Out Little Peanut

Our baby girl has arrived!! Emily Ann Carpenter joined the world exactly 3 weeks early on 10-20-10. She decided to surprise us and spare me another 3 weeks of careful planning and preparation!!

The story of her birth began on Tuesday, October 19 when I was at work. It was a rare rainy, stormy San Diego day. I was walking to my car from a client's building and slipped in a puddle. I fell on my right side; onto my leg, shoulder, and unfortunately, my belly. I didn't feel any pain, but I did start having some cramping almost immediately. It wasn't bad so I went back to work. I also noticed that I was having quite a few Braxton-Hicks contractions, so I decided to wrap up my day and go home. I called my doctor on my way home and they told me to go to triage immediately so that they could monitor the status of the baby. When I got home, I threw a few extra things into my half-packed hospital bag (just in case) and Kyle and I headed to the hospital. Once I was on the monitors, the nurses noticed that I was having around 20 contractions in an hour. I also had some blood work done and it showed that there had been a small tear; some of the baby's blood had mixed with my own. My doctor wanted me to stay for 24 hour observance to make sure the contractions lessened. Neither Kyle nor I wanted to stay, since if by some chance I did go into active labor we wanted to do so at home. I had wanted a natural birth, and we took a special class on hypnobirthing to prepare. The hospital staff, of course, tried to convince us to stay and told us that leaving would be against medical advice. After we talked about it in private for a bit, we decided to stay and consider this a "practice run". Looking back now - we made the right decision!

Kyle went home to get our bags and take Zoey to our neighbors. He also threw the box with our car seat and stroller (which had arrived in the mail that day) in the back of the car - again, just in case. I was put on a floor with high-risk momma's and we tried to get some rest. I was still having around 16 contractions an hour. Around 3 in the morning, my water broke. It was nothing like I had expected, and Kyle had to take me through some breathing exercises to calm my excitement! We were moved downstairs to labor and delivery around 3:30 and by 4 I finally felt the contractions strengthen a bit. Kyle was amazing; giving me water, putting on my music, and talking me through the contractions.

I was at 2 cm at 4 am and by 6 am my surges had intensified so much that I told the nurse I was feeling as though I needed to push. She checked me again and said I was at 6 cm. She also seemed a bit confused and went to get another nurse to check me. This went on through FOUR nurses. The final nurse stepped back and said, "oh yes, that's a butt coming through, not a head". A doctor with an ultrasound machine was rushed in and through some very intense contractions announced that the baby was on her way through, breeched. The room became frantic and I can only describe it as a kind of Nascar pit crew. They stopped talking to Kyle and I and started shouting orders about calling the doctor and how the baby had to come out NOW. It was all very frantic, but strangely enough I felt quite calm. Despite the fact that I very much wanted a natural birth, I remembered my hypnobirthing instructor telling us that if there really was an emergency or need for an intervention, we would know because we wouldn't be ask us what we wanted. Hospital staff wouldn't give options for a c-section or drug intervention if it was truly necessary. They would instead go into action and do whatever they could to save mom and baby. That's what happened in my room. No one was saying that I was going to have a c-section, they weren't telling me anything at that point, I just knew that's what was going to happen. I knew there must be a true emergency so I accepted it and just went it.

The OR was very hectic and we found out later that there was another emergency c-section at the same time. Nevertheless, it all happened quite quickly and our little girl arrived safely. Emma arrived at 7:03 am and was 5 lbs, 7 oz and 17.75 inches long. She was a little jaundice but otherwise healthy.

We have been spending our days since, adjusting to the feeding/sleeping schedule of a newborn and cooing over her in between. We have also had a lot of family in town to help with cooking, cleaning, and just keeping the house up! This has been so great and has given Kyle and I time to recover and bond with our little girl.

Sleeping peanut

Sleeping in daddy's hands

First trip to the pumpkin patch

September Showers

Ok, so not all of my showers have been in September (the last one was at the beginning of October) but I have had three in the past month! They have all been fabulous and each one unique. First, I had a surprise shower during a mini family reunion in Texas. Kyle and I went to visit his family in San Antonio over Labor Day weekend. We were all set to have a family lunch one day and – SURPRISE!! They had actually set up a lunch/baby shower. It was so special because it was soley a family shower, and I had already been a bit bummed that none of them would be able to attend my other showers.

