Preparing for Guests Tonight

I hate to admit it (because I miss all the foods I used to eat), but I have been feeling really good on this diet. I've been on it for a week with no cheating (even though I've made several batches of cookies for different events!), and I've lost 4 pounds. Hubby and I are looking into getting some home exercise equipment.

Breastfeeding is still going fine; eliminating grains and starches and fruits has not affected my milk supply. I only have one more week to go, and then I can start slowly adding those things back in.

I have been busy today getting things ready for friends to come over tonight. The house was already pretty clean, since we had prayer meeting here last night, but there are always things to do in the kitchen, of course. Our menu tonight is roast beef, fresh bread, green salad, and oatmeal-raisin cookies for dessert. I won't be eating the bread or cookies.

South Beach Diet

So I decided to try the South Beach diet, since it embodies most of the principles I was thinking about trying anyway...now I just have a title for what I'm doing. :-) I had heard mostly good things about the South Beach Diet for a couple of years but never looked into it until this point because I figured, with a trendy name like "South Beach Diet," it must be some unhealthy fad diet. But I read the book, and it seems to make sense.

There are three phases of the South Beach Diet...I am starting with phase one, which eliminates grains/starches, fruits, and pretty much all sugars (lactose in dairy products is considered okay) for two weeks. I have read in several places that a nursing mom really shouldn't do phase one, and instead go directly to stage two, but I think that is probably for lactating mothers of young infants. Baby Boy is almost ten months old and is getting a lot of his nutrition from solid foods at this point. Plus, I am eating lots of protein and plenty of calories, so I don't think my milk will dry up.

I don't miss bread at all. I do miss my morning bowl of oatmeal, and I miss fruit. But I know the deprivation is only for two weeks, and then I can start adding things back in. I have been following the diet for a couple of days, and I feel really good. I am realizing that grains might have a tendency to produce bloating and gas in me (I know it would probably help if I diligently soaked my grains as a good Nourishing Traditions devotee should), because I have had a marked decrease in these annoyances since I stopped eating grains. I am feeling less sluggish, and I have had a lot of energy. I think my stomach has gotten a little flatter.

Updated to add: Oh, yeah, another thing that has motivated me to change my eating habits is an episode I had about two weeks ago. I woke up in the middle of the night with terrible, horrible stomach cramps. I mean, they were so bad, they woke me up out of a deep sleep. It felt like I was in labor, except the pain was steady instead of coming in waves, like contractions. I honestly thought I must be pregnant without knowing it and was having a miscarriage. But after about fifteen minutes of me moaning and crying and writhing, the pain subsided, and I was able to drift back to sleep. In the morning, I was absolutely fine. I figured out that I wasn't pregnant, so to this day, I don't know if it was just bad menstrual cramps or related to something I ate, but man, I don't want to experience that again.

Habits

Today I did a lot of tidying-up around the house, which is fortunate because I found out in the late afternoon that some relatives are coming to visit tomorrow morning!

I took Stephanie's advice in the comments of my last post and the only carb I had today, other than lots of veggies and some raisins for a snack, was brown rice for dinner. I am also avoiding junk food and trying to eat smaller portions.

For the past month or so, I have been taking a nap every afternoon while Baby Boy takes his second nap, but all the housework wasn't getting done. Today I stayed up and worked, and lo and behold, the house is clean tonight. The reason I've been needing to take naps is that I haven't been getting enough sleep at night, so I'm going to try not taking naps and just going to bed earlier. I love getting enough sleep, but it's always so tempting to stay up and read or dink around on the internet. But I am seeing that I need to be more disciplined in a lot of areas of my life, and sleep is one of them.

The house is clean, but bare. We have more wall space in this apartment than in our last one, so now I need to come up with some pretty yet inexpensive ways to decorate. We still (after 2 1/2 years!) haven't gotten enlargements made of any of our wedding photos, but once we do, I'd love to have some of them on the walls. I grew up in a house with pictures all down the hallway, so now that I live in a place with a hallway, I see it as just begging for pictures.

Well, I have a little free time tonight, so I'm going to do some reading and then go to bed early.

