Two Wheels One Baby

The contractions began on Friday, September 18th, 2009 at 11 pm. Kyle was watching the end of the movie, Watchmen, when I came down and told him that contractions had started. This was the 3rd time they began and I was 10 days late so we were hoping this was the real deal. The contractions weren’t painful yet, just present, so I couldn’t sleep. They started to become more regular at 2 am and I woke Kyle up to call Tara Kenny, our midwife. Over the previous 7 months, Tara had made home visits monthly, then bi-weekly, then weekly. I came to anticipate each visit as it was really nice to talk about what my body was going through. In the end, she became a close friend.
Back to the birth. I turned on the tv to keep me from going crazy in the middle of the night and The Cosby Show was on…and while I chuckled, the contractions got REAL. After reading every birth story I could get my hand on, I was disappointed not to find a description of what the contractions were like and I swore I would try my best to convey the feeling. As my friend, Tracy Blankenship, told me…contractions feel like “the countdown”, which is the feeling one gets when they have 10 seconds to find a bathroom before their drawers are completely wrecked. In other words, the worst intestinal cramps you can imagine. There’s definitely sweating and concentrating involved, but there’s also a menstrual element to it. At that point in the birth, contractions were 10 minutes apart and about 30 seconds long. To attempt relaxation I hopped in the shower and cranked up the heat. Holding the shower head directly on my stomach made a HUGE difference in lessening the contraction intensity. And this is when I knew it was time to fill the birthing tub with water, which begins my fondest memories.
First Stage. It was about 4 am when I climbed into the tub. We set it up a month prior near our gynormous windows in the living area. Kyle hooked up the garden hose to our kitchen sink and turned on the hot water. There were also two heating pads within the tub that maintained the temperature. When the water was full to the recommended line, I could sit cross legged on the floor and the water level would sit right below my shoulders, but I did a lot of belly-up floating with my hands and the ground holding me. Kyle laid on our small couch in the fetal position trying to sleep while I worked through the contractions. Our mac played a Pandora radio station that I specifically made for the birth with a lot of Sigur Ros, but it would also insert some Death Cab for Cutie, Postal Service and Jose Gonzalez. When I first laid down in the tub, I rested my head on the edge with my eyes looking up out the window at the stars. Slowly, the dawn started to show and contractions got more intense as the sun came up.
Second Stage. Right about the time that Tara came over, around 8:30 a.m., I had started to pace and at the onset of a contraction, I would lean against a counter and concentrate. Tara guided me through the hard ones. I would switch between the tub, to our bed upstairs, to the kitchen and the shower. Audra, another wonderful midwife and Tara’s backup arrived around noon. They both fed me water, smoothies and applesauce. Tara also took my temperature, monitored the baby’s heart rate with a stethoscope, and monitored my heart rate periodically throughout labor.
Transition. During the hardest part, the transition stage, I was on our bed with the birthing ball and the contractions would last 2-3 minutes and I would take a nap in between. Tara had me walk down to the shower and every time I got up to walk, the contractions came faster. In the shower, I got down on my hands and knees and felt the need to push. After Tara did a hand check to measure my dilation, I was still a centimeter away from full dilation. So I worked through another hour on our bed with Kitty standing by… at one point I thought, I’m not going to have the energy and just wanted the whole thing to go away and let me sleep.
Pushing. Around 5 pm, I got in the tub and started pushing. For motivation, Tara told me to feel inside me for the head. I thought she was crazy and I was pretty delirious at this point, but I did. This was equivalent to seeing the 12 mile marker in a half marathon. I could feel the head and one small, unbroken bag of water in front of it. The pushing then became a fight to the finish and even though I was beyond exhausted, I knew that it was almost over and the surprise would be here. When the head effaced, it truly felt like a ring of fire. Tara coached me to slow down and take deep breaths so I wouldn’t tear anything, so as hard as it was, I put the brakes on. The head slowly came out, thirty seconds went by and the body came out under water. Tara handed me the baby and I was able to see that I had a GIRL! Annika laid on me crying as exhaustion blanketed me. I looked at Kyle and wept.
Post-birth. Tara and Audra helped me out of the tub and lied me on our couch covered with a bunch of chuck cloths. They helped Annika nurse on me to stimulate contractions so they could retrieve the placenta and Kyle unintentionally sat right across from as they did this…first time I had a laugh in 24 hours. Now it was time to pee, which seemed daunting. They helped me to the bathroom and as soon as I started peeing, blood came gushing out, which made me feel faint. I had to lie on the bathroom floor. Tara and Audra told me I had to urinate because of all the water I drank so I lied in the shower and let myself go while they sprayed me off. I still felt faint so I laid on the floor for a good hour and half on my back. At one point I was scooting myself across the floor on a towel. The three of them wanted to feed me something substantial, but I just wanted smoothies and to pass out. Tara’s husband brought over an air mattress and we “slept” downstairs in our living area with Annika in between us. Under strict instruction from Tara, I was not allowed to walk to the bathroom, so I used a large stainless steel bowl placed bedside to pee in all night. Quite the humbling experience. Kyle earns father of the year just for emptying and cleaning this bowl some 5 times throughout that night.
The Morning After. My body was still pretty exhausted, but I was on a high every time I noticed the small bundle laying there and from what my body did the day before. “Did I really do that?” I kept asking myself. I felt so empowered. One of my favorite shows, CBS Sunday Morning was on and Kyle made me a HUGE breakfast. Tara visited us that night to help with breastfeeding and check on Annika and I.
Thank goodness Kyle had the week off from work! He helped me walk around the condo, take Sitz bathes and cook ungodly amounts of food while I taught myself and coaxed Annika on breastfeeding. This brings me to my huge brand endorsement – EARTH MAMA ANGEL BABY! I would not have had an easy of postpartum recovery without their products:

