Wednesday, December 31, 2008

A letter to Prince Charming from Cinderella's Sisters

Dear Prince Charming;
Congratulations, you are very close to the birth of your first child! We, Cinderella’s sisters, would like to share a few survival tips for you during these last few weeks of pregnancy. While the princess you married seems to have vanished, leaving behind a cranky, uncomfortable elephant, there are a few things you will need to know in order to not be taken over by her inevitable mood swings these last few weeks.

First, do not tell dear nine month pregnant Cinderella when she asks for a back rub before bed that this is “a bad time”. Cinderella has been carrying this child now for 37 weeks, and it is very rarely convenient or a good time. She is asking you now because she is incredibly uncomfortable now and it is blocking her from the few blessed hours of sleep she will get tonight. So turn off the magic mirror and go rub her back…without grumbling or complaining.

Second, dear Prince, we know you had a hard day at work. However, Cinderella, who is working up until she goes into labor, spent a good six hours in false labor today. When she asks you to rub her back in a way that would work better for her, do not tell her “to deal with it”. We know you had a long day too, but it does not compare to false labor and work and “deal with it” may get your hand bitten off.

Third, Charming dear, if you do get around to actually rubbing her exhausted back, do not ask her to “just be quiet and let you enjoy the time you are spending together”. She will have every right to break your arm. Do what she asks, how she requests it to be done and do not say anything stupid while you are doing the very small bit that you can to make Cinderella more comfortable as she carries your child. We know you would switch with her if you could, dear Prince. Alas, you can’t. So be nice, be quiet and use whatever tools she gives you to make her more comfortable.

If any of these phrases should accidentally pass through your mouth, there is a small chance you may survive it. If Cinderella shrieks “WHAT?!” in that hysterical voice you have come to dread, take hope. BACKPEDDAL. Tell her you didn’t mean it. This is not the time to say something even more stupid or start a fight-DO NOT MENTION HORMONES. And we recommend that you bring home a small gift/peace offering after you spend the day fighting off dragons tomorrow.

All of our best in the last few weeks of pregnancy,
Cinderella’s Sisters.

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Sweet and Low, aspartame and diet coke.

Did you know that NutriSweet and Equal are brand names for Aspartame? Aspartame is an artifical sweetener, and I found out some interesting information on it this weekend...and it, of course, applies to mamma's, pregnancies and breastfeeding.

For starters, did you know that so many people are poisened by aspartame, that there are actually vicitim support groups, out there (don't worry, I will bring it around to pregnancy in a minute)? There are 92 aspartame side effects listed by the FDA including memory loss, nerve cell damage, MIGRAINES and reproductive disorders. Well, you say, if it is that bad for you, it never would have been approved by the FDA. Let's take a closer look.
-When the inventor of aspartame first brought it before the FDA for approval, IT WAS DENIED 8 TIMES. The inventor's testing methodology was considered shady, and the results manipulated.
-In 1977, the FDA asked the US Attorny's office to start grand jury proceedings against the inventor for "knowingly misrepresenting findings and concealing material facts and making false statements in aspartame safety tests." Later the trial was delayed, causing the staute of limitations on the charges to run out and the investigation was dropped. Guess why the trial was delayed-the inventor of aspartame, G.D. Searle, offered the attorney a position in the law firm that was representing him during the same trial.
-In 1980, the FDA approval board said that it had not been presented with proof of reasonable certainty that aspartame is safe for use as a food additive. THen, in 1981, a new FDA commissioner was appointed, and he went against the advice of half of the advising scientists on the scientific review panel and allowed aspartame into dry goods. In 1983, it was approved for beverages, against the request of the National Soft Drink Assosication. After being investigated for accepting gratuities from FDA regulated companies, the commish resigned. Oh, by the way, he now works for G.D.Searle.
-Congress finally began prosecuting Searle for giving the government false information and incomplete test results and two government attornys were assigned. Both decided not to prosecute and now work for the law firm that represents G.D. Searle.
-In 1996 (not all that long ago), aspartame was approved for use, free of any restrictions whatsoever. Later, a study funded by the company that owns NutraSweet was conducted to see if there were possible birth defects associated with consuming aspartame. After preliminary data revealed damaging information, the study was aborted.
-Today, in 2008, aspartame is a billion dollar industry. Once aspartame enters the body, it turns into formaldehyde (you know, toxic, carcinogenic embalming fluid). Studies have shown that it can cause breaks in DNA in the sperm and eggs, leading to increase risks of cancer and developmental issues in offspring.
-One last note on aspartame from one of the world's leading experts (neurosurgeon Dr. Russel Blaylock): Pregnant women should never consume foods containing aspartame...The aspartic acid, phynylalanine, and methanol are all known to produce abnormal development of a baby's brain.

