Not A Morning Person

 I cannot believe our precious baby girl is FOUR WEEKS OLD today!!!

It seems like no time has passed at all... she still seems brand new, and yet Hubby and I have learned SO much in these past four weeks, and Tracey Ann has grown and changed so much, that it must have been a lifetime... and actually, it has been.  It has been her lifetime thus far.

In these past four weeks, I have found myself wondering about Tracey Ann's personality and about the person she is going to become.  In so doing, I find myself thinking about human nature in general, and herein lies the topic of my post today.

Almost everyone on earth is naturally "not a morning person".

Tracey Ann is a very happy, sweet, loveable, easy-going baby... but she is not a morning person.  I say this because when she awakens, she cries.

This is completely natural for an infant.  She spends much of her time sleeping, and as such, she pretty much only wakes up when something is bothering her -- when she needs to be changed or when she needs to be fed.  When she awakens, she wants these needs met, and she cries, as, at present, this is her only means of communication.

Tracey Ann is not different from other babies in this daily (sometimes hourly) occurence.  In fact, it is the abnormal, or neglected baby that does not cry to make their needs known.

This leads me to today's realization.  Everyone on earth is "not a morning person".

It is completely natural to not be a morning person.  As a baby, every person habitually, and regularly, woke up and almost immediately began crying.  It makes perfect sense that as the baby grows and ages, and develops beyond the stage of crying upon awakening, that the baby (now a child, teenager, and adult) would naturally dislike mornings.

From the time we are infants, nature programs us to not be morning people.

If you feel like crying come Monday morning, or you angrily slam your alarm, and feel like you've awakened on the wrong side of the bed, take heed, this feeling is completely normal... you've felt this way since birth.  :-D

Tracey Ann's Birth Story -- Short Version

Here is the short version of how our wonderful Tracey Ann came into the world on Friday, January 24, 2014.

My parents arrived from Michigan on Thursday afternoon, January 23, and I had dinner with the two of them while Hubby worked late.  I was exhausted and went to bed around 8:00pm, just as Hubby got home from work.  My water broke at 8:30pm.

My contractions didn't start after my water broke, so Hubby and I tried to get some sleep.  We had called the on-call obstetrician to let her know my water had broken.  We spoke with her Thursday night, and then she called us back Friday morning before she went off-duty to find out how we were doing.  Since my contractions still hadn't started, she recommended that we come into the hospital.

Hubby and I arrived at the hospital mid-morning, and my labor still wouldn't get going.  Finally, at 1:00pm, we made the decision to start some pitocin, with the intention of trying to get off the medicine as soon as possible, hoping that my body would continue in labor after the pitocin was stopped.

The light dose of pitocin worked beautifully, and I was in major labor, and off the pitocin by 3:00.

For me, the best place/position to labor was on my side, in the bathtub with jets going.  Using the Bradley Method training Hubby and I had learned, it was definitely a team effort to help me relax through the contractions.  I definitely told Hubby, on several occasions, that I wasn't sure I could keep going.  He reminded me every time how well I was doing, and that I could do it.

Around 6:30pm, they let me start pushing, and Tracey Ann was born at 7:56pm.

There is MUCH more to the story than what I have shared here... but those details will have to wait for the Long Version, which I will post another day.

The Airplane Rule

Two days of life without reinforcement (i.e. without Tracey Ann's grandparents -- either set -- here to help us), and I am learning there is great wisdom to the airplane rule.

As anyone who has flown on a plane knows, the flight attendant always states that, in the event of an unforeseen change in cabin pressure, a mask will drop from the overhead compartment.  You are supposed to put your own mask on first, and then offer assistance to others (children, elderly, etc.).

As a mother, it seems to go against your intuition... you want to protect your child first and take care of yourself second.  But, if you pass out because of the change in cabin pressure because you don't have a mask on, you are not going to be any help to your children or anyone else.

Two days of being home with Tracey Ann, and I'm learning there is some wisdom to this rule.  I am a better mother when I get a nap.

