For those thousands of eager readers out there wondering, Why is Diana so late with her April 2023 edition of "Books Lately"? - I wanted to check in with a quick family update. (Perhaps not "thousands" of readers. But I did want to check in with my faithful readers - all three of you!)
To make a long story short, we spent this spring battling morning sickness with a pregnancy that I was going to be announcing with my next blog post. However, just before I hit the "post" button, we began to see signs that something was going badly wrong, and the baby miscarried at the end of the first trimester.
Things then proceeded to get even more complicated the following week when I ended up being hospitalized for complications following the miscarriage.
Thus, with morning sickness, a week-long loss, a hospitalization, and now trying to work my way back to normal life (not to mention the craziness dealing with two surprise litters of kittens from our adopted strays!), life has been one crazy mess.
I will be posting my April "Books Lately" post soon, however. I will also - eventually, though not soon - post a birth story for our little one who didn't make it. Also, at some point, I will have a post to share about morning sickness research that I did during the pregnancy. None of it will be fast, but I'll get there sometime.
In the meantime, your prayers for our family are welcomed, and I will be praying for you all as well.
March was a most interesting month. Sometime soon I will tell you all about it! But for now, let's talk a few minutes about teenagers.
Ahem.
Parenting teenagers has been a most intriguing experience, and I won't say I've done a stellar job so far. It's been more like "muddling." We have experienced far more - both good and bad - than I ever expected, and it's been an adventure in prayer. It's also been an adventure in intense marital conversation, as my husband and I meet time after time to discuss, "Okay, what should we do about such-and-such?"
One challenging area (out of many!) has been dealing with the coming spectre of what-to-do-after-high-school.
For my parents and me - and, I think, my generation as a whole - it was easy. In fact, it was a conversation that didn't happen, because the question wasn't asked. The answer was college. There was never a question of IF I was attending college; it was simply a matter of choosing which college to attend. While I no longer accept that as the sacred cow that it once was, it did present a very simple pathway for the future.
Nowadays, it's not so easy. There are many more options, and college no longer has the rosy promises that it once had anyway - being that the market is saturated with college graduates, and many colleges (most?) have now turned into indoctrination camps. (Which is what my college was, too, though I was too naïve to realize it until years later.)
All that being the case, our current eldest teen has no interest in college anyway, so that question of "what next?" is a daunting one.
Have any of you out there dealt with this issue?
Parenting teens is not for the faint-of-heart. (Or rather, it will turn the faint-of-heart into warriors, because that's the only option for not dying in the process.) I am already waiting for the day when our teen is grown and married with teenage children of his own, so that I can sit back and say, "HA!" (Is planning retribution that far in advance wrong?)
And with that, let's move on to the books from this past month!
After the Natural Law: How the Classical Worldview Supports Our Modern Moral and Political Values (John Lawrence Hill) - Oh, boy - this was GOOD. Short summary: Beginning with Thomistic philosophy from Medieval ages, the author works through worldview philosophy (materialism, determinism, etc.) to the present day. This is a great primer for those looking to study historical philosophy, and also a great work to begin understanding our present chaotic position in the post-Christian West. Challenging reading, but extremely well-written and highly rewarding.
Lord of the World (Benson) - This book blew me away. Written in 1907, it is a fictional vision of the end of the world according to the Christian vision of the rise of the antichrist and world totalitarian government. The two main character sets are (1) a Catholic priest, and (2) the family of a man who eventually becomes a member of the antichrist's inner circle.
Being that the book was written well over a hundred years ago, it was interesting firstly to see what prophetic elements the author got right and wrong. For example, he rightly foresaw the decline of the Christian religion and the rise of both government control and secular humanism, as well as the widespread use of euthanasia, but did not foresee the breakdown of the family and the rise of the sexual revolution and critical theory. (In 1907, only the most prescient thinkers saw anything along those lines coming.) But this fellow was very clear-thinking, and he got a lot of things right.
This book was incredibly, incredibly dark - another surprise from a vintage book. I actually took the technique of speed-reading through parts of it to make it to the end of the book, as I was determined to finish it and find out the ending. Part of that is that is from my having spent considerable time stressing over is-this-the-end-of-the-world issues stemming from the COVID shut-downs over the past three years (government overreach and totalitarian control, population tracking, closed borders, vaccine passports, etc.), and so some of the material felt uncomfortably close to home.
My own introduction to end-times literature came in college, when I heard a mention of a certain popular rapture-based end-times book series. Having been raised in a liberal church that did not preach any end-times theology, I had never heard of eschatology in any form, and I devoured the series. While I appreciate that series, and the role it played in my spiritual growth, "Lord of the World" is much, much better. If you can take dark literature, I highly recommend this book. It's a winner.
Back to Virtue (Peter Kreeft) – I have heard Peter Kreeft called "this generation's C.S. Lewis," and I thoroughly concur in this view. Every one of his books that I have read has been a gem - and this book is no exception. In "Back to Virtue," Peter Kreeft writes in detail Christian virtue - both virtue as an ethical system in itself, and about particular virtues (and their respective vices). Highly recommended.