1. new mama bottom spray – absolutely essential! I had a small, unstitched tear that would burn like crazy every time I peed and this stuff would alleviate the burn 100%.
2. happy mama spray – refreshing facial spray that gave me energy and positive glow
3. bottom balm – for after bathroom visits, this gave me a nice cooling feeling on all my under-region
4. nipple butter – great for the first week of breastfeeding when your nipples are in so much pain and you feel like quitting

They also make great pregnancy and baby products. My Aunt Kris bought me the whole line and it was by far, the most useful present I received!
People ask me if I had the choice to do a home birth again, would I? ABSOLUTELY! I treated my pregnancy like a training period for a marathon. Three times a week for Yoga and twice a week to weight lifting and sculpting and to get to the gym I rode my bike. I actually rode my bike two days past my due date which was liberating. Per Tara’s recommendation, I also made weekly appointments during the final 6 weeks for acupuncture and chiropractic care. My acupuncturist, Sharon Levy, was extremely knowledgeable about pregnancy and induction methods and her sessions really relaxed me. Lisa Geiger was my chiropractor and she did an excellent job at aligning my body to make labor a seamless process! The whole point of all this is, I was in control of the pregnancy and the birth. Owning the birth, with Tara as the guide, was the best decision I’ve made in my life, and if we live far away from Tara for our second child, I want to fly her to me for that birth!

Best Valentine’s Day present ever was having Kyle for a three day weekend because of President’s Day.

Speaking of presidents, we watched the documentary produced by Edward Norton, By the People on Friday night. The documentary film that was originally about a young senator who had the ability to inspire the youth turned into a behind the scenes play by play of the 2008 election primaries. There were great scenes of the Obama family, Axelrod, Plouffe and interviews with big media. The best part about the film was that it transported me out of this negative gridlock that is our political system back into the time of hope. I have to believe that Obama will move us beyond this crap.
Kyle took Annika grocery shopping on Saturday while I worked out and bought ingredients to make Shepherd’s Pie. I made some gluten free crust for it and it turned out really well.
On Sunday morning, Valentine’s Day, I made Gluten free banana pancakes that turned out oh-so fluffy, apple chicken sausage, bacon and a feta-tomato-onion scramble.

