Daddy with Lana
Trying to keep a family tradition...
catchin' some rays
we love to play dress up...or should I say...Mommy loves to play dressup
New coat from Grandma Sally
First time using the Jogger!
Hello all…
I have officially decided to take a break from this ‘ol blog for a while to get caught up in life…
Life has been crazy with a new baby, but it is equally fun and exciting.
With that being said, I am taking a hiatus from blogging for a short period. I will let you know when I get back on the wagon….well, not that I was actually on it but, you know what I mean.
Thanks for all your comments and support.
Heather
She has arrived!
After an intense 8 hour labor, Lana (LAWN-a) Harper Treas entered the world on Monday December 15th, 2008 @11:28 a.m.
Weighing in at 8lbs 14 ounces and 21.34 inches long….
Here she is…
Minutes after birth
Grandma Fran
Daddy and Me
Grandma Sally
Retelling the Labor Story…
Stay tuned for a run down of the labor story by my birth coach ad husband Mark….
“Boy, I bet you are ready to have that baby out of you”
“You are probably so sick of being pregnant”
“You look miserable, but don’t worry, it will be over soon”
“Wow, you look like you’re going to pop!”
Sound familiar?
Well, if not, you can expect it when you reach month 9 of your pregnancy from those older ladies in the market. I am ready, but I’m not miserable, tired or popping!
It has definitely been hard to not take on that mentality, especially since everyone around me reinforces it, but there is no reason I suddenly should turn into a annoying complaining pregnant women, when I certainly don’t feel that way. I mean, if I’m honest, I’m uncomfortable, but hey, I only have days left, so what good would it do to be negative?
So instead, I have turned to projects to keep me busy. Since Christmas is right around the corner and since we are a little tight on finances lately, I’ve decided to make all my gifts this year. It has been incredibly fun.
I would share with you what I’ve made, but since those people may read this blog I can’t give away the surprise!
Other projects I have turned to to keep me busy:
Rewritting all the recipes in my recipe box so that they are all on 3×5 matching notecards…yeah, it’s beautiful.
Getting our taxes ready…not fun…boring…but helpful.
Selling everything we don’t “need” on Craigslist. This is actually very gratifying.
Taking a long walks around the neighborhood.
Doing all those house projects that I’ve put off since we’ve moved in.
Reading.
Cooking.
Taking extra long showers, taking extra long to do my hair, and allowing myself to change my outfit until I’m comfortable, which is usually 5 times….
Stretching and practicing relaxation.
Painting, drawing and printmaking.
Blogging! Yeah!
Another comment on waiting…this week I was approached by my friend who is planning on being the other birth attendant besides Mark, about what the bible says about waiting. It was so encouraging.
2 Corinthians 4:17 – 18 – For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Phillippians 3:20-21 – But our citizenship is heaven, and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that eables Him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
Romans 12:11 – Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
This week has been an amazing week to put these verses into practice. So many times, I could get negative and take on the attitude of ” sick of being pregnant,” but rather I have chosen to try a different route and chose to be positive and joyful. I mean, why not?
Monday night I had the privilege of having a La Leche League Director come over to my friend Erin’s house for a small class and intro into breastfeeding.
I have to admit that breastfeeding has been that one things that has been the hardest out of all the changes for me to conceive doing. Whether it be that my mother didn’t breast feed for longer than two weeks with me, and thus didn’t really talk about it growing up, or that I have always associated breast as more of a sexual objects rather than nourishment for my future child, the topic has always kind of made me queasy in my stomach.
I’ve planned on breast feeding Spike, though, from the moment we found out we were pregnant. From all the literature I read, to all the testimonies of mothers around me, I had no doubt in my mind that I would certainly try it. If I was honest though, it was more of a “we’ll see how it goes” kind-of attitude.
After Monday nights class, (I wish Mark had a camera to express my excitement and anticipation) I came home with hope. All of my reservations and fears had vanished and transformed into what I would call peace. All we really did was break it down to the very basics, from the moment the baby leaves my body to the first weeks. It was really fascinating to hear the stories from Mary, the woman from La Leche League, of how natural and primal it all is for baby and for mothers. One thing that she kept repeating that comforted me a ton was that just because you body was made to do it doesn’t mean you don’t have to be taught how to do it.
My favorite part of the discussion was the “private breast feeding” debate we had, which I had never really given much thought to . After receiving a business card with my rights of breastfeeding, according to Ohio Law, I realized that maybe not every latte sipping person is going to champion me “nourishing” my babe at Starbucks and that it could actually be alot like card counting. It’s legal but every business has a right to ask to you to leave.
