The New Little One

This picture was when The New Little One was just four days old! Yep... that was last Wednesday. And today he is ten days old. He was born on 12/27 and weighed 7 lbs 13 ounces. Time really flies with a newborn. Everything this last week is a blur. Except one thought that shines out perfectly clear. We are thankful for this precious baby!

Do you like birth stories? Would you like to hear how he came into this world? If I share how The New Little One came into our lives, I'll have to back up to my other deliveries. Would that be okay?

Rainbow was breech until 37 weeks when we turned her by using slantboard exercises. We kept her head down until 38 weeks when she was born in a very quick, uneventful, natural home-delivery. It was just what I hoped for -- a completely unmedicated and intervention-free birth. And the fact it was just 2 1/2 hours was nice too.

Spiderman was head down until I had dilated to at least 7 cm. I remember being checked at that point and his head was still pressing down on my cervix. However, after that point he flipped completely and his feet were presenting. We transferred to a nearby hospital. His labor lasted 20 hours and ended in a c/sec because he was a "double footling breech."

Witzy was breech until about 39 weeks. We turned her using slantboard exercises again... very uncomfortable at that stage of pregnancy! But, we kept her down for a few more days and she was born in another completely natural home-birth at 39 1/2 weeks.

Tickle... can you guess? Yep, she was breech until late in pregnancy when, this time, we turned her by seeing a chiropractor who performed the Webster Technique. So much more comfortable than the slantboard! She was born after my due date, but we were able to keep her head down until her completely natural home-birth.

And now The New Little One. This little guy preferred to lie transverse. His head was perfectly at home under my right ribs with his feet under my left. Yes, it looked like a tire around my front and not at all like a pretty little basketball! We did slantboard. We made trips to the chiropractor. He turned head down. He turned back to transverse. We did it all again. He turned again. And again.

At 38 1/2 weeks, we turned him for the last time. I was much more comfortable with him in this position. You see, with him lying transverse, it put dramatic strain on my hips. (I'm not a very big person... just a bit over five feet tall.) The last month of my pregnancy, I could only move with great pain... so I was pleased to have some measure of relief and some nights with some sleep during the last week. He stayed head down through Christmas... until...

Labor. I was checked at 8 1/2 cm and his head was still pressing down on my cervix. I went through another 1/2 hour of contractions, but I noticed that they were spacing out. Something was different. I was checked again, and I was complete. But, there was no longer a head presenting... it was an arm! Yep, he decided to lie transverse again.

But, all of a sudden my water broke. And with the flood came his entire cord and his arm too! It was all pushed back in. His heart tones were distressed, and I was rushed to the hospital for an immediate emergency c/sec. I rode the entire 45 minutes in an ambulance in a position that would keep the baby up high and off his cord... with no fetal monitoring (something ambulances are not equipped with) and no way to know if he was okay.

As soon as we arrived, the fetal monitoring started again and I heard my baby's heart tones in the 120s. That was the last thing I was aware of before going under. In just a few minutes he was in our world, but he had to spend the first six hours of it in the NICU... and it took about that long for me to come out of the stupor from the general anesthesia, even through I vomited from it for an entire 24 hours!

So that is his birth story. We are thankful to have him home with us, alive and well.

During this unexpectedly longer road to recovery, I am praying about how I need to be redeeming my time. What does this next season of my life look like? What will Health Begins With Mom look like? I'm excited to see how things unfold! Stay tuned...

Pregnancy Tea

Have I told you much about my previous four pregnancies? I think I have mentioned that my first was born when we were vegans on a nearly all-raw diet. Rainbow weighed 5 pounds 5 ounces at birth.

We switched to a mostly Weston Price Diet next... and Spiderman weighed 7 pounds 7 ounces. At that time, I really thought I could get all the nutrients I needed from diet alone. He was born by Cesarean, which I don't think was related at all to my mention of diet and lack of supplements. He was a double footling breech, and that has nothing to do with nutrition.

I took Baby Me Now vitamins by Solaray with Witzy. She was born a healthy 8 pounds 8 ounces. Later, I saw my prenatal vitamins on a list of supplements contaminated with lead. Yikes!

Tickle was my first Shaklee baby. She was my easiest pregnancy by far and maybe my easiest delivery (except for Rainbow who was almost too small to notice and was delivered in just two hours). Tickle was by far my quickest recovery. She weighed nearly nine pounds.

Both Tickle and Witzy were VBACs. After my c/sec with Spiderman, I read mounds of information on the safety and risks of VBACs. Once I decided to attempt a VBAC, I wanted to give myself the very best chance I could to deliver without uterine rupture.

In my reading, I found information stating that Red Raspberry Leaf Tea would increase the integrity of the uterine muscle and give the womb a durability that could possibly lower risk of uterine rupture. I added this tea to my daily routine in hopes it would do just that.

I can't definitively point to the factors that lead to my VBAC successes (I am thankful to God), but I do think that this tea has been helpful during my last two pregnancies, deliveries and recoveries. It is a remarkable health drink for any pregnant woman, whether attempting a VBAC or not.

