A Few Pictures (25 months)

Sadie's 2nd Birthday

I'm a couple weeks late posting this but on February 21st Sadie turned two!  We had a laid back day - a couple friends stopped by for some cake.  It was unseasonably warm for February and we were able to keep the front door open.  She is a huge fan of pumpkin bread so I made this cake that has similar flavors. It was my first attempt at making a cake from scratch, and despite some bumps in the road I think it turned out okay.   From Mom + Dad she got a big stack of books and this camera.  She got a doctor kit from her friend Ellie and a cute doll from her friends Cohen + Flora.  She had a great time playing with her friends and eating cake.

Natural cold/flu remedies for toddlers (and adults!)

It started with a sore throat.  And then moved into sinus congestion and a cough.  The dreaded cold!  Both Sadie and I have been experiencing the beginnings of a cold but we drastically improved the intensity and duration by doing these five things.  

***I am not a doctor and do not intend for this to be used as medical advice.  These are simply remedies that I know have helped us.

1.) Honey - Number one on the list would most definitely be honey. It coats and soothes the throat but also has strong anti-bacterial properties (without having the risks associated with antibiotics.) The American Academy of Pediatrics has found honey to be a superior treatment for treating night time cough. I could go on and on about other various health benefits of honey but let's just say it is good stuff. And luckily it tastes great! I've read that equal parts honey and fresh lemon juice in warm water is good for a toddler – but I just give it to Sadie by the (baby) spoonful a few times a day when sick. For the full benefits be sure to get REAL honey – preferably local.

Note: Honey is not recommended for babies under the age of one.

2.) Ravintsara (Cinnamomum camphora) Essential Oil - In our house this stuff gets used all winter long (all year actually) but especially when sick. It comes from an evergreen tree and that has been used as traditional folk medicine in Madagascar for years. Ravintsara oil is antibacterial, anticatarrhal, antifungal, anti-infectious, anti rheumatic, antiviral, decongestant, cicatrisant, expectorant, immune tonic and neurotonic. It is ideal for preventing and helping soothe the symptoms of cold, cough, flu and other respiratory ailments. Ravintsara is often mixed up with Ravensara oil (also from Madagascar and highly anti-viral.) Ravintsara is the gentler option and better for use with children and mothers who are nursing or pregnant.

How to use: I diffuse Ravintsara by either using a candle light or electric fan diffuser. Obviously keep open flame out of reach of toddler and never leave a flame burning while sleeping. Burning an essential oil is said to slightly change the chemical components of the oil but, oh well, I prefer it to using electricity all day long. But the electric fan diffuser is a great option to run in the bedroom at night. I also add a drop into a tablespoon of safflower oil and use as a chest & back rub (you can use any oil or lotion/cream as a base as long as it has plant-based ingredients so that it will be able to be absorbed by the skin.) The moment I start feeling sick, I mix a single drop of Ravintsara into a spoonful of honey for myself. For Sadie (age 2), I dip just the very end of a toothpick into the oil and swirl it into her spoonful of honey.

Note:  Essential oils are highly potent and should not be used internally unless under the supervision of an aromatherapist.  It is also important that you buy your essential oils from a trusted, reputable source because it is not a regulated industry.

3.) Hydration -  Water, water, water.  This is an obvious one.  Keep hydrated!  I am lucky that Sadie LOVES water.  She has to have her sippy full with water at all times.  (Now if she would only start to love her veggies...)   If your toddler doesn't like water try coconut water.  It is packed with nutrients and is naturally sweet.  It's high in electrolytes so it is perfect for preventing dehydration.  Also be sure to run a humidifier to keep moisture in the air.

4.) Elderberries - This powerful berry helps boost the immune system and it's anti-viral properties make it perfect for use while experiencing cold & flu symptoms.  I use this Black Elderberry Extract - it's alcohol-free and safe for all ages.  

Note: Dosage for children is usually a fraction of the recommended adult dosage. Be sure to check with your supplier if it's not indicated on the label.

5.) Soup -  This is a great way to keep hydrated (see #3) but it's also a great way to get the healing benefits of garlic (antibacterial, antiviral) and ginger (anti-inflammatory, immune boosting.)  I made Heidi Swanson's Immunity Soup (for myself) and was surprised that Sadie loved the broth.  I incorporate a lot of garlic and ginger in my diet, so my guess is that she is familiar with the flavor through drinking breast milk.  Maybe try a toned down version for your toddler if he/she isn't used to these flavors.  Do not serve to child steaming hot as the recipe suggests.