Symbol or Substance? A Dialogue on the Eucharist with C. S. Lewis, Billy Graham, and J.R.R. Tolkien (Peter Kreeft) - I have been doing a lot of reading on the Eucharist lately, and this book is a gem. Written as a fictional dialogue between three famous theological characters of the twentieth century, the book debates the three major views of the Eucharist, including J. R. R. Tolkien (Roman Catholic = transubstantiation), C. S. Lewis (Anglican = Real Presence), and Billy Graham (Baptist = memorialist). Many other related topics are also debated and discussed. Masterfully drawn, and a very enjoyable read.
And a few recipes...
Easy Fluffy Homemade Waffles - We enjoyed these very much! As a side note, I love Lindsay's videos, which are top-notch (most are about cakes and cake decorating), and her frosting tutorial is my go-to review video almost every time I make a birthday cake (which, with ten people around here, is pretty often).
Roasted White Sweet Potatoes - I was wondering what on earth to do with these queer-looking sweet potatoes, but after trying this recipe, I am in love. Try it - you'll love it.
Roasted Broccoli and Mushrooms - Farewell, steamed broccoli! It's been fun! (But not that fun.) Broccoli is sooo much better roasted, and the combination with mushrooms was delicious. I'm pretty much finding out that any vegetable is better off roasted than steamed. There were no leftovers.
Dairy-Free Cream Puff Filling - I used the filling part of the recipe from this site (not the puffs themselves, as I didn't have rice flour on hand). Oddly enough, it turned out well (I was expecting the cream to smell/taste nauseatingly of coconut, as most coconut-milk recipe products do, but it didn't. It was delicious!) This would make a lovely dairy-free vanilla pudding. (I reduced the sugar to 1/3 cup.)
As for the pies this month...
Um, they didn't happen. I think I've fallen off the bandwagon.
But anyway....
Happy Holy Week and Happy Easter, dear friends! I'll see you next month!
In between all that, we had a lot of fun with various things - Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent, a trip north to visit grandparents, and lots of work finishing up our family projects for Christmas. (Yes, really.) Those included the making of our Christmas eggnog (yes, in February), creating a Christmas wreath (we started this a year ago), and making clove oranges (this one took only ten minutes, phew!), all of which went surprisingly well. (Except for a snag with one of the clove oranges, which disappeared mysteriously when the toddler got into things. We couldn't figure out where the orange had gone, until it occurred to me that I'd been smelling an odd citrusy-clove smell whenever I ran the garbage disposal in the sink. Oops.)
Clove oranges, plus a spontaneous Christmas project by the 8yo.
And now, onto this month's books!
Books Lately, February 2023
Three Men in a Boat (Not to Mention the Dog) (Jerome K. Jerome) – I can't believe I've gone this far in life and not read this little gem of a book. So sweet, and so hilariously funny. I highly recommend nabbing a copy.
When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Movement (Ryan Anderson) – From one reviewer, "If you are at all concerned about this issue, and feel troubled and needs [sic] some clear insights and answers to your questions, this is the best place to start, and probably the only book you'll need to read." Great book.
The Cheese Trap: How Breaking a Surprising Addiction Will Help You Lose Weight, Gain Energy, and Get Healthy (Neil D. Barnard, MD) - Years ago, I decided to quit dairy cold turkey. Two things surprised me: (1) some unexpected health benefits, such as weight loss and the complete disappearance of my monthly ovulation pain, and (2) even more surprising, the fact that during the first two weeks of getting completely off of dairy, I actually went through what can only be termed withdrawal. (It was weird.) Ever since, I've been fascinated by the topic of dairy. This book is very informative. A couple of issues:
Nutritionists in the U.S. can basically be divided into two camps - the low-fat vegetarian camp (fruit, vegetables, and grains are good; meat and fats are bad), and the paleo camp (vegetables, good fats, and meat are good; grains and sugars are bad). The author is clearly in the first camp, and that set of assumptions is present throughout the book.
That being the case, the title of the book is a bit misleading. What the title and cover *say* are "give up cheese!" but what the author actually means is "give up cheese, all dairy products, and all animal products like meat and eggs!" Again, a bit misleading.
Lastly, while I appreciate the section on the inhumane treatment of dairy cows, I don't think that that material is pertinent to the question of whether or not dairy is healthy for humans. Farming practices can be changed for the better. The issue at hand is not ethics or good/bad farming practices, but whether dairy as a food product is inherently good or bad for human health.
The author does not mention the A1 vs. A2 milk protein debate, which I found disappointing. (Perhaps, as the author is a vegan, he considers the "are some milk proteins better than others" question to be a moot point.)