Her advise was to master the art of the “latch on.” And to NOT wear those brightly colored breastfeeding wraps, which in her opinion scream “LOOK RIGHT HERE!” She also pointed out that if the baby is feeding correctly than it should modestly cover the parts that would be offensive, and everyone would think it’s just a mother holding her baby. Hmmmm….sounds kind of risque to me. I plan on practicing alot at home first, and maybe investing in some comfortable and practical nursing clothes. I also have a Maya Wrap, which was one of my favorite gifts, that I hear is great for discrete breast feeding.
So here are some of the resources that I received that I am passing along to you…I would also love any other advice you may have!
Important Info about the Babywise Method
Excellent Resource for which drugs are safe during nursing.
BreastCrawl: Fascinating Video of a child crawling to the breast directly after birth. (May be inappropriate for some).
Hey world,
I am unofficially in my last week of pregnancy. I can’t belive it flew by so fast!
As an attempt to make up for all the posting I didn’t do over the last month or so, I am going to try to write everyday until the Spike arrives!
So this last week was exciting for multiple reasons:
1. Doc told me I am 2 cm dilated and 65% effaced and I am measuring smaller, which means I am “dropping”
2. I received the ‘Cadillac ‘ of all baby strollers….the Baby Trend Q-Series Jogger. Talk about cake eater…I am going to fit right in with the Mom’s squad of Ft. Thomas.
3. I got the nursery 95% completed, and the cradle ready in our bedroom.
4. Mark finally came up with a name suggestion…which I think is going to stay…but of course I am not going to share it with you!
5. I can officially only fit into one pair of shoes!
6. I think my official weight gain as of date is 45 lbs! Whoo hoo.
Tonight was probably the best of all my prenatal yoga experiences and I feel like telling you because it was so amazing.
First, I must say that the classes I am taking at Graditude in Motion Studio (located in Clifton near UC) have rocked my world. I signed up for a 10 class pass, which last me almost all the way through my second and third trimesters, since I skipped some weeks. Every class I come to is lead my Anna, the owner of the studio, a friendly and experieced yogi, but each routine is different. We always have a different genre of music playing (tonight was the instrumental Beatles) and an array of different scents. Tonight started off just like every other class, which I must pause here and say that 12 weeks ago I thought this class was a joke, because it was so easy, now I am barly making it through, as my body has become more and more round and off balance. I can say now that it is hard! But anyway tonight started off as normal, with about 3 others but as we got into deep relaxation in the child’s pose Anna came over to me rubbed lavendar message oil on my neck. I know, you’re thinking, uhhh this is getting weird. Oh, but it wasn’t. It was freakin’ awesome. She continued with some very gentle back messaging and poof, I was gone. My mind had slipped into oblivion.
I suppose the reason I am sharing this is because I have been trying different relaxation techniques in an attempt to prepare for natural labor. Everything from candlelit baths to visual imagery and these prenatal yoga experiences have by far been the most beneficial. Maybe I should wait until I deliver to actually say that, but I know for sure the breathing, stretching and focusing that I have practiced the last 12 or so weeks will totally be used when I start those contractions.
If you can’t afford to go to a class, I would still recommend practicing some prenatal yoga moves throughout pregnancy, to loosen those hips and to stretch those muscles! Here are some links with some prenatal toga information and poses:
Here are two of my favorite:
Child’s Pose
Pigeon Pose
Here is a YouTube Video of some common prenatal poses…
…and you could always check out your local library for Yoga DVDs
So I am unofficially in my last 3ish weeks…keeping in mind my due date is flexible…
Things are getting really exciting for more reasons than one…
Weekly appointments started this week! Whoo hoo! I also had my Group B Strep test during this weeks’ appointment. After doing some research I found that is one test you don’t want to skip. The chance of having group B streptococcus (GBS) is rare but untreated it can pass on harmful infection to your baby during delivery. The consequences can be very serious. Read more about it here if you are interested.
During the simple test, which the doctor takes a sample from the external skin of your vagina, I was asked if I wanted to do a vaginal exam, since he was already down there…I actually turned it down. I don’t want to know if I am 0, 1, 5 cm dilated! It has nothing to do with when I will actually go into labor! Plus, will just get my hopes up thinking about it. So, I really don’t have any progression news…everything seems to be normal and fine!
