Book Review, long overdue

Unassisted Home Birth, An Act of Love By: Lynn Griesemer

I was overall pretty interested in this book. And I myself have been thinking of unassisted, but then I think about how I would feel if an emergency happened and we couldn't handle it. So, as long as DH is not ready to learn some midwifery maneuvers... I think I am happy with a midwife thank you very much. I know birth is safe most o the time, and all that... But shoulder dystocia sticks in my mind when I think about birthing unassisted.

Oh yeah, the book!

I agree with lots of the book, and there is something to be learned from unassisted home birthers as far as birthing as a couple and trusting birth. I really admire the spirit of togetherness and the bond spouses who have gone through this share.

But, as she says in the book... I am the midwife mentality who will say, unassisted birth is just not for everyone. But, if you have even a fleeting notion to consider it I think you should read this book. It is full of information and true narrations of birth tales from couples. The author asks lots of great questions about pre-natal care and how much birth knowledge couples had... It is really enlightening. I found it amazing to hear about the experiences of the couples in this book, how they arrived at their beliefs, what birth was like for them... I wouldn't have liked the book if it didn't have all those interviews.

I think it is low on the priority list as far as pregnancy reading for me... It seems like most couples are on the fence about home birth even with a midwife, so I think the number of people who will choose unassisted is small. But, if you know you are interested in going unassisted, I think you should read this book. And get ready for people to think you've lost it... But that's another story entirely!LOL

Birth Plans

So, with a $3,000 price tag on a home birth and a $0 price tag on a hospital birth my DH has challenged me with the question of why having a home birth is so important to me. Well, there are several reasons. And in some strange way they are all equally important to me.

1. I don’t want to have another c-section. Since I am 2 c-sections away from a vaginal delivery my chances of having a normal birth at a hospital are next to zero.

2. The support of a midwife, my trust in their skill would make my birth easier for me.

3. As a midwifery student I would feel like I am betraying my own beliefs having anything but a home birth.

4. I want to own my birth, I want to be in control and I want it to be the best possible experience. That will never happen in a hospital setting.

5. I want to have my family with me when I give birth, and I want to be able to just sit back and relax in the familiar environment of my own home.

6. Home birth is safer for my baby and me.

7. You forget many things about your life, but never the birth of your children so you should make it your ideal birth if you can.

Basically, DH understands that my only chance for a normal birth is at home. And in some small way he even understands that this is what I want… But he sees the dollar signs, and he sees that we just don’t have it at this moment.

So, our compromise has been that as long as he can be assured that I would be ok if I transferred to hospital (which basically I have already accomplished) and to get in writing from the WY insurance that they will cover the hospital costs if I transfer KNOWING that I started out as a home birth and all my pre-natal care was with a midwife. I haven’t done the second yet, but I think my chances are very good since I am talking about having a registered midwife from Ft. Collins. Besides, why would they deny a thing that they would have to pay anyway? If I booked the c-section today they would pay it… So, why wouldn’t they pay for hospital care if you went in an emergency transfer situation? That said, you never know. They might consider having midwife care negligent in some way and figure that the hospital expenses would be more after a failed home birth…

Anyway, please keep me in your dua… I need the insurance to go well and I am going to have to find a way to raise the money to pay for the midwife so I am not putting a strain on the family finances, insha’Allah. I already have a few ideas, but I think it will be slow going.

OK, I heart my new laptop.

I never thought I would be so into having one... But I think it is really going to be nice for me. And besides now if I download a virus or something it won't be onto my DH's work PC... Which would be a big problem!LOL

Now the really cool thing is the wireless networking. How can you beat having your kids playing in the park while you browse online?

In other news I am thinking of taking a trip to see my grandma in OK... She is really ill and I have been thinking I want to see her and have the kids see her before they move her to a nursing home and sell the house. Of course I am ready for that to be a big fiasco.

So, it is getting harder to make excuses for not fasting... And I am a compulsive truth teller... So I am not sure how much longer the pregnancy can remain a secret. But, I will not just up and announce it AP style or anything. I am thinking that eventually someone will ask me directly if I am and like true psycho I will just say yes.

I am tired, really tired. And DH is getting annoyed with it all too quickly. I spent all day yesterday lounging once I had done a minimal amount of cleaning. I know he is annoyed; he will have to get over it. It's bizarre that there is no real answer for first trimester fatigue. How could something so universal be unexplained? Hmmm, to complicated I guess.

Ramadan goals...

So I have all these lofty ideas about what I want to do every day during Ramadan... And then I have what actually gets done around my house. Here is yesterday for example:

1.Get some shopping done while the kids are in gym class and preschool reading program.
What actually happened is I wound up at the store with a toddler who thought being home would be better and ended up running to the restroom several times feeling like I was going to hurl.

2.Cook dinner while kids take a nap in the afternoon.
Kids refuse to take a nap... Of course I got side tracked and dinner got started about an hour before sunset which meant sacrificing planned dishes for quicker ones... Bye Bye oven macaroni.

3.Do Islamic studies lessons with all three kids.
Youngest child sat with us, repeating "Adam is poopy" (since our lesson was about Adam) until I finally let him go. DD went into a whole thing wanting a detailed explanation about how angels could be made from fire. Husband woke I and I went into a whole thing about how much I wish there was a better Islamic studies course book and how they go between concepts which are too advanced and too easy. So they ask to paint, ok.

