I Choose Health

Costochondritis, carpal tunnel in both wrists, edema, pre-eclampsia, an epidural that didn't cover back pain, a big fat swollen hematoma (6cm thick), mastitis, surgery to drain hematoma and most recently, an infection in the surgery site. Yea...never doing this shit again!!! Daelen is worth it all, don't get me wrong, but I could not make the choice to put my body through even one of those ailments again!

Public Enemy Number One

On PostSecret today, there is one where someone says that a mom suffocated her baby so she could go start a new life with a guy she met on the Internet. And she did it in a way that made the cause of death look like SIDS.


To a mother who is of sound mind, SIDS is public enemy number one. It is THE scariest acronym in all the English language - in ANY language, actually.

Sudden, unexplainable death. Are you serious? I just spent 27 hours in labor. I lost innumerable hours of sleep caring for you. I fed you from my breast. I saw your smile. I looked into your eyes and now you are just gone?! And no one will ever be able to tell my why?!

There are no words that could ever describe the grief the mother of a SIDS baby must feel. (And fathers too, of course.)

For someone to choose to take their child's breath from them is atrocious. But to add it to the SIDS numbers is HEINOUS.

While I was pregnant, I went through a brief period of watching A&E's Intervention. I eventually had to stop. On March 19, 2011, ten days before my Daelen Jon was born, I wrote this:

I have seen two shows today with moms who chose addictions over their children. It makes me cry, It makes me just want to hold my baby. I want to hold him and love him and protect him and teach him and love him some more.

And numerous times in the last six weeks, I have done just that - just held him, hugged him, kissed him, loved him.

I never had a ticking biological clock that demanded I have a baby. But now that I have one, you can your bottom dollar I am going to do everything I can to be the mom he deserves.

I can only pray that the Lord looks upon my efforts favorably and chooses to let us both be alive and well for many decades.

Pregnancy Insight

While I was pregnant, I couldn't write much. I did, however, make some notes in my most awesome smartphone. I did this in hopes of posting some of it once the carpal tunnel went away. The numbness in my hands isn't entirely gone, but my hands are usable again :)

Anyway, here is something quick I wrote in February.

Pregnancy. Despite what books and women tell you, there is no normal. Every woman has an opposing opinion, because every woman had a completely different experience.

It's your first lesson in following your instinct and intuition. As a mother, you will be INUNDATED with advice, opinions, and peoples' various experiences. I recommend that you listen, think about what they are saying, read between the lines to hear what they are not saying, and then, accept what fits or works for you.

posted from Bloggeroid

Incubating

There has been a lot of hub-a-loo in the last five minutes regarding Lady GaGa incubating as she entered the Grammy Awards.

I haven't the slightest idea what her publicity angle is, I'm too old to try to understand the thinking process of a mega pop star.

I can tell you that in the last five minutes, my job as an incubation chamber has become more important to me.

I've been lying in bed for a couple hours because my feet are swollen from yesterday's activities with the Royal Aces.

My carpal tunnel has been acting up the last week or so. My hands and ankles are ginormously swollen. I have a difficult time sleeping more than a few hours at a time. Bending over is very uncomfortable, almost painful.

But despite all of this, my baby needs to incubate in my belly for as long as is necessary. Every additional day that Baby B is safe and secure in my womb, he is stronger to face the challenges of this world.

I'm not quite conveying the breadth and depths of my emotions, but maybe I don't need to.

Lady GaGa enjoys the publicity involved in some ridiculous interpretation of the natural job of a uterus. I enjoy lying here rubbing my belly, feeling my baby moving, and knowing that I am doing everything I can to protect my unborn child.

posted from Bloggeroid

"Some Crazy Sci-Fi Sh#@"

I was reading Lindsey's Baby Blog (Feb 7) and felt relief knowing someone had put into words the craziness that is a moving baby inside a belly...

By week 22 (Nov 19ish), I was feeling Baby B's movements pretty regularly. In the morning, s/he kicks a few times to say "Hello." Throughout the day, there is some movement to help me remember that I will soon have to be "instantly interruptable."

And then in the evening, when I am lying on the couch (FEET UP!), there is more kicking.

Unfortunately, the baby REFUSES to allow anyone to feel it's kicks. Chris felt it once, and then Christmas Day, the baby had the hiccups so he couldn't help but allow Chris to feel his presence. Jan 12, Brytin felt the baby kick ("It feels like a hiccup").

But mostly, the minute someone (besides me) touches my belly, the baby instantly moves to the deep recesses of my abdomen, not to resurface for hours. We had settled for feeling the baby when he is close to my abdomen wall and trying to guess which body part it was...

"This is your big old belly. This is the baby inside your belly."


In the last week, however, the rolling has begun (aka the crazy sci-fi shit). My belly moves. It's WEIRD. Fun, because Chris can see the movement too, but WEIRD. I love it and I wouldn't trade this time of my pregnancy for anything in the whole wide world, but seriously, it is WEIRD.

According to my day-by-day pregnancy journal, in week 33, "the volume of amniotic fluid has reached its maximum. As baby grows, there will be less fluid and more baby and thus you will feel considerable movement from within."

And by "considerable movement" they mean gymnastics :)

Pea in a Pod

To my dearest pea in the pod:

I love you. And for some reason, this silly little ornament symbolizing your growing in my belly, makes me the happiest pregnant woman in the world this Christmas.

The Broussard family is so blessed with your almost presence. I rub my belly constantly, hoping you can feel the hugs I long to give to you.

Chris stares at your ultrasound picture every day - I can see the pride swelling in his eyes everytime I tell him how much you two look alike!

And Brytin, man, Brytin couldn't be happier. He asks me every day what you are growing (this week, it's nostrils). He rubs my belly, he tells me how big my legs are, he asks what tasks he gets to do for you...you are very blessed, Baby Broussard, to have Brytin for a big brother.

I now understand why God used a baby to change the world.

You've changed my life, Baby - my heart, soul and mind. I'm so thankful for you this Christmas.


I have NO idea where you get your buddha belly, but it definitely helps explain my buddha belly!

Random Side Effects of Pregnancy

It is amazing to me the crazy things that can (and do) happen to a woman's body during pregnancy. Millions of books have been written, articles posted, and probably thousands of hours have been spent talking to other moms about the side effects of making a baby.

I personally have been plagued with a few things:

Carpal Tunnel - my right hand has been numb since Thanksgiving!
Costochondritis - apparently very common
Snoring (This doesn't bother me, but my husband says it keeps him up at night - I think he's just looking for some attention!)

I have been using Tiger Balm on my hands to decrease the pain, swelling, numbness, etc.

I have been using Vicks VapoRub on my ribs to try to decrease the inflammation.

I have been sleeping mildly upright to avoid sleeping on my hands and hopefully snore less.

I would write more, but it hurts a LOT to type. Maybe after the baby is born, I can recount for you my experience...

Oh, Baby!

My trip to Hawaii brought home a souvenir - a pregnancy!

The GREAT news is that a baby means I'll get to stay at Loma Elementary for another five years (hence the name change to "Elementary Escapades")! Go Leopards!

Brytin is very excited for the pending baby arrival.

He saw a breastfeeding video with me...he became very worried. "The baby isn't going to get confused and try to get food from ME is he?!!"

We don't know if it is a boy or a girl, and hopefully won't know until it is born. In the interim, I say him/her interchangably. I refer to "cupcake" or "muffin" or even Baby Bruce (Broussard).

If you haven't noticed already, scatterbrained is my biggest symptom. ("Pregnancy Stupids" as Jenny McCarthy calls them.)