Maybe words will come better for me another night soon, but at least Grannie and Paw Paw have some pictures in the meantime. Much love going that way, we'll see you soon!
Monday, June 28, 2010
So here we are, all settled in. The idea of leaving makes me very sad. This small town in the middle of the mountains has stolen my heart.
For some reason, I am having a hard time with my words tonight, so let me share some pictures of our home here, and the town and trails. We rented a small house about a mile out the highway from town. It has a private yard, and even a salmon smoker that Jacob brought back to life.
Girdwood is small, and riding your bike is a great way to get around. The bike/foot path goes along the highway into town, and the slope is just enough to not be daunting, but to get the heart rate going. We scored a sweet ride at the Salvation Army, with a trailer that will ride 2 kids. We have been having fun taking turns using it, and are looking for another one, with another trailer, so we can ride all together.
There are a ton of kids here. Seems a baby boom occured at some point, and they are everywhere. The park downtown has a skate area for the older kids, and a sprawling playground for the little ones. The river area is where they have Forest Fair, which happens next weekend. We went down there for the Summer Solstice with some friends and had a really great time.
We have also taken a couple of really amazing hikes. The area surrounding is National Forest, and Girdwood itself is actually a rainforest. The trails are inspiring and invigorating. Even in the rain (usually just a misty rain), the cool air makes it easy to push on where we might have stopped in the relentless TN heat.
So Alaska has proven to be the promised land that Jacob spoke of. We miss our Tennessee family and friends intensely though, and having heard of the heat wave going on right now, we wish you would all come up here and have a break from it all.
Maybe words will come better for me another night soon, but at least Grannie and Paw Paw have some pictures in the meantime. Much love going that way, we'll see you soon!
Maybe words will come better for me another night soon, but at least Grannie and Paw Paw have some pictures in the meantime. Much love going that way, we'll see you soon!
Thursday, June 3, 2010
The last leg
So we’re on the Alaska highway, also known as the Alcan. The stories I’ve heard made me wary of it, but the road itself is not to be feared. Sure, there are some patchy places, some bumps and a few short sections of gravel, but all in all the road is in good condition, and totally wide enough with plenty of shoulder. So at first I was like “what’s the big deal about the Alcan?” 4 days in I get it. While the scenery is astounding, and I mean ASTOUNDING, with mountains and valleys, turquiose blue lakes and wildlife everywhere, there is no room for error here. It’s an average of 100 miles between service stations, so you’d better hope nothing goes wrong too far from a town. Sometimes gas stations are closed, so you have to fill up at every opportunity. Yesterday, our daily miracle was picking up a screw in our tire, and discovering the gushing leak 2 miles before we got to the next station. Jacob got it plugged and filled, and also topped off our spare, which was pretty low in and of itself. Phew!
Liard hot springs was everything Jacob told me it would be. We went down all 5 of us the cool end when we first got there. We stripped the babies naked and put Cloe in some shorts. As we were going down the steps into the water, each holding a baby, while Cloe held onto Jacob, I was wondering how we were going to manage. Enter an Angel here, in the form of a middle aged kid’s swimming teacher, who was on vacation with her husband. Within seconds of us entering the pool, she swept in, taking Cloe and smiling broadly. She stayed with us the whole time, switching back and forth between holding Cloe, Ruby and Wyatt. We were so grateful, and she seemed to be grateful also. She missed her grandkids and ours were good stand-ins for her.
Later, after we had dinner, and got the kids to sleep, we took turns going down to soak in the hot parts of the spring. Jacob went first, and like he tends to do, he had soon befriended the whole pool. I sat outside the camper and wrote in my notebook, and as people were walking by our campsite from the water, they would smile and wave. I knew he had told them all about me, sitting back with the kids, waiting for my turn.
When he got back, I went down by myself. It was nice to take the long, leisurely walk down the boardwalk through the marsh all alone, and soak in the scenery around me. When I got there, I started at the cool end, and made my way up, sitting for a while under the man made waterfall, letting the water hit my shoulders and take all the stress from the trip right away. I got to the middle part, which was probably around 104 degrees, and sat on a bench in the water and soaked. There was a guy there who started talking to me, and he told me that up at the REALLY hot end, the waterfalls coming in were cold water. I love hot and cold together, sort of like sweet and salty, so I toughed it out and made it to them. It was worth it. Jacob had made it to the hottest part of the pool, and placed a rock on the wall, a right of passage for the springs. I attempted once, but couldn’t find a good rock, and then decided I didn’t need to do it, I was happy just to be there, relaxing in nature’s hot tub. Soon the mosquitos proved to be too much (they are practically the size of swallows here), so I headed for the steps. On my way out I met a lady who was studying acupuncture, so I stayed in a while longer and talked with her about natural, intuitive medicine. The air was cool when I got out, but I didn’t feel it at all. My body stayed good and warm for the rest of the night, and I was even able to sit outside when I got back without a sweater.