Texas family shower

My next shower was in Seattle. My mom and sister flew me back home for a weekend of more family and a few close friends. My sister did a great job at hosting the shower, and we played some crazy games of chugging water from baby bottles and blind baby food tastings.

Chugging water out of baby bottles - SO difficult!!

Momma and sissy

My last shower this past weekend was held at my house. Candice and Vanessa came out from Tucson and, with the help of Amber and Janelle, threw me an amazing ‘sugar and spice’ themed shower full of baked goods.

SUGAR (and spice) and everything nice - yum!!

My beautiful hostesses!

Craving Christmas

I can’t say that I have had many cravings during my pregnancy. I was sick for so long and my “cravings” really just came across as being ready to eat anything that didn’t make me feel nauseas. But something I have been thinking about almost this whole pregnancy is how I wish it was Christmas. Fall is my favorite season and I love the crisp air and good feelings of the season. I love holiday in general but am slightly obsessed with Christmas. This year, I am just excited for my first family Christmas; to introduce this little girl to all our traditions, play Christmas music for her; walk her through neighborhoods of glittering lights, etc. I have actually been playing her Christmas music for awhile, and I think Kyle is a little worried. He keeps telling me that he hopes, for my sake, that this little girl loves Christmas – I don’t think there’s any other option!

31 Weeks (2 weeks ago)

New Mom Resolution #2 - Nursery Furniture

As soon as I found out the sex of Baby Carpenter, I started looking at crib bedding. I was so excited to pick out colors and a theme. It turned out to be a lot harder than I thought! Everything was either too girly or too modern. I actually learned that I like boy bedding a lot better. I love greens and browns, leaves and trees. As much as was into this style, I decided that I really did want a more ‘girly’ nursery. Once I finally settled on my bedding, I started looking into the actual pieces of furniture that I wanted in the room.

Candice and I both listen to a podcast called Pregtastic, and one of the episodes featured ways to be a “green” mom. The woman being interviewed warned about crib material and how you should choose solid wood instead of particleboard or pressed wood. She warned that these kinds of wood contain formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is volatile organic compound (VOC), meaning that it becomes a gas at normal room temperatures. It is also a known carcinogen - a cancer causing substance. It's not only carcinogenic to humans, but to many animals and birds as well. We had known that formaldehyde was in a lot of things, such as nail polish, but not in furniture!
Formaldehyde also appears to have a large impact on children’s respiratory health. Studies have shown that chronic exposure to formaldehyde at levels greater than 16 ppb in indoor air is linked with an increased likelihood of respiratory symptoms (such as coughing) and/or allergic sensitization in children. A brand new crib and changing table contain indoor formaldehyde levels of about 30 ppb on average throughout the whole house!

This prompted a whole other strain of thought in which you could worry about all the other furniture in your house. The woman on the podcast later discussed how most of the toxic levels of formaldehyde are released within the first two years, so buying used cribs and other furniture would be a better option as well.

It actually wasn’t too difficult to find furniture made from solid wood and safe paints and/or finishes. They are just VERY expensive. No offense to anyone who has, but we refused to pay $800+ for a crib! Since the random Google results weren’t compatible with our budget, we started searching traditional baby stores. Even seemingly “quality” places such as Pottery Barn Kids use medium-density fiberboard (MDF) in their cribs. MDF is an engineered wood product formed by breaking down hardwood or softwood residuals into wood fibers. Formaldehyde resins are commonly used to bind MDF together and testing has consistently revealed that MDF products emit urea formaldehyde and other volatile organic compounds that pose health risks at sufficient concentrations, for at least several months after manufacture. The urea formaldehyde is always being slowly released from the surface of MDF.

In addition to the toxic VOCs that are off gassed from these types of products, the life cycle analysis indicates that MDF and other plastic composite products use twice as much energy and have 100% more global warming potential than their unaltered wood counterparts (Dovetail Partners Inc., 2010). Life cycle analysis takes into account all the resource, manufacturing and transportation needs, product usage and end-of-life disposal. So the best thing would be to buy/borrow a used crib – but we have to admit – we’re a little picky when it comes to these things… the next best thing with the lowest environmental impact would be a crib built with sustainably grown wood that is stained with a non-toxic finish.