Long, rambling post about weight

I cannot believe how much my child eats....and no matter how much I give him, he almost always wants more. He has six teeth and is able to feed himself finger foods pretty well. His favorites are sticks of bananas and cooked yams and thin slices of cheddar cheese. Today I gave him little blobs of homemade hummus on his tray. I also give him strips of homemade waffles and homemade graham crackers (softer and thicker than store-bought graham crackers). I am glad he is enjoying food and gaining weight.

I, on the other hand, need to go the opposite direction on the scale. Recently I found Blest With Sons' ten-month pictorial weight-loss chronicle. She lost 78 pounds! I am so impressed...and inspired. I try to eat pretty healthy, but I know I could do better, and my only official exercise is a daily walk. For the first few months after Baby Boy was born, I steadily dropped some pounds, but I've totally plateaued for the past, oh, five months at a number much higher than I wish it were. Maybe someday I'll get brave enough to post my actual weight here for accountability, when I finally decide to get serious and lose thirty pounds. I still haven't figured out why I gained over sixty pounds when I was pregnant. Waaaaah. My body will never be the same again. Okay, I'm pulling myself together now. :-)

My main reason for delaying getting serious about losing weight is that I am still breastfeeding, and I'm worried that my milk will dry up if I exercise a lot and change my eating habits. But I really want to get down to a reasonable weight before getting pregnant again (and gain not more than thirty pounds during pregnancy next time around). So now I'm torn between wanting to nurse my baby as long as he wants and needs (I've always thought I would breastfeed for at least eighteen months) and losing weight. I am pretty sure (at least I'm hoping) that my body is "holding on" to five or ten pounds while I am lactating. I've talked to lots of women who say that was the case for them. So maybe when I stop breastfeeding, at least a few pounds will come off relatively effortlessly.

My husband is so sweet; I truly believe that he thinks I am beautiful no matter what I look like, but I need to lose weight for me. I want to be healthier and have more energy; I want to feel pretty and not frumpy. I want clothes to fit me again.

But to be completely transparent, I'm afraid to start trying to lose weight in case it doesn't "work," and then I'd be so disappointed.

Warning--Girly Post

In the past year of so, I've become aware of a lot of problems with tampons (dioxin, fibers scratching the vagina, toxic shock syndrome, environmental pollution, etc.), and to a lesser degree, with disposable pads. In my mid-teens, I stopped using disposable pads because they gave me a rash and were very uncomfortable to me, and I switched to tampons. Well, I have been looking for a more natural alternative to tampons. At first, I tried the Diva Cup, but so far I have not been satisfied with it and I am thinking of returning it. I trimmed the stem some, but it still pokes me, and I always feel the cup inside me. I really want it to work, but I am not as motivated to keep trying, now that I have...reusable cloth pads. I ordered some from New Moon Pads. They are very soft--way more comfortable than scratchy disposable pads--and they are not bulky. In fact, when I got them, I was amazed at how thin they are. The pads have a fleece layer to prevent leak-through (it works!). They are super-easy to care for. I don't find it "gross" to wash pads. Menstrual blood is not any more "dirty" than when you cut your finger and it bleeds.
When you use reusable menstrual products, you are keeping chemicals away from your body and you are not filling up landfills. And reusable cloth pads are very economical. For example, I got 3 pantiliners, 2 light pads, 4 regular pads, and an overnight pad for $39. You can wash and re-use them indefinitely (at least 10 years, probably longer). So once you get your initial "stock," you are good to go for a long time. No more laying down $5 for disposable products every 28 days! From New Moon Pads' info page:

"DID YOU KNOW? On average, one New Moon Pad costs approximately the same as one cycles worth of disposable products. Approximately 12-18 cloth pads are needed to get through one cycle (depending on how often you launder). That means New Moon Pads pay for themselves after just
1 to 1.5 years. PAD LIFE EXPECTANCY 10 years SAVINGS (you ready for this?) 8.5 to 9 years of no cost coverage! ...and that's just the financial savings...there's the health/comfort factor and environmental savings to consider as well."

By the way, you can find other frugal tips over at Biblical Womanhood.

Edited to add: Oh, and one more thing--the bigger reusable pads have extra layers and are great for postpartum bleeding. I think they would be so much nicer on tender just-pushed-out-a-baby parts than disposable pads.

