Article on home birth

I still have yet to blog about our decision to give birth at home (I WILL get to it, I promise!), but in the meantime, here's a great article on why someone might choose a planned home birth. I especially like this section:

The ACOG and AMA have both come out against homebirthing, calling it a dangerous trend and referring to it as a “fashionable, trendy, [...] the latest cause célèbre,” and they paint a horrible picture of complications arising in low-risk pregnancies with no warning that cannot be handled anywhere but the hospital.

Despite that, the most thorough study ever done on homebirth safety, Kenneth C Johnson and Betty-Anne Daviss’s Outcomes of planned home births with certified professional midwives: large prospective study in North America, BMJ 2005;330:1416 (18 June), found that the outcomes of planned homebirths for low risk mothers were the same as the outcomes of planned hospital births for low risk mothers, with a significantly lower incident of interventions in the homebirth group.

The Lewis Mehl Study of home and hospital births, which matched couples in each group for age, parity, education, race, and pregnancy/birth risk factors, found the hospital group had 9 times the rate of episiotomies and tearing, 3 times the cesarean rate, 6 times the fetal distress, 2 times the use of oxytocin for induction/augmentation, 9 times the use of analgesia/anesthesia, 5 times the rate of maternal blood pressure increase, 3 times the rate of maternal hemorrhage, 4 times the rate of infection, 20 times the rate of forceps use, and 30 times the rate of birth injuries (including skull fractures and nerve damage).

Breastfeeding success rates are higher and postpartum depression rates are lower for planned homebirths.

The Great Cloth-diapering Experiment

As I mentioned in this post, I've been using Gerber pre-folds, Gerber plastic pants, Snappis, and recycled wool soakers for diapering these past couple of months. Here is my report:

The Diapers Themselves

I've learned that getting a tight fit around the leg is key to preventing leaks. It took a little time for Brandon and I to figure the best way, but now we don't have any leaking issues unless we've left the diaper on too long.

You need to change cloth more often than disposables, but not that much more often. We do probably 4-5 dipes a day now, instead of the 2-3 before, but it's not a huge deal.

The Snappis had a bit of a learning curve, but I've been happy with them after I learned how to use them. I also tried pins and prefer the Snappi. It's had the happy side effect of keeping Scott's hands out of his diaper, too, so he's not playing with himself constantly.

I'm really most pleased with the way my recycled wool soakers have performed. When I put Scott in the first pair of longies, they leaked right through and I was quite frustrated. Then I learned about lanolizing wool and how important it is to maintain the wool's waterproof properties. Ever since I washed the wool in a lanolin solution, I haven't had any problems. In fact, I'm constantly amazed to check Scott after I've left him in a wet diaper for longer than I meant to and find that the wool has still kept him dry. I much prefer wool to the vinyl or plastic pants, and I'm glad I've been able to make so many pairs of soakers for Scott with the free XL sweaters I picked up at a swap meet in my parents' ward.

Wearing cloth diapers, especially with a wool soaker over the top, does add bulk to Scott's bum and makes his pants fit more snugly, but he's always been a thin kid and so it's just made them stay up better. :)

Cleaning and Laundering

I'm still dealing with some ammonia stinkies in my diapers (happens when the urine mixes with detergent buildup in the diapers). I've tried adding vinegar, baking soda, and Borax, and switched to Original Tide powder (the highest recommended and most easily available detergent in my area), but can't quite kick the smell. I may have to strip the diapers and see if that helps.

Cloth diapering has not added that much time to my household duties. I actually enjoy hanging them out on the line and getting out in the sunshine and wind for a little while. I wash my diapers twice a week, because we don't do cloth at my mom's house, and she watches Scott 2.5 days a week. If I were cloth diapering full-time, I'd probably need to wash them every other day, or 3-4 times a week. But if I were doing that, I wouldn't be working, so I'd have the time. Now, that's only for one child, not two, so we'll just have to see how it goes when this new baby comes.

Elimination Training

Scott has a much increased knowledge of when he is wet or stinky. This is a huge break-through, because even as an infant, a dirty diaper never fazed him. He just didn't seem to even notice. But now that he's been in cloth, he tells me all the time, and has even become more interested in sitting on his potty and eventually wearing big kid underwear. Hooray!

Scott has also had no diaper rashes since we started cloth. He was prone to them (a combination of him never complaining about being stinky, and the chemicals in disposable diapers), so this has been wonderful for him (and for me--I always feel so bad for him when he has a sore bottom!).

The Last Word

So that about sums it up. I've been pleased with the results we've had. It's not as hard or intimidating or time-consuming as I once feared. Yes, it does take longer than disposables, but I feel the trade-offs are worth it. Plus I feel like doing things this way (breastfeeding, co-sleeping, attachment parenting, cloth diapering) make me take the time with my children that I otherwise would be too busy or preoccupied to do. It helps me to slow the pace of my life and remember that people are more important than things.

