Home Birth

That's right. We are those crazy people that want to birth their child in our home.

I was waiting for a good time to write about this topic and our personal choices but as it turns out, it's always a good time be honest and share your views. Who knew?

Anyway, our choice to pursue home birthing came pretty naturally. Scott and I try to live our lives in a way that keeps us closest to the source of whatever the situation is, while enjoying our urban life. That means eating well, trying our hand at building/making/crafting things we need, supporting businesses/farmers/artists we love, and the list goes on and on.

Even before I was pregnant we talked a lot about how we wanted to raise our children and the first thing we agreed upon was how we wanted to bring them into the world. And for us, what made the most sense was being in our home, wherever that was. Right now it's our tiny NYC apartment. And so it goes...

We began our adventure by researching midwives who deliver babies at home in Manhattan. I originally went to a conventional OB to take care of all my prenatal blood work and preliminary tests. To make a long story short, I was appalled by the level of care I received. This is a very well known practice with very in demand doctors. Obviously the patients do not receive the same courtesy. My appointments lasted maybe ten minutes, after waiting for an hour and a hlaf in the waiting room. Yeah, no thanks.

The happy ending is that we transfered to an AMAZING midwife with her own practice. During our first appointment, she sat with us for an hour and we just chatted about everything. Outside of the standard medical questions, she asked me about my fears, how I was doing emotionally, our experience so far...I finally felt like I was cared for (outside of hubs/family/friends of course) in this pregnancy.

I know this is a really controversial topic right now and every family has their own feelings and fears about the very important subject of giving birth. I don't want to go into a million reasons about why WE feel its safer/better/more responsible/and all around great to welcome your babe into a happy home environment.

Some days I have anxiety about having enough space but even though our place is small, it's definitely larger than a hospital room! I'm sure I'll be writing more about it more. But until then watch The Business of Being Born if you haven't yet!

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Let's talk about: Protein

I feel like most pregnant women I talk with have this issue. (One of many...) They can't figure out how to get enough protein in their daily diet. Protein is essential for proper growth and development of your baby as well as for your milk production as your due date nears. Eating plenty of protein will also give you plenty of energy throughout your pregnancy. It's also said to reduce swelling, later in your third trimester. While I'm not having that issue YET, I'm definitely interested in doing anything I can to keep (at least!!!) my feet from expanding...ew.

The recommended daily intake is 60 grams of protein. Now, I don't know about you but for me, that is a whole lot of protein. I do eat meat, fish, and poultry. I also eat tofu and various other vegetarian sources of protein. I drink cow's milk.

Given all this...I was still struggling to meet my daily goal. UNTIL I developed a plan!

It seems obvious, but eating protein at every meal increases your chances of getting 60g, right? Well yes, but are you planning on putting chicken on everything? Um, not if you're this girl. I've had a serious poultry aversion since the day I saw those two lines on a stick. I've tried force feeding myself steak, as well as disguising fish in pasta. I CAN"T DEAL.

And so what am I left with? Well here are some of my daily noshes:

Pregnancy Protein by karolinap on Polyvore.com

Yogurt: Specifically 2% Greek yogurt. With a whopping 20 grams of protein, these little tubs of love are a quick (and delicious) way to satisfy my hunger and boost my energy for the day. I often have one for breakfast or snack before bed. And now with all the amazing summer fruits in season, it's a great addition of Vitamin C.

Quinoa: Another great source with 24 grams per cup. Yahoo! This is a perfect substitute for rice, potatoes, and even oatmeal. I even use quinoa in cookies and muffins, in place of flour. If you've ever made home made granola, try toasting quinoa instead of oats!

Hummus: Ah hummus, an old friend. I kind of hummused myself out for a few years but have recently revisited my old standby because of it's 19 grams of protein. Go Hummus! Also, it's such a bargain when home made. I think a can of chickpeas is maybe a dollar. Don't buy five dollar hummus people.

Milk: Oh milk...what a delicious beverage you are. Who needs margaritas when I have you? (Yeah, right...) Oh and I'm talking whole people. None of this 1% garbage. Milk should not be grey. 8 grams in a cup. And if I have enough bowls of cereal in a day, I bet I can reach my intake just on this liquid gold alone.

Nut Butters With about 7-10 grams in two teaspoons, I could survive on nut butters most days. I try to shake things up with almond, peanut, cashew, and various others. But some of this on an english muffin with a tall glass of milk (yum) and I am a happy lady.

Smoothies Now we're talking. Ever since project protein began, I have been drinking smoothies almost daily. The number one reason: kefir. Don't know what kefir is? It's basically drinkable yogurt. But that's not all. We're talking 30 grams of protein folks. Toss that in with any other fruit you may love and you've got a meal. "But why don't you just use those awesome protein powders, Karolina?" Well, I try not to eat too many synthetic foods and those powders are highly processed. It doesn't matter if it's organic, soy, a million dollars, etc. It's fake. And I'd rather get my protein from real food sources. Hence all this research...

Eggs: This is weird, but eggs are probably one of my favorite foods. I know... But I can eat them any time of day and in any fashion. There are six grams in one large egg not including all the healthy fats you're getting! Egg-cellent. (Wow, this post is getting crazy.)