Another exciting thing is I’ve had three showers so far, and due to have another this weekend at my mother’s house. These showers have been incredible! I have felt completely blessed by them. It’s funny, I really don’t recall much of my wedding showers and I thought that to be unfortunate, so I intentionally went in to these with the mindset of focusing on what was being shared and really taking in the experience. I couldn’t have asked for more!
Most surprising gift: Mark’s Aunt’s pitched in and bought the jogging stroller I registered for!!
Most “Heather and Mark-ish” gift: Charley Harper Board books.
Most Excited to try: Jumpster
Most Creative: Tie between Sam’s Three Tier Diaper cake and Sally’s homemade blanket
The last exciting thing is thinking about motherhood. I am so ready to love this little thing with everything I have! Mark and I went out last night for what we called “Our last official date without having to call a babysitter” It was so much fun. We basically just enjoyed each other and shared our favorite moments from the wedding until now. Knowing that a chapter is shuttting and new one is opening can be sad for some, but we are ready to embrace it, now we just need the baby to come out!
I think the idea of baby mobile is genius. What better way to introduce your newborn to art other than hanging a moving sculpture above their bed to stare at. Brilliant.
I have seen my fare share of traditional mobiles with the frills and bows…this is not what I speak of when I say moving sculpture…
Here are some modern updated versions that have actually lead me to create one of my own!
So here is what I came up with for Spike…
Hey Everyone!
Things are going great…I am starting “feel” pregnant now as I can’t sit as close to the dinner table, and I have nice constant draft on the underpart of my belly, since shirts are no longer fitting right.
This weeks marks the 4th of our Bradley Method birthing classes, which have been amazing. This method focuses on natural, husband-coached childbirth. Training in pain management and relaxation techniques are the key. With the Knowlton’s, the Mellow’s, and our coach/instructor Norah, we have been diving deep into the process of labor. The best moment of the class, so far, was the day when our friend Rhett came over pick up Mark and we were finishing up ‘practice contractions’. Three pregos on the floor breathing deeply, with our husbands rubbing ice cubes on our wrists and coaching us to relaxing and focus, he froze when he walked in and immediately walked back out. It was hilarious.
On a serious note, I do feel like Mark and I are way more prepared to handle labor now that we have gone through this class. This week we watched a video the infamous “Ring of Fire” as some call it, otherwise known as ‘crowning’. This when the baby’s head manages to slip or sometimes rip it’s way through the vaginal opening. Ouch. That was probably the most repulsive thing I’ve seen. If there is anything I’m scared of in this whole process it’s that…but…moments later…the entire baby will be out of me and in my arms. That sort-of makes it worth it.
So, along with information comes preferences. The more we read our homework, the more Mark and I have started to determine the things that we really value are actually contrary to hospital protocol. . Ultimately, it is quite simple, having a safe labor, and healthy baby, but as we have learned and read, these things are relative to who is around. We aren’t going crazy with our birth plan, but I am writing out some preferences that I wish to be considered.
Here are some ‘unedited’ preferences that we have come with so far (assuming there is no medical emergency). We are still working through this.
- 1st Stage Labor mostly at home with Mark and maybe Julia (our friend and doula)
- Once we arrive at the hospital, no internal monitoring, only intermittent external. No I.V., unless needed, and hopefully no drugs.
- Mark will coach, Julia will support.
- Mark will catch the baby
- Hopefully, I will be able to breastfeed right away, or at least have skin contact.
- Wait to cut the cord, at which point Mark will cut.
- Wait for newborn procedures (bedtime?)
Another one being no more “regular” ultrasounds or vaginal exams My doctor’s practice routinely does 3 ultrasounds per patient, and I was due for my third one this week. Learning that it was actually not necessary for me to do so, I turned it down. To my surprise, Dr. Froelich didn’t say a word, instead encouraged me that I wouldn’t be pressured to do anything I didn’t want, or need. I then started to mention my unedited birth plan and he totally supported most of my preferences. I feel really encouraged at this point.
Spike is measuring normal and his/her heartbeat was right around 140bmp. Also, Spike is head down!
I weighed 170, which means I’ve accumulated a total of 32 lbs! That’s freakin’ crazy!
My next visit is in two weeks, then I start my weekly appointments, things are moving right along!
Here is a picture of me at 33 weeks and all the pregnant women in my church, in order of due date!
From Left to right: Whitney Loreaux, Me, Renee Herman, Erin Knowlton, Lindsey Patterson. (Missing is Tiffany Mowry, who is due after me!)
Journey to Motherhood 
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