Why We Sleep

Pregnancy, especially early pregnancy, makes ladies very very tired. And the main reason for this might be the hormone progesterone, which has a sleep-inducing effect.

Progesterone production increases ten-fold during pregnancy and is produced by the ovaries for the first seven weeks after which the placenta takes over production.

Another reason for the need to nap after brekkie, as I'm doing in the photo to your left, is because a woman's metabolic rate falls early in pregnancy. Why this happens is unknown, like most of pregnancy and labor.

My own theory to go along with the hormone and metabolic ideas is that we're just getting used to doing all the work of building another human being. Eventually, like all endurance sports, we get used to it and adapt.

My 6 Hour Mexican Meal

I felt great yesterday and ate almost like a normal person. For dinner Davey made hard tacos, nothing spicy and no onions. My tacos were mostly filled with sour cream and a spattering of beans, and I had 2 of them along with some chips and more sour cream. My biggest meal in weeks.

Four hours later I was still feeling the entire meal trying to enter my stomach. It was just stuck. Everything slows down in pregnancy, especially your digestion.

I'm not a person who has digestion issues. When I was training for the Portland Marathon I could eat a full dinner, then go for a long run - no problem. I ate for the entire 26.2 miles without a belly ache.

And now, growing a baby makes me unable to eat a regular meal and I can't even look at beans anymore without wanting to die.

My six hour Mexican meal led to some interesting dreams involving a character from Twin Peaks and a kid from grade school. And it forced me to stay in bed until 8 am, which I liked.

Morning Sickness in a Nutshell

Ohh the torture of morning sickness. At times it really does feel like you're being poisoned everyday.

So why does that happen? What's the purpose? Why can I only eat crackers and cream cheese? And how long will this last?

There are a few possibilities as to why "morning" sickness occurs:

1. Concentrated amounts of hormones without the dilution benefit of increased blood supply. As blood volume expands, nausea tends to disappear.

2. Hypoglycemia, usually caused from an inability to eat because of nausea.

3. Change in metabolism

All this leads to a vicious cycle of being nauseous and not able to eat. And the only thing that is really able to break this pattern is eating. But who wants to eat when they feel like they just got off the salt-n-pepper shakers at the local fairgrounds?

But this is all good. A woman who is nauseous is less likely to miscarry than one who isn't. And if you are fortunate enough to vomit, then you know things are really working. I try to think of it as a sign that my baby is doing just fine.

Stuff I Can Eat

My list is short of foods that don't make me want to vomit, though I'm not actually vomiting. And here it is:

1. Cream cheese on ridiculously expensive gluten free crackers

2. Spelt bread toasted with cream cheese and sometimes jam

3. Gluten free waffles, frozen (one a day)

4. Goat yogurt with walnuts and honey

5. Cottage cheese

6. Cereal with cottage cheese and almond milk

7. Cheese on crackers

8. Sparkling water

9. Recharge diluted with water

Luckily, baby doesn't have large nutritional needs at this time because this is really all I'm able to eat on a daily basis. This morning I had strawberries, the first fruit to touch my lips in 4 weeks, and the other day I ate turkey. Other than that, I'm pretty limited.

Why does food aversion, especially to meat and veggies, happen to women in the first trimester? Some say it is a protection against toxins from microorganisms during the critical period of organ development. If that were the case then I believe it. I'm not wanting to touch anything the was formerly alive, even in plant form. In fact, the other day I picked off all the lettuce from my sandwich because it tasted like poison. And this was lettuce from Dave's winter garden.

I'm Making One of These

See how cute Dave and I were as children. I wonder what baby will look like at this age?

And no, we didn't know each other as children. This is a combination of photos we had made to announce our wedding that we ended up canceling for various reasons. Namely, I got in a car accident searching for Cranky Al's Donuts in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and used up all our money we had saved for the wedding for an insurance deductible instead.

Then we also cancelled the second wedding because the Ebola virus broke out in the African village where the ceremony was going to be held. The third attempt at a wedding, this time in Pennsylvania, also got nipped in the bud because it was less of what we wanted and more of what was easiest for everyone else.

So the 4th attempt was a success. We sent out a mass email letting everyone know they could come to the courthouse in Milwaukee at 3pm on Friday, April 5 if they wanted to be with us at our wedding.

It was the best wedding ever - it cost $90 and lasted 10 minutes. Then we went out for beer and pizza. Mmmm beer....I'm actually missing having even a craving for beer. Or food for that matter.

Yeah, We Made a Baby

Our plan was to send out a postcard of the two of us announcing our pregnancy. A photographer was asking for volunteers for some outdoor photo shoots and we took her up on the offer.

We spent the day in downtown Portland getting our picture taken while pedestrians actually thought we were famous people (some even interrupted the shoot to ask who we were) and others took photos of us with their own camera.

