I'm sure you all know by now, that our baby is here! I thought I would share a few details of how our beautiful Juliet Noel Spencer came into the world.
Last Thursday my friend, Savanna, came over to hang out while her husband was at a class. She is moving to Idaho today and was really hoping the baby would be born before she moved. Savanna couched me through some "get the baby out" exercises. We did squats, a little bouncing around and some toe touches. It's not like we expected it to actually work, but hey, it was worth a shot.
I went to bed at about midnight that night not expecting anything to actually occur, after all I was only 38 weeks along. Either Savanna is an expert labor inducer, or it was a just a huge coincidence, but my water broke at around 4:30 that night (morning, whatever). I wasn't totally sure that was what actually happened, so I told Daniel, who then proceeded to tell me to Google it. The internet assured me that I probably hadn't just peed my pants, so we packed a bag (No, we hadn't packed yet, we are bad, I know), and headed to the hospital. Though we didn't go directly there. Daniel was pretty hungry, so we stopped and got him a Beto's burrito on our way. Don't worry, I told him he could.
When we got to the hospital, we checked in and took a seat. Two more ladies checked in right after me, both looking in way worse shape than I was in. It wasn't long before they took me back to a room and made sure I was leaking amniotic fluid and not some other strange liquid. Once that was confirmed they told me they would send Daniel to come be with me...half an hour later he showed up. They were really busy that morning and apparently forgot to tell him. Contractions had started getting pretty good at that point, so I was glad to see him.
The next few hours were a little bit of a blur. I was told that my Midwife was out of town and would have to have a different midwife attend to me, it was a bit of a bummer. Daniel called a bunch of people to let them know that it was baby day. My mom works at the hospital, and she was at work at the time. We asked the nurse how to contact her, and she came over to my room right after she got off work. Daniel's mom came up a little while after that. Apparently if your water breaks they like to make sure you give birth fairly soon, I was administered drugs to help me go faster and went fast they did. I got my epidural and not long after it was time to push. Both sets of our parents were at the hospital now, along with Daniel's brother and his wife. They all went out of the room to wait for what we thought would be about an hour. Well, I ended up pushing for over 2 hours with no avail. They tried everything they could think of to get the baby out, but nothing worked, not even the vacuum.
They decided the only way she was coming was going to be by C-section. I had not wanted to have a C-section, I mean who really does? I knew they were longer recoveries and can also make it harder to deliver normally in the future. At this point, however, them telling me I was going in for a C-section was music to my ears. They call it labor for a reason. I was exhausted. Daniel got to watch the whole thing, and he loved it. He likes watching surgeries and such. Being cut open isn't the most fun thing in the world, but I did find out I have nice abdomen muscles. The Doctor complimented me on them and asked if I did crunches, uh no, but thanks. Once they had cut through everything, they pulled the baby out and lifted her over the curtain that was blocking my view. I started to cry. She was here, and she was beautiful.
They cleaned up little Juliet and Daniel was able to hold her while the sewed me back up. We went back to my hospital room, and in my very drugged up state I was able to hold my baby for the first time. I was very groggy pretty much just falling asleep, but holding her was sublime. It was a long day, but for Juliet, I would gladly do it all again.
We spent the next few days in the hospital and were able to go home on Monday. We had some not so fun nights because of the bililights that Juliet had to be on for her Jaundice. She hated them with a passion, but she is doing great now. She no longer needs the lights and is much happier because of it.
Pictures don't want to post right, so I will put them on their own post. We think she is quite the cutie though.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Monday, March 7, 2011
The Importance of a Fully Stocked Pantry...
Especially when you are pregnant.
We often hear church authorities tell us to build a 2 year supply of food storage. I think having food storage is an excellent idea. If tough times hit (a natural disaster, a loss of job, etc.), you will be able to survive because you have built up a food storage. That in itself is a wonderful reason to have a fully stocked pantry. Now, don't get me wrong, I have enough food that I could survive for awhile if I needed to. Not 2 years, but I'm young and still trying to build up my food storage. However, one important aspect of pantry stocking I realized this weekend is variety. You aren't going to want to eat the same foods over and over again even if you are in disaster, so it is good to have a variety of things. Okay, I'm sure you are all wondering where this wonderful post is going. I had to give a little background before I could start my story and let you know of another really important reason to keep your pantries fully stocked. That reason being..Pregnancy Cravings.