I get out the paints and go to start dinner finally. Within 10 minutes the cat comes running out of the room with a big blue streak on her back followed by youngest exclaiming, "I PAINT KITTY!!!". So, instead of starting dinner I have to bathe, dry and council the traumatized cat.

4.Have a nice dinner and then go to pray taraweh at the mosque.
DH remembers once dinner is cooking that he needs my help with something at his work. So we all go to he warehouse and get dirty and grubby finishing said work.

We get home and rush to eat. The kids now need a serious bath. By the time we are done it is 8:30 and taraweh at our mosque is at 8, so yeah....

5.End the day by reading with DH while kids are in bed and discussing the deen.
Bedtime passes... No one is in bed. Tell them go, husband tells them go. Kids keep coming out of their rooms for various and silly reasons. I thought they would be in bed by 9, it is now 10:30.

So, to tired to read we watch "Real Time with Bill Maher" instead and go to bed ourselves.

So much for lofty goals!LOL

7 Things

OK, I got tagged by Surviving and have been meaning to do his for a few days soooo…

7 People I admire:
1. Prophet Mohammad, actually all the prophets…
2. Ina May Gaskin (famous midwife)
3. Homestead wives, for their capacity to endure tough times
4. Khadija (as in Mohammad’s wife)
5. Gandhi
6. Malcolm X
7. Thoreau

7 things I plan to do this year:
1. Finally get my house in order
2. Read one book on Islam every month
3. Visit my MIL in Egypt
4. Learn at least some Arabic
5. Memorize more Quran
6. Submit the first section of my midwifery curriculum
7. Get up early enough to have an hour to myself every day

Books I love (excluding Quran): Now this is hard since my actual “must keep under all circumstances” takes up several boxes in my storage and a few book shelves in my house)
1. Spiritual Midwifery
2. Lies My Teacher Told Me or Lies Across America
3. The Inhabited Woman
4. All books by Anne Rice (but not those written as Ann Rampling, bleh!)
5. Reading Lolita in Tehran
6. The Red Tent
7. The Bell Jar (or I would trade it for a book of her poetry)

7 movies I have to own:
1. Lost In Translation
2. Eternal Sunshine
3. Fight Club
4. Surviving Picasso
5. Keeping The Faith
6. Finding Neverland
7. Evita

7 places I want to visit (not including Mecca and Medina since they are obvious, or any place I have already been):
1. Morocco
2. China
3. India
4. Iraq
5. Alaska
6. Hawaii
7. Sinai

7 places I've already been:
1. Egypt
2. Japan
3. Singapore
4. Malaysia
5. Taiwan
6. Indonesia
7. Canada

7 websites I love:
1. Kelly Mom
2. Post Secret
3. Wasfa Sahla
4. Hathor
5. Midwifery Today
6. Crayola.com
7. Al Muhajabat

7 people tagged:
Well, it seems like everyone has been tagged already!

First week homeschooling

Soooo, this is the first week since I pulled our daughter from the public school to homeschool her. I am really excited about how things are going. We have had a fun week, masha'Allah. And we ended it with a trip to he children's museum where by a stroke of luck we saw another hsing family and the kids got to play and had a blast painting their faces and playing Little House on the Prairie with all the homestead stuff.

To be honest my only thought is why did we ever start her off in public school this year?

Ramadan surprise box

Here is the surprise box I did off of Islamic Parenting's fab instructions. Although, I am not 100% happy with it the kids are getting a big kick out of the toy a day thing... Funny how price doesn't matter with toys as long as they are new. I think the average price of the toys in there has got to be 25 cents and they are thrilled with them, masha'Allah!

Bursting!

We have decided not to tell anyone until after the third month… And I am still not telling anyone in the community, or even my family (his and my sides)… But, well… I am bursting!LOL I mean I waited like an entire week to spill!!!

Masha’Allah, Masha’Allah. Masha’Allah. Please keep us and our fourth (insha’Allah) bundle in your dua;)

Ramadan Craft:)

So, here is a date chain that I did for the kids for Ramadan. I added a little piece at the top that said something about the blessing of feeding a fasting person (since there is a date for each child and one for them to give away) which is not in the photo.


Here is how, in pictures:
You need two rolls of cellophane (colored), curling ribbon, dates, and a piece of cardboard for the top.


First you cut a piece of cellophane in a rectangle (half the length of the roll and about 6 inches tall) and lay the dates in it.


Then you roll the dates up like a cigar.


Then you tie either end like a tootsie roll.


Then, you fold the roll in half and tie a ribbon towards the dates to make a cellophane loop. And you nee to repeat the first steps until you have 30 bunches.


Now, you use a ribbon and connect the bunches by their loops. Be sure to have all the loops facing the same direction (I did up). And, tie the ribbon in a bow so the kids can just pull one end of the bow to release the bunch for the day.


Finally, secure the whole thing to a piece of cardboard through 2 holes and two pieces of the ribbon looped through the last cellophane hole. I put Happy Eid on ours since once they get to the end of the chain it will be eid… But, you can put whatever suits you!