So we both arrived at the same solution – a DaVinci crib. However, the parent company to DaVinci furniture, Million Dollar Baby (http://www.milliondollarbaby.com/faq#1), doesn’t say much with respect to the sustainability of wood used. We find it a little suspicious that considering the “green marketing” boom, they’re not making a bigger effort to promote this side of their business. Many retailers that sell DaVinci cribs market them as eco-friendly options, but this is the extent of eco-information on their website:

Q. What kind of wood are your cribs made out of?
Most of our cribs are made of Pine wood from sustainable forests in New Zealand. The New Zealand Radiata Pine, used in our furniture, is eco-friendly. We also use Rubber wood from Malaysia and Sepetir wood from harvested forests in other Asian countries. We NO longer use protected wood species like Ramin wood from Indonesia in any of our furniture.

Q. My baby has been teething on the crib and the paint is coming off, is your crib safe and what can I do?”
We understand that when babies are teething they will chew on anything they can. If your baby is chewing on one of our cribs, rest assured that we use non-toxic water based paint that is safe for your baby. All of our cribs meet JPMA and CPSC safety standards. If you would like to avoid your child chewing on their crib, several companies manufacture crib rail protectors for you to purchase.

Besides this info (which we assumed to be legitimate) there’s not much supporting evidence online. We emailed the company with some additional questions, like, “What are the ingredients in your non-toxic paint?” We hadn’t received a response at the time we wrote this. Apparently the cribs are made in China, which makes us wonder about the non-toxic paint finish. Nothing exported from China seems to be non-toxic these days. Is it unrealistic to buy a sustainably forested, non-toxic finished crib for less than $300? Maybe so.

However, to spend $1,000+ on a crib was out of our budget if we wanted other non-toxic, eco-friendly products as well. It would be silly to have a super high-end crib and then put a regular mattress in the crib. Many mattresses say they are Organic, but that means only the outside cover and the inside still contains vinyl/PVC and polyurethane foam. These plastic materials also off-gas toxic chemicals like Dioxin and phthalates – neurotoxins and endocrine disruptors that are linked to learning disabilities, breast cancer and reproductive issues (CHEJ, 2009).

Considering how much time babies spend sleeping in their cribs, we felt the mattress was also a very important choice. So we chose the Naturepedic crib mattress and changing pad with ABC Organic Cotton Velour covers/sheets. Naturepedic mattresses have a polyethylene cover and are filled with Organic Cotton. Although still a plastic, polyethylene is considered non-toxic and the mattresses are GREENGUARD certified for Indoor Air Quality and Children & Schools, meaning these mattresses off gas 1/100th of the industry standard values for VOCs, phthalates and other toxic chemicals.

Zoey helping daddy put the baby's crib together

Third Trimester

Depending on the book you read, websites you check, etc., either this week or next week is the beginning of my third trimester. I have a pregnancy app on my iPod that I’ve been using which says that it’s this week – so I’m going with that! I have high hopes for this trimester. A couple weeks ago, I finally stopped getting sick. This means no more drugs, and I’m thrilled about that! The rest of my body seems to be adjusting well also. For the time being there are no more backaches, no aching hips at night, and the pain from stretching ligaments has eased. If everyone else gets to have a “honeymoon phase” in the second trimester, I’m hoping that the third trimester is my golden time!
The baby has also been a lot more active lately. So much so, that sometimes I feel like my stomach has been used as a punching bag by the end of the day. Supposedly my little princess is on a growth spurt this month, and I’m excited for her to get bigger. I thinking that kicking will be better than the somersaults and flips that she’s doing in there right now! I am also starting to get some slight Braxton Hicks contractions. At first I thought that the baby was cramming her head up against my stomach. I would feel tightness around my belly button and when I put my hand on it, it felt like there was a rock under my skin. After having this same feeling a few times a day for several days, and reading more about this phase of my pregnancy, I’m pretty confident that they are contractions.

So after 6 months of sickness, I’m thinking that my body is finally on track with this pregnancy. I’m so excited for the next 3!!

