No Pain, No Gain?

So apparently there's some pain during child birth. As one of Mommy's friends once described it: "It's like squeezing a watermelon through a quarter sized whole." Some other people talk about the fact that sometimes there's a tear between the one hole and the other one. Some emphasize that its not just about the area down below; it's about the whole body experience. That your back aches, you don't get to eat for hours, you are sweating, losing consciousness etc. Sometimes, I hear, there are also complications. Like some babies are shy and nervous and decide they want to come out feet first and others try to push the placenta out before they come out.

For these various reasons and others, mothers today have a variety of pain medications they can use during labor and delivery. Some medications can be given intravenously (that means through the veins), others are given through the/ around the spinal cord.

Some of these medications cause labor to slow down because women can't feel anything so the urge to push is not as strong, others cause drowsiness and nausea. Some women feel itchy and others have headaches. Mommy's not sure how she would react to the medicine. The effect of these medicines on the baby are in some instances known and others unknown. At Mommy's old hospital she was told that 95% of women get epidurals (that's the one that goes in the spine). So it's pretty common these days to get drugs to assist. Doctors at the hospital, people on line, others in books laugh and say, most women who go in "saying no drugs" come out with an assisted labor. After all, that's what medical science has done for us.

Still Mommy's not convinced. She and Daddy went to a natural labor video presentation that showed all kinds of women in San Francisco having babies in tubs of water or on their bamboo floors without drugs and they didn't die from pain. Mommy's got bamboo floors. Daddy could grow a goatee. Auntie Wendy gave Mommy a book called "Active Labor" it talks about women using their various natural techniques to have drug free pregnancies. They did it.

So because so many people seem to be able to have babies without drugs (like women in over half of the world), then why can't Mommy?

On top of the potential reactions Mommy could have or I could have to the drugs and the fact that other people can do it, there's a principal here: Why take a tram to the top of the mountain if you can hike? When you get to the top of a hike you feel the pride of accomplishment of the hike plus the wonder of nature. If you take a helicopter to the top and arrive under a drug haze, can you really experience the magic of being on the top of the mountain?

So no drugs it is. The only exception Mommy is willing to make is if the drugs are needed to save Mommy's or my life. Otherwise, let it rip! We got this far for a purpose; we're not sleeping yet!

The Most Exciting Part of the Baby Moon

The rest of the Baby Moon was fun. They had great food and made new friends. Mommy and Daddy walked to the top of a large hill to see a lighthouse. Being the adventurous bunch that they are they snorkeled in a rocky spot called Shark's Cove. That was fun. Mommy floated in water (in between rocks) looking at fish. I thought I was going to be born in Hawaii a few times esp. when she almost fell a few times trying to get out of the water. It's not easy, they say, to walk on slippery rocks with snorkeling fins and a 7th month pregnant belly.

But the best part of the trip was the Polynesian Cultural Center. Mommy and Daddy went (on the only day of their trip to be slightly cold and rainy) to the PCC to learn more about eight different Polynesian cultures/islands and to enjoy a luau and a show called "Ha, the Breath of Life." There's a picture of the pig (poor thing) that was cooked in an under ground pit for the luau and a video on Ha. The Ha story was about a baby (like me) being born and his journey through life. They had pretty women dancing, guys doing all kinds of things with fire, and lots of singing. But the part that I was awake for was the drumming. When the drummers were drumming I was kicking hard and fast as I could. It was fun. I think I need a drum set.

Owls and Birds have Arrived

My big day is two months away and Mommy and Daddy are back from their Hawaiian vacation. They are working on getting my room done before my arrival. Mommy originally said before the "baby celebration party" (also known as the non-baby shower) but that's not going to happen. Still I'm excited to see some more progress as the owls and birds have joined the mural! Still to come carpet, refurbishing the rocking chair, window treatments (mommy's still convinced she can sew curtains) and incorporating the craft area! Oh, and at some point I will need a crib. :)

Oh My God, She's Pregnant (Diamond Head Crater)

On day two of the Baby Moon (yesterday) Mommy and Daddy went on a hike. Mommy is almost 7 months pregnant. Daddy said the hike was probably more like a walk and it was only 3/4 of a mile. Mommy forgot one of the cardinal rules when doing anything with Daddy (do your own research). How hard could it be? There were several touristy people around with flip flops and street clothes? (Mommy forgot the second cardinal rule, don't judge the trail by what the tourists have on.) Certain tourists from certain countries will hike in flip flops and carry large cameras regardless. The trail started out rather simple. It was a long and flat paved road. A woman passed Mommy and Daddy and told Daddy "You might need to carry her part of the way." Hah Hah Hah.

Soon they were off the paved wide road and on a dirt path. Mommy had water and they stopped here and there. Then the switchbacks started and the trail started on a ever increasing upwards slope (in fact later Mommy learned that the trail clims 560 feet). The trail was packed with people. Behind Mommy and Daddy was a group of Japanese high school age teens. Mommy called them the "Alohas." The group of 50-70 kids said "Aloha" to each person that walked by them. Each of them said it, every time. So you heard a chorus of "Aloha, aloha, aloha, indescript Japanese.... aloha, giggle giggle, more indescript Japanese." The train soon turned to a steep stair way of 74 concrete steps. The "light" at the end of that tunnel was a 225 foot long narrow tunnel. By this point, due to water breaks, the "Aholas" had caught up with Mommy and Daddy. So they walked through the dark tunnel (which didn't have much air) with the sound of "Aloha, aloha, aloha, indescript Japanese.... aloha, giggle giggle, more indescript Japanese."

