harmony

Harmo-nah. Harmony. Harmo-na-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha. Haaaaaapy Birthday, big sis. You are the most amazing big sister any little sister could ever ask for!

work

Things have been quite exciting around the Sandor house. First of all, Abe is sleeping through the night again. I thought I was going to self-destruct. He was waking up every 2.5 hours between 10:00 and 6. A couple nights ago, I gave him rice when we had dinner and viola!, he didn't wake the following morning until 5:50. Nice.

I have been working on some wedding invitations for a couple ladies. I don't actually know them; we've never met. But church family is church family. All "my girls" (ladies that were high school staff at LYC in 2006 & 2007) know these two girls quite well. And they're not bridezillas. What a blessing! The coolest part of doing invitations is that I have a vision, ideas for what I want, but trying to put thought to paper is generally not so simple. This week I worked on finding a reliable printer who is willing to help me learn and be very patient. I learned the difference between RGB colors and Pantone colors. IN-credible. I *think* I am going to go with Just-Us printers in Springdale. YES! Brett Justus is client of Andrea's, the loan officer whose portfolio I was responsible for. Good times.

I got a call from Mark Martinez tonight. He used to be the man we worked for at Outback. What a terror. There were definitely moments, hours, days when he made us hate our jobs, sometimes ourselves. But for some reason he has this undying loyalty to his employees (well, those he likes). If you are so lucky to win his favor, you love him reciprocally. Dysfunctional? Yes. But, hey, it's times like these crazy relationships like ours come in handy. He needs someone to do "admin" for the restaurant he recently opened called Louie's. Admin = figuring out tipshares, payroll, scheduling (possibly). It just-so happens that finance is one of those things I am good at. This will give me expertise in the realm of payroll I've never had. It's part-time, and right now is a great time to get started. Mark is on summer break, so he'll watch Abe for the time being. We'll see if it's going to be a blessing or too much of a hassle.

Here's to full nights of sleep, fun projects and possibly a little cash money!

cámara

Thanks to Great Grandma Stamerjohn (Abe's paternally maternal great grandmother), we have a new camera! And it got the thumbs up from Randy. Sweet. Canon Powershot! Peace.

list

About a year and a half ago I bought a little notepad for the sole purpose of keeping a list of things I wanted to pray about. Sometimes, I get on my knees and I could talk and talk and talk for an hour. Most times, however, I get on my knees and I get lost. So the list is really great for remembering to pray for things, meanwhile helping to keep me focussed.

There are a few things I have checked off the list because they are no longer relevant. "Irrelevant prayers?" Yes! They've been answered. I am not sure that if it's more inspiring to have a list or to have things scratched off... Here are a few of the things that have been checked off:

• [One of my best friends who will remain unnamed]'s family being replaced (she chose Living over her family's choice to leave Living). (She is now on the verge of engagement. And she might wring my neck if she knew I was blogging about her... :)
• Lana Moluf
• Getting pregnant (HA!), finding a doctor, er midwife (not sure I actually WROTE and prayed consistently about my 'planned' birth experience...)
• [Another girlfriend]'s heart being healed, and joy replaced. (She had a really terrible breakup, and was having a really hard time recovering. She is now planning the day she will wed the man she calls her soul mate.)
• [Another friend to remain unnamed who had]'s postartum depression, bonding with her beautiful baby girl.

These may seem obscure to you, but they were my prayers. And they were answered. God is good.

green er er er

Thinking about composting. Not that I have a pile at the apt. But Jaime & Jason have one.

I wish I had a line to dry my laundry on. Again, not at the apt. What a fun and efficient way to cut expenses no? And bleach diapers. :)

Should we buy a house?

it's how we roll

So about those 2 hour naps. haha. Lasted that day and that day only. The next day Abe took one 1.5 hour nap, one 1 hour nap and one 30 minute nap. [30 minute naps are not long enough to give anyone "restorative" sleep. They are the proverbial "power nap." Restorative sleep -- 45 minutes, plus -- is really best.] The next day it was something like 1 hr., 45 minutes, 30 minutes, needed another, but refused, so I put him in his swing for a half hour. The next day was worse and the next worse, etc. In that time he ROLLED OVER. Yay, Abraham! Rolling over means breaking of the swaddle cold turkey. Tying his arms close to him for each nap (he didn't need it at nighttime, except when we were travelling) really calmed him, so we did it...until now. So much changing for the little guy.