I should probably note that I'm not anti-dairy. I do think that what we modern humans have done to dairy has made it into a substance that causes health problems for many people. But if dairy is in its original state, I think it has amazing health benefits and is a valuable food source. I just don't think I'm ambitious enough to search out that kind of dairy (or pay for it!). However, this book is a good resource, and I'm planning to try some of the dairy-free cheese recipes. (Translation: Bring on the cashews!)
My Beloved: The Story of a Carmelite Nun (Catherine Thomas) - I have always been interested in the phenomenon of monastic life. While my favorite autobiographical account of monastic life is and remains The Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton, this one is a close second. The book is an autobiographical account of a woman's youth, her decision, in the 1920s, to be come a nun, and her life as a nun into the 1950s, when the book was penned. It is a fascinating historical account, and a beautiful spiritual memoir as well. Highly recommended.
Current Read-Alouds for Children
The Middle Moffat (Eleanor Estes, book #2 of 4 in the Moffats series) - I love the Moffats series. So slow-paced, so gently funny, so real to everyday life and the experiences of childhood. Also, a great book for giving children (and adults!) insight into American life in the early 1900s - coal stoves, handmade clothing, horsedrawn conveyance (giving way to automobiles, alas). This series - and other books by Estes - are a joy.
The Duchess Bakes a Cake (Virginia Kahl) - I ran across this picture book randomly, and loved it. Superbly funny, skillfully illustrated, and containing - what a change from most modern children's books! - really well-written poetic verse. I will definitely be looking out a copy for our own family library.
American Girl: Kirsten and American Girl: Molly (American Girl) - I enjoyed these series very much as a child, and my 8yo is now loving them. I have heard that some American Girl series are awesome, and some are not - if any readers know which are which, I'd love to know more. Leave me a comment!
Our Christmas wreath craft!
And now, a few recipes (maybe more than a few)
My Granny's Cocoa Cream Pie - After our 8yo lost the notebook where I keep my husband's family recipes, I had to come up with an alternate chocolate pie recipe. This one was great! My changes were the following: (1) I scalded the milk before adding to the other ingredients - this massively speeds up the cooking process. To make this work, I liquified the other ingredients with a few tablespoons of water. You could also just use part of the milk before you heat the milk. (2) I folded a few tablespoons of butter (actually, butter-flavored coconut oil, but I digress) into the final pudding for extra richness. My husband's grandmother used a full half cup of butter - you can't beat southerners for butter! - but I can't bring myself to add quite that much.
Old Fashioned Egg Nog - I used a half-teaspoon of cinnamon in place of the cinnamon sticks, and also reduced the sugar by one-third (and added a wee bit of stevia). I also followed one commenter's suggestion to reserve one cup and the cream to whip and then whisk in before serving, for extra body. The entire family loved it.
Sausage and Rice Casserole - Easy! Healthy! Fast! Yum. I doubled this and put it in a 10x15 pan - perfect for a larger family - and served with steamed carrots.
Corn Dip - This is so incredibly good. The jalapenos are optional, and my copy of this recipe didn't have green onions, so those are also optional. Additionally, I could only find larger can sizes for the corn, so I slightly upped the mayo and sour cream to concentrate. Mmmmmm.
Shoofly Pie - TakeThemaMeal.com is my favorite meal sign-up program, and their recipes are awesome too. Sign up for their mailing list, and you'll get lots of great and helpful articles and recipes in your inbox. This recipe was one of them! It turned out well, and the family - surprisingly, for Shoofly Pie is an unusual taste! - loved it.
Fluffy Vegan Banana Pancakes - What do you do when egg prices sky-rocket? You look for vegan pancake recipes! And while I am not a vegan, or a proponent of veganism, I have noticed that vegan baking recipes are often as good - or better! - than regular recipes. This one was delightful.
Chiles Rellenos Casserole - This was a favorite from childhood, the recipe to which I lost about twenty years ago. Then, last week, it suddenly struck me - "To the internet!" Thankfully, the recipe is still out there in cyberspace, and it is now back in my repertoire. Because I don't usually keep ground turkey on hand, I used ground beef. I doubled the recipe and put it in a 10x15 pan. Mmmmm.
Pioneer Woman Fruit Cake - My first fruitcake, and a roaring success it was. The family fought like rabid dogs over the crumbs. Because I don't care for a heavy taste of alcohol, I used a syrup with a hint of brandy (rather than straight brandy) for the moistener at the end. To quote from the review I left: "I soaked my fruit in a mixture of half brandy and half apple cider, and for moistening the cooked fruitcake I made a rich syrup (2/3 cup sugar, 1/3 cup water, made with water simmered with orange rind, for flavor) plus a tablespoon of brandy." Next year I will make even more fruitcakes! Many more!
Pies This Month
Week #1 - Chocolate Week #2 - Shoofly Week #3 - We blew it. Sick. No pie. Week #4 - Still sick, still blowing it. No pie.
That's all, folks! I'll see you in April, and have a happy Lent until then! (And Happy St. Patrick's Day!)
