Goddess Woman: September 2005

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Roller coaster

First of all, I'd like to thank everyone for the wonderful comments about my beautiful girls. :) I am one lucky mama.

The last few days have been a real roller coaster ride. Right after the birth, I was flying high, and things were going really well. Then the "aftershocks" kicked in - the contractions that come after giving birth while the uterus is going back down to normal size. Oh, goddess, those were a bitch. I don't remember them at all from Rhiannon, but apparently you feel everything more after subsequent babies. Oh, yeah. Take the worst menstrual cramps ever and multiply them. argh. Then of course they'd get worse while nursing, which made THAT ever more enjoyable.

Speaking of nursing, we're doing pretty well in that department again. Once my milk came in, my breasts got really full and Aeryn had a hard time latching on. So she would chomp, release, chomp, release, at least 3 times, until I was nearly screaming and totally in tears. I have never had such pain, I tell you what. So nursing was agony for a couple of days. Then I learned it helped immensely to pump before trying to latch her on, and my poor shredded nips are on the mend now.

My neighbor friend is home Mon and Tues, so he came down and got Rhiannon to play with his son, Rhia's friend Jasper. That was a big help. Yesterday I got a nice nap in while Beaner played over there, and today I got a couple things done around the house. Little things, mind you, but I have simple goals these days. Shower, brush hair, brush teeth, cut up over-ripening melon... big accomplishments.

My awesome friend Barb, who was at Aeryn's birth, brought over a couple of fabulous meals for us, so we've eaten some good home cooking these last two nights. What a luxury! Everyone has been so generous to us, it's truly wonderful. I didn't really expect anything, since it's our second baby and all, but friends and neighbors have given us such wonderful things. I didn't realize all the things that we still needed for a new baby again, and we've been so blessed to have received nearly everything we could need! I'm just awed by everyone's kindness.

My mom called today, and she has a plane ticket to come out on Saturday and stay for a week. It will be nice to have the help, and I know Rhiannon will love to see her. She gave Bean a cute little robe for her birthday, so we had breakfast in our robes this morning.

I need to write Rhiannon's yearly birthday letter yet, and write Aeryn's birth story, but it will all come in due time.

Posted by Jodi Selander at 1:20 PM

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Saturday, September 24, 2005

Happy 3rd Birthday, Rhiannon!

I'm glad we had your party early, so your birthday wasn't totally overshadowed by the arrival of you new little sister. Happy Birthday, and I love you, Sweetheart!

Posted by Jodi Selander at 1:49 PM

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Thursday, September 22, 2005

Aeryn photos!

Click the title for the link to our family photo blog. Dave posted pictures right away, and added a couple from this morning. :)

Posted by Jodi Selander at 6:55 PM

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Happy Birthday to me!

I'm having a great birthday with my new little girl! We had to put off our dinner plans (LOL), but Dave and Bean are off picking up an ice cream cake from DQ (my fave!), and we ordered pizza for supper. Aeryn's napping in the sling now, so I had a few minutes to post. Aeryn is the best birthday present ever. :)

I'm doing really well, and Aeryn is doing great too. She's nursing like a champ, and is just so perfect and healthy. I feel awesome, just a little tired. Once again, no tears or anything, so I feel very blessed, and my physical recovery is even better than last time. I am very happy that I was right about the 21st. LOL The labor and birth experience was fantastic. I look forward to writing it up in her birth story, and I'll share as soon as that's done, of course.

Thanks so much for all the well-wishes! I really appreciate that I had so many people thinking of me during labor. :D

Posted by Jodi Selander at 6:53 PM

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Wednesday, September 21, 2005

Aeryn's here!

Everything was perfect, it was the best birth ever. Here are the stats, and I'm off to bed. Aeryn is perfect, and beautiful. :)
I will post a birth story and photo asap.

Love!

Aeryn Rayn
born 3:50 pm
8 lbs 12 oz
21" long
headful of beautiful black hair

Posted by Jodi Selander at 9:04 PM

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This is it!

I am definitely in labor. Surges have been coming more quickly, and are getting pretty intense. This is the last post until the big announcement!