We changed his bedtime. I thought putting him down at 6 was easier since he is so fussy later in the day. No no. I was getting up at least twice a night. If I put him down at 7, he gets up anywhere between 9 and 11, then is back down til anywhere between 6 & 6:30. Nighttime sleep is gooood for Mommy! :) And Daddy. And Baby...

This is the conclusion I keep coming back to: if I roll with it, he'll be fine and so will I. The guidance that seems to be the most accurate, though not necessarily so directive is: "If he's pooping & peeing, he's fine." Ha. Well, I can promise you he's doing that!

sleep

I cannot believe I have a little bit of time to actually blog. Prayers: check, bread made: check, shower: check, blown-dry hair: check. Abe's is down for his second nap of the day. It's taken us until he is 5 months to figure out daytime sleep. I started to feel like I was going crazy when he was 4 weeks old. I gave it some more time (because letting him 'cry it out' was horrendous), then felt crazy again by 8 weeks. He slept through the night from 8 weeks (and, yes, I let him cry it out. It took swaddling him to let him fall asleep on his own. We still swaddle, and for us, it equates sanity.) t0 18 weeks. But he was only taking 1/2 hour - hour long naps during the day. I hesitate to call Abraham cranky, but he didn't seem to be rested. So at 18 weeks I decided we needed to try something else. (To this point we had been doing BabyWise, with much guidance of a good friend to whom I will be forever indebted!) I am no longer a fan of dogmatic suppositions of any kind. Thank you, motherhood. If I say, "We're doing 'Healthy Sleep Habits,'" I'd be dogmatic. If I said, "Yeah, we did BabyWise, and it sucked," I'd also be dogmatic. Babywise did a couple of amazing things -- Abe can fall asleep if I wake him while putting him in his crib and he can fall back asleep on his own during the night. He naps. Oh, he naps. Thank you, BabyWise for teaching me that babies DO nap! There are others that are not at the top of my brain right now, I am sure.

Healthy Sleep Habits teaches the importance of napping, too, but it is much more flexible. One rule: never wake a sleeping baby. This is a rule of thumb. It speaks specifically to the first few months of life. Baby brains need to develop and mommies have to be patient and wait for their development to occur. It teaches that eventually kids' sleep habits will organize themselves, especially with a little guidance from Mom. When they get to be Abe's age -- 5 months, plus, it's okay to let them fuss a little. We just got back from trip to NC. All normal sleep patterns are essentially tossed until we get home. The second night we were home, I let him fuss through his first waking (I don't think he was really awake, because when Abe's really awake and needs something, he has always been very vocal. This "fussing" was "eh, eeeeh, eeeeeh. eh...") and it took him 15 minutes, but then he was back asleep.

Another thing I've changed is that I do comfort him to sleep. Many, many baby sleep books and theorists say to let them fall asleep on their own -- hugs and kiss, set them in the crib and walk away. While I see the benefit in that, it didn't work with Abe. He cried for 2 days before I swaddled him. Then he started just lying there making baby noise until he fell asleep 40 minutes later, only to wake 30 minutes after that. Maddening. So I went back to rocking him. (Until he was 8 weeks I was in the rocker 8 hours a day...again, maddening.) It takes less than 10 minutes (if I respond to his tired cues in good time) of rocking, then I wrap him up, he either stays or falls back to sleep for at least an hour (today it's been 2 hours) at a time.

So I've given up 8 hours of solid sleep for daytime sleep. Abe now regularly sleeps for 1.5 to 2 hours 2 or 3 times a day. It's amazing. He has a bedtime routine that begins at 6:30 -- shower, lotion, PJs, storytime with Daddy, rock to sleep. He usually gets up once, usually about 9 (before we go to bed), and then again at some point in the evening. But then he's back down until 6. Hopefully by the time his 6 months he will drop those 2 wakings and will be sleeping through the night from 6 to 6. That's what Healthy Sleep Habits *says* he'll do. Again, we'll see; don't want to be dogmatic. They do say that once they're 6 months, it's okay to start them on a routine -- morning nap at such and such a time, afternoon nap, evening nap (if they'll take one...). We may start that once I see if this 2 hour nap thing is for real :)

When I first had him, I didn't want to hear, "You just have to figure out your baby." And, "Don't you wish they came with an instruction manual." But it is SO true. Abe is an amazing individual. With time, I have found what is best for him. And I can honestly say that I think I am doing the very best for our baby.

sustainability

The topic of sustainability has been coming up relatively frequently. From midwifery practice to gardening and cloth diapering to recycling, the concept of sustainability is quite intriguing. Why use something that doesn't sustain the environment? Obviously, environments vary. "The" environment is what most think of, but what about other facets of life? If there is a way that I can sustain my skin, my carpet, my car, my child's health, I want to do so. Unfortunately, in American society, everything is so throw-away, disposible. I love Chic-Fil-A, and I am not sure when Mark and I are going to cut off our addiction. But I hate the fact that they use styrofoam cups. What is the point? I can recycle cardboard or recycle plastic. But I can't wash styrofoam and it's so flimsy.

