It Happened One Saturday...

This fall, the question came up of whether or not to attend DH's family reunion in California. The answer was pretty easy to find (based on various circumstances) = nope, we're not going to make it this year.

Then, the day before the reunion, everything got a bit crazy. It looked something like this:

DH at 8:00 a.m. - "Hmm. Maybe I should have made that reunion after all. I'll see if the 8yo and I could possibly hitch a ride with my parents.

DH at 8:15 a.m. - "Yup, we're good to go. But on second thought, I think we all really ought to go. Let's get packing!"

Thus, two (okay, three) hours later, we were all packed into the car and headed for California. How's that for snappy packing?

Our trip was super-short - in Saturday evening, out Monday morning. It was super-fast and gave us time to attend the reunion, but not much else. The only additional thing we made time for was driving by my grandmother's old house, but her house is located - charmingly! - in one of the worst areas of one of the worst cities in Southern California. Not only were we not able to take pictures, we couldn't even stop driving for a brief moment to look. It was just too dangerous - at 10:00 a.m. on a Sunday morning, no less. So much for romantic memories of Grandma's place!

On the way back, we made time - of course! - for a quick stop at Hadley's, without which a trip to California is never complete. I dared to take a bite (or two) of their famous date shake (mmmm), but no more - I didn't want to pay for the sugar in how I'd feel the next day!

I actually learned some really valuable, permanent, life-changing lessons on this trip, and I'd love to share them with you. Unfortunately, they are on a subject that is strictly non-bloggable, so you all will just have to benefit from my experience by osmosis. Sound good?

The boys had a marvelous time - not only did they get to spend time with Grandma and Grandpa and their favorite (and only!) auntie, but they got to spend massive amounts of time swimming. Surprisingly for Phoenicians, we almost never go swimming, so they were in heaven.

Let's just call that vacation, because that's the closest thing we're going to get this year!

"How Has Having Hyperemesis Gravidarum Changed Your Life?"

Yes, that is the question!

And this question is answered by numerous women on the latest podcast over at at "Preventing HG Before Pregnancy." Hop on over and check it out!

I am honored to be one of the guests on this show, and I really enjoyed thinking about this question. Really, I could go on and on about how HG has changed my life, and it's a great question for HG mothers to contemplate. I really enjoyed hearing the reflections of my fellow HG mamas.

If you haven't subscribed to Preventing HG Before Pregnancy yet, please do so! Rachel has tons of awesome information there about hyperemesis and hyperemesis prevention (check her sidebar for the free download "4 Things You Can Do Today to Prevent Hyperemesis Gravidarum"!). You can also join the Facebook group Preventing Hyperemesis Gravidarum for more information and great discussions about preventing HG.

Happy Thursday, everyone!

You Know You're a Minimalist When...

Over the past few years, I have come to realize that I am an instinctual minimalist. Clutter in my house makes me miserable, empty space makes me happy, and getting rid of stuff (the more, the better!) makes me absolutely giddy with joy.

Thus, without further ado, here is my "minimalism list"! Yes, all of these are true of me.

You know you're a minimalist when...

(1) You get antsy if more than a month goes by without dropping off a box or two of donations at Goodwill. And furthermore...

(2) The people at the Goodwill drop-off site know you by name!

(3) Your friend tells you, "I know you're okay as long as I see you posting things to give away on Freecycle."

(4) You meet someone at your mommy support group, and she says, "Wait! I know you! Aren't you that lady who's always giving away things on Freecycle?"

(5) You (almost always) love it when your children break something, because it gives you a beautiful excuse to get rid of something without having to feel guilty about it.

(6) You dream of owning a smaller house.

(7) You fantasize about going west in a covered wagon because it would be such a wonderful excuse for leaving practically every possession behind (without the family getting mad at you).

(8) Your primary response to stress is to dive into the nearest closet and start throwing things out.

(9) When you find an unidentified object in your house, your question is not "What is it?" but "Can I throw it out?"

(10) When your husband says "Hey, do you want to do something fun tonight?" you respond, "Yes! Let's clean out the closets and get rid of a bunch of stuff!"

(11) Your family thinks that you are certifiably crazy, especially after you tell them, "Please don't leave me anything in your will."

(12) When your children are driving you crazy, you lock yourself in the bathroom and outline a blog post on minimalism.

