Ring of Fire

Houston... we have a belly

Well, this is the last week of the second trimester and my belly seems to be ballooning by the second. I'm happy to say that I no longer have a sore throat or any of the other ailments I was dealing with before. My dreams are no longer nightmares and I'm back to getting up only once or twice a night to go to the bathroom. No more getting up to blow my nose, clear my throat, or cough out a lung! Yay! Simply put, I'm feeling really good!

Baby Daniel seems to be on a pretty regular schedule of movement. He really likes it when I eat and starts to wiggle around a little after meals. His activity really picks up at night and he has started to show signs of responding to noise and voices. We were over at Auntie Danielle's yesterday for maybe an hour. He didn't move the whole time until she asked about him.

"How's Danny?" she asked.

As soon as she said his name, he swiftly kicked me in the gut. I laughed and was able to have Danielle put her hand over the spot so she could feel him kick and sure enough, he did it again. Such a show off! So far, I've been able to share his movement with Cam, Ashli, Cindy, and Danielle. Every time I'm able to share wiggles and kicks with a new person, I feel reassured that he is on his way and excited to be with us.

I've been in the habit of saying that I'm excited to meet him, but the truth is that I've known him for a very long time. I think the thing of it is, I just haven't been able to meet up with him in at least a few lifetimes. I guess it would be more accurate to say, I'm excited to finally reunite with him. Its been a long time coming and now it comes down to a mere three more months! Can't wait to hold you in my arms D.L.!

Probiotics and Colorpuncture and herbs... oh my!

Three weeks ago, I came down with a sore throat, congestion, coughing, swollen/sore glands, tons of mucus, aching muscles, and nightmares. With the use of natural remedies, I got the physical symptoms somewhat under control after 5 days, but just a few days later, everything came back in a flood. All the while I continued treatment and the cycle of getting better and worse continued.

Last night, I barely slept because of the pain in my throat and my inability to breathe. When I did manage to get a couple minutes of shut-eye, my nightmares disturbed me to to point of waking up again. This morning, I woke up to a swollen upper lip. That's when I had had enough! I called in sick to work and made few other phone calls.

I called my midwife to see what she suggested. She told me that since my gynecologist was also an MD, he would have good idea of what is okay to take when you're pregnant. So I did just that. I called and told the receptionist at my gynecologist's office of my symptoms, that they had persisted for three weeks, and now I had a swollen upper lip. I wanted to set up an appointment to talk to the doctor. She told me to try one of the following: Sudafed, Actifed, or Chlor-trimeton.

"All of those are safe to take during pregnancy. Try taking one and if it doesn't work, then call back and we can set up an appointment for you," she said.

WHAT!!!? I don't know why I'm so goddamn surprised. After all, this is the same office I had trouble with before. They are the epitome of what Western medicine has become... Just take something to mask the symptoms and avoid dealing with the root issue at all costs! Good grief! So I did a little research online and found a Naturopathic doctor whose specialty is womens' health. As a bonus, her office is 10 minutes away from my apartment.

I made my appointment with a nice receptionist who didn't question my concerns or make me feel stupid for calling. She scheduled me for a morning appointment today with no problems. I arrived and waited in the beautifully peaceful waiting room. The doctor herself came out to the waiting room and guided me to her office. She had me tell her all about my symptoms AND... drum roll please... my LIFE! God forbid, I am a human being with many complex intricacies.

My favorite part of Naturopathic medicine is the exchange of knowledge between client and doctor. The doctor is not the teacher or in an all-seeing "god" role. Both client and doctor are both teacher AND student with each other. When I was able to describe everything in full to her, I began to realize some things I hadn't before. Just by the simple mechanical act of vocalizing, my brain had been triggered!

The doctor listened and learned from and about me and we finally put together that in the process of this pregnancy, I have developed allergies to dairy, wheat gluten, and yeast. My allergies suppressed my immune system enough to pick up a virus. The virus has run its course for the most part, but the allergies remain.

What about the nightmares? We talked about that in-depth too! The nightmares and the flare-up of physical symptoms all started to appear around the same time my mom and I argued on the phone and I hung up on her. I haven't talked to her since and it seems that my nightmares center around a lack of communication with my mother.

