All Things Supercinski

This pregnancy has gone by so quickly for me - it’s hard to believe that we will have a new baby in about a month. Josiah is all moved into his room, and the top of my baby to-do list is getting clothes down from the attic and organizing closets. Easier written than executed. We are also gathering all of the supplies we will need for the birth that need to be here and ready by next week. Eek!

This was last weekend all dressed up for a friend’s wedding (thanks again, Josie, for letting me borrow your dress!) I am much bigger than I was at this point with Josiah. I’m outweighing Thomas by about 10 pounds these days and have out-gained myself from the last pregnancy by 5 pounds already. The funniest thing about that to me is that I’m eating so much healthier than last time.

I’m feeling pretty good these days. I’m definitely feeling the extra weight and heaviness which makes me exhausted by the end of the day, but the really bad back and hip pain is much more manageable these days, thanks once again to my chiropractor. (Did I tell you guys how much I really appreciate this woman?) I am still throwing up about once a week or so in the morning.

All these different symptoms and a strong feeling lead me to guess that this baby is a girl. I’ve got a 50-50 chance of being right, so we’ll see in the next few to several weeks! Any guesses? We are still working on names, hopefully we will decide soon, but you won’t get to know the winner until the baby is born, sorry.

Today is International Midwives Day, so I’ll take a second to once again say how much I appreciate my midwife. Her level of care is amazing to me. Our appointments last at least 30 minutes, but often an hour, and I appreciate that I can call her (and speak directly with her) when I have a question or concern. Though we haven’t gotten to the birth part yet, I am so impressed with the prenatal care I have received so far. I’m so thankful to have someone completely on board and extremely supportive of our desires for a natural birth. I’m sure you’ll hear more about her after the birth, so I’ll just stop now.

I finally finished my “essential” list of baby sewing items, I think. I just ordered some PUL so I might go ahead and make some diapers as time permits, but we’ll see. Preparations for teaching my first Bradley series are quite time consuming these days.

First, I ripped apart my old ring sling, added some brown backing fabric and made myself another pouch. I like my old pouch sling, but this one is a little roomier.

Then I made a new ring sling with a lighter fabric.

And a nursing cover…

I finally finished a mei tai carrier for myself. I revamped how I sew them (padded the shoulder and waist straps, added an adjustable crotch area so that you can carry baby forward-facing and put on a sleeping hood) and have gotten a lot of practice by making them as gifts. The first one is mine and the second one is one I made recently for a friend.

I gave my Moby Wrap away, so I need to get some material for that (or purchase some from a friend with extra?), but it takes no sewing. Now Baby will be adequately carried around while I chase Josiah!

I had been itching to see Ricki Lake’s documentary, The Business of Being Born, ever since I heard about it months ago, and I finally had a chance to watch it last week. The Women’s Studies department at TAMU was holding a screening, and thankfully, my midwife was telling everyone she knew to come. I highly recommend the film to anyone who is pregnant or thinking about having children anytime soon.

The documentary makes an excellent case for natural childbirth, and a very strong case for giving birth outside of the hospital. With the United States spending more money delivering babies than any other country, but with an infant mortality rate the second worst in the developed world (and a maternal mortality rate that is one of the worst in the developed world), something needs to change. The documentary sites several reasons–the absence of midwives from hospitals, the rising cesarean rate, artificial time limits put on the natural process of birth, insurance/money and more. The film offers a lot of statistics, history, and political explanations for current birth practices that leave little confidence in the current system (especially the historical parts).

Several home births are documented in the film, including Ricki Lake’s own birth. There is quite a bit of nudity, but less than the average birthing video, and much less than the films I show in my classes! These births show the pain, excitement and freedom of birth without hospital restrictions and policies. The film takes an unexpected turn with director Abby Epstein’s pregnancy and birth offering balance as to the role of hospitals and doctors when serious complications arise.

While unmedicated childbirth is a truly miraculous event, and one that I highly recommend experiencing, I tend to disagree with the film’s underlying message that natural birth is the culmination of your existence as a woman. I do believe that, in the majority of cases, God made our bodies fully capable of giving birth without modern technology assisting, though it definitely has a place, as the film shows through Epstein’s birth. Our blind trust and dependence upon surgeons to “treat” the normal has led us to forsake education, preparation, and determination in the natural process. I fully recommend The Business of Being Born. You will be challenged to (re)consider your views on birth. The film is currently available through private screenings and Netflix.

This isn’t much of a recipe, but this is my latest pregnancy craving. I think it is absolutely delicious, so I simply must share it with everyone. I say this all the time (to Thomas), but during pregnancy, I can find the most appetizing things out of nothing. I think that I make the most tasty snacks and treats, and I think that no one should ever turn down something a pregnant lady thinks is delicious. This said by someone who doesn’t crave weird things, just good things.