Yesterday was a lot of driving, with a stop at Teslin lake for the night. I am loving the people we are meeting out here. It takes a certain kind of person to travel this road, so we are getting to know some really neat folks.
Believe it or not, we reach Girdwood in 2 days! I am looking forward to meeting Jacob’s friends, and forging some new and lasting relationships with the people there. I will continue to blog, and share what we encounter. The trip back may change a bit. We may take the marine highway to Seattle, go visit some folks in California, and have me fly back with the kids from LA, while Jacob books it home by himself. We shall see. We shall see.
Liard hot springs was everything Jacob told me it would be. We went down all 5 of us the cool end when we first got there. We stripped the babies naked and put Cloe in some shorts. As we were going down the steps into the water, each holding a baby, while Cloe held onto Jacob, I was wondering how we were going to manage. Enter an Angel here, in the form of a middle aged kid’s swimming teacher, who was on vacation with her husband. Within seconds of us entering the pool, she swept in, taking Cloe and smiling broadly. She stayed with us the whole time, switching back and forth between holding Cloe, Ruby and Wyatt. We were so grateful, and she seemed to be grateful also. She missed her grandkids and ours were good stand-ins for her.
Later, after we had dinner, and got the kids to sleep, we took turns going down to soak in the hot parts of the spring. Jacob went first, and like he tends to do, he had soon befriended the whole pool. I sat outside the camper and wrote in my notebook, and as people were walking by our campsite from the water, they would smile and wave. I knew he had told them all about me, sitting back with the kids, waiting for my turn.
When he got back, I went down by myself. It was nice to take the long, leisurely walk down the boardwalk through the marsh all alone, and soak in the scenery around me. When I got there, I started at the cool end, and made my way up, sitting for a while under the man made waterfall, letting the water hit my shoulders and take all the stress from the trip right away. I got to the middle part, which was probably around 104 degrees, and sat on a bench in the water and soaked. There was a guy there who started talking to me, and he told me that up at the REALLY hot end, the waterfalls coming in were cold water. I love hot and cold together, sort of like sweet and salty, so I toughed it out and made it to them. It was worth it. Jacob had made it to the hottest part of the pool, and placed a rock on the wall, a right of passage for the springs. I attempted once, but couldn’t find a good rock, and then decided I didn’t need to do it, I was happy just to be there, relaxing in nature’s hot tub. Soon the mosquitos proved to be too much (they are practically the size of swallows here), so I headed for the steps. On my way out I met a lady who was studying acupuncture, so I stayed in a while longer and talked with her about natural, intuitive medicine. The air was cool when I got out, but I didn’t feel it at all. My body stayed good and warm for the rest of the night, and I was even able to sit outside when I got back without a sweater.
Yesterday was a lot of driving, with a stop at Teslin lake for the night. I am loving the people we are meeting out here. It takes a certain kind of person to travel this road, so we are getting to know some really neat folks.
Believe it or not, we reach Girdwood in 2 days! I am looking forward to meeting Jacob’s friends, and forging some new and lasting relationships with the people there. I will continue to blog, and share what we encounter. The trip back may change a bit. We may take the marine highway to Seattle, go visit some folks in California, and have me fly back with the kids from LA, while Jacob books it home by himself. We shall see. We shall see.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Playing catch up
We have come to wonder what the daily miracle will be. Each leg, it seems that something happens that is so highly unlikely, with such perfect timing, that it seems this trip is not ours at all, but has been orchestrated by an intelligent, loving, and humorous higher power. Today our miracle was Jacob noticing uneven tread on one of the trailer tires, that lead him to find the shackles of the axles had worn and cracked to the point of near collapse. Luckily, there was an auto store here in Fort Nelson, and after much tugging, sawing, and cursing, he had it fixed up good as new. They could have gone at any minute, but the miracle came through, and we can continue on our journey.
The mountains have made me very contemplative. For the first time in 4 years, I have had the better part of the afternoon to just sit and stew. Riding in the car, while the babies sleep and Cloe plays quietly, I watch the amazing scenery go by, and think about all the things that have brought me here.
Friday, May 21, 2010
From Red Rock to Wyoming
Okay, so I've been slacking on the blog, and we even had two stops where we stayed on for an extra day. Just so busy, and I would write in the car, but the carsickness aspect is an issue. About the most I can handle is a few transcripts and uploading photos.
So I believe I left off when we arrived at Red Rock Canyon. It had become apparent that we were going to need an extra day or two here and there, as the constant driving was getting to all of us. Red Rock seemed an ideal place to stay an extra day, and was close to Hobart, Jacob's Grannie's hometown, so we signed up for one more night.
It's strange to see such a deep canyon in such flat terrain. One minute you are driving through nothing but open field and sky, and then you get to Hinton, this little town, turn into the park, and go down, and down, and down....it was beautiful. I am a sucker for Red Rocks, so I loved being surrounded by them. Also, with the weather doing it's crazy Oklahoma thing, I felt safe in the canyon. I couldn't picture any tornadoes making their way down there.
