6 Months

24 Weeks
weight gain?- 
I've gained about 13 pounds so far. I can't believe how much 13 extra pounds feels to carry around. It really does make a big difference on the frame of the body, so thankful my body knows how to do this for 9 months and then return to its original frame. What wisdom!
maternity clothes?- 
I am not wearing maternity clothes yet but all my clothes are really tight around my breasts and my belly. I like tight clothes when its not too hot outside. Its already 95 degrees outside here in Tennessee so 'no clothes' really feels the best. Gygi, my bestest friend, gave me a box full of loose flowing clothes she wore for pregnancy and they have been the best thing right now.
cravings?-
I LOVE hibiscus iced tea....mmm so refreshing and delightful. Also, watermelon is a perfect treat. JJ went on a midnight food run the other day and got me a dozen donuts, those went down really really quick!!!
mood?- 
Overall I am doing good. I feel lonely when JJ goes to work and I am left with the dogs for most of the day. I miss sharing this pregnancy with my sister, mother and friends and sometimes this makes me moody and teary eyed.
yoga fixes?- 
Right now the best fix is a surrendered baddha konasana (butterfly) with pillows and support and squatting is really nice on my back and hips.
new ideas?-
I am really interested in two practices for newborns. One is 'elimination communication' a way of communicating with the baby on when to release either poo or pee. Completely eliminating diapers all the way! Sounds wonderful! Also, baby sign language. Teaching the newly infant how to use their hands and eyes to communicate with us adults.
book i'm reading?-
I am reading Ina May's guidebook to breastfeeding. I will be breastfeeding solely for at least a year if not longer so I really want to know all the information I can get to provide the most milk and nutrients to our little Amazing One.
sleeping?-
It has been difficult but I now have two body pillows and JJ rubs me every night. I toss and turn and sometimes just stare at the ceiling and rub my belly. All in all I know this is preparing me for whats to come as well as this is just for a short time.
best thing i'm doing?-
Swimming has become my favorite thing to do. I take the dogs, a lawn chair, a book, a floating raft, and a cooler of drinks and I swim for as long as I feel like it, just kicking around and talking to the Divine energy. It feels so good to be in nature and listen to the birds while taking all the gravity off my back and hips. I get my meditation in, I cool off and I soak up some fabulous energy from the sun. I feel so much better after my swim....just talking about it makes me want to get out there!!


~t

Celebrating Mothers!

Mother's Day is tomorrow and I am having a flood of thoughts about my own mother and motherhood in general. 

I am grateful that there is a day to celebrate the mothers of this world. I take into consideration the beginning of the female spirit, the Earth.  The Earth is the biggest Mother of this world. She nurtures every species and every soul.  She gets used, abused and taken advantage of over and over again but she, like most wonderful Mother's, keeps giving to us in abundance.  I offer gratitude and Love for her constant protection and nourishment that I receive from this stay on her rough, green skin. 

The Mother Earth is a huge example of what a Mother is through and through. I know so many wonderful Mother's from my friends, relatives, neighbors and my own, yet every style of parenting and nurturing is so unique from each one. I am shown great examples of why our civilization has grown so big and so fast and why we as a species have been able to extend our lifespan year after year, because of our Mother's.

A Mother is a person who offers Love outside herself,

She gives unselfishly,

She feeds from her own body,

She heals from her touch,

She gives her body to the changes and growth of new bodies,

She dedicates her life to being an example of what goodness is,

She speaks soft and brings safety to a cry,

She knows when to let go and watch her young fly,

She is a teacher and an example,

She is a friend,

She listens,

She is comfort,

She smells sweet,

She isn't always  a woman,

Not all women are Mother's,

She is fair,

She is Truth,

She is mine,

She is LOVE

I Love my Mother so much, because she is mine. She has given her all to being the best example of what a good soul is. I know the Divine because I see it in her. I will be a good Mother because I had a great Mother and I cherish her and think of her this Mother's Day. 

How glorious this world is with all the Mother's in it. 

I am a woman, I am a developing Mother, I Mother my animals and friends.  I have so much gratitude for this experience in a female body but I couldn't do it without the Men in my life so for all of them I also give thanks. Because of JJ, I will get to be the Mother I see myself being, because of my Father I had a great Mother who was able to be there for me each day. 

To all the Mother's on this Mother Earth, Thanks and much Love!!

~t

Chiropractor and Pregnancy

 20 weeks, half way of my pregnancy experience and I can't believe how fast time has flown by. I am keeping track on this blog if you look under 'Pregnancy and Childbirth' links on the top of the page.
My pregnancy has been really simple and mostly full of ease. I didn't get morning sickness, I was aware in the mornings, however, that I am pregnant and if I didn't eat something soon I may have had some of that toilet hugging that can effect women.  I have been relatively happy and content. Some days my moods just stall, in other words I get no mood at all, just a present sense of existence with no emotion attached. I have moments of irritability and simply find myself on my mat, with my eyes closed and it quickly passes. Thank the almighty for meditation and yoga!
but...
I have had some struggle with my nerves. Specifically my sciatic nerve. After the second month, my sciatic nerve has been aggravating me. It acts up mostly after I exercise, leaving me without much movement or ability to exercise  happily. I have limited my movements to mellow prenatal yoga, walking, some cruiser bike riding and domestic activity around the house, gardening, cleaning, washing dogs, etc..
After each activity I would find myself with a pulsing nerve from my butt to my mid hamstring and any movement after that was irritating.

When the body becomes pregnant and all the muscles soften the hips and spine tend to shift into their places preparing the body for growth and delivery of a baby. The hips often settle in a position that can pinch nerves in the spine or around the hip area, like the sciatic. This can happen from poor sleeping postures and even poor posture while walking or sitting during pregnancy, since the growing body is changing so quickly.

Well, I avoid most intervention like the plague, even alternative medicine if I can help it, so I dealt with this for 2 months longer than I had too. I finally got to a point that sleeping was hard and uncomfortable and getting out of bed in the morning was a challenge. 

OK, I am fixing this. 

I went to a chiropractor recommended by my midwife. She specializes in pregnancy and was shockingly gentle and non aggressive (some chiropractors really know how to jerk the body around). We talked for about 20 minutes. She did some reflex testing on me and then about 4 small gentle adjustments and I felt tonz better. I even walked straighter. I was sore that night but have felt little sciatic nerve irritation since. 

I recommend seeing a chiropractor for nerve issues if you are pregnant and feel the body settling in the wrong place, even postpartum work may be needed if your feeling the body shifting back to the pre pregnancy state too quickly irritating any nerves or muscles.
~t