It wasn't until I got so interested in midwifery and homebirth that so many of these things were brought to my attention. Now, if I can recycle it, I do. Now, if I am aware that it is not good for my health, there is a switch in my conscience that goes off. I don't always answer, but at least it goes off...

Another really good example is ibuprofen. When I was sick (could have possibly been this year's flu), I took 1/2 of a 800 mg ibuprofen (I had them to help with the after-surgery pain from Abe's birth) to break my fever. It made Abe puke. Question: is it better to try some other remedy -- egg whites or apple cider vinegar compresses on the feet -- instead of making my baby puke, not to mention what the dose of drug may have done or be doing me? Besides curbing pain from major surgery, what is the real point of everyday drugs?

I am interested in gardening. I am interested in grinding my own wheat. I am plagued by not really having the space -- apartment style living is so compact. I am interested in sewing, but I am at a loss of a good teacher...and apartment style living is so compact.

This topic of sustainability is deep and intriguing. It means rethinking the typical ways of doing things. It means sacrificing convenience for long-term reward.

this and that of late

Okay, I admit, we are trying Baby Wise. There is a part of me that feels guilty. There are so many Ezzo dissenters out there. The other option is no semblence of a schedule or predictability. Some have told me I need to just focus on him for now. But where, then, does that leave God and my husband? The beautiful thing about family is that the love you have just keeps expanding with every new addition. I can't see neglecting my studies and prayer or my husband as a healthy approach to our new addition. So we're trying it. It's hard. Essentially, you're following a routine, not so much a schedule. There's wake time and nap time in that order, and wake time always starts with a feeding. The other huge thing is that you start you day at the same time every day. We are going to give it some time, perhaps a week, see how things pan out. I would LOVE to have him on a predictable eating and sleeping schedule. We'll see.

COBRA - not sure what it stands for, but it's the insurance Arvest has to provide as a service to all ex-employees who left on good terms. It's so expensive. It's two-and-a-half times as expensive as insurance costs for me and Abe. But we had to purchase 2 months' worth of coverage to cover the time it took to underwrite a new policy. Talk about eating a hole in your pocketbook.

And phones. Ugh. We purchased a magicJack because I ran up a $356.73 cell phone bill last month. It's a USB port hook-up on one end and a phone jack on the other, essentially digital telephone. It's so inexpensive that it is worth a try. We will probably then get rid of one of our cell phones and make the other a GO phone. We'll see how that goes.

I do have my excuses for running up the bill...spending hours talking to La Leche, lactation consultants, my mom, and friends about how to become a mother. There are so many questions. Doesn't mean that that big of a bill is justifiable. I kept telling Mark, "It's going to be big this month." He was not a happy hubby when we got the bill yesterday.

Abe is wonderful and funny. He is laughing now. The smiles and the coo-talking are entertaining enough, but the laughing just cracks me up. Mark mentioned this morning how he is the one human being whose past doesn't influence how much he loves him. I wish all love could be that raw and real.

all done

Abe's here!

Is there anything else to discuss? ...perhaps.

Rough outline: he's now 6 weeks and 2 days, born Sunday, November 9th, via ceserean at Washington Regional Medical Center after 15 hours of labor at home. He was posterior and in a brow presentation and 9.7 lbs., hence the surgery. It was humbling to have a ceserean after having planned a homebirth, but intervention is there and when it's needed it's needed. Some may say that I could have done it if I had tried longer or harder, but my baby we stuck and we were losing control of his and my vitals. At about 35 weeks into my pregnancy I realized that I could trust my midwives; if I were going to put my life in their hands, I needed to trust them. If Jennifer said, "We need to transport," well, then, we need to transport. Some may choose to have more control than that. But it was WAY less traumatic for me to trust them than to have to bear all the pressure of making that kind of decision myself. Granted, we stayed and labored as long as it was safe, but when it seemed out of control, we transported.