Scott funny

About a month ago, we went to Reed's Dairy Farm for 75-cent ice creams for Family Home Evening. They're a local dairy and the cows are right there by the store. We were excited for Scott to see a cow up close. He likes them, but has only seen them from a car window.

When we got up to the cows, he was quite impressed with the size, and said, "Wow! It's an elephant!"

:)

First thing out of Scott's mouth this morning:

"Woah! That was a long prayer!"

I guess he dreamt he was praying all night? Funny kid. :)

Also, here's some pictures I've been meaning to post for Becky. Scott LOVED the birthday package you sent! Thanks so much! I was trying to take pictures of him opening everything, but he wouldn't even look up at the camera because he was so engrossed in all the cool stuff. :)

Walk to the Temple

On Sunday, we took a walk along the Greenbelt and visited the temple grounds and Visitor's Center. Highlights for Scott were the "Big Jesus" (Christus statue) and a gas fireplace in the Center.

Scott loves to see the temple

Beautiful flowers on the temple grounds.

Poor kid, he couldn't really "mell" the flowers because of his cold, but he sure tried. :)

And this picture is from awhile back. I found this lawn chair at DI, and Scott loves to relax in it while watching his stories and eating his "treat-snacks". He calls it his "doggy chair" because it features a picture of a puppy from "101 Dalmations". Love this kid.

The shape of my dreams

I've been doing some thinking lately. I've always had dreams and goals for myself. These have shaped what I'd like to pursue with the talents and education I've been blessed with the opportunity to develop and earn. I want to make money performing opera. I want to be an artistic leader in the community where we eventually settle.

I may be taking the long way to achieving any of these goals, and that fact has frustrated me in times past. But today all of these quotes seemed to combine to help me understand how the shape of my dreams has been changing, and I'm OK with it.

Neal A. Maxwell said:

When the real history of mankind is fully disclosed, will it feature the echoes of gunfire or the shaping sound of lullabies? The great armistices made by military men or the peacemaking of women in homes and in neighborhoods? Will what happened in cradles and kitchens prove to be more controlling than what happened in congresses? When the surf of the centuries has made the great pyramids so much sand, the everlasting family will still be standing, because it is a celestial institution, formed outside telestial time. The women of God know this.

Dallin H. Oaks, from his "Good, Better, Best" talk:

We have to forego some good things in order to choose others that are better or best because they develop faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and strengthen our families.

This quote is from one of my favorite plays, "The Rainmaker". There is a terrible drought. Starbuck is a “rainmaker”. His larger-than-life personality and made-up name at once attract and put off Lizzie. Lizzie is a smart, plain woman who is feeling the pressure of fast becoming an old maid. In this scene she discovers something about herself after Starbuck has been egging her on about his exciting life in comparison to her dull one.

You think all dreams have to be your kind! Golden fleece and thunder on the mountain! But there are other dreams, Starbuck! Little quiet ones that come to a woman when she’s shining the silverware and putting moth flakes in the closet. Like a man’s voice saying: “Lizzie, is my blue suit pressed?” And the same man saying: “Scratch between my shoulder blades.” And kids laughing and teasing and setting up a racket! And how it feels to say the word “Husband”!----There are all kinds of dreams, Mr. Starbuck! Mine are small ones---like my name---Lizzie! But they’re REAL like my name---real! So you can have yours---and I’ll have mine!

Lizzie realizes that she really would be happy with those "little quiet" dreams, and that realization helps her to accept a proposal of marriage from a wonderful man later in the play.

The last thing that I can't get out of my mind today is this: I had the opportunity during my last semester at BYU-I as a student (about 6 months along with Scott) to listen to a talk given by Jane Clayson-Johnson. I later read her book, in which she mentions a lot of the same things. I highly recommend it.

Anyway, Jane Clayson has dealt with a lot of the same feelings I've been having--she has a great talent in news reporting and at one time was co-host of The Early Show. She took the opportunity to be married in the temple and became step-mother to 3 children and eventually had two more children. She ended her full-time broadcasting career when she became a mother, but as you can read in her book, she still remains relevant in her field while joying in motherhood.

One thought she expressed during her address to us that afternoon at BYU-Idaho will always stay with me (I apologize, I'm paraphrasing--she says it so much better in her book):

We all have seasons in our lives. Never let anyone make you feel bad for living in the season of your life that is happening now. Only you can truly know all of the blessings you receive by living the season of your life now.

I love that so much. It's not the time in my life for me to be travelling to Europe or trying to get hired full-time by an opera company. But it is the precious season while my children are young, the time for me to teach them and nurture them and love them. And I needn't take any heed of pressure or questioning from others who don't understand my priorities (including the side of myself that sounds a lot like Starbuck). The Lord understands.