I'm Worth It

As I sit here thinking about my 21DSD and my potential new Paleo lifestyle, my 2 year old brings me a box of chicken broth and asks for soup.  I instinctively go to the pantry and grab a can of chicken noodle soup, then pause and read the label.  And I see words like maltodextrin, sucrose, dextrose, and monosodium glutamate.  I think to myself, am I really going to feed this to my precious baby boy?  Then I whipped up a bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup with organic chicken broth, spices, rotisserie chicken, egg noodles, and diced carrots.  Easy peasy.  It took a bit longer than heating up a can of soup since I had to cook the noodles, but it was totally worth it.  And HE'S worth it.
We're all worth the little bit of extra effort (and sometimes extra cash) it takes to eat whole, real food.

from Sticky-Quotes

21 Day Sugar Detox

Have I completely fallen off my rocker?  A sugar detox?  Seriously?  I mean, do I really think I can go 21 whole days without any sugar, bread, carbs at all?  YES!!!  This may sound crazy coming from a self-professed sugar addict, but I really believe that all this sugar is slowly killing me.  I'm so BLAH all the time.  I have no energy and am tired of spending my days sitting in front of the computer eating cereal and drinking coffee and sweet tea dreaming about what life would be like if I were an organized supermom.
Step one for breaking out of my rut: get rid of the sugar cravings.  Enter the 21 Day Sugar Detox.  I paid $21 for this e-book, and hopefully it'll be the best $21 I ever spent.  I also wouldn't mind losing a few pounds during the next 3 weeks.  I lost 20 pounds on Weight Watchers a few months ago, but fell off the wagon and began not caring about what I was eating again.  I've got another 20 pounds to go until my goal weight, and while that's not my ultimate goal with this challenge, it is in the back of my mind.
I bought this ebook on Friday, enlisted the help of my BFF, and began planning.  I believe that's the number one way to be successful at this: PLAN AHEAD.  Number 2: have a buddy to encourage you, pray for you, and do it with you!  I'm so thankful Brittney agreed to do this.  Honestly, I thought she might laugh at the idea, but she was immediately willing.  Over the weekend, I found some great recipes that would be allowed in the detox, and that my family would eat and not think "what is this crap?"
Yesterday was Day 1. I did it with no problem.  Eggs, tomato, and bacon for breakfast. Half a green apple with almond butter for a snack.  Slept through lunch (hey, I worked the night before...gimmie a break!), and went to Outback for dinner.  OUTBACK? The place with that yummy bread?  Yep, that's the one.  And I refrained from eating even one bite of that loaf of sin.  My totally unsupportive husband, who thinks I'm a nut, ordered a bloomin' onion and CHEESECAKE for dessert!  But you know what?  After dinner he was miserable! And I was feeling good, having eaten the seafood mixed grill (grilled Mahi, shrimp, and scallops, with fresh veggies).  WooHoo! One down, 20 to go!  I can totally do this!
Day 2 is starting off well.  I had a cup of green tea with lemon this morning.  Not the best, but green tea is good for me, so I need to start drinking more of it anyway.  After school drop-off, I had scrambled eggs with cheese and a sliced tomato and 2 turkey sausage links.  A delicious, satisfying breakfast.  I also decided to try a cup of coffee...no sweetener of course.  I warmed some heavy cream and frothed it up with a milk frother and added it to my coffee.  Kinda like a latte.  It actually wasn't bad.  And I actually feel good.  I feel like I have energy and feel like getting off my butt for a change!  Maybe it's mental, but that's good enough for me.

happy new year

It's a new year, and time to make some changes. I've only made one new year's resolution this year. Gotta keep it simple so maybe I'll actually follow through. Actually, it's not very simple for me at all. It may seem trite to some of you, but I'm going to keep my house clean and (somewhat) organized this year. It's starting off quite challenging because I'm not starting off with a "clean slate" so to speak. But I did make a "cleaning checklist' last night. I showed it to H and asked him to review it and make sure I didn't leave anything off...he just rolled his eyes. Punk. Anyway, I hope my checklist provides some kind of accountability for me, and a good framework for keeping things just so. I'm not looking for perfection here...I have 2 kids. I'm having trouble just typing this because the little one is climbing all over me! I *know* I"m going to have a bit of a toy mess pretty much at all times. But I would like my house to be presentable for company at a moment's notice.
I'd love to share my checklist with you, but I don't know how. I'm a bit of a techie failure.
Anyway, gotta go start implementing my new change. ;)

Babywearing

my little man

Welcome to the World, Ian Alexander!

