“I’m at 39 weeks now, and oh how I dread the internal exams I have to have”

“I was SO hungry when I arrived at the hospital to have my baby”

“I hated having to stay in the hospital so long after my baby was born”

“My doctor said she would induce if I went to 41 weeks – I’m low risk!”

“My pediatrician said the baby HAD to have these six shots today”

As I blog more and more, I read about the complaints, concerns, and comments a lot of people are making during their medical care while pregnant, and at other times.

Ladies, PLEASE be proactive in your care.  Your doctor is NOT in charge of it, he is a partner in it - with YOU.  You have a say - in everything.  He does not belong on an unreachable pedestal.  He does not necessarily know what is absolutely best for you, and he does make mistakes.   You need to research, be informed, and make decisions on what YOU want as well.

For an example, those that dread those internal exams after 36 weeks.  Well, then Don’t. Have. Them. Done.  If you have no real MEDICAL reason for them, finding out dilation means zilch, zero, nada, nothing.  Less than nothing.  They don’t indicate when you’ll have the baby, so what’s the point?  Habit.  The docs have a habit.  And the exams can introduce infection, cause spotting or even bleeding, and make you cramp up.  They are NOT necessary.  Say no.  Your doctor will be fine!  If you want them, well fine – but don’t think for a minute that you HAVE to have them.  I’m addressing this to the hundreds of women that I’ve read that complain about them.

Here’s another secret – they’re not necessary when you’re in labor either.  You shouldn’t have 50 people checking your dilation every 5 minutes.   Once or twice the entire time should suffice – if you’re a 2nd time mom, you shouldn’t need any – you will know when to push.

You know what else?  You don’t have to have the IV in labor if you’re low risk.  You can walk.  Non-stop fetal monitoring is not necessary for low risk babies.  Laying down to give birth is not the best way, it’s proven to interfere in the natural process – so GET UP.  Sit up to give birth, tell them the stirrups can go away.   STAND if you want to.  Heck, the “rule” about having to have the baby 24 hours after your water breaking is no longer even in effect!!!  Actually, just stay home most of your labor, and you’ll find that your experience is much better than heading out to the hospital at the first signs…

And yeah, you CAN eat and drink while you’re in a normal labor.  This is an old old practice that was debunked a very long time ago, but for some reasons doctors can’t let it go.  A stomach is never truly empty anyways.

And no, you don’t have to stay in the hospital after your baby is born.  I am shocked at the amount of women that thought they HAD to stay, like it was a law or something.  If everything is fine, go home.  After three or four hours, if everything is cool, GO HOME.   The docs have never had any problems signing me and baby out.

These are just a few examples.  If you go to your doctor armed and informed, he will appreciate your concern about your own health.  Start this way, and you will be proactive in your child’s care too – there’s a lot of choices you get to make as the parent – choices that the docs have no business making without discussing them with you and being a partner in your family’s care.

(I feel obligated to add the disclaimer that yes, there will be exceptions to the rule – I write these things under the assumption of low-risk pregnancies (about 93% of them), healthy babies, etc. etc. – I don’t want 100 comments about you or a friend or a friend’s cousin’s co-worker couldn’t do something, blah blah blah)…

So here’s a baby in a bucket of balls.

That’s all.

Brett came home yesterday to show me an interesting assignment on one of his teacher’s classroom web pages.  I opened her page to find a picture of her and Obama (I will withhold comments on this), which is fine, more power to you… but I went on to read her assignments for the students this week and was a little shocked to see that her students are to listen to this amateur politician’s speech and write about it.

I scanned and scanned and cannot find where they will be listening to the experienced, qualified politician McCain and writing about his speech.

Is this just an oversight, or the teacher pushing her uneducated political views on my child??? 

If a man can’t have a bible on his desk without being fired, doesn’t this cross a bigger line?  I mean, the teacher with the bible wasn’t telling his students about it or pushing his Christian values on them, it was there for his enjoyment during his breaks.  It was insignificant to anyone else.  If I have a book by Robin Cook on my desk, that doesn’t mean I think he writes the best books, everyone should read his books, blah blah blah…

But I digress.