What do you do when you love to write, and still, years later, don't have the time?
Good question. I'm still working on an answer.
And yes, I have read Jennifer Fulwiler's excellent book, Your Blue Flame. I loved it.
But I still don't have time.
(I did try the whole "get up at 4:00 a.m. to write" thing. I lasted two days before I collapsed. Back to the drawing board.)
In the meantime, I did come up with the idea of posting my monthly reading log. I'll provide brief comments, and readers are welcome to chime in. I love to hear your thoughts.
A few ground rules:
(1) I will post books under the month in which I finish each book. Thus, if I started a book in 2017 and finished it in January 2023, under January 2023 it shall go.
(2) This is not a complete list. I will not be listing books that have to do with issues I feel are too personal to discuss publicly. Just an FYI, y'all.
(3) As always, discussion should stay at least relatively positive. Comments in the "You are an idiot, woman!" genre should generally remain unsaid. Also, know that books these days can be a mixed bag. My listing a book does not mean that I am giving a full thumbs-up to 100% of the book's content. Use discretion.
Our New Year's 2023 started with a gorgeous double rainbow...
... followed thirty minutes later by our FIRST-EVER hailstorm here in the valley! (We've lived here for twenty years!) Our children were so excited! This reminds me that perhaps I should make time for a family update sometime... perhaps soon!
Goodbye, Things: The New Japanese Minimalism (Fumio Sasaki) - Guess how long it took this chap to pack his apartment, drive his stuff to his new place, and unpack? (Drumroll....) Ninety minutes! Wow! The book is, obviously, extreme, but there are great minimalist lessons here.
The Deep Places: A Memoir of Illness and Discovery (Ross Douthat) - I picked up this book because I have greatly enjoyed Ross Douthat's previous works, such as Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics. I had no idea that this most current work was about Lyme disease. But now I know a lot about Lyme disease, and so will you after you read this book! (And I will never, never, ever go anywhere NEAR tick country. Ever.) Downsides include various dives into U.S. politics and Covid politics, but aside from those, the book is a gem - especially for anyone wanting to gain or share knowledge about life with chronic illness (Lyme disease or other).
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Re-reading this for the first time since high school. It's pretty good. If you love funny writing in this style, try P. G. Wodehouse. (Spoiler alert: Wodehouse is better. But this book is pretty funny too.)
Just Show Up: The Dance of Walking Through Suffering Together (Kara Tippetts and Jill Lynn Buteyn) – Written by a woman dying of cancer, and a friend who accompanied her on that journey. Good stuff. I hope that a later edition of the book will distill the main points into an appendix so that each reader doesn't have to go through the book making notes. One of my favorite parts was the bit about being gentle on oneself regarding one's hospitality style. Like the author (Jill), I am a "give me two weeks' notice" kind of woman when it comes to hospitality. Her encouragement to work with our styles rather than fret over our deficiencies was wonderful.
The Perfectly Imperfect Home: How to Decorate and Live Well (Deborah Needleman) - Lovely thoughts, lovely pictures. However, you still have to have some basic talent to work with. (I'm missing that part.) But I did pick up some good hints! (Such as, "Every room should have one antique." Okay, I can do that. Maybe.)
Current Read-Alouds for Children
The Bobbsey Twins of Lakeport (Laura Lee Hope) - I loved this series as a child, and my husband is now reading these to our children.
The Lighthouse Mystery (Boxcar Mystery series by Gertrude Chandler Warner) - Another much-loved childhood series.
Bonus! A few awesome new recipes from this month...
Caramel Popcorn - This is the kind of recipe that makes people act like ravaging beasts. Seriously.
Crockpot Mississippi Pot Roast - The best recipes are (1) healthy, (2) delicious, (3) fast. Usually, you can only net two points out of three for a given recipe. This is one of those recipes that garners all three points, and it is utterly amazing. Next time I will add baby carrots to the crockpot.
Almond Flour Chocolate Cake - Gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free. So good that no one knew it was healthy, and they still gobbled it up - and it was delicious. Only downside... it still has sugar in the form of honey, so not okay for people doing keto or low-carb. However, I have found that - goodness gracious! - there is a keto honey substitute out there! I bought some and am going to make the cake again for my dad.
Upon thinking about it for a few days...
I realize that I am actually using my "blue flame" - but only in the ways that directly bless my family, rather than personal ways (like writing). Specifically, I have been working on finding homemaking tasks, especially cooking-related, that speak to my deepest loves. One way that I am expanding my personal joys this year is in the baking of pies. I adore pie-making... but I never make them. This year, however, my husband and I have combined forces to make two never-happening things - pies, and family devotions - happen at last. Every Saturday, I make a pie. And we have a family devotion. The pie happens after the family devotion, and not otherwise. Motivation, y'all. In January, our pies were...
Pumpkin
Apple
Pecan
Lemon Icebox
Let's see if I can keep this one up!