Rain

Yesterday I received in the mail a stroller rain cover I purchased on Ebay, and today I got to try it out! It is a Protect-a-Bub cover, and it works great, except for the fact that Baby Boy loves to kick it and chew on the clear vinyl "window." But at least it keeps the rain off.

We went to the park, and I let Baby Boy go in the swing, even though it was sprinkling. Recently I read a quote I like--I think in a book about Montessori learning. It is: "There's no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing." I don't know if I'll ever get around to it, but I would love to cross-stitch that saying along with pictures of kids playing in rain or snow.

Well, I may or may not be going to Hubby's company BBQ tonight (it will be canceled if it is raining), but I am supposed to bring a fruit salad and a dessert. For the dessert, I think I'm just going to make oatmeal chocolate chip cookies; if we don't end up going to the BBQ, I can just bring them to church on Sunday.

Baby Boy has become such a good sleeper lately (finally)! He takes two naps every day, usually from around 9:15-10:30/10:45, and from around 1:15-3:30/3:45. He goes to bed between 6:30 and 7:00, and sleeps straight through until around 5:30 A.M. We let him babble and play in his crib until 6:00, and then we get him up. I wonder if he will always be such an early riser. It suits our family, though, since Hubby usually leaves for work around 6:30 A.M. Since Baby Boy gets up early, Hubby is able to spend a few minutes with him before he leaves for work.

Peaceful Day

Since we moved a few weeks ago, I've gotten in the habit of taking Baby Boy to a park every morning that is about a 15-minute walk from our house. He loves to ride in the stroller and often babbles and sings. Sometimes he tries to imitate the sounds of sirens or dogs barking. This morning I pushed him in a swing at the park (he giggles hilariously when I push him from behind for a while and then run around to the front and say, "Peekaboo!"). Then we went down a slide a few times, and we patted some trees and bushes together. (I so want to live in the country, but I do the best I can in the city to introduce my baby to nature).

Then Baby Boy took a two-hour morning nap (which he very rarely does). When he woke up, we played "Come to Mama,"--I sat him down in the middle of the hallway and then I went to the end of the hallway and cajoled him to come to me. It took him about 10 minutes, but he eventually got there by laying on his back and scooting backwards to me. He's nine months now and not crawling, but I'm not too worried--my mom says I went straight from rolling and scooting to walking and never crawled, so maybe Baby Boy is taking after me. Still, babies are just so cute when they crawl that I would like Baby Boy to crawl if only for that reason, but I know he'll develop at his own pace.

Then I put him on my back in the Ergo (yay, I finally figured out how to do it! It's not as easy as the women on the video clips make it seem) and vacuumed the house and did the dishes and prepared some "finger foods" for him. Hubby and I can't eat in front of him any more without giving him some food, too, or else Baby Boy gets very upset. He wants to be in on the action (and do whatever he sees Papa and Mama doing)!

Oops

Kind of funny that this should follow my post on baby food, but...ever forget to feed your kid lunch? I did today. I realized it as I was nursing him after he woke up from his afternoon nap at around 2:45. I finished nursing him and then gave him his solid food lunch. The break from routine didn't seem to bother him, but I'll try not to let it happen again. :-)

Baby Food

On Mother's Day, Hubby took me to lunch at an Italian restaurant close to our new house. He asked me what I wanted for Mother's Day, and I said, "Well, there are a couple of books I've been wanting...". I ordered Breastfeeding and Natural Child Spacing, by Sheila K. Kippley, and The Naturally Healthy Pregnancy, by Shonda Parker.