So we got all these awesome pictures taken and then realized the prints were a bit too expensive. So we weren't able to make the pregnancy announcement like that. Instead, we've just been telling people as the thought comes up.

I pulled this image from her blog and since it didn't have the copyright info on it, decided to put it here. This wasn't the picture I was planning on using. There was a cute one of Dave and I dancing with a lighted marquee behind us that said something about Portland.

The announcement was going to read something like, "Coming sometime in November to Portland....Baby Jarecki"

In this image I am pregnant, but didn't yet know.

Baby Azu-zu Development

So my baby already has a beating heart, thousands of cells, a forming brain, beginnings of spinal cord nerves and all the major organs, and baby also has arm buds and a primitive tail. All at 6 weeks and the size of a grain of rice!

Technically, that all happened in 4 weeks. Doctors and midwives start pregnancy at the first day of your past menstrual period, therefore the added 2 weeks to bring me up to 6 weeks.

During weeks 6 - 10 (now through April 12) is considered "the critical period" of development. The major organs continue to develop, including the kidneys and lungs. During this period baby Azu-zu will have a face that begins to look human. Baby's eyes will first form on the sides of the head and then move to the front.

Ohhh Nausea

I spend most of my days feeling hung over (minus the headache) or like I just got off a spinning ride at a carnival. Neither is better than the other.

I do have about 3-4 hours a day when I'm not ill or sleeping, and now is one of those times. But it's almost over, I feel this ending. I'm waiting for Dave to bring in the chicken feed and start making the turkey sandwiches I had a craving for.

Right now I'm not really into food. In fact, I hate it. But when I do like something I latch on to it and must have it. Today is one of those days.

If I'm able to do a load of dishes I consider that a bonus. Usually I'm just asleep on the couch or the futon, waiting to feel better. Sometimes I think I must be making all this up. There is no way that I can possibly feel so sick all the time.

Fresh air does help. As does white rice first thing in the morning and nux vomica (homeopathy) - at least right now it works. Apple cider vinegar, ginger, acupuncture, vitamin B - they don't work.

I just cancelled a trip to Washington to visit a friend because I don't think I would be able to make the 5 hour drive in under 8 hours and then I would be sick at someone else's house other than mine. And that's no fun.

With all my complaints let it be known that I love being pregnant and am anxiously awaiting my belly. I already weigh more than I ever have in my life, which means more than I weighed in college with beer weight. The weight part is surreal. Dave says I'm cushy and enjoys it.

Every night I say good night to baby Azu-zu (fetal name) and every morning I check in. When Dave comes to bed he puts his hand on my belly and says good-night.

Our Midwives and Birth Place

Being part of the Portland Midwifery Community means I can essentially hand pick my birth team. It was never a hard decision though, even though there are so many amazing midwives in this town.

The wonderful and fun midwives of Nest, Laurie and Kim, will be attending our birth along with my good friend Kelly Troyer, who recently passed her national midwifery exam!!!

Who won't be at our birth is Jen Warnock. She was also a Nest midwife and a wonderful person. She left this earth a few weeks ago through the same door she welcomed so many babies through.

Jen was always a strong presence when I though of my own birth and without her it just didn't feel right. And that's where Kelly comes in. Having her join Laurie and Kim makes everything feel perfect and right. And now my birth team is complete.

As Aunt Pat asked, "So are you going to do one of your experiments out there and have the baby at home?" The answer is, of course.

I'm not attached to having a water or land birth, but do plan on laboring in a tub in the living room. The midwives will bring a large, inflatable tub that I can hang out in during labor.

Satchel and Maji will be staying with friends during labor since the energy of birth is strong and Satchel is sensitive and Maji likes to be in the middle of things.

Other than that we are hoping for a private, intimate home birth sometime in November. A Scorpio baby perhaps!

5 Weeks Pregnant and Hungry

I'm 5 weeks pregnant and wonder if I will ever stop eating. I mean really. I completely skip over the hunger stage and instead go from not being hungry to being disoriented, confused and sick. So I eat and everything is instantly better. But I really do wonder how long I can keep eating like this.

What am I eating you ask? My ideal day finds me waking around 6 am, eating some sort of egg breakfast then falling back asleep for 90 minutes on the couch with Satchel. After my first nap of the day I then eat my second breakfast which could be anything form oatmeal to the same egg burrito I made myself 2 hours ago. About 90 minutes later I eat a protein bar, then lunch, then second lunch and finally dinner. In between I snack. And of course, before bed I like to eat something as well.

If I don't get enough calories and protein during the day, I wake up at 3 am to eat. My day then begins with a snack, nap, breakfast, nap and breakfast again.

I'm worried I'm going to weigh more than Dave.