Monday, May 17, I had an appointment since I was "overdue" just to check fluid levels and baby's heart rate. Everything looked great. I was 3-4 cm and 50% effaced. Dr. T "stirred some things up" (which I assume means she stripped my membranes) and sent me on my way with an induction scheduled for Thursday.
That evening I began having contractions. Nothing really regular, but more than before. We went for a walk after dinner in hopes of making something happen, but nothing really did. H had taken off the rest of the week for work, and I was worried that it was for nothing. I went to bed, and didn't have any more contractions that I could feel anyway. I'm a pretty heavy sleeper.
I woke up at 7am Tuesday and had another contraction. Then another around 7:30. M woke up so I got up also. We got dressed and went for another walk. I had fairly regular contractions during the walk, but I wasn't timing them. When we got back home, H was waking up. He asked if anything was happening, and I said maybe. I went ahead and took a shower, washed my hair, and began getting dressed. I had some pretty decent contractions the whole time. I got out the balance ball to help me through them. M didn't really get it...she just wanted to play with the ball. H was timing the contractions with an iPhone app. As I was putting on my makeup, they were 7-8 minutes apart, lasting about a minute each. I tried laying in the bed in some sort of position from the Bradley Method book. The balance ball worked better. I called my mom to tell her that today might be the day, just to give her a heads up. When I was straightening my hair, they were getting closer, about 6 minutes apart, and hurting more in my back. I was really working to get through them. I made H go vacuum my car and install the car seat. All the while, I was still contracting, getting worse and a little closer together. After he was finished, he came back inside and he timed them some more, while we watched The Price is Right. My BFF, Brittney, called, and I let her know what was going on. Several contractions later, all coming about 5 minutes apart for about 1 minute 20 seconds or so, I decided it was time to go to the hospital. H called my aunt and let her know, so she came over to watch M. I also called Brittney (she had volunteered to be my coach) and told her that we were leaving and asked her to meet me there. I was having a hard time even walking out to the car. We got all packed up and left for the hospital. On the way there, I called the labor unit to let them know that I was coming. The ride over there was very uncomfortable...it takes 30 minutes to get there.
The nurses and scrub tech were waiting for us when we got there. I put on the gown and got settled in the bed. The nurse, Glenda, checked me and I was 6-7 cm and fully effaced. Yay! So they went ahead and admitted me, and hooked me up to the monitors. That stupid toco monitor was really uncomfortable, and the FHR monitor kept losing the heart rate. Shortly afterward, Brittney arrived. She was great at helping me relax, as I was trying for an epidural-free birth. Eventually, the contractions were so bad that nothing I did brought relief. I broke down and asked for an epidural. The time between then and when the anesthesiologist got there was the longest 30 minutes ever. I was about 8 cm dilated when I got the epidural. After that, things were so much better. I do not regret that decision at all. I could still tell when I was having a contraction, but it was not as painful. The started a low dose of pitocin, so as not to slow things down. After that there was barely any time between contractions, and I was getting more uncomfortable. The called the anesthesiologist back to bolus me again. Things were better after that. I was fully dilated, but didn't feel any urge to push, so they just let me labor down for a bit. Then we went through a few practice pushes before calling in Dr. T for the big show. Dr. T arrived, and the nurses and scrub techs got everything ready. H and B helped hold my legs back during the pushing. After about 20 minutes of pushing, Ian Alexander entered the world at 4:56 pm. He was a whopping 8 lbs. 10 ounces and 19 3/4 inches long. He is so perfect. He looks a lot like his older sister when she was born. (pictures will be posted soon)

I had a great birth experience. I really wanted to go into labor on my own and get as far as I could without an epidural. I'm so glad that happened. I don't regret the epi at all. I'm proud of myself for making it as far as I did without one.

Happy Birthday, Ian! I love you so much!

Overdue

It's May 13. My EDD was May 12. I NEED to have this baby...soon. M has been having talks with "Baby Brother" about hurrying up, but apparently it's not working. He's a stubborn little boy.

I have a doctor's appointment this afternoon. I feel like baby's lower now than he was last week. Hopefully I'm thinned out some more too. I was hoping to have delivered by now so I wouldn't have to make this appointment, but no such luck.

Luckily I don't feel miserable...too bad anyway. My feet and ankles are swollen and achy, I have some pain in my pelvic region when I get up from sitting/lying down, and I still vomit on occasion, but other than all that, I feel pretty good.

I think I'm gonna go wash my car before it gets too hot. It may rain later, but I don't care. The car is too nasty!