We are very slowly uncovering the carpet in our house as we put boxes of things away. I have most of my kitchen things put away now. Yesterday and this morning, I made approximately 8 dozen food cubes for Baby Boy, in 5 varieties:

1) chicken, barley, carrots, celery, tomato, green beans, peas, onion
2) chicken, barley, peas
3) chicken, sweet potato, applesauce
4) beef, sweet potato
5) bananas, avocado

I feed Baby Boy meat twice a day because it is the best source of iron (well, along with breastmilk). So far, I don't give him any supplements, so I make sure his food is nutritious. I buy organic foods for him whenever possible. I make him porridges with different grains, such as brown rice, quinoa, millet, barley, and oats. One meal a day, he gets whole plain yogurt mixed with a fruit or fruit and a grain. Baby Boy loves to eat. :-) I breastfeed him 4-5 times a day. My goal is to keep breastfeeding for at least 18 months. I enjoy it, and so does he, and it's good for both of us. However, I do look forward to being able to wear dresses again. I don't have any nursing dresses, because they are very expensive to buy new and I've never seen any at secondhand stores.

Unpacking

Wow, what a whirlwind the last few days have been! My back and feet are so sore--partly from lifting and unpacking boxes, partly from holding Baby Boy more than usual--this move has been tough on him. On Sunday, he just cried and cried as people carried everything out of our old apartment to go in the moving truck. We had a lot of people from church helping us; otherwise, there's no way we could have moved all that stuff in one day. All the chaos has been traumatic for Baby Boy...he doesn't want me to put him down or leave him by himself. He is nursing a lot longer than usual, like he doesn't want to let me go. It's kind of nice to be his comforter. I like that he feels secure with me.

We have three bedrooms now. One for Baby Boy, one for Hubby and me, and one for an office/storage room. Hubby found a nice California king bed for us on Craigslist. We just got it set up last night. It's really firm, which we like. It feels like an acre compared to the queen bed we've slept on for the past two years. A California king is four inches longer than a regular king bed, which is so nice for Hubby, who is almost six-and-a-half feet tall.

We also have two bathrooms now, which can be convenient. I have less space in this kitchen than I had in my old one, so I'm working on paring down my kitchen gear.

We have a little balcony. After we finish getting things out of boxes and putting everything away, I want to put some plants out there. It doesn't get a lot of sun, so I'm thinking maybe petunias or some other flowers that do okay in shade.

I love it that there is a public library ten blocks from our new house! It's a small one, without storytimes or many special activities, but at least I can put books on hold online and pick them up at this branch. I love to read, and so does Baby Boy, so it's very exciting to me to live so close to a library.

A friend of mine from church found out that she didn't have to go in to work, so she called and asked if I wanted to go to coffee. Hubby had the car with Baby Boy's carseat in it, so we couldn't drive anywhere, but we decided to walk to a coffee shop we had heard about. Baby Boy came too, of course. He enjoys riding in his stroller. The coffee shop turned out to be a great place for conversation, and they have good food, too. I am sure I will go back again sometime.

The reason we moved, among other things, is that we are part of a home church, and we are trying to all move into the same part of town so we can have fellowship with each other and reach out to the community together. Neither Hubby nor I specifically have the gift of evangelism (if you're wondering, Hubby's main spiritual gifts are discernment, teaching, service/helps, and exhortation; mine are mercy and possibly hospitality), but we still want to share Jesus with people. We just need to start doing it. As soon as I get my kitchen stuff unpacked, I am planning to make cookies for the other people in our building. Then maybe we can invite someone over for dinner and games and start to build relationships.

Well, there's so much I could be working on...I'm going to do a little more and then call it a night.

Roseola

I am posting this here mainly for my own personal record, but anyone else is welcome to know too:

I am pretty sure Baby Boy had roseola but is over it now. He had had a slight fever (only around 99-100 degrees) off and on for a couple days last week. I didn't think much of it, and just breastfed him a lot, and then he was fine. Then on the evening of May 1, I noticed a rash on his chest and tummy. In the morning, it was covering his front and back, on his neck, and very lightly on his face. He had no fever at all at that time and was perfectly happy, so from my research I concluded it was not measles (because he would have been acting a lot sicker and would have a high fever), but roseola. It was mostly gone yesterday (May 3), and seems to be all gone now.

Moving Update

I am feeling a little ::ahem:: a lot behind on packing. We're moving in three days! Yikes! Not only do I still have a lot of packing to do, but I want to be caught up on laundry before we move because we're not positive we'll have a washer and dryer as soon as we move in (a friend from church is generously letting us borrow her practically-new washer and dryer; the place she's in now came with a washer and dryer, so hers have just been sitting in storage for several years).