Friday night I had some cravings for Easter Sweettarts and a sharp cheddar cheeseball. Daniel had the car at work, so I didn't really have a way to obtain them. I contemplated walking to the store, alone, in the dark, to go buy some, but quickly realized that wasn't a good idea. My logical side was working pretty well that night and I told myself it was just a silly craving and would likely pass fairly soon. Even though I would still like to find some Easter Sweettarts, the immediate need for them passed within a few hours and I was fine. What happened on Saturday was a different story.
Once again, Daniel had the car at work. Even though I had cravings the night before, I didn't think much of it. Daniel couldn't ride the train Saturday nights since it doesn't run Sunday mornings when he gets off work. I haven't had too many cravings anyway, so striking two nights in a row would be rare. I thought I would be perfectly fine without the car.
About half an hour after Daniel left I started feeling like I wanted to bake something. I couldn't really put my finger on it for awhile, but then it hit me: Homemade Gingersnaps! I started to look up a recipe online when I came to sad realization. I had no ginger, and no molasses. I don't know why I don't have any ginger. I want to use it in things all the time. I often go to my spice rack while making Asian-inspired dishes looking for ginger, only to come out empty handed, wondering why I haven't bought any yet. Molasses is somewhat understandable. Not a whole ton of people have molasses, but still, variety people, variety. I was quite disappointed by my realizations and started to think of other cookies I could make.
NO other cookies sounded good, not a single one. I browsed recipes about an hour trying to find something that I would be okay with, but nothing. I text my brothers to see if they would bring me ginger and molasses (they will usually bring me things if I ask, they are great that way), but they were both busy. I thought maybe my friend Savanna would have them, but then I remembered that she was in the same position as me. Her husband was at work with the car. I didn't know what to do anymore, so I broke down crying. Not just little tears here and there, full blown sobs. My logical side wasn't really working for me at all that night. I kept browsing recipes, through my tears, hoping some other cookie, somewhere, would be good enough.
After I calmed down a little and I e-mailed Daniel about my predicament. His suggestions were everything I had already tried. Ask my brothers and Savanna for the ingredients. After telling him I had already tried. he told me to make another kind of cookie. I started crying again. I didn't want any other kind of cookie. Why couldn't anyone understand that? I moped around for a few hours waiting for a molasses miracle, but one never came. At this point I decided I might as well make another kind of cookie. It would at least be better than nothing. I asked Daniel what kind of cookies he would like and he suggested chocolate. I mournfully made some chocolate cookies. When they were done, I ate about 4, and I started to feel much better. Hmmm...maybe I should have just done that in the first place.
The moral of the story here is this: keep a fully stocked pantry. You never know when ginger and molasses will become (what seems to be at the time) a life or death situation. Needless to say, they are both on my grocery list for my next shopping trip.
We often hear church authorities tell us to build a 2 year supply of food storage. I think having food storage is an excellent idea. If tough times hit (a natural disaster, a loss of job, etc.), you will be able to survive because you have built up a food storage. That in itself is a wonderful reason to have a fully stocked pantry. Now, don't get me wrong, I have enough food that I could survive for awhile if I needed to. Not 2 years, but I'm young and still trying to build up my food storage. However, one important aspect of pantry stocking I realized this weekend is variety. You aren't going to want to eat the same foods over and over again even if you are in disaster, so it is good to have a variety of things. Okay, I'm sure you are all wondering where this wonderful post is going. I had to give a little background before I could start my story and let you know of another really important reason to keep your pantries fully stocked. That reason being..Pregnancy Cravings.
Friday night I had some cravings for Easter Sweettarts and a sharp cheddar cheeseball. Daniel had the car at work, so I didn't really have a way to obtain them. I contemplated walking to the store, alone, in the dark, to go buy some, but quickly realized that wasn't a good idea. My logical side was working pretty well that night and I told myself it was just a silly craving and would likely pass fairly soon. Even though I would still like to find some Easter Sweettarts, the immediate need for them passed within a few hours and I was fine. What happened on Saturday was a different story.
Once again, Daniel had the car at work. Even though I had cravings the night before, I didn't think much of it. Daniel couldn't ride the train Saturday nights since it doesn't run Sunday mornings when he gets off work. I haven't had too many cravings anyway, so striking two nights in a row would be rare. I thought I would be perfectly fine without the car.
About half an hour after Daniel left I started feeling like I wanted to bake something. I couldn't really put my finger on it for awhile, but then it hit me: Homemade Gingersnaps! I started to look up a recipe online when I came to sad realization. I had no ginger, and no molasses. I don't know why I don't have any ginger. I want to use it in things all the time. I often go to my spice rack while making Asian-inspired dishes looking for ginger, only to come out empty handed, wondering why I haven't bought any yet. Molasses is somewhat understandable. Not a whole ton of people have molasses, but still, variety people, variety. I was quite disappointed by my realizations and started to think of other cookies I could make.
