Posted by: familybirthcenter in Untagged on
Jun 29, 2008
It was 10 pm on July 4th I was 38 weeks pregnant, just lost my mucous plug and thought my amniotic fluid was leaking. I called my doctor and he said I should go to the hospital to be checked. At the birth center the nurse who checked me thought my bag of waters was still in tact. She said my cervix was dilated two centimeters, 50% effaced, baby was at zero station and I was contracting regularly but, I wasn't "in labor." She me I should go home for now and that my baby could arrive within a few hours or a few weeks. I went home and of course was too excited to sleep. Until the nurse had said I was contracting regularly I didn't realize that the tightening I had been feeling in my uterus were contractions because, they weren't painful like I thought they would be. Now I was quite aware of the "tightening" and even though it was silly I became obsessed with counting my contractions. Finally, at 1:30 am I went to bed and tried to get some rest besides, the nurse said it could
Posted by: drchang in Postnatal Parenting on
Jun 21, 2008
January 11, 2005... 3AM... Through my fog of half-sleep, I heard three voices - all of them were crying. I thought about it for a second. "I only have two children, right? I'm pretty sure it was just twins..." Well, being a responsible parent, I thought I should get up and verify the fact that I had two kids. I needed to get more stuff if it was really three babies. The preceding four days were a blur of activity and no sleep. Who knows if the hospital stuck an extra kid in the car when I wasn't looking...
Turned out, of course, that ,I indeed, had twins and not triplets. The third teary person was my wife. I found her crying and hunched over the changing table with Allison (my older daughter) also crying. Avery (my younger daughter) was still in her crib crying her head off as well. I looked at my wife and asked, "Are you ready yet?" She nodded, I hugged her, and I sent her to bed. I made some Enfamil and fed the babies. (An interesting juggling act with twin newborns
When I was breastfeeding both my daughters, I was always frustrated that I felt somehow expected to find a private place to nurse, away from those who could be offended by the practice. It's now been 6 months since I weened my second daughter (at age 2) from the breast, and I still don't understand why anyone would be offended by breastfeeding in public.
Please understand that I'm not refering to breasts hanging out for all to see, but quietly nursing my baby, completely covered. I will admit that I never remember anyone ever mentioning anything derogatory or even giving strange looks when I did venture to breastfeed in a public place out of necessity. So perhaps it was my own inihibitions that produced a self-inflicted paranoia. But I have a sneeking suspicion that some people are shocked to see a woman breastfeeding - even when they're completely covered! The baby's got to eat, and I don't feel I should be forced into a dark corner to do feed her. Am I sounding militant?
Posted by: smottram in Untagged on
Jun 19, 2008
For many a working mom, getting the phone call from daycare that baby is sick is something that we dread. Not only, because our precious darlings are miserable and we want to make them feel better, but the work-life balance is such a delicate dance that any interruption to the carefully orchestrated schedule results in immediate loss of order.
For me, the call came twice this week. "Caroline has a fever and you need to come get her." My first reaction is "Oh, poor baby," and then it hits me, "Oh my goodness, I have so much to do at work how can I ever possibly leave!" It is dilemma that pulls at us working moms who are dedicated to our jobs, adore our kids and try with all our might to do the best job possible with both.
For me, I have to stop myself from dwelling over the feelings of letting people down - whether it's my employer or my child. I think the bottom line, is we need to cut ourselves some slack because soon enough the dance will begin again!
Posted by: drdavidcallies in Untagged on
Jun 15, 2008
The weather is starting to warm up here in the South Sound. This means more gardening and yard maintenance for Allison and me. This morning she helped me trim the roses and put some new seed in the birdfeeder. She is curious about what I am curious about and seems to model and mimic my every move and gesture. He language is expanding as she is putting two words together, can count from 1-5 and 8-10 (6 & 7 are tough for her) and can say sing parts of the ABC song. She typically runs and can climb up and sown stairs like a pro.
