me and Ava (and belly baby) and then I cut some lilacs to take home and put in a vase.




Then we stopped at Starbucks for some frosty beverages (that blackberry green tea frapaccino they have is so tasty - Ava agrees too) and went to Vitamin Cottage to pick up some things for our trip and for a recipe I have for banana muffins (which I plan to make today).

In the afternoon we headed into Boulder for some lunch, which we ordered "to go" and then had a picnic by the Boulder Creek. Ava ran around in the grass while Jody and I ate, stopping by every now and then for a bite herself.



After that we went for a walk on Pearl Street Mall (a great outdoor pedestrian "mall") and shared a brownie. Then Jody took some pictures of me and Ava in front of the tulips which we also did last year. :)


After walking around for a bit, we headed back to the car and came home. I thought Ava would go down for a nap since it was quite past her naptime, but she was content to stay up. So we went to the grocery store and picked up some food for dinner (stuffed salmon and potatoes which we had accompanied by broccoli) and some other things we needed. Jody grilled the food and we had a nice dinner.

It was a very full, very nice day. It's amazing to me to think that next year at this time I will be a mommy of two. I'm a lucky woman. :)

By the way, Ava's outfit (dress and matching diaper cover) is something Grandma just made and sent to her. It's pretty darn cute.

P.S. These pictures were taken with our old P&S (point and shoot) camera. I decided not to take my Olympus on the trip to CA since it's really primarily for my business and I'd be up a creek if something happened to it while I don't have a good back-up camera yet. So I dusted off the old P&S to play with yesterday. It's not nearly as fun (nor are the pictures anywhere near the quality) as my Olympus. ::whine:: I'm such a camera snob now. ;oP

Happy Mother's Day

I've seen variations of this floating around the Internet lately and thought it was particularly appropriate for Mother's day. It's quite touching and made me tear up when I read it.

----------------------------
FOR ALL THE MOMS...

This is for all the mothers who DIDN'T win Mother of the Year in 2005. All the runners-up and all the wannabes. The mothers too tired to enter or too busy to care.

This is for all the mothers who have sat up all night with sick toddlers in their arms, wiping up barf, laced with Oscar Mayer wieners and cherry Kool-Aid saying, "It's okay honey, Mommy's here."

This is for all the mothers who froze their buns off on metal bleachers at football games Friday night instead of watching from cars, so that when their kids asked, "Did you see my tackle?" they could say, "Of course, wouldn't have missed it for the world"...and mean it.

This is for all the mothers of Sudan who fled in the night and can't find their children.

This is for all the mothers of the victims of the latest school shooting and the mother of the shooter. For the mothers of the survivors, and the mothers who sat in front of their TVs in horror, hugging their child who just came home from school, safely.

For all the mothers who run carpools and make cookies and sew Halloween costumes. And all the mothers who DON'T.

This is for the mothers who gave birth to babies they'll never see.
And the mothers who took those babies and gave them homes.

This is for reading "Goodnight, Moon" twice a night for a year. And then reading it again..."Just one more time."

This is for all the mothers who mess up. Who yell at their kids in the grocery store and swat them in despair and stomp their feet like a tired 2-year-old who wants ice cream before dinner.
And for all the mothers who count to 10 instead, but realize how child abuse happens.

This is for all the mothers who sat down with their children and explained all about making babies.
And for all the (grand) mothers who wanted to, but just couldn't find the words.

This is for all the mothers who go hungry, so their children can eat.

This is for all the mothers who taught their daughters to tie their shoelaces before they started school. And for all the mothers who opted for Velcro instead.

For all the mothers who bite their lips--sometimes until they bleed--when their 14-year-olds dye their hair green.

Who lock themselves in the bathroom when babies keep crying and won't stop.

This is for all the mothers who show up at work with spit-up in their hair and milk stains on their blouses and diapers in their purse.

This is for all the mothers who teach their sons to cook and their daughters to sink a jump shot.

This is for all mothers whose heads turn automatically when a little voice calls "Mom?" in a crowd, even though they know their own offspring are at home.

This is for mothers who put pinwheels and teddy bears on their children's graves.

This is for mothers whose children have gone astray, who can't find the words to reach them.

This is for all the mothers who sent their sons to school with stomach aches, assuring them they'd be just FINE once they got there, only to get calls from the school nurse an hour later asking them to please pick them up. Right away.