In addition to the Alohas, Mommy also started to hear people talking about her. Now after the tunnel Mommy and Daddy were on the second "stairway" which was 99 steeps steps. People were now saying, "Oh my God, she's pregnant." Every once in a while the on lookers who were panting and complaining about the summit would stop and talk to Mommy. One person said, "You must be in really great shape." Mommy replied "Yes, that or I'm just stupid." Another group coming down from the hike yelled to Mommy, "Wow, that baby is going to come out running a marathon!" Other people would just utter things like"that's amazing" and "Are you going ALL the way to the top?" "yes, but I'll take breaks Mommy said." At some point (in fairness to Daddy) he did say, you know if you want you could just wait here and I'll go up and come back down." Mommy quipped back, "Oh yeah I'd love to sit in the sun and wait for you to come back. No, I'm here now. I'm going to finish this too." Daddy said something about Mommy needing to think smarter and Mommy said something like "Well maybe you shouldn't have said this was easy and 3/4 a mile." Daddy then replied, "I never said it was 3/4 a mile. I said it was .8 a mile. Plus there's the incline." That would have gone on more if Mommy (after realizing she was becoming a side show star) hadn't decided to bask in the "did you see there's a pregnant woman coming up?". Then there were more spiral steps and followed by the last set of metal stairs. The top was beautiful. As always, the hike up is hard but the end product makes it worth it (that's Mommy's justification for natural birth). On the way down, there were more people who shamelessly stopped complaining about the uphill when they saw Mommy coming down. At the exit of the park, Mommy and Daddy took a picture by the Diamond Head Crater sign. The girl that took the picture said, "Did you go up ALL the way to the top? " "Yes." "But really the WHOLE way."

This is what Mommy says happened, I don't really know. The sun and constant rocking motion put me to sleep. But Mommy was comforted when I started to move and kick after she drank a smoothie.

Air Plane Drama

Mommy and Daddy are on the Baby Moon in Hawaii. Mommy arrived Thursday night (Hawaii time). The plane ride was LONG. She flew from DC to Cali and then Cali to Honolulu. The overall trip was ok. The first leg was in "regular" class and the second was in first class (thank God for upgrades!!). The two parts couldn't have been more different. On her first leg Mommy was beside a man who kept coughing and had a weird random skin disease. Parts of his hand arm and neck were ruby red and purple and parts were flaking. Did I mention he was coughing too? So Mommy being paranoid and slightly hypochondrictic went through her mental rolodex of diseases to figure out what was wrong with the poor soul beside her. Could it be (unfortunately) Kaposi sarcoma, or something as simple as a birth mark or burns from him heroically saving a baby cat from a burning barn? But what if it was Impetigo or scabies???

But Mommy had even bigger things to worry about on the flight. Pregnant woman are more susceptible to getting deep vein thrombosis (DVT), which is when (after improper circulation) a blood clot forms and then that clot can travel to your heart and cause a pulmonary embolism. Yes, I know big words for a baby but Mommy reads lots of medical literature and other random books on health. So the doctor (and all the websites that Mommy checked) said she make sure to walk around the plane (so blood doesn't pool in her legs) EVERY hour. Yes, every hour Mommy was instructed to walk around the plane EVERY hour.

Buy how could she? How could she get up from the window seat with Mr. Purple Arm Cough A lot and the woman (didn't even get to her, she was old and had on a neck brace) in the aisle seat? Mommy hoped the pair would have to go to the bathroom frequently. But a las they appeared to have 5 gallon size bladders. They never had to pee. Mommy watched as other people milled about the plane, stretching their legs, using the bathroom at will, and enjoying life.

So after almost two and half hours, Mommy had to do something (she could feel her legs getting heavy despite all the yoga feet exercised she was doing) and she woke up Mr. Purple Arm Cough A lot and told him and Mrs. Older Neck Brace she had to use the bathroom. Rather begrudgingly the pair got up and let Mommy out. Yes, she was up! Now she wanted to walk around. Unfortunately the bathroom was two rows in front of Mommy and Mrs. Older Neck Brace didn't sit back down. Instead of taking her seat and finishing her crossword puzzle, she strangely waited (watching Mommy) for Mommy to come back and take her seat. Dag-Nab-It. Mommy had no choice bu to use the bathroom and then come back (like a good girl) and sit down.

An hour later (nervously checking her watch) Mommy knew she needed to get up. She was trying to drink as much water as possible to stay hydrated. Maybe her blood wouldn't coagulate if she was hydrated? When she was approaching two hours (again) she asked the pair to get up so she could go to the bathroom. She asked nicely in her softer high pitched voice (the voice she uses when she calls someone for the first time). The man rolled his eyes and huffed and puffed. What! Are you serious! Mommy was mad. Not only did she wait for a long time to get up again but she was pregnant. So Mommy said to the pair (this time with her Petersburg/SE DC/no me moleste voice), "I'm pregnant. I need to pee. The baby sits on my bladder. That's what pregnant women do, we pee."

The second leg of the flight was much different. People asked smiled at Mommy's big belly and asked her questions about being pregnant, men helped her with her suitcase, she had lunch and later they served cookies and milk. What's most importantly, on a six hour flight, Mommy got up seven times!!!!

Forest done!

Mommy worked on the nursery over the weekend. She painted the first part of the forest mural, the trees and the grass (yes, that's grass not little green mountains). At one point she was going to paint the animals of the forest too but as she is not a real live artist, she decided to purchase vinyl wall art. She hopes to have the owls, birds, and squirrel up on the wall soon. Then the other wall will be painted blue and a vinyl tree with an owl will be added. Finishing touches include a rug that looks like green grass and reupholstering the rocking chair. Oh, there's also trying to add in the years of creative supplies (beads, batik making items (mom wanted to start her own fabric decorating hustle at one point, scrapbook supplies, paint, and other items that responded to a moment of creativity) into the "Owls in the Forest" theme.