I clipped one my Christopher Marlow roses this morning, smelled and gave it to her. She put it up to her nose like I had done and gave it back to me with a smile. She was interested in the clippers and when I sad no she protested and pulled them away from me. I showed her another rose and pointed at a bird that had landed nearby and she surrendered. Not sure how long this simple redirect will last but I am taking full advantage of her curiosity and willingness to
Posted by: drdavidcallies in Untagged on
Jun 15, 2008
Things are warming up here in the South Sound. The flowers are beginning to bud up, weeds are taking over my Irises, my Koi are much more active and I am spending much more time outside in the garden. Allison has learned the word “owtside” and will point at our back door when she wants to head outdoors. Playing in the garden is a lot of fun for her as there are so many new things for her to see, feel, touch, smell and yes, taste.
A couple of weekends ago she and I were working in the garden. I was pulling weeds and picking out racks from my wife’s vegetable garden in prep for planting while Allison took rocks and weeds from the wheel barrel and put them on the pathway. She learned that dirt is not food and putting weeds on her head and letting them fall down her back is a lot of fun and makes me say “NO”. Gardening is a fun activity and something that I want her to learn and appreciate. My family has always had wonderful gardens and valued eating fresh organic fruits and vegetables.
Posted by: smottram in Untagged on
Jun 12, 2008
Have you decided who you want (or don't want) in the birthing suite during the birth of your baby?
Before I had my kids, I was lucky enough to experience my sister giving birth to her daughter. It was not something that was planned, but her labor went quicker than expected and before we knew it, it was time to for her to push. She asked that my Mom and I stay with her for the delivery. How exciting it was to see new life come into the world. It sounds sappy, but the look on my sister's face after giving birth to Katie was pure joy.
For me, giving birth signified the start of my own family and I wanted it to be an intimate experience for just my husband and me. So, we choose to have our birthing experience be a more private one.
Whatever your decision, it will be the right one for you. Whether you want a cast of thousands or just your partner, it is your experience and together with your doctor, you decide how you want to welcome your baby into the world.
Posted by: drchang in Pregnancy Delivery on
Jun 12, 2008
Ahhh..the birth plan. A blueprint for how you want your delivery to be. A declaration of how your birth experience is going to be. This may surprise you, but....
The declared birth plan probably comes to fruition in one of ten deliveries. Pregnancy, birth, and the 18 years that come after will not fall into any "plan." I've often been asked about the birth plan and what I think about the various aspects of it. "It's so confusing. There are so many things! How can I decide??!" YOU DON'T HAVE TO. Really. In all honesty, not only do you not need to, you really shouldn't marry yourself to one idea or another. This is not to say you shouldn't think about the issues and possibilities. You definitely want to have thought about pain control, episiotomy, etc. All I'm saying is that when the time comes for labor and delivery, your experience depends mostly on how your labor is going and how your baby is doing. Is has very little to do with how you originally planned for the
Wow. That title could mean anything, huh?! HA!
What I'm actually going to talk about a bit is intimacy - specifically, between you and your husband. In the process of chatting with my pateints, the subject of the husband's desire for intimacy with them often comes up. It actually goes both ways. What I mean is - some husbands seem to have found some long lost aphrodisiac during your pregnancy, some husbands seem to withdraw.
First, the ones that can't get enough. (OK, OK; I know. For some you, that's pretty much the way it is pregnancy or no....!) Many men actually find a pregnant woman very attractive. That's not weird! A lot of my patients think that their husbands are somehow crazy for finding them MORE attractive during pregnancy - a time when most women are thinking, "Man, I'm totally awkward and decidedly UNattractive." Your husband really doesn't think so. Sexual intercourse is actually safe and healthy during pregnancy (with some exceptions, but your doctor will be
Posted by: smottram in Untagged on
Jun 02, 2008
Choosing the names of our kids was no easy task. Talk about responsibility! My husband and I went about it in a very methodical manner. We decided that we would hold off on getting serious about the name game until we found out the gender of our baby. Yeah, right! As soon as I was pregnant I was online tracking down the most popular baby names, putting those names with our last name and even thinking about my favorite names for my dolls as a child (Rachel and Priscilla were at the top of the list).
Once we found out that our baby was a girl, I wrote down a list of the names that I really liked. Then, he could then look at the list and see if we had a "match." Well, we didn't get off that easily. He told me the names he hated and we were left with a list of names that he was lukewarm on and I was crazy about. Months went by and still no name. Finally, we narrowed it down to two names Lauren and Caroline. I tossed around these two names in my head for weeks. I would ask friends
