BIRTHING A ROOT VEGETABLE--A SIGN OF GOOD LUCK?

Last night I dreamed I prematurely birthed my baby in the kitchen.  For some reason I wasn't panicked, and the labor was easy.  I was a little surprised to discover my infant was in fact a winter root vegetable, with a nubby red-brown top.   I carefully placed him into a container with cold water, blanketed him with fresh romaine lettuce, and then placed him at the back of the sink and left to go tell my mother.

My mom pointed out that he might get cold-- he might, in fact, need to be incubated.  Oh Panic!! I rushed back over but the container was gone!  Some house guests were eating the lettuce, and told me they threw my root-infant into the trash!  Alas, I could not find my baby-root in the trash!

Luckily I woke up at this point, before grief had a chance to settle in.  However, I have been worried about premature birth lately, and was also fantasizing about something my friend Sara posted on Facebook: 

This weekend, magical things will happen to these winter vegetables in a dutch oven, with shortribs, wine, and port

My mother in waking life told me it reminded her of how ginger was sometimes human shaped, and I was reminded of the mandrake root.  Interestingly, mandrake roots are also symbols of fertility--making an appearance as early as The Bible.  In fact many myths and superstitions surround this funny little root--and who could not love J.K. Rowling's use of it in Harry Potter's Herbology lesson?  I've decided my birth of the root baby is a sign of good luck!! 

Here are some lovely medieval illuminations of the mandrake:

WE'RE HAVING A BOY!!!

I thought I'd have to wait until the end of the anatomical screening to find out if the baby was a boy or a girl.  Perhaps he would be shy and hide?  I wanted to avoid another ultrasound and so had decided if he didn't let us know we'd have to plan on a surprise. 

So I was completely shocked when the ultrasound tech said, right off the bat, "it's a boy!"  He was not shy at all about letting us know!  I feel a bit badly about exposing his boyhood here...but the proof is in the, er, scan below!

Secretly, I'd wanted a girl, and Peer wanted a boy.  Peer was thrilled! And to my surprise I fell instantly and totally in love with my little boy and the idea of raising one.  He's so adorable I can't stop looking at his little half-covered face in the images below. 

People seem to unaminously think he looks a lot like Peer, and I have to agree!  We can't wait to meet you, little boy Gopfrich!

What will he look like? Family photos....

I started wondering what our boy might look like.  If you look at the 4D scan next to the picture of Peer as a toddler you can see the similarities!

This gallery shows Peer, his father's family, his mother's family, and the same for me and my family.

You can view the individual photos here:
Picasa Web Album

The Belly over the past 20 weeks....

Uncle Mark

Thank you so much, Mark!

The day before the ultrasound I was a nervous wreck. After all, I would be getting (hopefully) my final scan which would not only reveal any anatomical problems with my baby, but we would also get to learn the sex!

And then that night Peer came home with a wonderful little surprise from his friend, and tennis buddy, Mark. One pink envelope, in the event the ultrasound revealed a girl, and one blue if it was a boy. This totally made my night and made me feel so much better about the ultrasound: thanks, Mark!! I was actually excited again to find out the sex and it was so much fun coming home and opening the blue envelope!!

I can't promise he'll be a lefty, but I'm sure he'll love to hit with you one day!

Home Water Birth

A lot of people have questioned our plan for a home water birth.  It's something that really feels natural for me and I actually look forward to it.  The idea of rushing to a hospital, being admitted, waiting around there under the harsh lights and strange smells....it just never appealed to me. My mom forwarded me a great blog post about another family planning one, and I really liked the summary of why they are doing it (http://www.poweroffood.com/benefits-of-a-water-birth/#.ToJJvICbaqQ.email):

Here are our main reasons:

• Water promotes deeper relaxation. When the mother is relaxed, the birthing process is less of a struggle and the natural hormones kick in to aid in a better delivery.
• Water minimizes pain. So much so that many mothers do not need any pain killers while delivering the baby, which is good for both mother and child (and father’s nerves!)
• Immersion in water lowers blood pressure. Immersion in water feels good to the body, allowing the heart to be more relaxed, all good things for the stress levels that are already elevated (especially for first time pregnancies).
• Greater comfort. Water allows the mother to re-adjust herself more easily, which enables her to get into the most comfortable position easily and effectively
• Lowers anxiety levels. People have used water to aid in relieving stress across many applications, and the soothing feeling of water surrounding the body helps put the mother at ease, helping her to focus less on pain and discomfort and more on the task of delivering the child.
• Allows the father to take a more active role. With the mother having less stress, the father is able to help out more often without feeling like he is causing more trouble than he is worth. This helps the family unit bond better than if the father is just making things harder.
• Assists in dilation. Water helps the muscles relax, and by relaxing, the natural dilation process happens much more quickly. Quicker dilation = faster delivery!
• Empowers the Mother. With a healthy, relaxed, and present mother, the delivery becomes a much more spiritual experience, allowing for all the emotion to set in, devoid of drugs or pain to mask the true feelings.

I'm not sure I entirely buy that the warm water is going to completely obliviate any pain I might have and want for pain killers!! I plan on taking a class to help with this (like hypnobirthing).  In fact the pain is definitely one thing that has me a little bit nervous.  Despite the fact that Gisele Bunchen said her water birth was "pain free" (http://www.hollywoodcelebgossips.com/2010/02/03/gisele-bundchens-water-birth-to-son-benjamin-not-painful/) I do know what she is describing.  That the pain was not "pain" as we regularly know it.  I also have always regarded childbirth pain as a different kind of pain than, say, breaking your ankle pain.  "Natural pain"--perhaps--and I know that doesn't mean it will hurt any less!  I hope my focus and the training I might get in advance from something like HypnoBirthing might help.

Like the family blogging about their planned water birth, we also live less than 10 minutes from two world-class hospitals.  So long as when the time comes I'm still healthy and deemed "a go" for a home birth, we will stick to our plan to birth at home.

In the meantime...plan B will be meeting with an OBGYN and establishing a relationship, and picking a hospital...just in case I do end up needing to deliver in hosptial setting.

Strange Pregnancy Dream....

The other night I dreamt my uterus took a trip around my body and ended up protruding from my thigh! It protruded, jellyfish-like, in a perfectly round, squishy shape. I pushed it back up and into my belly, so it could continue to grow and nuture my baby.  When I awoke I was very concerned if everything was still ok in there!  Luckily, it was!

Dr. Gleisner reminded me that it used to be believed that the uterus would move around the body causing havoc and "hysteria"!  So it's quite funny I actually visualized this in my dream.  Here is a link (and small exerpt) from an entertaining article called "The Sad Story of the Hysterical Uterus"--it's very interesting and I recommend reading the rest here:

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:3oL99GNnIIgJ:www.abcarticledirectory.com/Article/The-Sad-Story-Of-The-Hysterical-Uterus/82642+uterus+traveling+hysteria&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

"An anatomical "reality" that persisted in Western medical lore since ancient Greece was that the female uterus becomes displeased and displaced, and wanders through the body, negatively influencing the brain (I kid you not!). "Hysteria" is derived from the Greek word for uterus. In a fit of fury the female uterus went travelling through the body, causing all manner of emotional disturbances – hence hysteria, hysterical – and hysterectomy.

The mental condition of hysteria afflicted legions of women of all ages throughout the patriarchal centuries, and was considered the most common disease after fever. In menopause, specifically, "the belief was that the failure to menstruate caused the uterus to travel around the body, eventually negatively influencing the brain".(Louis Banner In Full Flower)"