I hope you feel better soon! We do!

Christmas

We wanted a simple Christmas with just a few gifts that we knew Sadie would love.  She has a play kitchen that she LOVES at Nana and Papa's so we decided to get one for our house as well.  She got some fake food, dishes, and a broom and dustpan to go along with it.   She got a few little stocking stuffers including some big girl underwear that hopefully she will be able to start using soon.  We had pink grapefruit for breakfast and relaxed around the house until afternoon when we went to my parents for a big Christmas dinner.  It was a great day and even Kevin (who hates Christmas) seemed in good spirits.

22 months

Wow, what a difference a month makes.  All of a sudden Sadie can say the word for just about everything in her world.  And she is stringing together words and making sentences.  Some of her favorite things to say:

She exclaims "I wanna see Dada!"  or "I wanna see Mimi!" and then she will grab my hand and drag me to wherever Dada or Mimi is in the house.

Santa Claus she calls "Ho Ho" and Mrs. Claus she calls "Nana" (I guess she looks like my mom?)

All stars are called "Ba ba high" because when she sings the song Twinkle Twinkle she says "Ba ba ba ba ba ba high!" instead of the actual words.

Bed time has become a long excruciating ordeal where we have to say "Night night" to everything in the house (to Mimi, to Dada, to the kitchen, to the records, to the Christmas tree, etc.)  She is still nursing to sleep but she now also must be holding her sippy cup of water and her baby doll.  If one of these things falls from her grasp as she's falling asleep she jerks back awake.

She loves going to the library to play. She loves going to visit Nana and Papa. She loves going to the art museum.  She loves going to the book store.  She HATES being stuck in the house all day and will moan and whine until we take her out.

She loves to help me cook.  I will give her something to stir or a small job like throwing the vegetable peels away.  If I'm doing something at the kitchen counter she just has to be involved.  "Help, mama, help!" she will say as she tries to push the stool over to the counter.  She loves helping her mama.

I can't wait until Christmas as this will be the first one that she will really enjoy.  Until then...

21 months

She is talking so much now and I can't even believe how many words she picks up on each day.  

She likes to point to things she knows the word for and proudly declare what they are called - “That's a box!” or “It's the moon!”

She can identify all of the letters of the alphabet and also associates certain words with some of them. If I point to the M for example she will say “M! Mama!” or “D! For Dada!”

She loves drinking “wa-wa” and if her sippy cup gets low she marches over to the fridge to ask for more.

She is still breastfeeding but only twice a day: nap time and bed time. Whenever she wants to nurse she will say “Night night!” and pretend that she is tired. She calls milk “moots” for some reason and will also lightly tap on my breast and say “moots, mama, moots” when she wants some.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star is her favorite song to sing (although “sky” and “high” are usually the only recognizable words.)  She loves to play her piano and sing along.

Much to her mother's dismay she is still refusing to eat fruits and vegetables. She likes a basic pasta with marinara, or some whole wheat toast with almond butter and honey, or steel cut oats with dried currants.

Her personality is seriously starting to shine so bright. I don't even know how it's possible that I love her even more each day!

A few pictures from October

Oatmeal Applesauce Cookies for Toddlers

 Sadie helped me make "cookies" for the first time yesterday.  I put that in quotations because these are so healthy they barely qualify.  This is a great recipe to do with a toddler because it's super easy (just throw everything into a bowl) and it has no eggs, so you don't have to worry if she decides to start eating the dough (which she did.)

Oatmeal Applesauce Cookies
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup unbleached flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce
2/3 cup brown sugar (or your preferred sweetener)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup shredded coconut (optional)
1/2 cup dried currants (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

First combine all dry ingredients (oats, flour, cinnamon & nutmeg.)  Then stir in applesauce, brown sugar and vanilla until well blended.   At this point you can throw in any dried fruit, seeds, nuts, etc.  I put in coconut and currants because those are favorites around these parts.

Roll into 1 inch balls, place on cookie sheet and then push down to flatten the tops a bit.  Put in pre-heated oven for 15-20 minutes until lightly browned.

Makes around 36.