As a matter of fact, you'd never recognize my minimalist tendencies just by looking at our house. We have waayyy too much stuff. (Although, as I mentioned a few weeks back, my children are actually helping me to obtain my longterm minimalist goals.) But it's a fun obsession, and I really enjoy the thrill of "What can I get rid of next?"

Any fellow minimalists out there? What would you add to this list?

Hyperemesis Gravidarum: Problems That Continue After Birth

The common thought about hyperemesis (severe nausea and vomiting of pregnancy) is that regardless of severity, all problems will vanish (at the latest) at the birth of the baby. Then voila, all systems are go and mama is back to full health .

However, in observing many Facebook conversations among post-hyperemetic mothers, it is easy to see that this is not the case. Complications from hyperemesis can easily continue for months or years after baby's birth, and it seems that it is common for HG mothers to experience various problems for the long-term.

What are the possible post-birth problems following a hyperemetic pregnancy?

Firstly, there is the rare form of hyperemesis that continues full-force after baby's birth. Thankfully, this is extremely rare. I have only heard personally of two cases (one I know personally, one by hearsay). Unfortunately, there is no knowledge of this in the medical literature.

More commonly, post-pregnancy complications involve any of the following:

• Long-term fatigue and exhaustion
• Long-term nutritional deficiencies
• HG injuries such as damaged teeth or Mallory-Weiss tears
• Gut health problems
• Postpartum nausea, which may peak at various times during a woman's cycle (often at ovulation and pre-menses)

(I am not including psychological issues like flashbacks and post-traumatic stress disorder, but those, if anything, are even more common than physical complications.)

With my first pregnancy (my pregnancy with uncontrolled HG), I experienced a lot of long-term fatigue after baby's birth. It was not until baby was something like 15 months old that I finally felt better. HG was the most grueling experience of my life, and it left me spent and exhausted. It took a long time to heal from how badly beat up I felt after that pregnancy. 

But my most pressing problem, with each pregnancy (with either active HG or controlled HG) was postpartum residual nausea. I have dealt now with this problem for many years. 

For me, the nausea was not tied to my cycle or to various times of the month. It was simply ever-present in short waves of seconds (perhaps minutes) that came and went all day, every day. 

At first, right after baby's birth, it was somewhat more severe. I cannot tell you how much money I wasted on pregnancy tests, absolutely sure that the nausea meant I was expecting. I lived in a state of "I must be pregnant" for many, many months. 

The nausea gradually subsided over time, but it took a good 18-24 months for most of it to vanish. And the same postpartum nausea occurred with each subsequent pregnancy (three in all). 

I should perhaps mention that before my HG experience, I had never dealt with nausea in any form (barring stomach bugs, etc.). This was not typical of my pre-pregnancy existence at all.

I took the time to consult several OB's about this issue of postpartum residual nausea. Each time, I got the same answer - complete silence and a distinct "deer in the headlights" look, followed by a how-quickly-can-I-change-the-subject response. Not one of them had anything to say about this condition, nor did any of them even seem to know about its existence. The take-away lesson was, as with many health issues - you're on your own. Modern medical science often can't to help you - so be prepared to research and experiment on your own with post-HG postpartum symptoms. 

Thankfully, by the grace of God, I learned several things that helped me to eliminate postpartum nausea, and I want to end this post by sharing them with you!

Here are the three stages of my journey through dealing with post-HG postpartum nausea:

Step #1: I started the very low carb (VLC) diet while preparing for a subsequent pregnancy. 
Result: The nausea got much, much worse.

This really scared me. I was starting a diet to prevent HG, and it was making my already-present postpartum nausea worse? How could this possibly help?

Thankfully, some internet searches quickly gave me the scoop on what was going on. In my attempts to begin the very low carb diet, I had unintentionally made the diet very low carb AND low-fat. This was a major mistake. Do not attempt a diet that is both low-carb and low-fat. In doing so, I made myself very sick! A VLC diet must also be high-fat to be healthy and successful.

However, having been raised in the eighties and nineties, I had grown up well-brainwashed with the "fat is evil" mindset, and I was still unintentionally cooking that way.

Step #2: I added the high-fat component to the VLC diet. 
Result: Success!

To jettison the habits of 30 years took some real work, and I had to work on cooking high-fat intentionally. This meant lots of avocados, lots of cheese and cream, lots of butter and peanut butter.