Anyway, onto the recipe! This is a great sweet-tooth satisfier and it has a good amount of protein and a serving of dairy for you Brewer Dieters out there. You can chose to layer all these things together, but this is the easiest way and fastest way to make them. I can’t believe I posted pictures of this stuff… Can you tell I really enjoy food these days?

First, assemble your ingredients: some type of vanilla yogurt (my favorite is pictured), some Honey Bunny Grahams (if you live where we do, you can only find them at Kroger–every other graham cracker has high fructose corn syrup in them), and some chocolate chips–semi-sweet is best, but milk chocolate works well, also.

Put a good-sized handful of Bunnies in the bottom of a cup or bowl.

Top with a not-so-generous handful of chocolate chips.

Scoop a bunch of yogurt on top. If you are really hungry, add some more. I’m guessing it’s about 3/4 of a cup or a cup.

Stir. Eat and enjoy every wonderful bite. Taste how amazingly the graham and chocolate compliment the slight bite of the yogurt… I just ate one and now I’m wanting another!

I’m officially in the last trimester now and have outgrown almost all of my maternity clothes! This pregnancy is really flying by and there is still so much to be done, mostly involving moving Josiah’s room. Things should calm down around here after this weekend and getting our garden in next week, then we (Thomas) will begin painting and moving furniture with amazing speed and agility.

I’m feeling really good these days. I think I’m all done throwing up now. It only happened twice last week and once this week. My hips are still giving me grief, but I’ve come to accept it as a pregnancy norm for me, and I happily shell out money every other week to the chiropractor. Baby is head-down and I feel that head bulging out, and a nice little bottom, too, all on the right side, just like Josiah was.

I’ve had a wonderfully healthy appetite this pregnancy. Not that I didn’t last time, but I can really put food away these days. I’ve already gained 28 pounds, and I still have 12 weeks to go. So, I’m thinking I’ll be above “average” this time. Baby may be big, but he/she will be well fed.

To prepare for this birth, I am teaching my first set of the Bradley Method childbirth classes as part of my certification process. This is an excellent review for me, and I am really enjoying teaching. The couple I am teaching is making it easy on me–they are so teachable and soak up everything. Well, at least the first 2 classes of 12.

One of my favorite aspects of this pregnancy (besides that there is a baby in there) is that we are using a midwife this time. I keep saying it, but the level of care I have received so far is amazing. I’m reading a book called, “Pushed: The Painful Truth About Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care” (see it on our now reading sidebar), and I’m loving every page, though it also makes me terribly sad to read it. I highly recommend it to anyone thinking of becoming pregnant, either for the first time or the fifth. I’ll be writing a review as soon as I finish it. All that said, each time I put the book down, I am so thankful that we are getting to use our midwife, and hope that, Lord willing, we are able to birth at home as planned. The countdown begins and I am so excited!

We had our first ultrasound today, and there is only one baby in there, unless the other one is teeny-tiny and hiding right behind this one. It was amazing to me the difference in Josiah’s ultrasound and this one. Josiah’s was at 18 weeks, and he was so small and moving all around. This baby, at 25 weeks, was all squished up in there, but we still were able to see his/her face very clearly and the tech was able to get great images of the heart, organs, placenta and other important stuff.

Sadly, we don’t have a scanner, so you can just imagine some fuzzy black and white cloudiness that looks like a baby face with arms right near it. Everything worked out and Thomas and Josiah were both able to be there. Josiah keeps asking to “see baby” now. And no, Mom, we did not see any boy or girl parts. The ultrasound tech couldn’t even see them since everything was so tight in there.

I woke up yesterday morning with a stomach bug/food poisoning. Thankfully, I was able to keep liquids down by mid-afternoon and food down shortly after. I feel perfectly normal today. Yesterday, besides all the vomiting, was a very luxurious day for this momma! Thomas stayed home from work and took care of Josiah so I could rest and throw up without a toddler crying behind me, and I spent the day in bed. I took two naps, read a great magazine, read some books, and caught up on emails. It was like a mini-vacation, except for the parts involving kneeling in front of the toilet.

Yesterday, Josiah and I were playing at the park and we ran into a friend we hadn’t seen in over a year. I was commenting on how cute her baby was, etc., and she said, “I can’t believe Josiah is so big! How old is he now? And look at YOU! You’re due any day now, aren’t you?” She was shocked when I said I still have over 3 months to go. Hilarious. I love the things people say to pregnant women. I’m sure I’ll hear more in the coming months.