19 months - a walk to the ravine

Some reflections on Sadie's birth

For quite some time after Sadie was born I was saddened by the fact that I didn't have the birth that I had wanted and planned for. Who am I kidding... I still am. I get a pang in my stomach when I think about everything I missed. I wanted a natural birth. I wanted to experience the feeling of pushing her out of me. I wanted to be able to bring her to my chest and start nursing right away. I wanted constant cuddle time in the hours and days following Sadie's birth. None of these things worked out as planned.

We found out that I was pregnant right before Kevin left for a three month tour across Europe, the UK & Russia. Our only source of income at the time was unemployment checks from my previous employer, so I quickly applied for and received medicaid coverage for the birth.

Three months alone. And pregnant. I had a lot of time on my hands. I started doing a ton of research. I spent hours and hours scouring websites, blogs, and message boards about childbirth. I watched The Business of Being Born. I read Ina May Gaskin. I knew from the start that I wanted to have a natural birth, but now I was starting to think that I wanted to have a home birth. A couple of my friends had done that and they had nothing but positive things to say about it. I began my prenatal visits with an ob/gyn but also scheduled an appointment to meet with a midwife and doula after Kevin's return.

Our meeting with the midwife and doula was at a local organization that specializes in home birth. They both were extremely nice and informative. I got a huge packet of information, which included a recipe for a pregnancy tea that I drank religiously from that time forward. But the issue for us came down to one thing, plain and simple: money. We had none. Medicaid would cover the birth 100% if it was in a hospital but 0% at home. The organization of midwives does make an effort to do all they could do to help low income families. There was a list of things they would accept as barter and a fund you could apply to for a portion off the cost. But they did need a deposit from us and it was something that we just didn't have.

In our initial discussion after leaving the meeting Kevin and I decided that home birth was out of the question for us financially. But could we justify the expense for a doula? Kevin told me it was my decision to make and he would be supportive either way, that we would find a way to scrape together money if that's what I wanted. I toiled over it for weeks, going back and forth and back again. I read blogs and message boards that all seemed to say the same thing: get a doula! But I didn't want to spend money that we didn't really have for something that, at the time, seemed like such a luxury. I also thought about the fact that every single other thing I've done in my life I've been able to through my own strong will and perseverance. Why would birth be any different? I would do it the way I wanted to, on my terms, no problem. So I finally decided to save the money and do it chemical-free, at a hospital, but without a doula.  

I read a bunch of books on natural childbirth. A friend who had given birth at home gave me all of the information and coursework from the home birth class she had taken. As mentioned before, I drank pregnancy tea daily, hoping the red raspberry leaf would prepare my uterus. I typed out a very detailed birth plan and made sure that everyone who was going to be involved with the birth knew my wishes. I felt confident and well prepared, not a bit nervous or scared. I could do this!

And then the birth came and.... literally nothing happened as planned. For the first time in my life I had set out to do something and had failed miserably. Determination, preparation, and will power had failed me.

Some emotions I have felt when looking back on the whole thing: Guilt when I see studies about the long term health effects of natural birth on the baby. Sadness when I see clips from movies or tv shows of a just born baby being lifted up to the mothers arms. Embarrassment for being a big promoter of doing things natural and not being able to. Loss when I think about how I will never experience this part of motherhood.

Luckily, despite the rocky start, Sadie and I had a bond that could not be weakened by circumstance. Just hours after my c-section I was on my way down to the NICU to breastfeed her. I fought nurses who tried to give her formula and complained to their superior. For a week I camped out, never leaving her side. I was a fierce mama protecting my bear cub and no one has ever doubted my commitment or determination to do only what was best for my little one. So yeah, the birth was rough, but I am still one kick ass mom.

Other emotions I have regarding the birth:  Pure Happiness that despite the initial hardship my baby girl is healthy and happy.  Gratitude that I had my husband by my side and my parents were just around the corner.  Confidence that even though I am not a perfect person I am always making the best choices that I can at any given moment for my daughter.

Sadie's Birth Story

Here is Sadie's birth story that I wrote two weeks after she was born.  These are just the facts as I remembered them.  I eventually will do did a blog post about my feelings on how the events unfolded and what I would have done differently.

Dad & Mom staring down with the same look of adoration

Sadie's due date, Feb 8th, 2012, came and went. After it passed I began desperately trying everything I could to get labor started. I wanted a natural birth so I really was hoping things would get started on their own before 42 weeks which is when an induction would be scheduled.