Pancake Recipe:

• 2 c. Bob’s all purpose gluten free flour
• 1 tsp. xanthum gum
• 1 tbsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt

• 2 eggs
• 3 tbsp. oil
• banana
• 1 tbsp. cinnamon
• 3 tbsp. sugar
• 2 tbsp. honey
• 3/4 c. soy milk
• 1/4 c. goat yogurt
• 1/4 c. applesauce

Mix wet ingredients in blender. Sift dry ingredients and add to wet ingredients gradually.
Since Kyle and I aren’t hip on the Vday consumer thing, we rode our bikes with Annika in tote in the Burley trailer to Target and Crate & Barrel to spend gift cards that we had received. Kyle had his eye on some ear phones at Target and I wanted more lighting for our loft. After 5 minutes of hard core decision laboring at Crate & Barrel, we decided on this beauty.
Biking with Baby:
When I was still pregnant, I often thought about how I could bike with Annika. Because I cycled every day of the pregnancy until 2 days past my due date, I was jonesin’ to get back in the saddle after she was born, but I new it would take careful consideration. I was concerned with functionality, ease of use and safety, of course. We have owned a Burley Trailer for about 4 years now. It was originally bought for towing the dogs or camping. I was pretty dead set against using the trailer to transport Annika because my only experience with it was on dedicated bike trails, not street traffic. But, I knew there was no way she was going to be on the bike in a seat until she could wear a helmet so the trailer was my only option.
Kyle harnessed her car seat base into the trailer so getting her in and out would be a simple click away. And as far as the safety issue is concerned, she is strapped into the car seat just like she would be in a car. Both the roll bar on the car seat and the roll bar on the trailer protects her head. Technically, this rig is not legal for her because Massachusetts law states that all children must wear a helmet, but I would argue that she is much safer this way than a child wearing a helmet, sitting in a seat mounted on the bike.
Pros:

1. protects her from the elements – wind, cold, rain, street dust
2. efficient – not that much heavier
3. load bearing – I can toss a bunch of stuff in the trailer with her
4. sturdy – absorbs shocks from street potholes and bumps
5. compatibility – switches between different bikes
6. safe
7. snooze machine – she passes out!

Cons:

1. set up – takes about 5 minutes to attach the trailer (luckily we’re blessed to live in a condo that provides an outdoor bike shed)
2. big footprint – hard to store
3. expensive

And to top off the Valentine’s Day, I bought this appropriately branded Cabernet, Cyles Gladiator, from Darwins LTD. on our hot chocolate pit stop. I’m a sucker for labeling. Speaking of labeling, I just visited the wine’s website and it turns out that they are banned in Alabama because it’s deemed pornographic. Oh Alabama, I’m speechless. If anyone wants to buy me a present, I’d love the t-shirt, ‘banned in Alabama’ from their website.

Life is stressful – this afternoon I had to run the following errands in a snowstorm:
1 – pick up dry cleaning
2 – buy dishwashing detergent and cereal
3 – pick up produce share in condo lobby

Everything I needed to get fit into or on our stroller. I love this thing.

It’s the Quinny Buzz stroller and in addition to the bassinet shown, we have the traditional stroller and car seats attachments.

The stroller also came with a nice rain guard (shown) and a mosquito net.

Breastfeeding
Besides medical reasons, I don’t understand why women choose not to breastfeed? Breastfeeding = weight loss. That should be reason enough, and there’s so many more reasons…bonding, free, convenient, protection for the baby against sickness and on and on.
When getting dressed today, I decided to try on some jeans that I haven’t wore since I closed MoCo in July 2008 – AND THEY FIT! What a fantastic start to the day, and I owe it mostly to breastfeeding.
I guess I should also mention that I get my butt whipped every Saturday at the gym during a circuit training class and that Annika and I enjoy Mommy and Me aerobics every Friday and that I try to walk around Fresh Pond every other day and the newly rigged Burly trailer helps me bike Annika around. So I do get my fair share of exercise. And then there’s the not eating dairy or gluten because of her intolerances.