So I emailed the teacher and politely asked if it was just oversight, a webpage malfunction, or if the assignment to listen to the great Republican candidate was coming up next week… because certainly we aren’t saying that we won’t be giving voice to the other side, right?

She emailed back and indicated that since this was a U.S. History class, they will be covering the good candidate (okay, I added the word “good”) as it gets closer to the election.

I will be watching to make sure.

Or is it potstickers??

In my efforts to get even MORE vegetables into my family’s diet (they all eat them a lot and love them, I just want to get them more!), I have created the homemade ravioli… or wonton.  Or potsticker.  I dunno.

I found that by making the veggie paste, I can add shredded pork or another meat to it, put it in those little wonton wrappers you can get at the grocery store, and steam them up… then the flavor takes on the sauce.  So tonite we’re having them “oriental”, with some soy sauce and peanut sauce.  We’ll have our carrots and probably green beans on the side as well, and all but Brett will have a salad… don’t know why I can’t get that boy to eat a salad, but he’ll happily munch up some broccoli (which sends shivers down mama’s spine, truthfully… yucky)…

I can then change them over to an Italian style by making tomato paste (with even more pureed veggies in it!  Veggie heaven here!) and sprinkling on some cheese.

So the “hiding vegetables” mission is definitely a 100% success.  Since we eat several vegetables at every meal anyways, I’m multiplying the number that they normally get on a daily basis by putting them into “ordinary” foods.  Since they love veggies as it is, even if some of the flavor comes through, it’s okay.  I’m so glad I don’t have truly picky eaters!

on my bum leg from last week indicate there’s nothing wrong with the circulation, so check this doc off the list.  I’m tired of the cramps and aches, I’m going to try a compression stocking – again – and see if it’s any better.  I have a drawer full of these stupid, expensive contraptions and I hate them.  They made me cramp worse in the past, so for a few days I’ll see if they do it again.  If they still do, I am investing in Tylenol because I pop them like M&Ms lately.

Sigh.

Other than that, all is well in the world of My House.  Aren’t you glad you asked??

Back to school.  A little sad, a little lonely… Autumn’s gonna miss her buddy (Justus) soooo much, I’m sure she’ll be a wreck for a few days –   I can’t believe she will be going in just two short years!

I spent all day yesterday making dozens of their breakfasts – rather than have them make cereal or eat poptarts or at worst, have nothing, I always have omelettes and pancakes for them to make.  I use heavy duty freezer bags to put the eggs, milk, cheese, and meats in, freeze them, and they just drop them into boiling water and have a fluffy omelette in about 10 minutes… or the pancakes can just be tossed in the toaster oven like frozen Eggos, but they’re better because I make them out of whole wheat flour – and love (lol).  Both the boys have no troubles making either, and I feel better about their day if I know they started off with something good.

I got an email yesterday that our schools were rated “Excellent With Distinction”, the highest rating available from the state.  Pretty nice.  I moved here a little over a decade ago because of the schools, it’s wonderful to know they’re still keeping up the good work! 

Sigh.  Hubby and I were talking last night that it seems like the days often crawl, but the years fly by.  Much too fast. 

 

Oh, hey, I added a nifty “email notification” to this blog – since I moved it from Myspace I know a lot of people don’t know when I post (well, the few that are interested, LOL)… but by subscribing you can get emails – over in the right-hand column you’ll see the link to click. 

What was that again?

Yes, you read it right.  Lunch on the gprwzirtq.  This is apparently the language I speak sometimes, when talking to the boys.

Hubby was gone for a few hours so I was getting ready to make everyone lunch.  We were outside, playing some tetherball, splashing in the baby pool, jumping on the trampoline, so I thought a picnic in the backyard sounded fun.  So I asked the boys if they’d like me to make hamburgers on the gprwzirtq.