Posted by Jodi Selander at 12:26 PM

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My Prediction

Well, I said today was the day that Aeryn would be born. We shall see. I had lots of strong contractions yesterday from late afternoon on. They were pretty far apart (7-10 minutes), but got closer together after a little walk. I called my midwife and my doula to give them a "heads-up", but nobody else. My doula had some suggestions for kicking things into gear, but I didn't want to help get anything going last night since it was getting close to 10:00, and I wanted to get some sleep first. I slept some last night around 2 or 3, after the "surges" (as my hypnobirthing instructor wants me to think of them) died off in intensity enough. I've been up for about 45 minutes so far, and the surges are back, and slowly building in intensity again. I made Dave stay home today (I *really* had to twist his arm), and he and Bean are up now, so we're going to have some breakfast and then take a walk. So I'm just going to see how things progress, but it could be today! I'll post updates here as things change.

Wish me luck!

Posted by Jodi Selander at 8:38 AM

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Sunday, September 18, 2005

I met my doula!

And she's a Pagan!!!

I suppose I better begin this little saga at the beginning. I wanted to have a doula* at my birth, but we don't have the money for one. We are already paying everything out-of-pocket for the midwife services, plus the labor tub, so we are completely tapped out (and then some). I started getting concerned about just having Dave there with the midwives, since Beaner will be present, and he will probably have to be fetching things for her, putting in movies, and being a parent. So I can't count on him to be there for me 100%, which I really needed last time. My friend Melissa is our childcare backup for Bean, but she is also expecting, has two kids, and a husband who works unpredictable hours, so even though she will try her hardest to do what she can, there are no guarantees. My other friend Barb has said she wants to be at the birth too, but she also has a family that needs her, so again, no guarantees.

I had a little breakdown at my midwife appt a week ago, talking to Jill about all this. She said she would look into it and see if she could find someone who would attend the birth. The next day she called; she had been contacted by a woman who moved here in June from Germany, where her husband had been stationed with the Air Force. She's attended births as a doula for the last three years, but wants to get certified now that she's in the states. In order to be a certified doula, you have to attend a certain number, and a variety (home, hospital, etc.), of births. So she is doing my birth pro bono for her certification!

She came by yesterday to meet us. Turns out she lives just up the street from me, she has a 7yo girl and a 3yo boy (playmate for Bean?!), and she looks to be about my age (maybe 30's though). We were chatting, and since we live in Mormon Land out here, I just wanted to mention that I'm a Pagan, and will have a sage bundle for smudging inside the door and a small birth altar set up, just so I don't freak anybody out and create a weird awkward moment while I'm trying to labor. So she says "Oh, I am too!"; I guess she's been practicing Wicca for several years, and asked what I had planned for a cleansing, and was just so totally cool.

I feel so blessed right now. Not only do I get a terrific doula (and possibly another friend), but the in-laws said this weekend they will be sending us a Target gift card for Aeryn, which is a huge relief. There are lots of little things I need/would like to get for the baby that we just don't have the money for right now. Thankfully we're pretty well set, but it's crazy how those little last-minute things add up!

I talked to my aunt Roz yesterday, and she said my Guardians are really looking out for me. So true. (And, she said she's sending a Target card, plus will be looking for some Burt's Bees things I need that I haven't gotten yet. Yay!) She also wants me to call her when I go into labor so she can work a little magic for me.
So blessed!

* A doula is a support person for the laboring woman - "mothering the mother". They are wonderful to have at a birth. I considered becoming a doula after Bean was born - I will probably become a birth junkie again after this baby. :) DONA - Doulas of North America

Posted by Jodi Selander at 8:24 AM

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Saturday, September 17, 2005

Belly Shot

Here are the other of my favorite photos. It's hard to choose just a couple to put up!

Belly hugs

Posted by Jodi Selander at 6:14 PM

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Sisters

Rhiannon and Aeryn

Posted by Jodi Selander at 6:12 PM

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Family Portrait

Our family - first one with Aeryn!

Posted by Jodi Selander at 6:09 PM

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Friday, September 16, 2005

Breast milk richer in fat, energy after one year

Women who nurse for longer period of time have higher calorie milk

Updated: 3:26 p.m. ET Sept. 14, 2005

NEW YORK - A new study shows that milk from mothers who have been breastfeeding their infants for more than a year is richer in fat and energy than milk from moms who have been breastfeeding for just a few months.

HA! Take that, everyone who says breastmilk has no nutritional value after a year! It has MORE!