I was thrilled when I started getting regular contractions around 10 pm on Saturday, Feb 18. I was 41 weeks + 4 days so she was coming just in time. I had regular contractions all night lasting around 45 seconds every 6-7 min. I got absolutely no sleep because of the pain and the excitement. Around 8 am Sunday morning I called my parents and let them know that today was going to be the day. Kevin usually works weekends so he called off and told them he would be taking his week long vacation starting that day. But then around 10 am the contractions basically just stopped.

Rather than getting some sleep on Sunday, I spent the day trying to do things to get labor going again. Around 11 pm Sunday evening the contractions started back up. I spent the whole night up again and this time it they seemed to be getting stronger and a little tiny bit closer together.

By Monday morning they were about 5 minutes apart. I hadn't slept for 2 nights but I was so excited I couldn't even tell that I was tired. I had a doctors appointment scheduled for 11:30 that day, so at 8 am I called the office to see if I should still go to it or if I should just head in to the hospital. He told me to take a shower and rest for a few hours and then just head to the hospital. It was hard for me to rest though. I managed to eat a small bowl of yogurt and granola. We headed to the hospital around 11 am.

They examined me and I was at a 4. This was encouraging to me considering at each of my prior exams I had never been bigger than a 1. They went ahead and checked me in and took me to my room. 

So Monday from around 11:30 am until 6 pm I labored in my room with Kevin. I felt extremely weak and tired since I hadn't slept for days and they wouldn't allow me to eat or drink. I kept begging for food and they brought me popsicles which didn't help at all. The nurse examined me at 6 pm and told me I was at 6 cm. I couldn't believe in all that time I had only dilated 2 cm! She said my bag of waters was bulging and ready to break at any moment. She said it was so ready to break that she could have probably broken it with her finger-tip and asked if I wanted to call a doctor in to break it. I told her to hold off, that I wanted to think about it. 

After about an hour I decided my labor had to start progressing so I called the nurse and told her I did want my water broken. She said she would call this doctor in to do it (not my doctor). At about 8 pm they broke my water.

That is when things got really intense. The pain of the contractions got really really bad. After about an hour I started feeling extremely ill. I felt really weak and felt like I was going to vomit and actually did a little bit. This went on until around 2 am Tuesday morning when they checked me again. At this point I was only 7 cm. I couldn't understand how that could be. In six hours of the most intense painful labor I had only gone up 1 cm??? This is when they told me I would need to start pitocin. I had really wanted a natural birth but at this point I was so sick and miserable I wanted to do whatever I could to have it be over. I decided there was no way I could get pitocin without an epidural so I told them to give me both.

So around 2 am Tuesday morning I got both an epidural and got started on pitocin. I fell asleep immediately. From 2 am-8 am was a weird haze of chills and fever dreams. I kept waking up and complaining that I was cold. The nurse said it was probably from the IV. I had my husband put a bunch of blankets on me and turn up the heat in the room. The next thing i remember is the nurse waking me up telling me that I had a fever of 104 and that they were going to give me antibiotics. I was really confused and I have no idea what time this was. 

At 9 am they woke me up to check my dilation. They said I was finally at a 10 and that it would be time to start pushing soon. My doctor came in and told me I had developed chorioamnionitis (a bacterial infection) after my water was broken which is why I had the fever and was feeling so ill. Around 9:30 am I started pushing. I still felt really sick and weak so it was difficult. Despite being on pitocin all night my contractions were still really far apart. I had to wait 5 minutes after pushing for another contraction to begin. Around noon my doctor informed me that despite having pushed for 2.5 hours, no progress had been made. He said that I could try pushing for another hour or I could elect for a c-section. By this point I didn't even have to think about it. I was so miserable and also worried about the health of my baby because of the infection. I told him I wanted to do the c-section.

At 12:36 pm on Tuesday Feb 21st Sadie Elise was born. They let me see her for just a second before rushing her off to the NIC unit. I had a couple nurses tell me it was a good thing I decided to do the c-section when I did. They told me the infection had gotten into her stomach and her lungs. They put her on a 7-day course of antibiotics and did a bunch of tests to make sure she wouldn't have to stay longer (all of which she passed with flying colors). By day 2 she was acting like a 100% healthy baby girl and from there on out it was just a waiting game until the 7th day so she could be released.