I’m Lying On My Belly

     It’s about 6:30 A.M. and there’s a beautiful sunrise beginning to peak over the northeastern hills—baby pinks and blues right now, hints of vanilla (How appropriate!). Our big little girl was born 4 minutes to 4 A.M. Wednesday morning weighing 10 pounds and 10 ounces. ((((WHEW!!!)))) Most of that weight put on in the last 2 ½ weeks prior, from what I could tell, but then, Rowan was 10-1 and I ate SAD throughout. {Methinks the genes of my beloved husband had some influence here.}
 

     Anyhoo, everyone is doing well. Better even. By Wednesday evening I was downstairs for a while on the couch, Thursday up and about around the house. I even took “Shelf” outside on the moveable “porch” swing for a while, laying and rocking and nursing with one of those soft warm breezes kissing legs and arms and faces. Friday she was finally able to really open her eyes (they were swollen from delivery) and looked all around with her cute newborn crosseyes. ((giggle)) Then a mini photo shoot and off to the library and store to get groceries {I NEED GREENS!!! ((craving)))} and to print off some pics to send out to everyone.

     Thurs-Friday I couldn’t get to sleep, I think because my milk was coming in (THANK YOU Raw Tahini Milk!!) And was hot and hormonal. So I slept a bit between 4:30 and 9 off and on, but not much sleep there. Suprisingly didn’t seem to change functionability too much. (((Is that because of the vegan vs. meat???))) So last night I was still the last to get to sleep, maybe around 12:30-1am after nursing, then woke a little bit ago to nurse again and I felt rested and ready for the day, sooooooo . . . as the mini-Sharilyn World is sleeping I thought I’d type this up to post later today at the library. And without further ado, I give you:

     The Birth Story of "Shelf" (name undecided as of yet)  UPDATE:  After 2 weeks of deliberating, we've finally decided on Gabriella Nyx.

     As some of you know, I had been having regular contractions since 36 ½ weeks, roughly every 10-15 minutes. They didn’t hurt, they were mainly an annoyance. I began cervical ripening with evening primrose oil at the 37 week mark in hopes of bringing on labor, which obviously didn’t work. (Knowing how big Rowan was, and feeling the babe growing so large throughout the pregnancy on such a healthy diet, I (with my midwife’s OK) felt this was good to do. (I asked her about using castor oil and she advised against using that before 42 weeks, as she had seen too often babes delivering when they weren’t “lined up” quite right.) So that with a bit of nipple stimulation, but still no labor, and STILL having the B H contractions that didn’t produce was a bit frustrating.
 

     Then on Wednesday I had a major migrane, which I chalked up to the handful of tootsie rolls I ate, as the last headache I had was when I had the flu at 2 months, and prior to that I can’t remember. Perhaps instead it was a flood of hormones or whatever getting my bod geared up for labor. Contractions started getting harder in the evening, but hadn’t gotten closer than the 10 minutes, and some had even gotten further apart, as much as 35-40 minutes.

     I called my midwife a couple times that evening, but said to hold off coming as she’s 2 hours from me and I didn’t want her driving here for “nothing.” She was going to bed around 11:30-12 and told me to call then to let her know how I was doing, but after getting up to pee and having 3 contractions on top of one another in the 5 minute trip to the bathroom I called her shortly there after, which was a good thing. I began getting everything ready, did a quick mini-enema, filled the pool set up in the upstairs hallway, put down plastic, set out towels and supplies etc. Shortly after I woke Rich to rub my back during contractions and do some acupressure points.

     The midwife arrived around 1:30, checked me and the baby, and I got into the pool shortly after. I guess I started feeling pushy around 2:30, but didn’t start the regular hard labor for another 15-20 minutes. Pushed hard (mostly) for about and hour, then her head was partway out, but I was nearing exhaustion, so out of the pool Rich lifted me. I got on my hands and knees and with the midwife behind me helping to turn the baby (her shoulder was stuck for a couple minutes until she corkscrewed) and pushed her out. It took a bit of rubbing and a few puffs of oxygen to get her going (Tight squeeze!), but she started girgling then crying softly. I am VERY glad I opted for a midwife rather than unassisted here!! Rich held the baby, warming her and talking to her gently.