I usually cook Baby Boy's food ahead of time and freeze servings in ice cube trays, but I'm thinking I might just buy some store-bought baby food for the next few days. It would save a lot of time, as using homemade food involves heating the cubes in a saucepan, grinding up grains in the blender and cooking them, and then doing all the dishes!

Well, I'm off to find something not-too-noisy (no pots and pans!) to pack while Baby Boy takes a nap.

We're Moving in One Week!

I have packed a grand total of two boxes. :-) I'm planning to pack up the stuff in my china cabinet today.

This past few weeks, Baby Boy's hair has grown like crazy. I actually have to use a comb or brush on it when we go out. He seems intrigued that he has hair on the back of his head now and likes to twirl it between his fingers.

We have a plastic grocery bag holder hanging on our fridge. Every time I walk by the fridge carrying Baby Boy, he flails all his limbs and s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-s to bat at the holder (he likes the crinkly noise it makes). I recently discovered that it cracks him up if I squeeze the thing repeatedly. He will just laugh and laugh. It's cheap entertainment. :-)

A Longwinded Post About Not Much

Disclaimer--girly talk to follow:

I got my cycle back a couple of months ago after being in a state of amenorrhea since Baby Boy's birth. My cycle has always been like clockwork, and when it came back, everything was just the same as before--same duration of my period, same number of days in a cycle, etc. But this month my period didn't come (and still hasn't). So yesterday I thought I'd better take a trip to Ye Olde Dollar Store for a pregnancy test (I'm so glad I finally read on someone's blog about dollar stores having reliable pregnancy tests, so now I don't have to blow $8 on one from the drugstore).

I've been to a dollar store before where the pregnancy tests were right where they should have been in the health and beauty aisle. But this time I'm at a different store. I wander pretty much all over the store two or three times and don't see any pregnancy tests (did I mention that I'm trying to hurry because Hubby called while I was on my way into the store and wants me to pick him up, plus, I'm lugging my hefty 20-pound Baby Boy around in my arms because I forgot the Ergo at home). So I approach a grumpy-looking clerk in the middle of the store who is ripping boxes open. "Do you carry pregnancy tests?" I ask, wondering if she's thinking why on earth I need a pregnancy test when I already have a young baby, a question that I'll admit has entered my mind as well (not that I wouldn't love another baby, but, you know . . . a little more time between kiddos would be nice).

Without so much as a hint of a smile, she glares at me and says, "We keep them up at the front of the store, at register 1." I go to register 1, expecting that the tests are in a locked case or something and the register 1 clerk will get out what I need and ring me up. Except there is no register 1 clerk (in fact, none of the registers are open--the aforementioned clerk seems to be the only employee in the store). The tests hang on hooks high up on the wall, just out of my reach. I return to the clerk and say, "I can't reach the tests." She sighs, rolls her eyes, and says, "All right, I'll have to climb up on the counter." I follow her back to register one, where she gets up on the counter. "Um, could you grab three?" I ask. She hands them to me. I thank her and smile. Her lip twitches slightly in acknowledgment.

I get in line. By this time, my back and arms are aching. There are a couple of people in line, but they graciously tell me to go ahead of them. I thank them repeatedly.

Then it's off to pick up Hubby, who is in the Urgent Care waiting room. He hit his forehead on a drawer at work, and the on-site nurse told him he should get the wound glued to reduce the likelihood of scarring. We agreed that we didn't want Baby Boy around ill people in the waiting room, so I did my errands while Hubby found out how long the wait would be. We have long enough to get a quick lunch, so we go through the drive-through of Carl's Jr. Now, keep in mind, we do not eat fast food very often at all, and after this experience, it will be a long time until I'm ready to try it again. Hubby orders a chicken sandwich, and I order a Guacamole Bacon Burger (now I know that guacamole does not belong with burgers). We finish giving our order through the speaker, then pull forward to the window. There is zero wait; they immediately hand us our food in a bag (am I the only one disturbed when it takes no time at all to prepare fast food? I guess they just had it already sitting around...ew). My sandwich comes in a box with a label that reads, "Friday." This is Tuesday! What is that supposed to mean? (Maybe I don't want to know.) I force myself to eat as much as I can of the lukewarm, dry-pattied burger (after all, it did cost six dollars!). I feel so disgusting when I come home that I eat a bunch of fruit, some plain yogurt, and an oatmeal muffin, as if those foods could cancel out eating the burger.