Another homemaking love that I have pursued of late has been - drumroll, please! - fruitcake. Yes, seriously. I adore fruitcake, and have been *meaning* to make one for, um, decades now. This year, I finally made it happen. Oh, so delicious. Other cooking projects on the horizon are pierogi and pasties.
Have a great month, everyone! I hope to check in again in March!
I'm usually later than I ought to be with writing up our birth stories, but as baby is now comfortably past his first birthday, I may be pushing it a bit.
But hey, that's life with six children.
Baby nowadays.
Every birth brings new experiences. This birth was the labor with no warning. Normally, I know very well when labor is imminent. False labor, an upset stomach, etc. There's always something.
Not this time.
During our 39 week visit, being puzzled by this total lack of pre-labor symptoms, I asked our midwives if births ever occurred without warning beforehand. They emphatically said yes. One of our midwives said that it's totally possible to have zero pre-labor symptoms and then be holding a baby five hours later - which is exactly what happened. (As in, to the minute.)
At 5:00 p.m. on Friday, June 10th, I saw my wonderful chiropractor for a prenatal adjustment. She said that she didn't see any indicators that I was close to labor (which she is commonly able to feel during adjustments) , but hoped that the work she did would be able to move us closer to labor.
That evening, my mom (who was staying with us) asked, with a bit of impatience, if I shouldn't be out walking in order to get labor started. I replied with a grumpily emphatic, "Are you crazy? NO!" - never having liked labor enough to actually encourage it.
But...
At 12:05 a.m. that night, I awoke suddenly with a strong, no-nonsense contraction. No graceful intimations, no slowly-building-up sort of thing. Just awake, incredibly uncomfortable, and wondering what on earth was going on.
For the next three hours, I waffled uncomfortably about the bedroom, alternating between sitting on the toilet (uncomfortable!), walking around (uncomfortable!), or lying down (uncomfortable!) - thoroughly exhausted and sleepy the whole time, and wondering bitterly why my body couldn't kindly knock it off and let me get some sleep and then labor - if we had to - at a more sane and civilized hour, say, 10:00 a.m. or so, after coffee and a leisurely breakfast.
And, of course, I did my utmost to stay firmly in a state of denial that this could be the real thing. ("Maybe I'm not in labor! Maybe this is false labor! Yes, definitely false labor!")
Apparently, my body wasn't listening to me.(Shucks.)
At 3:00 a.m., my water broke. This broke through most of the last few layers of denial . I didn't quite let go of my dream of labor STOPPING FOR A WHILE and letting me SLEEP, but I also knew that with my water broken, I was - if I didn't go and wake my husband - now running a risk of being stuck by myself in a back room giving birth to a baby by myself. (You know, like what happened with baby #4.)
That being the case, I sighed and gave in to the inevitable.
I first borrowed my husband's phone and fooled around with it for a while until I figured out how to send a text, and then texted my midwife to let her know that my water had broken, but that we didn't need anyone yet. (Why do I always say this? Why?)
I then woke up my husband and told him that we might be in labor. (Or might not. In which case, we could stop this whole thing and I could go back to sleep. Did I mention that I don't do well being woken up for middle-of-the-night labor?)
He watched me labor through two contractions, and then heaved his usual why-is-my-wife-so-dense-during-labor sigh, and told me that the midwives needed to come over. Right away.
We texted the midwives around 3:30 a.m., and the three of them (one midwife, one senior student, one junior student) arrived between 4:00 and 4:30 a.m. Our midwife - who has attended two of our other births and is a dear friend - arrived first. She asked me how I was feeling, and I said, "Crummy!" We both chuckled.
As during our last labor, I found that I wanted to labor alone. So I set up a bath, the midwives turned off the lights, and they and my husband camped out in our bedroom while I labored in the tub. I can't say that it was wonderful - we are, after all, talking about childbirth - but it was a wonderfully supportive and positive environment. One of the midwives would come in every few minutes to check on baby and me, and then quietly slip out again. (Midwives are wonderful. Especially ours. I hope you, dear reader, have experienced as much love and support from your birth teams as I have from mine.)
At 5:00 a.m., pushing contractions hit, and baby was out in two or three contractions. (Translation: I pushed for something slightly short of eternity, which the rest of the world somehow experienced as a couple of minutes. Strange, that.) I remember having the disjointed feeling that pushing contractions felt somehow off - as in, not the sequence of sensations that I quite remembered from our other babies, and in having to push longer and harder. I may or may not be correct in that observation. However, I did tear during the birth, something that hasn't happened since a minor tear during my labor with our first. (It healed well, with no complications.)
Aside from that, baby was fine, healthy, and weighed in at 9 pounds, 2 ounces - our second-biggest baby. We named him after a beloved family friend who died of cancer about a month before baby began his life, and our little guy is a joyful reminder of that friend.