     Within a couple minutes I felt another contraction, so I got back on hands and knees and gave a little push---Out popped the placenta. Pretty cool looking, so I asked all kinds of questions about it, what’s this thing here, how does that look, etc. Then I hopped into the shower while Rich and the midwife dealt with cutting the cord, rubbing in the vernix, etc. I got into bed and Rich brought the babe to me to nurse. She latched right on and Boy! could she suck! The midwife and Rich were busy cleaning up a bit, draining the pool, etc., then I got checked for tears. There was a very small internal perineum tear, which tells me, ladies, that delivering on your back is NOT the way to go!! I had an episiotomy with Tris and tore to a 2 with Rowan, both on my back, as the doctor ordered. 
 

     Anyway, she said I looked real good. The midwife put golden seal on the baby’s umbilical stump, brought up my coconut water and raisins, tucked us in, hung out for a couple hours to make sure everyone was fine, and then was off. Since then, I’ve gotten small patches of sleep, but haven’t really needed much, which totally surprised me. It took until Friday evening for the baby’s swelling around her eyes to go down enough for her to really open them, but now she’s bright eyed and curious.
 

And still doesn’t have a name as I type this, but we’re almost there. I was hoping one would just fit, but so far just a couple really close but not quites. Anyone have suggestions? Doesn’t matter anyway, as we’ll have decided by the time I’m able to get to the library and check e-mail again.
 