By the way, if you're wondering, I took a pregnancy test yesterday and one this morning, and they were both negative. My hypothesis is that I kicked my body back into amenorrhea because I've been letting Baby Boy sleep with me in bed almost the whole night and nursing him frequently, for better or for worse.

Oh, one more thing: I went through all my old posts and changed names to "Hubby" and "Baby Boy," removed locations, etc. This is just for the safety and privacy of my family. If you are a long-time reader, I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't use their real names. Thanks a lot! Otherwise, I will have to switch to moderating comments.

I'm Back!

I missed blogging too much. :-) I'm back, and I'll try to be posting regularly.

Baby Boy is 7 1/2 months old now. He is eating solid foods now, which I make myself by pureeing and freezing foods in ice cube trays (I learned about that from the book Super Baby Food on my reading list). He loves to suck his thumb, which gets lots of smiles when we're out and about. He is normally a pretty cheerful guy, but he has had a cold and slight fever for a couple of days, so he is grumpy and miserable and not sleeping very well. I've been nursing him a lot and giving him some extra T.L.C.

Not that I really need another hobby, but I love having candles burning in my home and have always wanted to try making them myself. I ordered some candle making supplies last week, and they arrived today. I made my first batch tonight (a tropical fruit/coconut scent), so the house smells pretty yummy!

We are moving in two weeks, and I haven't yet begun to pack (although I did get rid of some things the other day). We have been living in a one-bedroom apartment for so long, I'm sure the three-bedroom apartment we're moving to will seem like a palace!

Hubby recently started a full-time technology job, which suits him to a "T." He has to work an average of 8 hours a day, but which hours he works is up to him. It is different having him gone all day, but Baby Boy and I are adjusting. We surely love it when he comes home. I think it's the highlight of Baby Boy's day. When I hear Hubby pull in the driveway or come up the stairs, I announce, "Papa's home!" and Baby Boy flails his arms and looks at the door expectantly. It's so cute!

Our Christmas

We had a nice extended Christmas with my family. The one thing that was a bummer was that something went wrong with the transmission in our car when we were about halfway to my parents' on Christmas Eve. We pulled over on the freeway and Hubby was checking fluids, etc. (after dark, in torrential rain), and a policeman pulled up behind us and called a tow truck for us. The ride in the tow truck cab was cozy with the driver on the left, Baby Boy in his carseat (partially covering the poor driver's gearshift) in the middle, and me sitting on Hubby's lap on the right. Fortunately, we only had to go a few miles that way. Our car is still at the shop and will be for a few more days, so my mom was our transportation the rest of the way to my parents' house and back to our house again.

On Christmas, we went to my Grandma's house, and the day after Christmas we got together with my other grandparents at a restuarant. I also met with two of my lifelong friends (one of them just got engaged this Christmas!).

Hubby was very busy in the days after Christmas doing some audio equipment installation at a church in my parents' area, and the project ended up taking longer than anticipated, so we stayed with my parents for a few extra days. They didn't mind having a few more days with their grandson (Baby Boy is their first grandchild).

Merry Christmas!

Jesus is the reason for the season! :-)

Thoughts About Childbirth

Some women love childbirth. You can read all kinds of articles on the internet by women who say it was a natural high, that they loved every minute of it, that it was even pleasurable. I went into labor hoping I would be one of those women. I really tried to not think of contractions as pain, but as “rushes” (a la Ida May Gaskin) that helped move my baby down. I tried to distract myself during contractions by singing or remembering Hubby’s and my honeymoon in Hawaii or conjuring up other relaxing images in my mind.

I was determined to do everything as naturally as possible (no drugs, etc.), and I did, but boy did it hurt! It was NOT pleasurable. The only thing in the whole process that I remember as pleasurable was when the placenta came out. I barely even had to push; it just plopped out into a bowl, and the relief I felt then was marvelous. But before that point, I had about 8 hours of light contractions, 48 hours of strong, REALLY PAINFUL contractions, and a couple hours of pushing. It was the hardest thing I have ever done, and (gasp!) I didn’t actually enjoy it very much. But getting to meet my baby was amazing.