We did laundry with our laundry machines. Cloth diapers didn't work out for the driving part. When we get to Alaska we can use them, but I only have time and resources to do laundry every few days, and even that seems to pile up faster than I can wash it. Doing laundry every day seemed like a good idea in theory, but turned out to be a bit unrealistic for now.
We went into Hobart, where Cloe played in Hunter park, a park that was named after her Great, Great Grandfather. She loved the bridge and the playground, and Ruby and Wyatt even had some fun on the swings! We located Grannie's old house that she lived in when she was young, and perused the not so thriving Main Street. Everyone there was very friendly, and were all smiles and waves when we passed by.
We got showers at the campground, although they were coin showers, and Cloe and I wound up stuck wet and soapy in one when the coin accepter got jammed up. So we had to sneak over to the next one. Luckily, no one was around, and it was only a minor inconvenience.
The day we left, we booked it pretty well through Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle, and made it to Clayton, New Mexico. We had been watching storms in the sky all day. Out here you can see for miles and miles. A storm the next town over shows up in the sky perfecty, and it is both beautiful and terrifying. That night, a storm did hit us, and we woke to the sound of hail on the roof. I think it may have been the most scared I have ever been. Thank God it was just a small part of the big storm, most of which was North of us. It passed us by quickly.
After that, it was on to Colorado. As soon as the Rockies came into view, I became very excited. I think I took a million pictures from the car, until my battery ran out. We had decided to stay in Manitou Springs, a smaller town close to Colorado Springs, and right by Garden of the Gods.
It became evident pretty quickly that we were going to want to stay another day there too. We did a preliminary visit to the Garden of the Gods park, sans our camera, whose battery was on the charger. When it started to sprinkle, we left, knowing we had another day to look around. On our way back to the RV park we spotted a Safeway Grocery store. For all the bad mouthing I do about large grocery chains, I was pretty excited to see it. We had been out of Plain whole milk yogurt for days, with nowhere to find it. Seems like a small problem to have, but my little Wyatt needs it to keep his digestive system in check.
He used to wake every night with terrible gas, until I started giving him the plain whole milk yogurt with rice cereal 2-3x a day. It literally made him start sleeping through the night, because the probiotics in it would soothe his system. Sweetened yogurt, with fruit and sugar, would add more gas to the equation because of the way the sugar interferes with the protein in the yogurt. The day I ran out of it he started waking again, writhing in pain and squalling loud enough to stir the whole campground. The small markets of Oklahoma didn't have it. The closest I got was Dannon plain, but it was lowfat, and not organic. Gave it to him anyway, but it wasn't the same. The day we found the Safeway and stocked up, he went back to sleeping through the night.
We ate well that night. We had purchased scallops and foccacia, along with some fresh oyster mushrooms. Jacob grilled it all up and it was GOOD.
The next day, after getting some extra sleep,we hit up a pizza joint for lunch, where we gave our leftover half a pie to a couple of hippie wanderers. They asked us if they could come with us to AK, but we had to decline. We joked about what would have happened if we had taken them. Maybe they would have driven us so crazy that we would have sent them to the store with some money, and taken off, awning out and all. We had a good laugh thinking about the awning flapping around on the highway, but they really did seem like nice kids.
We went back to Garden of the Gods. This time armed with our camera. The universe had granted us a perfect bluebird day, and we had so much fun wandering around, and climbing on some of the lower, untreacherous parts. It's hard to put into words, so I'll have to leave it to the pictures to describe.
Now we are camped by the interstate in Daniel, Wyoming. We drove a hell of a way today. The kids were doing well, and we felt like keeping on, so we did. Now we are only 3 and a half hours away from Yellowstone! I'm going to go to sleep now, so I have lots of energy to enjoy our first day there tomorrow. I'm sure the pictures and stories will be fun to write and post. Love and miss everyone at home! Thinking especially tonight of our friends Seth and Christine, who had to close their coffee shop they started in Spring Hill. It was by far my favorite place to play music, and Jacob and I so loved their fresh roasted beans. Don't know what we're gonna do without it, but luckily, we get to keep Seth and Christine, and that's what counts the most. Love you guys SO much, and we are so proud of you for what you have accomplished. Now it's time for your next adventure!
So I believe I left off when we arrived at Red Rock Canyon. It had become apparent that we were going to need an extra day or two here and there, as the constant driving was getting to all of us. Red Rock seemed an ideal place to stay an extra day, and was close to Hobart, Jacob's Grannie's hometown, so we signed up for one more night.
It's strange to see such a deep canyon in such flat terrain. One minute you are driving through nothing but open field and sky, and then you get to Hinton, this little town, turn into the park, and go down, and down, and down....it was beautiful. I am a sucker for Red Rocks, so I loved being surrounded by them. Also, with the weather doing it's crazy Oklahoma thing, I felt safe in the canyon. I couldn't picture any tornadoes making their way down there.
We did laundry with our laundry machines. Cloth diapers didn't work out for the driving part. When we get to Alaska we can use them, but I only have time and resources to do laundry every few days, and even that seems to pile up faster than I can wash it. Doing laundry every day seemed like a good idea in theory, but turned out to be a bit unrealistic for now.