I don't want to take a nap during the day despite all the advice I have been given to "sleep when the baby sleeps."  I don't want to.  I am home, and there is so much I want to do during the day that does not involve sleeping -- playing with the animals, writing thank you notes, keeping up with Tracy Ann's baby book, laundry -- ENDLESS laundry, keeping the house clean, cooking dinner, blogging, getting pictures of Tracey Ann hanging around the house, and more...

But, the truth is, I love Tracey Ann much better when I get a nap during the day.  I don't have to sleep the day away, but catching a couple hours of a nap in between two of her feedings during the day helps me make the most of the other time I have, and it helps to me to cope with the situations of motherhood when NONE of my To Do List gets accomplished.

And, because it just seems wrong to do a post without a picture of my wonderful baby girl, here you go... I call this, "Frankenbaby".

A Whole New Ballgame

Hubby and I have been incredibly blessed in that our families have been here to help us since the arrival of Tracey Ann.  That means, we have had three whole weeks of backup, help, advice, cleaning crews, kitchen crews, and reinforcements here to help us.

Now, it's a whole new ballgame. 
Buckle up, family, it is just us from now on.

1000 Words

1000 Words

The Bradley Method

In time, I will be sure to post Tracey Ann's birth story.  I will probably post a long version, with a lot of details, and then a short version for the Cliff Notes population.  Before I post either of these, however, I need to talk a little about the Bradley Method of Husband Coached Childbirth.

Hubby and I were first introduced to the Bradley Method by friends of mine from college.  They were expecting their first baby long before Tracey Ann was a twinkle in her daddy's eye.  The wife is a nurse and talked our ear off about the benefits of the Bradley Method of childbirth. 

When hubby and I found out we were pregnant 10 months later, this couple was one of my first calls.  And, within a few weeks, a package with a lot of Bradley Method reading material had been delivered to me from this couple.

In no time at all, hubby and I were sold on the merits of the Bradley Method, and we had signed up for a twelve-week class in Carbondale the upcoming fall.

The Bradley method of childbirth is based the observations of a doctor from the 1950s who studied how animals give birth, without anesthesia and without Caesareans.  At a time in our history when nearly all women were majorly drugged, and/or strapped to the table in order to give birth, this Dr. explored the possibility of natural, un-medicated childbirth.

Not long into his studies, this doctor discovered the importance, not only of husbands presence in the delivery room, but as their wife's labor coach for women to give birth naturally.  This doctor's philosophy was that women can definitely give birth naturally, if they have learned what to expect and how to handle the discomfort.  Furthermore, their husbands are instrumental in coaching them through the process of labor and delivery.  The husband, after all, knows the expectant mother better than anyone and this child is a culmination of their love for one another. The best  coach for natural labor is the husband.  

In order to prepare for labor, both husband and wife need to undergo 12 weeks of classes to prepare.  Bradley Method classes include information about pregnancy and labor, practice of relaxation for labor, learning how to support the mother during labor, and preparation for the baby's arrival.

The philosophy behind the Bradley Method believes that if a woman can relax through her contractions, her uterus will do the job it's designed to do with less discomfort than when a woman tenses up with every contraction.  The husband is instrumental in helping the wife relax through these contractions, and serves as a liaison for his wife and the medical staff during her labor and delivery.

I will write about Tracey Ann's birth story soon, but before I do, I will say Chris and I were very incredibly pleased with our experience of labor and delivery with the preparation the Bradley Method classes provided us.  We went into labor feeling incredibly prepared, knowing how to support each other, and feeling knowledgeable about what things in labor are normal and what are cause for concern.

I was able to give birth to Tracy Ann without an epidural, and it never would've been possible without my husband and the Bradley Method we had studied.

If you're interested in additional information about the Bradley method visit this website or read the below book.

 

 

Our Little Valentine!

This year, in addition to each other, Hubby and I have a new little Valentine.