I am writing all this because I found myself thinking this morning that someday it will be wonderful to grow another person in my womb and add another tiny, totally dependent newborn to our family. Baby boy is not a newborn any more. He can entertain himself for a while with toys, he sleeps in his own crib (most of the time), and Mama is no longer his whole entire world (although he still likes me quite a bit). :-)

Some women say, “Oh, just wait a while, you’ll forget all about the pain of childbirth.” Well, it’s been four months, and I still vividly remember the pain. I don’t think I will ever forget it. I do want more babies, lots of them, but I’ll admit I don’t want to ever go through labor again (although, Lord willing, I will do it again, because it’s worth it in the end).

I never understood the sacrifice that my mother and all mothers around the world have made in giving birth and caring 24/7 for a child until I became a mother. This is what God put me here for, to love my husband and grow babies and yes, give birth to them. I’m not saying I have no other purpose than to take care of my husband and babies, but I think that is the most important thing I do. What could be more important than raising up people from infancy to adulthood to love and obey the Lord? Then, I hope and pray, my children will pass on this godly heritage to their own children, and on and on and on until Jesus returns.

Edited to add:

For clarification:

The reasons I chose not to use any drugs were that 1) they can easily pass to the baby, with detrimental effects, and 2) any "unnatural" interventions in the labor process can lead to the need for more and more interventions, and possibly a C-section in the end--for an example, read How Childbirth Went Industrial.

I wanted to do what was best for my baby and for me, and I honestly believe that choosing the pain was the best option in my case. Besides, the sense of accomplishment I felt when my baby was finally here, and without drugs or interventions, was huge. I didn't have to wonder if drugs were affecting my baby's first minutes and hours. Baby Boy was very calm but alert, and his Apgar scores were 10 and 10.

That being said, I know there is a point when drugs or C-sections may be necessary, but the percentage of women who really need them is very small.

I'm hoping that my next labor is a lot shorter! It usually is, with the second child.

Sleep Training

I made lasagne for dinner, and I am in the process of making yogurt. I have tried making yogurt with nonfat milk and didn't care for it much, so I am trying whole milk this time.

I think I will feed Baby Boy once at 10 when I go to bed, and then again sometime during the night (probably around 2). Even though it's been a week of trying to train him to sleep through the night, he still wakes up every night between 1 and 3 and cries. He goes back to sleep, but then he continues waking up, crying, and going back to sleep several times throughout the night. Last night, it seemed like it was at least once an hour. I think he really might be uncomfortably hungry. I'm not gaining anything (like a full night's sleep) by not feeding him at night, because he still wakes up and wakes us up. Maybe if I just feed him once in the middle of the night, that will keep him satisfied until morning, and we will all sleep better.

As far as I know, we are done with all our Christmas shopping, and I only have a couple more gifts to wrap.

Homemade Rice-a-Roni

Today I bought 2 shirts at Target, read books to Baby Boy, took a walk with Baby Boy in the Ergo (he hardly ever falls asleep in it anymore; he likes to look around), and started crocheting a hat (it's cold here!). For dinner I made homemade Rice-a-Roni and served it with chicken. Here's the recipe, which can easily be doubled for larger families:

Rice-a-Roni

Ingredients:

-1/4 cup (1/2 a stick) butter
-1 4-oz. can sliced mushrooms
-3 stalks of celery, thinly sliced
-1/4 cup chopped onion
-1 cup white long-grain rice
-3 cups chicken broth
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-3/4 teaspoon oregano

Procedure:

Melt butter in large pot; saute mushrooms, celery, and onion. Add uncooked rice and cook until golden brown, stirring frequently. Add broth, salt, and oregano, and bring to boil. Transfer to covered 2-quart casserole. It will look very liquidy, but the rice will absorb the liquid. Bake at 450 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until rice is puffy.

I have never tried using brown rice for this recipe. If anyone wants to experiment with cooking times for brown rice, let me know what you come up with.