We went into Hobart, where Cloe played in Hunter park, a park that was named after her Great, Great Grandfather. She loved the bridge and the playground, and Ruby and Wyatt even had some fun on the swings! We located Grannie's old house that she lived in when she was young, and perused the not so thriving Main Street. Everyone there was very friendly, and were all smiles and waves when we passed by.
We got showers at the campground, although they were coin showers, and Cloe and I wound up stuck wet and soapy in one when the coin accepter got jammed up. So we had to sneak over to the next one. Luckily, no one was around, and it was only a minor inconvenience.
The day we left, we booked it pretty well through Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle, and made it to Clayton, New Mexico. We had been watching storms in the sky all day. Out here you can see for miles and miles. A storm the next town over shows up in the sky perfecty, and it is both beautiful and terrifying. That night, a storm did hit us, and we woke to the sound of hail on the roof. I think it may have been the most scared I have ever been. Thank God it was just a small part of the big storm, most of which was North of us. It passed us by quickly.
After that, it was on to Colorado. As soon as the Rockies came into view, I became very excited. I think I took a million pictures from the car, until my battery ran out. We had decided to stay in Manitou Springs, a smaller town close to Colorado Springs, and right by Garden of the Gods.
We ate well that night. We had purchased scallops and foccacia, along with some fresh oyster mushrooms. Jacob grilled it all up and it was GOOD.
The next day, after getting some extra sleep,we hit up a pizza joint for lunch, where we gave our leftover half a pie to a couple of hippie wanderers. They asked us if they could come with us to AK, but we had to decline. We joked about what would have happened if we had taken them. Maybe they would have driven us so crazy that we would have sent them to the store with some money, and taken off, awning out and all. We had a good laugh thinking about the awning flapping around on the highway, but they really did seem like nice kids.
We went back to Garden of the Gods. This time armed with our camera. The universe had granted us a perfect bluebird day, and we had so much fun wandering around, and climbing on some of the lower, untreacherous parts. It's hard to put into words, so I'll have to leave it to the pictures to describe.
Now we are camped by the interstate in Daniel, Wyoming. We drove a hell of a way today. The kids were doing well, and we felt like keeping on, so we did. Now we are only 3 and a half hours away from Yellowstone! I'm going to go to sleep now, so I have lots of energy to enjoy our first day there tomorrow. I'm sure the pictures and stories will be fun to write and post. Love and miss everyone at home! Thinking especially tonight of our friends Seth and Christine, who had to close their coffee shop they started in Spring Hill. It was by far my favorite place to play music, and Jacob and I so loved their fresh roasted beans. Don't know what we're gonna do without it, but luckily, we get to keep Seth and Christine, and that's what counts the most. Love you guys SO much, and we are so proud of you for what you have accomplished. Now it's time for your next adventure!
Sunday, May 16, 2010
The first 3 days
I could feel the anticipation in my chest, building and building. Leaving our house the day before had been harder than I thought it would be. But I knew it would be in good hands with Mark, Jacob's brother, who stayed on for us at the Dog Creek Road house.
Our first stop, Brinkley, Arkansas, was one that we found in the book. The town was extremely depressed, and I was very unsettled by it. But we had our small miracles. It was very, very hot when we pulled into the unshaded spot behind the dilapidated Days Inn. We were both regretting ditching the trailer's AC unit to save gas mileage. We unhooked, raised it up, and got back into the truck to go find a cooler spot to wait out the heat. I saw thunderclouds on the horizon, and I said a little prayer. Right then I knew it would cool down, but we wouldn't get blown away by the storm. Sure enough, when we returned to our site an hour later, the storms had grazed just south of us, but had brought a cool front, making our trailer the perfect temperature.
When we left the next morning I was not sad to see the town behind us. We got on those rough Arkansas roads, and took em to the mountains. The eastern half of the state was basically a monoculture of corn and cotton. Crop dusters flew overhead, and we closed off our vents. The towns seemed hopeless and deserted, with grain elevators hovering over the abandoned storefronts. The roads bounced our trailer so much that it broke the rack in our fridge and sent groceries flying to the floor.
As soon as we passed Little Rock, things changed for the better. The roads remained rough, but life came into the towns. As we left the Big Farmland behind, and the hills started appearing, I began to like Arkansas.
We decided that we should stop in the Ouachita (pronounced Wacheeta)Mountains for a night. We found a state park on the map, Queen Wilhemina State Park. We were bereft of cell reception or internet, but there was so much more. Like a wildlife rescue center where the folks were so friendly that they took us around and let us meet all of their rescues, most of who are going to be released after they have been rehabilitated.
The tour was free, and we dropped a twenty into their donation box on our way out. One of the handlers came up to our RV after dinner time, just to visit for a bit.
We also met 2 very nice older couples at the campground, Rhonda and Dick, and Jim and Margarite. They were in the area for a Western dancing event, and were full of joy and enthusiasm. Rhonda was kind enough too call the fam in Franklin for us when we realized we had no signal there.
