My journey for a VBAC

I haven't kept up well with my blog in the past but recent events have inspired me to make it a point to share about my most recent journey. I guess I'll start at the beginning...

I'm 15 weeks pregnant with my 4th child and have had 2 previous cesarian births. The first, I was induced before my due date and didn't dilate quick enough and had a c/s. The second pregnancy, I had twins. I was still a candidate for a vbac as long as my girls stayed head down, which they did, until 2 weeks before they were born. Because "baby a" turned transverse, I had no choice but to have another c/s. That was all when we lived in Maryland.

Now to more recent events...

We have since moved to Oklahoma and this is the first baby we've had that would be born here. It never fazed me I'd have much trouble to attempt to have a vbac (vaginal birth after cesarian) since my Doctor in Maryland had no issues with it, even with twins. Oklahoma isn't quite as easy to have one. I would have options in Oklahoma City or even Tulsa, but we are a good hour and a half drive from OKC and much further from Tulsa. The original doctor I saw (Dr. Lepp), which removed my IUD delivers at one of the 2 hospitals in town and that hospital (Comanche Memorial) does not allow vbacs to be performed due to insurance issues. They did however find out that Southwestern does allow them and got a few names of doctors that deliver there to try.

I called one and when scheduling my appointment they acted as if it was no problem at all and that the Doctor (Dr. zweig) had no issues with doing them. I went in for my first appointment and his nurse was asking me questions and we got to what brought me to that office. I told her I was switching because my current office wasn't able to perform vbacs and her response sent me into an instant panic. She told me that Dr. zweig doesn't either! She said in the 2 years she has worked there he had only performed ONE. She said I was more than welcome to discuss it with him though and see if it's something he would be willing to do. I decided to talk to him since I was already there and figured it was worth a try. After talking to him he seemed a bit open to the idea and said he'd need to get my records from my last c/s to be sure nothing was noted about my incision being thin or anything that could increase risk of rupture. I was skeptical but decided to give him a shot and see how things seemed once he got my records and I scheduled my next appointment.

A month later, I had my second appointment with Dr. zweig. He did an ultrasound to check the heart beat and make sure everything looked good which he said it did and then said ok see you in another month. But wait, what about my records? I questioned him about them and he checked the computers to see if they got them, which they had. He read them over quickly and said didn't really say much about it and tried to brush me out the door. I came out and asked him if the records showed anything he was concerned about for doing a vbac and he stated no. I then said, "So, I should be able to attempt to have a vbac then, right?" His response was far less than reassuring. He told me "Well, we'll just have to see when it gets closer to that time." His response gave me absolutely no hope at all to attempt a vbac with him as my doctor.

In the meantime, I had asked around on local groups about options as far as home births and other doctors that may be able to help me in the birth I really want. In that search, I found a wonderful local doula, Jasmin Williams, who was incredibly willing to help me any way she could. She suggested I try a doctor in Duncan. She had attended births at that hospital and said the environment was very calm and the staff was wonderful at sticking to the patients wishes, birth plan and anything else they needed. After the negative feelings I got with Dr. zweig, I decided it was time to give the doctor she suggested a call. I called their office and waited for Dr. Elfrink's nurse to call me back to help me with the questions I had regarding my possible vbac. When she called me back, she informed me that the hospital in Duncan does not allow vbacs to be performed either due to insurance limitations. She was very concerned for me and listened to what I had figured out so far. She suggested a doctor she felt very highly of that delivers at Southwestern, in my town. She wasn't sure his stance on vbacs but knew he delivered at the hospital that would allow them.

Today, I called the doctor that the nurse suggested to try to get some answers and possibly some hope. They said the best thing for me to do was to get them a copy of my records from my previous birth so they could look them over and make sure nothing indicated I would be at higher risk of complications. They were incredibly nice and assured me that Dr. Martin Jones does do vbacs and they would know more about my possibility once they had my medical history. I contacted my doctor in Maryland to have them send over my records and filled out the release and faxed it back. At this point I'm in limbo, waiting for Dr. Jones to review my records and give me a call to let me know if I'm ok to proceed at this point.

I also called my insurance company just to double check if we had any coverage for a Doula or a Midwife home birth. They dont cover a doula at all and while they cover midwives, it's only if you have a birth in an approved hospital under a licensed doctor they work under. They told me they do not cover planned home births AT ALL and they consider them "medically inappropriate." I actually found that a bit unsettling. Child birth is one of the most natural things a woman can go through and in most cases, there is no need for any medical intervention and no reason why someone couldn't safely deliver their baby at home. I honestly find it far more inappropriate the amount of unnecessary inductions and cesarian births and the huge limitations put on vbacs.