We had managed to conduct our labor so quietly that the rest of the household - five children and my parents - had slept through the entire thing. The midwives were heading out as the household awoke, so the children and my parents quite literally woke up to find me sitting up in bed and holding our newest. In hindsight, it was a nice change from the never-ending questions and interactions that a troupe of young children can bring to labor, so I was - in the end - quite happy that our labor happened during the wee hours, despite my endless whining. (God knew what he was doing. Fancy that.)
I believe that all of the work I did before labor to prepare for labor and birth really, really helped. I can feel the difference, both mentally and physically, when I put in the work to prepare. You can see my list of pre-birth preparation tips here.
Is baby #6 our last?
We do not know. I am now (at baby's first birthday) at age 41, so my fertile years are numbered. However, I have known women who had babies up until age 50, so we may or may not be at the end of our childbearing years. Either way, we are committed to accepting joyfully any children that God sends to us. We didn't start with this attitude, but we have embraced it for the past ten years, and it has been a blessing.
So time will tell.
My dear readers, I regret that I do not have the time to blog more regularly at present. I would like to check in more often, and perhaps I will be able to. (While stopping in to write this birth story, I did at least take the opportunity clean up my link lists, so that visitors can now have an updated list of resources and websites.) In the meantime, life with six children keeps me busy-busy-BUSY. But always feel free to teach out to me via email! I love to keep in touch with those of you who have the ability to do so!
I wish and pray for you all a wonderful rest of 2022!
Our latest family picture, though one child managed to escape the camera. In the background - our new home, after a completely sudden and unexpected mid-year move. This has been quite the year. Some day I'll tell y'all about it.
For my tenth birthday, my mom bought me my first two Agatha Christie novels. While the rest of my classmates celebrated the end of school for the year (I have a June birthday), I sat at my desk devouring "Death Among the Pigeons," and then, after school let out, "Murder is Easy."
I've been a voracious Christie fan ever since.
I have an almost-complete collection of Christie's works, and I read through it at least once or twice a year. I have read nearly every book of hers at least twenty times, and most, I would say, a minimum of fifty times. Some probably approach one to two hundred times. I also list Christie's autobiography, "An Autobiography" as one of the most influential books of my life.
I recently decided to list out my favorite Christie novels, and I wanted to share this list with you all! With the help of this website, I have listed them out by main sleuth. (Please remember that most Christie novels have two titles - one title in the UK and one in the U.S. I have listed only one title per book in the list below.) Here goes:
Hercule Poirot:
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
Murder on the Orient Express
Three Act Tragedy
Dumb Witness
Death on the Nile
Sad Cypress
Evil Under the Sun
Five Little Pigs
After the Funeral
Cat Among the Pigeons
Miss Marple:
Sleeping Murder
A Murder Is Announced
4.50 from Paddington aka What Mrs McGillicuddy Saw.
The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side
Tommy & Tuppence:
N or M?
Superintendent Battle:
The Secret of Chimneys
The Seven Dials Mystery
Murder Is Easy
Towards Zero
Colonel Race:
Sparkling Cyanide
Mystery Novels:
And Then There Were None
Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?
Crooked House
Destination Unknown
Non-Fiction:
Come, Tell Me How You Live
An Autobiography
Any Christie fans out there, I would love to compare notes. Which are your favorites? Which would you include (or not include) in your personal list of favorites, and why?
Right around week 20 of pregnancy, the realization hits:
Oh, no. It's coming.
That something, of course, is childbirth. The thought of labor scares me, every time, and it's something that I have to deal with, every time.
Thus, over the years I've compiled many techniques of childbirth preparation - and I wanted to share them with you!
Let's get started.
I. Preparation Itself
I have found it interesting that for me, preparation is helpful in and of itself, regardless of whether it works. It helps me to feel prepared, and to feel more confident and less fearful - and that is a better way to go into labor.
II. Childbirth Classes
I'm hugely in favor of childbirth classes, especially for first-time mamas. When I was pregnant for the first time, we made an unwise choice regarding childbirth education, and I paid for that mistake. If I were to make that choice again, I would choose a class that was...
(a) As long as possible: More classes mean more information and a better chance of retaining that information. Additionally, a longer-running class also helps in the formation of lasting friendships with classmates, which is a precious treasure when it happens.
(b) Balanced: Neither on the "here are the drugs we will give you" side nor on the "childbirth is like a dance with the rainbow unicorns" side.
(c) Information-heavy: Some classes tend to take an "ignorance is bliss" approach, but I prefer to have as much knowledge as possible. Personal preference.
III. Birth Doulas
We have had a doula at four of our births, and they are a wonderful blessing. They fetch supplies, calm anxious papas (and mamas!), make helpful suggestions, and make the birth process much more pleasant.
I am now at a place where I no longer desire a doula for my births, but for our first four births, a doula's help was essential. At one birth I even had two doulas! They are a wonderful asset for birthing families.
IV. Supplements & Super-foods
I have found that nutrition is incredibly important for me - both in real foods and in supplements. I do my best to avoid sugar and processed foods, and we eat as organically as we can afford.