Today we arrived at Red Rock Canyon, Oklahoma. I'll write about it after we have some stories. Looks like we may be staying 2 days here. We already met a very nice couple from TN, and I love being nestled in this canyon. Tomorrow we are going into Hobart for the day, Jacob's Grannie's hometown, to pay homage and have dinner. We'll be sure to tell you all about it!
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Trash and Treasure
I was hoping that my next post would be about morel hunting. A morel is a wild mushroom that fruits for a couple of weeks in early spring. I have never found any, but Mark, Jacob’s brother, found a surprise patch of them last year. He shared his bounty, and we fried them up in butter and ate with gusto.
I wanted to wait to write until we found them, but we’ve been out nearly every day, and all we have found so far is trash, which we take out with us. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had so much fun traipsing through the woods with Jacob and Cloe, babies on our backs. We’ve seen some beautiful examples of spring wildflowers, and gorgeous moss. Before every hike I’m always sure that this is the one, but then it becomes evident by the dry ground, that we may not come away with a feast. So we have reassigned ourselves to trash hunting, and plant identification. It’s going very well.
So I figured I needed something to write about. What stories have I not shared? And I realized that I’ve never had time to sit and write my birth story for the twins. Now, it seems that it should be a pregnancy/birth/breastfeeding story. So while the mushrooms continue to hide, I’ll see how much I can remember of the past year.
We had been trying for a year to get pregnant, and I was starting to get a bit discouraged. I really wanted another baby, and wanted Cloe to have a brother or sister. I also wanted to have my chance at a home birth. I had Cloe with Nurse Midwives at Vanderbilt Hospital, and although I had her without an epidural, there were interventions that I did not necessarily want. Susie Meeks had been my educator and doula, and is also a CPM (Certified Practicing Midwife). She also is a close family friend, and I was so wanting to do a home birth with her attending.
Well New Years Eve of 2009 I got a hunch, and took a test. Behold the two lines! We had done it! I called Susie and soon we were planning to have the baby right here in our little house. Right away I got morning sickness. It hit me hard. We thought maybe I was having a boy and that was why. I think I even asked Susie if I could be having twins. It was too early to tell, so she just reassured me. When I closed my eyes, I saw 2 babies. That winter was really difficult for me. I started to feel isolated and very depressed. Luckily, as the spring brought my second trimester, I began to feel much better. I forgot my fears, and continued on as normal.
We had decided to have an ultrasound at 20 weeks to determine the sex. I was really curious to get a peek at our little one, and was never good at waiting for that kind of info. When we went into the office, I had no idea. They called us back and into the darkened room. I laid on the table and she put the goop on my belly, and then the paddle. Immediatly, she stopped.
”How much do you know about this pregnancy?”
Of course this freaked us out and we were afraid there was something wrong.
“Don’t worry, it’s normal.” She moved the paddle around some more.” What do you think the sex is?”
We told her we thought it was a boy.
“Well you’re right!"
We grinned at each other, and Jacob squeezed my hand. Then she said “And.....”
I sat straight up.
“AND?”
She smiled at me....
“and a girl.”
Four weeks later I was on bedrest, after having some pretty insistent contractions. Susie had reccomended we birth in a hospital, so she was now acting as doula once again. I was sad to not get the home birth I had envisioned, but was very happy about the twins, and felt much more comfortable with a hospital at this point. I trust Susie so much, and with her help, I knew it was all going to be okay. We decided on Maury Regional, a much smaller, more personal hospital than Vanderbilt, that also has a good NICU. Susie and my OB both assured me that a natural vaginal birth was completely possible, as long as at least the first baby was head down.
Bed rest was hard. I never thought that I would crave housework! Jacob did such a good job taking care of everything. We were able to get our friend Corri to come and help during the days, and take care of laundry and dishes and all of that. Cloe helped me pass the time by snuggling up with books and videos. Still it was so hard for me to just sit there and cook the babies, but that’s what I did.
Finally at 36 weeks, they gave me the go ahead. I figured I would go into labor right away, since we had wound up in the hospital again 2 weeks prior with more contractions. I had been taking Brethine to keep them at bay, I hated that. It made me feel like I just had 50 cups of coffee. I divided them up and tried half instead. When that seemed to keep them off, I tried a third of a pill. Thankfully, the smaller doses helped.
So, back to 36 weeks. I’m ready to get these things out! Ruby was head down, and Wyatt was transverse, up in my ribs. 36 weeks turned into 37. Dr Phillips, thankfully, wasn’t on the induction train, and just told me I was doing great, and the longer they stayed in, the better. 37 weeks turned into 38 weeks, and at my request, Susie got out her bag of tricks, and we went to work. I wont’ go into the grisly details, but it was, in my mind, better than a pitocin drip. I had pretty regular contractions on several occasions, but it seemed they would go for a while and then just peter out. At my 38 week appointment I thought the Doc would want to set a date for induction, as she had mentioned that she wouldn’t let me go past that mark, but she just examined me and told me “any day now...”
