I was at work one morning, conversing with one of the nurses. She's pregnant.
I wasn't sure how far along she was, but she didn't look very big.
She was sitting at her computer, inputting her assessments. Only she was having to stop every few minutes or so.
She was having contractions! We talked a bit more, turns out she was 3 days from 40 weeks. With her first. She'd had irregular contractions the night before, and her last office visit the day before had shown she was 2cm and 100% effaced.
But she came into work. It being her first, she didn't think she was in labor. She was planning to go natural, prepared to go overdue, have a long labor etc.
Only at work her contractions were regular. When I was talking with her they were 4 minutes apart. She said they were painful but she was calm and breathing through them. She was working on getting her paperwork complete because she felt she wasn't going to finish her 12 hour shift (it was about 11am).
I was telling her she was doing good by keeping busy and keeping her mind off it. It could still be awhile, it's going to get much worse (although I always include that everyone is different and feels different sensations as they labor), early labor is easy etc etc.
Well about 45 minutes later she was getting a bit more serious looking. She handed over her patients and went to Labor and Delivery.
I don't know all the details from there. Only that we checked on her about 1-2 hours later and per her family she was 7 cm and said to tell us that she was "dying".
She had her just shy of 7 lb baby at about 2pm. After a 4-6 hour labor, 3 of which she worked through.
I told my husband that when she came back from maternity leave I was going to punch her.
He told me not to hate just because she had the labor and delivery I wanted.
Even my midwife would tell you that she and anyone like her are an exception to the rule.
But I still begrudge her a little.
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Dirty Mouth? Clean it up!
So Wednesday Sophia and I were at a friend's house having a mom/daughter playdate (she has a little girl 7 months older). We were in the nursery sorting old clothes (so that I could pick out some to borrow, score!) when Sophia started gagging.
I looked over and Sophia was spitting and it was a bit foamy. I then realized there was a small decorative soap in her hand, with a chunk out of it.
Of course I snatched that away. Poor baby girl was gagging and spitting and her eyes were watering.
Then about 2 seconds later, she full on blew chunks. Only about 1/3-1/2 a cup, but she was quite frightened by the whole thing. She's never vomited before.
She looked so pitiful, trembling, foaming, eyes watering, gagging, puking.
Thankfully it only lasted a few seconds.
But she was pretty sedate for awhile after her ordeal.
If only she were old enough to truly remember it. Then if I threatened to "wash your mouth out with soap" she'd actually take that as a serious threat with dire consequences.
It was both pitiful and just a little funny.
I looked over and Sophia was spitting and it was a bit foamy. I then realized there was a small decorative soap in her hand, with a chunk out of it.
Of course I snatched that away. Poor baby girl was gagging and spitting and her eyes were watering.
Then about 2 seconds later, she full on blew chunks. Only about 1/3-1/2 a cup, but she was quite frightened by the whole thing. She's never vomited before.
She looked so pitiful, trembling, foaming, eyes watering, gagging, puking.
Thankfully it only lasted a few seconds.
But she was pretty sedate for awhile after her ordeal.
If only she were old enough to truly remember it. Then if I threatened to "wash your mouth out with soap" she'd actually take that as a serious threat with dire consequences.
It was both pitiful and just a little funny.
Monday, February 17, 2014
My No-(Sham)poo Experience
So a few weeks ago I saw a blog post link on Facebook. I'd heard
about the "no-poo" method. But this post made it seem healthy,
inexpensive and convenient.
I'd already tried to start shampooing my hair less, as another blog I read mentioned how over-shampooing can actually cause increased oil production due to stripping off all your natural oil with shampoo and your scalp over-producing oil to compensate.
I have always struggled with oily hair and facial skin. It IS getting better as I age, but my hair still looks its best when shampooed daily. But maybe I was helping to perpetuate this vicious cycle?
So I started shampooing every other day and using dry shampoo or baby powder on the off days. I was warned there would be an adjustment period. But overall it went pretty well. The off days were'nt "great" hair days but they were far more tolerable than I thought.
So I decided "what the heck?". Baking soda is cheap. The blog said to use straight baking soda and rub it into your scalp. They also used apple cider vinegar mixed with water as conditioner. I didn't try their conditioner as my hair wasn't dry enough to need conditioning during my trial.