Baking Brownies
My mother in law got me yummy gluten free brownies for Christmas and she gave Kyle an all end pieces brownie pan after he protested his love for them on facebook. We tried it out this past Saturday and they turned out delicious!
All this brownie business makes us sleepy.

Sleeping
To prepare for having a baby in an open air loft with one bedroom, we knew we had to be crafty with the baby sleeping arrangement. We had no idea what to expect with baby temperament, but we knew from reading books and talking to other parents that for the first two months, you have to get up so much during the night that it may be better to keep baby close for convenience.

Kyle mentioned that he read something in his dad book, Be Prepared (really funny book, btw), that a newborn can safely sleep in many makeshift beds, including dresser drawers. We have a nice external california closet in our bedroom with drawers that are perfect bassinet size. In my attempt at baby minimalism, I simply bought an organic mattress from Absolute Organic Baby to custom fit the drawer. In addition to the drawer option, I wanted something more portable, so after extensive research, I found the baby Miyo Baby Hammock (shown left) designed by New Zealanders. You can see a video demonstration of the sling here. The hammock is great because it mounts to any standard door frame and folds up nicely for travel.

For the first few months, colicky Annika traded beds A LOT. She went back and forth from the drawer, to a boppy pillow on our bed, to sleeping next to me in bed. We have just now gotten into a more regular sleeping schedule with the hammock. Now, at almost 5 months, Annika loves the Hammock.

Secrets of getting ready
Annika LOVES white noise (clothes dryer, hair dryer, sleepmate white noise, microwave fan), so I have the pleasure of drying my hair with a toy attached to the cord for visual stimulation. She goes nuts!
Ice Skating
We bundled Annika up in her polar bear outfit, courtesy of Auntie Cory, to brave the 28 degree weather (10 degree wind chill), and go skating at the Fresh Pond dog swimming area. During the summer, it’s nice to take the dogs here and sit on the benches, but it makes for a perfect ice skating destination in the winter. The wind was too much for Annika so I got maybe 15 minutes of skating in, but it was really nice. I also fell on my tailbone because I was skating backward while playing with Gordo (our pug) and someone had thrown a rock on the ice while it was melting (since frozen). My skate hit the rock and I hit my ass. ouch.

My first post as a mom! Life has been pretty crazy, especially with a semi-colicky baby.
Baby Stats:
Name – Annika Karin Ramey
Age – 4.5 months
Weight – 14 lbs.
Height – omg, I just had the pediatric appointment yesterday and I cannot remember. Just found her paperwork and she’s 25.5″
Dimeanor – colicky for the first 3 months and this has been slowly tapering off. We think she’s intolerant to cow protiens and peanuts from my breast milk.
Loves – bathtime, reading, standing up, her jumper, walks, sleeping in the burley trailer while mommy rides bike, mommy and me aerobics
Hates – childcare, sleeping for more than 3 hours, getting dressed, strangers holding her
Tolerates – lying on the floor for short periods of time, car rides
The picture above is us celebrating New Years 2010.
This posting was prompted by me winning the honor of reviewing a piece of baby gear: the Puj Tub. In prior posts, I have mentioned my preference for living modestly in a minimalist environment – less stuff, more life. This is somewhat difficult to do with a baby, but we have made it work. Our apartment is a one bedroom open air loft and the only separated space is the bathroom. Annika has traded off from sleeping in a drawer with an organic mattress, next to me in bed, on her boppy pillow on an ottoman next to our bed, and in a sling that mounts to the door frame in the bathroom (where she’s napping now).

Because we have little space and my design taste leans toward clean, modern lines, I jumped at the chance to review the Puj Tub because I was already familiar with the tub after doing some pre-baby online research. Becoming parents has made my husband and I want to become engineers…there’s a huge market opportunity to design for people like us that don’t need a bunch of gear, but rather a few very functional items.

