Healing with Long, Slow Walks

At almost 3 months post partum, my body feels about the same as it did pre-pregnancy. The most notable thing is that my squirrelly, loose-feeling, burning, sometimes clicking right hip pain is back. It flares up when I've been driving a lot, or sitting (ie nursing) a lot, especially on couches! Side-lying at night also gets to be pretty uncomfortable.

I've always known that when I go to take a walk, I don't notice the pain - but, that it will come back as soon as I come home and sit. Right after I had Lucy, and realized how much I was sitting with her, I resolved to spend as much time standing as I could...so I would stand pretty much anytime she took a nap.

After coming back from a long drive out to meet a new pediatrician yesterday, my right hip was as achy as ever, and clicking when I walked around the house. I decided to strap Lucy into the carrier, eschew my shoes, and take a very deliberate, slow, meditative walk.

Going barefoot allowed me to really focus on the connection of my feet to the ground. Sometimes I wear shoes when it's really hot or if I want to go faster; they are great friction protection, but they also give me a little pain/disconnect sometimes. I focused on pushing down and back with each step (like rowing a boat!), and sensing my movement and alignment issues up through my whole body. By the time I got to the end of the street, the right hip click was gone! My hip felt much better through the rest of the evening.

I am writing this mostly so that I remember the power of a slow, focused walk to alleviate my hip symptoms when they get really bad. Like I said, I have known for a while that walking helps me, but I've never taken such a purposefully slow, connecting walk just to help it feel better. Very wonderful ! :)

My new uniform

When I started working as an X-ray tech and got to wear scrubs to work every day, I thought my daily 'uniform' couldn't get any better. "Nice work pajamas" - my dad would tell me when I'd get ready to go to work in the morning. He's correct, that's essentially what scrubs are...usually all-cotton, drawstring or elastic pants, soft...sometimes fun patterns. Easy to wash and easy to work in!

This summer with the advent of Lucy, my new work 'uniform' is my dream outfit. Black capri leggings and a few sleeveless shirts. The leggings in particular...they allow for maximum mobility with the best coverage. I can squat or sit on the floor with my baby, do a few morning wind sprints, a little yoga...! I know leggings are little bit controversial in the christian community  (I have a whole separate post's worth of feelings on that re: modesty and culture)... but honestly, they are just the most useful pair of pants in my current lifestyle.

I find myself wearing them almost every day....and wondering why I don't have a backup when this happens. (Thanks Lucy!)

Also, I like Katy Bowman's thoughts on 'compressive garment injury' (This justifies my lifetime hatred of jeans!)
http://www.katysays.com/skinny-jean-and-compressive-garment-injury/

Pushing in Labor; Running a Race

This is going to be a very short post just to write out my thoughts on the experience of pushing in labor (which I did for ~2 hours with Lucy!)

We've all heard it said that labor is like running a marathon. Labors are so different, this statement certainly doesn't apply to everyone, but I would generally agree that my overall experience of labor (for 31 hours) required some of the mental processes I imagine would be involved in marathoning. I've never run a marathon (and never intend to, ha!) but I was a high school track athlete. My main events were the 800 and 400 m races and associated relays. Training for these was so intense. It wreaked all kind of hormonal havoc on my already-school-stressed teenage self. Looking back at that time in life, I really wish I had done some more low-key activities, but I certainly learned a lot about myself through the whole running/sprinting experience.

As it relates to labor, track races taught me that I am capable of physically pushing myself when it feels like there is just nothing left. The final 200 meters of both the 400 and the 800 is incredibly intense - I remember the feeling of my entire body burning, but summoning the strength to keep moving at AT LEAST the same pace, if not faster, drawing close to the finish line. The finish line...always such an incredibly sweet relief.

I found pushing in labor to be INTENSE in the same way that running the final stretch of a sprint race is...Except you can't see the finish line! (I couldn't...maybe more advanced laborers can!...There were so many points during pushing when I wanted to ask how much longer...I never did though, I knew it wouldn't help me mentally). It demands you give your everything; lay it all out there and reach for strength from the bottom of your heart. The finish line in labor is an infinitely more blissful relief and reward than the finish line of any race... :)

Here's a great post on the associated idea about why exercise is a great way to prepare for labor:
http://walkingwithdancers.blogspot.com/2013/05/in-my-opinion-best-way-to-prepare-for.html

Lucy: 2 months

Trite but true: time flies. Becoming a parent just adds whole new layers of meaning to the expression.

This has been the fastest summer of my life. I cannot believe she is 2 months old...


