Topic Archive: KC

April 7, 2011

My Eco-Friendly Baby Shower

My feelings of visiting Babies-R-Us to register for new gifts was the same apprehension that most new moms feel…overwhelmed. However, because of working in childcare I knew what everything was and its purpose unlike other new moms. But I still spent 2 hours and I had only 15 items tagged! I knew I needed certain things, but as I walked the aisles I knew of so many friends and family that had the items and weren’t using them anymore. Why not pass them on or even borrow them? It made me upset that I was contributing to a “baby landfill” somewhere with piles upon piles of plastic toys and diapers. If you’ve been a mom long enough, you know that babies are constantly growing out of things and most things have such a small shelf life anyway!!

I didn’t know what to do! I didn’t want ‘things,’ yet we all want to celebrate and be showered! Plus, the awkwardness of being blessed by being showered, but asking the host to do it ‘your way’! I threw the idea out to friends and PregTASTIC listeners and this was what we came up with (please feel free to steal the ideas!) (more…)

February 24, 2011

You’re getting sleepy, veeerrryyy sllleeepppyyyy….

Once I decided to go au-natural for the birth of my son, my first question was, “how”? I was not expecting to go into labor and see rainbows and butterflies and politely refuse the epidural. How was I going to manage the pain? How does one actually give birth? I had friends do the Bradley Method and we’ve all seen Lamaze on TV. But, were there any other choices?

I turned to PregTASTIC for research on what would be best for me. Soon, I was listening to an episode with guest speaker Kerry Tuschhoff, the founder of Hypnobabies. Now if you’re like me, my first thought of hypnosis is the guy impersonating Chip N Dale dancers and stripping at the County fair. Since that is similar to how you make a baby… I signed up!

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Episode 205 | February 1, 2011

KC’s Hypnobirth Story

KC’s very emotional birthing story: After delivering her baby at a birth center, why was she unable to hold her baby immediately and what landed her and her baby in the hospital for 5 days? Her call out for help? Did she get (more…)

January 2, 2011

My Experience with Placenta Encapsulation

When I heard of this my first thought was, “Gross!! People actually pay for this?! That was at least a year before I even got pregnant. As time progressed I slowly got my mind around it, but it still wasn’t for me. Then I heard a few stories of women who have seen success in encapsulating their placentas. I became more and more curious. This gradual process led to me doing it with my first pregnancy a month ago and let me tell you, I’m glad I did it.

I had a very traumatic labor, birth and first month. I labored for close to 2 days, pushed for 5 HOURS, all without drugs. Then when my push prize finally came out, he was taken from me immediately because he was not breathing. He spent 5 days in the NICU, while I spent my days sitting at the hospital on a doughnut, and my nights thinking of how soon I could get back there. My recovery was slow, my heart was broken, and my motherly instinct disjointed. I cried. A lot. He has then spent the last 4 weeks crying almost non-stop. It’s enough to make anyone go insane. Then I cried some more for his traumatic entry in the world and this non-stop pain he was feeling. (more…)

August 20, 2010

Things That Make You Go… Ewwwww!

In a society, as we get older we form opinions and judgments on things. They are based on our experiences, our beliefs and common thought amongst our peers groups. We make our assessments and do what we think is best (or normal) for us.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. As our society has grown and changed, the things that were once taboo and sometimes used to be frowned upon, we have now opened our mind to accept and therefore adapt. Thereby, making it now normal. These range from cleaning products (What? Baking soda is not just for cooking?) to tampons (Can you imagine our grandmother’s first thoughts… you wanna stick that where?!).

Pregnancy and the upcoming birth of our child have made me do just that. The things that were once ‘gross’ to me, I am now having an open mind about; some of the options considered bizarre, I am now looking into. There are some choices in pregnancy and childbirth that are starting to cross lines. More and more people are doing it so they are becoming more and more popular and moms are inquiring about them. Including me.

My life thus far has always been extreme. With pregnancy it has just taken a sharp turn that make friends politely go, “Hmmm….”

Starting with our choice of birth. Once upon a time, I was all for a hospital, medicated birth. That was our hope and desire! I used to joke with people to give me an epidural as soon as I got pregnant! My husband agreed saying he wanted one, too. However, since getting pregnant we have decided on almost the complete opposite… a water birth at a birthing center. I have now become un‐normal amongst my peer group and get a lot of funny looks and questions from concerned people (and not just friends!)

Then the baby shower came. After spending 10 years on and off in childcare I decided I didn’t want anything new, I want to cloth diaper, and make my own baby food. Friends don’t know how to go about buying shower gifts for us. I now have a big sign on my forehead that says, “WEIRDO!”

Now, the stuff I am afraid to admit because it might ostracize me from those near and dear…. I’ve considered placenta encapsulation and breast milk donation. There! I’ve said it aloud! You might as well stick me in the bush to make friends with the animals, cause I’m off in the woods!