The Princess and the Pillows

I remember somewhere around her 8th month, Candice posted a picture of her bed. She had one of those Snoogle pillows to sleep with and a body pillow that divided her side of the bed from Kevin’s. This was all helping her get the most comfortable night of rest possible. As someone with back issues, I have always slept with more pillows than “normal”. The current pillow count on my side of the bed these days is getting to be a bit much, however. I did try the Snoogle, as it looked like the perfect solution to both my low back pain and any discomfort I would have with a growing belly. It turned out that it made me even more uncomfortable. I decided that it would be easier to sleep with my own pillow, so I got a version of the Snoogle that doesn’t have a headrest. That still wasn’t comfortable, so I returned yet another pillow and decided to go with my default, the body pillow.
The body pillow worked for a couple weeks, but I found that sleeping on my (recommended) left side was causing me to wake up with a sore left ear. Sigh. So I got a tempurpedic-like pillow that helps my neck stay in position and conforms more to my face.
About a week after this, I started waking up with achy hips. A lot of women in my yoga class talk about having this, but I don’t think I’m quite big enough to experience it yet. I was getting it at night, however, so after a bit of research I decided to purchase a belly wedge. That’s the tiny, striped pillow in the picture below. It props up my belly just enough so that my waist/hips feel supported.
The final pillow came just about a week ago. Again, in my yoga class we do a lot of chest opening exercises to open up the chest and make room for the increased capacity that our lungs need during pregnancy. I started waking up in the middle of the night with a sore sternum (who knew??) from my shoulder falling forward. I’m not sure why this problem has arisen with pregnancy, but I took a feather pillow and wedged it between my side and my arm. Phew! I feel like the Princess and the Pea with this setup! Sleeping with a sore back now seems like nothing, compared to sleeping with a new ache every week.

Luckily we got a king bed not too long ago. Kyle and I both fit comfortably with my 4+ pillows per night!

This all helps, but unfortunately I am still not sleeping that great. I still wake up, wide awake and uncomfortable some nights and can only get back to sleep when I’m sitting upright on the couch. Or sometimes I can prop myself and my legs up in bed and fall back to sleep that way. If this little girl is anything like her mother, Kyle is REALLY going to have his hands full! :)

Preggers Brain

I am getting a bit frustrated with this whole “pregnancy brain” phenomena. It doesn’t seem to matter how many lists I have, or reminders I create on my phone. To top off the forgetfulness, I am moving much slower and get tired very easily. So when I DO remember to do things, it takes twice as long and I get frustrated even more! Sigh. I think there should be a service where pregnant women can rent an assistant for a few months. Or maybe we should get a pre-maternity leave where we are allowed to just run around like chickens with our head cut-off for awhile. Either way, I apologize to all of you who are getting late birthday cards, delayed emails, or just seeing less of me in general lately. (Obviously my blogging is suffering as well.) I promise that I’m doing the best I can to continue functioning normally!

Princesses and Ponies

It’s official – I’m getting the little girl I always wanted!! I was actually REALLY nervous going into my appointment. I was even shaking a bit! At one point, we were talking about not finding out the sex during the actual ultrasound. We heard a cute story about some people who had the tech write down the sex of the baby on a card, seal it, and give it to the couple when they left. That night they would open the card when it was just the two of them and find out in private. It seemed like a good idea at the time but then we decided that if we were going to find out ahead of time, the actual appointment would be a good time to do it. That way we could actually see those boy/girl parts for ourselves and believe it! The ultrasound itself was amazing, and I still can’t believe how far technology has come that we could see little hands, feet, and even tiny lips through my belly! Our ultrasound tech’s name was Cinnamon, and she was really great about pointing everything out and answering our questions throughout the whole thing. A couple times she would say something like “there’s his hand” or “this is his heart”, so halfway through I figured that she already knew the sex as a boy. So yes, I was SO happy at then end when she showed us that it was a girl. I started crying immediately and Kyle told Cinnamon that she had made me the happiest girl ever. I cried for at least a half hour after the appointment and every time we called a family member to tell them. When we got back to the car, Kyle pulled a card out and gave it to me. It said “congrats on our new baby girl”. Yes, he had one for a boy also. :)

Profile of baby girl Carpenter!