(title is linked to full article)

Posted by Jodi Selander at 5:11 PM

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Thursday, September 15, 2005

Pregnancy Photos

I got my pregnancy photos back from the photo shoot we did a couple weeks ago! Here's one, I'll post more when I get through them all. I'm so happy, I usually hate myself in portraits, but the photographer did a really awesome job. *big belly happy dance*

Me and Aeryn

Posted by Jodi Selander at 11:19 PM

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Tuesday, September 13, 2005

Birthday Party

We had Bean's 3rd birthday party on Sunday, the 11th. Her actual birthday is the 24th, but I didn't want to be due in 2 days, trying to throw a party with a bunch of kids - or else have a newborn around a lot of people. So we did it early, to make sure she didn't miss out. I think it was a success, everyone seemed to have a lot of fun. Dave already posted pictures on her blog. I was totally wiped by the end of it, and Dave did most of the running around and physical portion of it! Thank gods for awesome husbands.

I'm still hanging in there. I had a break from the contractions for a few days, which was nice. Friday and Saturday were really tough - I was an emotional, weepy basketcase for some reason. Thankfully I was better by Sunday so I didn't have a meltdown at my poor kid's birthday party! Last night I had some bigger ones for a few hours, so I didn't get much sleep, and I've had a few doozies today, which makes me wonder just how long it's going to be before Aeryn is here. My guess is somewhere around the 19th-21st, so we'll see how accurate I am. :) I do think she'll be here before my birthday, which is the 22nd. (Both of my girls are beautiful birthday presents!)

One of my neighbor friends (who doesn't read this blog! lol) asked me in front of everyone what I was planning to do for the birth. I had already told her I was doing a home birth, but she made this big deal of it. "OMG, you're having her at HOME! I can't believe you're having her at HOME! I guess I'll just listen for the screaming to know when you're in labor! I'd be so scared to have a home birth" and on and on. I was pretty annoyed, considering she already knew this, AND that my last birth was a peaceful, calm, beautiful experience, and I anticipate nothing less for this one. Grrrr. I don't freak out on someone when they say they're going to have a hospital birth, even though that would scare me to no end. I think hospitals are for sick people, not healthy pregnant women expecting healthy babies. Besides, tons of studies have shown that home births are safer and have better outcomes for moms and babies than hospitals, when attended by a competent midwife. But my final word on the whole hospital vs. home debate is that a woman needs to birth where she feels comfortable and safe and cared for in order to give birth properly. For some women, that's a hospital, and that's fine. For me it is not. End of speech.

Shonna brought over the completed belly cast when she came for the party, and I just love it. I will have to hang it and get a good picture to share.

Posted by Jodi Selander at 4:14 PM

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Sunday, September 04, 2005

Blessingway pictures!

Yummy goodies, and a lovely table. Mmmm... cupcakes.

Posted by Jodi Selander at 3:06 PM

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All of us, with the cast! From L-R: Barb, Melissa, Shonna, me, Kat, BoJo, and Kate.

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Decorating the cast...

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Showing off the artwork

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All painted! Shonna is going to do some finishing touches, and hang some *gorgeous* blessing bags off it, so I will post another pic of the totally finished product.

Posted by Jodi Selander at 3:02 PM

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Saturday, September 03, 2005

Blessingway

I had the most fantastic day today. My friend Shonna hosted an incredible Blessingway to celebrate Aeryn and this pregnancy. I felt so honored all day long, it was just wonderful. All my closest lady friends were there, and we made a plaster cast of my huge tummy (and enormous breasts!! whoa, nellie!). Then everyone got into decorating it, and it is just beautiful. I can't wait to see the finished cast - Shonna has some finishing touches to do to it yet, and it is just going to be amazing. I'm going to hang it in my candle room for all the fabulous woman/Mother energy that went into it. I will post pictures as soon as I can - especially when it's totally finished.
I am so grateful to all my friends for coming to celebrate with me today, and to Shonna for putting together the most fantastic Blessingway I could have imagined - she even used a Froud Faery theme. !!!