Why do I like the Puj Tub?
1 – stores by hanging flat so it can drip dry
2 – it’s white with no frilly embellishments
3 – the tub fits in any residential bathroom sink

Why the Puj Tub may not be perfect for a colicky baby?
1 – bathtime has always been Annika’s favorite activity….even when she was crying herself crazy, we could put her in the sink surrounded by warm water and she’d immediately settle down. The more immersed she was in water, the best. Since we only have a stand up shower, the sink is our only option, but whenever we have traveled with her and a bath tub has been available, she has loved bathing with us, floating on top of the water on my legs.
2 – because the Puj Tub is designed to be safe (can’t fault them for that), it allows for Annika’s bum and a little of her belly to be covered.
3 – Annika has always liked stretching out rather than sitting and the tub is condusive to a perpendicular position.

With all this being said, this is the only tub that works with our lifestyle. If Annika was more of a sponge bath baby, then it would be perfect!

Check out the Puj Tub for yourself at Puj’s new website for baby bath tubs!

Doing well now with the challenge, but the evening of the first day was ROUGH. Kyle and I walked to Whole Foods to partake in the bar extravaganza because all their food ingredients are labeled so well. I could barely finish my meal because all I wanted was something sweet. I had the shakes like a crack addict. When we got home, I made myself some raspberries with yogurt and honey.

Day 2 – Breakfast – eggs with prosciutto and parmesan.
Lunch – fruit smoothie and potato chips
Dinner – homemade hamburgers with garlic, onion and colby cheese with cottage cheese and an antipasto salad.
Snack – grapes

Day 3 – Breakfast – gluten free banana / blueberry pancakes with peanut butter & honey, bacon
Lunch – pear, orange, pistachios
Dinner – seared tuna and broccoli

In talking with my Mom about what her and my Dad could do to adjust their diet (because they’re not really doing anything wrong), I challenged her to go sugar free for one week.

Then yesterday I realized that I needed to take the same challenge. So starting today, both Kyle and I will be reading labels and staying away from sugar from one week.

The hardest part will be abstaining from coffee (because I add sugar and soy milk) and after lunch and dinner when I crave sugar.

Today’s Breakfast – plain yogurt, banana, strawberries, grapes, gluten-free granola, honey, and dried cranberries (as I type this I realize that there might be sugar in the cranberries so I just ran to check the label and sure enough, evaporated can juice – SHIT!), and green tea

This is going to be hard.

LivableStreets Alliance to host Street Talk by Marius Navazo on What we can learn from Spain: urban mobility planning in Barcelona.

When: Thursday, June 25, 7 – 9 pm
Where: 100 Sidney Street, Central Square, Cambridge

*This event is free and open to the public. donation suggested beer/sodas provided compliments of Harpoon Brewery and delivered thanks to Metro Pedal Power!* What are the results of impementing better transit networks, traffic calming zones, and a bike sharing program? Are these measures always environmentally-friendly? Are they enough to create better places to live and enjoy? Learn about the development of urban mobility plans in Greater Barcelona and Catalonia, Spain. See what the Catalan Government is encouraging municipalities to do.

Marius Navazo is a geographer who has been working for the last 10 years in town and regional planning, focused on transportation and its impacts to improve cities from a social and environmental perspective. He has been working at the Catalan Government for the last 4 years, and now he is a freelancer working for different municipalities in the Barcelona area.
For more information, click here.

LivableStreets Alliance to host Street Talk by Noah Budnick on The Changing Streets of NYC: an inside view.

When: Thursday, May 28, 7 – 9 pm
Where: 100 Sidney Street, Central Square, Cambridge

*This event is free and open to the public. donation suggested beer/sodas provided compliments of Harpoon Brewery!* Learn about the political and physical changes that have come to NYC in the past few years. From the campaign for congestion pricing to European-style bike lanes, civic groups and City Hall are embracing green transportation like never before. Transportation Alternatives helped usher in this sea change and now they are working harder than ever to help educate the public and build support to cement the mind shift that’s taking place. Noah will show photos of NYC’s most notable improvements and events, and tell the behind the scenes story that made them happen.

Noah Budnick develops political and media strategies for Transportation Alternatives’ work to win biking and walking improvements, to reclaim public space for pedestrians, bicyclists and mass transit, to reform government transportation and street safety policy to discourage driving, and win more funding for biking and walking projects in New York City.
For more information, click here.