The ingredients of my pregnancy tea are:

• 3 Tbsp. Red Raspberry Leaf, which strengthens the uterus, prevents hemorrhaging, and even curbs nausea
• 1 Tbsp. Alfalfa, which is rich in Vitamin K, loaded with minerals, aids in detoxification and also curbs nausea
• 1/2 Tbsp. Nettle, which aids in detoxification, helps with water retention and prevents UTIs
• 1 Tbsp. Peppermint, mostly for flavor but also for digestion and nausea
• (optional) 2 Tbsp. Green Tea, which is a gentle pick-me-up, also rich in antioxidants
  

*Note: I am just mentioning a few of the benefits of these herbs. Click the name of each to see a more lengthy description of what these herbs are known to do.*

I usually drink my pregnancy tea iced because I am always hot when I am pregnant! I make a gallon at a time. Here's how:

1. Boil two quarts of water in a pot.
2. Take the water off the burner.
3. Pour in the herbs listed above.
4. Let steep for about ten minutes.
5. Then strain the leafy stuff out as you pour it into a gallon sized pitcher.
6. While it is hot, add 1/2 to 1 tsp. of raw local honey per cup of tea.
7. Then pour in two quarts of cool water.
8. Serve over ice.
9. Keep in the fridge.

If you want to make just a cup of hot tea, keep the combination of herbs listed above mixed together in a glass jar. When you make each cup of tea, use 1-2 tsp. of the dry herbs in a tea ball. Pour boiling water over the tea ball and let steep for 5 minutes.

If you add green tea, which I frequently do, you'll want to keep it separate from the rest of the herbs. I use a tea ball and put in two tablespoons of green tea leaves. I let that steep in the pot with the loose herbs, but pull the tea ball out after 2-3 minutes so that I don't get that bitter green tea bite. Then I just let the loose herbs continue to steep until I strain it into the pitcher.

The News.

I apologize for my unplanned absence yesterday. You see, I decided it was the Annual Reorganize the School Cabinet and Bookshelves Day. Once a year, I like to take everything out, pull the furniture away from the wall, vacuum and dust thoroughly, remove the accumulated pencil and crayon marks, file the past year's school work, and create a refreshingly orderly room in which I can plan the next school year.

So, once I got started yesterday, there was no stopping! Well, I did have to take a few intermissions BUT I was driven. And things are mostly put back together today. I would post a picture of the end results, but I can't figure how my homeschooling organization fits into a health blog... except to explain my temporary disappearance.

Besides organizing... I seem to have caught the bug because I redid the pantry this morning too... I have another newsy tidbit to share with you. I am expecting our fifth child! Yep. I am close to the end of my first trimester.

How have I been feeling? Hmmm. I am thankful to be functional. I know that there are many women who are completely offset by extreme nausea in their first trimesters, and sometimes throughout the whole pregnancy. With my pregnancies, I have varying degrees of "morning sickness" all throughout the day until about week 12. This time around is no different.

There are a few very specific things I have noticed really help ease the queasiness. First, I must faithfully take a B Vitamin soon after I wake up, with a protein-type snack. Doing so solves a lot of problems before they start! I take a sustained release B Complex (part of this product pack) that supplies my body with more B vitamins every hour. This is so much better than just taking a large amount all at once. I can tell a big difference when I haven't taken it! And a big difference from when I used to take a different B Vitamin.

I also have stopped exercising. That sounds so contrary to normal health advice. I will get back to my normal exercise routines in my second trimester! With my first two pregnancies, I had to stop exercising in my first trimester in order not to lose too much weight. With my next three (this one included) I have had to stop so that my blood sugar doesn't drop too low. I have found that if I exercise, I can not regain my blood sugar stability -- even for a few days. It leaves me shaky, dizzy and nauseated. So, it helps me to take it easy in the first 12 weeks... not that I can totally slow down with four other children to run after!

I do sip peppermint and ginger teas. And I do occasionally use a Stomach Soothing Complex for a greater burst of these helpful herbs. Other than that, my best strategy is to eat small snacks throughout the day.

Cravings? This is laughable... with Rainbow, I craved cheese. We were vegans at the time, so the occasional cheese was a major treat! With Spiderman I craved hamburgers. I thought about them way too often. But, after one Wendy's burger, I was done with that! With Witzy, I don't remember a craving. With Tickle and this baby, I crave chicken fingers... hello Chick-fil-a! It's a good thing we don't live very close to a Chick-fil-a so that I have to eat healthy food instead. But, I do have plans to go with a friend next Tuesday. (Can't Wait!)

Because pregnancy is at the front of my mind, I plan on posting some of my thoughts on healthy pregnancies over the next few months. This blog isn't going to turn into a pregnancy blog, but I think expanding that topic would be helpful. I'll still keep up with my regular health posts, tips and recipes, so thanks for coming back to read... where would I be without readers!

And, here's a question for you: The question I hear most from pregnant women is "what do you do for morning sickness?" I would love for you to comment with your thoughts on the topic. What do you do to ease nausea? Do you have healthy ideas or remedies that you can share? Thanks for your comments!