I had driven myself to the doctor that day. It was just easier than dragging poor Jacob along. Besides, it was just a quick visit anyway, right?
Well, as I was getting dressed after my exam, I came across a dilemma that most pregnant women will face at some point: How to tie my shoes? In a moment of determination, I lunged myself down and forward to reach those elusive shoestrings. Made it. Okay, one more now, and lunge, and....pop. Water everywhere.
Our house is a good 30 minutes from everywhere, including the doctor, so although I called Jacob immediately at home, I needed quicker transport over to the hospital. Luckily, my good friend Natasha was home just a few blocks away, and showed up with lightning speed to escort me. Susie was meeting us there.
I waddled up to the desk, towel wrapped around my waist, soaking wet. The nurses were very kind, and took me to a private room. The labor itself is kind of a blur now. I remember they let me just have a hep-lock, and didn’t make me hook up to an IV, which I appreciated. And the nurse was also a lactation consultant, and was really happy that I wanted a natural labor. I don’t think I heard the work epidural come out of her mouth even once. They were very supportive. Well somewhere in there Jacob arrived with Cloe, his mom came and got her, Natasha left, and my parents arrived, although my dad waited out in the lobby. The contractions ebbed and flowed, a sensation I hadn’t really felt with my pitocin augmented birth at Vandy. All the nurses said it wouldn’t be long though, I was progressing quickly.
Susie was there with me through every contraction, reminding me to relax, to let them build and work and stay. I reminded myself with every one that my body was being done no harm, that I was made to do this.
Transition hit me like a freight train, and I escaped to a watery, floaty place, where contractions came in wave after wave after wave. Before I knew it I was being wheeled to the OR where I had to delvier just in case they needed to get Wyatt out via c-section. This was the part where Susie had me doing the rhythmic breathing, in my mouth and out in short bursts.
When we got into the OR it felt like the pain was going to suck me up into the ceiling. I could have sworn that the hands of the nurses and my loved ones were holding me down from flyng up there.
Within 20 minutes I had pushed out Ruby. Wyatt turned like a pro, and after some hard work getting him engaged, he came out 10 minutes after that.
Two beautiful, healthy babies. On August 31, 2009, I gave birth to Ruby Jain 6 lbs 12 oz, and Wyatt Jacob 5 lbs 6 oz. I had labored for under 6 hours.
The euphoria soon followed...that feeling that I could do anything in the world! With the help of the lactation team and Susie and Jacob, both babies were breastfeeding when we left the hospital. I won’t lie, it was intense when we got home. Jacob had to get up with me for every feeding. I was feeding them both at once, and needed him to help me get them latched, at which he soon became an expert, and to be my “baby spotter”, which meant that I could hand off a baby that needed a burp, or was falling asleep and needed to be gently woken up with a diaper change. For the first few weeks, neither one of us got more than an hour and a half of sleep at a time. Talk about exhaustion. Had it not been for the endorphin train I was riding, I might not have made it. Haha.
I continued to nurse them exclusively for 3 months, and things did start to get better. In this time we moved temporarily into a house near my parents, one that they had lived in, and were now renting out. They were gracious enough to let us stay there for free. The kids adjusted well. It was really nice to be near family and friends.
At the 12 week mark, fussy time in the early evening became a real problem. They just never seemed to get full, no matter how much I let them cluster feed. I would nurse them every hour from 6pm until sometimes 1am. Finally, after weeks of frustration, we started adding a pumped bottle with a little formula mixed in around 7pm, so we could get some peace in those evening hours. It really helped.
I never thought that I would miss my house in the boonies. I think I had hoped that town would solve all of our problems, and I would feel more connected with people. But after a few months, I was ready to go home to my 2 bedroom, where I could keep track of everyone. I just wasn't made to have a big house. So we did, shortly after the New Year.
We set ourselves to resettling the place. We hauled out all the crap that had piled up in the corners and closets. We even got rid of our couch, because we needed the space in the living room, and it was rarely used for anything but a laundry hamper.
Right around the time they were reaching the 6 month mark, they started getting very difficult while nursing, and were less and less satisfied by what they were getting there. We tried some solid food, but all that did was keep them up all night with gas. Finally, I pulled out the formula, and started giving supplementary bottles. It worked. I hated that it worked, but boy, did it ever. So, after some thought, we made the decision to start the transition. I had found a very reasonably priced USDA certified organic formula at Kroger, and it did well with their systems. We started getting more and more nights of full sleep. I would still pump a couple of times a day and mix it in with the formula, and the babies would still nurse for comfort throughout the day, and if they woke in the middle of the night. It didn’t take long before I was getting less milk when I pumped. Eventually I got almost none, and this sent me into a guilt ridden tailspin. I resolved to start pumping more often, even looked into renting a hospital grade pump. But after a week, I could hardly find the time to pump enough to make anything significant. When I had called her at the beginning of the guilt spin, Susie had told me to give it a shot, but not to beat myself up if it didn’t work. So I followed her advise, and let it go.