NO other cookies sounded good, not a single one. I browsed recipes about an hour trying to find something that I would be okay with, but nothing. I text my brothers to see if they would bring me ginger and molasses (they will usually bring me things if I ask, they are great that way), but they were both busy. I thought maybe my friend Savanna would have them, but then I remembered that she was in the same position as me. Her husband was at work with the car. I didn't know what to do anymore, so I broke down crying. Not just little tears here and there, full blown sobs. My logical side wasn't really working for me at all that night. I kept browsing recipes, through my tears, hoping some other cookie, somewhere, would be good enough.
After I calmed down a little and I e-mailed Daniel about my predicament. His suggestions were everything I had already tried. Ask my brothers and Savanna for the ingredients. After telling him I had already tried. he told me to make another kind of cookie. I started crying again. I didn't want any other kind of cookie. Why couldn't anyone understand that? I moped around for a few hours waiting for a molasses miracle, but one never came. At this point I decided I might as well make another kind of cookie. It would at least be better than nothing. I asked Daniel what kind of cookies he would like and he suggested chocolate. I mournfully made some chocolate cookies. When they were done, I ate about 4, and I started to feel much better. Hmmm...maybe I should have just done that in the first place.
The moral of the story here is this: keep a fully stocked pantry. You never know when ginger and molasses will become (what seems to be at the time) a life or death situation. Needless to say, they are both on my grocery list for my next shopping trip.
Monday, February 21, 2011
There has been a bit of a delay..
In case you haven't noticed, there has not been a recipe posted on the food blog yet. This is not an "I'm a slacker post" it's an "I really do have valid reasons" post. I was planning on making my butternut squash ravioli on Sunday, and then posting the recipe that night.
The first hitch in the plan happened Saturday night when it started to snow. I had gone to a birthday party for my brother-in-law, Sam. The snow was falling pretty heavy, and I opted just to stay at my parents house that night instead of making someone take me home. Daniel was headed to pick me Sunday morning, after he got off work. It was snowing again at that point and the roads were pretty bad. He ended up sliding off the road. He called me, let me know about the situation and said he would get me after the tow truck came and pulled him back onto the road. After the tow truck came, the weather was even worse. He told me to stay at my parents, and that he would teach primary by himself. (I'm not really sure how well that went..) I eventually made it home, but not until about 8:30 that night. Obviously, no pasta was going to be made, so I figured I would just make it today (Monday) instead.
I slept in this morning, and woke up about 10:30 (I didn't get a nap yesterday after all). I planned on roasting the squash nice and early; I was going to cube it up and stick it in the oven around noon. Life had a bit of a different plan for us today. About 11:30 I had one of my now fairly routine bathroom breaks. However, this time around was not routine in the fact that I found blood (and it was not coming for the hemorrhoid I had a few weeks ago, too much information? Maybe, but oh well). Panic ensued, especially as I realized that I hadn't felt the baby move that day. I yanked Daniel out of bed and we went to the hospital. I was doing pretty good at staying calm, until anyone asked me how far along I was. "30 weeks" I would mutter out trying my best to not have a complete break down.(For those of you that don't know, pregnancy is supposed to be 40 weeks, and they want you to make it to at least 37 before you give birth.) I got to ride in wheel chair and I waited for someone to take me back to a room.
The CNA/OB Tech was the person to get me and take me back. "Hello, my name is Hope" she said as she was wheeling me away. Hope? Are you serious, that was possibly the best name anyone could have at that moment in time. She brought be back to a room, talked to me a little about the hospital gown and peeing in a cup. She then asked the dreaded question "How far along are you?" I lost composure as I said "30 weeks". Hope: "Is it a boy or girl?" Me: "girl" Hope :"Aw, do have a name?" Me "Juliet." Hope "Well, I'm sure Juliet will be just fine. Let's get you changed and figure out what's going on. It's okay if you need to cry." This girl was really good at her job. She even called me pretty later on.
The nurse was the next person to journey into my room. She asked me a bunch of things like "Have you done illegal drugs?" and such that apparently Daniel wasn't allowed to hear, hence they wouldn't let him come in yet. She put a monitor on my belly (which the baby decided she didn't like, she was kicking it within a minute of it being on my stomach) to track the baby's heartbeat (which was perfect by the way, hallelujah) and asked if was cramping (uh, no) and check to see if I was dilating or still bleeding (nope again). They said they were going to monitor me for awhile and then call the midwife to see what we wanted to do. Well, my midwife is apparently not available today, go figure. They called another doctor from my center and had her consult with them instead. "Have you had sex in the past 48 hours?" Uh, no. I had been trapped at my parents house for the past 48 hours. Sex during pregnancy can make you bleed? Good to know I guess.