Within several hours of adopting the new high-fat component, I felt better! Not only was the over-and-above nausea gone, but about 90% of my postpartum nausea vanished - just like that.

Additionally, I felt great. I am now a huge proponent of the low-carb high-fat diet and have experienced many awesome health benefits from it. If you're still nervous about this, check out this wonderful book - "The Big Fat Surprise: Why Butter, Meat, and Cheese Belong in a Healthy Diet." This is the best book on food history that I have had the pleasure to read, and it was a distinct learning experience.

Step #3: Fermented Foods
Result: Complete Success!

However, there was still that tiny, nagging 10% of residual nausea still sticking around. Ugh! However, I was happy with how far I'd come, and I didn't have any more ideas. I was okay with where I was.

Then, about a year ago, something amazing happened. A friend of mine found the answer to her repeat-hyperemesis in an H. pylori treatment protocol. Wow! I was so excited!

The biggest part of my friend's treatment plan was the addition of large amounts of raw, lacto-fermented foods to her diet (almost all of which are completely missing from the standard American diet). These include (among hundreds of possibilities):

• Raw fermented pickles (NOT typical storebought pickles)
• Raw fermented sauerkraut (NOT typical storebought sauerkraut)
• Plain, full-fat yogurt
• Plain, full-fat kefir
• Non-pasteurized kombucha 
• Lacto-fermented vegetables (kimchi, lacto-fermented salsa, etc.)

Almost immediately upon adding lacto-fermented foods to my diet, that last nagging 10% of my postpartum nausea vanished. 

*Large celebration!*

Thus, I had found my answer - not through medication, but by simple dietary changes that had been within my power (but not my knowledge) for years. 

I hope that these steps will help some of you dealing with similar challenges. For those of you with other post-HG symptoms (or other health problems), I encourage you not to give up! Oftentimes the answers really are out there, and oftentimes they can be found through diet and supplements. But you will have to do the hard work of research and experimentation on your own, as most modern doctors simply are not trained that way. 

I would love to hear about your story. Have you suffered from post-HG postpartum complications or symptoms? Have you found anything that helped? Please take a few minutes to let me know!

Much love, dear friends. 

Week 32 Pregnancy Update

I had good intentions, everyone - really! I meant to start doing pregnancy updates every two weeks... but time has slipped away. At this point I'll be lucky to keep up with my monthly updates!

Keeping in line with my previous posts, I'll divide this update into "pregnancy health" and "what's going on around here" sections. Let's dive in!

Pregnancy Health Update

Pregnancy

We are now doing prenatal appointments with our beloved midwife every two weeks! Baby and I both look great according to all standard measurements (BP, FH, FHT, etc.). There has been absolutely no deviation from standard measurements, which is just a little crazy. Not that we're complaining!

For those keeping track of our journey, ketones are now trace only (somewhere between zero and +1).

Energy Levels

Unfortunately, my energy levels are fading quickly - standard for third trimester. I have never made it back up to "normal" during a pregnancy, and it doesn't look like it's going to happen this time either! I am working diligently on my Before-Baby To-Do List, but it looks like several items (namely the cooking ahead for six weeks bit) are going to get the axe - as usual!

Nausea

Nausea is still ever-present, anywhere from "comfortable" to "ick!" It depends on the time of day and what I've eaten. I have had chance-after-chance-after-chance-after-chance to see that carbohydrates are truly evil during pregnancy (further proof that what we're doing is working!). Whenever I overindulge, the next day is simply awful. Week 29 was particularly rough after indulging in a couple of days of evening carrot cake. Delicious, but oh, the after-effects!

I think we've actually gone slightly backwards with nausea, but that is typical during the third trimester. It happened last time. Thankfully it's not a huge regression.

For the record, I am now allowing myself more carbs than the strict VLC allows. I'm doing some low-carb (but not very-low-carb) foods like cottage cheese, as well as small amounts of fruit and beans. I'm avoiding grains and straight sugars completely. I wish I could say that having small amounts of carbs was easier than the strict diet I've been on for two years, but actually... it's not. It's harder. Really, it's like telling a cocaine addict that he can have "just a little" bit of cocaine. Truly, abstinence is better than reawakening those carb cravings.

Good News!

