The boys and I have been living with my dad for a month now. We should have about four months left before we can move into our new house.
The living arrangements are good; we each have our own bedroom in the basement plus a bathroom and family room down there. Of course, between meals, snacks, and doing dishes, we end up spending a lot of our time upstairs in the kitchen..
The boys enjoy being here with Grandma and Grandpa. The other day, my dad got out his old electric train, which the boys loved. It's pretty neat. He got it when he was ten, which makes it almost fifty years old!
Last week, my dad took my oldest for a ride in his airplane, which was a real treat. That kid loves flying! Little brother and I stayed at the hangar and played with the cat,which was also a treat (he loves cats!).
The hard thing is being away from my husband, and waiting anxiously for our house to be done. Some days go by slow because all I can think about is being together again as a family and having our own house. It will be so nice to own a home! On the other hand, I keep pretty busy taking care of my boys, so some days go by fast. Also, my dad and stepmom scheduled a "Lura's Night Out" every once in a while. One of them stays home with the boys while I go out with the other one. Last weekend I went to the high school production of Grease with my dad, and tomorrow night I get to go out to eat at a fun local restaraunt with my stepmom.
Work on the house is coming along. Today the floors in the garage and basement are being poured. Next week the framing should go up. The boys and are going up to visit for Mother's Day, and I am so excited to see the house! I'm also excited to see my hubby! :)
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Stakes Give me Hope
Hubby and I have been toying with the idea of building a house for years. We were originally going to build when he returned home from Iraq back in 2005, but decided to put our money into his education instead. Between then and now, we've looked into buying an already existing home, but for some reason or another, it never worked out.
In January, after much thought and discussion, we set out to find a lot on which to build our home. We found a perfect peice of land for a good price and put a contract on it. Now, three months later, things are finally really happening! Our lot is now staked out and crews are supposed to start digging tomorrow (Monday)! I am so excited that it's really happening. I've been trying not to get my hopes too high because I've been scared that it wasn't going to happen. I realize there may still be some bumps along the way, but seeing these pictures of stakes on our lot gives me hope! Home ownership, here we come!
Sunday, April 12, 2009
An Easter Message
Elder Holland's talk last week in General Conference was wonderful. Here is a short excerpt from it set to video. . .
Well, I can't figure out how to put the actual video on here, so here is the link to it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpFhS0dAduc
And a link to the entire talk:
http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-1032-27,00.html
Happy Easter!
Well, I can't figure out how to put the actual video on here, so here is the link to it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpFhS0dAduc
And a link to the entire talk:
http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-1032-27,00.html
Happy Easter!
Thursday, April 9, 2009
More on Childbirth
In response to Arlynda's comment on yesterday's post about Hypnobirthing, let my clarify a few things. First off, I totally agree that birth is different for everyone. While women's bodies are designed to carry, nurture, and birth babies, it is true that nature sometimes needs help. Nobody's body functions perfectly. A slew of health problems like diabetes, depression, and asthma, to name a few, come to mind. Where would the sufferers of these issues be without medical intervention? Likewise, not all women can safely birth children. I'm grateful for the wonderful medical advances we have to help out when there is a problem.
I think it's horrible that people told Arlynda to just "listen to her body" and she'd be able to birth without a c-section. That kind of ignorance makes me mad. There are cases in which medical intervention is absolutely necessary to preserve the health and sometimes the very lives of both mother and baby. This is why I've chosen to birth in a hospital. While I plan on and hope for a natural, uncomplicated birth, I know there is a chance of something going wrong, and I feel safer being there at the hospital where help will be readily available if needed.
That being said, I think in many cases, doctors intervene when it is unnecessary. I think it's important for women to be informed about the decisions they may be faced with during labor so they can make the best decision for themselves and their babies, rather than just being told by the doctor or nurses what is going to happen next. For example, when I was in labor with my first son, the nurses told me they were putting me on pitocin because my labor was slow. I didn't argue because I didn't really know much about it. I also felt like I didn't really have a choice in the matter. There was no medical urgency to speed up my labor, and had I known then what I know now, I probably would have asked to wait a while longer and to try some natural ways of inducing labor before being put on the drip. It was after the pitocin kicked in that the pain became so great that I opted for an epidural.
