YAY!

A friend of mine just had a VBAC! I am SO excited for her! She gives me so much hope. I really hope to be announcing my VBAC one day! She had some great midwives and a lot of great support. I hope I can find all that I need down here in St. Mary's County... :) In the meantime, I'm so proud of my friend... YOU GO GIRL!

What kind of mom am I?

I'm that mom.

The mom who is really attached to her kid.

The mom that doesn't mind always having her kid with her.

The mom who is stingy with her kid and doesn't share too often.

I'm the mom who, when I drop her off at her Auntie's house, gets a little sad that I am going to run errands without my kid.

The mom who checks on her kid several times before I go to bed to make sure she is ok.

The mom who is perfectly fine with nursing a kid over 1 year old.

The mom who still uses a monitor at night, even though her kid is 2 and in a toddler bed.

The mom who refuses to let her baby "cry it out" when I know I can fix it. (And my kid ended up sleeping through the night by herself without that method.)

The mom who loves to play with her kid, even if it means the dishes have to wait.

The mom who lets her kid help her with everything, even though it takes twice as long and makes twice the mess.

The mom who doesn't care if I have a mini van or an SUV one day, as long as it works.

The mom who's "break" consists of a shower or doing the dishes alone and that is a good enough break for me.

The mom who doesn't mind listening to kiddie music in the car, or watching kiddie shows.

The mom who can't imagine life without her kid.

I'm attached.

I'm that mom.

And I like it that way.

Izzy is 5!

I did a shoot of my niece who is turning 5. It was a fun one. She loves to dress up so we decided that we would do an inside dress-up shoot! :)








After I got the shots I wanted I let her choose some poses or her own. Here are a few:

She wanted to use the block as a headstone... lol



Gotta love 5 year olds! :)

Just have to say YAY!!!

I got an email from a contact I have about VBACs and such about what The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) released. They updated their practice guidelines for vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC)! It is great news!!

"ACOG states that VBAC is a safe and reasonable option for most women, including some women with multiple previous cesareans, twins, and unknown uterine scars. ACOG also states that respect for patient autonomy requires that even if an institution does not offer trial of labor after cesarean (TOLAC), a cesarean cannot be forced nor can care be denied if a woman declines a repeat cesarean during labor."--from ICAN

WOOT WOOT!

Frankie

I recently did a shoot with a cute little baby named Frankie. We were going to take newborn pictures of her, but it turned out to be almost 2 month pictures, but that's ok, because you can see her personality coming out now! We even caught some smiles! Such a cute little girl, I hope I have another girl someday! :) ummm and there will be a picture overload here! ;)

Pete & Charlie

Aren't they just the cutest? They just turned 3 and 1. I LOVED the matching polos!








Don't you just want a little boy now?

CAM

It is Cesarean Awareness Month again! Last year I blogged about my experience and how I felt, etc. This year I want to say that I am not as bitter about my experience anymore. Well, I still hate that it happened, but I am getting over it. I have faith that I will get a chance at a normal birth next time. I have a friend who knows a doula (which if we can afford, I would LOVE to have). My friend also knows where I can take a Bradley Method birthing class to help prepare me for a non medicated birth.

I was NEVER one of those people who wanted to have a non medicated birth, trust me. But, since I believe getting the epidural caused all of the problems, I am not going to have anything next time. NOT something I wanted to do, but I rather do that then be cut open again. No. Thank. You.

Of course if there is a ridiculously good reason that I need to I will. BUT there shouldn't be if I let things naturally happen. I have faith in my body and the baby (well, when I get pregnant again). :)

There was recently a conference about VBACs with the National Institute of Health. Here is something they said:
“The final statement from the NIH concludes that a VBAC is a reasonable option for most women. Over 75% of women who attempt VBAC will be successful.” says Desirre Andrews, ICAN President. “Currently less than 10% of women who have had previous cesareans deliver vaginally in subsequent pregnancies, leading to significant and preventable illness and death.”

YAY!

And in talking about hospitals that have VBAC bans and forcing women to have a repeat c section, just because, they said:
"It was acknowledged, however, by many expert presenters that forcing a pregnant woman to undergo an unwanted surgery is medically indefensible, unethical and immoral."

Here is a chart they show about the rise in Csections and the decline in VBACs:

Wow. That is all I can say...

Just have to say it again...they concluded that "Given the available evidence, TOL(Trial of Labor) is a reasonable option for many pregnant women with a prior low transverse uterine incision." Woohoo! :)

Here is the link to the article. I think everyone should stay informed about this subject (ok, I guess just women who have had Csections... women who have had vag. births aren't going to care) :)

Curtis

My quickest photo shoot EVER!

Curtis was a great sport, but by the end he was SO ready to eat. He had his baby blessing at church that day and I just went to their house after church to take some quick pictures.







3 generations

Priceless

Nothing like going to Old Navy (I never go there) and coming home with a BUNCH of clothes for 90 bucks!

4 polos for me (it was $5 polo day)
1 Long Sleeved Shirt
2 shorts
1 pair of pants
1 skirt (which they didn't take half off the clearance price like they SHOULD have... so it should have only been 85 bucks I spent today)
1 polo for Tony
7 polos for Abby (some 2T some 3T)

Oh, and the priceless thing: Abby spitting out black olive on the floor while we were checking out...

*sigh*

I cleaned it up, don't worry. :)

Riley

I have a bunch of friends having babies... way to make me baby hungry huh? :) Well, three of them are having their babies around the same time (2 have already had their babies). We even had a triple shower. I gave them all a coupon for a newborn photo shoot. Well, here are a few of my faves from my shoot with Riley! SO CUTE! But let me tell you, have paper towels and wipes ready if you are shooting naked babies! Shooting as in taking pictures of... :)