What makes a good mother anyway? Is it patience? Compassion? Broad hips? The ability to nurse a baby, cook dinner, and sew a button on a shirt, all at the same time? Or is it heart? Is it the ache you feel when you watch your son or daughter disappear down the street, walking to school alone for the very first time? The jolt that takes you from sleep to dread, from bed to crib at 2 a.m. to put your hand on the back of a sleeping baby? The need to flee from wherever you are and hug your child when you hear news of a school shooting, a fire, a car accident, a baby dying?

I think so.

This is for young mothers stumbling through diaper changes and sleep deprivation. And mature mothers learning to let go. For working mothers and stay-at-home mothers. Single mothers and married mothers. Mothers with money, mothers without.

This is for you all. For all of us.

Today's Thought:
A mother can touch a whole generation just by loving her own child well.
--------------------------------
I love that thought and truly believe in it.

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there!

And happy Mother's Day to you, Mom. :) I love you.

TV talk

And now for a light-hearted entry. ;)

SPOILER AHEAD!!! Consider yourself warned.

Anyone watch the season finale of "The Office" last night??

Were you shocked that Jim revealed his feelings to Pam? And that they kissed? I think what was more shocking was the fact that Pam acted like she was so surprised that Jim is in love with her. DUH!!!

Just discovered you can read Dwight's blog here. LOL.

Anyway, that's one of the three shows I really enjoy - the others being "Smallville" (which Jody got me hooked on - of course it doesn't hurt that Tom Welling [Clark] is so unbelievably easy on the eyes) and "My Name is Earl" (which also both had season finales last night). Although I do watch "LOST" once in a while too. (Such craziness on that show, but that's another topic for another day.)

Smallville sure was a cliffhanger as well. Not sure how Clark's going to get out of this latest mess! The world is going to hell in a handbasket as Zod has returned and inhabited Lex's body, while Clark is locked up in one of those prism(?) things in space.
Oh my!

13 weeks today - pregnancy talk

This (my pregnancy ticker I have in my signature on some of the msg boards I visit) made me smile when I saw it today. Baby is practicing smiling, grimacing, frowning and squinting. Awww. :)

I'm 13 weeks today so I'm not sure if I'm officially in the second trimester this week or next, but either way, I'm close! I've been continuing to feel good, just feeling tired at times and the need to eat more frequently. I know I lost a few pounds after my stint with food poisoning (or whatever that was), but I think I probably have made up for it now. I haven't gotten on the scale lately so I can't say for sure.

I think I felt the baby moving last night as I sat at the computer proofing pictures from a recent session, but I'm not 100% sure. I know after your first pregnancy you are more likely to feel it earlier, but this might still be too early. I didn't feel Ava move until around 17 weeks, but what I felt last night (a few times) was down low and wasn't gas so....???

I have a doctor's appointment scheduled for next week (5/16) with the old practice. I decided to keep it even though I'm switching practices because I really want to hear the baby's heartbeat before we go on vacation to CA. We leave on 5/17. So I'm excited about that. :)

One of the presents Jody got me for my birthday was a gift certificate to Kohl's so I could buy myself some new maternity clothes. (I got rid of 99% of my maternity clothes from my pregnancy with Ava because I lost so much weight after she was born, they all would be huge on me.) So yesterday Ava and I went up there and I got three new shirts (two cute summery ones and one sweater on clearance for $2) and a pair of jeans (and Ava got some socks). I also went to a consignment store over the weekend and picked up three maternity shirts and a pair of khaki mat. capris. So I think I'm set for a little while - at least for our trip. I haven't been wearing any maternity clothes yet and I still feel funny about it because I'm not *that* big, but yet, some of my regular clothes aren't roomy enough. I am borrowing a pair of jeans from a friend (ones she wore when she was pregnant but not needing maternity clothes yet) and so far those have been working well, but that's only 1 pair of pants! I guess I will look more pregnant if I start dressing the part. ;)

-------------------------------------
In related pregnancy news, my friend Julie had her baby girl - "Lily" - on Monday. She had a successful VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) and both mommy and baby are doing great and nursing is going well! Congrats to Julie and fam. :) She's the first of my three friends due in May to give birth. May is such a great month for babies and new life! :)

NY Times article about Hypnobirthing

You may or may not know that Jody and I took five weeks of Hypnobirthing classes in preparation for Ava's birth. The techniques learned in the class, along with the relaxation cd and book, helped me tremendously during my labor with Ava. I have several friends who have taken the classes as well and have gone on to have wonderful birth experiences.