Well, gotta run. I hear some hungry grunts. ;o}

~~~Sharilyn

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today is my Dad’s B-day and he’s made it . . . 62 times around the sun I think. (47 . . . 97 . . 2007 . . . + 2 years for 09) Yeah, he’s 62 years young. Here’s a big bunch of yellow roses for you daddy. Don’t know if there’s 62 of them, but it’s a digital picture so you can duplicate it if you want to. LOL. :o}

I had quite the busy day, a result of a spontaneous encounter. Last fall I noticed a small pear tree beautifully endowed with some of the most luscious looking fruit just down the road from where we live. I had stopped to inquire about the over-ripening pears and to see if we could pick them, but no one was living at the house. I kept an eye out, but never saw anyone there and, as realty signs were posted on the property, figured nobody resided there. Fast forward to last Thursday: A man was out cutting up a tree and on a whim I stopped again to ask about the pear tree. The tree wasn’t theirs, it was the neighbors, but they had a pear tree in back that was a help-yourself. I commented on the beautiful landscape (With my 15 years experience in the field, I was quite sincere on this point. The place is gorgeous.). One thing led to another and I had a job, sort-of. The flower garden needed some serious attention. It was overgrown and plants needed to be split and moved, weeds needed to be pulled. I offered to straighten things up in exchange for some of the splits and babies that decided to seed themselves in less than optimal locations. The man who maintained the place (it turned out to be a retreat center, religious based) said he’d pay me for any work, and to help myself to some of the extra plants. Just what I asked the universe for: Free perennials!

So I spent four hours there today and came home after dark and had to cut a new 20 or so square foot bed to temporarily store all the splits that couldn’t find a home in the garden at the retreat center. And more to do tomorrow!! I’m pooped. I’ve been fasting for the past three days—mostly water and a little watered down lemonade, and some herb tea for my head cold. Oddly enough I haven’t been energy deprived like I sometimes was on other fasts.

Now a weird part: An hour or so after I was there it began raining, and as I looked down at the ground, I noticed what I thought was hail bouncing back up after it hit. It was quite warm, so I thought that was odd. On closer inspection I discovered that it wasn’t hail, it was what looked like larvae. Imagine the Mexican jumping bean without the bean. Tiny white threadlike worms or larva, each about a centimeter long, were bending themselves into little balls and then popping open, causing them to pop up 3 to 4 inches off the ground. Strange. I asked Dad and my former business associate Joe about it, but neither had ever seen this before. Anyone know??

Today Rowan ate:

tahini/sesame seed milk w/ flax

grapes

oranges

green smoothie with fresh picked spinach, lettuce, arugula, kelp powder, bananas, apples

whatever else dad made as I was “working” (Yea!)

~Sharilyn

Happy Birthday Rowan!!

I did it again. Posting at the library got put off yet a few more weeks due to a number of factors, the biggest being that I couldn’t find my memory stick. Sorry, anxious readers. I’ll try to be more consistent with my postings. I aim for weekly, but life gets in the way sometimes.

Little Miss has finally attained the age attributed to her attitude of late: She’s two!

Here’s what I love about Rowan:

She usually greats you with a “Hi Ro-Ro” in the morning or after nap time.

She is eager to help when asked.

She makes the best messes in the shortest possible time.

She tries new things eagerly.

She is determined and headstrong, constantly checking her boundaries.

She gives all kinds of presents, from flowers to bugs to little specks of dirt or a dropped morsel of food.

She shares her wonder at the world, in turn making me wonder too.

Her wonderfully large blue eyes.

The way she talks, using sign language and not fully pronounced words that are too adorable.

She has the best pout that will melt the firmest of resolutions.

Rowan had a plethora of presents, from elmo videos to a tea set. Plastic fruit and books to devour. A beautiful white party dress that managed to survive chocolate cake.

The cake was an experience. I half-followed a recipe from one of my raw books, using nuts, carrot and apple pulp and such. It turned out well and tasted wonderful. Not as fluffy as carrot cake, but much softer than the first nut cake I made. LOL. That one was a rock!!

So two years have passed in a blink. Soon it will be decades passing as quickly. Enjoy your moments. Do it now. They pass all too fast.

In Love,

~Sharilyn, Rowan, and Tristen

Happy Birthday Mommy!!

Today is my Mommy's Birthday!! She is 29 yet again. (It's what, the 33rd time or something?? I still can't remember or do the math!! LOL.) Here's some wonderful things about the woman who gave birth to me:

She's the kindest person I know.
She taught me all the best qualities, like honesty and loyalty, by exemplifying them.
She has an amazing daughter!
She always has a listening ear, regardless of the hour.
She's beautiful, though she doesn't think so. I do.
She is so giving of herself, through several avenues, like her personalized books that she spends HOURS and HOURS on.
She'll drop everything and drive 24 hours nonstop across the country to get you if you say, "I need you."
Her heart is so big, I'm suprised her chest can contain it.
She loves doing crosswords--but only from the newspaper, not from a book (except maybe the varity puzzles).
She has the logical mind to not only comprehend, but to also complete the multi-leveled Sudoku (cross-sums?)
She's raised two upstanding kids, on her own for many of those 20+ years.
She's not spiteful, vindictive, or mean in any way.
She's problaby the most creative person I know, from cross-stitch to noodle ornements to papercrafts to crocheting plastic bags.

I love you mom. Happy Birthday from all of us.
~Sharilyn, Rich, Rowan, Tristen

Sap???

Well it’s finally started to warm up . . . so where’s the sap?? Supposedly, sap starts to really flow when days are above freezing and nights are below. It’s been 40* or so during the day, but only one tree is giving any sap—and verrry little at that. Maybe there’ll be enough by the end of the week to actually boil, but I’m not going to waste my time with only a cup of sap. Did you know it takes 40 gallons of sap to equal 1 gallon of syrup? I’ve probally mentioned it B4. That’s if you tap a sugar or black maple. It takes about 100 gallons of hickory or walnut sap to get 1 gallon of syrup. That’s what I’d call a labor of love. Still, I wonder what walnut sap would taste like . . ??