Looking back, I am very proud of myself for breastfeeding two babies for 6 months. That’s a lot of nursing! Now they have stopped altogether, and I have gradually stopped my pumping. It’s strange to have my body back to myself again. I almost forget sometimes, that I can have that second cup of coffee, or a few beers without passing it along.
So here we are. Cloe will be 4 in just over a month, and is such a good big sister. She can make Ruby laugh just by looking at her. Both of them pay such close attention to her. They are in awe. And why shouldn’t they be?
We looked again today for mushrooms, and we did find one lonely morel, along with our usual take of garbage and wildflower pics. Whether there will be more of them to follow we aren’t sure. Even if we don’t find a huge cluster this year, it’s okay. It’s been a pretty big year, and there will be plenty of times in the future to hunt them, and have another feast. So for now I’ll content myself with hunting trash, and nature photography. If the morels find us, great. If not, no biggie, I’m just glad we have each other.
I wanted to wait to write until we found them, but we’ve been out nearly every day, and all we have found so far is trash, which we take out with us. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had so much fun traipsing through the woods with Jacob and Cloe, babies on our backs. We’ve seen some beautiful examples of spring wildflowers, and gorgeous moss. Before every hike I’m always sure that this is the one, but then it becomes evident by the dry ground, that we may not come away with a feast. So we have reassigned ourselves to trash hunting, and plant identification. It’s going very well. So I figured I needed something to write about. What stories have I not shared? And I realized that I’ve never had time to sit and write my birth story for the twins. Now, it seems that it should be a pregnancy/birth/breastfeeding story. So while the mushrooms continue to hide, I’ll see how much I can remember of the past year.
We had been trying for a year to get pregnant, and I was starting to get a bit discouraged. I really wanted another baby, and wanted Cloe to have a brother or sister. I also wanted to have my chance at a home birth. I had Cloe with Nurse Midwives at Vanderbilt Hospital, and although I had her without an epidural, there were interventions that I did not necessarily want. Susie Meeks had been my educator and doula, and is also a CPM (Certified Practicing Midwife). She also is a close family friend, and I was so wanting to do a home birth with her attending.
Well New Years Eve of 2009 I got a hunch, and took a test. Behold the two lines! We had done it! I called Susie and soon we were planning to have the baby right here in our little house. Right away I got morning sickness. It hit me hard. We thought maybe I was having a boy and that was why. I think I even asked Susie if I could be having twins. It was too early to tell, so she just reassured me. When I closed my eyes, I saw 2 babies. That winter was really difficult for me. I started to feel isolated and very depressed. Luckily, as the spring brought my second trimester, I began to feel much better. I forgot my fears, and continued on as normal.
We had decided to have an ultrasound at 20 weeks to determine the sex. I was really curious to get a peek at our little one, and was never good at waiting for that kind of info. When we went into the office, I had no idea. They called us back and into the darkened room. I laid on the table and she put the goop on my belly, and then the paddle. Immediatly, she stopped.
”How much do you know about this pregnancy?”
Of course this freaked us out and we were afraid there was something wrong.
“Don’t worry, it’s normal.” She moved the paddle around some more.” What do you think the sex is?”
We told her we thought it was a boy.
“Well you’re right!"
We grinned at each other, and Jacob squeezed my hand. Then she said “And.....”
I sat straight up.
“AND?”
She smiled at me....
Four weeks later I was on bedrest, after having some pretty insistent contractions. Susie had reccomended we birth in a hospital, so she was now acting as doula once again. I was sad to not get the home birth I had envisioned, but was very happy about the twins, and felt much more comfortable with a hospital at this point. I trust Susie so much, and with her help, I knew it was all going to be okay. We decided on Maury Regional, a much smaller, more personal hospital than Vanderbilt, that also has a good NICU. Susie and my OB both assured me that a natural vaginal birth was completely possible, as long as at least the first baby was head down.
Bed rest was hard. I never thought that I would crave housework! Jacob did such a good job taking care of everything. We were able to get our friend Corri to come and help during the days, and take care of laundry and dishes and all of that. Cloe helped me pass the time by snuggling up with books and videos. Still it was so hard for me to just sit there and cook the babies, but that’s what I did.
Finally at 36 weeks, they gave me the go ahead. I figured I would go into labor right away, since we had wound up in the hospital again 2 weeks prior with more contractions. I had been taking Brethine to keep them at bay, I hated that. It made me feel like I just had 50 cups of coffee. I divided them up and tried half instead. When that seemed to keep them off, I tried a third of a pill. Thankfully, the smaller doses helped.
I had driven myself to the doctor that day. It was just easier than dragging poor Jacob along. Besides, it was just a quick visit anyway, right?
Well, as I was getting dressed after my exam, I came across a dilemma that most pregnant women will face at some point: How to tie my shoes? In a moment of determination, I lunged myself down and forward to reach those elusive shoestrings. Made it. Okay, one more now, and lunge, and....pop. Water everywhere.