The Hypnobirthing method does not promise you your birth will be without discomfort, but it does help you learn how to relax your body which "can help bring about a shorter, easier, and more joyful birthing, free of harmful drugs for you and your baby." "The method teaches you that in the absence of fear and tension, severe pain does not have to be an accompaniment of labor."

We plan to take a refresher course as it gets closer to baby's guess date and use Hypnobirthing once again. :)

It's exciting to see a paper such as the NY Times recognize Hypnobirthing, and in a positive light too! :) (Fox News did a story about Hypnobirthing while I was pregnant with Ava [Jody and I were in the segment] and they made it sound like we were all a bunch of quacks for pursuing it. )

I've copied the entire article below (sorry it's so long) because it is no longer available on the NY Times' website without registering and logging in.
__________________________________________________
You're in Labor, and Getting Sleeeeepy

By ELIZABETH OLSON
Published: April 27, 2006

BETHESDA, Md.

My parents definitely thought I was a bit crazy when I mentioned a hypnobirth," Adrienne Pratt said. Ms. Pratt, eight months pregnant, and her husband, Armando Guato, gathered with two other expectant couples on Easter Sunday afternoon to learn a newly popular technique for helping women remain serene during childbirth.

For many, the word "hypnosis" conjures up an image of a swinging pendant lulling a hapless woman into a trance. But hypnobirth is not about inducing a trance; it is a combination of relaxation, breathing and visualization techniques to control labor and birthing pain, said Linette Landa, the hypnobirth teacher.

Slow, smooth breathing counteracts what Ms. Landa called "the fear-tension-pain syndrome," the notion that women fear birth, so their muscles tense up, resulting in pain.

"We're all about the subconscious mind," said Ms. Landa, a tall, tranquil woman who teaches yoga. "The conscious mind is out of the picture."

Move over, Lamaze. Today, many women are reaching out to a variety of other drug-free childbirth alternatives, including aromatherapy and birthing pools, according to experts on gynecology and obstetrics.

They are inspired by Web sites like Urbanbaby.com, reality birth television shows like "House of Babies" on the Discovery Health Channel and celebrities like Angelina Jolie, whose sojourn with Brad Pitt in Namibia spurred speculation that they would have their baby using water birthing. Tom Cruise caused a stir when he said Katie Holmes would give birth in silence. (He later explained that she could make noise, but that others had to be quiet for a calm delivery of their baby, a girl, born on April 18.)

While "silent birth" raised eyebrows, even the more widely practiced hypnobirth, with more than 2,000 instructors nationwide, still draws its share of skepticism.

"When you hear 'hypno,' you think weird, hippy, earthy type stuff," said Kelly Yeiser, 31, of Ashville, N.C., who had her first baby last August using the technique. "But it's really more about meditation and getting yourself into a calm, relaxed state."

Byron Bailey, a government worker in Washington who attended the hypnobirth class with his wife, Jaylin, said, "The idea of someone swinging a pendant — that's the sideshow aspect." The couple are expecting their first child in May.

The women attending the class said a big appeal of hypnobirth is that it builds confidence. Mothers-to-be complain that people are quick to share their worst childbirth stories, in excruciating detail, at the first sight of someone else's pregnancy, feeding worries about labor and delivery.

Ms. Pratt, 36, a project specialist with the Inter-American Development Bank, in Washington, said hypnobirth helps banish such fears because it focuses on the positive.

She was practicing its deep, distinctive breathing — no Lamaze-style panting. The mother "breathes the baby down" and out instead of pushing, according to the tenets of HypnoBirthing. (The name was trademarked in 2000.) During sessions over several weeks, and daily home exercises, the mother also practices visualizing the baby easily descending and leaving her body so often that the image becomes imprinted in her mind; a CD is available for practice and for last-minute guidance. A birthing companion — husband or midwife — tries to keep the mother in a positive, totally relaxed state of mind.

HypnoBirthing mothers even use a different vocabulary. For example, a contraction is a uterine surge or wave, pushing is birth breathing, and false labor is practice labor.