In talking about emotional issues, the doctor brought up something I had never heard of before. Its called Colorpuncture. It uses the benefits of the spectrum of light by placing light on acupuncture points. It is based on the premise that humans are beings of light and cells use light energy to communicate and heal. I laid down on the table and she examined many acupuncture points on my body. She asked me about the sensitivity of each as she poked them with her instrument. From analyzing the results, she said that there is an imbalance in my liver that is related to anger.

She then took out a different instrument called an acu-light. Its a small flashlight-looking thing with a clear prism crystal at the end where the light comes out. She firmly placed the acu-light on each of the points on my back that were the most sensitive. Each color of the rainbow was used to create different frequencies of communication with my cells.

As she pressed the light prism against my back, I could see different colored patterns form through my eyes. It was an all-encompassing pattern that appeared no matter what I looked at. I could see these patterns in the same dimension that auras are visible...it was the weirdest thing. Its supposed to help me release anger and finally deal with my emotions, which will help provide some relief to the physical symptoms. I don't know how it works, but from the patterns I've seen in my eyes and the way I feel now, I trust that my cells have been reprogrammed in some way. We'll see if I have nightmares tonight.

Aside from Colorpuncture, I got a list of herbs and supplements for me to take that are safe during pregnancy. These include nettle, elderberry syrup, garlic, vitamin C, and echinacea. Contrary to my prior belief, echinacea is okay to take during pregnancy. I also got on a probiotic treatment of an acidophilus mixture that encourages the growth of good bacteria in my guts. I'm also supposed to abstain from all dairy, wheat, and yeast products.

After my appointment, I headed straight for Sprouts and stocked up on everything I need. I learned a few things from reading labels today... no yeast SO FAR means no bread... bummer! Also, there is wheat in a LOT of things! Right down to the pretzels I love to eat so much. Dairy is another story. I already know so much about dairy products from being vegan in the past that I feel like an expert. Either way, this new set of restrictions should make grocery shopping and balancing my diet very interesting from now on. I'm up for the challenge, though! Bring it on! Right?

Another successful visit with the midwife

I'm 24 weeks along today and went to see our midwife, Sue. Usually Cam and I go together, but today I went by myself for the first time because he was working. It was a very intimate visit because not only was he absent, but her two students who are usually there were gone too. Yep! Just some good ol' one-on-one time for an hour. Nice!

D.L.'s heart rate is normal at 130. My blood pressure and urine are both still normal. We talked about my iron level which was 13 at the beginning of my pregnancy and now is 11. I asked if that was a good thing and she says it is. The reason is that the iron is basically the same, but has dissipated throughout the vast amount of blood volume I've gained over the last few months.

My feet have been swelling, which is pretty normal for this stage of the game. She said to be sure and focus on drinking plenty of water and eating well. I'm to especially be sure to eat plenty of salt in order decrease the swelling. Since, after all, an increase in blood volume means the need for more salt. Fine with me! I love salt.

I asked about a water birth pool and she said that you can't really get the 5 foot diameter kiddie pools at the regular store anymore. They seem to have been all bought up by a water birth specialty place and marked up in price. Luckily, she will be able to provide a pool. All we will need to get is a pool liner and a garden hose to hook up to our washing machine spout for warm water.

We wrapped up our visit by figuring how much money she would take off the total bill for all the yard work Cam has done for her. The remainder of the bill will be paid in whatever amount we can manage when we can get to it. This lady is so laid back. I LOVE her! She is really flexible, but more importantly, kind hearted and compassionate.

On our next visit, I get to do a glucose challenge test. An hour before the appointment, I need to eat 1 regular size "3 Musketeers" bar + 1 fun size bar, have nothing but water for an hour, then get my blood drawn at the appointment. If I do well enough on that test, I won't have to go into the lab for a grueling 3-hour gestational diabetes test. I'm keeping my fingers crossed because I really don't want to have to hang out at a lab for 3 hours!