I also started feeling the baby kick on Monday, which was huge. People kept asking me if I felt her and looking confused when I would say no. I know that it usually starts becoming apparent between 18 and 22 weeks, so I wasn’t in much of a hurry, but this definitely makes it more real! It happened while Kyle and I were sitting at dinner. I suddenly felt like there were bubbles popping or little drum beats deep inside my belly. I got really still and started focusing, realizing what was happening. Tears of excitement also started running down my face, at which point Kyle got a bit worried. Once I told him what I was feeling, he started hoping he could feel it too. Soon enough! About an hour later, we had a 5.7 earthquake, so I think the baby knew something was up.

19 Weeks

New Mom Resolutions #1 - Sunscreen

So Candice and I have decided to start blogging together. One of her passions is safe cleaning and beauty products. Since I became pregnant, I have been taking this a lot more seriously and trying to become informed about what I'm putting in/on my body - and now my baby! As an outlet for this passion/obsession of ours, we decided to chose different products to write about and hopefully educate a bit in the process. Candice is the mastermind, but I'm trying to keep up! :) You can read her version at: http://rupprechtroots.blogspot.com/

What's wrong with conventional sunscreen like Banana Boat, Coppertone and Target brand?
Many contain chemicals and nanoparticles that may be harmful to our endocrine system - and after experiencing how crazy hormones are during pregnancy and especially after childbirth, I'm certain I don't need any additional chemicals affecting my body's ability to regulate hormones.

What are some of the harmful ingredients?
Oxybenzone - a hormone-disrupting compound that penetrates the skin and enters the bloodstream

Vitamin A, retinyl palmitate - used as an antioxidant to slow skin aging, but when applied to the skin in the presence of sunlight, may speed the development of skin tumors and lesions (NTP 2009)

Methylbenzylidene camphor - Strong evidence of hormone disruption and thyroid affects

Octyl methoxycinnamate - Multiple estrogenic effects, Thyroid hormone reductions, hormone-mediated immune effects and moderate rates of skin allergy

And look how many of these baby sunscreens are on the list of worst-protecting sunscreens?!? http://www.ewg.org/2010sunscreen/buyer-beware/

Better ingredients are mineral-based sunscreens that use Zinc Oxide and Titanium Oxide. Yet even these better alternatives have research indicating that inhaled nanoparticles reach organs and cross the placenta and enter the brain. So it's definitely best to avoid any spray sunscreens, even though they are so convenient! The problem with nanoparticles is that can be more chemically reactive and more easily absorbed into the body. However, in the case of zinc oxide and titanium oxide, the EWG (Environmental Working Group) asserts that the benefits of sun protection outweigh the risks of nanoparticles...so more on nanoparticles in a future post.

All of the info about chemical concerns was taken from the EWG website, which has extensive research on skincare products; in fact, they have a database called SkinDeep (http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/) that rates on a 0-10 scale, every type of skin and beauty product you could imagine. 0 is the safest, 10 is the highest risk to health. They have done the same with sunscreens, so we're on a quest to use sunscreens that have the lowest rating possible, while still being affordable and not turning our skin white.

What are better choices? We've tried...
Aubrey Organics Natural Sun SPF 25 Sunscreen for Active Lifestyles (3) - Hard to rub in and makes your skin white
Alba Botanica Sun: Lavender Sunblock SPF 30 (5)
Nature's Gate AquaBlock SPF 50 (3)
Alba Botanica Very Emollient Body Lotion daily shade formula, SPF 16 (6)
Kiss My Face Face Factor, SPF 30 (3)
All Terrain AquaSport SPF 30 (3)

Alba Botanica Green Tea SPF 30 (5)

Candice and I at Coronado Beach. Who knows what kind of sunscreen I wore then!?