Getting used to all this takes practice, admitted Jennifer Stanton-Brand, 38, who was attending the class with her husband, Stephan, a sales manager in Baltimore. They are expecting their first child next month.

Ms. Stanton-Brand has not yet developed a routine that is second nature, as the method recommends, but said the exercises "have helped me become more inward."

"When something gets tense, I breathe and go inward to a place I can control," she said.

Obstetricians interviewed said that expectant mothers are more focused on finding new ways to reduce, or even eliminate, labor and birth pain.

At one end of the spectrum, women are opting for Caesareans in record numbers. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, the combined percentage of women who had C-sections or used drugs to induce labor was about half of the 4.1 million childbirths in 2004.

Of the remaining women, many fear that drugs will hurt their newborns and want a way to avoid them as well as to control the pain.

Some of the alternatives they are selecting include water birthing, in which the woman immerses herself in a tub or pool to reduce labor discomfort, and sometimes for the birth. Another technique is for the woman to change positions so she is not always lying down, but is sitting on a giant ball, for example. Some women have acupuncture, and others use aromatherapy to create a soothing environment.

The trend is toward nonmedical methods, said Dr. William Camann, associate professor at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and co-author of the recently released "Easy Labor, Every Woman's Guide to Choosing Less Pain and More Joy During Childbirth" (Random House).

Once, he said, "there was no overlap, and there tended to be animosity and distrust" between those who espoused natural childbirth and advocates of medical procedures. But that has changed, he added, because women are researching alternatives and finding them on the Internet.

Hospitals today are also more accepting of a woman's desire to be in control during labor and delivery, Dr. Camann said. "There's been a gradual trend toward acceptance of alternative methods, even though five years ago, asking for a hypnobirth was almost unheard of. Now it's much more common."

SO, does it work? In 2004, The British Journal of Anesthesia said studies involving 8,000 women found that those who used hypnosis techniques during childbirth rated their pain as less severe than those who did not.

Jennifer Macris, 38, of Annapolis, Md., said that during the three-hour labor for her baby, born on March 26, she listened to a HypnoBirthing CD through headphones. She was so calm that nurses asked her husband, Jeff, if she was sleeping.

"There was no pain," she said. "I felt a bit of pressure, and the baby was out. There was only a little tear that required one stitch."

Still, Dr. Camann and other doctors warned mothers against rigidly adhering to any single alternative.

Ideally HypnoBirthing allows a woman to remain so relaxed through contractions that there is no screaming to tire the mother or alarm the baby, and labor is shorter.

It doesn't work for everyone: Jennifer Richards, 29, said she gained self-confidence from hypnobirth methods, but had an epidural because of the intense back pain during her 30-hour labor.

"I used some of the things I learned," she said, "but not as many as I would have liked."

In contrast, Ms. Yeiser of Asheville, whose baby was born after only two and a half hours of labor, said, "I was so relaxed that I slept through the first stage of labor."

That's what Marie F. Mongan was seeking when she set up HypnoBirthing after her first two deliveries, the first in 1954, when women were routinely strapped down and given ether, and their legs tied to stirrups.

The first birth using her program, which is based on her training in hypnosis, was that of her grandson, Kyle, in 1990.

The number of those taking HypnoBirthing's four-day instructors' course has doubled in recent years and has increasingly included nurses, she said. Her 1992 book, "HypnoBirthing, the Mongan Method" (Health Communications) is in its third printing.

Her HypnoBirthing Institute, outside Concord, N.H., is just starting to keep statistics on how many women deliver using her techniques, something hard to measure because women who take the classes may later find that a medical necessity calls for drugs. The course is usually a series of five classes, which in Bethesda cost $200.

Ms. Mongan said natural childbirth has been derailed by medical intervention. When Queen Victoria insisted on chloroform during the deliveries of her nine children, she set the precedent for ceding control of birthing to doctors, Ms. Mongan writes in her book.

While many hospitals now permit hypnobirth, doctors are wary because they fear litigation. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists leaves it up to the individual doctor's judgment.

Such techniques are not a surefire way to avoid pain, but rather "adjuncts and not the end-all to birth," said Dr. Jeffrey M. Segil, an obstetrician who offers the HypnoBirthing option to every patient in his practice in Dover, N.H.