Just thought you might want to know. But please don't let that drive you into Splenda's arms. Splenda is not okay either. You know how trans fats are so bad for you, they are actually banned in New York City and in Boston? Trans fats are hydrogenated oils. Oils that are chemically altered to hold another hydrogen atom and make them solid. They are worse for you then saturated fats (which any cardioligist will limit). Splenda is very similar in that it is chemically altered, but in a way that your human body cannot metabolize it (therefore, no calories!). Want to know more? Well, there were two studies that were done on Splenda before it was deemed safe by our freind the FDA. Yup, TWO studies. Both studies combined had 36 people and of those 36, only 23 were given the Splenda...for four days. That's right. 23 people were studied for four days. It's up to you if you choose to ingest it. But you might want to not be pregnant or breast feeding because we don't even know the results on pregnant or lactating mice.

Thursday, December 25, 2008

It's Christmas Yea


Here is a pic of the family at 36 weeks.
Jeremiah

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Our favorite Christmas Carol this year

This year, my favorite Christmas song is a new one, not like the classics I usually favor. It is by Faith Hill, and if you click here, http://www.faithhill.com/index.php?content=videos, you can hear it. It is the second video and it is called "A Baby Changes Everything". It could be that I love it because it is just a beautiful song, or because of the little one hiccupping away in my own belly. It is an interesting season when you are growing your own little miracle.

Jeremiah and I are planning our quiet celebration, the last of just the two (four) of us. Christmas Eve (when we usually go cross country skiing) we will spend hunting for Christmas light displays and at church. Christmas day we will open our gifts (we got each other the video camera for when the little one arrives), and spend the rest of the day in bed, snuggled up watching both old (White Christmas) and new (Elf) Christmas movies over hot chocolate and brunch. And while we are enjoying our quiet, comfortable Christmas, we will miss the hullaballoo and ruckus of both of our families all day. :)

Saturday, December 20, 2008

To the men who read this blog-maybe you should just skip this entry...

Bra shopping is always difficult. Maybe that isn't so for many women, but I know I can get a resounding "AMEN" from the Waldbillig women. I would 100 times over rather shop for jeans or a bathing suit, and that is saying a lot. Now picture yourself in the land of "you have to get that online"...you know the place where you can't try anything on. Normally, we shop online. Our choices in Great Falls are limited. If they don't have it at Target, Walmart, JC Penny's or Herberger's, they don't sell it in town. All fine and dandy. UNTIL YOU NEED TO TRY SOMETHING ON-and trust me, if you have never purchased a bra, you MUST try it on!!

I have never purchased a nursing bra before. I am not all that excited about it. My past foray's into Target and Walmart have revealed two racks of nursing bras, one choice in black and one choice in white. Both of which are reasonably priced, but none the less ill fitting or the wrong size. So after a quick phone call to Herburgers revealed that they do not even sell nursing bras (?!), I went to JC Penny's where they assured me that they did, indeed, sell nursing bras. What they should have mentioned is that they only sell them for BIG girls. I am talking the sizes that fit over my head. Trust me-I tried them on, and my head was the only option! Yeah sure they all have that neat let-down flap thingy, but only for the big girls. Apparently the little girls don't nurse. So, once again, I march my pregnant huffy self out of the department store, out to my "soon to be a mommy" parking spot (which I had to fight a menopasual woman and an old man for) and start my search online.

Side note on the expecting momma parking spot: I LOVE those, and yes, although I am perfectly capable of walking from the end of the slippery, snow covered parking lot, I love the parking spot. It is a privilage I won't have much longer, and I feel special parking there, so I do.