What's going on at 2 months!
-The word we most often use to describe her temperament is INTENSE. She is so expressive. If she is happy, everyone knows it. If she is NOT, everyone knows it, or ELSE! She can go from 0 to 60 in the blink of an eye. Mom has gotten her to take a bottle a few times and when she does, mom says it is like she has PMS; she will go from almost laughing to crying in an instant. (Bottle-feeding is confusing!)
-She is 13 lbs 10 oz and 24.25", which is about the 97th percentile. She is HEAVY! Josh gets tired of carrying her around pretty quickly. My wrists are crackly and mom says I need to do some push-ups. She says we were like this as babies too; rapidly expanding.
-She is SO HAPPY and squealy in the morning. Social smiles are just the absolute best. It is so fun to go back and forth with her, smiling and trying to communicate in her fun noises.
-She loves walks outside in the Boba carrier. I love them too.
-She seems to like big social events with lots of people to see and things to look at.
-She is drooly and ear-tuggy...we wonder if these are early signs of teething.
-She does not like car rides
-Does like baths...which we sometimes end up taking, after vomit-inducing car rides

Vaccines: 2 months

Lucy got (some) of her 2-month vaccines this past Wednesday. The only other vaccine she has had so far was the hepatitis B shot that they give at birth. If I had looked into it a little bit more, I would have declined that shot - and I did decline the hep B booster that they wanted to give at 1 month. (My central reason for declining is that there is virtually a 0% chance she will be exposed to this...)

At 2 months, Lucy got the oral rotavirus vaccine and a pentavalent (AH!) vaccine that included DTaP, Polio, and Hib. The oral rota vaccine was actually way worse than the shot, which she was able to nurse through. Almost as soon as the oral solution hit her throat, she vomited all over me. I wonder if it was because it was a sugar solution; something she hasn't be exposed to yet. The rest of the day was a bust. We spent the entire afternoon and evening nursing and napping on the couch. She didn't get a fever, but I think she was having painful gas from the rota vaccine, and her leg was sore. She was so sad and screamy whenever she was awake. Luckily, she was able to sleep at night, and seemed none the worse for the wear in the morning.

The vaccine debate is so confusing. There is so much we are just now learning about immunity that is conferred through breastmilk, and the impact of vaccines on the developing infant gut biome. I generally feel that we are incredibly resilient creatures, and I had most of these vaccines and turned out alright...so she probably will too! I know that's not the best logic, but there are risks on either side of the debate. The vaccine that I am most worried about is the MMR, since from what I can tell, it seems to be most highly linked to adverse reactions. It is hard to know what to do as a new parent who is a little bit skeptical of the medical system in general. We haven't always given so many vaccines, or done these giant combo vaccines (PENTA-valent, really!?)...I just hate feeling like an experiment :(

All this being said, I appreciate what vaccines have done for us, and I recognize that some are certainly important. I am thankful to feel secure enough in my baby's health that I have the option to question the doctor's 'wisdom.'  I delayed the PCV vaccine to 3 months, and in the meantime, we are going to check out another pediatrician who might have an alternative perspective on this issue.

Elimination Communication: 1 month!

I first heard about Elimination Communication (or "EC") when reading a post on the financial blog, Mr. Money Mustache, about what newborns really need. (This is the post, if you're interested! http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/09/09/mrs-money-mustache-what-do-newborn-babies-really-need/)

At first brush with this idea, I probably thought "hmm..that's nice, kind of crazy...not for me!"  But as I went crazy overboard researching cloth diapers, I kept running into this idea of practicing EC, and it started to seem less and less crazy. I read the book "The Diaper-Free Baby" by Christine Gross-Loh and decided I was done researching the issue...I would just wait and see what happened once baby came.

Her first month was a total whirlwind. I didn't think about EC at all, and only a little bit about cloth diapers. At almost exactly a month though, I realized I could totally tell when she needed to poop...I figured "oh yeah, this is EC! well, I'll just hold her over the potty in the morning and see what happens!"   Lo and behold!   Morning constitutional!  I decided I would just focus on "catching" the first morning doo and not stress about the rest of the day. It was so easy and fun (OK..more fun than changing a smushed up poopy diaper!) that I quickly started noticing and giving her opportunities to go at other times in the day. Now all of a sudden, I've been doing this for a month and it's been awesome! I've changed A LOT less poopy diapers this month than last! (Maybe 3 or 4!)

My one-month experience with EC has been really fun. It sounds ridiculous, and I am honestly embarrassed to share with in-laws, friends, and even my own family at first...but it has really just been amazing so far. This tiny person knows when she needs to go, and doesn't want to soil herself, her bed, or me! (Just like she knows how to let me know when she is hungry!!!)  It is NOT potty training and I don't want anyone to think that's what I'm trying to do. I am just enjoying my baby day-by-day and this may not work for us as she gets older and mobile, but I will appreciate it for right now and enjoy not having to clean up messy BF poos!

Here is the blog post I first sent to my husband to explain EC to him the morning after I did our first 'catch!':   http://becomingpeculiar.com/final-thoughts-on-our-experience-with-elimination-communication/

Maybe I'll write another update in a month and a little bit about what this practice looks like for us.

Starting Out

I keep going back and forth about whether or not I really want to do this. I've decided to write and publish 5 posts (not counting this one?) before I commit to doing it regularly. My objective is to chronicle my life and learnings as new mom! Yay!

I gave birth to Lucy on June 4 (2015) at 3:44a, after many (30?) hours of labor. It is one of the best things I have ever done. More to follow...!