String Cheese: A five year olds lunch or a pregnant girl's best friend? I doubt you can hate string cheese at any age. Depending on what brand you get, it's between 8 and 10 grams of protein per stick. But who says you need to stop at just one?! I think I've, um, heard of some people eating a whole package at one time...

Phew. So there you go! These delicious little gems have been feeding myself and baby boy for the past few weeks with as little gagging as possible. Yay!

And don't forget some honorable mentions such as cottage cheese, tofu, an occasional turkey or veggie burger, and of course bean burritos.

Top Baby Blogs

Hello lovely family, friends, and readers.

Thanks so much for the sweet comments on here and on Facebook about the last post.

They always put a smile on my face!

Just a little favor to ask...

If you could vote for PH&C on Top Baby Blogs it would really open this blog up to more readership (and would also be really fun!).

So, if you have moment, just click :) You don't have to log in or sign up for anything. Just click here and then click the owl on the left to vote.

Thanks my loves!

20 weeks: Halfway There!

I can't believe I am halfway through my pregnancy. I feel like the days are moving so quickly that I can't keep up. Didn't I JUST find out I was pregnant?

This photo was taken on our way back from lunch today with our doula. This onesie has been saving my life, as it has been nearly 100 degrees. Mama needs stretchy clothes.

These past 20 weeks have been incredible, stressful, emotional, exhausting, exciting, and unbelievable in the best sense. I am looking forward to the next 20, now that the countdown is on! It's so exciting that from this point on, S and I can start counting down until baby.

It's still difficult to wrap my head around the idea that this is our last summer as just us two. This time next year, we will have a tiny one. Usually in the summers we plan big adventures. Last summer we took a three week trip around Scandinavia. The summer before was Central America. This summer, growing a baby is our adventure. Next summer we plan on taking baby boy to Eastern Europe. (That was our original plan for this year and then, well, you know what happened.)

Today we received some tiny striped clothes in the mail and whatever mood I was in quickly disappeared as soon as I saw a hat only a bit larger than my fist. (!!!) The next hour was spent touching the sweet clothes and imagining baby boy running around in them. Sigh...

Cravings...or not.

When you are pregnant, every person you see/talk to asks pretty much the same five questions.

How are you feeling? (Good. Ask me again in an hour.)
Do you know if it's a boy or girl? (See here.)
When are you due? (Halloween...)
Can I touch it? (Do you even have to ask? Always and forever no.)
Do you have any cravings?

Um...let's just say I don't NOT have cravings.
The truth is, in the beginning (that magical first trimester) it's more likely that I'm hoping you keep all food away from me. Especially any and all raw vegetables, all meat, fish, poultry, melted cheese (i know, don't even get me started), and probably anything that smelled, looked, and tasted weird/exotic/healthy.

Strange, huh? I basically only ate plain yogurt, an assortment of crackers, smoothies, bagels, english muffins with peanut butter, and actually any and all types of bread. But don't bring it near me if it is wheaty, seedy, or at all healthy.

This is so unlike me folks. As many of you know, I am a chef and holistic health coach. That's correct, I feed people and teach them how to eat healthy foods. Er...yeah, not happening.

Good news though! I am happy to report that things changed around week 14 or so. Phew! I was basically feeling like a big ball of dough from all the carbs I was eating. I am now happily back to every and all veggies, fruits, and mostly eating well. Including that melted cheese.

So what I am craving? Let's see...

Everything.

As S so lovingly says, "It's all about volume right now." Um, yeah, thanks for the support. Ha!

It's true. I can pretty much eat anything, any time. And if I get on a kick, that's it. Last week I ate watermelon three times a day all week long. This week it's cereal.

For those of you asking, YES, I will put up a "bump" photo. Even though I hate that name.

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Things I Love: Swedish Baby Clothes

How cute are these? I love basics in stripes and bold colors. I don't see us dressing baby in many outfits with sayings on them...(you know the ones)

I love how cozy these pieces look and that they are good quality organic cotton.

Polarn O. Pyret has beautifully made clothes for bebes and tots. I can't stop gushing while checking out their site! I wish they had a shop in New York!

Till Whatever Do Us Part: Has America Become too Blasé about Divorce?

A interesting article here:

An excerpt:
The point of living isn’t to be in a perpetual state of fairy-tale ecstasy; it’s to find the meaning of life, the meaning of your life. And the point of marriage, I think, is to create meaning, with every happy and sad memory, every hardship overcome, every kind act, every moment of acceptance, every triumph, every child, grandchild, pet, and friend you accumulate together. The point of staying married until you die is to have a witness to your whole life, to the meaning you built. In the end, you can look at your spouse and say: Somebody knew me—and I knew them.

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(Thanks for sharing Emphasis Added)

Little Boy Blue

Some of you already know...but it looks as if we're having a baby boy!

S and I were both in shock. We thought for SURE that it was going to be a girl. Nonetheless, we are so excited.

Sometimes before bed, we lay awake talking about what we think his personality will be like. Will he love bugs and dirt and little boy adventures? Is he going to think we are really old? (Probably! haha)

Often I'll just find myself smiling at the possibilities and what ifs. Only five more months until baby boy is here. I guess we'll find out then.

Meeting Baby P

So tomorrow is the big day. The baby becomes boy baby or girl baby.
Eeeeee! I am so excited! It feels like this week is creeping by. Anyway, I thought it would be fun to get a vote of what you may believe baby P will be.

After we find out I will share our own thoughts...