Men of Midwives

I changed the format. The green Dave spoke of earlier was just too green, a little like our living room wall, but less busy. Let's try this orange.

For the past 4 out of 5 nights I've been up caring for women in need. Dave would like to start the "Men of Midwives" support group. He reached for me in bed this morning and forgot that I left him in the middle of the night. He said good-bye and everything. If he had my schedule, I wouldn't be able to deal.

-CKJ

the rules of tuck in

I am writing a story about a man with rules for drinking when Courtney comes in and asks if I'll tuck her in. Actually she doesn't ask. She supposes I won't.

"I guess you won't be tucking me in tonight."

She says this because I am writing, and because a day or so ago I shared with her "my rules" for tuck-ins:

"If I'm going to bed within 20-minutes or so, I'd rather not tuck you in so as to use those last 20-minutes or so productively before I bed down."

However:

"If I'll be up for another hour or two, I'll tuck you in."

Tonight, my guestimated time of bedding down stretches close to an hour. Courtney calls me out on my rules. Then I say:

"Except when I'm writing."

And she roll her eyes.

Dogs in the Barnyard

We had Moe's 6th birthday party today. His birthday is Dec. 3, so he gets two parties in Moe10.

We scratched the first one because of weather. It was 15 degrees or so in Portland. The party's in a barn. No one wanted to stand around a barn in 15-degree weather. I don't blame them. I was one of them. I don't blame myself.

Satchel looks forward to his birthday all year. And his party. Maji too. We don't have a party for her, just Moe, so really this is Maji's party too, even though it isn't.

Is it weird for people to gather once a year in a barn to watch their dogs run around for two hours?

We've been doing the birthday since the first birthday. It's because two of Satchel's litter mates also live in Portland, and we've become friends with the owners of both. And Satchel's breeder lives in town, and we've become friends with her.

Is it strange that dogs who were born together from a local line of dogs bring people together?

What are bloodlines for but for keeping together.

Maji is not of this bloodline, but she snuck in.

Courtney and I and the rest of the people do not share a bloodline, except the youngest person in the barn today, Zander, 18-months, who shares a bloodline with his mother and father.

But the mother and father do not share a bloodline with us. It's their dog that shares a bloodline with our dog.

And another dog at the party.

And another, though she was in the car because she can't walk.

That's aunt Syd. Aunt Syd has been at these parties before. But her hips are gone and her body's aging faster than her mind.

Imagine your body aging faster than your mind.

Would it be worse than your mind aging faster than your body?

Is what we want to keep the body and the mind aging at the same pace, and hopefully slowly.

(As I typed the last few lines, Courtney rolled out the yoga mat and began stretching at the fire; Satcheled rolled around on the couch so his other hip was on the heating pad.

Hips are bad things to lose.

My hip is sore but not as sore as yesterday. Yesterday I stretched.

I'll stretch later. Sore this evening from running around the barnyard with my pack.

MAJI'S FIRST POST

HI THIS IS MAJI - I AM RESIDENT BEAGLEBACK HERE IN JARECKIVILLE.

EARLIER TODAY I CAME UP WITH THE BEST ADVICE OF THE YEAR, AND I AM GOING TO POST IT HERE FOR EVERYONE TO LISTEN TO:

ALWAYS FLY THROUGH WINDOWS, NEVER THRU WALLS, BECAUSE WINDOWS ARE MADE OF WATER AND WALLS ARE MADE OF FUDGE, AND WATER IS MUCH EASIER TO PASS THRU THAN FUDGE.

AFTER I SAID THIS ADVICE, MY DADDY STOLE IT AND USED IT IN HIS OWN WRITING ON HIS OTHER BLOG. JUST REMEMBER THAT I MADE IT UP FIRST.

THIS IS MAJI AND I LOVE YOU.

First post by Dave

Hi.

Courtney picked the green. It's like her to pick the green. She loves this color green. I am not fond of it, but as the husband I am OK when she is OK - essentially, "What's good for the goose is good for the gander" philosophy.

Yesterday I found out what a gander was. Thirty-four years later, I finally asked. And someone responded.

Amazing what you find out when you ask.

In my mind (blame the architect of my wiring), a gander referred to "gandering", or, "having a gander." A look, a thought, an exploration.

"Let me have a gander at those directions, son."

How this applied to a goose in my mind, I haven't the foggiest.

There's no real rhyme or reason behind why we started this blog today, or, for that matter, why we didn't start it five-years ago, or, for that matter, why we didn't start it tomorrow.

It came out of Courtney's mouth. Then it was alive.

Eventually we'll have pictures. Eventually our numbers will grow. Eventually we will paint the walls.

And change the color.

But for today, for this moment, this is what we have.

Welcome. There will be more.

-Dave
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