I am listing below the supplements I take, along with links to the brands I use - but please know that there are many, many excellent brands out there. I provide mine only for the purpose of illustration. Ditto with the dosages, where mentioned - these are my best guesses, but goodness only knows what the ideal dosages are. Check with your midwife to find out!
Magnesium (800 mg/day) - If attempting this dosage, build up to it gradually or you may experience stomach upset! A lower dosage of 400 mg is also workable.
Vitamin B complex - Only if my multivitamin doesn't have enough. Mine does, so I've skipped this one this time.
Coconut Oil - used in the diet, rather than taken as a supplement. I also eliminate all bad oils (soy, corn, canola, etc.) and use other healthy fats such as butter, olive oil, and avocado oil.
Desiccated Liver Pills - This is normally part of my protocol, but the site from which I buy this was out of stock for the whole last half of my pregnancy (and still is, I see). There are other sources out there, however, and another option is just to eat grass-fed liver, cooked or raw.
Alfalfa Pills - These are to assist with raising vitamin K levels, which help with blood clotting and the prevention of postpartum bleeding - especially important since we do not use the infant vitamin K shot. Additionally, I eat a huge salad of dark leafy greens every day to ensure that my levels are as high as they can be (that is, as soon as pregnancy nausea lets up enough to let me!).
Dates (6 per day) - Dates have been shown to have incredible benefits for laboring mamas. I start the six-per-day protocol as soon as the third trimester rolls around.
Liquid Calcium-Magnesium – I use this for the third trimester and the postpartum. Because these products are so pleasant to take, I use it as my "reward" for getting through the fish oil dosage!
Red Raspberry Leaf - This one is also going to get its own section too - see below!
V. Vitamin C
In June, my mom gave me a fascinating article from the June edition of the Townsend Letter (a naturopathic medical journal) titled "Vitamin C Pioneer Frederick R. Keller, MD, An Historic Interview." Unfortunately I cannot link to the article or quote from it, as it is subscription-based and copyrighted, but you can buy the whole issue here.
To summarize, however, the article discuses one doctor's use of vitamin C mega-dosing in his pregnant mama clients, and how so doing resulted in astronomically improved levels of infant health, maternal health, and ease, health, and speed of labor. (The benefits the doctor mentions include reduced labor pain, reduced labor time and easier births, reduced stretch marks, less hemorrhaging, fewer miscarriages, and stronger and healthier babies.)The specific dosage mentioned is 4g per day in the first trimester, 6g per day in the second trimester, and 10g per day in the third trimester.
I wanted very much to try this, and started immediately. Unfortunately, I read the article only 36 hours before we went into labor, so I don't think it did much, if any, good. (Though I was already taking 4g per day.) Should we be blessed with another baby, I will be using this protocol without fail.
Here is another mama using high vitamin C dosing for pregnancy and birth health:
VI. Red Raspberry Leaf
Red raspberry leaf is an herb used universally in pregnancy for a variety of uses - everything from morning sickness relief to promoting easy labor. (Read all about it here.) I can't use it for morning sickness because I can't get near the stuff while pregnancy sickness rages, but I do drink it liberally during the third trimester (about a quart per day) and I use the "labor day" strength recipe when I can. (I didn't manage it this time, but I did last time). Here are directions!
How to make a gallon of raspberry leaf (regular strength):
Use 3/4 – 1 cup of RL herb per gallon of boiling water.
Add 1 rounded tsp. of dried stevia leaves for sweetener (optional).
Pour it all into a gallon glass jar, cover it, and leave it overnight.
Strain it in the morning and drink it over several days.
Labor Day Tea Recipe
1 1/2 cups of loose red raspberry leaf tea (or 24 tea bags! Yes, it’s a strong brew)
4 cups of filtered water
Put 1 1/2 cups of loose RRL tea in a pot on the stove.
Add 4 cups of filtered water.
Let the tea come to a boil and then reduce heat. Simmer 20-30 minutes.
Add natural sweetener if so desired. Strain and sip throughout day.
VII. Exercises
Months of being bed-ridden with pregnancy nausea usually leave me a weak, shaky mess. I do both childbirth-prep exercises, and get-back-to-functionality exercises.
Get-back-to-functionality Exercises:
(a) Plies (squats)
(b) Relevee (rises)
(c) Other ballet exercises (whatever comes to mind)
(d) Front and back push-ups, done against a countertop to make them easier (rather than the real type against the ground!)
(d) Stretching (but not too much, because relaxin hormone makes it easy to self-injure during stretching)
Childbirth-Prep Exercises
(a) Cat-backs (40 each) - Arching and then lowering the back while on hands and knees.
(b) Butterflies (16 each) - Sitting with heels pulled in, alternately lifting and lowering the knees while providing resistance with the hands.
(c) Squatting - That is, just sitting in a squat for as long as possible (at least a couple of minutes). This is hard (for Westerners like me!) but gets easier with time.