Prenatal Yoga

Today I attended my first prenatal yoga class. With my preexisting back problems, stretching and walking are about the only workouts I get. So I figured that taking a yoga class would help with the additional back pain that comes with being preggers. I asked my Dr. about it, and she told me about a class that is offered through the hospital where I am giving birth. They offer several classes a week and the price is great, so I signed up. I loved the class and felt so relaxed afterwards. I'm really excited to continue to explore the benefits through the rest of my pregnancy and labor. The instructor was really great (which always helps) and she recently opened her own studio with her husband. I may try some of her other classes as well, and she even offers classes that you can take with your "birthing partner". I had to explain this to Kyle: your birthing partner is the one who will be with you during labor, i.e. your husband. So even though I am still going strong with my third month straight of "morning sickness", I'm looking forward to a back pain-free pregnancy! :)

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

So I have been VERY into sweets lately. There was even a couple of weeks where I craved donuts every day - and donuts normally gross me out. The girls in our accounting department often bring in baked goods and this has been particularly dangerous. While I still usually default to salty foods, the sugar has been creeping in. The picture below is of some yummy cream cheese brownies that I made last week. I was going through an old stack of Cooking Light magazines and pulling out recipes for my recipe book. After going through about 8 magazines, I realized that I had ONLY pulled out dessert recipes! These brownies are one of my "finds". They can't be that bad though, right? Cooking Light is healthy! :)

Robbed While Maternity Clothes Shopping

This weekend I went shopping at A Pea in The Pod. I have been doing a little online maternity clothes shopping, but this was my first in-person experience. I will start by saying that I knew the store was expensive and wasn’t planning to shop there; I only went because I heard that their maternity bras were reasonably priced. To make the whole story short, the super helpful sales lady tricked me into not only buying the bras but a pair of designer maternity jeans. I’m serious though; she was very helpful and gave me some good tips on shopping for maternity clothes. She also accepted my refusal to buy full-priced jeans and found me a pair “on-sale”. On-sale for designer jeans is still WAY over any price I would ever pay for regular, every-day jeans. Despite the nice sales lady and some comfortable jeans, I walked out of that store feeling awful. I was disappointed in myself for spending the money on something that I would wear for maybe 3 months. I will be taking the jeans back and have decided to stick to my online shopping. Much safer, much better deals, and I can filter out those designer brands!!

Losing My Waistline

So the secret is out. I am preggers – a little over 13 weeks into this. So far it hasn’t been too “magical”, but I hear that the second trimester is where it’s really at. I had a couple weeks of being horribly sick and dehydrated, but my doctor now has me on some meds to help me keep food down and keep myself healthy. I still don’t have much energy, but I hear that is supposed to improve as well.
We have had two doctor’s appointments/two ultrasounds so far. I have to admit that I was caught by complete surprise at the tears running down my cheeks when I heard that first heartbeat at 8 weeks. Incredible! I never thought I would be that way, but it’s amazing the way you feel about things can change in just a few minutes. That’s what hearing that heartbeat and seeing that first image did to me.
The first ultrasound, at 8 weeks, showed the nondescript “peanut” while the second ultrasound (only 4 weeks later) showed incredible development. The image really doesn’t do it justice; the amazing part was seeing the baby rock back and forth on the screen. The profile was so clear. Kyle and I were in complete awe!
I am still feeling pretty crummy, though I do manage to pull out a bit more energy on the weekends. I am starting to “show” a bit, and by that I mean that I appear to now eat donuts every morning for breakfast. This look gets progressively worse throughout the day, and I am now in a stage prior to “the bump” that I am calling “the bloat”. Something else I have learned is that before you even start to show, your hips start to widen. Even though there isn’t yet much to see, I can no longer fit into my pants. This has been really frustrating, as I’m still too small for those belly bands and maternity pants. Ah well, an early joy of pregnancy!

Zoey the Borador

Ok, so I know that I have to start blogging more and really practicing. I thought I could at least get into it by writing about baby Zoey. We picked her up from a Lab Rescue event almost 3 months ago. Although she was said to be a "black lab mix", we have decided that she looks a lot more like a Border Collie. Further internet investigation found this "designer breed" (aka mutt) to be a Borador. We think that she's around 7 months now and, with the help of cousin Chase in Tuscon, she lost her remaining baby teeth a few weeks ago. The cats aren't a big fan, but they seem to be standing up to her a bit better than the did with Oliver. Since she has Border Collie in her, she would like to herd them around the house and sometimes tries to do this to us by biting at our heels. We are enjoying her so much and love having a dog around the house again. Welcome to the family, Zoey!