Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
Oh, and by the way...
Yesterday
Sunday, September 27, 2009
It makes sense now...
Gall Bladder.
*sigh*
Beyond having the normal aches and pains/nausea and vomiting of a normal pregnancy, my symptoms have been exacerbated by having gall bladder issues. I've been having shooting pains in my abdomen, usually spurred on by something I ate: meatballs, Chinese food, fried chicken, fast food, etc. On top of that, bloating (I look like I'm like 4-5 months pregnant), terrible flatulence, and unusual BM's (TMI?). I usually feel fine in the morning/early afternoons because I eat bland foods like cereal, apples, soup, etc. But come evening, I want to eat something with a little more zing. Unfortunately, I pay for that "zing". Ugh. It's horrible. The worst night was this past Friday night. I was doubled over in pain crying. My husband sent me to bed and praise God I was able to sleep.
Yesterday morning, I starting doing research on the internet about severe pain in early pregnancy~ and everything I read said it was not normal. At first, I was thinking cysts on my ovaries or something. Several of my good friends have had those and they were terribly uncomfortable. But my symptoms didn't quite match those for cysts. Then I saw a little link to gall bladder... and then it hit me... Pretty much everyone on my mom's side of the family has had problems with their gall bladder. It's hereditary. It was inevitable. It was either going to be me or my sister...
So anyways, after doing research on gall bladder and putting the pieces together from my own experience, I called my midwife to see what she thought. She's pretty convinced it's gall bladder as well. Actually, I may have had gall bladder problems for a while, but because of this pregnancy, I have very high levels of progesterone surging through my body and it can further irritate the gall bladder. My pregnancy has actually been a huge blessing already because I've been able to detect my problem (hopefully) before it gets really bad and requires surgery.
At this point, we're going to try and take care of things naturally and herbally:
-Yellow Dock herbal supplements (aids in liver/gall bladder function)
-fresh lemon in my water (lemon juice softens stones)
-400 units of vitamin E daily (on top of what's in my prenatals)
-liquid chlorophyll (digestive detoxifier)
-bland diet
-once the baby's born, we'll look into gall bladder cleanses
Pleeeease be praying that my symptoms decrease and that surgery is not required. Obviously, if we can't kick it naturally, we'll have to go and see a doctor. I just do NOT want surgery (if it can be avoided). Hopefully we caught the issue before it's too bad.
Just thought you'd like an update on how things are going. We'd really covet your prayers!
Monday, September 21, 2009
Busy day
*This was filled nearly to the brim, but I've already taken a few glasses out of it. :-)*

Per request from hubby, I made him his all time favorite pie: Blueberry Cherry Pie. Don't knock it till you try it. The mix of blueberries and cherries is surprisingly amazing! And this recipe is SO simple!
Here's Arianna helping me make the crust.
*KitchenAid makes it SO much faster and easier!*

I always dedicate my pies to my husband, something I remember my mother doing back when I lived at home. My husband is the III.

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Since I got so sick with the preggo queasies, I neglected my water kefir. :-( It basically sat on my kitchen counter for almost 4 weeks, if not longer. Basically, you can starve your grains if you do not give it fresh sugar water to "eat" from. I was about to just throw it out when I decided to do some research first. Thankfully, I found a FAQ list here and found out that it IS possible to re-establish your grains. So with fingers crossed, I am trying to resurrect my kefir:
Q. I think I may have damaged my kefir grains (e.g. cross contamination, left them to culture for too long, left them in the fridge for too long, cultured them without enough sugar, etc.)? Can I save them?
A. If you believe your kefir grains have been damaged, we recommend rinsing them thoroughly with filtered water, placing them in a fresh sugar water solution (1/4 cup sugar to 1 quart water--preferably use a sugar containing molasses such as Rapadura or Succanat, alternatively add 1 t. molasses), placing a lid on the container and placing it in the refrigerator for a few days. This process will often regenerate grains although we cannot offer any guarantees. Once the process is complete, test your grains by culturing them in fresh sugar water for 48 hours then taste the resulting kefir (do not consume any water kefir that looks, smells or tastes unpleasant). If the finished kefir is less sweet than the sugar water you started with, the grains are functioning. If not, it may be time to acquire a new set of water kefir grains.
I didn't have any Rapadura or Succanat, but I did have brown sugar, which is basically cane sugar and molasses. Hopefully it works!
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Miscellaneous
So I got a free issue of June 2009 which featured Plantain:
Info on Plantain
Here's our kiddos making Plantain window decorations and "wind chimes".
Benjamin getting ready to iron his Plantain between wax paper.



After my thumb healed (I chopped off the tip about a month ago trying to prepare this- grrrr), I was able to finish cubing and shredding my yellow crookneck summer squash. In the freezer you go!
I'm still working on filling it with things like addresses, phone numbers, special dates to remember, budget stuff... but the meat of it is in place.
Here's a brief sample of it:



Friday, September 18, 2009
PM sickness
Sore breast
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Getting rid of armpit stains and smells

Here's a homemade method of getting rid of the nastiness:
-Rub it into the t-shirt and let it dry.
-Then fill a sink with water and 2 Tbls of salt, and let soak overnight.
-Rinse.
-Pour vinegar into a spray bottle. Spray the t-shirts.
-Launder as usual.
Every hour...

Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Reed's is amazing!!!

Only one small problem. It's $5/4-pk. and yesterday I drank two. Hmmm. Could be developing an expensive habit. Then again, it's only for one more month! Yes, we will splurge!
I'm also taking Yellow Dock herbal supplements (as recommended by my midwife). Hopefully I can kick these queasies!!!
The doctor did eventually call me back, but they said they usually won't prescribe medications unless mom is throwing up a lot. With great effort, I have managed to keep everything down thus far- so I don't qualify. I've had a couple bouts of dry heaves, but that's all. I guess I feel better knowing that I am taking care of myself and the baby naturally.
Oh, and by the way, Hansen's Ginger Ale was horrible!!! Sickeningly sweet (with cane sugar). When I mentioned above about having a few bouts of the dry heaves, well, the Hansen's was one of those episodes. Yuck!
Monday, September 14, 2009
Ginger soda?
Gotta do something
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
AM sickness...
Monday, September 07, 2009
News at our home...
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Wow & Congrats!
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/32630876/ns/today-parenting_and_family/
Apparently they are also expecting their first grandbaby, too!!!