I think it's horrible that people told Arlynda to just "listen to her body" and she'd be able to birth without a c-section. That kind of ignorance makes me mad. There are cases in which medical intervention is absolutely necessary to preserve the health and sometimes the very lives of both mother and baby. This is why I've chosen to birth in a hospital. While I plan on and hope for a natural, uncomplicated birth, I know there is a chance of something going wrong, and I feel safer being there at the hospital where help will be readily available if needed.
That being said, I think in many cases, doctors intervene when it is unnecessary. I think it's important for women to be informed about the decisions they may be faced with during labor so they can make the best decision for themselves and their babies, rather than just being told by the doctor or nurses what is going to happen next. For example, when I was in labor with my first son, the nurses told me they were putting me on pitocin because my labor was slow. I didn't argue because I didn't really know much about it. I also felt like I didn't really have a choice in the matter. There was no medical urgency to speed up my labor, and had I known then what I know now, I probably would have asked to wait a while longer and to try some natural ways of inducing labor before being put on the drip. It was after the pitocin kicked in that the pain became so great that I opted for an epidural.
Arlynda also commented on the fear-tension-pain cycle. I agree with her that it isn't cut and dry. While I beleive that fear does lead to pain, I also have experienced first hand that you may have pain without any fear at all. But the pain will be heightened if fear and tension are present. Likewise, your level of pain or discomfort will be lower if you are able to release all fear and just relax.
Thanks, Arlynda for your comment. I appreciate hearing from someone who has experienced a different form of birth. As I said earlier, every birth is different. But no matter how it happens, birth is a miracle that deserves our reverence and respect.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
About Hypnobirthing
I feel so good right now! I got my kids to bed early, then lit some aromatherapy candles, started my hypnobirthing relaxation cd, and took a nice warm bath. Aaaahhhh. . . it was so relaxing. This is the first time during this pregnancy that I've listened to my relaxation cd, and it really got me looking forward to giving birth. You may be thinking, "looking forward to giving birth? Are you crazy?!" Let me tell you, it doesn't have to be as horrible as everyone in our society says it is. In fact, the process of labor and delivery can and should be wonderful!
For those of you who don't know about hypnobirthing (which I would assume is most of my readers), let me explain a little. First off, don't let the name scare you. If you're like most people, when you think of hypnosis, you probably think of either stage hypnosis (people doing crazy and embarassing things in front of an audience while hypnotized), or you might think of scary people carrying out wicked deeds vicariously through someone they have forcefully hypnotized.
The truth is, you can't be hypnotized without your consent, and once you are in a hypnotic state, nobody can make you do anything you don't want to do. As Marie Mongan, the founder of the Hynobirthing Method explains, "With a better understanding of hypnosis today, we now know that a person in a hypnotic state is fully awake, is in an even heightened state of awarness and totally in control." All hypnosis really is is a deep state of relaxation, so don't freak out about the hypnosis part.
What I really like about the method is the underlying philosophy that birth doesn't have to be painful, nor is it a medical incident. In searching for a quote from the book, I ended up wanting to quote the entire chapter on the philosophy! It's all so good! I've narrowed it down to a few quotes, but really, you should just read the whole book. Here are some of my favorite quotes concerning the philosophy:
"Like the bodies of our sister creatures in nature, the bodies of healthy pregnant women instinctivley know how to birth, just as their bodies instinctivley know how to conceive and how to nurture the development of the babies they are carrying."
"The Hypnobirthing view of birth is that it is a natural extension of the sexuality of a man and a woman, and, therefore, we believe that birth is about them. It is about family fulfillment. . . . For birthing parents, birth is not about science; it's not about anatomy; it's not about doctors or midwives or nurses . . . it's about family-parents and their babies."
"A Hypnobirthing mother learns to embrace her body's innate knowledge of birthing, to relax into her birthing process, working with her body and her baby . . . The result is a truly rewarding and satisfying birth experience, with the entire family, including the baby, being awake, alert and calm, yet energized."
I used Hypnobirthing techniques with my second son, and I can honestly say that it was an awesome experience. It was not completely pain free, and was certainly a lot of work, but it wasn't the horror that our society makes birth out to be. For the most part, it was a peaceful and calm experience. I attribute the relatively small amount of pain and distress I did feel to my lack of practicing my relaxation techniqes.