It has been arduous. I mean, everyone tells you motherhood is work, but no one tells you any gross details. First of all, labor is way easier than breastfeeding. Even my experience was way easier. Don't let anyone ever tell you breastfeeding is easy. I had no drugs (until surgery) and I really do feel that breastfeeding is a million more times a challenge. Another thing is balancing time. I am not putting Abraham on a feeding schedule or a napping schedule perse. However, he has a clock. I intend to adjust that clock as we need to, and especially as Abe grows. For example, when Mark has school, he gets up at 5, does some study, eats & gets himself ready for the day. Abe and I got up with him that early a couple times. Loved it. It's just precious time. But it's a ridiculous when Abe is up at 3:30 for a feeding; to get him up at 5 for another feeding and Daddy time seems a little excessive. So adjusting our lives to a reasonable schedule has been rough too. Cannot complain about lack of sleep. Abe is a good sleeper, and therefore Mommy gets her rest too.

We picked up some new diaper wraps yesterday. I was starting to covet disposibles. Shame on me, I know. But the blowouts were happening like every time. Newborn wraps on a 12 lb. boy don't work. We've got a great natural parenting store in Fayetteville that carries great products. We love our new wraps.

He is growing out of his clothes so quickly. I can't believe it. Gerber 3-6 month onesies do not fit him anymore. And the 0-3 month sleep-n-play zip ups don't fit him either. He's just a big baby.

I had my last post-op visit last week, and the last visit with the midwives yesterday. We've all got good bills of health. Abe has his 8 week well-baby check-up next week. So we are all settling in very nicely, including Mark. He's an amazing daddy and I am so thankful he's been here for me through all of this. He takes very good care of me!

iron

I am anemic, I've always been anemic. But I had no idea how it effects me until this week. So we go to the Feast and I take my iron supplements. (I can't very well explain how iron effects hemoglobin and how that determines anemia...I just know I have weak blood and to get stronger blood I have to take iron which makes strong hemoglobin). I forget one of them, but no biggy...I'll be fine, right? Wrong. The Feast will wear anyone out, but I was just ridiculously tired the whole time.

Here's the scenario: my first blood test at 20 weeks read 9.8 (it has to be a 10). Easy to get up - just implement a couple supplements (Floradix, which is iron and B vitamins, and Chloroxygen, which is concentrated nettle.) Around 32 weeks it read 8.6. (Blood volume is increasing, no biggy...keep up with the supplements.) Then at 37 weeks (last Thursday) it read 7.8. This is not 2 days after we got back from the Feast. The reason it has to be a 10 is because I am very high risk for hemorrhage if it's not at least that. That, of course, would mean no homebirth. Needless to say, I was freaking out a little. There's nothing like having your plans and hopes and dreams crushed. That may sound dramatic, but I really do feel like I am in for the most exhillirating and rewarding experience of my physical life. So my midwives freak out a little and tell me everything I need to do, including discussing with my boss cutting back and figuring out my last day.

This is the new regiment:
homeopathic (ferrus phosphoricum) before anything wets my tongue (this will make the iron assimilate better)
15 minutes later Cranactin & Acidopholus
15 minutes later Chloroxygen & Floradix
breakfast consisting of 2 tablespoons of molasses on something & an egg
tea containing nettle
lunch with protein and high iron foods
walk home from work
Chloroxygen & Floradix
snack high in iron
Chloroxygen & Floradix
dinner high in iron
another brisk, preferably longer, walk
nettle tea

After 4 days of the regiment, I am feeling so much better. I had no idea how trying to control my iron levels would make a difference. Feeling and being are two different things. So we go to our next appointment this evening, and my iron is at what? 10.3. Yeah, and my midwives weren't sure it was possible to get it up in 4 days. My energy levels are not quite where they need to be. But I can vouche for the fact that walking and having appropriate iron levels is invigorating.

As of today, we are back on board, ready for the homebirth. There was a slight scare that I may have a placenta previa, as the baby really hadn't descended at all into the pelvic region -- he's just a-sittin' high, making me measure a 41 from time to time. But by today he had descended a bit and is headed in the right direction.

circumcision

Lev. 12:3 -- And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.

Romans 3:1-2 -- What advantage then has the Jew, or what is the profit of circumcision? Much in every way! Chiefly because to them were committed the oracles of God.

We're doin' it if we have boy, and we're doin' it on the eighth day. The only way to ensure that it gets done on the eighth day is to have a mohel do it. More than that, Hebrew custom ensures that it's performed properly. We could have a culturally cognizant pediatrician perform it, but 1) their office is not open on Sunday, sometimes Saturday and 2) does it say, "to the local physician was committed the oracles of God?"