They looked at me, clearly confused as to what their dear, fragile, confused mother was saying.

In response to the blank stares, I said, again, do you want me to put some burgers on the gprwzirtq?????

They looked at each other and said, “Wha?  You know how to do that?”  While both were really thinking, Mom has finally lost her mind. 

The grill, people.  These two little people have apparently been victims of a horrible disservice done by their parents.  Stereotyping.  Since they’ve never seen me grill, they clearly thought I couldn’t possibly know how to use it.  I mean, I’m a GIRL, after all!!!  This is a big scary Complex Piece of Outdoor Equipment, designed for manly men (said with a gutteral growl and lots of Tim-Allen-esque “oh oh oh oh’s”)!

 

This might explain why they think Daddy doesn’t know how to use the Hoover, eh? 

I was thinking today about the Sandwich Buffet… the quick lunchtime meal for those of us with a horde of children…

Laying out the wheat bread, then the cheeses, the three or four different meats, the peanut butter, and the jelly… and on the days Justus wants, the honey, for his PB & Honey Sandwiches…

I stack and spread to each person’s specific request…. usually just cheese for Autumn, Justus loves his cold Honey Ham & Cheese, Ayla scarfs up her peanut butter & jelly, and Brett digs his roast beef or sometimes grilled cheese…

Then I was thinking about how calming, how soothing it is to stand at the bar and make these simple meals for my kids… and usually visiting neighborhood kids too… and how much I really enjoy it.

Sigh.  The summer’s almost over.  The Sandwich Buffets will be fewer and farther between.  I enjoy the Sandwich Buffet.  Maybe I should integrate that into a dinner once a week or so…

I took all the kids for a picnic in the park yesterday after my leg ultrasound and we found some great pinecones, so we decided to come home and make birdfeeders…  if you don’t know how, it’s so easy and fun – just tie a ribbon or string onto the top of a pinecone, coat it in peanut butter, then roll it in birdseed.  A really neat thing to do with the kiddos!

Autumn had a GREAT time, she’s very excited to go hang them in our trees today and await the flock of birds that will surely come to enjoy the delicious feast!

Does that come through with the enthusiam in which it was typed?  Did it?  Huh?

You know, I should be wishing the summer is longer, after all, the boys were out of the country for two thirds of it.  I feel a little guilty that I don’t.

Anyone with two boys, older boys, is nodding their heads not only in agreement, but in sympathy.  Put a 10 year old and a 15 year old in the same room (or house), and fights will ensue. I don’t care how good of “friends” they are, someone will try to kill the other one at some point.  I have wavered between breaking them up and locking them in closets to sending them outside with the weapon of their choice and letting them have at it (this is my dear husband’s choice – he came from a family of six brothers, this is the point his mother got to after brother #4 came along). 

However, I like to take pictures and really don’t like trying to cover up bruises. 

This is why I start every single Saturday morning with the statement “No one is going to the hospital today“.  You may laugh, but I’m not kidding.  Ask my kids.  Every Saturday morning, before I say “good morning”, I say this phrase.  It’s sorta like your mom telling you to “be careful” – really, you weren’t planning on breaking your leg, but it makes Mom feel better just saying it.

It also gives us the excuse to say I Told You So.

And we mothers LOOOOVVEE to say that.

I also tell them that if there’s no bone or blood (and I mean real blood – not the wussy leaking from a gaping wound blood, I mean pulsing, spraying blood), that I don’t wanna hear it.  If I listened every time one came to me saying the other one jammed a playstation game in his ear, I would be spending all day in Mom Triage.

No bone, no blood, no Mom.  And usually it’s too far from your heart to kill ya (I would like to Thank My Mom for that phrase.  It has come in handy).

I do love my kids.  I think back to all of my tattletaling and being such a miserable little sister that I can understand them sometimes.  I know when they grow up they’ll be friends.

Or, they will be 40 and 35 year old men attacking each other with Star Wars Light Sabers.  This would not surprise me.

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