I will be sure to update with anything else that comes up through this entire journey and I hope, if anything, this is able to help someone else out there to attain the type of birth they feel is best for themselves and baby.

A day off with a fruity ending....

This week I am only scheduled 1 day off, which was today so I was determined to do something fun with the kids. This morning I picked up around the house and vacuumed while the kids all played, then the girls took their naps while Nathan and I had some time together playing. Caitlyn woke up from her nap first, right around when I was going to start making dinner and was really clingy and upset so up she went onto my back. Even when she's not grumpy after a nap she likes me to wear her while I cook. It's nice for us to have that one on one bonding time together. 

My grump <3

Caitlyn and I made cheese burgers and french fries for dinner and when it was just about done Christin woke up from her nap and was happy to see dinner was just about ready. We all ate our dinner and got all cleaned up. I put the dishes in the sink and cleaned up most of my mess from cooking so we could be ready for our project for tonight. This is something I've "pinned" a few months ago and been wanting to try for a while now. Fruity Play Dough. Having 3 toddlers, I knew this would go over big in our house and it did. Here's how it's made....

Ingredients:

1 cup plus 1 tbsp all-purpose flour

1 package Kool-Aid (any flavor)

1/4 cup salt

1 tbsp vegetable oil

2/3-3/4 cup boiling water

(Missing vegetable oil from the picture)

First, you'll want to put all the dry ingredients into a bowl together (minus the extra tbsp of flour) and mix them all together well. Then add the vegetable oil and water. After mixing it all together very well it was a bit moist so I added the other tbsp of flour then and kneaded it well and put it into a container to cool off a bit. Once cool, which didn't take long, I let the kids all play with them. They got really excited helping me mix it all together and even more to play with it. 

I really love this play dough too. It's a great consistency, easy to clean up, makes about twice as much as in a can of store bought and it smells GREAT! Whatever flavor you pick will determine what color it will turn out to be.

Crafty mama day...

Ok I got a bit of motivation on my day off today and the kids really wanted to play outside so I took advantage of it. Fortunately my sewing table is set up right by the glass door so I can open the shades and watch them play as I sew. Smart right!?

Ok so the first things I made today were matching dresses for the girls to wear tomorrow on Mother's Day. They aren't perfect but turned out pretty cute. I followed a pattern I bought at JoAnn's and got the fabric there as well.

Christin's

Caitlyn's

I made them in a combo of them playing outside and their nap time. Of course when they were playing outside they got into the dogs' water bowl though. I mean, what toddler doesn't though!?

I was just about to clean up when one of my girls needed a new diaper and I figured out we were totally out of wipes. I knew I'd emptied the one pack but figured there was another one around here somewhere, as there always is. That reminded me that I had some flannel I got on clearance that had been waiting for a use so I found one today and made some cloth wipes. This will be our first venture with cloth wipes so we'll see how they go and we certainly need more but it's a start. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE having a serger? It made making these SOO incredibly quick and easy. I'd say less than 5 minutes to sew 9 perfect ones and 3 that were a bit smaller/not squared. I'm pretty happy with how they turned out and can't wait to see how they work for us. 

And now that all 3 kids are in bed and I've completed several products I'm going to relax and watch Pretty Woman on tv.

unconventional parenting...

I'm a bit of what even I'd consider an "unconventional" parent. There are many aspects of parenting I've become passionate about now that before didn't make me think twice. One of which came up and blew up on my facebook today and that was car seat safety.

I shared a link on my facebook for other moms to see that the guidelines for car seats and boosters have changed to help educate them in case they had not noticed yet and could make an educated decision on what they felt was best for their kids. I got numerous "likes" and a few positive comments, and then a negative comment. That negative comment turned into a bit of an argument, she deleted her comments then messaged me which lead to my being called a bad name and deleted from her friends. This really saddens me, not really to "lose" a friend, but to have someone argue facts and research that's right in front of them for silly reasons.

Reasons I heard:

- There were less issues "back in the day" when we were babies and most of us weren't even in car seats

- My baby is big so my doctor told me it was "ok"

- I only turn him around to take pictures cause I have a small car and that's the only way I can get them.


Now I personally, along with several friends, think all 3 of those are insane reasons to ignore research and guidelines. For one, there are ALOT more cars on the road now than there were years ago. There are also a lot more people out there who ignore the laws (not much unlike her) driving around which causes more accidents. Either way, there is ALWAYS a chance at being in an accident and that chance to me is enough to take precaution and go with what is safest for my children.