Happy birthday to my sweetie, my love, my partner in life and crime. Rich has made it around the sun 36 times this lifetime. No thrills this year, he didn't want any. But Happy Birthday just the same baby.

Today the kids ate:
cereal (pumpkin seeds, pecans, walnuts, sunny seeds) with strawberries, stevia, and banana-almond milk
fruit medley: strawberries, apples, bananas, grapes
celery chips
salad: leaf lettuce with carrots, cukes, corn, sunny seeds, figs, w/ ACV dressing
grapes
carob almond milk

~Sharilyn

Tristen’s Birthday!!!

Well, my baby boy turned 8 yesterday. Hard to believe it’s been that long since I was huffing and puffing him out for 4 ½ hours. 28 ½ hours of labor total, plus the 4 days of serious recovery time! Certainly worth it if you ask me, though if we do decide to have another baby, I hope a raw diet will lead to a much shorter labor and delivery!

Tristen had his slumber party, though only one other boy could spend the night. Chatter chatter until 11 P.M. The boys made pizza for dinner, as requested by Tris. It was fun watching them mold their own dough. Turtle cheesecake for a b-day cake. Not raw, but that’s O.K. Unfortunately come Monday morning, Tristen wasn’t feeling so great and stayed home in bed. He got lots of fresh veggie and fruit juices, and started doing much better. I’m repeatedly amazed at how healing juices are. Time and again they’ve done the trick when an illness was coming on. Having Tristen get sick after eating dairy, meat, and bread, and then get better eating raw certainly helped reinforce the notion that dairy, meat, and bread aren’t good for you!! For him as well as for me. Now that’s a great gift!

I’m hoping to be able to upload some photos of the party this week as last week’s wouldn’t configure. We shall see. I think I either have a bug in my software or this new memory stick is not such a great item.

So here’s a little bit of wonderful that I want to share about Tristen:

He’s kind to others.
He’s so empathetic—such an amazing trait in such a young person.
He is extremely helpful, and always lends a hand if I ask without so much as an “in a minute.”
He’s honest, and tells me things that he did that maybe he shouldn’t have, even though he knows he’ll probably get in trouble.
He’s so creative!!!!!
He’s loving, often being the first to say, “I love you.”
He’s the most intelligent boy of 8 I know—it will take him far in life.
He loves to climb, and misses the little red maple he used to shimmy up and sit in for hours at our old apartment.
He’s the most caring of big brothers. Ro-Ro talks about him every day and can’t wait for him to play with her.
He’s the reason that I know what unconditional love is. (That’s the big one for me.)
He’s the beautiful blond in my life (lord knows where the hair color came from) that I would do anything for.
He believes in himself, and encourages others to reach their goals too.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TRISTEN, AND MANY MANY MANY MORE HAPPYS TO COME!!!

~Sharilyn

Almost Maple Syrup Time

Sorry I haven’t been blogging in a while. I had some business to take care of in Michigan and it’s been crazy busy around here. Good news: My camera’s working again! I took it to photo center at the local Walmart and they suggested trying lithium batteries. $5 fix. Can’t beat that!

Tristen is having a slumber party for his 8th birthday this coming weekend and he’s invited five other boys from his class to come. It’s his golden birthday, as he’s turning 8 on the 8th. Lots of preparations to attend to: cleaning, food, decorations, etc. Tris decided to have a turtle cheesecake (that’s chocolate, caramel, and nuts, not the shelled reptile) for his b-day cake and pizza for dinner. And “not raw, Mommy,” as the kids at school absolutely ridicule him when he brings in anything—even fruit. Little bullies. Tris's got a tough skin though, and laughs back when he has something super yummy, like pie, for lunch.
So Mommy will be helping the boys make their own pizzas. It should be a blast to see them with the pizza dough. Messy too. Yeah!!

Rowan has been a bit whiney lately, though understandably so with all the hoop-la and trip to Michigan. But we’re getting back into our routine so things will smooth out soon. I found a DVD of the TellyTubbies and Ro-Ro’s just fascinated with them. She tries to imitate whatever they’re doing. She’s soo cute when La-La does her “Secret Dance” because Ro runs and get’s her dress-up clothes on and dances too!

We’ve finally warmed up a bit after those freezing cold 20 below days. Yesterday and the day before it warmed up to 40 and 50 degrees. I sure wish I had my maple syrup tapping equipment, but as money’s been super tight I haven’t been able to get anything. Or had time to make anything either, as the stress of the Michigan trip has been all-encompassing. I read that pioneers used to use elderberry twigs as taps, but as elderberry contains cyanogenic glucosides, substances that release cyanide, and an unidentified cathartic (though primarily found in the leaves and roots), I don’t know that it would be such a good idea to use. Children used to get sick after using flutes and whistles that they made from the twigs. Certainly, cooked berries made into jam is harmless, so then would cooked sap that only passed along the twigs be O.K.? I don’t know, so I won’t try it, and unless you are educated in the use of herbs, elderberry is not an herb to use. I also don't recommend eating the berries raw . . . .

Se la vie. Something will appear for me to use, as always, so no worries. And frankly, if it doesn’t I don’t think I’ll miss tending to an outdoor fire for hours just to obtain a small amount of syrup. It takes 40 or so gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup if you’re using sugar maple sap (100 or more for hickory or walnut!). Why not boil it inside you ask? ~~giggling~~~ try it and you’ll find out. Sticky hard to clean ceiling among other things.

Gotta roll. I’ll be blogging more now that things have slowed down a bit, but again will only post about once a week—usually Thursdays. Tschüs!

Today Tristen ate:

juice oatmeal
½ avocado
banana
grapes
carob almonds
raw lemon pie—see entry for raw Key Lime Pie at http://rawbabyrowan.blogspot.com/2008/12/key-lime-pie.html
carob sesame milk

Ro-Ro ate:
banana
orange-coconut water/juice
grapes & blueberries
green smoothie w/ spinach, blueberries, cranberries, banana
more grapes & blueberries
raw lemon pie
tomatoes sprinkled with chia seeds
sesame milk

~~~Rowan, Sharilyn, and Tristen


P.S. Does anyone know how to enter a link w/o having the long address? I.E. clicking on something that says "click here" and having it take you to the ip addy. If you know, please e-mail or leave a comment. Spanks!