I'm also looking forward to my next visit because it will be my first as a 30-year-old! Pretty monumental for me. I can't believe I will be giving birth for the first time at 30. I'm glad I've been able to hold out this long to do and see all the things I have. I just hope I'll be able to take all that experience and put it to good use... Only time will tell!

I'm so tickled by my son

I've been fighting off a cold over the past week. It finally caught up with me and I took yesterday and the day before off from work because I was basically too damn exhausted!

Today, I'm feeling somewhat human again so I made it back to work and managed to do some grocery shopping after wards. I still don't have a/c in my car and its 102 degrees outside and probably at least 150 in my car. This makes it a very interesting feat to get home without melting the popsicles and hard boiling my baby!

I sped home, put the groceries away and collapsed on the couch. As I felt my body revive from the heat, I could tell that junior was getting rejuvenated too. Don't get me wrong, I've been feeling him wiggling around in there for a while now. Last night, Cam even got to feel him move around for the first time.

Today, he kicked and punched so much that I swear he has a future in martial arts. This started an interaction where he would make a move and I responded by jiggling my hand on the spot and saying, "do it again, D.L!" and he would do it again. This happened a few times before my cat, Nina got so curios that she came right up and sat on my lap so her face was nose against my belly. Her eyes dilated and she started purring every time a roundhouse or elbow shot from Renzo made my belly shake.

The whole scene was absolutely hilarious and I began to laugh out loud uncontrollably, which of course stimulated him to move even more... which in turn made me laugh even more. WOW! I'm 23 weeks along and it is official! My son has tickled me for the first time and made me laugh! I dream of the day when I'll be able to return the favor by tickling and making him laugh.

Our first mandala is complete!!

Simply put, mandalas are an art form that have been found in ancient cave paintings and carvings. They are an expression that all elements of life and death - their power, rhythms, cycles and miracles occur in a circle. By using a steady hand to color in between the lines, the mind shifts into an awareness of the universe and aligns the body to be in sync with it. Tibetan Buddhist monks create them out of sand and after they're done, they destroy their beautiful masterpiece to show the impermanence of everything.

As mentioned in a previous blog entry, I declared that I was going to start doing mandalas as a practice of being in the moment with my baby and to condition my mind for labor. I did one today with nothing more than some simple sharpies and highlighters. Unfortunately, the final product was too big for the scanner and the edges got cut off, so just use your imagination to complete the circle. Its a simple design that took me about five hours and is well worth great sense of accomplishment I feel now. I'm sure there are more to come with complexity and intensity to increase as I get more proficient!

Let the nesting begin!

Last weekend, I did a LOT of sifting through boxes, cleaning, and rearranging stuff to make room for D.L.'s side of the closet. Since his mom and dad have separate bedrooms, he won't really have his own for a while. He'll be sharing a closet with me and probably sleeping in Cam's room at night because its the only room where we can close the door and keep the cats out.

I already have a collection of onesies started thanks to Auntie Danielle, Grandma Cindy, and Auntie Amber. I also took a trip to Savers and scored more than a few on my own along with a tiny D-Backs tank top for around 10 bucks! I pulled all my golden books, baby toys, and rattles out that I played with when I was a baby from the boxes my mom sent when we moved here. Those things are classics! I arranged everything so I can see it every time I open my closet door. It makes me smile and envision our future as a happy little family.

Shower Time Approaching!!!!!

My cousin Danielle is in the process of planning a baby shower for us and will be sending an evite out within the next week or two. We've decided to make it for June 20th. It'll be lots of fun and totally laid back with hamburgers, hot dogs, beer, and pop at her house. She's got a pool, so there should be swimming! In preparation, I've registered at the following places:

target.com
walmart.com
babiesrus.com

If you're interested in taking part in providing some much needed supplies, I've registered under Tami Wheeler as the primary registrant and Cameron Ashcroft as the co-registrant. There's everything from diapers and wipes to toys and videos to choose from! There's also a couple of big-ticket items in there, but that's why I've incorporated Wal Mart to try and keep the prices down as much as possible.

Any gifts sent through the mail before June 20th will be sent to Danielle's house so she can wrap and have them ready for the shower. After June 20th, our address will be used for shipping.

Thanks in advance for spoiling our baby boy!