Our house is a good 30 minutes from everywhere, including the doctor, so although I called Jacob immediately at home, I needed quicker transport over to the hospital. Luckily, my good friend Natasha was home just a few blocks away, and showed up with lightning speed to escort me. Susie was meeting us there.
I waddled up to the desk, towel wrapped around my waist, soaking wet. The nurses were very kind, and took me to a private room. The labor itself is kind of a blur now. I remember they let me just have a hep-lock, and didn’t make me hook up to an IV, which I appreciated. And the nurse was also a lactation consultant, and was really happy that I wanted a natural labor. I don’t think I heard the work epidural come out of her mouth even once. They were very supportive. Well somewhere in there Jacob arrived with Cloe, his mom came and got her, Natasha left, and my parents arrived, although my dad waited out in the lobby. The contractions ebbed and flowed, a sensation I hadn’t really felt with my pitocin augmented birth at Vandy. All the nurses said it wouldn’t be long though, I was progressing quickly.
Susie was there with me through every contraction, reminding me to relax, to let them build and work and stay. I reminded myself with every one that my body was being done no harm, that I was made to do this.
Transition hit me like a freight train, and I escaped to a watery, floaty place, where contractions came in wave after wave after wave. Before I knew it I was being wheeled to the OR where I had to delvier just in case they needed to get Wyatt out via c-section. This was the part where Susie had me doing the rhythmic breathing, in my mouth and out in short bursts.
When we got into the OR it felt like the pain was going to suck me up into the ceiling. I could have sworn that the hands of the nurses and my loved ones were holding me down from flyng up there.
Within 20 minutes I had pushed out Ruby. Wyatt turned like a pro, and after some hard work getting him engaged, he came out 10 minutes after that.
Two beautiful, healthy babies. On August 31, 2009, I gave birth to Ruby Jain 6 lbs 12 oz, and Wyatt Jacob 5 lbs 6 oz. I had labored for under 6 hours.
The euphoria soon followed...that feeling that I could do anything in the world! With the help of the lactation team and Susie and Jacob, both babies were breastfeeding when we left the hospital. I won’t lie, it was intense when we got home. Jacob had to get up with me for every feeding. I was feeding them both at once, and needed him to help me get them latched, at which he soon became an expert, and to be my “baby spotter”, which meant that I could hand off a baby that needed a burp, or was falling asleep and needed to be gently woken up with a diaper change. For the first few weeks, neither one of us got more than an hour and a half of sleep at a time. Talk about exhaustion. Had it not been for the endorphin train I was riding, I might not have made it. Haha.
I continued to nurse them exclusively for 3 months, and things did start to get better. In this time we moved temporarily into a house near my parents, one that they had lived in, and were now renting out. They were gracious enough to let us stay there for free. The kids adjusted well. It was really nice to be near family and friends.
At the 12 week mark, fussy time in the early evening became a real problem. They just never seemed to get full, no matter how much I let them cluster feed. I would nurse them every hour from 6pm until sometimes 1am. Finally, after weeks of frustration, we started adding a pumped bottle with a little formula mixed in around 7pm, so we could get some peace in those evening hours. It really helped.
We set ourselves to resettling the place. We hauled out all the crap that had piled up in the corners and closets. We even got rid of our couch, because we needed the space in the living room, and it was rarely used for anything but a laundry hamper.
Right around the time they were reaching the 6 month mark, they started getting very difficult while nursing, and were less and less satisfied by what they were getting there. We tried some solid food, but all that did was keep them up all night with gas. Finally, I pulled out the formula, and started giving supplementary bottles. It worked. I hated that it worked, but boy, did it ever. So, after some thought, we made the decision to start the transition. I had found a very reasonably priced USDA certified organic formula at Kroger, and it did well with their systems. We started getting more and more nights of full sleep. I would still pump a couple of times a day and mix it in with the formula, and the babies would still nurse for comfort throughout the day, and if they woke in the middle of the night. It didn’t take long before I was getting less milk when I pumped. Eventually I got almost none, and this sent me into a guilt ridden tailspin. I resolved to start pumping more often, even looked into renting a hospital grade pump. But after a week, I could hardly find the time to pump enough to make anything significant. When I had called her at the beginning of the guilt spin, Susie had told me to give it a shot, but not to beat myself up if it didn’t work. So I followed her advise, and let it go.
So here we are. Cloe will be 4 in just over a month, and is such a good big sister. She can make Ruby laugh just by looking at her. Both of them pay such close attention to her. They are in awe. And why shouldn’t they be?
We looked again today for mushrooms, and we did find one lonely morel, along with our usual take of garbage and wildflower pics. Whether there will be more of them to follow we aren’t sure. Even if we don’t find a huge cluster this year, it’s okay. It’s been a pretty big year, and there will be plenty of times in the future to hunt them, and have another feast. So for now I’ll content myself with hunting trash, and nature photography. If the morels find us, great. If not, no biggie, I’m just glad we have each other.
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