Week 32 is always a wonderful landmark because it means that we now have our choice of transport hospital! Our favorite local hospital can only take mamas and babies that have made it to 32 weeks or later, so it's always a big relief to know that, if needed, we can head to the hospital where we feel comfortable rather than one of the alternatives.


Pregnancy What's-Going-On-Around-Here Update

Random Pregnancy Stuff

We... still... don't... have... baby... names. My goodness - this is taking forever! If we don't get on it soon, it'll be more along the lines of, "The baby's here! Quick, somebody open the baby name book and point randomly!"

In better news, I am thrilled to say that my skills of fetal palpation are finally showing some signs of improvement! Till now I've been absolutely hopeless, but now I am getting better and better at determining baby's position. Baby is still quite the flipper - he alternates between LOA, ROA, and transverse - many times a day!


Other News...

We celebrated our little guy's fifth birthday and survived the Great Phoenix Flood of 2014 - all in one week!

Flood Day! 

Birthday Cake! 

Field Trips, School Stuff, Etc.!

It's time for homeschool field trips to start in earnest! One of the beauties of doing school over the summer is that we get a really good start on academics without having to bother with all of the logistics of field trips. Now that we're well-established in our school schedule and routines, the rest of the world is starting school... and thus it's time for field trip season to start! We will average one to two field trips per week for the rest of the season (until whenever baby puts in an appearance!).

Our first official field trip of the years was a chance to visit a bat tunnel in Phoenix. It wasn't a huge success (too much heat, too few bats!), but we all had fun anyway.

I'm finally feeling well enough to get back into fun-kid-project stuff! Here are a few of our latest projects - homemade GAK, homemade playdough, and oven-s'mores.

Homemade playdough - one of my favorites! 

Oven s'mores - easy and fast! 

Homemade GAK and playdough (looking worse for wear after all of the colors have been mixed by little hands!). 

I finally spent my birthday money! Yes! Target, how I love thee!! One dust-buster, a set of baby-proof doorknobs, a duster, a crib mattress-cover, and of course... plastic storage boxes. Mmm. The rest of my money is being saved to buy fruit trees this coming February!

In other cheering news, I'm finally feeling well enough to get back to some of my normal activities - namely, playing the piano and organ and getting back into meal ministry (which is a good thing, considering how many of our friends are expecting babies over the next quarter!). It feels lovely!!

But now that I'm (mostly) feeling better, I really need to get back into hardcore birth prep - namely, walking, stretching, strength exercises, etc. *Sigh*

And finally, I'm still (STILL) working through my Spring Cleaning Lists (which I hope to publish here soon). My current projects are:

• Using the food in the freezers so that I can defrost/clean them soon. This is one... slow... process. 
• Oiling the wooden furniture - My favorite! Easy, fun, great results.
• Washing (lower) walls - NOT my favorite. Difficult (i.e. impossible), time-consuming, and gives absolutely horrid results (patchy). I will never go for textured walls again - they just suck up the dirt and refuse to relinquish it at any price. Does anyone out there know how to wash those critters effectively? (Aside from just burning down the house and starting over?)

And one more thing... I'm finally seeing progress on my project of getting a chore system in place! It's taken a long time, but the train has finally left the station and we are seeing a wee bit of positive movement. 

Chores are not just a matter of chore charts and logistics. By and large, they are a matter of working through character issues - obedience (vs. feet-dragging), diligence (vs. laziness), positive attitudes (vs. sulking), etc. It is really a huge training ground for parenting skills, and I find that I need all of my strength and energy to keep focused on end-goals (that of producing good husbands and decent human beings for the world at large). It is very easy to become discouraged in this, as it is in all areas of parenting. 

But we press on!

Dear friends, I've rambled for long enough! I'll try to check in as often as I can! Have a wonderful week!

Happy Birthday to Baby Wombat!

This past week, our baby with special needs turned FIVE years old!

I can't believe how quickly the time has gone!

Our little guy, alternately nicknamed the Wee Chublet or Baby Wombat (the latter gained from his personality-resemblance to Wombat in Jackie French's Diary of a Wombat), has progressed greatly this year. Though he's not walking yet (we're guessing a few more years for that one), he can now pull himself up to standing - and he is also crawling! Furthermore, he has discovered the joys of playing games - like rolling balls with Daddy, or his favorite game of "throw my water bottle and chase it."