"Women should not be set up to feel that they've failed if they can't follow through to a totally natural delivery," he said.

Let them eat cake

Here are a few pics from my birthday yesterday.

I made this super yummy carrot cake from scratch, using my friend's mom's recipe. (It has pineapple between the layers.) It turned out sooooo tasty! The recipe made a lot of cream cheese frosting, but I decided not to put it all on the cake, since it was already so decadent, and tossed a fair amount.




Excuse my no make-up face. I had a headache for much of the day and didn't even shower until about 5 p.m. Thankfully my headache cleared up and I was able to enjoy our takeout dinner from Old Chicago and the cake that I made. Also, I'm not sure what's up with the weird shadowy things on my chest in these pics. I guess they were a reflection from the candles?



And yes, Ava is poking her finger fingerS into the cake and licking them off while the pics are being taken and Jody is singing "happy birthday" to me. ;) She usually loves to sing happy birthday, but apparently not when there's a cake in front of her. LOL She and I split a piece of cake and she ate as much as I did. It's amazing she slept last night.



Other than the headache, it was a nice birthday. Jody made breakfast and lunch, changed all of the diapers all day (woohoo!), I got to take a nap alone in the morning, Jody and I got some alone time in the afternoon while Ava napped, and I even got some presents. :) I can't complain.

Thanks for all the birthday greetings. :)

Nearly 4,000 women set breast-feeding record

Very cool!! Way to go, mamas! :)

3,738 Mothers Set Breast-Feeding Record

By The Associated Press Sat May 6, 9:16 AM ET

MANILA, Philippines - Nearly 4,000 mothers set a world record this week for the largest number of women simultaneously breast-feeding their babies in the same place, organizers said.

Manila Mayor Lito Atienza, whose city is one of the event's organizers, said 3,738 mothers simultaneously breast-fed their babies for at least one minute, breaking the Guinness World Record.

The result will be submitted to Guinness for evaluation.

The United Nations Children's Fund said the previous record was held by the City of Berkeley, California, where 1,135 mothers simultaneous breast-fed babies for a minute on Aug. 3, 2002.

The event was also held to raise awareness about the benefits of breast-feeding, organizers said.

Dr. Nicholas Alipui, UNICEF representative to the Philippines, said breast-feeding can help curb malnutrition in children under two years old, provide children with antibodies to fight diseases and boost the country's economy because families save on infant formula.

And here's a link to a video that has even more info about it:
Breast-feeding video

Happy weekend!

First of all, Happy Cinco de Mayo today. :) I don't know that I'd ever heard of Cinco de Mayo until I moved to Oklahoma and then Colorado, and not being Hispanic, I can't say I really celebrate it for the true meaning. But every year, Jody and I always have a Mexican dinner full of yummy foods for our own celebration. I need to figure out what I'm going to make tonight.

On a semi-related note (only in that this is a Mexican song), I've had "La Cucaracha" stuck in my head for a while now so I've been singing it (*"La Cucaracha, La Cucaracha, la la la la la la la. La Cucaracha, La Cucaracha, la la la la la la la!") every now and then. Anyway, Ava picked it up and started singing it in bed in the middle of the night the other night! Cracked me up when I realized what she was doing!

*I don't really know the words, though I did just look them up and it turns out it's about marijuana. LOL I had no idea. This is all that I sing.

--------------------------------

After having a break from photoshoots for the past three weeks, I have a maternity session tomorrow with one of my many pregnant friends. It should be fun. :)

--------------------------------

And on Sunday, I will celebrate my 31st birthday! Hard to believe I'm turning 31. I think the time definitely seems to go by faster once you've had a child. I don't know if we are doing anything special to celebrate. I suppose we might go out to eat, but then, we'll see. Jody and I are still pretty gun shy about food these days.

--------------------------------

And now (to enlighten you) I will leave you with a couple verses and the chorus (English translation) to La Cucaracha. :)

1 When a fellow loves a maiden
And that maiden doesn't love him,
It's the same as when a bald man
Finds a comb upon the highway.

Chorus:
The cucaracha, the cucaracha,
Doesn't want to travel on
Because she hasn't,
Oh no, she hasn't
Marihuana for to smoke.

2 All the maidens are of pure gold;
All the married girls are silver;
All the widows are of copper,
And old women merely tin.