Three weeks ago I started walking to work. My work is only about 3/4 miles from our house. Until about 2 months ago there were no sidewalks, but they've since put in a new 4 lane, so there are huge sidewalks. I love it. Some think I am crazy. I am in my 9th lunar month of pregnancy - huge - but now really is the best time to be getting some form of exercise.

Tonight on the way home, the weather was just perfect: slight breeze, sun peering through the clouds. I like to call those clouds 'hope clouds.' They're just magnificent. Too, there was a train changing direction. Its track goes through and tunnel beneath the new road and 100 yards or so up it goes past our apartment. It's part of home, but we don't see it, we only hear it, at home. Walking, I get to see where all the noises come from.

Judy, one of the officers at the bank asked where I was parked when I left the branch this afternoon. When I told her I was walking she almost begged me to let her give me a ride. But, honestly, it's so nice to walk. I'd rather. One of Mark's fellow teachers expressed her desire to see me drive rather than walk today. Is this the type of thing husbands shouldn't let their wives do? We've gotten a little criticism from a couple ministers before -- "Don't let her drive across country to see you," or "Don't let her drive home in the rain." Am I a crazy liberal?

As I crossed the street to enter our apartment complex, I saw someone literally drive from the Tyson Corporate parking lot (maybe a total of 3 football fields big), which is directly in front of our apts. Now, I don't know if he really lives in our apartments or if he was just getting mail. But if someone is just driving 100 yards, I find that a little pathetic.

I allot about 20 minute to walk to work. The home route is a little easier. I wish I would find better ways to get around. Surely, there is no need to drive to the grocery store...the closest one (though not the one I prefer) is only 1 1/2 miles from the apt. A bike could be an amazing resource. Maybe I'll get one. One with a basket and that can be latched up with a trailer for baby.

http://www.terra-tots.com/registries.html

...and one more thing

If anyone knows who got us the big kid car seat, do you mind passing on the tip? The packing list got lost in shipping, so we have absolutely no clue.

Thank you, David!

dwayne lives in saskatchewan province, canada

Amanda!! I think I might owe you an email. How are you doing? What's shaking?

Up here, summer is winding down. Now there is nothing left to look forward to. The signs of death and despair are all around. It creeps in bit by bit, as the morose brown edges of where life once existed in formerly verdant foliage march ever closer to the inward parts of the flora all around me, smothering and suffocating it to the very core. The inevitable desolation is irrevocably methodical, torturously slow and calculated. And before all life has gone out of the land, in a cruel twist of fate the elements will bury alive what little life remains beneath a white blanket of death.

So are you looking forward to the Feast? Where are you staying?

Anyway, have an awesome week!

update

Time is flying by so quickly. I honestly cannot keep up. I thought I was "caught up" with keeping in touch with people, I was wrong. There are so many people I really really want to talk to -- good conversations, the kind that reaffirm bonds. But it has been so insane around here. I think this week will be significantly more relaxed, so perhaps some catching up will happen.

Last Sunday we had a shower in Joplin. It was very nice. Katie, friend from college who currently abides in Chicago, flew in. And Sherril Rahe, who lives in Boulder, came into town also. Jake came down from KC and we all had a good time. The gifts, of course, are nice. But honestly, the company and support is a way more significant. Monday I spent in Tulsa taking the ladies back to the airport. Tulsa is dull. I wish we would have gone to Kids R Us. We don't have one in Fayetteville.

Wednesday we had our 2nd of 5 birthing classes. We covered the stages of labor, effacement, dialation & stations. We then watched a video on water birth. Apparently, it's huge in Russia. Who knew? Thursday we had another prenatal. The baby is growing right on schedule. We are really happy we did FAM to get pregnant because we are so much more confident about the due date. Not that we really have anything to fear anyway, but it is one thing we don't have to fear since we started out aware. So many women really are scared and have so many questions. The medical model of care simply does not comfort like the midwifery model. We are so happy to be going the natural, at-home route. As we contemplate our birth plan, we'll firm up how we'd like to see things go and everyone's role who will be present, Mark, Jennifer (lead midwife), Maria (midwife), mom & my 14 year old sister, Carly. Just about 8 more weeks.

