Someone I love lots is planning a c-section for her baby b/c she already had her first child via c-section. They've also chosen a date two weeks prior to the baby's due date, just to make sure they don’t labor. I don't blame her. For baby #1, she got talked into induction which after much pain and suffering ended up with a c-section. I'm sure her view of labor is colored by this horrible first experience, and why should she choose to go through labor again if she's going to end up the c-section anyway? I know. Her Dr probably told her about being at risk of uterine rupture if she tried to deliver naturally.

Sigh. I wish they'd at least wait until the baby was 39 weeks or closer to the due date.

So why am I upset about this… Could be because the doctors don't talk about the risks associated with HAVING the c-section, they only talk about the risks of not having one. Do they quantify these risks? No. Per this TIME article, "With each repeat cesarean, a mother's risk of heavy bleeding, infection and infertility, among other complications, goes up... patients and doctors need to be as aware of the risks of multiple cesareans as they are of those of VBACs." (VBAC=Vaginal Birth After Delivery). Doctors are also scared of getting sued for not doing a c-section.

I had an elective c-section, due to my child being in breech position. Before the birth, my dr talked exclusively about all the problems we might have if we didn't do a c-section, emphasizing all the dangers the baby would face if we did go through with a natural delivery. He spoke about the c-section about a routine thing, about it being the best way to ensure the safety of both mother and child. Almost sounded like a walk in the park compared to the risk of not doing the c-section. In fairness, he also said we could try delivering vaginally but that he didn't have much experience doing this. Then he'd go on again about risks of vaginal birth for breech babies, and he'd keep on reassure us about the safety of the c-section.

I wish I'd found ICAN or Spinning Babies before my c-section.

And I'll rest easier when my friend's baby is born and everyone is all safe and sound.

I know I have tons of work to do, but whenever that happens I tend to get paralized and do nothing productive (like 'net surfing). I heard somewhere that one way to get out of this rut is to do ANYTHING in order to get the action juices flowing. So I'm going to clean my desk. Then I'm going to make a list of the work I need to do, then prioritize that. OK, action plan ready.

… just can't wait for it to be two weeks from now, when we're on vacation, when my biggest decision will be deciding what fun thing to do next.

OK, getting off my 'arse now officially…

January 20th, 2001

This is scary, who knew The Onion was able to predict this accurately? I thought they were only a spoof website? ACK!!

"During the 40-minute speech, Bush also promised to bring an end to the severe war drought that plagued the nation under Clinton, assuring citizens that the U.S. will engage in at least one Gulf War-level armed conflict in the next four years....

"On the economic side, Bush vowed to bring back economic stagnation by implementing substantial tax cuts, which would lead to a recession, which would necessitate a tax hike, which would lead to a drop in consumer spending, which would lead to layoffs, which would deepen the recession even further."

LIMITING BELIEFS

I was listening to Renee's podcast on limiting believes on the way to work this morning. Yes, I've known about this concept for a long time, but I'd forgotten about it. Specifically about how I can (and do!) create my own limiting beliefs then keep banging my head against them. Yes, I'm looking at YOU right now: LACK OF TIME.

NO time for planning meals
NO time to get all my work done
NO time to exercise
NO time to clean things at home
NO time to relax & do my hobbies
NO time to keep in touch with friends
NO time to update my & Muffin's blogs
Etc.

Funny. If you remove the "NO time" from the above list, it looks like me TO DO one day list….

Hmmmm. What would it LOOK like if I *did* have the time? So far, when I do get the time, I squander it doodling, surfing, reading, window shopping…

I need to listen to part 2 of this podcast to see what she has to say...

Today is MOLE DAY: the mole represents the number 6.02 x 10^23 (just like the word dozen represents the number 12)…so from 6:02 am to 6:02 pm we celebrate Mole Day on October 23 (10^23)…it’s the most sacred of chemistry holidays!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

gotta love Avogadro's Number ;)

Blueberries!

My favorite month is July because its smack in the middle of summer, and best of all its BLUEBERRY season.

Our blueberry bushes are bursting with berries - yum yum yum! So far we've harvested about 2 gallons of berries in 10 days, can you believe it? And there's plenty more on the tree! This season looks great - finally!

A couple of years ago I trimmed some of the branches on the bushes, and apparently the bushes didn't like it b/c we barely had berries that year. The following year we had harvested about 2-3 gallons for the season. And now it seems the bushes have bounced back, we've got tons of berries!

We have Green Beans growing in our backyard! Granted, its probably not enough for even one serving but its still fun to grow. I am collecting each harvest (of about 4-5 beans) and dutifully freezing them in the hopes that we can get one dinner out of them by the end of the growing season. I did use bean inoculant when I planted them, but they're not growing as high as I'd expected (gardening suggestions welcome!). Still yummy though!

Just heard that Ingrid Betancourt has been freed freed from the Colombian rebels, after 6 yrs of captivity. Hurray!

Now that I'm a mom, I just cant' imagine what it would be like not to see your children for 6 years. So glad they're together again! Of course I'm equally glad the rest of the rescued hostages were also freed (including 3 americans) but for some reason her story really touched me.

This article caught my eye. In particular, I thought this paragraph most interesting:

But letting kids explore -- at the cost of a few scrapes and cuts -- builds character, self-confidence, resilience, and self-reliance, says Wendy Mogel, Ph.D., author of "The Blessing of a Skinned Knee." Boys, being natural risk takers, may need encouragement to slow down a little, but maybe girls need to be encouraged to take more risks. Look for opportunities for your daughter to jump off a wall, swim in the deep end, or try the bigger slide.

We tend to be quite protective of Muffin, trying to avoid her getting scrapes, bruises, etc. Maybe we shouldn't? Not that I'll be encouraging her to go break an arm or leg ever, but a scrape here or there isn't such a biggie I think. (others at home might differ in opinion…)

Nevertheless, food for thought.

I think I found a new love: Pandora Radio .

I'm currently listening to nouveau flamenco while working, certainly makes a tedious task more enjoyable!

I love that you can customize what you're listening to so it matches what you like.

Update 07-02-08
Here's a link to my "radio station" in Pandora