Honestly, my first thought was, “Ewwww. Really?! People do that?” I saw my dog give birth once, and her natural instinct was to eat every puppy’s placenta. I’ve also seen a cat suck a dog’s teats for milk. Now, I’ve also seen a dog eat poop, so I’m not necessarily going the route of the animal kingdom.

But it’s made me think, why not these options for my baby? I’m willing to eat the oil from a fish, algae, cod liver to name a few and whatever else that will help me and grow my baby to be a genius, yet I can’t even consider the strongest vitamins that helped grow the life inside of me because it sounds gross? We are also the only creatures that will give our babies milk that was meant for calves, but yet we find other woman’s breast milk disturbing.

What is ‘normal’ and who classifies it? Do we stand to be out‐casted from playgroups if we chose one way or another? Do we need to get a celebrity on board so our absurd becomes hip? Or our hip becomes absurd? If we claim to have open‐minds then why aren’t people talking about it and sharing? I think that’s why I like PregTASTIC so much. The subject is pregnancy and childbirth so everything goes. We talk about things with guests whom I would never have sought advice from before and I find myself intrigued with what they have to say.

I know the judgment only gets worse from here on out as we try to rear our children in a ‘normal’ society. I might have to go live in the woods with my animal friends and reemerge for my placenta capsules; or just grin and bear it with a smile on my face and a secret in my heart while pretending to be ‘normal’ while we all figure this parenthood thing out.

Now, I still haven’t wrapped my brain around a placenta teddy bear but let’s just say I’m trying to be open about all things…

August 10, 2010

Making a Baby Isn’t Always Easy

As we geared up to let the world in on our little secret I was nervous, excited, and above all I wanted to be considerate and understanding to every woman out there. This last year, while living in Korea, I was reminded every time I saw a status update or an email from a friend or family member of a new pregnancy for them, I rejoiced for them, but ached for us. They did something we couldn’t do; which was conceive a child.

I was reminded (or kept reminding myself) that my story is different from everyone else in the world. I take pride in my life’s story thus far at how different it is from most people I know. Yet, as we tried for a child and discovered problems, I desperately wanted to have a normal story. I’ve been poked and prodded, x-rayed and drugged and in broken English was told to expect multiples, only to baffle the doctors as to why not one fertilized egg wanted to make my uterus its home. I felt like I’ve been playing God, messing with His divine plan, and praying that my decisions would not affect His outcome.

So, after being told our best option would be in-vitro-fertilization, the hope of having a normal conception seemed unlikely. As a couple, we were not ready (emotional or financially) for that decision, yet we were not giving up hope that God had a plan for us; whether that was natural, IVF, or adoption.

Then, a friend in Korea gave us a book, Taking Charge of Your Fertility. A book that I resisted reading (why take my temperature to learn when I ovulate when a Dr. looks at my eggs with an ultrasound and tells me?!). But, reading this book forever changed our lives. Through taking my temperature I learned a few things. First, the Dr. had the day of ovulation wrong (who would think my eggs could lie to a Doctor!) Which meant, secondly, the last phase of my cycle (the luteal phase) was too short. In essence, I was getting pregnant but my uterine lining would shed too early. In discovering this I felt empowered (but scared I was crazy) and promptly bought some new vitamins to help with the luteal phase. And bam…. pregnant!

There were a few more things that were happening in my body that prevented us from conceiving while in Korea. Mid cycle bleeding because my uterus was too thin, getting put on birth control for a hormonal imbalance, poor cervical mucus which meant our ‘window’ was smaller (huge problem), stress, etc; any number of factors that made getting pregnant near impossible. I wonder how long I would have gone on in my life thinking I was barren when my somewhat simple problem could be fixed. I just discovered one problem that I could try to restore. I know not everyone has a problem that can be fixed with vitamins. I’ve also learned I can’t look at others successes and failures and measure myself up against them. Which is so easy to do when they all have what you want. I am reminded that they are walking their story and I am walking mine.

The one hope I clung to during this process was that one day when I would be holding my perfect child in my arms, at no other time, no other month, no other cycle, in my life could we have created that being. I felt peace that this bumpy road we walked along would end in a perfect plan that I would never be able to create.

Now we rejoice for our little miracle that is growing inside. Still in shock, but amazed at the plan that is unfolding. But my tears remain even as I write this. I cry for the ache we went through and for the struggle many of my dear friends are currently in. However, I am so looking forward to reading the end of their story.

To learn more about infertility and how to overcome the odds, listen to this week’s PregTASTIC episode featuring Dr. Arlene Morales, Founder and Director of Fertility Specialists Medical Group in San Diego.

July 12, 2010

KC

“I’m really not pregnant, I just have a cheese gut going on.”

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