An another note, I also dont see how any doctor would tell you it is "ok" to turn your child's car seat around at 6 months (and ignoring the law) because they meet the minimum weight alone. An infant reaching the weight minimum does NOT mean their neck/spine is strong enough to withstand the type of impact that goes with a collision. In my opinion, that is a red flag from any medial professional to find a new doctor!

And the third suggested reason, pictures. I am an avid picture taker and snap pictures of my kids all the time as does most proud parents, but that in no way should ever put their safety at risk. Being able to take pictures of your child while riding in the car is not something that should trump the law and what's safest for them and is pure ignorance.

Now I'd like to leave anyone who is interested and open to learning about car seat safety with a few links to help them, as education was my intent for the link I posted on my facebook. This, as well as my FB post, is not meant to cause a debate on what people think is best, just to inform so people are able to make more educated decisions. I wish I'd taken the chance to research it when my oldest was a baby and am thankful we never had to find out the "hard way."

Crash Test

Crash testing, along with a touching story of an 18 month old who was involved in a crash while forward facing.

home made egg rolls and cheese wontons

This is the 2nd time I've made these and the first time I got a lot of questions so I figured I'd take pictures along the way so I could make a post about how I did it. I first got this idea from a recipe on pinterest that I edited with things that we like in our family so the possibilities are endless on these....

Cheese Won Ton ingredients:

1 package of cream cheese
1 cup of finely shredded italian style cheese (5 cheeses)
1 egg
1tbs water
won ton wrappers
jar of sweet and sour sauce (if desired)


The amounts above made quite a bit of filling/wontons so you are welcome to cut it in half if you'd like. I only ended up making 12 and used about half of the filling to get an idea of how much it would make. First, you'll want to take the package of cream cheese out a bit earlier so it has a chance to soften up some. It will make mixing it much easier. Once softened, mix the cream cheese with the shredded cheese. I used a fork so it could kneed through the cream cheese well to mix it well. Then, you'll want to make your "egg wash" which will help keep the won tons together when you seal them. For that you mix 1 egg and 1tbs of water together. Now for the wrapping.... Put about a nickel to quarter ball amount in the middle of the won ton wrapper

Then, put a dab of the egg wash on the top corner and press it together with the bottom corner with the points going straight up above the ball. Then, put a dab of egg wash on the right corner and wrap that around the points sticking up already so it's sealed well. Do the same with the other corner and brush all sides with egg wash to seal them against the rest of the won ton. 

Repeat this for each wonton until they are all made. I fried them in my deep fryer on 350 for about 4-5 minutes until they were nice and golden brown and crispy.




Egg Rolls:

For the egg rolls I did 2 different kinds. One was teriyaki and the other was with wing sauce. Like I stated above, the possibilities are endless depending on your taste so dont be afraid to try different combos.

First, I boiled chicken (3 pieces of boneless skinless chicken breast) and let cool a bit. Then, I used my food processor to chop it up pretty small but you can cut it to whatever size you'd like. Then, I mixed 2/3 of it with the teriyaki sauce (I used KC Masterpiece honey teriyaki marinade) with the chicken so it's all moist and let that sit for a bit so it soaks into the chicken (kinda like 15-20 minutes), then mixed in finely shredded cheddar cheese. I didn't measure but used 2 pretty big handfulls.

With the other 1/3 chicken I mixed it with wing sauce and let sit a bit, then added shredded cheddar cheese to that mixture.

Now down to the wrapping.....

You'll want to use the same egg wash you used for the won tons (1 egg, 1tbs water) to seal these as well. take a fair amount of chicken mixture and put it long ways in the middle of the egg roll wrapper like this....

Then take the bottom corner and bring it up to wrap the mixture and tuck some of it under the mix to help keep it secure like this...

Then, dab a fair amount of the egg wash in the middle of the rolled portion and fold the left corner up and place the corner in the middle on the egg wash like this....

Then repeat with the right corner and rub the edges with a dab of egg wash to help seal it up well. Then, put cover a the remaining corner with egg wash about 1 inch down and roll it to the corner to close it up. I also like to run my finger over the edges with egg wash to ensure they are well sealed for the frying process. It should look like this when done...

Continue with the rest of the mixture until it's all rolled up. Then you're ready to fry these up! I used my deep fryer for these as well. I found I could fit about 4-5 in at a time and fryed them for about 5 minutes each until they were nice and golden brown and crispy.

I served these with store bought sweet and sour sauce and rice (chicken friend rice for me and the kids and white rice for hubby).