It was a bit weird not having a nice lather whiles scrubbing. I also had to be extra careful to rinse my hair really really well. I would say that at first my hair really did seem to have more body. But as the 5th day approached it started to have more "buildup" than body. Upon further research I was probably approaching the "oily" phase a lot of people experience until their hair adjusts.
I probably would have kept on with it except one problem. It caused me to break out!
Yes, apparently my skin does not like pure baking soda washed over it. I would never classify myself as having sensitive skin. I've only had itchy rashes a total of three times now, and once was an allergic reaction to medication (SO not fun!). The second time was over Christmas when I washed/dryed my clothes in something my skin did NOT appreciate (perhaps that was baking soda related too?).
And the third was trying out the no-poo method.
At first I didn't realize that was the culprit. I thought I'd worn something I washed over Christmas but had failed to re-wash in my own detergent. But on about the 4th day I realized my chest was extra itchy right after washing my hair. And it hit me- the rash came just about the same time I started the baking soda routine.
I was a little disappointed. I wanted to be able to go a couple days without "washing" my hair and it not look like an oil slick. But alas, not at the expense of an itchy rash (which I still have more than a week later).
I did some research and while it's not possible to be "allergic" to topical baking soda, baking soda (especially in large quantities) can be a skin irritant to some. The only alternatives I saw mentioned was some other clay mud but you have to get it online or at a health food store. That defeats the inexpensive and convenient part to me.
I also saw a few posts warning that baking soda can very much irritate or burn the skin and is a simple household chemical, not a natural beauty wonder product.
I told my hair stylist about all of this, and she gave me a suggestion for my next experiment. She told me to get a 1 liter bottle of scented shampoo and cut up a small red onion into then let it marinate for 2 weeks. After that I can use it daily or even just weekly if I like. It will help repair damage and replenish oils. She says her mom has been using it for a year now and won't go back.
She learned the trick from a friend's grandma who stated they would use a red onion poultice on their hair 75-100 years ago to keep it looking healthy.And your hair won't smell like onions.
As soon as I have more data on that experiment I'll let you know!
I'd already tried to start shampooing my hair less, as another blog I read mentioned how over-shampooing can actually cause increased oil production due to stripping off all your natural oil with shampoo and your scalp over-producing oil to compensate.
I have always struggled with oily hair and facial skin. It IS getting better as I age, but my hair still looks its best when shampooed daily. But maybe I was helping to perpetuate this vicious cycle?
So I started shampooing every other day and using dry shampoo or baby powder on the off days. I was warned there would be an adjustment period. But overall it went pretty well. The off days were'nt "great" hair days but they were far more tolerable than I thought.
So I decided "what the heck?". Baking soda is cheap. The blog said to use straight baking soda and rub it into your scalp. They also used apple cider vinegar mixed with water as conditioner. I didn't try their conditioner as my hair wasn't dry enough to need conditioning during my trial.
It was a bit weird not having a nice lather whiles scrubbing. I also had to be extra careful to rinse my hair really really well. I would say that at first my hair really did seem to have more body. But as the 5th day approached it started to have more "buildup" than body. Upon further research I was probably approaching the "oily" phase a lot of people experience until their hair adjusts.
I probably would have kept on with it except one problem. It caused me to break out!
Yes, apparently my skin does not like pure baking soda washed over it. I would never classify myself as having sensitive skin. I've only had itchy rashes a total of three times now, and once was an allergic reaction to medication (SO not fun!). The second time was over Christmas when I washed/dryed my clothes in something my skin did NOT appreciate (perhaps that was baking soda related too?).
And the third was trying out the no-poo method.
At first I didn't realize that was the culprit. I thought I'd worn something I washed over Christmas but had failed to re-wash in my own detergent. But on about the 4th day I realized my chest was extra itchy right after washing my hair. And it hit me- the rash came just about the same time I started the baking soda routine.
I was a little disappointed. I wanted to be able to go a couple days without "washing" my hair and it not look like an oil slick. But alas, not at the expense of an itchy rash (which I still have more than a week later).