I've been in touch with HR and have been gathering quotes on health and life insurance for me and the baby. It's not so bad. If we went through Mark's school instead of through an outside company, we'd be looking at and additional $500/month. Seriously? Yeah, seriously. Who assumed teachers got great benefits? Instead, we really are only looking at just a little over $200. I am also looking into ways to make money after the baby arrives. We're open to babysitting after 3 months. A co-worker friend whose wife stays home has her own sewing business and really supplements their income. Goal for me will be $400/month.

Friday we had Mr. Stafford & Mr. Marston (deacon in Fort Smith) over for dinner and the first ATLP (Advanced Leadership Training Program) session. The workload is equivalent to that of a college class. It gives him focus in study and it really is awesome material. The fact that the ministry wants to share church philosophy (if I can call it that...synonym: approach, thought process) and disseminate it to the rest of the church is so encouraging.

Tonight we went to a wedding for Matt & Kate, now, Akins. Adorable couple. Matt is a fellow Private Banking Specialist with me at Arvest. Mark and I danced. I LOVE dancing. The baby is kind of obstrusive and when the belly gets bumped the baby knows it.

Finally, I am happy to say I am dropping collostrum. For those of you who don't know, it's an easy Google search. I will spare the males. Basically, I am encouraged that our baby will be fully nourished and will receive lots of the antibodies it needs to grow healthfully. It means, too, that I am fully functional and capable. Yay.

"The greatest rebellion in history occurred under perfect government."

Have you ever heard someone say it just like that? So many people get flustered with the church of their choice, then justify it by saying something to the effect of, "I cannot support an organization that does not live by godly principles." Or, "Our family is not impressed with the lack of brotherly love." Or, "We are hurt and insulted at the choice words our minister used (or did not use)." These are age-old excuses and principles people have used to leave the church, be it the Catholic church, the First Baptist church, or the Sabbath day keeping Church of God. Granted, there's the whole idea of proper doctrine that deciphers whether or not one attends what organization. But if a church is established with proper doctrine and such excuses are made, then they essentially say that it's the ministers' fault and further leave the church, I simply don't understand why.

You know, we've heard for a very long time that government is important in the church. But why? I mean, there are so many excuses not to care about government -- perhaps there are organzations who are 'better' at uplifting sermons on Sabbath or are 'better' at organzing and hosting social gatherings or whose ministers seem more fair and just. And we occassionally hear the response, "Because God does not want another Lucifer on His hands." Does government matter? Since the greatest rebellion in history, i.e. the falling away of Lucifer & the 1/3 of the angels, happened under God's watch, how can one say that obedience to proper government does not matter?

-ito

Mark and I haven't seen each other all week, except at my 'hour-long' lunchtime, so dinner out was a really nice change of pace. As we're driving home, we are behind a little car who stops at a stop sign. I know, novel concept. But he didn't move fast enough for me, and with a very silly, goofy air in the car as we celebrate the onset of the Sabbath, I say, "Muevete!" And proceed to explain that it means, "Move it, little man." And Mark says, "No, that would be, 'Mueveteito.'" Every now and again Mark uses this reasoning. This, "I am clever. I clarify what you obviously did not get quite right." And this humour makes me laugh and further cry. Oh, I laughed so hard. Mueveteito? Yeah, that doesn't work. And he, "What?" the whole way home.

Side note: this type of gutteral giggling is actually supposed to help aid labor. :)

iron

So I'm anemic. Super. Just what I need while I supply life-giving blood to another individual. Granted, this is to be expected. Back in 2000 I tried to give blood. They denied me for 2 reasons. One: my iron was too low, and two: I lived in England when I was ages 2-4 -- 1982-1985. So my midwife has be doing 2 supplements. ChlorOxygen helps supply oxygen to the blood. It is traditionally used to help with elevation changes. But the principle is that it makes the blood do its job better. The second is Floradix - an iron, B vitamin mix. I haven't tried any of it yet, but I am pumped. The best part about herbs is that they taste gross.

I am feeling really pregnant, too. The child thinks it's a great idea to hang out on my pelvic bone. I was FREAKING out today. I thought I had a kidney infection. Possible, even typical, of course. So as I grabbed the other herbs, I snagged some CranActin. One pill is equivalent to an entire glass of cranberry juice. So I took 4 this evening and will take 4 more before bed. Hey, it harms nothing. Tomorrow I get a urinalysis and they'll determine if I have any bacteria, and if I do then I have to take a week's worth of prescription antibiotics. Yippee. Not so ironic, but after a little stretching and gently encouraging little one to get off my spine, bladder, and kidneys I feel almost healthy again. Ugh. Hey in 20 weeks we'll see the fruit of all this, huh?