They watched me pretty carefully for a few hours (well, mostly they just monitored the baby, which was fine by me, that's who I was concerned about) and decided that I was good to go home. They said a number of things could have caused the bloody discharge, but everything looked good with me and baby. I'm supposed to monitor myself pretty closely today and take things easy. If anything seems out of the ordinary, I am to call, or if it seems really strange go back to the hospital. They ensured me I did the right thing by coming in, because there was no way to tell if everything was alright unless I had come in. Since Daniel works tonight, I'm heading up to my parents house again tonight, just in case something is off and I have to go the hospital again(we only have one car).
So, obviously no pasta is being made today either. I'm sure after reading all this this, that was by far the greatest concern on all your minds...just kidding, I really hope you didn't care that much. I have my normal appointment with Karen (my regular midwife) on Wednesday, so we will see what she says then. For now, I am just extremely grateful that all 3 of us (Daniel, the baby and I) have made it though the past few days alive and well. Maybe Daniel isn't completely well, he has to work tonight with virtually no sleep, poor guy. Luckily this is the end of his work week, so things should hopefully normalize in the next few days.
The first hitch in the plan happened Saturday night when it started to snow. I had gone to a birthday party for my brother-in-law, Sam. The snow was falling pretty heavy, and I opted just to stay at my parents house that night instead of making someone take me home. Daniel was headed to pick me Sunday morning, after he got off work. It was snowing again at that point and the roads were pretty bad. He ended up sliding off the road. He called me, let me know about the situation and said he would get me after the tow truck came and pulled him back onto the road. After the tow truck came, the weather was even worse. He told me to stay at my parents, and that he would teach primary by himself. (I'm not really sure how well that went..) I eventually made it home, but not until about 8:30 that night. Obviously, no pasta was going to be made, so I figured I would just make it today (Monday) instead.
I slept in this morning, and woke up about 10:30 (I didn't get a nap yesterday after all). I planned on roasting the squash nice and early; I was going to cube it up and stick it in the oven around noon. Life had a bit of a different plan for us today. About 11:30 I had one of my now fairly routine bathroom breaks. However, this time around was not routine in the fact that I found blood (and it was not coming for the hemorrhoid I had a few weeks ago, too much information? Maybe, but oh well). Panic ensued, especially as I realized that I hadn't felt the baby move that day. I yanked Daniel out of bed and we went to the hospital. I was doing pretty good at staying calm, until anyone asked me how far along I was. "30 weeks" I would mutter out trying my best to not have a complete break down.(For those of you that don't know, pregnancy is supposed to be 40 weeks, and they want you to make it to at least 37 before you give birth.) I got to ride in wheel chair and I waited for someone to take me back to a room.
The CNA/OB Tech was the person to get me and take me back. "Hello, my name is Hope" she said as she was wheeling me away. Hope? Are you serious, that was possibly the best name anyone could have at that moment in time. She brought be back to a room, talked to me a little about the hospital gown and peeing in a cup. She then asked the dreaded question "How far along are you?" I lost composure as I said "30 weeks". Hope: "Is it a boy or girl?" Me: "girl" Hope :"Aw, do have a name?" Me "Juliet." Hope "Well, I'm sure Juliet will be just fine. Let's get you changed and figure out what's going on. It's okay if you need to cry." This girl was really good at her job. She even called me pretty later on.
The nurse was the next person to journey into my room. She asked me a bunch of things like "Have you done illegal drugs?" and such that apparently Daniel wasn't allowed to hear, hence they wouldn't let him come in yet. She put a monitor on my belly (which the baby decided she didn't like, she was kicking it within a minute of it being on my stomach) to track the baby's heartbeat (which was perfect by the way, hallelujah) and asked if was cramping (uh, no) and check to see if I was dilating or still bleeding (nope again). They said they were going to monitor me for awhile and then call the midwife to see what we wanted to do. Well, my midwife is apparently not available today, go figure. They called another doctor from my center and had her consult with them instead. "Have you had sex in the past 48 hours?" Uh, no. I had been trapped at my parents house for the past 48 hours. Sex during pregnancy can make you bleed? Good to know I guess.
