Out of the mouths of babes, bladder punches, and movies

If people listed things they never thought they'd hear their children say... wow, what a massive, hysterically funny, awkward, and embarrassing list that would be!  At the daycare where my daughter goes while I'm at work each day, they have a curriculum that requires observed behaviors be annotated on a periodic basis.  To make the process easier, the teachers have a "system" whereby the observer can just jot down a quick note on a sticky and slide it into a pocket labeled with the child's name.  Parents may look at these, but not remove them, as they are subsequently recorded on a more official-looking document later.

I read my daughter's observations.  And nearly died laughing.

1. "E was coloring a picture.  She took picture to teacher and said, 'Look! I drew a loofah!' - Vocabulary/Language Development"
2. "E was asked if she needed to use the potty.  She yelled 'NO!'  Teacher said, 'But if you don't use the potty, you might have an accident.'  E used the potty! :-) "
3. "E brought the toy phone to a teacher and said, 'It won't work.  It needs to be charged.' - Cognitive"

In news on my son, he moves quite a lot during the day, night, and in between.  At my last appointment (with an OB this time, rather than a midwife), the doctor could barely get him to hold still long enough to get a heart rate.  It was 147, which I thought to be kind of low, but he seemed unconcerned.  The most annoying thing he does is punch me in the bladder.  It isn't painful, but it is very unnerving.  It feels like a small electric shock or hitting your funny bone from the inside.  I dislike it, to say the very least.

In my quest to learn more about childbirth the natural way, I watched "The Business of Being Born," a documentary by Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein, which is available on Netflix Instant View.  What an eye-opening experience that one was!  Their research further confirms what I've read in Barbara Harper's "Gentle Birth Choices."  Statistically speaking, the U.S. is second to last among developed countries in infant and maternal mortality rates.  I want more and more to have a home birth, but I don't know if I want to mess with all the drama with changing my insurance to cover it, and then changing it back later.  Or if I can even do that.  I wonder how much is covered if I try to pay for a home birth outright with the kind of insurance I already have.

I was even more horrified after reading posts from My OB Said WHAT?!? a website that documents things obstetricians (and other medical specialists who deal with birth) said to their patients during their various examinations, when they asked questions, or during birth.  Sadly, even midwives are on there.

My first birth experience was by no means terrible.  But when I think back on the whole experience, oxygen mask on my face, being unable to really lead my own birth experience because I couldn't effectively tell when my contractions were coming - only when they were there, being unable to move, being catheterized, running out of drugs before the birth, having a baby that struggled to latch on to nurse, and watching her cry when they did all the "medical" stuff they do to babies these days, I just think there is a better way.  And the hospital I birthed in was pretty progressive in terms of giving moms more options, having midwives on the staff (a midwife delivered my baby), and even allowing women to labor (but not birth) in a tub.  So, the exploration of my options continues.

I turned down the Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT) at my 24 week appointment (I was 25 weeks, but no matter).  The doctor was shocked.  I hate the taste of that stuff, and really how reliable is a test that subjects you to an unnatural situation to see if your body can process that much sugar in an hour?  We'll see how well that one goes over at my next appointment.  It's with a midwife.

Over halfway, and yet...so far!

I am over halfway through this pregnancy.  When anxiously anticipating the arrival of a sweet new baby to your family, it is often quite difficult to be patient and allow the baby to grow at his own pace.  Yet, here I am, at only 22 weeks and 5 days, eagerly looking ahead.  And of course, my daughter, who is stirring from her nap in the next room, is only 33 months old (okay, okay, she's almost 3 years old) - and when I think of how we must raise our children to adulthood, we are SO far away from eighteen.

I am glad for that.  I hear of how my friends' children are in first grade, or how their baby who was born like yesterday is already ten weeks old.  My nephew, who is eleven, can now wear shoes in the men's department.  I don't want our lives to go so whirlwind-fast like that, but it cannot be slowed.  My eagerness to fast-forward to the birth of my son is unnecessary.  It will be here far too soon, far before we are ready, before his room is ready, before his big sister is ready, before winter is over, and I could go on.

But so much of our lives are spent waiting for the next hurdle to cross that we sometimes forget to enjoy the moment we are in.  I want more of my life to be about right now.  Tomorrow is great, but there are no guarantees.  What regret, to live a life for tomorrow and forget to experience today!

So now I listen for my daughter to come out of her room, ready to use the potty like a big girl, and I wonder if my son will be anything remotely like her.  Will we need re-training as parents so we can know how to raise our boy?  Ah, who cares?  That is still months away.  Right now my daughter needs me.  And that is more than enough!