My first delivery, however, was the horror I expected it to be. I had not yet learned about hypnobirthing, and fully expected labor and delivery to be the most painful and horrible thing I had ever experienced. And it was. The joy of bringing my son into this world was clouded by pain, fear, and drugs (I had an epidural). The following weeks were dark days I don't wish to remember. While I know that there were other factors that played into the stark contrast between the two births (my first baby was considerably bigger, and he and I both had an infection), I think that my expections and preparations had a lot to do with it. Dr. Dick-Read came up with the idea of the fear-tension-pain cycle. Fear of childbirth leads to tension in the body, which leads to pain (tension also makes labor longer). Had I not been so fearful, perhaps my first son and I would have had a better experience.
It is getting late, and I need to get bed. Otherwise, I would continue my ramblings. Natural childbirth is awesome! I'm sure there are other natural childbirth methods that work well, too. I don't know how to rap this up, except to say that I am excited to give birth in a few months!!
For those of you who don't know about hypnobirthing (which I would assume is most of my readers), let me explain a little. First off, don't let the name scare you. If you're like most people, when you think of hypnosis, you probably think of either stage hypnosis (people doing crazy and embarassing things in front of an audience while hypnotized), or you might think of scary people carrying out wicked deeds vicariously through someone they have forcefully hypnotized.
The truth is, you can't be hypnotized without your consent, and once you are in a hypnotic state, nobody can make you do anything you don't want to do. As Marie Mongan, the founder of the Hynobirthing Method explains, "With a better understanding of hypnosis today, we now know that a person in a hypnotic state is fully awake, is in an even heightened state of awarness and totally in control." All hypnosis really is is a deep state of relaxation, so don't freak out about the hypnosis part.
What I really like about the method is the underlying philosophy that birth doesn't have to be painful, nor is it a medical incident. In searching for a quote from the book, I ended up wanting to quote the entire chapter on the philosophy! It's all so good! I've narrowed it down to a few quotes, but really, you should just read the whole book. Here are some of my favorite quotes concerning the philosophy:
"Like the bodies of our sister creatures in nature, the bodies of healthy pregnant women instinctivley know how to birth, just as their bodies instinctivley know how to conceive and how to nurture the development of the babies they are carrying."
"The Hypnobirthing view of birth is that it is a natural extension of the sexuality of a man and a woman, and, therefore, we believe that birth is about them. It is about family fulfillment. . . . For birthing parents, birth is not about science; it's not about anatomy; it's not about doctors or midwives or nurses . . . it's about family-parents and their babies."
"A Hypnobirthing mother learns to embrace her body's innate knowledge of birthing, to relax into her birthing process, working with her body and her baby . . . The result is a truly rewarding and satisfying birth experience, with the entire family, including the baby, being awake, alert and calm, yet energized."
I used Hypnobirthing techniques with my second son, and I can honestly say that it was an awesome experience. It was not completely pain free, and was certainly a lot of work, but it wasn't the horror that our society makes birth out to be. For the most part, it was a peaceful and calm experience. I attribute the relatively small amount of pain and distress I did feel to my lack of practicing my relaxation techniqes.
My first delivery, however, was the horror I expected it to be. I had not yet learned about hypnobirthing, and fully expected labor and delivery to be the most painful and horrible thing I had ever experienced. And it was. The joy of bringing my son into this world was clouded by pain, fear, and drugs (I had an epidural). The following weeks were dark days I don't wish to remember. While I know that there were other factors that played into the stark contrast between the two births (my first baby was considerably bigger, and he and I both had an infection), I think that my expections and preparations had a lot to do with it. Dr. Dick-Read came up with the idea of the fear-tension-pain cycle. Fear of childbirth leads to tension in the body, which leads to pain (tension also makes labor longer). Had I not been so fearful, perhaps my first son and I would have had a better experience.
It is getting late, and I need to get bed. Otherwise, I would continue my ramblings. Natural childbirth is awesome! I'm sure there are other natural childbirth methods that work well, too. I don't know how to rap this up, except to say that I am excited to give birth in a few months!!
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