I did some research and while it's not possible to be "allergic" to topical baking soda, baking soda (especially in large quantities) can be a skin irritant to some. The only alternatives I saw mentioned was some other clay mud but you have to get it online or at a health food store. That defeats the inexpensive and convenient part to me.
I also saw a few posts warning that baking soda can very much irritate or burn the skin and is a simple household chemical, not a natural beauty wonder product.
I told my hair stylist about all of this, and she gave me a suggestion for my next experiment. She told me to get a 1 liter bottle of scented shampoo and cut up a small red onion into then let it marinate for 2 weeks. After that I can use it daily or even just weekly if I like. It will help repair damage and replenish oils. She says her mom has been using it for a year now and won't go back.
She learned the trick from a friend's grandma who stated they would use a red onion poultice on their hair 75-100 years ago to keep it looking healthy.And your hair won't smell like onions.
As soon as I have more data on that experiment I'll let you know!
Monday, February 3, 2014
Accustomed
So I got rather "spoiled" by my lack of work over the past couple months. But alas, my bank account and savings account have also been "spoiled" but not in the same way I have. So when an opportunity for a lot of work arrived, I had to take it.
So, out of the 28 days of February, I am working 21 of them. Two of them will be only 6 hours and 2 of them will be only 4 hours (weekend days). But still, after being home a lot, that is a lot of time away from home for me.
So this morning I dropped Sophia off at great-grandma's, I tried not to cry. First because she still clings to me when I drop her off. She doesn't go as happily as she does at grandma's. I did make it better this morning by putting her down by some toys instead of handing her straight to great-grandma. She didn't cry.
But, I will be leaving her with either John or great-grandma for some portion of the day for the next 8 of 9 days. I have every Wednesday off and one of two weekend days off (except this weekend when I work both). It's hard to think about. I tried to think of doctors, hospital pharmacists, even just regular full-time workers who have their kids in daycare 40+ hours a week. To be honest, it didn't help me. That's just not what I want for myself or Sophia and I'm not going to feel bad about earnestly desiring and even demanding it. I'm not going to feel bad about sacrificing friend's expensive wedding gifts, co-workers sympathy plants, Thirty-One parties, Scentsy parties, dinners out, or even mission projects. I'm not sacrificing precious time with my daughter just to be able to afford the things society thinks you should. No judgement here if you want to work full-time and have nicer things. That's totally your choice. It's just not for me.
But, my more-rigorous-than-normal work schedule is not about saving for a cruise or buying new clothes. We're down to it being a necessity of keeping the "four walls" covered at this point after a lean couple of months for my job. So I'll suck it up and be grateful for the chance to play a little financial catch-up. But I'll still be missing my Sophie.
So, out of the 28 days of February, I am working 21 of them. Two of them will be only 6 hours and 2 of them will be only 4 hours (weekend days). But still, after being home a lot, that is a lot of time away from home for me.
So this morning I dropped Sophia off at great-grandma's, I tried not to cry. First because she still clings to me when I drop her off. She doesn't go as happily as she does at grandma's. I did make it better this morning by putting her down by some toys instead of handing her straight to great-grandma. She didn't cry.
But, I will be leaving her with either John or great-grandma for some portion of the day for the next 8 of 9 days. I have every Wednesday off and one of two weekend days off (except this weekend when I work both). It's hard to think about. I tried to think of doctors, hospital pharmacists, even just regular full-time workers who have their kids in daycare 40+ hours a week. To be honest, it didn't help me. That's just not what I want for myself or Sophia and I'm not going to feel bad about earnestly desiring and even demanding it. I'm not going to feel bad about sacrificing friend's expensive wedding gifts, co-workers sympathy plants, Thirty-One parties, Scentsy parties, dinners out, or even mission projects. I'm not sacrificing precious time with my daughter just to be able to afford the things society thinks you should. No judgement here if you want to work full-time and have nicer things. That's totally your choice. It's just not for me.
But, my more-rigorous-than-normal work schedule is not about saving for a cruise or buying new clothes. We're down to it being a necessity of keeping the "four walls" covered at this point after a lean couple of months for my job. So I'll suck it up and be grateful for the chance to play a little financial catch-up. But I'll still be missing my Sophie.
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