They watched me pretty carefully for a few hours (well, mostly they just monitored the baby, which was fine by me, that's who I was concerned about) and decided that I was good to go home. They said a number of things could have caused the bloody discharge, but everything looked good with me and baby. I'm supposed to monitor myself pretty closely today and take things easy. If anything seems out of the ordinary, I am to call, or if it seems really strange go back to the hospital. They ensured me I did the right thing by coming in, because there was no way to tell if everything was alright unless I had come in. Since Daniel works tonight, I'm heading up to my parents house again tonight, just in case something is off and I have to go the hospital again(we only have one car).
So, obviously no pasta is being made today either. I'm sure after reading all this this, that was by far the greatest concern on all your minds...just kidding, I really hope you didn't care that much. I have my normal appointment with Karen (my regular midwife) on Wednesday, so we will see what she says then. For now, I am just extremely grateful that all 3 of us (Daniel, the baby and I) have made it though the past few days alive and well. Maybe Daniel isn't completely well, he has to work tonight with virtually no sleep, poor guy. Luckily this is the end of his work week, so things should hopefully normalize in the next few days.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Now Introducing:
http://beckystastyfood.blogspot.com/
The food blog has been launched! No recipes as of yet, but that will change soon.
The food blog has been launched! No recipes as of yet, but that will change soon.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
The results are in!
The results are in, and the score it tied...a lot of good that poll did me. Looks like it is all up to me now. So, look for the launch of a new food blog in the next few days. I will now take name suggestions for the food blog if you have any ideas.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Calling all readers.
For those of you who know me well, you likely know that I like to cook. If you are aware of this fact, you may also be aware of the fact I tend to be more of a recipe creator, or at the very least recipe modifier, than a recipe follower. One problem that comes with this is that I never write anything down. If I want to recreate something I have made previously, I have to rely on memory. This isn't so bad, because I can usually make my recreations pretty similar to the original product, but in an attempt to be a more organized cook I have thought of an interesting option: Start blogging my recipes.
If I start to blog recipes, I will be forced to start writing things down, helping me better recreate them in the future. What I am asking for from you, my blog readers (however many of you there may be) is to vote in the poll I created. Would you be interested in knowing my recipes? If so, how should I go about posting them? If your option is not in the poll, feel free to leave a comment on this post stating what you think would be the most viable option.
Just a little FYI, If recipes do begin to be posted, by whichever option, the first entry will be Butternut Squash Ravioli. I made it last month, and I am going to make it again this month, it was quite the hit with Daniel, and I never say no to squash.
If I start to blog recipes, I will be forced to start writing things down, helping me better recreate them in the future. What I am asking for from you, my blog readers (however many of you there may be) is to vote in the poll I created. Would you be interested in knowing my recipes? If so, how should I go about posting them? If your option is not in the poll, feel free to leave a comment on this post stating what you think would be the most viable option.
Just a little FYI, If recipes do begin to be posted, by whichever option, the first entry will be Butternut Squash Ravioli. I made it last month, and I am going to make it again this month, it was quite the hit with Daniel, and I never say no to squash.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Some Random Thoughts.
Sometimes I feel inclined to write a blog post. When I have these inclinations I usually don't have a particular subject matter in mind, and therefore, no blog post gets written. Today I have an inclination, so instead of ignoring it and writing nothing, I bring to you a compilation of random things I have thought as of late.
- The only downside I see to naming my daughter Juliet (which will very likely happen) is that when reading Romeo and Juliet in school, the poor girl will always have to read the part of Juliet.
- It's good for me when people challenge if I can do something. For those of you who are not aware, I had a professor tell me to drop out of his class because I am pregnant, and it would be too hard. While my initial feelings were anger, I have now been overcome by extreme motivation.
- I call my two pet mice "my girls". If I end up having another daughter after this one, it seems very likely that I will call them "my girls". In years from now I can just see two teenage girls telling their friends that their mother calls them the same thing she once called rodents.
- It is a good thing I am not a vegetarian; I currently have about 40 pounds of beef in my freezer.
- Have the parents of the Luna Lovegood doppelganger in my primary class read or seen Harry Potter? If they have, do they encourage her to act like that?
- It's possible college students have never seen a pregnant person before, or so it would seem by the funny looks I get walking around campus.
- Though french fries are not from France, their name makes perfect sense to me. The way in which they are cut is called frenching. French toast, however, does not make sense. If it did not orginate in France, why does it have this name?
- While I believe the bikini(among other woman's fashions that do not make sense) was invented by a man; Maternity clothes were almost definitely invented by a woman. Most comfortable pants I have ever worn.
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