Once I started looking online, I couldn't find a bra for less then $20 (I am very cheap, that's about what I like to spend and I have never understood why Victoria Secret charges $48 for their cheapest, most ill-fitting bra). So I relied on the reviews and ordered two different kinds of bras. One for sleeping and one for the rest of the day. The less necessary sleeping bra fits wonderfully. The highly rated, much more expensive bra could fit two sets of bossums my size in it. And there is no nice sales lady to ask: do I get this bra and wait...does the manufacturer make this with the idea that I am going to be huge in a few weeks when the old girls kick in? Or does it just NOT FIT? Because the other one fits!

These two bras have been sitting on the kitchen table, intimidating the crap out of me since they arrived in the mail over the weekend (5+ days ago), and I just finally had the courage to try them on today. And now, I have to do it all over again. Return (or not return??) the one that doesn't fit, read reviews from girls three times my size on the comfort and ease, and try again. Wish me luck-I don't have much time left in online shopping, paying for shipping, both to and from is annoying, and I don't have anyone (in person) to ask how these damn things are supposed to work.

Ready and waiting.

Here are the long awaited pictures of baby Suggs' bedroom.



This is the little one's closet...we are well stocked and all prepared. Now we just need baby Suggs.

This is the crib (and the baby's hospital bag-my hospital bag is my gym bag, because it already has everything in it). The green cake that you see behind the crib is amazing. There is a bunch of stuff in it, including 96 diapers!! I don't know where George (a good freind from work) found it, but it is amazing.


We have one crib sheet-we figure we will get more when we know the actual gender of the baby, and an organic mattres pad that holds 8.5 cups of water. I was SO tempted to test that out, but I think we will wait for baby Suggs.


This is our little changing station (complete with Grizzly proof diaper genie on the left). The little tin pails hold all of the creams and lotions, bathtime stuff and a few soon-to-be bear freinds from Arkansas and Alaska. The green bear my freind Kim from high school actually knitted. Herself!


There seems to be no end to the talent that has been contributed to our little one's nursery. Thanks again!!



Thursday, December 18, 2008

35 Weeks


This week's new business: contractions...and lots of them. Fortunately, I hardly notice them. But if you happen to rub or poke my belly, it is about as hard as your chin. And they seem to make little baby Suggs uncomfortable because he doesn't move while they are going on. But if my home was collapsing all around me, I can't say I would move much either. All of the pregnancy books and my doctor seem to agree: the old uterus muscle is flexing and getting ready for the big day (ETA: 5 weeks! This is the last week of the 8th month!). Nothing like a little bit of exercise to help get in shape, right? I've never been one to turn down exercise.

Hopefully the "real" contractions are just as "enjoyable" as the Braxton Hicks ones!!! A girl can dream, can't she?

We are getting so excited to meet our little one. I think Grizzly must be excited too, because he occasionally stubs his nose on my belly (or else he needs glasses), and Peanut seems to be excited as well because I wake up in the middle of the night and she is sleeping on my belly (like it doesn't weigh enough on its own). Either that, or she just likes the heat this little inferno gives off. I, myself, am not a huge fan of either behavior, and I have woken up to Jeremiah shoving Peanut off of me (she has always loved to snuggle) as she fights to keep her place atop the strange mountian that her mom has become, but they are just figuring things out. Maybe they have caught some of our excitement!





Saturday, December 13, 2008

34 weeks

This year the HAWC Christmas Party was at a fun restaruant, Bert and Ernies. I needed an excuse to wear this dress sometime before I wasn't in maternity clothes anymore, so Jeremiah and I got all dressed up. The pattern of the dress really hides the bump of baby Suggs...but don't let it fool you Jeremiah had to strap my shoes to my feet. :)




Friday, December 5, 2008

33 weeks-and I can still see my toes

Well, sort of. I know they are there anyway. But it takes some effort to actually see them. I think it is especially funny because you can't even see my pants in this picture, and they are difinitely there.


Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Montana Sunsets


I know this isn't all that baby related either, but this is just as we get home from work (about 4:30) the sun is already setting. Sometimes it feels like you get vertigo just looking at the clouds. You wouldn't know it, but behind me the clouds are dark black and heavy with snow. We got a few inches today, the first of the season (if you don't count last June or October...they aren't really winter!).








Sunrise over the Highwoood Mountians

I know this isn't so baby related, but this is a pretty typical Montana sunrise, and I thought I would try to share it with you guys. The sun rises right now just as I am going out to feed the horses. This picture is right over the winter pasture...there are horses out there, you just can't see them yet.