(d) Kegels (40 each) - These are supposed to be done by the hundreds every day, but as I loathe this exercise, I do 40 and call it a day.
(e) Walking - every evening that I can manage it.
(f) Sitting up straight or forward-leaning (rather than reclining or slouching) as often as possible. This is incredibly important in encouraging baby to stay in an anterior position rather than swinging back to posterior!
(g) The forward leaning inversion, seen at 5:00 in this video:
(This is a great channel - I recommend it!)
VIII. Mental Preparation
When I spoke with our midwife about my recurring fear of birth, she advised me to work on mental preparation as well as physical preparation. This was extremely good advice.
(a) Affirmations - I usually steer clear of affirmations, because they simply are not my style. When I hear "I am visualizing how this birth is going to go" affirmations, the logical side of my brain immediately rebels. I instead like affirmations that direct my attitude, which I can control. Examples:
I cannot wait to go into labor.
I will welcome labor with joy and ecstasy.
These didn't eliminate fear, but they did help.
(b) Bible Verse Memorization - I meditated on and memorized Bible verses that pertained to trusting the Lord, and also to having courage in adversity. There are hundreds of verses that you can use - here are mine:
Joshua 1:9 “Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.”
Psalm 46:1-3 “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.”
Psalm 121
I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.
He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.
The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.
Isaiah 26:3-4: Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength"
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”
Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
IX. Breathing
For my first four births, I did not have any prescribed method of breathing during contractions. This was not a good thing. Having a definitely breathing method during our last two births has been an incredible blessing, one of the most important coping mechanisms that I have found.
The method that I used can be summarized as follows:
(a) For early labor: In through the nose for a slow (silent) count of four, then out through the mouth for a slow (silent) count of six.
(b) When this stops being effective, move to the next level: Two quick breaths in through the mouth (using an "ee ee" sound) and two longer breaths out through the mouth (using an "hoo hoo" sound).
(c) For pushing: Either the "J breath" (see first video below) or the "balloon breath" (see second video below). I must be honest - though I practiced both of these pushing breaths, when it came to actual pushing, I didn't manage to use either. But I did remember one rule that I learned - that any type of breathing can be useful as long as the exhale is longer than the inhale. So even though I was using more of an "in-out-in-out" breath, it still did the job.
Check out these videos, both of which are very helpful!
X. Preparing the Labor Space
(a) Preparing my labor room(s): I know where I will want to labor (my bedroom and/or bathroom), so I do my best to prepare my space to be as comfortable as possible. For me, this means keeping my labor space clean and decluttered, and keeping my bags of labor supplies at the ready. Other mamas want to stock up on things like candles and essential oils.
(b) Choose the lighting level: I, like many mums, prefer low light or actual darkness for laboring.
(c) Posting verses and affirmations: I posted my Bible verses on the side of the tub, and then completely forgot to look at them - however, it helped me to feel prepared in the days that led up to our birth! Again, anything that helps me to feel prepared is inherently empowering, even if I don't use it in the moment. And speaking of other things I forgot to use...
(c) Playlists: Many mums love to have a playlist of their favorite songs to listen to during labor. This time around, I put a vast amount of time into preparing a labor playlist. I found that, personally, I wanted songs that were slower-than-slow, which made things interesting (a lot of the slower-than-slow songs I picked were still too fast for my preference). And when I went into labor, I didn't want the songs at all - I just wanted silence. But again, many moms really love their playlists. Another option is purchasing Hypnobabies sound tracks, which I used in one labor and loved.
Here is my labor playlist! You will see that my spiritual home is with sacred Renaissance polyphony. This list also includes my favorite song of all time. See my labor playlist here!
XI. Remembering the Postpartum
(a) Afterpains prevention
I had insane afterpains with my first baby. After that, I wised up and got serious about afterpain prevention. The end result has been that my afterpains have gotten better with each birth, rather than worse (as is usually expected with repeat mamas).
Before pregnancy: I focus on micronutrient-dense foods, and good supplements (especially magnesium).
During pregnancy: I focus on micronutrient-dense foods (including dates!), and good supplements (including magnesium and a Calcium-Magnesium liquid supplement).
Immediately after birth: Ibuprofen (800 mg, repeated at six-hour intervals while needed), afterpains tincture (ask your midwife! - repeated as often as needed), a placenta smoothie (placenta, yogurt, orange juice, frozen berries - repeat daily), and continued use of the Ca-Mg liquid.
(b) Keeping up with diet and supplements
It's so important during the postpartum to eat good food (I do my best to accept all offers!), take my supplements, and keep a tall glass of water near me at all times. The postpartum is intense, both emotionally and physically, and it doesn't take much to turn my postpartum self into an emotional wreck. With that in mind....
(c) Guarding the postpartum space
Everything I have to say on this point can be found at this wonderful post. Enjoy!
And there you have it! If any readers have any great tips for preparing for childbirth, please do share them in the comments - I'd love to hear them!