Posted by Jodi Selander at 10:47 PM

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Friday, September 02, 2005

Reading for Aeryn

This past week I've been having contractions every night, and I've also seen a couple of interesting things. I've seen two greenish-blue lights - one in my candle room on the floor, and the same, or similar, one above our sliding glass door in the bedroom a few nights later. A couple nights after that, I saw a shadow move across the bedroom wall as I lay in bed. So after the third incident, I started to think it might be spirits or faeries hanging around waiting for Aeryn to be born, or lend support, or something.
Tonight I took out my Faeries' Oracle to have a look, and I had a pretty interesting reading. I concentrated on Aeryn as I pulled 3 cards, and I got Arval Parrot (#50 - Communication), Faery Godmother (#25 - Gifts, Talents, Grace), and Solus (#13 - Knowledge, Synthesis, Spiritual Empowerment).*
My interpretation, when just looking at the layout, was the sense of communication, but the Faery Godmother card gave me a distinct impression of being the Goddess, and Solus representing God. As if They were reassuring me that they were there, watching over Aeryn, and myself, until she is here with me. Of course, I wanted to know if she was going to come early, but the faeries only give the information you need to know, not necessarily what you want to know. ;)

* I highly, HIGHLY, recommend this deck for anyone who does Tarot. I tried several "traditional" decks, and got bogged down in logistics and trying very hard to be accurate (hey, I'm a virgo). This deck allows me to trust my own instincts and intuition, but the book that comes with it is fantastic as well.

Posted by Jodi Selander at 11:06 PM

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Vacation is Over... an open letter from Michael Moore to George W. Bush

Friday, September 2nd, 2005

Dear Mr. Bush:

Any idea where all our helicopters are? It's Day 5 of Hurricane Katrina and thousands remain stranded in New Orleans and need to be airlifted. Where on earth could you have misplaced all our military choppers? Do you need help finding them? I once lost my car in a Sears parking lot. Man, was that a drag.

Also, any idea where all our national guard soldiers are? We could really use them right now for the type of thing they signed up to do like helping with national disasters. How come they weren't there to begin with?

Last Thursday I was in south Florida and sat outside while the eye of Hurricane Katrina passed over my head. It was only a Category 1 then but it was pretty nasty. Eleven people died and, as of today, there were still homes without power. That night the weatherman said this storm was on its way to New Orleans. That was Thursday! Did anybody tell you? I know you didn't want to interrupt your vacation and I know how you don't like to get bad news. Plus, you had fundraisers to go to and mothers of dead soldiers to ignore and smear. You sure showed her!

I especially like how, the day after the hurricane, instead of flying to Louisiana, you flew to San Diego to party with your business peeps. Don't let people criticize you for this -- after all, the hurricane was over and what the heck could you do, put your finger in the dike?

And don't listen to those who, in the coming days, will reveal how you specifically reduced the Army Corps of Engineers' budget for New Orleans this summer for the third year in a row. You just tell them that even if you hadn't cut the money to fix those levees, there weren't going to be any Army engineers to fix them anyway because you had a much more important construction job for them -- BUILDING DEMOCRACY IN IRAQ!

On Day 3, when you finally left your vacation home, I have to say I was moved by how you had your Air Force One pilot descend from the clouds as you flew over New Orleans so you could catch a quick look of the disaster. Hey, I know you couldn't stop and grab a bullhorn and stand on some rubble and act like a commander in chief. Been there done that.

There will be those who will try to politicize this tragedy and try to use it against you. Just have your people keep pointing that out. Respond to nothing. Even those pesky scientists who predicted this would happen because the water in the Gulf of Mexico is getting hotter and hotter making a storm like this inevitable. Ignore them and all their global warming Chicken Littles. There is nothing unusual about a hurricane that was so wide it would be like having one F-4 tornado that stretched from New York to Cleveland.

No, Mr. Bush, you just stay the course. It's not your fault that 30 percent of New Orleans lives in poverty or that tens of thousands had no transportation to get out of town. C'mon, they're black! I mean, it's not like this happened to Kennebunkport. Can you imagine leaving white people on their roofs for five days? Don't make me laugh! Race has nothing -- NOTHING -- to do with this!

You hang in there, Mr. Bush. Just try to find a few of our Army helicopters and send them there. Pretend the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast are near Tikrit.

Yours,

Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
www.MichaelMoore.com

P.S. That annoying mother, Cindy Sheehan, is no longer at your ranch. She and dozens of other relatives of the Iraqi War dead are now driving across the country, stopping in many cities along the way. Maybe you can catch up with them before they get to DC on September 21st.

Posted by Jodi Selander at 10:19 AM

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