For his birthday, we had a fun family celebration at home. Balloons, decorations courtesy of the 8yo, cards, some small gifts, and birthday cake - which was, incidentally, the best grain-free gluten-free carrot cake ever. Try it. It's awesome! I should know, because I spent the week good and sick from the overindulgence in sugar. (Apparently using a high-fat, high-protein flour still wasn't enough to keep the sugar from getting me... but it was delicious!)

We had a delightful time, and we're so delighted to be celebrating five years with our wee little man. I've said it again, but it bears repeating (especially in today's culture): Children with special needs are not a burden. They are a gift and a blessing from God, and they need and deserve all of our love and care. We are so glad that our family has been blessed with his joyful little life.

(Start here to read our little guy's full story!)

Dressing up in Daddy's shirt for the special occasion. 

The 8yo's gift - a print-off of an American special forces flag. 

With Daddy as we get his cake ready!

Happy Birthday to our little guy! 

Our 2014-2015 Daily Homeschool Schedule

This year I have had to do a major rearrangement of our schedule. Not only is the toddler no longer sleeping late (*sob*), but a number of different factors (such as integrating our new chore schedule into our day) have made last year's schedule completely unworkable for this year. From what I hear from other home educators, this is extremely common. New year, new schedule. (Or sometimes, new month, new schedule.)

In fact, by the time you read this blog post, I can pretty much guarantee that our schedule will have changed. (It did.)

The challenges never stop!

I finally created two basic charts to show our daily schedule - mainly so that I could say "check the chart!" to the 8yo's endless daily queries of "What's next, mommy?"

Here's what our mornings and afternoons look like right now. We have various "touch point" times during the day, but no definite time-for-each-activity. My biggest challenge right now is instituting a good chore system - it is turning out to be a huge headache (and a ton of work - far more than doing everything myself!) - but I cling to the hope that it will bear fruit some day in the far, far distant future.


MORNINGS

• Get up, get babies dressed (7:00 a.m.) - This takes longer than you'd think! It's also easily one of the most stressful times of our day. Working on it. 
• Breakfast - Also takes longer than you'd think!
• Table chores - Basic clean-up of breakfast (which I try to keep simple!).
• Group chores - An area of work or cleaning in which the children and I work together (such as outside, kitchen, dusting, etc.). This changes by day. Time: 15-30 minutes. 
• Chorepacks - Individual chores for older children, including grooming, rooms/beds, and a few helping-out items. 
• Morning (Couch) Time - Our morning family time, which currently includes Bible reading, character book reading, poetry reading, Bible memory verses, and reading a chapter (or two) of a read-aloud. (Our current read-aloud is "Blue Bay Mystery.") I'm also slowly adding other items, such as manners, weather, calendar, catechism, etc. Due to the presence of a certain two-year-old, progress has been slow, and this time is very challenging. 
• Toddler Book Time - I read to the two toddlers while the 8yo does his math. Good for the toddlers, and it keeps them out of trouble! 
• Break (15 minutes) - The main challenge is pulling the 8yo back to the table!
• Table Work, then Free Time - Handwriting, Maps, Composition, etc. 
• Lunch (12:00 p.m.) - I keep this super-simple. Usually it's "snack plates" - plates of cut-up non-heated items, such as cheese, meat, crackers, fruit, vegetables, etc. - or leftovers. 
• Table chores - Clean-up from lunch.

AFTERNOON/EVENINGS

• Quiet Time (1 hour) - This is truly our sanity-saver. The babies nap, I nap, the 8yo reads or plays with LEGO sets.
• Snack and Reading Time - With the 8yo while the babies sleep.
• Finish school work - This is Math Part II (we split his lessons into two parts). 
• Coffee and Game Time - DH and I have coffee while the 8yo gets 30 minutes of computer time. 
• Afternoon chores 
• Free time - That is, free time for the children, and dinner prep plus 30 minutes deep-cleaning for me (plus however many of the five thousand items on my to-do list that I can cram in!)  
• Dinner
• Table chores, then free time - After a good year of effort, everyone is helping with dinner chores. It works very well!
• Baths, children dress for bed, older children put their laundry away
• Snack while Daddy reads aloud
• Devotions with Daddy and bedtime (ideal - 8:00 p.m., actual - HA!)

Look for an upcoming post in which I will discuss the progress we've made so far on the topic of children's chores!